The Enigma (The Loup-Garou Series Book 1)

by Sheritta Bitikofer

  She giggled again and then said, “Good point. Are you any good at it?” Katey asked.

  “I think a loup-garou can never be bad at anything they put their hands to. Skills and talents become exponentially better once someone changes.”

  Katey sighed happily. “That would be awesome. I’d love to actually be good at something for once. I’m mediocre at everything I do.”

  Logan didn’t believe her. “I’m sure you’re an excellent ballroom dancer.”

  Katey shook her head, but wasn’t proud of it. “Nope. I’ve never really been good at anything in my life. Not even dancing. I don’t have any real talents.”

  Logan smiled, looking deep into her eyes, seeing the potential that shined out of them. “I’m sure we’ll discover it one day.”

  Katey watched him, admiring the kind of confidence he had in her. She wondered if what he saw was what Darren had mentioned the day before. Was there something about her that made her stand out in a crowd to them? She wished she could have their eyes and see what it was.

  “We probably do need to get inside though,” he added. “It’s getting a little cold and we need to study,” Logan said, looking up towards the clear blue sky and wisps of white clouds.

  “I’m not cold. And besides, it’s not like Mrs. Palmer’s going to come back out and tell us to leave. We can study here.”

  “Yes, I know, but I don’t want you to catch a cold.”

  “I won’t. Last time I was that sick was when I had strep throat in third grade.”

  Logan glowered back at Katey with these eyes that told her you’re so stubborn. Katey grinned and set a review sheet in her lap, ready to study.

  “Fine, you win, but at least take this.” Logan took off his leather jacket and wrapped it around her shoulders. Katey slid her arms through the sleeves and wrapped the huge coat tight around her.

  “This would be the second jacket you’ve given me.”

  “So? I didn’t lie when I said I had a ton of them.”

  Logan pulled out his music player again and flipped back to the album of Celtic melodies, handing her the left ear bud again.

  Chapter 17

  They studied and listened to Celtic music for what seemed like mere minutes, but in reality, hours had passed and the sun was beginning to dip below the tree line. It left little light for Katey to read by, but Logan wasn’t bothered by it in the least.

  They discussed back and forth about topics in Environmental Science and Human Geography and Logan even explained a little about Romeo and Juliet, explaining the real plot of the story. He explained it so well, it was like she was listening to the play itself, but translated into modern English.

  They quizzed each other back and forth about vocabulary in all the subjects. Of course, Logan didn’t even need the quizzing, it was Katey who was struggling to remember the intricate levels of the ecosystem. She was even forced to eat a slice of humble pie when Logan corrected her on a few math errors in her geometry review packet.

  But the study session wasn’t all serious. Conversations segued from school to anecdotes Logan would tell about the teachers and his early life before they moved to Crestucky.

  Katey learned that they had much more in common than she had ever been led to believe. To know more about Logan made him seem so much more human than loup-garou. They made mistakes just like anyone else. They weren’t gods or superior beings at all. They really are just people, she thought to herself. It was a surreal realization.

  Logan’s pocket suddenly vibrated and he pulled out his phone to answer.

  “Hello?” he answered through a laugh they were sharing. Katey covered her mouth to muffle her giggles and waited. “Yeah, we’ll be right there,” he said, then hung up the phone and looked over to her. His eyes seemed to reflect the streetlights and almost glowed in the diming light.

  “Was that the guys?” she asked, her face aching from all the smiling they’d been doing. She couldn’t remember the last time she had laughed so much.

  “Yes, they’re just down the road at the Azteca restaurant waiting for us,” he replied, gathering up the review packets and handing them over to her.

  “Us?” Katey questioned as she stuffed the papers into her bag and Logan put away his MP3 player.

  “Well, if you’d rather not join us, I’d understand,” he said casually, as if it wouldn’t bother him. But Katey knew well enough by now that it would.

  “No, it’s fine. I’m just not that hungry. But, I am thirsty.”

