Chapter Sixteen
Catherine felt like she was swimming in a vat of molasses, going in and out of consciousness like her head was bobbing up and down in the dark, syrupy liquid. There were voices, lots of voices around her, but she couldn't make out what they were saying. Her body felt numb, but as she began to wake up, the pain started to creep in. I was shot.
Her mind began to piece things together. The Brotherhood attacking them. Andrei. And Matthew’s dragon.
God, he was a scary beast. But he'd come for her. To rescue her. Where was she now?
The scratchy sheets under her fingers and the antiseptic smell gave it away. The hospital. How did she get here?
She tried to sit up, but a pain in her side forced her back down. It hurt terribly, but at least she was awake and alive. The low light in the room made it difficult to see what was around her, but the call button just above her head was like a beacon. Before she could reach for it, a growl and then a thud from outside made her stop.
Alarm bells in her head made her freeze. For a second, she thought she was in danger. That the lions were still after her. However, when the door opened and a familiar figure walked in, she breathed a sigh of relief.
"Matthew," she rasped out, realizing her throat was dry and itchy. She braced her hand on the mattress, so she could prop herself up and reach for the glass of water she spied on the table beside the bed.
"Catherine? Are you awake? I—what are you doing?" Matthew sprinted toward her.
“Water.”
Matthew grabbed the glass and held it to her lips. The liquid felt soothing as it went down her dry throat.
“Slow down,” he said. “You might choke.”
She finished half the glass before she allowed him to take it away. God, even swallowing was tiring, and she fell back on the bed. Matthew moved closer to her and placed his warm palm on her cheek. That felt good, too.
“I was so afraid I’d lost you,” he whispered. “When I saw those men—”
“The Brotherhood,” she said. “What happened?”
“I took care of them, sweetheart,” he said, his voice going cold. “They’ll never bother you again.”
She breathed a sigh of relief. “I believe you,” she said. “But I should probably explain. And tell you the truth.”
“Shhhh …” he soothed. “The only thing that matters is that you’re alive and you’re going to be okay.”
“Please, I need to tell you the truth,” she said. “I don’t want to go on lying to you. I can’t.”
Matthew brushed her hair aside and then laid a gentle kiss on her forehead. “Alright, sweetheart. You say what you need to say, and I’ll listen.”
She let out a deep sigh. "Where do I begin? My name isn't Catherine Archer. At least, not anymore. When my stepfather adopted my sister and me, we changed it. To Stavros."
“The Greek Billionaire.”
She nodded. "He's a wolf shifter. Alpha of the Lykos Pack." She paused. "I was seven when my biological father died and left us penniless. My mother didn't have a choice; she accepted a position as a tutor to Aristotle Stavros' three sons. He and his wife had recently divorced, and he wanted someone to look after his children since he traveled a lot on business. He wanted a female tutor, someone who could teach them manners and graces. Of course, my sister and I came to live on Lykos as well. That's the island where the pack lives."
“How did he come to adopt you, then?”
"Well, the short story is Ari fell in love with Mama. She was his mate, as it turned out. His first marriage was an arranged one, to build an alliance and produce strong children." She bit her lip. "For a while, we were happy. Ari adopted us, and we started calling him Papa. I had three older stepbrothers who I adored. And then Mama got pregnant. She had a baby girl." Her throat closed, and the tears began to form in her eyes. Matthew slipped his hand into hers and squeezed it.
“You don’t have to—”
She shook her head. "No, I need to tell you the rest. So you'll understand. When it was time to have the baby, Mama wanted her born in England. They fought about it, but he eventually relented. He loved her that much. So our youngest, Cordelia, was born in an English hospital." The stench of the antiseptic seemed to burn her nostrils, but she continued. "After giving birth, Mama grew weaker. The doctors didn't know why she wasn't recovering; it had been a normal birth." The memories came flooding back. Of that sterile, dull hospital. Of watching Mama wither away. "It turned out some anti-shifter group found out Mama had given birth to a wolf pup. They got one of their own inside the hospital and were slowly poisoning her and Cordelia. Cordy was a shifter; she recovered. But Mama …"
She didn’t even realize it, but she was sobbing now. Matthew drew her into his arms and let her cry.
“Then what happened?”
