Part ten: Fine then, I'll dress like a girl. 

Damian pulled me into his room, and I was slightly nervous. My parents left after getting a call from work – they were on a break and came here for lunch when we got home from school. They were a little apprehensive about leaving me alone in the house with Damian, but they decided they didn’t have much control over me anymore since I was eighteen and Damian was my mate.

I looked around; Damian’s room was just as I’d expected it, neat and clean. For being a controlling bastard – most of the time – he was always clean. The walls were dark green, the floors, a dark kind of reddish-brown color. His bed was a large, queen size, with an intimidating, dark brown, slay bed, bedframe. A dresser that matched the headboard perfectly sat against the wall across from the bed.

“This is…nice.” I said slowly.

I looked over at him and realized he was leaning against the pane of his window, watching me with dark eyes and a strange expression. “Thank you.”

I walked over to the bed and touched the smooth, shiny wood of the headboard. “You sure do keep things organized.” I commented.

“I’m an organized person…or I was until I met you.” He said, a grin beginning to form on his lips.

“What did I do?” I asked, trying to think over all my encounters with him in my mind, to find something that I said that changed him.

“When you entered my life, my once perfectly organized, file cabinet of a mind became nothing but a mess of confetti. You shredded any other thoughts and threw them into the back of my mind. Meaning that I could think of nothing but you, and I still can’t. It’s frustrating and…wonderful.” He said softly. “For the first and last time, I’m in absolute, unconditional love. I don’t understand what I’m feeling most of the time; this is all so new to me.” His grin softened into a light smile.

“What do you mean last time?” I asked him.

“I mean that I probably won’t be falling in love again – at least like this – for the rest of my life.” He said.

I almost couldn’t believe what I was hearing. Before I’d met the pack, I’d been told that Damian was a fierce, strict, and very dangerous Alpha, with a heart like stone and a face to match. I hadn’t known he’d be so handsome and…so sweet. My mind was swimming with thoughts and emotions, going so fast around my head that I couldn’t process them. Before I realized that he’d crept closer, he had an arm around my waist and was prying my hand from the headboard, which I’d had a white knuckled grip on. “Cat, you look a little pale.” He said softly, but I could hear worry behind the gentle tone.

“I-I’m okay. I just…this is a lot to take in.” I said, pushing away from him.

Did I even want a relationship? I’d been told I was loved before, but I was never told I was loved like…that. I’d been figuratively stabbed in the heart so much that it was bleeding and damaged, and its feelings were jumbled. I had no idea what to feel around people that wanted more than friendship. And even then…I was afraid. The only reason Trevor ever got to be my friend, let alone my best friend, was because he never gave up. He’d talk to me, even when I never talked back. Eventually, I warmed up to him. And now look where he was, he wouldn’t even look at me now.

“Cat, I won’t hurt you like that.” Damian said softly, as if reading my mind.

“How do you know that?” I asked in a whisper.

“Because I care about you, I want to be with you, I want to love you in a way the others never did. I want to be your friend, your companion, and your lover. I want to be there for you when you’re hurting, even when my anger for those who hurt you struggles to take control. I won’t walk away from you again.” He promised, grasping my shoulders and pulling me close to him again.

I resisted him once again, pushing my hands against his chest, but this time he wouldn’t let me go. “That’s what Trevor said. Trevor promised he would be there for me…but look at him now.” I said.

“I’m not Trevor, nor am I Carter or Laurence. I won’t Hurt you.” he insisted, staring into my eyes.

I sighed and pushed away from him once more. This time he let me go without a fight. “I’m sorry…I just can’t.” I whispered.

“Wait.” His voice stopped me as I touched the handle to his door. “Please…don’t go. Stay with me…if not as my lover, than as my friend.” He said softly.

I turned, surprise the dominant emotion on my face. I’d never heard his voice so…desperate. He was usually so confident, so cocky in his ways. His eyebrows were furrowed, his lips turned down in a small frown. I could see the hurt on his face, and immediately felt guilt overwhelm my fear of being hurt. I hadn’t meant to hurt him.

“Okay.” I whispered gently.

His face immediately brightened and he smiled. He walked over and grabbed my hand. “We can just talk until everyone gets home from school.” He said.

We both fell on the bed, and he put his hands behind his head, staring up at the ceiling. We sat in silence, both of us waiting for the other to say something. “Damian?” I whispered.

“Yeah.” he whispered back.

“Tell me something about you that no one knows.” I said softly.

“Okay… My mom and dad aren’t my biological parents.” He said softly back.

