Chapter 13 | One month later
"Catherine! The bus is about to arrive! Get your ass up, right now!" my father's gravelly voice booms in the house.
My eyes fly open, staring at the grey ceiling while my hand grabs my phone from the bedside table. I check the time, and just like that, I'm out.
Shit. Shit. Shit. This time I'm losing it for good.
I put on the outfit I prepared the night before, and sprint to the bathroom. I brush my teeth while spraying my hair with water mixed with conditioner like crazy. It takes me five minutes to make my hair look decent.
"Catherine!" dad yells again.
"I'm ready!" I reply while grabbing my black backpack, shoving my phone inside, and running outside, seeing the bus about to leave.
No way.
"Wait! Wait!" I yell, and I kid you not, the bus driver looked at me and laughed before taking off.
I groan about to cry out of frustration.
I sit down on the sidewalk with my hands on my hair as I mentally prepare myself to fast walk for a good twenty minutes to school.
Unless-
A sudden honk makes me jump on my feet. I look up seeing a familiar grey modern car park in front of me.
Blake.
He motions me to hop inside. I do it without second thoughts.
"I knew you were gonna lose it," he says as soon as I buckle myself up.
"Thanks to you! I've stayed up until 2 am because of that stupid game," I say, crossing my arms on my chest.
Blake laughs. "You can always go to bed earlier and ignore me."
I rest my head on the window, closing my eyes. "Shut up," I murmur under my breath, making him laugh again.
Things hadn't changed too much this past month. I think Blake gave up on his witch hunt, and I couldn't be happier about that. We still fight about Theo, but way less than last month.
We actually grew a lot closer. He's not that bad as I thought. He has opened up to me to the point where I know he's telling me about werewolves' business by using metaphors. I act clueless and answer him the best way that I can.
"Cat." He interrupts my thoughts.
"Hmm?"
"We're here," he states, shutting down the engine.
My eyes fly open. "What?! I already told you to drop me off before arriving at school. What the hell, Blake!?"
He glares at me. "Are you serious?"
I give him a 'duh' look that makes him groan before starting the engine and do a U-turn.
I smile victoriously.
"You should stop obsessing over the school castes," he says.
"Easy to say when you're on the top. It's quite difficult being a Mortal while being friends with werew- with Taylor and Bella," I quickly corrected myself, hoping he didn't notice it.
Blake rolls his eyes. "That's ridiculous. Is someone bullying you?" he asks, stopping the car.
I unbuckle the seatbelt. "Not yet, but if they see me around with you, everything will change, starting with Megan."
Megan was Blake's ex. She can be very scary when she wants to, which is the reason why Blake hasn't been in a relationship ever since their breakup. That is one of the few confessions he told me.
Blake merely sighs at my reply. I'll take that as a 'you're right.
I pull my phone out from my backpack, and of course, Blake decides to slam on the brakes. My body moves forward, and thanks to the seatbelt, my back slams against the seat. I gasp as the phone slips from my hand, falling under Blake's feet.
"Stop doing that," I groan as I unfasten the seat belt to bend down and reach my phone. Blake's sharp inhale makes me realize that my face is right between his legs.
Shit.
I freeze for a second before grabbing my phone and sitting back up. My eyes land on Blake, and I notice the way his eyes are going from their usual light blue to pitch black. He's fighting with his wolf again.
I lightly tap his shoulder. "Are you okay?" I can't help but torture him with my feigned innocence.
He takes a deep breath in, leaning his forehead against the wheel. "Yes, just need to be alone for a minute."
Panthera pushes for control for this situation, and I have to push her back. She's been getting too attached to him. I don't like it.
I slowly nod my head. "Sure. I'll see you at school then," I say, opening the door and getting out of the car.
I don't even manage to close the door before Blake grabs my wrist. I look at him, seeing his eyes fully dark. Seriously, what is wrong with him? He actually lost control and in front of a human!
With a tug from him, I climb back inside the car and close the door.
"What is it?" I ask, pulling my wrist away from his hold.
Blake unbuckles his seatbelt and pulls me toward him, hugging me tightly. My eyes widen as he rests his head on the side of my neck.
