This is a short chapter only because I wanted to finish up part 2 and start on part 3. In the next chapter, you'll be plunged deeper into the world of werewolves. The different wolf packs, and of course, our antagonist will have to rear his ugly head sometime. J
Don't forget to check out the PINTEREST page for this story. Link is on my profile.
Chapter 18: Reveal
She was so close that he felt her heartbeat rapidly against his chest. Her lips eagerly responding to him seared his nerves. Bishop hadn't planned for it to go this far. One kiss, and he would have some access to her thoughts no matter how well-built Katrina's defenses were. It was only supposed to be a kiss. Nothing more than a means to get information.
Bishop softened the slant of his mouth, marveling at the sweetness of her tongue warring against his. He breathed her in like a dehydrated man in sudden contact with a water source. The edges of his mind blurred away, and expanded. The whispers of her inner mind melded with his thoughts. Katrina's insecurities, her desires, but more importantly, her secrets could be easily accessed if he would just reach out and touch them.
This was wrong, he thought, hesitating. Just one touch and he could be certain of her loyalty.
Katrina grinded against his hips, breaking free of the kiss. Bishop opened his eyes, and looked up at her. She was wet, flushed, her lips swollen. Bishop struggled to maintain his stoic expression when his heart nosedived into his stomach when she leaned over and whispered.
"I know what you're doing."
Bishop meant to respond, but words immediately failed him. How could he explain that he both wanted this, and wanted his power? He wanted her, and wanted to control her.
Katrina smiled as she slid off his hips. She bobbed in the water next to him, keeping her hands on his shoulders. "I don't blame you, Bishop. You're not just an Alpha who wants to control my every move. . It's part of the soul mate complex, isn't it? It's not exactly a secret that we're attracted to each other either."
"What makes you think I'm attracted to you?" he responded, always testing her.
Her voice dropped to a husky drawl. Katrina trailed a finger down the center of his chest, sending electric bolts straight to his heart and groin. "Well…considering that I can hear your heartbeat, and you were practically shouting your thoughts of wanting to drag me upstairs to your bed, I'd say I'm pretty spot on with the attraction."
Bishop smiled faintly. "You can hear those thoughts because I let you hear them. Your body is something I want. But with that body comes a mind, admittedly, one that I don't know anymore. I'm more interested in that."
Katrina faltered, her expression falling before she schooled it back to nonchalance. "I know. What's it going to take for you to trust me, completely?"
"When I can believe everything you say. Why did you come back? Alphas don't fall easily. What really happened to your father, and your pack?"
Katrina turned away from him, unable to escape. "And if I answered your questions, will you stop interrogating me every chance you get."
Bishop wanted to say yes, but he resolved for the truth instead. Katrina deserved it. "Katrina, I won't stop until I'm satisfied. If I wasn't the Alpha…this is who I am now. The pack comes first, despite my feelings."
Bishop held his breath. This was the make it or break it moment. If she wasn't game for his plan, then she would be effectively rejecting him. And he just had to fucking accept that.
"Okay, I'll show you," she replied, drawing close to him until they were nose to nose. "One of my pack members once told that soul mates cannot just heal each other physically, but they can transfer thoughts, memories. Sometimes even communicate telepathically, like an extension of your mind."
Bishop's ears picked up the raised voices coming from the yard. The smell of cooked meat prickled his nostrils, but all that faded away at the sight of those big, black eyes. Katrina moved closer to him so slowly that it surprised him when she dived in for his mouth. This kiss was different. So slow.
Images flew past her mind and into his, sealing their permanence. The images were so visceral that he nearly choked from the black smoke billowing from the charred ruins of a mini-van. Fear stabbed at him. And then anger.
His face was bloody, but he felt little pain. Must be someone else's.
A dark shadow eclipsed the body, and he couldn't look up. It rooted him to the spot until it disappeared, leaving him feeling weightless and relieved.
