That apparently the whole town thought they knew the reason behind it. The reason being that the man wanted to claim her – have sex with her, basically.
Katherine was honestly concerned that her face might start on fire.
Penelope took her distraught silence as confirmation, of course.
“Eek, I knew it! Tell me all about how dreamy he is.”
Katherine looked to Sophie and Caleb, hoping that they would help her out of the embarrassing situation she’d found herself in, but Sophie was smirking idly behind her soda and Caleb’s eyes were laughing at her.
Jerks.
Not knowing what to say, Katherine floundered. “Uh… well, he’s… nice.”
Sometimes.
Usually only to her.
Dear God, she was bad at this.
Luckily, judging by their loud protests, the boys didn’t seem to want to hear anymore. “Katherine, believe me, we don’t need to know about how… nice… Bastian is you,” Jon assured, speaking up for all of them.
Katherine was shocked when Agnes, who was usually somewhat reserved when it came to the topic of boys, nudged her knee. “Ignore them. Personally, I just want to know if the man’s as good looking up close as he is far away.”
Katherine glared at Sophie when the blonde snickered at the question. “He’s very… handsome,” Katherine admitted.
Gorgeous, striking, and dazzling were all apt descriptions as well.
“Is he a good kisser?” Penelope asked eagerly. “He looks like he would be someone who knows how to use just the right amount of tongue.”
Sophie finally came to Katherine rescue with an overdramatic shudder. “You guys do know that you’re talking about my brother, right?” she demanded. Katherine thanked the Lord – or whoever it was who was looking down on them from up above – that Sophie had, because she hadn’t taken too kindly to the fact that the girl was thinking about Bastian’s tongue in such a way. Or at all, really.
Penelope had the decency to apologize at least. “Sorry! I’m just a little excited. Bastian could literally have anyone he wants. Katherine, you are so lucky. If it was me he wanted-”
The small brunette frowned.
“He doesn’t. He wants Katherine,” Caleb said bluntly, interrupting Penelope and taking Katherine off guard. Caleb was usually so sweet and quiet. She appreciated him sticking up for her.
Penelope, however, pouted at the interruption. “Of course. Anyway, I like being single. You’ll probably miss it too, Katherine.” Suddenly, it was like a light bulb went off in the girl’s head. “Hey, we should throw you a bachelorette party!”
Sophie’s ears perked up at the word “party”. “Bachelorette party?” she demanded.
Apparently, it wasn’t a werewolf tradition.
“You know,” Penelope explained, “It’s when a bunch of girls get together to celebrate the marriage, or claiming in this case I suppose, of one of their friends. It’d be so fun! We could go to Fort Saskatchewan and have a night out, just us girls!”
Sophie’s eyes were bright when she turned to meet Katherine’s gaze. “That sounds great! What do you think?”
Katherine wasn’t all that surprised that Sophie was enamored with the idea of a girls’ night out. She was always complaining about how she and Katherine were surrounded by a horde of hotheaded males. She was surprised, however, that the blonde thought that she would agree to it. Why would she want a party to celebrate a supposedly impending claiming that she hadn’t even agreed to go through with?
And yet… the temptation was there. Katherine knew, after all, that it’d annoy Bastian. She wasn’t overly pleased with the fact that he’d let the whole town believe that he intended to claim her, true or not. Why shouldn’t she go along with that premise too? Besides, it might just be fun.
“Let’s do it.”
Convincing Bastian that it’d be “fun” to let her go to Fort Saskatchewan with a gaggle of other girls and no one else – namely him – was another matter entirely.
If Bastian had been overprotective before Katherine had run away from Haven Falls – from him – then he’d been a downright overbearing, territorial jackass since she’d returned. As much as his concern warmed her heart, the way he expressed it was becoming more and more exasperating.
Katherine had noticed it before they’d even left the hotel in Hayfield. How could she not have? While she’d been helping Caleb collect the last of his meager belongings, Bastian had pulled Markus aside and confronted him over the fact that he’d not only snuck into Katherine’s bedroom without his permission, but had given her the genius idea of leaping from her window when he’d performed said feat in front of her.