Catherine swallowed audibly. "Papa … he went insane with grief. Took me, Christina, and Cordy back to Lykos. Shut himself and us away from the world. He wasn't going to let anyone harm us. We didn't leave for years. We had private tutors, doctors, anything and everything we needed, flown into the island. Lykos became a mini-city and we had every luxury you could think of, although for a while it was more like a prison." Her voice was bitter now. "Papa never would have let us leave if we didn't convince him that Mama would have wanted us to go to boarding school and university in England. She'd been a teacher, after all. So, he let me and Christina go to London." She smiled. "Christina hated it. She had fully embraced being part of the Lykos Pack, even though she was human. After she finished her degree, she went right back to work for Stavros International. I loved London. Loved the entire scene. I loved the freedom. I wanted to stay. I found a job I liked and this amazing apartment in SoHo for cheap.”
“So why did you run away?”
"Well, the job that I enjoyed and paid well? Papa had cashed in some favors to get it for me. Even had some of his guys working in the office to watch me. That great deal on that apartment? He'd been paying a significant portion of the rent. And he had bought the apartment across from mine, so he could put a security detail on me 24/7. My entire life was a lie, another prison Ari Stavros constructed."
“What did you do?”
“I confronted him, of course. I was furious and told him I was going to go somewhere he couldn’t get to me. I’d make it on my own. He wanted me back on Lykos. He …” Her voice faltered. “He threatened to marry me off to one of his lieutenants. So I would stay.”
Matthew’s silvery eyes glowed. “He what?”
“He said that I would learn to love my husband in time, and if not, my children for sure. So, I ran away.” She turned away from him and looked out the window. “I went to Los Angeles. I was happy for a time, until … I … I swear Matthew, I didn’t kill anyone.”
"I know," he said. He moved to the other side of the bed to face her. "What happened in L.A.?"
"My roommate, Rissa, she'd gotten involved with one of the Chesnovak Brotherhood Pride, the local Russian shifter mob. One day, I came home and they were there and Rissa was dead." The tears came back, and she wiped them with the back of her hand. "I thought about going back to Lykos. The pack would protect me. But at what price? So I ran again. And I arrived here. I'm so sorry, Matthew. I'm sorry for bringing all this on you and your town. I put everyone in danger just by being here, knowing the Pride was after me."
He let out a huff. “As if I couldn’t protect you from one measly lion pride.”
“I know, but … that’s not on you. I did my best to stay away from you. To protect you and to protect my heart. I didn’t want to be trapped in a gilded cage again.”
“I would never trap you,” he said softly. “I would do anything for you. I’m sorry I hesitated that day when Meacham came.”
"What? You tried to protect me. But I couldn't watch them take you down. Matthew, I …" She took a deep breath. "I love you too much. "
His eyes grew wide. "Catherine …" As gently as he could, he gathered her into his arms and kissed her. "I love you, too."
“You do?” she asked.
“Of course. I’ve known it from the beginning. You’re my mate.”
"I was scared when you told me that. I'd seen what it did to Papa when he lost Mama. But …" She stopped suddenly, a warmth spreading through her. Like warm waves of water soothing her. It was like the load she'd been carrying around for months had been lifted from her shoulders. She couldn’t explain it. It was something she hadn’t felt before, but it felt ... right. "Matthew? What happened?"
“I think … that’s the mating bond,” he said, his eyes were wide with surprise, then turned warm with love. “Dad always told me … I would know it when it came.”
“It is true then. I’m your mate.”
He nodded. "And I'm yours. And I promise you'll be safe from now on. I'll protect you forever, and I won't let them take you away from me."
"Oh, Matthew …" She frowned. "Wait, what do you mean take me away?"
“Oh right,” he said in a sheepish tone. “About that.” Matthew filled her in on what had happened when Christina arrived.
Catherine slapped herself on the forehead. "I forgot about the last message I had sent her. I didn't check in with her. She must have gotten worried. Christina is the only person who knew where I was." She may have been loyal to the pack, but they were still sisters, and Christina swore she would not tell Ari, her brothers, or even Cordy her whereabouts. "Shit. Christina's er … she's like a rabid dog that won't let go once she sets her mind on something."
“Tell me about it,” he said wryly. “But don’t worry, Jason’s taking care of her.”
“Your brother?” she asked with a raised brow.
“Yeah, she’ll be fine,” he said. “Trust me.”
“It’s not my sister I’m worried about.”