Bitten (Once Bitten, Twice Shy #1)(12)
Almost immediately, however, she resolutely pushed the feeling away. She wasn’t going to waste her weekend lost in thoughts of the wolf attack, Miller Road, the note, or the strange changes her body was experiencing. They would only lead her in circles, anyway, and give her no solid answers. With that in mind, Katherine opted to push her realization about where she’d collided with the stranger to the back of her mind, determined to examine it at a later date – preferably, a much later date.
For the majority of the weekend, Katherine was successful in her endeavor to forget her latest worries. It was Sunday evening, however, that everything came to a head.
She had just gotten out of the shower and was critically inspecting herself in the mirror. Despite her sudden improvement in all things physical, her body looked much the same as it always had. She was still slender – no sudden protruding muscles – and still rather on the short side. Gazing at her face, however, she still could see one noticeable difference in her appearance.
Her eyes.
For as long as Katherine could remember, they had always been a sort of muddy combination of green and grey. Now, however, they seemed much brighter – the green, more vivid than she could ever recall, almost completely outshined the grey, which was only present in a small ring around her pupil.
Not only were her eyes brighter and more noticeable, but they seemed more alive, sharper somehow than they had ever been. And, oddly, they looked more dangerous as well. Like they belonged in the face of some spirited dare devil – not her, average little Katherine Mayes. The dark circles under them – largely the result of her restless sleep – only served to emphasize her eyes more.
Even Abby, who was normally about as observant as a small child, had noticed them and asked where she’d gotten the sweet contacts.
Forcing herself to look away from the eyes reflecting back at her from the large, glass mirror, Katherine quickly pulled on her normal oversized sleepwear, intending on going to bed early in a bid to catch up on some of the sleep she’d been missing lately. Her plans were thwarted, however, when she heard her mother calling her from downstairs.
“Katherine!”
Sighing loudly – and a bit obnoxiously, she could admit – she forced herself to exit the bathroom and make the trek down the stairs. She first checked the sitting room, but upon finding it empty, made her way to the dining room. “Mom? What do you need?”
When her mother smiled mischievously at her from where she was standing next to her dad – who was looking vaguely amused himself – she knew that she should have just stayed upstairs and pretended to not have heard.
When her mother didn’t immediately answer her question, Katherine quickly grew impatient. “What?” she asked again, her irritation showing through a bit.
Her mom’s smile didn’t fade, however, and her dad looked no less amused.
“With a temper like that, it’s a wonder how it is you even got an admirer,” Elaine finally replied teasingly.
Katherine frowned in confusion. “What are you talking about?” she asked once it became clear she wasn’t going to elaborate.
Her dad laughed a little at that, his loud chuckle quickly filling the room. “You don’t have to hide it from us,” he said through a grin. “I promise not to be too hard on him if you bring him around for dinner.”
Katherine’s frown grew and she crossed her arms over her chest defensively, trying to ignore the heat she could feel creeping up her neck. She would not blush. “I really don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Elaine lifted her right hand, revealing that she held something in it. A crumpled paper note. Katherine immediately tried to squash the apprehensive feeling that threatened to overwhelm her at the sight of it. “What’s that?” she demanded.
“You don’t have to be embarrassed, Kit,” her mother replied, smiling even as her daughter cringed at the nickname. “You’re turning into a beautiful young woman. It’s only natural that others are starting to take notice. You’re sixteen after all. I remember Sam having had a few boyfriends by that age.”
Katherine would have been surprised if her face wasn’t completely red by that point. Not only was she terribly uncomfortable with the compliment, but she hated being compared to her sister.
“Hey!” Benjamin objected good-naturedly. “I’ll be perfectly happy if Katherine chose to remain single through her thirties,” he told his wife in a playfully stern voice before smiling at his daughter.
Torn between embarrassment and anger at her parents’ antics, Katherine impatiently bit out her next words. “I told you that I have no idea what you’re talking about!”
Elaine’s smile finally deflated a bit and Benjamin frowned at his daughter. “Katherine, there’s no need to get so worked up. You have to expect a little ribbing if you allow your parents find a love letter.”
Katherine glowered, still not knowing what in the world they were talking about. Elaine sighed and held out the piece of paper for her daughter. “I found this in one of your pockets,” she explained. “You always forget to clean them out before putting your shorts in the dirty laundry.”
She quickly snatched the note from her mother, hoping her blush had died down a little by now.
Before her parents could tease her anymore, she pulled open the crumpled paper.