I thought about that for a moment before looking at Damian. “When did you find out?”

“When I met my real parents…at the cemetery.”

Before I realized what I was doing, I turned on my side and cuddled into him, putting my hand on his chest. “I’m sorry, Damian.”

He wrapped an arm around my waist to keep me there. “I was saddened…but I didn’t know them. My parents never even hinted that I was not loved because I wasn’t theirs, even with my brother-“

“You have a brother?” I asked.

He smiled. “Yes. His name is Victor. He lives in New York, decided to have his own life instead of living with the pack. He comes to visit every once in a while.”

“Does he have a mate?”

“No.”

“Oh. I hope to meet him someday, and your parents.” I said, resting my head on his shoulder and closing my eyes.

“You will, love.” He promised, tightening his arm around me.

I realized the position we were in wasn’t one of friends, I’d meant it for comfort…but I was so comfortable and warm here…I didn’t want to move. “Cat…?”

“Yeah, Damian?”

“Why are you afraid of letting me be with you?”

I sucked in a deep breath and let it out in a whoosh. “Because…every time I let someone into my life I screw up, or…they screw up.”

“You could never screw up; your faults only make me love you more. And as for me screwing up…” he paused for a minute, staring into my eyes. “I won’t.”

The way he said it, with so much conviction and honesty, the way his eyes were so earnest, I knew he wouldn’t. I put my hand on his cheek and smiled slightly. “I know.”

He tightened his arm and pulled me up so he could press his lips to my forehead. This was when I realized that I wasn’t just afraid to be hurt, I was afraid of losing Damian. Everyone I ever let into my life leaves me. Trevor, the only one I ever truly let into my life, won’t even talk to me now.

I was afraid of living life because of my past. I sighed and closed my eyes again, placing a soft kiss on his neck. “I’m sorry. I’m just…I’m just afraid, you know?” I asked him softly.

“I know, Love.” He pulled my face up and placed a soft kiss on my lips. “I know.”

I smiled and cuddled closer to him, he lifted his arm and played with my hair, it was so soft and comforting that I felt myself drifting off to sleep in his arms.

“Cat…wake up, Love.” I struggled awake to the sound of Damian’s deep voice.

I opened my eyes and looked up at him, meeting his bright blue eyes. “Hmm?” I asked on a sigh as I stretched my arms above me.

He was leaning over me, one arm on each side of me. “Everyone is home from school. I’ve explained to them why you passed out, but there is someone I’d like you to meet.” He said, a small smile tugging at the corners of his lips.

I nodded slightly. “Alright.”

He helped me up from the bed, but as soon as I was standing, he pulled me into him and pressed his lips to mine. I ran my hands up his chest and played with the hairs on the nape of his neck with one hand, while the other tangled into his hair.

He pulled away and smiled, his breathing only slightly heavy. “Let’s go before they think we ran away.”

“Wait…who?” I asked as he pulled me through the door.

He chuckled, stopping and combing his fingers through my hair and pressing his lips to my forehead. “You’ll see, love.”

I’d never seen him so happy. He was smiling hugely, and his eyes were twinkling with delight. He pulled me downstairs and I stopped cold as two people, a man and a woman, looked up from where they conversed with the pack.

The woman had chocolate brown eyes. The man had raven sandy blonde hair. The man was handsome, and didn’t look a day over twenty. The woman looked more like nineteen. They both looked up and smiled when we entered.

“Damian, she is more beautiful than I imagined!” The woman said.

I was suddenly tackled in a hug with inhuman speed. It took a lot to keep myself on my feet, but I managed. “We’ve been waiting for Damian to find you!” she squealed in my ear.

She had me in a bear hug, and I was afraid I was going to suffocate. “Mom, you’re going to suffocate her!” Damian said in alarm as I frantically pat her back.

She let me go and I sucked in a deep breath. Damian pulled me into his side, smiling in amusement. “I’m alright.” I said when I caught my breath.

“Cat, this wonderful woman is Julianne, my mother. And this is my father, Cameron. Dad, Mom, this is Cat, my mate.” Damian introduced.

Damian’s father, Cameron, stood and walked toward me, he stopped a few feet away and looked me over, he then looked up and met my eyes. After a few long seconds, he smiled and looked at Damian. “I like her.”

Damian smiled brightly. “So where is Victor?” he asked them.

Mom and dad looked around, as if looking for someone. “He was here a second ago; he might’ve gone out to the car to get something.” Cameron said.

I looked up at Damian in confusion, his brother? “My parents heard about my finding you, and called Victor, who decided to fly home.” He explained softly.

