Hungry is the Night - Page Eight
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As Catlin changed from the beautiful blue dress into jeans and a t-shirt, she grew more and more angry with Gabriel. He'd known, and he'd lied to her. Not specifically, perhaps, but by omission, certainly, and she was unsure of his motivation for doing so. He could have thought that she would never find out - an unlikely scenario, she thought, though it could explain his anxiety about her going to the werewolf club with Damien - or he could have been waiting until she had accepted her new "life" and responsibilities and couldn't do anything about it. If there was a third option, she couldn't think of it. Catlin zipped up her boots and admired her feet. They were fantastic boots.
She strode to the door and opened it, and saw Damien standing by a doorway half way down the hall which led to the boy's quarters.
"Ah, my favourite young vampire. After you, my dear."
Damien's patronising tone only served to make Catlin angrier and she strode along the wooden section of the hallway floor, her boots making a satisfying clopping noise as she walked. There was nothing quite like kick-ass boots on a wooden or tile floor when one was pissed off.
Damien watched Catlin striding towards him, and grinned. As interesting as it would be to watch her beating the hell out of Gabriel, it probably wasn't the best idea when they might need his brains when Wahaya came back. Damien took three steps forward and headed her off.
"Come with me, darlin'," he murmured, turning her back down the hall.
Surprisingly, she turned with him, and walked back towards her bedroom, then turned the corner, heading back towards Jade's bedroom and the main staircase. They walked past the main staircase, and into the back corner of the house.
"Damien?" Jade asked, from her bedroom door.
"We're just going upstairs. Won't be long."
Jade nodded, and Damien opened a doorway, revealing a staircase.
"Up," he demanded.
Catlin glared at him, but started up the stairs. Damien grinned at her arse and followed, closing the door behind him.
The stairs emerged at the junction of two hallways. They ignored the hallway on their right, which led to the guest bedrooms, and continued straight on into the library. From the library, they entered the training room, which was divided up into sections. On the far wall, which was the front of the house, there was gymnasium equipment - long mats, parallel bars, and several trampolines. Sparing balls and punching bags hung from the ceiling. Behind them, on the wall that separated the training room from the library was an adjustable climbing wall, which took up half the length of the house. On the left were the exercise and weight machines, and on the right was the entrance to the showers. In the centre of the room was a large bare area with a lightly padded floor. It was into this the Damien moved.
"C'mon, Love. Hit me."
"What?"
"Hit me. Come on. You know you want to."
"I don't want to hit you, Damien."
He sighed, and pulled her into the centre of the room.
"Hit me."
"I told you, I don't want to hit you."
Damien casually circled her, and slapped her on the arse. Without thinking, Catlin rounded on him, and slapped him across the face.
"That's better," he grinned, reaching out to pinch her arse.
Catlin batted his hand away, and attempted to punch him in the stomach. Once he blocked her punch, things became more heated. Seventy minutes later, Damien grabbed her from behind, holding her arms close against her body.
"Feel better?"
Catlin dropped to one knee, and flipped him over her head onto his back.
"Yes."
Momentarily breathless, Damien looked up at her, and grinned.
"Good," he wheezed, as air returned to his lungs.
"I thought you didn't need to breathe?"
"I don't, but it still surprises you when someone knocks it out of you."
Damien held up a hand for Catlin to help him up. Catlin moved around to help him, and he pulled her down on top of him, then rolled over.
"Hello, darlin'."
"Get off, Damien."
"If you insist," he grinned, stroking her sides.
Catlin shivered, but rolled over, taking him with her.
"You're an arse."
"I know, but I'm damned sexy."
"The problem is that you know it," she replied, forcing herself to stand and ignore the hard toned body beneath her. Catlin headed for the showers, and Damien watched her go. The shower door swung open for her, and swung neatly closed.
"I wouldn't be a vampire if I wasn't," he replied.
Catlin stood, wrapped in the large white fluffy towel she'd taken from the cupboard, and brushed out the tangles in her hair. The showers were all fully equipped with shampoo, conditioner, shower gel and soaps, but they didn't have sets of clean clothing. Catlin wrinkled her nose at the smell of her t-shirt. She definitely needed a clean one. As she combed, she pondered Damien's last statement. She wasn't sure if she had been supposed to hear it or not, but guessed she probably was, though that didn't help her to figure out what it meant.
