Not wanting him to dwell too much on either his sister’s fate or what Davina had said earlier, Kat had led him into the bedroom, deciding that a distraction was in order. Not that she was only doing it for his benefit. With the short amount of time she had left in her human form, she was determined to enjoy every second she had with Connor.
Their lovemaking had been intense, urgent, and bordering on desperate. Connor had held her tight, his fingers laced with hers the whole time, as if afraid he was going to lose her any second. Kat supposed, from his perspective, that was exactly what was going to happen. She had reveled in the moment but ached at the same time.
Now, as they cooled down from their hours of lovemaking, Kat knew they could no longer avoid this conversation. Davina had told them so many disturbing things that morning, it was difficult to figure out which concern to address first, but the idea that it might be best for her to leave town was the elephant in the room that couldn’t be ignored anymore.
“If you leave, there won’t be any way for us to break the curse Marko put on you,” Connor said, his deep voice jarring her out of the post-sex daze she’d settled into. “You’ll turn back into a cat soon and stay that way for almost another year.”
“That’s all true,” Kat agreed, not lifting her head from Connor’s chest. “And while I’d much rather be a human than a cat, at least being a cat again is no worse than the life I’ve been living for the past four years. It’s not much of one, but at least I’m free. On the other hand, if I stay and Marko gets his hands on me, then I’ll likely be a cat for the rest of my life with no free will of my own. And if Davina is right about him wanting to use me to access the ley lines, then it will be even worse. I’ll be his weapon, forced to watch as he destroys you and everyone I care about.”
Connor sat up so quickly that Kat practically fell off the bed. But then he tugged her close again.
“We’re not going to let any of that happen,” he said firmly. “We’re going to come up with a plan to beat this a-hole. I’m not sure how yet, but we will. No matter what, though, I’m not letting Marko get near you. And if we think it might happen, then you’ll leave and I’ll go with you.”
Kat had a hard time resisting the urge to lean forward and kiss him. He was so damn amazing, it almost hurt. But that didn’t keep her from shaking her head. “I appreciate the gesture, but you can’t leave your pack. I know how important they are to you. And what are we going to do if we run? Wander the country in your truck, while you work odd jobs to pay for my fresh tilapia fillets?”
“If we have to, yes,” he said firmly. “And I’ll do it gladly. This is a promise. If you leave, I won’t let you go alone.”
“But—” she started, only for him to cut her off.
“Kat, please,” he said softly, gently cupping her face with his hand. “I know that you must have heard my pack mates and I talking about what it’s like when a werewolf meetsThe Onefor them, right? I think we both know that’s what’s going on between us. You’re my soul mate, there’s no doubt of that. Which means there’s no way I’m letting you go alone. I’m not losing you. I love my pack mates like brothers and sisters, but if it comes down to you or them, I’ll choose you. Every time.”
Tears welled in her eyes. It made her feel stupid good to hear Connor say he was willing to give up everything to be with her and that they were soul mates. She’d already believed that they were, but it still felt amazing hearing him say it out loud.
Kat leaned forward and kissed him long and slow, trying to express everything she felt right then without saying a word. Part of her wanted to pull back, look him deep in the eyes, and tell him how much she loved him, but she was still too scared to say those words, worried it would mess something up when it was going so perfectly.
They were still kissing when Connor’s stomach rumbled, making both of them laugh.
“You should get something to eat,” Kat said, breaking the kiss to smile at him. “Ithasbeen four whole hours since you munched your way through that entire bag of Oreo cookies while we were looking for Jenna. I know you’re probably starving, especially considering all the energy we just burned off.”
He chuckled and climbed off the bed. “You want to come with me to the kitchen? I can fix us both a snack.”
Kat shook her head as she dropped back down to the plump pillows and snuggled into their warmth, giving a lazy stretch and arching her back like the cat she was so used to being. It was impossible to miss the way his eyes raked across her naked breasts, stoking fires that hours of lovemaking hadn’t done anything to extinguish.
“I think I’ll stay here and hang out in these nice cozy blankets for a little longer.”
Given the smoldering gaze he tossed her way, she thought he might skip the food and climb back on top of her. But then he bent down to give her a tender kiss.
“I’ll make us some peanut butter crackers. Those are fast, and we can eat them in bed.”
Kat was tempted to make a joke about leaving crumbs on the sheets but didn’t have a chance to get the words out before Connor slipped out of the room, his naked butt looking incredibly sexy as he moved away.
She lay back on the bed, stretching and wiggling around a little more until she found the perfect warm spot, tugging the sheets up to ward off the chill from the air conditioner. She listened as Connor moved around the kitchen, the clatter of metal on metal as he dug a knife out of the drawer, the thud of cabinet doors as he pulled out the peanut butter and crackers. From the amount of rustling he was making, she got the idea she could look forward to a lot of peanut butter crackers. Knowing him, he’d probably use a whole sleeve of crackers. And that would only be for himself.
Kat smiled at the thought, burrowing even deeper into the sheets and pillows, relishing the way Connor’s scent enveloped her as she lay there. Falling back into her drowsy, post-lovemaking haze, Kat found her thoughts turning to what was going to happen between her and Connor.
She loved him, even if she hadn’t told him yet. And it seemed that he loved her as well, since he was ready to walk away from his pack and everything else in his life for her. But could she truly ask him to do that?
Kat didn’t have to think about that for very long. It was one of the few things she’d learned from her mother. If you love someone—really love them—then you never want to see them in pain. And that’s what leaving his pack would mean for Connor—pain.
But if she left on her own and tried to lure Marko and his coven away, that would only end up hurting Connor, too. They were soul mates. She’d never heard any of the werewolves in the Pack talk about what it would mean to lose their soul mate, but Kat didn’t imagine it would be anything good. So how could she leave him even if it was for his own good?
Okay, so she’d stay. But even if they somehow managed to survive the coming confrontation with Marko, how would that be any better? She couldn’t come up with a single scenario that didn’t involve her being trapped in a cat’s body for the majority of each year. How was that going to be any easier on Connor? He’d be forced to basically put his life on hold when she was a cat, living for those few days when they could really be together. That seemed like a completely different kind of torture and more pain for the man she loved.
Kat didn’t realize until that moment that there were tears sliding down her face as she lay there agonizing over what she was supposed to do. Was there any way this could ever end well for both of them?
She was still thinking about that a few minutes later when she heard Connor’s phone ringing out in the kitchen. She couldn’t hear what he was saying when he answered—it would have been nice to have a werewolf’s enhanced hearing right then—but whatever it was, she got the feeling it was serious. Connor’s voice took on a decidedly business tone whenever he was talking about something work related. Especially if it was dangerous.
Connor came into the bedroom a few moments later, still naked but without any peanut butter crackers. That’s when she knew she’d been right. Kat couldn’t stop the nervous tremor from slipping into her stomach, worried that everything was about to go completely wrong.
