Winter Wolf (A New Dawn Novel Book 1)

by Rachel M Raithby

  “Shut up! You’ll have the whole street awake!” the driver reprimanded.

  The truck stopped as Arne scrambled into the back, limping his way to Katalina’s side.

  “Good boy,” she murmured, slumping back down.

  Banging the roof, signaling go, the older boy looked down at her, brushing hair from her face, “Hey, I’m Cage, Cage Sinclair. I’ve waited a long time to meet you,” he smiled.

  The truck hit a bump in the road, sending a jolt of pain through her. She moaned as her head swam, falling back into Cage’s awaiting arms. Lifting an unsteady hand toward her head, she tried to ease the constant throbbing.

  “Shit, those bastards really hurt you. I’ll kill every last one of them for touching you,” he growled.

  Questions buzzed through her mind, who are you? How do you know my name? But none of them were voiced as she was pulled into unconsciousness.

  Chapter 2

  When Katalina woke, she was aware of three things: she was warm, she could hear Cage talking to unfamiliar people, and they knew her name.

  She didn’t open her eyes right away. First, she listened.

  “Is Katalina going to recover?” The voice was deep, gravelly, holding an agitated edge.

  “She’ll make a full recovery. Though it could be slow; the wolf hasn’t been triggered yet,” replied a soft and gentle female voice.

  “Will she have healed by the next full moon?” the gravelly voice asked.

  What are they talking about?

  “Probably not fully, but changing shouldn’t be too much of an issue,” said the female.

  “Cage, did you feel anything?” the gravelly-voiced man asked.

  “I…no, but she was injured and we needed to get away quickly. There wasn’t really time to bond. She passed out straight away,” Cage replied. He spoke with a soft rumble.

  He said he’d been waiting for me, what does he mean?

  “The dog? What shall we do with it?” the man asked.

  Arne?

  “It’s not left her side since she arrived,” said the female.

  “It was willing to attack a pack of wolves. I say leave it be. She seemed attached,” Cage replied.

  “Very well, Cage,” the man said, sounding bored, “Hang around. You need to be here when she wakes. Karen, if you’ll excuse me, I need to go and make sure we have enough protection on the place,” he said, his words were polite but his tone was anything but.

  Katalina heard footsteps growing distant.

  “I can tell you’re awake,” a voice, young, soft and not yet rough with age said close to her.

  Startled, she shot up, groaning as a wave of dizziness overtook her. “Whoa, take it easy, Kat. Do you mind if I call you Kat? Katalina is such a mouthful.”

  Laying back down, Katalina rubbed Arne’s head to settle him. He lay at the end of the bed she was in, his eyes watchful of the boy in the room.

  “You’re the one who rescued me,” Katalina mumbled, recognizing the young boy.

  “Yep, I’m Toby.” His hair was a sandy brown. It fell forward in messy layers, skimming the top of his blue eyes.

  “How’d you know my name?” Katalina asked.

  “Oh, erm, well… maybe I shouldn’t be the one to explain,” he whispered, and then motioned toward the door, mouthing people were listening.

  “Please?” Katalina whispered.

  “Urgh, okay. Well, that man outside who was speaking, he’s your father… I mean your biological father.”

  “What?” Katalina practically screamed.

  “Shush,” Toby hissed, looking toward the door. “Look, Kat, I’m not even supposed to be in here. I don’t know all the facts. I—”

  Toby shut up as the door opened, his eyes widening before relaxing when he saw who it was.

  “Katalina? Who are you…? Oh, I should have known you’d sneak back in here! Toby, Graham told you to go back home.” Katalina couldn’t see him because of the door, but she recognized his voice as the young man from before.

  “What and miss out on all the action!” Toby whined.

  Katalina dragged herself upright in the bed. Arne moved from the end of the bed to beside her, his eyes trained on the door.

  The door closed as Cage stepped into the room. She was positive that he and Toby were brothers. They shared the same messy, choppy hair, though Cage’s was shorter. Their eyes were the same shape, but different shades of blue, their features similar. Cage had the bulkier frame of a young man on the cusp of adulthood, while Toby still held the lankiness of youth; although, he was as tall as his older brother.