“Okay, who has my-“ a man, probably Damian’s age came in, and he stopped speaking as soon as he saw me. I had a wave of déjà vu.

“Victor, this is my mate-“

“Cat.” Victor smiled.

“Vic! Who’d have known it was you!” I laughed.

We walked towards each other and pulled me into a big affectionate bear hug. “How long’s it been, Cat? Has to have been three years, right?” he asked when he set me down.

I nodded. “Right! The vacation to New York was three years ago. God, it’s good to see you!”

“Cat…you know Victor?” Damian asked from behind me.

I turned to Damian with a smile. “I took a Vacation to New York with mom a few years ago. Vic and I ran into each other at the train station, so, being a fellow wolf, he decided to show me around!” I explained.

“And you didn’t think to ask what pack he was a part of?” Damian asked, his voice getting dark.

I shrugged. “It didn’t cross my mind. Besides, it’s not like he hurt me or anything. We actually became good friends.”

“And apparently you’re going to be my sister, huh?” he nudged me.

I laughed and punched his shoulder. “And then you’ll have to deal with me for more than just a week.”

“Cat, can I speak with you for a second?” Damian asked, and I recognized the voice, he was in Alpha mode.

I looked at him in confusion, but shrugged. “Okay.”

He pulled me through the kitchen and out the back door, only stopping when we reached the far end of the porch. “Are you insane?” he asked incredulously when he turned to me.

I furrowed my eyebrows. “What’s your problem, Damian?”

“You met a strange wolf, in a strange city, and just let him take you by the arm and show you around alone?”

“Obviously he wasn’t that strange, it was your brother, Damian, and that was a long time ago.”

“You’re not seeing my point here. Every wolf you meet that is not affiliated with this pack is a danger. No matter who it is, if you meet one, he is likely to tell his pack, and they will kill you on sight.” He growled.

I glared at him. “Well it’s not like I’m going to be talking to any other wolves anytime soon! That was a one-time thing! It’s not like I’m going to go waltzing up to a wolf and say ‘hi! I’m new here, can you show me around?’ I’m not that stupid, Damian!”

“Apparently you are because you did it once!” he snarled, his eyes turning black.

This stopped me from speaking. I stared at him in hurt. “I’m so glad you think of me that way, Damian.” I said, my tone dripping with sarcasm.

His eyes faded back to blue and I immediately saw the regret in his eyes. “Cat, you know I didn’t mean that.” He sighed.

“No, actually I don’t know that, Damian.” I said, turning and walking away.

“Cat, where are you going?” he grabbed my arm, spinning me around.

“I’m walking home, or do you think I’m too stupid? Do you think I’ll catch a ride with a strange wolf?”

I ripped my arm from his grasp and kept walking. I pulled out my phone to call Trevor, but realized Trevor was here, and probably didn’t want to speak to me. I sighed and called my brother instead, I wasn’t walking the full hour.

“Hello.” My brothers’ voice came in on the other line.

“Hey, do you think you can pick me up? I’m at the pack house.” I said.

“How did you get there, don’t you have your car?” Riley asked.

I sighed. “I, uhm, I took a ride with Damian.” I muttered.

“Ah.” He seemed to understand.

“Yeah.”

“I’ll be right there.”

“Thanks, squirt.”

“Yeah, yeah, twerp.” He muttered.

A few minutes after I disconnected with Riley, I got a call…from Trevor. I bit my lip as I saw the ID, wondering if I should answer it. I sighed, no reason not to.

“Hey.”

“Cat…where are you? Damian said you had an emergency and you had to leave.” Trevor said.

“Well it’s not like you would care. I mean my own best friend shouldn’t care about my wellbeing, should he?” I hadn’t meant to say it, but my anger and frustration got the better of me.

I heard his sigh. “Cat…I’m sorry, alright? I just felt betrayed. I felt lied to. You were able to tell Derik…but not your own best friend? I mean, how does someone deal with that?”

I felt my anger heighten. “Well if you would have talked to me instead of jumping to conclusions I would have told you what really happened! Derik would have been the last person on earth to know about it, but he happened to find me walking home that day with blood all over me! I made him promise me that he’d never, ever, under any circumstances tell a soul. I didn’t want anyone to know about this because I was a stupid eleven year old girl. What, did you expect me to just walk up to you and say, ‘hey, I was raped yesterday, just so you know?’ That’s not how it works, Trevor.” And I disconnected.

