(3) Painstaker

Two: Memories

"I can't do this! I can't do this!" The sound of Kat's shrill voice put me in full determination mode.

I ran up those steps like there was a fire licking at my heels. Nearly falling at the top, I ran down the hall, to the end, and burst through the door to Kat's bedroom. She was curled up in the far corner of the room, holding a black t shirt to her chest and hiding her face with her free hand. Carter sat beside her, a tentative hand rubbing her shoulder.

The baby wasn't in the room. In fact, I was sure its crying was coming from Carter and Summer's bedroom.

Stepping inside, nobody noticed me. "I can't. I can't feel like this in front of Lucy. I don't want her to see me like this. She deserves better than this." Hearing her voice crack, hearing the pain lace in her usually soft spoken tone, it gutted me.

But I had to be strong for her. I couldn't show sadness. Not for losing my brother. Not for knowing my best friend had lost the one love of her life, as well as the father of her child. No. I wouldn't cry. I wouldn't tell her everything would be alright either. Because it wouldn't. Donovan was dead, and he wasn't ever coming back.

"Hey, Kat," I said in my usual cheery voice. "How about you let Carter and Summer look after Lucy today? You're mine for today, girl."

Kat sniffled. Finally realizing it wasn't just the two of them in the room, she lifted her head to look at me. Her eyes were red, cheeks blotchy. "Crystal?"

"Hiya. I mean it. You, me, and the hands of Adonis. By Adonis, I mean my masseuse. You need it. I need it. Plus, I've got some good news I need to share with you."

Kat's shoulders trembled. "I-I don't know. I just don't feel like leaving the house anymore."

With one more pat to the shoulder, Carter pulled himself up to stand. "How about this? You get yourself cleaned up while I catch Crystal up on some pack stuff. Summer's got Luce, Kat. You have nothing to worry about. Go take a bath. Take as long as you need, kay?"

Stiffly, she nodded. Carter walked over to me, motioning for me to follow him. He closed her door behind him and began marching to his office that was up a floor. Without looking at me, he plopped down onto his leather seat and leaned his head on his hands.

"Crystal, I'm about the tell you something you don't want to hear, and I really don't have the patience to have you lose your shit." He still wasn't looking at me. In fact, his eyes were closed.

Cautious, I slunk over and sat on the edge of his desk, opposite the side he was sitting behind. Twirling my hair around my finger, I narrowed my eyes at the top of his head. "Spill it, Alpha."

He let out a heavy sigh, buying himself time. Just the fact that he knew this would bother me was bothering me. So I had a bit of a temper. So what! There were worse flaws to have.

"Kat can't go on like this. She's depressed. Nothing's working. We've tried therapy, we've tried giving her something else to put her mind to, we've tried giving her time away from Lucy. She's depressed, she's spending all of her time cooped up in the house with Lucy, and she hates herself for being depressed in front of her daughter. Lucy can't stay in this mansion forever either. This is bad for both of them."

Just hearing about how badly Kat had been adjusting made my head lose its height. In fact, I ended up sinking down into the cushioned chair. "Alright. What's your solution?"

"Summer's been telling me about something..." This can't be good. "It's a spell. One she knows can be done. It's like a shifting of memory."

"Stop right there. If you're even thinking about taking her memories of Donovan, I will slap you."

Carter finally looked up at me, and the pain in his eyes made me want to shrink, although I managed to keep my shoulders still. "I don't know what else to do, Crystal. She's suffering. Lucy is suffering. I thought it would be different since she's human, but the bond is really taking its toll on her."