  Cage glanced at her dog and laughed, “Possessive, isn’t he?”

  Katalina put her hand around Arne and looked at Cage. “Tell me what the hell is going on!” she snapped, needing to know some answers to the hundred questions fogging her mind.

  “Wow, okay, no small talk then.” He smiled again, but when Katarina didn’t return it, he rubbed the back of his neck nervously. “Toby, beat it!”

  “Awe, come on, Bro. I wanna see what Kat thinks of the story.”

  “Kat?”

  “Yeah, me and Kat are friends, hey?” Toby replied with a smug smile.

  Katalina glared at Toby but couldn’t help the small smile that crept onto her face. He had such a cheeky smile and the young carefree glint of a boy who’d not seen the horrors of the world yet.

  Fist pumping the air, he walked to the door. “Ha! I got a smile! Catch ya later, Kat.”

  “So?” Katalina said after Toby left.

  Cage approached the bed only to be met by a growl. “Right, okay,” he mumbled, rubbing his neck again. “I’ll sit over here. That okay with you?” He directed at the dog. “Okay…well, I’m Cage.”

  “You told me that in the truck. Explain how you turn into…into…”

  “Wolves? Yeah, I can see how that's a bit hard to grasp. I’m a shifter. I can change whenever I like, not just by the moon. Although, when you change for the first time, it’s always on the full moon. I was born a shifter and so were my parents. I come from a long line of pure wolves…and so do you.”

  “Wait. What?” Katalina swallowed the bile in her throat. This is crazy. Wolf shifters are not real.

  “Shit, sorry, I’m not breaking this to you very well, am I? You are a shifter, Katalina.”

  “No, I’m not! I think I would have noticed if I turned into a wolf.”

  “You’ve never lived with the pack, so the change hasn’t been triggered yet. Your parents, they’re shifters. They gave you away so you’d be safe. There are people who want to hurt you.”

  “Abandoned me on a doorstep, you mean!” She felt a lifelong scar surface, one she’d thought she’d dealt with a long time ago.

  “I…well, that’s between you and them.”

  “Where do you fit into this, Cage? Why did that man tell you to hang around?”

  “Let me explain the situation first. There are two wolf packs in Michigan. This one, River Run, and the one who attacked you, Dark Shadow. We’ve been enemies for a long time, since before you were born, but the hate escalated when you were a baby. They’ve been trying to kill off our purebred lines and have pretty much succeeded. Yours and mine are the only ones left. You see, shifters can be born, or created from a bite, the purer the lines the stronger the wolf. Shifters who are born are always stronger than those created, but as the genes are mixed with humans, the wolf becomes weaker. That’s why pure bloods are so important, necessary for our survival.”

  Realization dawned on Katalina. “Wait a minute. You’re not saying I’ve been brought here because you want me to have little wolf babies with you!”

  “Erm, I, well, it’s not the only reason. Your father always intended to bring you back when you turned eighteen.”

  “My parents were murdered last night! All because you are wanting to breed pure-bred wolves?” They died because I’m a wolf shifter. She blinked back her tears, gripping the sheets on the bed.

  “I’m sorry, Kat.
Your father is the alpha, our leader. He decides. I…we never wanted for that to happen. Your adoptive parents were never supposed to get hurt. The other pack found out your location and we didn’t know until it was too late.”

  “Hurt? They’re dead! Get out!” Her body shook, tears collecting in her eyes, but she refused to let them fall. She refused to allow Cage to see.

  “Kat…” he murmured, reaching out for her.

  She looked at his waiting embrace, wanting so desperately for him to be her parents. He might have saved her, she may have felt safe in his arms, but it was because of his kind, her parents were dead. Because of my kind.

  “Don’t call me that. You’ve not earned the right to call me that! GET OUT! GET OUT!”

  Arne barked, jumping down from the bed, backing Cage toward the door.

  “Katalina, please, I haven’t much choice in this either,” Cage pleaded.

