Bitten (Once Bitten, Twice Shy #1)(31)

Sophie shared a look with Bastian before forcing Katherine's eyes to meet hers. "I can't imagine how hard this is for you Katherine, but we are your home now."

Katherine knew if she'd responded to the blonde, she would have regretted the fierce show of emotion. So instead, she bit her tongue and forced herself to eat a few bites of her food, which had long turned cold – much like her entire body had at the prospect of considering these people her home.

She only managed to finish half the eggs and one slice of ham before her stomach threatened to protest in a violent way. Instead of nagging her, Bastian merely requested the leftovers to be packed in Styrofoam on the off chance that Katherine would find her appetite and eat the rest later.

When the others had finished and the group was on their way out of the door, Katherine was stopped by the enamored waitress who had served them. After nudging her in the side with a sharp elbow, the woman whispered in her ear. "I wouldn't let that one out of my sights if I were you, dear." It didn't take a genius to figure out she was referring to Bastian.

Uncomfortable with the woman's assumptions, Katherine quickly walked away.

Minutes later, she was ushered back into the SUV and they were on the road again.

As Bastian drove, Sophie's words repeated themselves over and over again in Katherine's head. With her parents gone, she didn't know where her home was anymore. But of one thing she was certain – it was not with them.





CHAPTER EIGHT


When Katherine was eight years old and her sister Samantha was thirteen, she could vaguely recall staying at a Motel 8 with her parents. Her father had gotten them lost on the way to visiting one of her mother's many eccentric aunts. Minnie was her name – though Katherine couldn’t remember if it was her given name or an unfortunate childhood nickname that had stuck.

Either way, when the sun had set and it became obvious that Benjamin had no idea where they were – let alone if they'd made it to Nebraska, where Minnie had lived at the time – he'd finally conceded defeat and pulled into the nearest motel.

The room they had been given by the motel staff had been the definition of run-down. She didn’t think she’d ever forget the lumpy mattress, peeling wallpaper, or her sister's ungodly scream when she'd discovered the hand-sized spider in the motel's rusted bath tub.

Apparently, the motels in Canada weren't built much differently than the ones in the good old U.S. of A.

Musty smell. Check. Suspicious stains on the carpet. Check. Strange paintings hanging from the walls. Check.

While Sophie had protested as soon as Bastian had pulled into the motel's parking lot, Katherine had kept her mouth firmly shut and she wasn't about to open it to complain now.

In the SUV, her reasoning had been that she was tired, her body ached, and she honestly didn't think she could spend another minute being stuck in the same enclosed space as Markus. The man positively infuriated Katherine. However, even she would admit that there was a silver lining to his blatant dislike of her – it made for a wonderful distraction. It kept Katherine angry and she'd much rather feel anger than the grief that she knew was lurking underneath.

Still, Katherine needed a break from the man and wasn’t about to ruin her chances of that by complaining about the dingy room. At least, not out loud anyway.

So, reminding herself that staying at the motel was better than sleeping in the SUV again, Katherine retreated to a corner of the room, where she could lean comfortably against a wall and ignore the others' loud chatter.

Markus had plopped down on one of the beds as soon as Bastian had jimmied the door to their room open. He was engaged in a boisterous conversation with Sophie, who had sat in an uncomfortable looking chair next to the room's small desk. Caleb was sitting quietly beside her on a similar chair and Zane was on the phone, apparently making good on his promise to order some hamburgers as soon as they'd gotten a room.

Bastian, after thoroughly inspecting the room, had relaxed on the bed opposite Markus. Her eyes followed his movements as he set his car keys on the night stand. If only she could find a way to snatch them. But Katherine wasn't stupid. She knew that there was no way she could outmaneuver five people who were indefinitely stronger – and probably faster – than she was.

Tearing her eyes away from the keys, Katherine took a moment to really look at Bastian. Even sitting, his form seemed so solid. His black hair was in a state of disarray. That, combined with the brightness of his eyes made him look wild – almost feral really. And for a second, Katherine could almost make herself believe that he... well, that he was...

"Hey princess!"

Tensing at the disrespectful nickname that the jerk had been insistent upon calling her for the past two days, Katherine turned her attention towards Markus. "What?" she spat back at him.

Rolling his hazel eyes, the man gestured towards Zane, who was staring at her expectantly. "He just wanted to know how you liked your burgers."

Ignoring the heat spreading across her cheeks, Katherine managed a nonchalant shrug. "Lot of pickles," she muttered. "Oh, and rare I guess."

Markus gave her a knowing look at that particular specification. The raised eyebrows practically begged for the brunette to smack the man. So what? What did it matter if she liked her meat bloody? That didn’t prove anything – certainly not that she was some mythical creature.