24. Catalina
TWENTY-FOUR
catalina
I froze for one second. Two. Then I burst forward, elbowing Asher out of the way.
Numbness spread to my fingertips.
No. He had to go. They couldn’t see him. What would I do?
I was going to throw up.
“Peter.” I couldn’t feel my lips. “Wh-what are you doing here?”
“You’re not dead?” His voice cracked. He clutched a phone in hand. “I got a call from your lawyer, and I was told to collect what may be left in the fire. They said you died.” He shook his head, eyelashes damp. “I needed to charge my phone.”
He rambled, shaking.
I moved forward, arm outstretched. Asher clutched my shirt and yanked me backwards.
“He’s my brother, Asher.” I elbowed free. I wrapped my hand around his forearm and pulled him inside. He didn’t seem to focus on anything.
His features stayed washed out as he followed my tugging. I managed to get him sitting on the living room couch.
“What happened to your house?”
I sighed, rubbing my palms on his arms. He was freezing. How long had he been standing outside in front of the burned remnants of my place?
“Brother-in-law.” Asher’s grin widened, sprawling on the couch next to Peter.
“What are you doing?” I hissed and twisted his shirtsleeve.
He only winked.
This was all wrong. My brother spoke to the vampires when I worked my entire fucking life to keep him away from the danger chasing me.
Peter blinked repeatedly, sputtering.
I shook my head vehemently at Asher.
My hair fluttered from the sudden appearance of a vampire swooping in front of Peter.
“Who do we have here?” Ren said, leaning into Peter’s face.
“Leave him alone,” I spat out so fast I was surprised it came out in a cohesive string.
Ren didn’t ever listen though, that was the problem. He gripped the back of my brother’s neck, forcing a grunt from his mouth.
“Stop!” I lunged and gripped Ren’s hair, managing to grab as much of the short strands as I could to yank him.
Ren hissed, but I didn’t let go as I clung to him.
Peter let out an ear splitting scream, focusing on Ren’s distended fangs.
“Please, let him go!” I begged, close to tears, but still holding on. “Please.” I slammed my clenched fist into his shoulder.
Peter’s mouth clamped shut and his eyes rounded on me and then Ren. His chest heaved, but he no longer screamed. Numbness spread to my fingertips. I wanted to grab Peter and run.
Ren tilted his head to peer into my face. He studied me. I didn’t move my eyes from his, putting as much plea into my expression as I could.
His bicep flexed and there was a grunt as Peter’s weight dropped to the floor, but I could only assume because I hadn’t looked away from Ren.
“You should have said so sooner.” A spine chilling grin tilted the corner of Ren’s lips and he straightened with me still hanging onto him.
My toes scraped against the wrinkled carpet that had lifted on the wooden floor at my desperate lunge. I loosened my grip so my heels settled on the ground. My breaths puffed from my lips. How could I not be huffing and puffing with my life flashing before my eyes like that?
“Ren.” Tobias’s voice rang through the sound of my breathing. I whipped my head in his direction. There was an edge to his tone and his gaze was fixed on the vampire I held onto. Tobias shook his head just slightly and the bicep I gripped onto twitched. They exchanged some look I couldn’t read and Tobias nodded oh so slightly.
I clenched my teeth, not liking the secretiveness, but it also went far in reminding me that they’d been together centuries and knew each other well. On top of that, Tobias read minds, so there had to be some sort of communication going on I wasn’t privy to. Peter only had me to protect him, so I couldn’t let my panic win. Taking a deep breath, I tried to focus on calming the tremble of my hands because dropping and curling into a ball wouldn’t help anyone.
I could do that later once Peter was far from here.
At least my lungs weren’t betraying me and giving out. It was the only perk of ingesting blood . . . well, not the only perk, but I’d let myself be a little delusional.
Ren’s palm settled on my tight grip, and I dropped my hands quickly. I’d been tugging and grabbing at him like nothing. My face heated and I cleared my throat, but kept my mouth shut. I couldn’t apologize for protecting Peter. But what surprised me was that Ren didn’t look like he’d tear my head off, he just looked contemplative.
The usually combative vampire took a step back and retreated. “I’ll handle Bastien.”
I sucked in breath. I’d forgotten about him still in the kitchen. While Ren could reign in the crazy, Bastien would only react.
Peter huddled on the ground, his back against the couch. His eyes kept bouncing from me to Tobias, then in the direction Ren had disappeared, Asher going with him.
I clung to Tobias’s sleeve. His gray eyes settled on me, cold and calculative. A vast difference to the lust and desire I’d experienced in the garden.
“Compel him to forget.” I squeezed his arm. “Make him forget, please Tobias.”
My words chipped the ice from his features and his shoulders visibly relaxed.
Frowning, he scratched his eyebrow. “Are you sure, Love?”
I nodded jerkily.