  Her anger left as quickly as it came. A tear trickled down her face as she looked at Cage, looking as distressed as she felt. Sighing, she croaked, “I just want to be alone.”

  Arne had him backed up against the door. Cage had no choice but to leave, his hand fumbling behind him for the handle. Katalina relaxed a fraction as the door opened with a click. However, someone else barged in. Cage jumped to the side to avoid a collision.

  “What the hell is going on?” the man who’d barged in asked, anger evident in every strained tendon throughout his body.

  Cage looked at the open door and back to Katalina. “Meet your father.” He gave her an apologetic look before dashing out the room.

  “Cage!” the man shouted, staring after him.

  Katalina looked at the man who claimed to be her biological father. He looked nothing like her. His hair was red and his eyes green. She’d always thought she’d feel a connection if she ever met the people who made her, but she felt nothing looking at this man. He was a stranger and at that moment, she hated him more than anything else.

  His eyes focused on her. “What are you shouting about?” he snapped.

  Is he for real?

  “I want to be alone. Get out!” she snapped back.

  “Do not talk to me that way. I’m your father. You’ll do as I say.”

  Katalina nearly laughed at the audacity of this man. “You are not my father! My parents are dead because of you. You have no right to say anything to me. Now, GET OUT!”

  “Your adoptive parents are dead because of Dark Shadow. You would be too if not for me sending help.” His gravelly voice grated against her skin.

  “They only came after me because you decided it was convenient to have me back. What kind of father gives his daughter away until he decides he’d like her back to breed? You’re sick and you’ll never be my father. My dad raised me. He was there for me when I was hurt or upset. He took me to the doctors when I was sick. My dad supported me. You have no idea what it means to be a father. You claim to have given me DNA, but you look nothing like me. I don’t want to know you, so leave me alone.” She glared at him with hostility, feeling breathless, and with her heart hammering in her chest. Closing her trembling hands into tight fists, Katalina waited for him to leave.

  He stared, looking a little lost, as if no one had ever spoken to him that way. He looked as if he contemplated shouting again, but then appeared to think twice about it. Turning sharply for the door, he paused before he stepped over the threshold. Looking back with haunted green eyes, he said, “No, you look just like your mother and she died protecting you. I may have given you away, but it was the only way I could think of…to protect you.”

  He left and Katalina slumped back, angrily. She cried out in pain. The tears she’d been holding back burst from her eyes. With a trembling hand, she gingerly touched her wounded side, running fingers over the fabric of the dressing.

  Arne jumped back on the bed and licked her face. He lay back beside her and she buried her head against his fur. “At least I still have you, hey, boy,” she whispered through her sobs.

  As she stroked his fur, Katalina realized he was covered in bite marks. She looked up and scanned the room; on the far side were medical supplies. As carefully as she could, avoiding hurting herself further, she slipped from the bed. Gingerly testing how much weight her injured leg could take, she hobbled over to the tray, Arne following.

  “Let’s fix you up, my brave boy,” she whispered.

  After wiping away as much blood and dirt as possible, she covered what wounds she could and stood, surveying her handiwork. “Not a bad job, aye, boy?”

  Pausing, she tilted her head when she heard the rumble of arguing below her. “Let’s get out of here, Arne. I’ve seen and heard enough.” She found clothes and boots set out on a chair for her, and after checking she couldn’t hear anyone behind the door, she quietly opened it. Slipping out and making her way slowly toward the stairs, her leg slowing her down. She bit down on her lip to keep from gasping in pain.

  She’d made it down the stairs and to the front door, her dog on her heels, without being seen. Her hand slowly inched the door handle down, pulling it toward her as voices drifted through the door at the end of the hall. The door creaked as it fully opened. Katalina froze, not daring to breathe, but their conversation carried on.

  “What did you say to her, Cage?” her father shouted.

  “Nothing. I just told her the truth,” Cage replied, his voice irritated and sharp.

  “Now, Jackson, give her some time to adjust. She’s been through a lot.” This was the female voice from earlier – Karen.

  “This is such a mess! I wanted you to help her adjust, Cage, but all you’ve done is made her think I want her for nothing other than her bloodline.”

