“I think the floor is safer,” Cassie replied, sitting down on the hardwood floor.
Whitney glanced back at the couch beneath her. She must have realized it also as she slid to the floor in front of Cassie.
“I’m sorry if I scared you last night, or this morning, or both,” Whitney told her, concern lacing her voice.
“You weren’t really the scary one. That was the one the night before,” Cassie replied. Whitney was scary, but it was true that she wasn’t as scary.
“The night before? We didn’t come out here until last night,” Whitney replied. “Shoot, where’d I leave my phone. I’ll have to call Than about that.” Whitney patted her loaned sweatshirt before laughing. “I suppose that will have to wait.”
“Call Nate?”
“Well, he isn’t in charge yet, but since he’s next in line, we kind of have to report to him,” Whitney explained.
“In charge? Report?”
Whitney stared at Cassie. “They said they had explained this all to you.”
“They?” Cassie was still confused.
“Than and your uncle. They said that they told you everything before you ran away. John had no clue where you went,” Whitney added, winking at Cassie.
John might not have known the exact location, but he did have an idea of where she had gone. What side did that leave Whitney on? She was Cassie’s best friend, but now she wasn’t sure of what anything meant. John, who had always been mean to her, was trying to help her run away from Nate. And now Whitney, the person that was always open with her, had just been talking about calling Nate to turn her in.
“I’m not sure what they were supposed to explain, but I kind of didn’t believe them or think about it until that monster showed up outside the cabin the other night,” Cassie replied. Whitney flinched at the word monster.
“I don’t know about that, but I assure you, I’ll find out,” Whitney replied solemnly.
“Before or after you take me back and force me to live with Nate?”
“You don’t want to go?” Whitney was shocked. She bumped her knees to Cassie’s knees as they sat facing each other.
“Umm, no. Why do you think I ran away?” Cassie replied. No. She didn’t want to live with Nate. She didn’t want to date him either. She was over that crush, but he didn’t seem to think so.
“I just thought that since you guys are mated and all that you’d want to move in their place until the ceremony,” Whitney kept talking.
“I’m not mated to anyone,” Cassie quickly pointed out.
“But your neck,” Whitney said in reply. She was now the one confused. Cassie would have joked with her at this point, but she still wanted to get it through to Whitney what was really going on.
“Means nothing. I’m not mated, dated, or anything else with Nate. Why won’t you believe me when I say that?”
“It’s not that I don’t believe you. It’s just that no one has ever had the mark of another without being their mate. I figured with your crush on him, it was all he needed to make the bond and that you were more than willing to bind your life to his forever.” Whitney shrugged.
“I’m so over that crush.”
“Not according to your marking,” Whitney answered.
Cassie huffed. Why didn’t her own mind and words matter? Everyone seemed to think the invisible mark was enough to make her do something she didn’t want to do. Without thinking, Cassie rubbed the mark on her neck. It was an invisible, annoying mark.
“Well, I’m not one of you guys. I don’t turn all furry in the moonlight,” Cassie pointed out.
“Of course not. You wouldn’t have been made into Than’s mate if you were. We always mate witch to skinwalker.”
“And you? Aren’t you a witch and skinwalker?” Cassie tried out the foreign word.
“I’m the oddity. Every now and then a female is born that can change forms. I’m not really a witch, hence, the reason I’m failing all our witch classes,” Whitney explained with a who cares attitude.
“You’re not a witch? Then how can you do magic?” Cassie had seen her friend do spells, even if she were really bad at it with results that were unwanted. She still did them.
“Technically, anyone can learn witch magic, but to be good at it, you have to have some witch blood in your genes. To be able to do what you can do, you have to have a pretty clear witch line, one that you can trace back centuries. Witches always mate with skinwalkers, and we never leave the clans to keep the witch line pure.”
That wasn’t a lesson Cassie had learned in school or she would have asked more questions. Keep the line pure.