I was angry, not just angry, I was frustrated and having the forest around me was making Lorry anxious. She wanted to run. Screw running with a pack; I didn’t care if the vampires found me. I walked into the forest and stripped my clothes off, shifting into my wolf form. I shook out my dark red coat and sank my claws into the damp earth beneath me. I felt Lorry smile at the freedom. We took off running, both of us feeling exhilarated as the wind blew by.

I ran until I reached a clearing and skidded to a stop, digging my claws into the ground to slow me down. It was a huge clearing, with a large hill. I trotted to the top of the hill and leisurely sank down on my haunches, watching as two, pure white birds landed in front of me and watched curiously. I leaned my head down close to one of the birds and sniffed at it. It surprised me that it didn’t fly away, it took my scrutiny bravely. I slowly cocked my head to the side and the bird mimicked my movement. Its pitch black eyes were more intelligent than I expected.

The bird looked sharply behind me and flew away with a warning call to its companion, whom flew off with him. I spun around, just in time to be hit by a body. We went rolling down the hill, scratching, snarling, and biting at each other every chance we got. The vampire was strong, but I was stronger, when we rolled to a stop at the bottom of the hill, he bit into my neck and I howled in pain. I rolled on top of him and pinned him down with my paws, snarling in his face.

“Stop, young one. Do not kill the boy.” The Wolven Goddesses voice echoed in my head and I blinked a few times.

The vampires face turned from anger to realization, and then pleading. “Do not punish me, Wolven Goddess, for I did not know.” He begged.

“I will not punish you, my son. You may go and tell your coven of what you’ve seen.” The words came out of my wolf mouth, the voice was mine, but the words weren’t.

I slowly backed off of the vampire boy, and he sat up. He quickly scrambled to his feet and bowed from the waist. “Thank you, my dear mother.” He said quickly.

The vampire scurried from the clearing, and I sat down to lick my wounds. But before I even lifted my bleeding paw, I was tackled again. I yelped in pain as I was pinned down by non-other than Damian.

‘Are you insane? You could have gotten yourself killed!’ he snarled through the bond.

I wriggled a little bit and snarled at him. ‘I was fine!’

‘I swear if you weren’t my mate I’d-‘

‘You’d what? Outcast me? Tell me I was a fool and send me off like you did with Gabriel?’ I snapped.

His gaze darkened. ‘How did you know about that?’

‘You can’t keep everything from me, Damian. I’m not stupid.” I pushed him off of me and got up, shaking myself off. “I met him at the beach. He told me about your little…confrontation.’ I said.

I trotted up the hill, wincing as pain shot through my healing paw, causing a small limp. ‘That was necessary, I had to assert dominance, he called me an incompetent Alpha.’

‘Yeah, well did you ever stop to think maybe he was right?’ I asked without turning.

He didn’t answer.

I stopped and turned to look at him. And he stared at me with unreadable eyes. ‘Every day.’ He whispered.

This shocked me. I hadn’t meant for my words to be so harsh, and it seemed I’d struck a nerve. ‘Listen, I didn’t mean that. I-I’m sorry. I have to go.’ I muttered.

I turned away from him and took off up the hill, running to the other side and into the forest where my clothes hung from a branch. I shifted and slipped my clothes on, wincing as the gash on my wrist healed the rest of the way, a healing wound hurts like hell. The bite marks on my neck healed a while ago.

I walked out of the forest just as Riley came speeding down the road. He skidded to a stop after zooming passed me and jumped out of the car. “What are you doing out here?” he asked me.

“I couldn’t stay at the house.” I shrugged.

“You have dirt on your face and arms.” He said suspiciously.

“My wolf wanted to run…and I kind of got attacked by a vampire-“

“What?” he yelled.

“I’ll tell you later, can we just go home?” I asked him pleadingly.

His lips pressed into a thin line, but he nodded. “Fine.”

He walked me to the car and opened the door for me. I thanked him and jumped in. Riley was walking around the car when his phone rang. He gave me the one minute sign when he answered. I sighed and opened the sun shade, planning to check my face in the mirror. I grimaced; it looked like someone threw mud in my face. I couldn’t imagine what my legs looked like.

My hair was tangled and messy. I sighed, searching through Riley’s glove compartment for the brush I knew he had. The boy cared more for his hair than he did his own life.

“Ah-ha!” I exclaimed when I found it, buried at the back.

I looked back up at the mirror and yelped as a face came into view behind me. “Hello dear. I just had to see for myself. My son was so excited that he had to be telling the truth. It seems he was.” The vampire was hiding it’s scent. How it got into the car without me hearing it was beyond me.