And what Katherine meant when she said Bastian “confronted” Markus over these things, was that he punched him. He hit him so hard in the jaw that an audible crack had shot through the room.
The “confrontation” had certainly explained Bastian’s sour attitude towards Markus when they’d first entered the room.
In response to what Bastian had done, Katherine retaliated with what she’d thought was the logical solution at the time. She punched the man back, smacking her tiny fist into his chest as she explained to him that she was the person who gave people permission to enter her room, not him, and that blaming Markus for a tiny bruise she’d acquired when she had decided to jump from her window was absurd.
Unfortunately, the only thing punching and yelling that at the man had accomplished was causing her knuckles to swell in irritation and for Markus to laugh himself silly as he’d preened that she was his hero for defending his honor.
Ungrateful prick.
Bastian wasn’t exactly delighted over her defense of Markus and had spent the first half of their journey home to Haven Falls brooding behind the SUV’s steering wheel, barely talking to her – or anyone else crammed in the vehicle for that matter.
He’d gotten over the spat shortly after, but his temper had continued to erupt throughout the week. When she’d nicked her finger as Markus was teaching her how to use the blade he’d given her for her birthday, for example, he’d once again clocked the man after fretfully bandaging the miniscule cut. He’d taken the knife away from her too, only giving it back when Katherine had pleaded with him.
For God’s sake, Bastian had even exploded at sweet Caleb just a day ago, snarling at him when he’d found out that he had accidently walked in on Katherine changing her shirt. As embarrassing as the incident was, it wasn’t as if the entire pack hadn’t seen each other naked before. They were werewolves. It kind of came with the territory.
Bastian had completely overreacted when he’d heard Caleb apologizing about it afterwards and had grabbed the brown-eyed man by the collar of his shirt and thrown him into the nearest wall. He’d snarled that that if Caleb ever dared to peep on her again, he’d be sorry.
Yes, he’d literally said that the man had “peeped” on her. It’d have been funny if Caleb hadn’t looked so ashamed of himself. Katherine had glared at Bastian fiercely as she’d help Caleb up from where he’d sunk to the floor in humiliation.
Bastian had apologized to them both nearly immediately after, but Katherine couldn’t help but suspect that it was only a matter of time until the violent mix of protectiveness and possessiveness reared its ugly head again.
Katherine was honestly worried about Bastian. She had no idea what had gotten into him. Zane, however, apparently did have an idea and had cornered her the day after he’d thrown Caleb into a wall to tell her what he thought was the solution.
“You have to let Bastian claim you as his mate.”
Katherine nearly jumped out of her skin at the sound of Zane’s voice. She’d been absorbed in one of the mystery novels he’d bought her and had become oblivious to her surroundings somewhere around chapter three. She hadn’t thought she’d be bothered by the large evergreen tree she’d planted herself underneath of to read.
“Sorry, what?” she asked, having only registered the man’s voice and not
the actual words he was saying.
“You have to let Bastian claim you as his mate,” Zane repeated seriously.
Katherine blinked, taken aback by the man’s bluntness about something that, as far as she was concerned, was none of his business.
“The sooner, the better,” Zane continued, ignoring her wide eyed stare. “Until he claims you, he’s going to take every person he sees you with as a threat to your wellbeing or as competition to the bond forming between you two.”
Katherine frowned, suddenly deeming the book she’d been reading as unimportant and laying it carefully down on the grass. “Is that why you think he’s been acting the way he has? Hitting Markus all the time and threatening Caleb yesterday? You think he views them as “threats to my wellbeing”?” she quoted.
“Or as competition for your affection, yes.”
Katherine’s brow wrinkled in confused disbelief. It was bizarre to think that someone as seemingly confident and physically… well, perfect, really, as Bastian was could feel insecure.
“How do you know?” Katherine demanded. “He’s never acted like this before,” she protested.
