Bitten (Once Bitten, Twice Shy #1)(22)

As awareness flooded Katherine’s sore body, she was conscious of little but her aching head. A sort of haziness blanketed her thoughts and she couldn’t quite conjure the energy to open her eyes. Instead, she devoted herself to lying as still as possible to avoid jarring her head.

As she lay there, she slowly became more cognizant of her surroundings.

She was resting on something soft and though she felt somewhat cramped, she was comfortable enough. Something warm – probably a blanket – covered her body. She was aware of the multiple aromas permeating the air around her too. There were many, but the sweet smell of sugary vanilla was the strongest.

And then – voices.

As the thick haze that seemed to suspend her thoughts lifted, the clear sound of voices rang though. Katherine didn’t recognize the noises for what they were at first. They were merely muffled, jumbled sounds. After struggling to push the pounding in her head away, however, she could focus and identify the strange sounds for what they were. She realized at once, though she didn’t physically react, that she didn’t recognize them.

"-don’t understand why we’re going through all this trouble. Look at her. She’s a runt – basically worthless to us." The voice was distinctly male and its owner sounded furious.

Another voice, this one just as angry, but obviously female, was quick to counter. "She needs us! She's a part of us now whether you like it or not so get used to it."

Katherine vaguely wondered who the she they were talking about was and felt her heart jump when she realized that it was probably her.

"She's only a girl, Markus." Another voice, Katherine thought dazedly. Who were these people? And how many of them were there?

Markus revealed himself to be the owner of the first voice she had heard when he heatedly responded. "Shut it, Caleb. No one asked you. And she isn't only a girl. She's damn trouble. All she’s going to do is attract the wrong sort of attention."

"Like you care about attention! You're just looking for an excuse to dump her somewhere." It was the female voice again.

"We wouldn't have to dump her anywhere if we would have left her where she was!"

"And what do you suggest we had done, Markus? Just leave her there with those men?"

That seemed to have done the trick as silence was this woman's only response. For a moment at least.

"She took care of that hunter just fine."

His remark was met with an indignant gasp. "You're heartless," the woman spat.

"And you’re pathetic," the man flippantly responded.

There was more silence as a sort of invisible tension began to grow. Even Katherine, whose eyes were clenched tightly shut, could feel the air thickening.

"He has a point, Sophie. The odds of her even surviving…"

The new voice – there's at least four of them, Katherine thought numbly – didn't get a chance to finish before another one – five! – interrupted.

"That’s enough."

It wasn't a yell, but certainly wasn’t spoken gently either. And its power – for the voice couldn't be described as anything less than powerful – demanded immediate obedience.

Silence followed and Katherine realized that she was holding her breath, waiting for someone to dare disobey what was obviously an order. No one did and she feigned unconsciousness for what seemed like hours, but was probably only minutes, before anyone risked speaking again. And even then, it was the same powerful voice – a low timbre that sounded oddly familiar – that broke the quiet.

"You’ll wake her if you keep yelling like you do." The words were spoken softly this time, but the roughness in his voice still promised violence to anyone who dared to disregard its owner.

Katherine heard a derisive snort. "As if a stampede would wake sleeping beauty back there," Markus mumbled under his breath.

If anyone else heard the comment, they declined to respond.

More minutes passed, though they were distinctly more comfortable than the last. Katherine had almost allowed herself to lower her guard when she felt the breath on her ear.

"I know you’re awake."

Katherine, though startled by the voice, refused to open her eyes. She tried to keep her breathing even, hoping to convince the owner of the voice – who she believed to be the one they had called Caleb – of her continued unconsciousness.

"There’s no use in pretending. It's only a matter of time before the others will know you’re awake too."

Figuring the jig was up, Katherine braced herself before slowly opening her eyes and tilting her head up slightly to look at the man who had addressed her. He wasn’t what she expected. But then again, what had she expected? Some mean-looking brute?

How cliché.

No. This man's face matched his voice – he looked kind. Dirty blond hair sat atop his head in a sloppy-looking cut, but his wide brown eyes looked honest and only the slightest hint of stubble covered his cheeks. He's young, Katherine realized with a jolt. He looked about the same age as her. Maybe only a year or two older.

Despite how non-threatening he appeared, however, she still immediately sprang back when the man attempted to lay his hand on her forehead.

"Don’t touch me!"

Katherine's nerves were shot and despite the instincts that urged her to remain calm, she was anything but. Her memories of the past twenty-four hours were slowly coming back to her and she forced her aching body to move and pushed herself as far into the corner of the back seat – she was in a vehicle of some sort, Katherine numbly took note – as she was physically able.