“So they didn’t really tell you anything?” Whitney was still staring at Cassie.
“They said stuff, but I was a bit more concerned with the fact that Nate planned to kidnap me, and my uncle could do nothing about it. You didn’t happen to hear if my aunt is back in town?”
“Wait a second. Do you seriously not want to live with Than?”
It was if Cassie’s words were finally sinking in for Whitney. Cassie stared at her friend. Finally.
“No. Why won’t anyone listen to me? I don’t want to live with Nate. I don’t want to date Nate, let alone mate with him. And I don’t want to be a part of all this scary crap. You should have seen the one the other night. It had red eyes. Like really red eyes.” Cassie couldn’t help but freak out. No one was listening to her, and life had just turned into a scene from a freaky horror movie.
“But that doesn’t make any sense. If you don’t want to be with Than, why did you get his marking?”
“I. Don’t. Know.” Cassie was exasperated. She loved her best friend, but it didn’t seem like Whitney was on her side.
Whitney rubbed her forehead.
“They sent me out here because they said that you ran away because of all this night human stuff. They said it scared you, and you ran. But that wasn’t why, was it?” Whitney was finally getting the whole picture.
“I didn’t believe them about the monster stuff,” Cassie said. Whitney flinched again. It was definitely the word monster that got to her. “They told me about night humans. I really didn’t believe them. I ran away because John told me that only Aunt Maria could help me. He said he couldn’t keep me with him now. I don’t want to live with Nate, and I really don’t want to apprentice to his mother.”
“They want you to apprentice with Mrs. Bay?” Even Whitney scrunched up her nose at that idea.
“Yeah. Please don’t tell them I’m here,” Cassie begged. Aunt Maria couldn’t be far away.
“They already know you’re here. Why do you think I was lying outside your door last night?”
Cassie dreaded having to find a new place to hide. Her shoes weren’t completely dry yet.
“Will they be here soon to get me?” Cassie asked. She stood and began packing her stuff away in her hiking bag. “I’ve got to find somewhere else to wait out Aunt Maria returning.”
“She’s not coming back right now. She might not be back for weeks,” Whitney said as she watched Cassie run around the small cabin.
“Weeks?” Cassie asked, almost dropping the can in her hand. She would have to hide out in the woods with the monster for weeks? John made it sound like Maria would only be days.
“They aren’t letting her come back now until you join the coven. Everyone knows that she would stop it. Heck, she’s the only one that has ever joined the coven without a mate. No one else knows how or will tell anyone how to join without a mate,” Whitney explained, still watching Cassie carefully.
“Wait a second. I can’t join the coven without getting married? What sort of twisted world is this? Why the heck did anyone let me take the exam if that was the requirement?” Cassie was more than a little upset. Not even Whitney stopped her when she went to do the exam.
Whitney looked guiltily at her bare feet. “Owen and I didn’t think you’d pass it, and if you did, he planned to ask you out and save you from all the mate stuff.”
Ca
ssie’s eyes bulged at the answer. She didn’t know what hurt more: her friends thought she wouldn’t pass, or that they planned to set her up with Owen to have to avoid telling her everything. It was the same old stuff she grew up with. Even her friends were in on the secret. And man, what a secret it was.
“Owen planned to step in as my mate but not explain it to me?” Cassie asked for clarification. “Just like Nate did?”
“Kind of,” Whitney replied.
“Is everyone crazy?” Cassie began to throw her stuff back in her bag.
“You didn’t grow up knowing all of this. It isn’t really too crazy to us. I mean, come on. First off, no one has joined the coven as a teenager in years, beyond your aunt of course, and second off, think back to all those couples from high school that are still together. Didn’t you say just weeks ago how strange our school must be because everyone is still with their high school sweethearts? Well, this is why. Most night humans mate for life.”