Zane scoffed. “Sure,” he agreed, his voice saturated in sarcasm. “He’s always been so understanding when other men touch you or you inevitably end up hurt somehow.”
Katherine glowered. “He’s always been protective,” she admitted, “but he’s never been so domineering about it before. And about such stupid stuff.”
Frankly, she was a little concerned that he’d start freaking out about the inevitable physical contact that happened naturally between the Prince pack members. Werewolves were very tactile creatures, after all, with less respect for personal boundaries than the average person. It’d taken Katherine a while to get used to the constant touching, whether it be a shoulder brushing against hers in the hallway or someone hip checking her to get her to move out of the way in the kitchen. Or even condescending hands patting her on the head, which had become one of Markus’s favorite ways to annoy her lately.
Bastian had just about bitten the man’s limb off when he’d attempted it earlier that day.
“Exactly!” Zane agreed. “His natural urge to protect you and desire to mate with you are swelling out of control. The longer that this bond between you two remains incomplete, the more his hormones are demanding that he do something about it. That means impressing you by driving off danger and other males, basically.”
“So, what?” Katherine demanded. “Are you saying that having… sex… with him is the only solution to ending his newfound violent tendencies?” She ignored the heat rapidly spreading over her cheeks.
Zane rubbed the back of his neck uncomfortably. “Claiming isn’t only about sex,” he mumbled, “but yes,” he added more clearly, “I suspect that is the case. He’ll still be protective of you, no doubt, that’s just a natural part of who he is, but that part won’t be as dominating as it is now. The insatiable urge to make sure everyone knows that you’re his will ease, too, once he knows that you actually are.”
Katherine frowned. “How do you know all of this?”
Zane huffed, tossing her the book she hadn’t even noticed he’d been holding. “Not everyone reads drivel for pleasure,” he eyed the novel she’d been engrossed in before he’d approached. Katherine read the title of the book he’d handed her – The Physiology of Mating by Daniel Wyatt.
Zane had basically given her a sex education book.
Cue the blush she was already sporting extending to the tips of her ears.
“Look on page 74.”
Katherine pursed her lips at the order, but did as she was told. Thankfully, there were no embarrassing diagrams on the page in question. She did, however, immediately notice the bullet point list under the subtitle Potential Effects of a Prolonged Courtship, where she nearly instantly spotted “violent behavior towards those who are perceived as threats to the developing bond.”
Katherine stared. Zane was right.
“I can’t let Bastian claim me as his mate just because I’m afraid he’ll hurt someone if I don’t!” she protested.
Zane frowned, his brow wrinkling in confusion. “Don’t you love him?” he asked. “Do it because of that.”
He said it like it was the simplest thing in the world. “You can borrow the book,” he offered before taking a step backwards. They both noticed Bastian stalking towards them from the other side of the yard at the same time. “Think about it,” he reminded her before quickly taking his leave.
Didn’t Zane know that she already had been thinking about it? She wasn’t ignorant enough to deny her love for Bastian anymore – at least not to herself. She’d even told her father about her feelings. Somehow, though, she just couldn’t quite wrangle up the courage to say the words “I love you” to the man himself.
Luckily, for now, all Katherine had to do was wrangle up the courage to leave the bathroom. It was already the night of her pseudo bachelorette party, and she’d just finished getting ready to go out – or letting her friends get her ready to go out anyway – and was eying her reflection critically.
She’d made the mistake of letting Penelope do her make-up. She hadn’t worn the stuff in months and the goop felt heavy on her face. Sticky mascara clumped her eyelashes together and she wanted nothing more than to wipe off the cherry red lipstick coating her lips. The eyeliner, she could admit, made her green eyes pop, and she liked how Agnes had twisted up her hair into a slick, braided knot atop her head – only a few stubborn strands insisted on working themselves loose and framing her face – but overall she couldn’t help but think it was just too much.