His hand cupped the back off my neck and he forced me to look up at him. His attention dropped to my throat where my pulse went haywire.
“You are ours, he will be protected,” he breathed in my ear. I wanted him protected and shielded from all vampires, even them.
They shouldn’t have, but the words comforted me. I closed my eyes tight as he released me. “I will try, but, Cat, I cannot read his mind.”
My limbs became stone.
“What are you doing?” Peter’s fear riddled voice jolted me out of my daze. I whirled to find Tobias knelt before him.
“Look at me, child.”
“Child?” Peter scoffed. A hint of temper glinted in his gaze.
“Would you prefer fetus? I’m centuries older than you.” That shut Peter right up. Tobias’ attempt at humor didn’t hit the mark based on Peter’s dropped mouth. “Forget everything up to the point of arriving here.” His voice dropped a few octaves.
A few beats of silence passed with me holding my breath.
“What? No fucking way,” Peter spat out.
I closed my eyes tight, trying to stifle the tears that sprang to life. Like me, he couldn’t be compelled. Why was this happening to us?
Knowing about vampires was a death sentence. I’d lived because they kept me . . . I had a feeling the same wouldn’t be applied to Peter.
The knot in my throat only grew, but I swallowed down my emotions.
I approached and pulled Peter’s arm until he stood. He’d only grown taller in the years we’d been separated. Time flew by too fast and I hadn't had the chance to watch him grow up. He towered over me now. How had he turned into a man so quickly?
“Come with me.”
He didn’t argue with me as I pulled him toward the kitchen. His steps dragged.
“What is happening, Cat?” he murmured so low, it was almost a whisper. That told me he understood he had to be cautious. And it made me feel even worse. Had I been trying to protect him too much when he could have handled the truth?
I pressed my palm to the frantic pump inside my chest.
Keeping Peter away from vampires was my only goal in life. I’d stayed away from him. I’d separated us, just so he could live life without getting wrapped up in my running. So he could have a life.
Now he stood in a vampire’s living room, talking to a vampire.
Why had this happened? I whirled, halfway to the kitchen.
“Why did you come?”
“Your lawyer called me.” Peter’s shoulders dropped. “I thought you were dead.”
I deflated like a needle to a balloon.
His lips flattened into a line. The shadows underneath his eyes didn’t look good and hollows dipped his cheeks. I grabbed his hand and squeezed it in both of mine. When had his hands gotten bigger than mine?
“I’m sorry, Peter.” I licked my lips. “I should have protected you better.”
“Vampires exist?” he whispered, clutching my sleeve. I didn’t have the heart to let him know they could hear him.
I could only close my eyes tight and rub my temples.
He exhaled harshly.
“I knew you feared something, but I would have never imagined it was vampires.” He scoffed.
“Wait, you knew . . .” I rolled my lips between my teeth. I tried hiding my emotions from him.
“How could I not know, Cat? You jumped at every little sound, you woke up screaming, you always acted like someone was right behind you. I knew you were hiding from someone.”
I could only gawk up at him.
“And no, I’m not going back to school until I know you’re okay.”
My hands trembled at my sides.
“You’re not safe here?—”
He just shrugged. Who was this little brother of mine?
“I’m hungry. You got anything to eat?”
I scoffed and shook my head. I shoved his shoulder.
“Kitchen is that way.” He stormed forward and I hurried to catch up to him.
“So, what? It took you ten seconds to accept the existence of fictional creatures?” I muttered behind him.
“Kind of hard to deny it.” He sat at the island, elbows thudding on the counter.
“Maddy, can you make some food?”
She’s already clocked him and her gaze bounced from me to him. We had very similar features, so it wouldn’t be a stretch to guess we were siblings. We’d always been told we looked alike.
“Sure thing,” she said. Porcelain clanged as she rifled to get a plate out. He didn’t seem torn up about the existence of vampires and he really should be.
Peter fixed his gaze on his dead cell phone.
“Maddy, can you keep him here?”
All she did was give me a thumbs up. In the short amount of time I’d known her, I’d come to realize that she got the clue fast. She’d make sure he stayed put while I dealt with my overwhelming emotions.
Off-kilter, stunned, discombobulated . . . they were all words to describe the madness rolling through my chest and the frantic thoughts overwhelming my brain weren’t helping the matter.
It took only a few steps down the hallway for the ground to shift and I stumbled into the wall. My back slid down until I was in a half-slouch, propping myself up.
“Catalina.” Tobias’s whisper held a sharp edge to it. “Are you well?” He gripped my forearm and helped steady me on my feet.
“Where are all the guys?” I forced the words free from the back of my throat where my emotions had clogged.
“In your bedroom.”
I grabbed onto him and pulled him to the metal door across from the kitchen, unable to bear looking at my brother lest he see the tears forming on my eyelashes.