It was strange that everyone seemed to stay together, and Cassie had wondered about it. But she didn’t want to be part of it. She didn’t want to be with Nate, and everyone told her they were already partners. How many more didn’t want to be with who they first dated in high school? It didn’t sound like fun or a world she wanted to join. Cassie had spent her whole life wanting to be in on the secret and join the coven, but she didn’t exactly like the terms.
Cassie grabbed the last bit of her stuff and shoved it in her backpack.
“You really are going to keep hiding?” Whitney asked cautiously, moving to stand with her friend.
“Yes. I’ll hide until Aunt Maria comes home, even if they try to keep her away,” Cassie replied.
“But what about joining the coven?”
Yes, that had been a lifelong dream, but Cassie didn’t want to think about that now. She needed to stay safe and away from any of the monsters. She wasn’t marrying or mating anyone, especially not Nate.
“You really don’t want to be with Than?” Whitney asked for the umpteenth time in ten minutes while standing to follow her to the doorway.
Cassie looked up at her friend, who was now blocking the door. If she truly was that night human monster she saw the night before, she didn’t stand a chance of getting by.
“No. I don’t want to be with Nate. I have no idea what mark you are all talking about, but I don’t want to be with him. I don’t want to be with anyone like that. I want my own life to make my own choices. I knew the coven expected some sort of control. I got that. I saw how they treated Aunt Maria. But I didn’t expect that they would force you to marry someone,” Cassie replied, hoping it would finally sink in.
Whitney walked over and stood in front of Cassie.
“What can I do to help you, then?”
“You believe me?” Cassie asked in shock, really expecting the argument to continue.
“Cas, I thought you were just playing coy with us about Than. The only way a mating mark can show up is if you willingly kissed him and your unconscious side decided that you were a good match. But if you don’t want to be with him, I believe you.”
“We did kiss.” Cassie’s shoulders slumped. It had been her fault all along. She had asked to take the exam. She went behind her uncle’s back, and she kissed Nate back.
Whitney’s eyes shot wide.
“You kissed him. You didn’t tell me that. You’re supposed to tell your best friend stuff like that,” she squealed. “Was he as good as everyone says?”
“I didn’t kiss him. He kissed me. Besides, it doesn’t matter. We might have kissed, but I stopped it as soon as I realized what I was doing. I don’t want to be with Nate. Not then and not now. I want to make my own choices on everything,” Cassie complained.
Whitney wiggled her eyebrows.
“And fine. He’s a good kisser,” Cassie added for her best friend.
“I knew it,” Whitney exclaimed like she had won some sort of bet.
“Are you really going to help me?” Cassie asked.
“Of course. You’re my best friend. Why wouldn’t I help you?” Whitney placed an arm around Cassie and guided her back to the blanket on the floor.
Cassie looked at her friend. She was one of them, but she was still Whitney.
“Check me out.” Whitney looked directly into Cassie’s eyes opening the connection between them to show her how honest she really was. “I promise that I’m on your side. We just need to plan before heading back to town,” Whitney explained.
“I’m not heading back to be married off to Nate.” Cassie tried to pull away, but Whitney’s firm grip didn’t let her go anywhere.
“I’m not going to let them force you to mate with Than. If you don’t want to be with him, then you won’t. It will be over my dead body before I let them.”
“But if you return me to my uncle, he said even he can’t stand up to them. He said he’ll have to do what the alpha tells him.” Cassie still didn’t sit.
“Yes, he does. He’s a full member of the pack. Well, even the youngsters have to do what the alpha says, but it doesn’t quite work that way with me.” Whitney shrugged. “I’m part of the pack, but the whole bow down to the leader thing works when there is intent to harm or take over. I can’t be the alpha, so I’m not a threat. The alpha can’t compel me to do anything because he won’t threaten me physically since I’m a girl. I kind of don’t have to do what they want.”
Cassie stared hard at her friend. She was tempted to look into her thoughts and see more, but she didn’t. Of anyone, Cassie trusted Whitney. She trusted Owen also, but he didn’t seem to be around at the moment.
