Cat's Choice: The Chosen's War

by Jana Leigh

  “If it wasn’t for my mother being suspicious of him, I wouldn’t have survived . She had someone follow us and then a n army of our men were sent out to find and help me. My mother only found me because of our telepathic link. My father sent out a search party for Diavolo’s head, but he has been able to elude us ever since.”

  By the time Orfeo was done speaking, he felt as if he had been dragged right back to that time and place . His emotions were raw, and he knew he had been crying once again toward s the end of his speech because his cheeks were wet. This time though, the emotion was distant enough that his tears were not of blood. He sat down exhausted ; he put his head in his hands and attempted to regain his control .

  A few seconds later, he felt a small hand touching his shoulder. Knowing who was there, he moved very slowly as h e looked up at Caterina standing beside him. She brushed some of the tears from his face and cupped his cheek in her hand. Orfeo leaned his head into her hand, taking comfort from the small gesture.

  He wanted to touch her back, to hold her in his arms, and embrace her, but he could still fe el the fear radiating off of her . He looked into her eyes and spoke from his heart, hoping that she would see the sincerity in his words. “I would never hurt you, Caterina. I know some of what he did to you, I couldn’t help but get pictures from the words Quin pushed at me, but it is nothing I would even dream of doing to you. If you gave me a chance, I would love, cherish you, and take care of you. Both of you,” he added, turning to look at Tripp.

  She smiled but then dropped her hand and stepped away. “I’m just not ready. I don’t know what to believe anymore, and I’m not ready to believe you. I’m sorry.”

  With that, she left the room.

  Tripp had felt the pain coming from his mates, but he didn’t know which one to go to. He wanted to comfort them both, but was still not sure if he could trust Orfeo. Finally, he walked over to Orfeo’s chair, ran his hand over his head and then left Orfeo sitting there watching after him as he followed Caterina out the door.

  Caterina didn’t know what to think. She could tell that Orfeo wasn’t lying about the story. She felt his emotions as if they were her own. She also knew he seemed sincere in what he said to her, but she had been lied to before and didn’t know whether to believe him. She knew in her heart that he was telling her the truth, but she still wasn’t ready to accept it in her head. She had been through too much already.

  When she had entered the room, she knew straight away that there was something different about this Vampire . Not only, didn’t he seem as evil as the others, but she felt something pulling her to him —she had only felt that with Tripp. Tripp , she had left him standing in that room. Poor Tripp is stuck in the middle of this.

  Caterina found herself in her room. She climbed up onto her bed and curled her knees into her chest. What was she going to do about Tripp? She didn’t know when she had come to trust him, but she had. He had become her rock and made her feel stronger when all she ever used to feel was weak and vulnerable.

  “Caterina, are you in here?” she heard Tripp yell from the living room of the apartment.

  “I’m in here, Tripp.”

  He appeared in the doorway in seconds and just stood there filling the entire thing. “I was worried about you when you ran off.”

  Caterina just looked at him for a second, taking in his features: his large muscular body, his long dark hair, his olive skin, and his steel grey eyes. The scar that traced a line down one cheek, she wondered if she could kiss it away if she tried.

  She reached out her hand. “Come lay with me , Tripp. I need you to hold me.”

  He looked hesitant, but slowly left the doorway to enter the room. “Are you sure?”

  Caterina just smiled at how uncertain he sounded. “Yes, please.”

  Tripp walked around to the other side of the bed and climbed in behind Caterina. He sat on the edge at first, while she watched at him, and took off his boots. Then he l ay down on his side, and slowly slid up behind her. He was uncertain at first when he put his hand on her hip, but she grabbed his hand, linking their fingers together, and pulled it to rest just below her breasts, then snuggled her back into his front and sighed.

  The lump that had been in his throat since he entered the meeting room earlier that evening seemed to evaporate as he pulled her even closer and smelled her hair. He had only dreamt of this moment since the moment he first laid eyes on her, and now he was there. What should have felt like the best thing in the world actually felt like something was missing.

  Tripp’s eyes widened when he realized what was missing. He knew now that he and Caterina would never be complete without their third, without Orfeo. But he knew Caterina was nowhere near ready for that, and he wasn’t sure he was either. He couldn’t believe everything that had happened in the last few days . He never believed his life would be like this, and he wasn’t sure that he liked it.

  For now, he held Caterina as closely as possible and just breathed in her scent. After a few minutes, he heard her breathing even out and knew that she was asleep, but he didn’t want to leave her side now that she had finally let him in. So he just got as comfortable as possible and let sleep take him as well. They would think about all of this tomorrow, about what they were going to do. For now, they would just hold each other and sleep.