Catlin gathered up her clothes, and walked back to her bedroom. She changed again, and strolled into the family meeting room. Jade and Gabriel were seated, and Wahaya had arrived.
"Have fun?" Jade queried, with a grin.
"Yes, much," Catlin replied, slipping into a spare chair and turning to Wahaya. "How did it go?"
"I'll explain when Damien arrives," Wahaya replied, just as Damien entered the room.
Damien prowled over to his chair, slid into it, and stretched out in the manner of a man who had just had fantastic sex. His jeans clung to his thighs, and Catlin licked her lips unconsciously.
"Have fun?" Jade asked of him.
"Mmm, yes, lots," Damien replied, unknowingly echoing Catlin, as he watched her tongue flick through pointed teeth. "I liked what you were wearing before better."
Catlin blushed, thinking rude thoughts.
"Whew! Is it hot in here?" Jade laughed, fanning herself. "Don't worry, Gabe, the sexual tension in this room is too thick for them to have actually fucked yet."
Catlin deliberately shifted her eyes from Damien to Wahaya, but that didn't help much. He was just as good looking.
I need to get laid, Catlin thought to herself. These hormones are getting out of control.
"I'd appreciate it if you wouldn't look at me like that," Wahaya smiled. "As flattering as it is, it doesn't help me control the change at all."
Catlin lowered her eyes, and waited until she had her thoughts under control. Gabriel was glaring at her, but she ignored that for the moment too.
"So, what happened with Anna?" Jade demanded, once Catlin raised her eyes.
"We found her fairly quickly. She was only about 20 minutes from this house, and badly injured. Anthony assisted her to change, and she's on her way to healing. She's going to go into hiding until she's recovered."
"And Michael?" Catlin queried.
"He has fought his way to the top. Next he will fight Stephen, or Stephen will step down for him. I suspect Stephen is part of his group."
"What's their plan?"
"They want control of the pack, of course," Wahaya replied. "I thought that much was obvious."
"Yes, but is that their full plan?"
"That's the question, isn't it?" Wahaya replied. "I guess we'll have to wait and see."
Catlin woke in her bed. Usually, that wouldn't be a problem, but the last thing she remembered was sitting in the meeting room, discussing Michael with Jade, Damien, and Gabriel. She sat up, and spied a note, pinned to her quilt with an elaborate hat pin.
The dawn came. I put you here. -J
Catlin was relieved that it hadn't been either of the boys, though she wasn't really sure why. There was just something about the thought of them being in her room while she was, to all intents and purposes, dead to the world.
Catlin had just finished dressing, when a knock on the door startled her. She opened it to find Jade awaiting her.
"Is something wrong?"
"Alex has called a family meeting."
"Is that bad?"
"That remains to be seen. Come on."
Catlin sat in the chair she had occupied the previous evening, waiting. The others had gathered, and as soon as they were all settled, Alex cleared his throat.
"Catlin, I assume that Jade filled you in on the basics of the history of houses?"
Remembering their discussion about the houses, Catlin nodded.
"Good. I assume she also mentioned our centennial council meetings?"
Catlin nodded again.
"Then I also assume that she mentioned that it is our turn to host the meeting."
Not in so many words, Catlin thought, but I should have realised.
Jade had spoken of the four previous meetings, and none of them had been hosted by Orchid house.
"Yes, Alex."
He hesitated a second, then continued.
"I am going to require you to make a difficult decision, Catlin. I know that you have only been with us a couple of months, and as such, are still getting used to your new... status. However, with the council meeting approaching, and the werewolves having problems, I need to know where we all stand. You have two options. You may join our house formally, and become a ranking member, or you can return to the city as your own woman. I realise this isn't a fair burden to place upon her, Gabriel," Alex continued, noticing Gabriel's protesting expression, "but it is a decision that needs to be made. To make sure you completely understand, Catlin, I'll explain.