Should I hug him back? It feels kind of dumb, not doing anything.
Ugh. It's not the first time this happens, but Blake usually recovers by now.
"One minute," I hear him murmur over and over again as he starts leaving light kisses on my neck. My body shivers under his touch, and my feline side is going crazy.
No. This time is different. Panthera wants to come out. She wants to respond to Blake's pleadings. An unexpected unfamiliar sound comes out of my mouth as I feel Blake's tongue play with my ear. Heat instantly runs over my body.
"One minute, please..."
Is he- I think he's calling for her. We've never been in this situation before. I could get exposed. Panthera doesn't give a shit, though. The closer Blake is, the more difficult it is for me to keep her under-
My breath gets caught in my throat. He's leaving a trail of kisses from my cheek to my collar bone. The stupid cat takes advantage of my distraction, taking control of my own body.
By now, my eyes must be a glowing green color. I feel my ears shift under Blake's touch as Panthera lifts his head with my hands. This kind of beauty should be illegal. She takes her time to look at him. My fingers are lightly touching his cheeks as I feel an unusual pull toward him that I've never felt with anybody else. Not even with Theo.
Tears start to blur my vision, and Blake smiles at that. Why am I crying? What the hell is going on? It looks like my cat and his wolf have met before. I remember my dad telling me that mates have past lives, but this isn't the case, right? I've always thought of it to be a myth.
My heart pace has quickened ever since we've been looking at each other. Blake pulls me into a hug while I let my tears freely run down.
I breath in his forest-like scent and let him twirl his fingers around my curls. It feels like time has stopped for us. I know it sounds crazy, but I could stay in his arms all day.
My tears stop as time passes by. We're probably late for the first period by now. Blake's hand touches my cheek, sliding down toward my chin. I break our hug and look up at him. I notice the color of his eyes changing in seconds. Crystal blue eyes are now looking down at me wide-eyed.
"You're a werecat," he states, incredulously.
At that moment, I felt as if someone threw a bucket of cold water on me. I regain control and quickly push Blake away from me.
Fuck.
I don't wait for him to continue as I hastily open the door and fast walk toward the school. My heart is pounding in my chest at a quick pace. It's a mix of fear and something else I can't put a finger on. My Gods, I can't believe I just revealed myself like that.
Blake closely follows me in his car. "We need to talk. You can't just ignore me forever now, Cat. Plus, I hope your parents told my parents the truth about-"
I cover my ears with my hands. "I don't want to hear this, and I don't want to talk to you, so just leave me alone!" I yell and sprint toward school.
I hear a faint growl from afar, followed by a speeding car. Blake drives past me with ease but doesn't stop. He's probably going to park. I need to disappear before he finds me. I need time to process and think.
I push open the double doors made of glass and fast walk toward my class. I don't make it inside the classroom before I hear, "Cat!"
Nope.
I run and walk inside my class, tripping on my foot. I manage to stabilize myself without falling by a miracle. I apologize to Mrs Brooklyn and swiftly sit down on the first empty seat my eyes find.
I can't stop the nervous tapping of my foot against the floor. I never imagined him to find out about me like this. My eyes stay fixed on the window with my mind racing for a reasonable explanation, but coming empty-handed.
"Miss Heartfilia?"
I lift my eyes toward the source and immediately spot Blake near the teacher. My foot halts and it feels like time has stopped again. Curiosity has flooded those blue eyes of his.
I clear my throat, feeling cold sweat starting to come down my forehead. "Yes?"
Mrs Brooklyn frowns. "You can go outside with Mr Harrison. It seems like it's urgent."
I don't want to. I can't tell the teacher that, of course, so I merely get up and follow Blake outside. I needed more time to think, more time to process, and plan for something. Perhaps even calling my parents and telling them I've just ruined everything.
Our footsteps echo on the empty hallway. I let my eyes look at Blake's back. His shoulders are relaxed and his head is held high. His hands in the front pockets of his pants.
My legs feel wobbly, making me want to slide down to the floor. The silence is killing me, and panic overwhelms me the moment Blake stops. He leans his back on a random locker, and I cross my arms, lowering my eyes to the floor, shifting from one foot to the other.
"I won't tell anyone."