  “Azteca has drinks and I just happen to be going there. Care to join me, my lady?” he asked as he swiftly stood up and offered his hand out to her in a very noble fashion that no one has ever displayed in this day and age.

  Katey giggled. “Why yes I would, kind sir,” she replied as she faithfully put her hand in his and rose to her feet before attempting a curtsy. However, being the klutz that she was, Katey tripped over her own feet a bit. Luckily, Logan’s firm grip kept her upright.

  Despite her stumble, she couldn’t help but laugh at herself. Logan only smiled down at as they began walking to the deserted parking lot, their hands still entwined. Katey couldn’t see how the moment could get any better.

  “You know, you really are beautiful… especially when you smile.”

  That knocked Katey out of herself, feeling the magic of the moment fade with it her smile. “Why do you lie like that?” Katey asked

  “I do not lie. Or at least I try not to if I can help it,” he corrected himself, knowing he had lied more than a few times already.

  Katey let her hand slip from his as they approached his motorcycle. It was the only vehicle in the parking lot, the orange glow of the streetlamps blazing against the sleek black metal.

  “But I’m not beautiful. I have so many faults in my personality and in my appearance. I don’t see how anyone could think I’m beautiful or like me at all.”

  They stopped next to the bike and Logan gave her a questioning stare.

  “Well, I do…” They stared at each other for a tense moment, and then he caught himself in his words. “I mean, I do think you’re beautiful. And your future husband would be lucky to have you… Whoever that may be,” he said quickly and mounted his bike after slipping his helmet over his head.

  “Ha, that’s funny. Me, having a husband? No man in their right mind would want to have me as their wife. Besides, I gave up on the idea of marriage a long time ago,” Katey lied.

  She knew that she was falling for Logan, but she dared not tell him that. As he started up the engine she mounted and slid her helmet on.

  Logan paused and muttered. “That’s a shame.” Then, he zipped back onto the highway.

  Katey pondered what Logan had said before they left the library. Was he falling for me too? She pushed the thought out of her head, reminding herself that she was not remotely pretty and that no man is worth fighting for… but maybe… maybe Logan was worth it. She allowed herself to think that maybe it could work.

  If he was willing, and she would let her guard down a little more, could a loup-garou be with a human in that way? Surely it wasn’t anything new under the sun for them. If a loup-garou wanted companionship, they had no other choice but to turn to a human female. And Darren had said that one of the ways a loup-garou came into being was being born that way, inheriting their father’s condition. If loups-garous had operated this way since time began, then what was to say that she and Logan couldn’t do it in the same way?

  The other question remained. Would she be willing?

  When they arrived at Azteca only Ben was waiting for them on the bench just outside the front doors.

  “Normally,” Logan explained as they dismounted to join Ben, “at the end of the week we all go out to dinner, but we try to go to a place that has a private party room so we can eat without anyone staring. Plus, the teachers try to keep their relationship with each other on the sly so no one notices the connection.”

  Ben stood from the bench and the three of them wor
dlessly walked inside and down a hidden hallway to the party room. The large room had a long banquet table set up in the middle of it and Darren and Dustin were already seated, laughing about something as the three of them walked in. Darren sat at the head of the table, a place worthy of the alpha, while the rest of them sat along the sides. Katey, of course, set herself next to Logan. Katey didn’t even notice that she was still wearing Logan’s jacket until she began sweating. She slid it off her shoulders and hung the coat on the back of her chair.

  “Good to see you’re still in one piece, Katey Kat!” Dustin teased as he took a sip from the glass of water in front of him.

  “No reason she shouldn’t be,” Logan quipped.

  “We went ahead and ordered the combo fajitas for everyone,” Darren said. “I didn’t know what you’d want, Katey, so I just told the waiter to ask when you got here… And speak of the human, here he comes.”

  Katey looked over to the doorway and a short pudgy Mexican waiter hurried in with a notepad. The waiter took her order of chips, cheese dip and a glass of water.