"Thus far, because Gabriel was your sire, we have treated you as a ranking member of this house. You have a room here, you have free run of the house and you have been trusted. Were you to accept the position I am offering you, this would not change. In addition to the house, you would have access to my quarters, my private library, and our family history. You would also have a permanent position within our family, and I would pay you an allowance each month. I believe you will find it more than sufficient for your living needs.
"If you decide to decline the position, you would return to your home. You would no longer have free access to the house, though if a time came when you needed shelter, you could approach and ask for assistance. I have only thrice turned one of my clan away from my doors in time of need. The benefits are numerous. You have no responsibility to the house, other than to come when I call you - which happens rarely. You would be in charge of your own life, keeping your own council. The downsides are that you wouldn't have any inside information, nor would you have a built-in support network.
"The position I am offering you is that of my... messenger. Of course, you would not be able to take over the roll straight away. As it stands, Gabriel, Damien and Jade share the roll, but we have long been in need of a dedicated individual. Eventually, you would be responsible for the gathering and distribution of information pertaining to the supernatural society. I will not expect you to take over immediately, as I said. It would be a position that you learned and moved into over the next 200 years. Do you have any questions?"
Catlin thought for a minute.
"If I accept the position, do I need to get rid of my apartment?"
"No, though I think you will find that you do not need it after a couple of years."
"Must I stop seeing Mary-Kate?"
Here, Alex hesitated.
"I would not forbid you from seeing her, no. Though of course, you must realise that your position would give you access to information that would not be suitable for a human to know. I realise that you trust her, and that it would hurt you to lie to her, so I would not ask you to do that. But you would need to keep secrets from her. She may be trustworthy, but she is human, and there are things that we can do to a human which would make them reveal everything, no matter how trustworthy they were. So, you would still be able to see her, but you would have to keep many secrets from her."
Catlin nodded, slowly.
"Do you need time to think about it?"
"Yes, I think so."
"We'll be here when you come back."
Catlin tapped gently on the window, knowing that if Mary-Kate was awake, she'd be in her study, and would hear her, and if she had gone to bed, the gentle tap wouldn't wake her. Moments later, the curtains shifted, and Mary-Kate pointed towards the back door.
"Hiya Cat."
"Hiya MK."
"Are you coming in?"
"You have to invite me."
"No shit?"
"No shit."
"Well... Come on in then, my dear. Coffee? Tea?"
"Tea, please."
Catlin sat and watched as Mary-Kate moved around the kitchen.
"How's things?"
"Fubar."
"That good huh?"
"Yeah, that good. How's things with you? Juni asleep?"
"Yeah, sorry. She's been down a few hours now. Are you getting sorted?"
"Well, I wrote a letter to work, and resigned. I said a family emergency meant that I had to leave suddenly, and as I could foresee it taking many months to sort out, I reluctantly tendered my resignation, and offered to let them keep my pay in lieu of notice. They wrote back and offered me my two weeks of sick pay, followed by three months worth of compassionate leave at half-pay, if I thought I could be back within four months. Very decent of them, but my conscience wouldn't let me take it, so I wrote back again, saying while I appreciated their most generous offer, I could foresee my being gone for at least 6 months, and regretfully would decline - so Charlie made me redundant instead, and offered me a big payout."
"Well - that's decent of him!"
"It is, very. So I've accepted, and he's going to put it into a new account that Gabriel set up for me. With a vampire-friendly bank."
"The blood bank?" sniggered Mary-Kate, and Catlin grinned as Mary-Kate sat opposite and handed her a cup.
"I asked a similar question."
"I always thought he was a little bit in love with you," Mary-Kate commented, turning the conversation back to Catlin's boss.
"He was a decent bloke. A nice guy."
"Which was the problem! You never went for nice guys."
"I know. Flaw in my nature."
"You're telling me. What about your apartment?"
"I'm keeping it, for the time being. I'm not going to have much in the way of living expenses - ha ha - for a while, so with the interest off the redundancy, and a little bit extra from my savings each month, I should be able to keep paying my mortgage."
"Speaking of your apartment, I went over and cleared out your fridge. There wasn't much in there, but it's empty now."
"Thanks, MK. I didn't quite get around to restocking it after Michael visited."
