Bitten (Once Bitten, Twice Shy #1)(30)

Katherine wasn't moved. And was about to inform the man thusly when an idea came to her. "A compromise."

"What?"

Katherine almost didn't realize she had spoken aloud. "A compromise," she repeated. "I'll eat, but only if you tell me who that man was and why you all seem to dislike him so much."

Across the table Katherine could see Sophie attempting to smother a grin as she watched their interaction. Zane, too, looked somewhat amused, though Markus just looked irritated. Caleb was hard to see over Bastian's tall form.

Bastian himself looked somewhere between bemused and annoyed. Katherine wasn't surprised. If how the others acted was any indication, he was used to his word being law. Well, Katherine was only all too happy to play the role of the outlaw.

“Fine,” he man eventually exhaled. But, of course, he didn't elaborate.

"Well?" Katherine demanded.

"As I'm sure you could surmise, the man's name was Rogue."

Katherine narrowed her eyes at Zane, not finding the tan man's interjection amusing in the least.

"A dirty scoundrel is what he is," Markus spoke up from his spot, stabbing a sausage smothered biscuit with his fork.

Yes, because that cleared everything up.

It seemed that Sophie was just as exasperated as she was because she sighed before quickly explaining what the others had not. "Rogue's another alpha from Haven Falls. He's only a little older than Bastian, who's the youngest alpha of the colony." She smiled proudly at her brother, who only ignored her. "Unlike Bastian, however, Rogue doesn't have a pack."

Katherine furrowed her brows in confusion. "But you just said he was an alpha. I thought-"

Zane quickly interrupted her. "Alphas without packs are known as lone wolves," he condescendingly explained.

"Rogue's always been jealous of Bastian."

Katherine shot Sophie a quizzical look. "Why?"

"Because Bastian's important. And Rogue... well, you heard Zane, he doesn't even have a pack."

Bastian looked uncomfortable as soon the word important had left his sister’s mouth. "Sophie," he warned with a frown.

"I don't know why he's jealous because all alphas are important." She gave Bastian a pointed look. "They have places on the council."

Katherine couldn't help but feel that they were keeping something "important" from her – if Bastian's reaction to the word meant anything anyhow. Nonetheless, she trudged on with her questions. "The man – Rogue – mentioned something about that. He was talking about council business?"

Bastian sighed in a resigned manner before explaining. "The council acts as overseers of the colony. Its members make and enforce rules."

"And you're one of these members?”

"Yes," he replied stiffly.

Katherine rose an eyebrow, irritated at the one word answer.

Glancing at her untouched plate, Bastian offered her more information, though it was clear that he wasn't eager to do so. "There are sixteen of us – all alphas – who make up the Council. We all, with the exception of Rogue and one other, have packs."

"It's not unusual for young alphas to go packless for a while," Sophie added. "In fact, it’s the norm. Bastian here is just special." She threw him a grin.

Markus spoke through a mouthful of meaty gravy. "Ha! Everyone knows that an alpha is only as good as his beta."

Bastian rolled his eyes before turning them onto Katherine. Why did they have to be so blue? "There, you've heard enough. Now eat."

"Not yet," Katherine immediately disagreed, not able to resist voicing another question – a very significant question, at least to her. "The man – Rogue – said something about council business. Is that...” she hesitated, “is that why were you in Middletown that night?"

Katherine's inquiry was met with an uncomfortable silence.

After a few moments, however, Bastian responded. "Yes. Though it doesn't happen often, the head of the council sometimes sends packs to complete certain tasks – missions – outside of Haven Falls."

"Head of the council?"

"The head alpha is the leader of the council," Zane quickly elaborated when Bastian didn't, "and ultimately of all of Haven Falls. Bastian and Sophie’s uncle, Cain, is the current council head. You'll meet him eventually I’m sure.”

"He shouldn't be head," Markus grunted. "He's only in the spot he's in because-"

"I think we've said enough," Bastian interrupted what was sure to turn into a tirade.

Before he could command her to eat again, however, Katherine opened her mouth. "Why do we have to go back there? To Haven Falls, I mean? Can't we just stay in the states?"

She didn't want to leave the country – go to some place she didn't know where people thought they were fictional creatures. A colony ironically named Haven Falls that was apparently run by Bastian’s uncle – a man named after the wicked son of Adam.

"We have to go back eventually. It's our home. Besides, it best for new werewolves to be around others of their kind."

Katherine just barely bit back her immediate response, which was to deny the existence of werewolves. "But it's not my home," was what came out instead, "I don't want to go there."