“Then what can we do?” Cassie asked, finally sitting beside her best friend.
“Well, first off we need to make a plan. We can’t head back without one. Than is waiting for us. I told him I would take care of you and return when we are ready. I just never said when I would bring you back. He can wait a little longer.”
Some of the weight was gone. Cassie had felt alone, but now she saw otherwise. Whitney was her friend, even if she turned into a scary monster at night.
“If you let me get a fire going and promise not to run away without me, we can sit here until sundown making plans,” Whitney said as she stood cautiously. “If you don’t want to be bonded to Than, then I won’t let him do anything. He might be the next one in charge, but that doesn’t mean he can tell us all what to do.”
“Isn’t that what it means to be in charge?” Cassie asked.
“You know what I mean. You can’t force someone to like you, and the bond is all about liking someone. He can’t force that on you, even if he somehow found a way to claim you. Let me warm this place up. You have to be freezing. Stay here.”
She nodded. It wasn’t like she could outrun her night human friend if she wanted to, but she didn’t need to. Whitney seemed to finally understand where Cassie was coming from. It might be a lot to learn and was more than a bit confusing, but she was feeling better. Whitney would help her. That’s what best friends were for.
CHAPTER 6
The cabin didn’t take long to warm up since it was small. Whitney was right; Cassie was freezing, but it didn’t seem to affect her friend at all. It was as if she had an invisible fur coat on. Cassie sat huddled in the blanket as the warmth seeped around her.
“What’s it like?” she asked her friend about being a night human. “Do you drink blood?”
Whitney laughed. “Of course they told you that part. I would have run screaming to the hills, too, if that was what people told me a night human was. Geesh. Men are idiots.”
Cassie laughed. Her toes were finally unfreezing under the blanket. It was good to have Whitney there. Even if she was part of all the crazy, she was still Whitney. That made things a tad bit more bearable.
“Are you still you when you become a monster?” Cassie had tons more questions.
Whitney smiled from her spot at the fire she was stoking.
“Yes, I drink blood on occasion. Yes, I’m s
till me. And no, it isn’t all bad.” Whitney gazed out the window. “When you grow up like this, it’s different than what you are going through. It doesn’t seem strange. Even being completely in your totem on the full moon doesn’t seem strange. And before you ask, that’s when I typically drink blood, and yes it’s animal blood. You aren’t given human blood until you have a mate and become a full member of the clan.”
Whitney was at the fire, cooking. “Did he really give you ham and beans in a can?” Whitney asked while she stirred. “Where does he find food like this?”
That was John. He knew how to pack protein into any meal, and it didn’t surprise Cassie in the least.
“So tell me more about this bonding thingy. How do I avoid it?” Cassie asked.
Whitney pulled one of the cans from the fire without a mit. Her hand sizzled a little, but she didn’t seem to care in the least. She set the warm can in front of Cassie, then Whitney wiped her burned hand with her other hand and a bit of skin flaked off, but she still didn’t to even notice. Reaching back into the fire, she grabbed the second can.
“The bond is really simple. He ingests some of your blood, and you take some of his.” Whitney dug into her food.
“Gross, but okay. And what else?” Cassie gingerly ate the steaming hot beans.
“Nothing else,” Whitney added between bites. “It’s that simple. Blood for blood exchange.”
“But how do you donate blood at a hospital then? Or help an injured person? People can accidentally swap blood. It might not happen often, but it can. I mean, aren’t there blood-borne diseases all over the place? How come people aren’t bonded to night humans all the time?”
Whitney laughed. “Well first off, does it seem like we get hurt often? How many days of school do you think I’ve ever missed in my life? What about Owen? We don’t exactly go into hospitals for anything. And blood donation? Nope. We’re not allowed to do that at all. Night human blood can be used to turn someone into a night human if done correctly. We are not running around giving our blood out. Even witches can’t donate their blood.”