  “So did you two study or just horse around all afternoon?” Darren asked after the waiter left.

  “We studied some,” Logan replied, crossing his arms over his chest.

  “And by horsing around, we mean any stuff you know we would be frowning upon,” Dustin added.

  Katey and Logan both answered a resounding “no” in unison. The teachers laughed as Katey and Logan exchanged embarrassed glances.

  “We’re just messing around,” Ben said. “Did you two have any problems with the reviews?”

  “No,” Logan replied. “Nothing besides the librarian trying to give us a hard time about sitting behind the building.”

  “You flashed some gold her way, didn’t you?” Dustin asked, giving him a furtive smile. Logan didn’t answer, but the teachers could read it in his eyes.

  “You know we don’t like it when you do that,” Darren scolded gently.

  Logan rolled his eyes. “It’s not like I ripped her open or anything.”

  “I know Mrs. Palmer,” Darren commented. “She’s a nice lady. Maybe a little old and senile, but nice.”

  “Are you kidding me?” Dustin interjected. “She’s got a broomstick up her arse if you ask me.”

  Katey stifled a snort and giggle, but Darren gave Dustin a glaring look, not appreciating his remark.

  The waiter came back in moments later with Katey’s chips, dip and three more glasses of water for the group. Katey thanked the waiter as he hurried out again and Darren turned to her.

  “So, are you used to us yet or is it a little too soon to tell?” he asked.

  Katey thought for a moment then looked between the men who were waiting for her answer. “Honestly, besides the obvious, it’s been pretty easy for me to forget what you all are.”

  “That’s good to hear,” Dustin said. “That means you’re getting used to this freak show.”

  The group was quiet as two waiters entered bringing their sizzling plates of steak, chicken and shrimp with grilled veggies mixed in.

  Katey was surprised to find that the guys ate with utensils as opposed to eating like wolves would.

  The teachers all talked about their day, the stupid things their students did and some gossip they heard about other teachers. It seemed strange how their conversations could be so casual. She wasn’t sure what to expect, but this wasn’t it. Katey had prepared herself for bad table manners and barbaric conversations about changing or how the deer population would affect their meal habits.

  “You seem very focused, Katey,” Ben said. “Something on your mind?”

  Katey sat back and shook her head like she was caught red-handed doing something she shouldn’t have been doing. “No, I’m just observing.”

  Dustin laughed heartily. “Ah, so we’re like wild animals to be studied now, huh?”

  Katey resisted the urge to become flustered, knowing that Dustin was only teasing her like he always did. “No, I’m just noticing a few things.”

  “Like what?” Logan asked, peered at her from the corner of his eye.

  Katey stumbled a bit, trying to formulate her explanation carefully so as not to offend them. “I’ve never seen any of you eat before, so I didn’t know what to expect. I half expected you to eat straight off the plates from your mouths like wolves do.”

  The four had a good laugh from that. Darren recovered, wiping his mouth with napkin. “No, we do have table manners.”

  “And also,” she continued, “you eat in a particular order. Darren took the first bite before everyone else and the rest followed in an order of Dustin, Logan, then Ben.”

  The teachers exchanged curious glances.

  “You know,” Dustin said, “After all these years, I never really noticed, but we do eat in order.” Then he shoveled another load of steak bits in his mouth.

  “It must be the wolf in us,” Darren reflected. “In a normal wolf pack, the alpha will eat first and then the rest of the pack follows. The omega is the last or gets the scraps.”

  “Does that mean that Ben is the omega?” Katey questioned.

  Darren shook his head. “We always considered Logan the omega since he’s so young and inexperienced.”

  “You mean that Logan’s been cutting me in eating order all these years?”

  “I’m not doing it on purpose!”

  Katey scrunched her shoulders. “I didn’t mean to start an argument, I was just observing.”

