I followed her, damn near desperate to get her to understand where I was coming from, and the desperation fueled what I said next. “After everything that went down with Blake, you said you wouldn’t doubt me. That you would trust my decisions, but you’re doing it again. Not listening to me or using common sense. And when this blows up in your face again, what am I supposed to do then?”

She gasped, backing up. “That’s…that was a low blow.”

“It’s the truth.”

Her eyes glistened, and I cursed under my breath as she appeared to force the words out. “I know all of this is coming from a good place, but I don’t need a friendly reminder of how badly I screwed up. I totally know. And I’m trying to fix that.”

“Kat, I’m not trying to be a dick.”

“I know, it just comes easily to you.” Her gaze flickered over my shoulder. I looked. Headlights peeked through the fog, coming up the road. Her voice was hoarse when she spoke again. “I’ve got to go. Mom’s home.”

Kat hurried off the porch, but I wasn’t done. Moving quickly, I ended up in front of her. She stopped, eyes widening. “I hate when you do that.”

“Think about what I said, Kat. You have nothing to prove.”

“I don’t?”

“No,” I said, and I’d say it a thousand times.

But I knew screaming it from the top of Seneca Rocks wasn’t going to change how she felt. I watched her wait for her mom by their porch, and then I turned around.

Amazing.

Took only two minutes to turn her into boneless, happy, and sated Kat. And it only took two minutes to piss her off.

Chapter 12

Kat still wasn’t a fan of mine come Friday morning, and I still wasn’t thrilled with the fact that my concerns fell on deaf ears. My mood only briefly improved when I caught up to her outside of class and kissed her in a way that made sure she’d spend the bulk of the rest of the day thinking about me.

However, having found her with Blake was not on my top one million things I cared to repeat again. I didn’t like him around her, not even in the same time zone as her, and the douche bag knew it. The fact that it was obvious I wanted to strangle him with my bare hands didn’t deter him one minute, not even from texting her about meeting Saturday night to go over the Mount Weather plans.

Kat and I still needed to really hash out the whole Sunday business, but as I walked her to her car after school, I just wanted to do something normal, because normalcy was so underrated these days.

We caught an afternoon matinee. I had no idea what the hell the movie was about, because I was too busy monopolizing the bucket of popcorn and Kat’s mouth. I was actually disappointed when the movie ended and we made the drive back home.

And that disappointment multiplied when we got home. The moment I stepped out of her car, I sensed one of my own in my house, and it wasn’t Dee.

“Kat, I think you should go home.”

“Huh?” She closed the car door, frowning. “I thought we were going to talk? And eat ice cream—you promised ice cream.”

I chuckled under my breath. “I know, but I have company.”

She planted herself in front of the porch steps. “What kind of company?”

“The Luxen kind,” I said, placing my hands on her shoulders. “Elders.”

Her brows lifted. “And I can’t come in?”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea, and I don’t think that’s an option.”

Kat looked over her shoulder as my front door opened and the Elder stepped out and stood in the doorway. I kept my expression blank as I eyed Ethan Smith, who for some reason was dressed like he had a job on Wall Street, three-piece suit and all.

I had no idea how old Ethan was. Silver hair framed his temples, but the rest was midnight black, and his sharp amethyst gaze missed nothing, and definitely not where my hands were on Kat’s shoulders.

Ethan’s smile was pleasant as Kat turned, facing him. My hand slid down the center of her back. “Ethan,” I said. “I wasn’t expecting you.”

His gaze flickered over Kat. “I can see. Is this the girl that your brother and sister kindly informed me about?”

I did not like the way he said “girl.”

“Depends on what they kindly informed you of.”

His smile didn’t waver. “That you’ve been seeing her. I was surprised. We’re practically family.”

“You know me, Ethan, I don’t like to kiss and tell the world.” Unease bled from Kat, and I moved my thumb in slow, soothing circles along her lower back. “Kat, this is Ethan Smith. He’s like a…”

A giant pain in my ass?

“Godfather,” Kat offered quietly.

Ethan lifted his chin. “Yes, like a godfather.” He focused on Kat again. “You’re not from around here, are you, Katy?”

“No, sir, I’m from Florida.”

“Oh.” Dark brows rose. “Is West Virginia to your agreement?”

She glanced at me. “Yeah, it’s nice.”

“That’s lovely.” He came down a step, extending his hand. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

Kat started to reach for Ethan’s hand, but I intercepted, weaving my fingers through hers. I didn’t trust Ethan; therefore I didn’t want him touching her. Lifting her hand to my lips, I pressed a kiss against the center of her palm.

“Kat, I’ll come over in a little while.” I let go of her hand and shifted, shielding her from Ethan. “I have some catching up to do, okay?”

“It was nice to meet you,” Kat said, her voice even.

“Likewise,” he said. “I’m sure we’ll meet again.”

Not if I had anything to do with it.

Ethan watched her walk next door with a curious tilt of his head. “A human, Daemon?”

I ignored the comment as I walked up the steps and headed inside. He was right behind me, taking his time. “What can I do for you, Ethan?”

He followed me into the kitchen. I grabbed a water, and nope, wasn’t offering him shit. Unbuttoning his suit jacket, he sat at the kitchen table. “There’ve been many, many rumors circulating, and it appears all of them are true.”

Leaning against the counter, I unscrewed the lid on the bottle. To be honest, I wasn’t too surprised that he’d heard them. “Is that so?”

His smile lacked all warmth. “Dawson has returned.”

“I’m sure Lydia told you that.”

He cocked his head to the side. “He was re-assimilated?”

“Uh-huh.” For some reason, I didn’t think he believed the question he was asking.

“Luxen are only re-assimilated for breaking the rules. Many are never rereleased,” he said, tapping his fingers on the table. “What rules did Dawson break?”

I took another drink.

He laughed under his breath. “I’m sure I can guess what it is. The same rule you’re breaking right now?”

“Hmmm…”

“You’re seeing a human.”

“Among other things,” I said with a smirk.

That smile went down a notch. “I expected better from you.”

Irritation pricked my skin as I took a drink of water. “That’s too bad.”

“You know the risks involved.” His eyes flashed. “And yet you treat this as a joke.”

“There’s not a damn single thing I find about this as funny.”

“That’s not the message I’m getting.”

“That’s not my problem.”

The smile was completely gone by this point, replaced by a tense slash of a month. “Then is it Katy’s problem?”

I stilled.

My lungs stopped the useless task of sucking in oxygen as I stared at the Elder. “Are you threatening her?”

“No.” He chuckled, waving a hand dismissively. “Now why would I do that?”

Yeah. Bullshit. “I don’t know. You tell me.”

He was quiet as he dragged his hand off the table. “I would not threaten a young girl, Daemon. That kind of classless tact is below me.”