Her outfit was much too much too. The dress clinging to her slender framed was a gift from Sophie and was the same color red as her lipstick. It was a strapless number with a sweetheart neckline and a flirty skit that swished around her knees. The only jewelry she wore with it was Bastian’s ring, which hung on its modest golden chain around her neck.
Staring at herself in the mirror, Katherine couldn’t help but think she looked quite a bit older than seventeen. She didn’t think she’d need an ID to get into the concert that she and the girls had decided to go to for her little “au revoir to singlehood party” as Penelope had taken to calling it. She’d never heard of the band who’d be playing, but as a fan of all music genres, Katherine was looking far more forward to going to a concert than a bar or strip club as Agnes had “jokingly” suggested.
First, though, she had to convince Bastian to let her out of the house in the get-up she was wearing. It’d already taken both Katherine and Sophie tag-teaming the man to persuade him into letting her go to the concert in the first place. When he’d finally agreed, he’d attempted to give them a curfew – “Be back by midnight.” – but Sophie had merely rolled her eyes at her brother and assured him that they’d be back in Haven Falls by sunrise, but to not expect them a minute earlier than that. The man had huffed, but agreed.
Katherine creaked open the bathroom door and peeked out into the bedroom she shared with Bastian. It was where she and the other girls had been getting ready to go out.
Sophie spotted her immediately. “It’s safe!” she assured. “I think Bastian finally got the hint that this party is for girls only.”
The tension causing her shoulders to hunch together fizzled away. “Thank God,” she muttered, stepping all the way out of the bathroom.
Sophie, Agnes, and even Penelope ogled her.
“Wow, you look awesome!” Agnes complimented.
Hoping that her blush at least matched her dress, Katherine shifted nervously as they stared. “Thanks, you all look great too.”
She wasn’t just saying so either. Agnes was wearing the tightest pair of pants Katherine had ever seen, paired with a stylishly frayed tank top, Penelope was wrapped in a skin tight black dress with chunky jewelry hanging from her ears and around her neck, and Sophie wore a practically see through white blouse and a short denim shirt.
Even in her flashy red dress, she fel
t a bit out of place amongst them. They all exuded such confidence – confidence she could only dream of, at least in her current get-up.
“Well, don’t just stand there, sweetie. Grab your bag and let’s get going,” Sophie ordered.
Katherine, still half worried that Bastian would barge in and have a coronary at the sight of her, immediately obliged.
Sophie had volunteered to drive the group of girls to the concert in Fort Saskatchewan so they all quickly loaded into Bastian’s SUV and took off. Three hours of Penelope’s incessant chatter later, they arrived. The sky was already changing from the light blue of the afternoon to the burnt orange and pale pink of the evening as they bought their tickets.
The concert was outdoors and the sky continued to darken as they found their seats. Soon enough, the opening act for the main attraction began to play. Then the band everyone had come to see – Tattered Dignity – ran onto the stage.
Katherine was reluctantly impressed as they started their first song. She and the rest of her friends were out of their seats, dancing and attempting to sing along to lyrics they’d never heard before by their second song. Sophie, the only one in their group old enough to buy alcohol, purchased her a fruity cocktail and shoved it into her unsuspecting hand sometime during the third song. After a bit of needling, Katherine caved and took a sip, pleasantly surprised by the sweet taste. She savored the cold drink as the band played two more songs.
She was feeling more relaxed than she had in a long time by the time the band began playing their sixth song of the night. It was a sappy one about love. Bastian’s face immediately popped into her head, and Katherine had to admit that despite the fun time she was having, an itty bitty part of her wished that he could have come with as well.
As the band left the stage to take a ten minute break, Katherine’s attention drifted towards her friends, and she fought an amused smile as she watched Penelope attempt to flirt with the trio of college boys who were in the seats directly behind them. Unfortunately for her, they seemed more interested in catching Sophie’s attention. The blonde was laughing at a lame pick-up line – “I thought angels had wings.” – when Katherine’s bladder suddenly felt a mere minute away from bursting.
Shy (Once Bitten, Twice Shy, #2) Page 21