  “Well, that’s all you want her for, isn’t it? Hell, that’s all you want me for. Did any of you ever think I’d maybe like to choose who I am with?”

  “Cage!” another female gasped.

  “No, mother, I’ve had enough! Katalina has every right to be upset. I understand why she was given away, but she’s lost her parents and she’s just been told she is a shifter, yet you want me to be all, Hi, I’m Cage. Will you have babies with me? It’s fucking stupid!”

  The door at the end of the hall opened. Cage stormed out, his face red and fists clenched. His angry steps faltered as his eyes met hers. Kat stared, her brain blank, trapped in his gaze. Her heart beat a thousand time per minute, lips parted, no words came out.

  Cage’s finger came to his lips, signaling for her to be quiet. He nodded and gestured for her to go outside. Pulling the door open, he followed her out. Taking her hand, he led her into the trees surrounding the house.

  “Where were you going?” he asked when they’d ventured further into the trees.

  Katalina snapped out of her daze and went on the defensive. “Why, are you going to tell them?” she countered crossing her arms.

  “No.”

  “Oh.” Her arms dropped limply to her side. She felt kind of mean for being so snappy with him. From what she’d heard, he was in just as bad a position as her. “Well, I want to go home.”

  He studied her for a minute, his eyes focusing on her injured parts before coming to a stop on her face. “Okay then, if you follow this tree line until you reach the road, it’s about a five-mile walk to the nearest bus stop. I’ve no idea when the next gets in. If you haven’t noticed already, we’re in the middle of nowhere. It’s at least a half-day’s drive. I’d drive you myself but they’d notice if I took a car.” He rummaged around in his jeans pocket. “Here, it’s all I’ve got on me, but it should pay for the bus ride home and some food.”

  “Why are you helping me?”

  “One of us should get to choose our life. I’m sorry if I upset you. I’ve been told my whole life we were meant to be together. I suppose I was just so excited to finally meet this girl everyone had always told me about.”

  “So you were just happy to do as they told you?”

  He considered her question with a frown. “I was brought up d
ifferently to you, Katalina, and, well, I wouldn’t mind belonging to someone as beautiful as you.” Cage brushed his thumb gently over her cheek and quickly dropped it, as if realizing what he’d done. “Be safe, Katalina Winter,” he whispered.

  Katalina stood and watched him run deeper into the forest. He jumped and changed into a wolf before his feet hit the ground again. Her mind reeled. Part of her wanted to get to know Cage, the other rebelled against doing as she was ordered. For a second, she stared at the miracle she’d just witnessed, transfixed with the wolf becoming smaller and smaller in the distance, until Arne whined and nudged at her leg.

  “Okay, okay, let’s get out of here.” Katalina took one last look at the wolf, just the tiniest speck in the distance, before turning and walking away.

  Chapter 3

  “Shit!” Her leg gave way under her. Katalina sprawled face first into the snow, the cold shocking the breath from her. She lay in the piercing cold, feeling the snow bite into her fingers, the chill frigid against her skin. “What was I thinking, boy?” she asked her dog as she sat up with a grunt. “I’m never going to make it to the bus stop, and even if I did, they’d never let you on anyway.”

  It was tempting to lie back down and not move, to allow the snow to numb her body to the point beyond pain. A trickle of wetness rolled down her face. Katalina so desperately wanted to be home, in her family’s front room, watching TV. The fire roaring, its crackle and hiss the homiest of sounds. Only Katalina could never have that again. She’d never have the chance to go on another Sunday family dinner, or listen to her parents’ playful banter. She buried her head in her hands, tears dripping through her fingers and freezing on the snow. Arne whined, trying to comfort her with a lick and nudge.

  “I know, boy,” she mumbled through her broken sobs, “I know.”

  There was a rustle up ahead, further into the woods. Katalina lifted her head, squinting into the gloom of the trees. She scanned the area for movement. Arne growled low, the slightest of rumbles vibrating up his chest. Slowly, she climbed to her feet, her eyes never leaving the woods.