  ***

  Orfeo knew that it was going to be hard to win over his mates. After Tripp and Caterina had left, the Council had told him the rest of what Diavolo had done to her , and what she had gone through to get there. Orfeo was infuriated all over again and ready to go out into the night and hunt Diavolo down. He knew the devil had to be close; he wouldn’t be too far from Caterina by now.

  But Orfeo knew that if he went out now, he may not get the opportunity to find him before first light. Besides, he had to work on fixing what the bastard had ruined. Orfeo should have known Diavolo wouldn’t stop trying to take control of the prophecy. He also knew the other Vampire s that had gone after her since she escaped him were his creations.

  Orfeo let Jaden and Quin lead him and his group down into the basement, where they had made separate rooms for his people . The rooms were comfortable and for the time being, protected them against light. But Orfeo also knew it was a safety precaution. Once the group was down there, they were locked in, and there were cameras all over the place. Orfeo should have warned them that the cameras would not have been able to pick up the Vampire ‘s images, but he didn’t feel like making them feel even more wary of him and his people by pointing out he knew about them. He did mention to them that he suspected Diavolo was near, and they were right to be prepared. He gave them a few suggestions for increasing the safety of the compound and the small town of Milliken.

  He picked up his cell phone and dialed home. He asked to speak to his mother first. He needed advice on what to do with Caterina and knew his mama would be able to give it to him.

  “Orfeo, darling,” his mother spoke into the phone. “We weren’t expecting to hear from you so soon. What’s wrong?”

  Leave it to his mother to know there was something wrong right off.

  “Hello, mama.” Orfeo smiled at the comfort her familiar voice brought him. “How is everything at home?”

  “Everything is fine here, Orfeo. Now stop trying to change the subject and tell me what has happened.”

  Resolving himself to just getting it over with and then asking her advice, Orfeo went ahead and explained everything that had happened and was said.

  When he finished, he held on for a moment then asked his mother, “Mama, I need your advice as to what to do with Caterina. She doesn’t trust me to even get close to her.”

  His mother was quiet for a few minutes, and Orfeo had almost thought she had hung up on him.

  But then she said, “I have decided that I am going to come over there and straighten out this embarrassing situation . Your father a nd I will be there no later than tomorrow evening to talk some sense into your mates and finally have a res
olution with Diavolo , may he rot in hell . That coglione has hurt m i fami g lia for the last time!”

  Orfeo’s mother never swore, so he knew she was mad, but he still didn’t need her over here meddling. “Ma m a , no. I am no longer a bambino , but a man and Sire of the clan . I just called for advice as to what you think I should do. I plan to fix this myself.”

  “You may be Sire of the clan, but you will always be my bambino, and I will not sit idly by while that Diavolo messes up your life. Do not argue with me, Orfeo, you will not win. I will be over there as soon as possible, and we will sort this out together.”

  Orfeo was about to respond, but he was met with a dial tone as his mother had hung up on him. Great. Now his mother was on her way and there was nothing he could say or do but warn the New Council of her arrival.

  He knew he didn’t want to disturb the house as they were probably going to bed, but he wouldn’t be able to tell them in the morning. So he dialed the number to the security room and left a message with them to tell Quin in the morning. Then he went about unpacking and getting comfortable in his new room. It was still too early to sleep for him, so he retrieved one of the blood bags that was brought with them, and poured it into a glass to drink ; he wanted to keep all his abilities in top condition . Then he l ay back on his bed and stared at the ceiling, while he thought about what a great big mess this all was, and wondered what he was going to do about it.

  Chapter 9

  Caterina and Tripp had fallen into a deep sleep after the heavy emotions of the evening. As the hour approached dawn , Caterina’s eyes began to move under their lids. She was not dreaming.

  Caterina sat on a bench in the garden behind the Pack house. She was taking a rest from planting some zinnias and marigolds in the flower bed. She looked up as someone came walking down the path. The sun was behind them, so she could not see their face yet.

  As the figure grew closer, she can see that it was a man, and he was holding a small child. He crouched down and put the child on the ground; it was a little girl. She held up her hands and said, “Mama, mama,” and began to toddle towards her. Caterina smiled at the little girl then looked up into the face of the man. It was Orfeo. “What are you doing here?” she asked, snatching up the child.

  “Cara, what is wrong? We came to see you planting the prett y flowers. Are you un well?” h e asked her.

  “No! You’re not supposed to be here!” She got up and ran, holding the child in her arms. As she ran, the scene changed, and it became night, trees and bushes pulled at her clothing. She realized she was no longer holding the child. All at once, she heard a voice cackling, in the distance. Diavolo! She ran and ran until her sides began to ache, and the night grew deeper and darker; up ahead she saw a cave. She ran into the cave. “Adolfo! Adolfo, you must help me. Diavolo is coming,” s he cried.

  Once again, as they did before, arms reached out to grab her and hold her still. “Adolfo, save me!”