  Darren chuckled and nodded encouragingly. “It’s a good observation though.”

  Katey gingerly ate her chips and dip and fell silent for a while. Then, a thought plagued her mind so much she couldn’t contain it. “So, if I changed, then I’d be the omega?”

  The four men froze and looked to her. It was obvious they had either forgotten about the proposition of her becoming one of the pack or they weren’t expecting her to ask something like that out of the blue. Little did they know, Katey had been stewing on the decision ever since they mentioned it the day before. She hadn’t come to an answer yet, but she felt she was close.

  Darren sat back and nodded. “Yes, I suppose it would.”

  “By the way, is she ready to leave tonight?” Ben asked to change the subject.

  “I haven’t talk to her about it yet,” Logan replied.

  Katey looked wildly between them. “About what?”

  Logan smiled sweetly to her. “That was my surprise for you.”

  “No doubt you were there when I called him last night,” Darren began. “Well, he came home upset that I have set more limitations on him regarding how you two spend your time together. Dustin came up with a solution.”

  Katey turned to Dustin, who grinned. “I told him that he may not be allowed to go over to your house without a babysitter, but that you can come over to ours since there will always be two or more adults around to keep an eye on you two after school. And those adults happen to be able to hear a pin drop from across the house, so there is no way Logan will do something stupid.”

  She cocked her head to the side. “Stupid?”

  “Change you,” Ben stated.

  Katey clenched her jaws at the thought and cast her eyes down to her basket of chips. Logan rubbed his eyes in aggravation at the bluntness of the others.

  “Ben, don’t scare her,” Darren reprimanded. “Logan knows better than to do that without our permission, don’t you, Logan?”

  Logan sighed and looked up to his alpha. “I wouldn’t do it without her permission, that’s for sure.” Logan then looked over to Katey. “But, the reason I was up all night was because I was preparing a separate bedroom for you at the house. I decked it out in blue for you and everything.”

  “Blue?” she asked.

  Panic flashed over Logan’s expression. “You do like the color, don’t you? Your bag is blue and I’ve seen you were the color pretty often.”

  She grinned, glad that Logan was so attentive and thoughtful. “Yes, I do like the color
.” Katey looked to the others and shrugged. “Ok, so we’re talking about me coming to spend the weekend with four loups-garous… Sounds fun to me.” She took a bite of her chips.

  “Excellent,” Darren exclaimed, pushing back his plate from him. “After we’re all done here, you and Logan can do get whatever you’re going to need for the night and meet back at the house no later than midnight. Agreed?”

  Logan took a drink of his water. “Fine,” he murmured.

  Dustin pushed his plate away as well and Katey saw that the veggies on both of their plates were soaking in the savory juices. Katey daringly took her fork and stole some grilled green peppers and tomatoes from the plate. She hurriedly stuffed them in her mouth so they wouldn’t go to waste. She felt like an omega already, stealing the scraps from the other dominant wolves.

  “You can have the rest if you want Katey Kat. Since you’re the omnivore, you can take it all!” Dustin exclaimed. The teachers laughed at her expense.

  After Katey chewed the veggies and swallowed, she muttered, “Why do I feel like I’ve just been insulted?”

  Logan chuckled. “Don’t mind him. But you can have the rest if you want,” he said, pushing his plate towards her since he was finished.

  Katey only took one fork full from Logan’s plate, and then set her utensil down to keep herself from stealing more.

  They all finished their drinks and stood up to leave. Katey almost forgot to grab Logan’s jacket, but when she did she slid it back on and savored its warmth. Darren paid for her meal, as well as the others’. No doubt a responsibility of the alpha male.

  When they rejoined outside, Katey was about to walk across the parking lot to Logan’s bike when she heard a sharp whistle coming from down the plaza.

  Katey looked back and saw that Logan was motioning for her to follow as he and the teachers were walking down toward the grocery store.

  She hurried to catch up with them at the store’s front door. The lights were off and the door was locked.