Witch Clans

Part 24

It took all Katie's willpower not to drop on her knees in the middle of the hallway. But she felt like she'd been crushed under a ton of cement. Luke didn't seem much happier, though his face was more difficult to read.

"No..." she stammered. "Please tell me it's not true..."

His expression unreadable, Luke raised his own wrist. While Katie's sported a tattoo of two hands surrounding a star, Luke's was a wolf's head surrounded by a perfect circle. The full moon. These were their clan marks, which they got during the pledge ceremony. Only members of the Silverwolf clan were permitted to wear those tattoos, the same way only Katie's clan members could sport hers. And then, as if the knowledge wasn't dizzying enough, Katie was suddenly struck in the face by the realisation that all the signs had been there. His sister's names, not uncommon in the magical world. The expression he'd had the day she'd learned Victor Dawson had died. He'd been a Silverwolf too, so of course Luke would be upset. And worst of all, she remembered that the leader of the Silverwolf clan was Loran Devon. She could have kicked herself for not realising it sooner. She might have been able to spare herself this mess...

"... I can't believe it... as if I didn't have enough reasons to fight this..." she whispered, her eyes stinging.

This was even worse than if he'd seen her using her magic. She bit her lip to keep her composure, but it was hard.

"Maybe we don't have to..." Luke said, taking her hands. "There's no official rule that forbids us from being together..."

"True," Katie agreed. "But the feud between our clans is close enough..."

Luke didn't answer.

"If we can just explain..."

"They'll never listen! Our families will never let us be together..." she said sadly. "We are both representatives of our clan. Not to mention your father hates mine. And my family won't want us caught in the middle."

"Then, we don't tell them..." Luke said, reaching up to cup her cheek.

His face was so close she needed but to lean forwards and she could kiss him. And as much as she knew she shouldn't, she wanted to. Her heart was thumping madly, her eyes burning with tears.

"Do you really think you could do that? Sneak around, lie? Live in fear of being caught?"

Luke was still struggling to find an argument.

"We wouldn't be hurting anyone..."

Katie sighed.

"Not at first," she allowed. "But how could we have a healthy relationship that way? One of us is going to want to come out in the open, and the other won't agree, or we both agree and then all hell breaks loose..."

"They'd be mad at first, sure," Luke conceded. "But... d'you really want to just go about pretending nothing happened? That we don't feel the way we do?"

Katie closed her eyes to prevent the tears from slipping out. She didn't want to have red eyes.

"No, I don't want to," she replied. "But it's what we have to do."

"Why?" Luke asked.

"Oh, come on, Luke... our families are already furious with one another, do you really want to make things worse?"

"That's them," Luke pointed out. "This is us. We're not involved in their silly argument."

"Honestly, I can't see that it'll make much difference to them..." Katie said unhappily. "Which means only one thing..."

Luke stared at her, his mask slipping slightly.

"So... what are you saying?"

A single tear slid down Katie's cheek as she looked up at him, her heart breaking as she spoke.

"It means there can never be anything between us..."

And with a muffled sob, she ran away.

Katie spent the drive home that afternoon wiping tears out of her eyes. She'd spent the rest of the day trying not to cry. A part of her had wanted to just take off and go home, but she would have needed to explain it to her parents, and she didn't feel like it. She went straight up to her room after a brief greeting to her grandmother, her parents having not yet returned. She dropped her bag, coat and shoes and slumped onto the bed. She then lay with her face away from the door to give herself time to dry her eyes if someone came in. They slid down her face and dampened her pillow but she didn't care. Was her family cursed, or something? Her grandmother had married young, but her husband had died a few years later. Her brother's romance was stable for now, but he had suffered a great deal when he'd had to break up with Belinda. The only ones who'd had a half-way normal relationship were her parents, and they'd had their share of complications with Loran Devon... and now, the one time she found someone she could possibly open her heart to, he was out of her reach. It wasn't fair! She couldn't help thinking of Luke's comment that their parents' feud didn't involve them. She agreed, but she doubted her parents would see it that way, and Luke's even less... She heaved a sigh just as someone knocked on her door.

"Katie?" came Isadora's voice. "Are you all right?"

Katie sighed.

"Yes, Grandma, I'm fine..." she replied.

"Can I come in?"

Katie was sorely tempted to say no, but exhaled and said:

"Yes."

She sat up, quickly wiping her eyes as the door opened. Her grandmother was carrying a glass of milk and a brownie.

"I thought you'd be hungry," she said. "All those long days in school must work an appetite."

Katie had to admit she was.

"Thanks," she said as Isadora set the plate and glass down on the bedside table.

"May I?" her grandmother inquired, glancing at her bed.

"Of course," Katie said, shifting to give her more room.

Isadora sat down and looked at Katie.

"Now, what's boiling your kettle?" she asked gently.

Katie couldn't help cracking a small smile. Her grandmother was full of similar expressions. Boiling one's kettle was her way of saying something was troubling you. When you were angry, she would tell you to "Cool your fire". And when you were in a good mood, she would say "your sun's bright, today," and others like that. But she wasn't sure what to answer. So she decided to ask without giving any names.

"Grandma... have you ever felt drawn to someone but have to fight it because it wouldn't be right for you to be with them and it would hurt a lot of people?"

"As in they're already with someone else, you mean?" her grandmother asked.

Katie almost said no, but it would be a good cover...

"Uh... yes, that's it."

Isadora eyed her shrewdly a moment, like she wasn't entirely fooled, but if she suspected anything, she said nothing.

"Well... no, I must say I haven't been in that position. George was available and so was I."

Katie sighed. She was about to say something when her father's voice rang up from downstairs.

"Katiora Melinda Thomas, come down here a minute."

Katie and Isadora exchanged a perplexed look.

"What have you done now, darling?" Isadora teased.

"Nothing!" Katie cried. "I don't think..."

They went down the stairs where Kendall was waiting for them. For perhaps the first time in memory, Katie's father actually looked... angry...

"What is it, Dad?" she asked.

"When were you going to tell us you were friends with Lucan Devon?" her father demanded.