Bishop felt warm liquid cascading down his forearms where he held the body close to his own. Swallowing bile in his throat, he lowered his arms.
It was nightmarish. Bishop gathered his senses to calculate the scene before him.
Parvez Patel was dead in his arms. Throat slashed viciously. Black eyes still open. His innards were strewn over his torso, staining his arms and legs .
Nausea knawed like a beast in his stomach. His fingers shook when he reached to close his eyes.
The moment passed, and suddenly Bishop was plunged back into his body. The smell of blood and smoke dissipated altogether. Water sloshed around him as Bishop fought to stay afloat.
"What the hell was that?"
"You wanted to know what happened to Dad."
Her features were wiped clean of any emotion. And Bishop knew that there was more buried beneath the surface. He knew something was off about her the moment they met on his stairs. The smile hardly ever reached her eyes anymore.
"Don't play coy with me, Katrina. Tell me!" Bishop roared, gripping her shoulders. In the back of his mind he knew he should ease up, but he wanted to know. People depended on him to fix things. He had to try.
"Glad you got a look at the inside," she replied. Her tone was clipped, and frosty. She was physically backing away, putting space between them as if to say there was no more he could get out of her tonight.
"Bishop, what's going on here?" he turned around at the sound his name. Cally stood at the French doors, fingers clenched into fists. Her short red hair piled on top of her head. Soft tendrils framed her face. He noticed that she was a wearing a simple black dress that clashed with her pale skin. The wardrobe was completely uncharacteristic. Putting two and two together, he grasped that she had wanted to clean up her image. The Alpha Queen's spot was still up for grabs.
"Cally, you knew this would happen," he replied, simply. Far be it for him to go over this conversation again.
"Oh, so you're going to me, 'we had a good thing going, Cally, but I'm going to have to move on to something else.' Were you just going to slap me on the ass, and send me on my way?" she said, her voice rising furiously. Her fingernails sharpened and her eyes became slits.
"Just—
"Save it!" she yelled, her breath hitching. Betrayal twisted her features. "Taking people away from me. That's what you've always been good at, Katrina."
Cally whipped around and stalked away.
"I'm sorry," he heard Katrina whisper under her breath. Her head was down.
Bishop found his voice. "Let's go upstairs. Mother will get you change of clothes."
The gathering was in full-swing by the time they came back downstairs. Katrina was wearing one of his mother's sun dresses. It was similar to the turquoise dress she wore, except sleeveless. As he met her at the French doors facing the backyard, he noticed a jagged scar on her left shoulder blade. The skin was puckered around it like the wound had been burned closed.
From the stiff set of Katrina's shoulders, he knew better than to ask right then. Bishop placed a hand on the small of her back, guiding her towards the large group of wolves.
"We have to show solidarity remember," he said, half-expecting her to pull away. "I won't tell them about your father unless you want me to."
The breeze rustled her wet locks and the dewy grass crunched beneath their heels when she looked up at him suddenly. Bishop towered over her, but she was able to meet his eyes without too much strain. He noticed that her face was paler, and the skin around her eyes were slightly puffed as if she'd been crying. A protective instinct lacerated him so much so that Bishop had to restrain himself from gathering her in his arms. "I trust you."
He stared down at her as if searching for something. "My father will try and find your weak points. Patrick, Eoin's father, is one of the pack advisers. He will pretend that this is all for your own good, but he will exploit your pain if it benefits him. My father chose him after all so Patrick is good at what he does."
Katrina's face turned flint hard, pride and defiance defining her features. "Don't worry so much about me. I handled the interrogations for my own pack."
She swept past him and crossed the yard, marching right up to Vita Cato who had been watching the two, a ghost of a smile on his face.
Katrina pulled short in front of him, her stance was every bit challenging. "Let's get this over with."
END OF PART TWO
Question time J
, what do you guys think of the state of Bishop and Katrina's relationship? They definitely have strong feelings each other, but at the same time, they're both very skeptical people who aren't willing to be completely open with another person…yet.