“So you’re going to leave my pack alone?” I asked him, my voice and eyes guarded.

“Ah, yes, you see it’s more complicated than that, dear Goddess. They killed my daughter. She was the only female I had left in the coven, and now, I’m afraid, I must get my revenge.”

I spun around in my seat to look at him, but he was nowhere to be seen. The driver’s side door slamming shut startled me and I looked at Riley. He cocked his head to the side at my expression.

“What’s wrong, sis?” he asked me.

“I-I…nothing.” I mumbled.

I looked in the mirror, just to make sure, but he wasn’t there either. I ran the brush through my hair, staring at the mirror in thoughtful silence as I did.

I got home and practically fell on the couch, groaning in relief at the beautiful, comfortable leather. Mom and dad were gone, and Riley told me he had to so see Lily, so I was home alone, and I couldn’t be happier. I haven’t been alone in a long time, and sometimes, both Lorry and I craved alone time.

I closed my eyes and started humming a song that my mom used to sing to me when I was little. These Little Dreams is what she called it. She played the piano for a while and loved to compose her own songs. I’d sit beside her while she composed them, and she’d teach me how to play them…

I was dragged awake by my alarm clock, and I groaned. I threw my pillow over my head to drown out the sound, and sighed when it didn’t work. I slammed my hand down on the snooze button and smiled slightly at the silence that emanated through the room. A knock sounded at my door. “Sweetheart, it’s about time for school.” Mom said.

I groaned and started beating myself in the face with my pillow. “No! school can die a horrible death for all I care!” I exclaimed.

I heard her soft laugh as it faded down the hall. I sat up and immediately pulled my hair back, tying it up with the hair band around my wrist. I jumped from the bed and walked into my closet, humming happily to myself as I unconsciously went for my tom boy clothes. A hand caught my wrist just before I touched the shirt.

“What did I say about that?” Damian’s voice was dark and playfully threatening in my ear.

I turned and glared at him. “I’m not your slave, and I can wear what I want.” I insisted, trying to remove my hand from his grasp, it only tightened.

“As I recall, that was an order.” He smirked.

I growled and ripped my wrist from his grasp. “Fine. Get out so I can change.” I ordered.

He smiled, touched his hand to his forehead and brought it down in two swirls, bowing slightly from the waist. “As you wish, my love.”

I waited until I was sure he left before smiling an evil smile. He wants me to dress like a girl? Fine then, I'll dress like a girl.

I grabbed a short black skirt from the shelf above the hanging rod, it reached about mid-thigh and it was something I wouldn’t have touched with a ten foot pole…until now, that is. I put on a low cut, white shirt that was so see-through it needed an undershirt, and to top it all off, a pair of black, leather, knee high boots.

I poked my head out of the closet door, making sure Damian wasn’t in the room, before flouncing out. I sat down at my vanity and picked up my eye shadow, brushing on a smoky eye look with perfect precision. I put on some black eyeliner and mascara, shouldered my bag, and sashayed out of the room. The blinds were open all over the house, bright, golden light filtering in. Mom had a duster in her hand, humming beautifully to herself as she swept gracefully by.

“Going on a cleaning spree, mom?” I asked her as I grabbed an apple.

“The house is a mess! And it’s almost spring, spring cleaning is very important.” She said.

I smiled and rolled my eyes. The house wasn’t at all dirty, every nook and cranny was spotless. Mom actually looked at me for the first time. “Goodness me! You look like those girls you always talk about…what do you call them?” she asked me.

“A slut?” I asked hopefully.

“No…a tramp, that was what you called them.” She said.

Damn. Tramps weren’t as bad as sluts, I was planning on making Damian angry, I guess this would have to suffice. I shot mom a salute and headed out the door, Riley must have stayed over at the pack house; I didn’t see his car. I did see a sleek, black, sexy-looking motorcycle sitting in front of the house, Damian leaned on my car.

“What the hell are you wearing?” he asked incredulously as I approached.

I gave him a fake pout. “You wanted me to dress like a girl, remember?” I asked him, running the tips of my fingers across his chest as I passed.

He growled and his eyes flashed black for a split second before he gained control again. “I didn’t mean dress like that!” he growled.

I batted my eyelashes at him and blew him a kiss as I got in the car. “See you at school, my love.” I said, my voice dripping with sarcasm.

I slammed my door closed, slid the key in the engine and smiled as it roared at me. I sped away from the curb, leaving Damian standing there.

I laughed maniacally and turned the radio on. Best. Day. Ever.