Stupid mountain mist.
She could hardly see more than a dozen yards in front of her. So much for hightailing it away from her pain. This was more like a steady amble along the winding forest road.
She looked down at the dash and cursed as a red light flickered before settling on glaring at her. She was low on gas too. Hopefully, she’d have enough to make it to the small town she had stopped at before. Maybe she would get a room there and cry herself out until the morning before she made her way back to the city. There was no way she would be safe attempting the journey now.
As the road descended, Katherine looked over at her meagre collection of things that she had stuffed into what bags she could find and carry. That was it. That was all she had, all that she was. Study things, cheap clothes that she had chosen carefully so that she might pass as someone with style and money, and her makeup and toiletries. Everything she needed to try and convince herself that she was more than what she really was, which was nobody.
She was tired of trying so hard to better herself and getting nowhere. She was trash, just like her father and her dead, drugged-up mother. The only time she had ever felt like she mattered was with Lucian.
Her heart ached and a sob broke from her.
Why did he lie to her?
She knew he was lying. She had felt how much he cared, she had seen it and heard it and felt it with every moment they had shared together. But he was lying for a reason, he chose to say those hurtful things to her, he chose to twist in the knife by voicing her fears and claiming he was bored of her and that she had been nothing but a fun conquest. Katherine wasn’t sure what hurt more, the harsh rejection or the fact he chose to do it to her.
Her hand blazed, reminding her that there was also the physical pain to consider. Her red and swollen palm stung fiercely still. She cursed her own stupidity again. What had she been thinking, slapping a vampire?
Suddenly a flash of silver caught her attention and she swerved to avoid an oncoming truck. The breaks of the old truck were more responsive than she thought and she screamed as the wheels skidded out of control before sliding to a stop against a tree with a heavy and jarring thump. She gripped the wheel tightly and panted heavily, fear coursing through her veins.
“Are you alright?” A deep and concerned voice called to her from the other vehicle.
Katherine gripped the wheel even tighter and tried to get her breathing under control. She kept her eyes screwed shut as she counted down from ten in her head.
The door was wrenched open and Katherine found herself gathered up and pulled out of the driver's seat. She hit out on instinct, only to scream as fresh heat shot through her hand.
“Hey now, easy. I’m not going to hurt you,” the voice soothed.
Katherine finally looked up and recognised the man from the Darkhills town.
“You’re Rose’s fiancé,” she said dumbly as she gaped at him. Up close he really was a mountain of a man. A very handsome, grumpy-looking, mountain of a man.
“Sure am. The name’s Cayden Greystone. What are you doing driving out so late?” He asked, his eyes looking over her head at the dented truck where it leaned against the tree. “And what are you doing driving my truck?”
“Your truck?”
The man shook his head and grumbled under his breath.
“Had it towed, my ass.”
He carried her over to his gleaming silver truck and placed her gently on the passenger seat, before stomping back to retrieve her things.
“I don’t understand and please, I’m fine. Just shook up, I can drive, I just need a minute,” Katherine argued.
“That baby is busted up good and proper now. I’ll come back for her in the morning. For now, you can sit tight and I’ll get you back to ours. Rose is making up the sofa for you.”
“Wait what? Why is she doing that?”
“Lucian called. Told me you were heading this way, asked me to see to it that you were safe. He didn’t want you driving back to the city tonight,” Cayden explained as he turned the ignition key of the car and headed back the way he had come.
“Why would he do that? He doesn’t care about me,” Katherine spat out bitterly.
Cayden snorted.
“He woke me in the middle of the night, demanding I leave my mate’s bed in order to fetch you. Trust me, he cares, otherwise, he wouldn’t have asked,” he said, turning down some unmarked road. “And by the way his scent is all over you, I’d say he cares a lot.”
“His scent?” Katherine stammered, heat flooding her cheeks.
“Sorry, that was rude of me,” Cayden cursed and ran a hand over his tired face, “it’s a wolf thing; can’t help but smell him on you.”
Katherine sniffed at herself sheepishly before she registered what the man had said.
“Wolf thing?”
“Yup. Sorry, Lucian said you knew about him, I assumed you knew about the rest of us.”
“You mean like the dragon that lives in the mountains?” She asked.
Cayden barked out a laugh and appraised her.
“A dragon? Good one. Look we’re here, before we head inside I’d like to apologise for anything that might come out of my grandmother-in-law’s mouth. She has no filter but is harmless and means well… for the most part.”
“Erm, OK,” Katherine stammered as they pulled up to a large and welcoming-looking cabin, the porch lights were on and Katherine saw the petite figure of a woman come bounding down the steps to greet them.
“Dammit Rose, it’s freezing out here, get back inside,” Cayden ground out as he climbed out of the truck and tried to gather her up into his arms.
The quick-footed woman easily scooted out of his reach and raised her hands in the
