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SHE SHOULD'VE KNOWN NOTHING EVER GOOD COMES of a call from an unknown number. But in all honesty, Katherine thought the call would be from either Kol or Kai. While one seemed to electrocute and combust the device with magic, and the other had taken a liking to smash them against the walls, just for the kicks of it. However, whatever it might be, the only unknown callers she received were from the two psychos.
"Did you break your phone again?" was the way she answered the call as she browsed through her laptop, looking through the bank statements and stock exchanges. She had been researching which ones she should invest in. Ten years into the past, she did have many ways to raise her funds, so why not put her brain to work while she was at it.
"I most definitely did not, Miss Pierce," A voice that was both familiar and unfamiliar spoke. "However, I must say it is lovely to hear your voice."
"Thanks. A guy I dated used to write poems about it," she replies with a dry wit when she realizes it wasn't someone she knew. "So if you wanted points for flattery — you don't get any."
"I'll keep that in mind in the future," His tone was full of cool assurance. And suddenly, Katherine had the barest inkling of who he might be. "Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Tristan de Martel."
Yup, I was right, thought Katherine cursing in her mind. But why the fuck does it have to be this psycho out of all the psychos she knows in this wretched world.
"I thought I had heard my last from the Strix," Katherine's reply wasn't either too slow or too quick. She played it cool. Tristan Martel is unpredictable, a vulture. He associates with those he deems as "true equals" and looks down on anyone that does not meet his standards.
And Catherine Matthews didn't wish to show any of her weaknesses to a guy who is both vindictive and diabolically vicious. She reminded herself not to insult such a guy, but it also didn't mean she had to stoop down. She must... and always remain as his equal.
"Yes, our last affair did end in haste," Tristan admitted. "But it was a couple of centuries ago," with a pause, he adds. "Yet, I still seem to vaguely recall the last words you said to me."
And a brief look into Katherine's memory, she spotted them too. Even if the memory was not crystal clear like it happened just yesterday, she's got an essence of them. "You can't promise me that, Tristan. When Klaus comes — and he will come for me, no one can protect me. Not even your Strix. I have escaped him all this time on my own. And I will continue to do so from here on out."
"And I still stand by those words," She tells him. Katherine never trusted anyone with her life other than herself. After years of running away from Klaus, she could never put her fears and paranoia to a stop. In a way, looking over her shoulders every day made her untrustful of her own shadow. So, of course, there was no way she would agree to join some cult and let her location be known by a group of vampires she didn't even know, and by extension, to Klaus.