  Adolfo looked into her eyes. “Caterina, you are dreaming. You are safe in the arms of your mate. Remember what I told you, you have a difficult choice to make. Choose with your heart. It’s time to wake up now.”

  Caterina was thrashing on the bed, and it woke up Tripp. “Shh, shh, baby, it’s going to be okay, wake up now; everything’s all right. Wake up now, sweetheart.” Tripp kept repeating, calling words as he held her in his arms, willing her to wake up from the nightmare. After a while, she seemed to calm and then a few moments later; she woke up.

  “Oh! Tripp, it’s you! I was dre aming and Adolfo came,” s he said.

  “Is there anything you want to share? Sometimes sharing a dream can lessen the effects, ” Tripp said as he gently moved her hair out away from her forehead with his hand.

  “He reminded me that I had a decision to make, and that was going to be difficult. I think I know what decis ion he was talking about now,” s he said.

  “Well? Are you going to tell me or do I have to guess?” he said, trying to keep the situation light.

  “Adolfo told me that I would have to pick between two fates. With one choice, I would live happily ever after with my mates, and in the second choice, the world as we know it would end, and I woul d be at the mercy of Diavolo,” s he said in a small voice.

  “Let me guess. As much as you’d like to have a happy ending, you know that means m a ting with Orfeo, and you’re still too scared to make that commitment.” At her nod, he continued, “How about we get up, have our showers and brush ou r teeth? Then I’ll make you some breakfast, and we can discuss it. We can go over all the pros and cons, and we don’t have to think about the whole wide world; let’s just think about you, me and Orfeo.”

  As much as he wanted to pull her into his arms and give her a kiss after holding her all night, it felt like he was standing on the edge of the cliff, he wanted her so badly. All it would take is one touch from her to set him off. Knowing that she wasn’t ready for that level of commitment, he stood up and headed towards the bathroom. Showing her that he could be trusted to hold her all night long and not take advantage of her, he waited for her to be ready and make the first move.

  So he was that much more surprised when Caterina reached up a hand and brought his head down to hers for a kiss. His hair trigger exploded, and he had to hold himself back with every ounce of his strength not to take over from her.

  After a minute, she lay back down, looking at him with dreamy eyes that held a touch of fear.

  “Caterina? We don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do. But will you let me take care of you? Let me ma ke you feel good.” And he leaned down and took her mouth in a slow, gentle kiss, meant to ease her into arousal instead of slamming her into it.

  He didn’t take off her t-shirt, she’d mentioned scars, and he didn’t want her feeling self-conscious. He slid his hand underneath her shirt, thumbing a nipple but not pinching or pulling. No sharp movements, just a slow, gentle glide upwards. It was kind of like climbing that long hill at the start of a roller coaster.

  Layer after layer of sensation was built as he kept on kissing her and caressing her breasts. Then he let his hand drift down her belly, inching it under her pants and down between her legs. He reached for her magic button hidden in her folds and began massaging it with two fingertips.

  All the while, he kept up with the drugging kisses. He could feel that her heartbeat was speeding up. Her hands were clenched, one in his hair and one holding his shirt.

  He increased the pace of his fingers, and she felt the tingling in her thighs and stomach . He quickly dipped a finger down and gathered up some of her juices to help lubricate the attention he was giving her clit. Faster and harder with his fingers as his tongue kept pace.

  And he quickly raised his head to watch as her orgasm flow through her, making her freeze as the new feelings washed over her . Her body shaking, her hips lifting as her legs squeezed his hand and arm. A long moan left her as she collapsed against the pillows.

  He pulled out his hand and licked his fingers. “Thank you, Caterina , that was beautiful. Now I’m going to hop in the showe r and then fix us breakfast,” h e said, jumping from the bed after giving her another quick kiss on the mouth.

  Thirty minutes later, they were sitting in the kitchen of her apartment, and Tripp was whipping up eggs in a bowl as she sat at the table.

  “First off, why don’t you share your dream with me, if you remember it all,” said Tripp.

  So Caterina told Tripp all about her dream from the night before, up to and including her short visit with Adolfo.

  “Well, you’r e smart, so I think you understand the meaning of the dream. Let me ask you a question. If it hadn’t been a Vampire , but instead had been a werewolf that had held you captive and treated you so horribly seven years ago, would you have still slept in my arms last night? Would you have been able to see the difference between an evil werewolf with a handsome face and the kind werewolf with a scarred face?” h e asked.

  He had just put the bread into
the toaster and was about to pour the egg mixture into the pan when he said that. Caterina jumped up from her chair and ran over to him. “You’re a wonderful man, Tripp . I don’t ever want to hear you talk about that scar again. Of course, I would want to be with you; you’re my mate. And besides, you’ve grown on me. And I really like your mother; she reminds me of my own.”