"Have you seen him around?"
"Well, it's funny you should say that..."
Kat briefly outlined all that she'd learned about Michael, the werewolves and their power structure, and then moved onto the vampires, and Alex's rather tempting job offer.
"Well... shit."
Mary-Kate sat back in her chair.
"What are you going to do, Cat?"
"I think I might take it."
"It sounds dangerous."
"Yeah, but I'm a big bad vampire now."
Mary-Kate snorted.
"But you won't have me to watch your back."
"There's Gabriel, and Damien, and Jade, and Alex."
"Well, I don't know about the others, but I doubt Gabriel would be watching your back. Little lower perhaps."
"MK, he's really not the sort," laughed Catlin. "He's so straight-laced you think he has a stick up his arse."
"Ah, but you didn't see him checking you out the day we met him!"
"Really?"
"Really."
Catlin's surprise was punctured by a whimper from Juniper's bedroom.
"Juni's awake," Catlin commented, with a smile.
"She is?"
"Yes, can't you hear her?"
"No."
The whimper grew a little louder.
"She's about to start crying."
Sure enough, seconds later, a wail drifted into the kitchen, and Mary-Kate and Catlin moved into Juniper's bedroom. The crying stopped as soon as they entered the room. Juniper was standing in her crib, holding onto the bars.
"Hiya Juni, did you have a bad dream, baby?"
Mary-Kate and Catlin leaned over the crib as Mary-Kate convinced Juniper to lay back down. Catlin gently stroked her cheek as Mary-Kate pulled up the covers, and settled a stuffed toy next to Juniper. A few moment later, they were back in the hall. Catlin sighed.
"What is it?"
"Just thinking about Juniper. You know, I never really wanted kids until you had her, and now, I can't have them. Ever."
"You'll have Juni."
"Yeah, but I can only see her at night while she's sleeping. She won't know me."
Mary-Kate hugged her, and they moved back into the kitchen.
"Being a vampire sucks."
"It isn't all bad. You get to spend time with that nice piece of eye-candy."
"Yeah. Damien is damned hot as well."
Mary-Kate laughed.
"Well, there you go. It isn't all bad."
"And on the subject, Alex is quite easy on the eyes too."
"Isn't he Gabriel's father? Like, ew!"
"Oh, so 1548 years old is fine, but you draw the line at 3000?" laughed Catlin.
"Just, well, you know!"
"Yeah, I know. It takes some getting used to. So you think I should accept this job?"
"Yeah, I do. But I don't think you should not tell me things because it might get me in trouble. After all, I am a witch, and a damned good one."
"Yeah, but there's more than just you to consider. There's Alan and Juniper to look after too."
"Uh, yeah. About Alan."
"What about him?"
"He's leaving us."
"What?!"
"He's leaving us. Said that this wasn't what he pictured married life to be like, and whilst he loves me, he can't keep "doing this". That's actually why I cleaned out your fridge. Juniper and I spent the night there last night."
"When did he decide this?"
"Day before yesterday."
"Oh, MK!"
Catlin wrapped her arms around Mary-Kate.
"It's alright, Cat, we'll get it sorted. I'm keeping Juniper. We're going to sell the house and get a couple of flats. Then we start the divorce proceedings."
"Divorce? Are you sure you can't work it out?"
"If I'm honest, Cat, things haven't been right for a while. It just took one of us to actually say it. Want to help me flat-hunt?"
"Oh, MK. Look, don't be silly. I'm not using my apartment, you can stay there for a while, at least until everything is sorted out."
"Really?"
"Of course. And let me know if I can do anything."
"Well, I could use some help with moving, in a few days. If you're sure."
"Of course I'm sure. If we move the desk and one of my bedside tables into the lounge, we can rig up some sort of curtain between the bed and the rest of the room, so it's almost like separate rooms for you and Juni. What do you think?"
"That would be great, Cat."
Catlin checked the time.
"I have to go, MK, or I won't get back to the house by day break. But I'll come over after sunset tomorrow, okay?"
"Okay. And Cat?"
"Yeah?"
"Thanks."
"Hey - that's what friends are for."
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