Cold As Stone

Chapter 7

Elias held the bridge of his nose between his thumb and forefinger as he entered his home several hours later that day. It was nearly time for dinner and he couldn't help but take a whiff of the delicious smell of whatever Sicily was making in the kitchen.

His eyebrows furrowed in confusion when he heard his sister giggling for the first time in years. Well for the first time in years with Bryson not being the cause. Swiftly he removed his boots and jacket before peeking into the kitchen. His jaw opened slightly when he saw Sicily laughing with his mate. His sister Sicily was actually having a good time with the human despite what had happened to them fourteen years ago.

"I can't believe your sister really did that," Sicily laughed loudly. So loudly she began to snort which in turn made the two girls begin to laugh even more. It had been a long time since Sicily had found a person who she could laugh with. Being the Alpha's daughter and then sister made the other female members of the pack wary of her but since Katherine knew nothing of the pack there was nothing keeping her from being friends with Sicily. Or at least that's what Sicily hoped they were becoming.

"Oh she's done much worse. I'm sure of it," Katherine giggled and then winced. It hurt her ribs to laugh but she didn't want Sicily to make her go back upstairs to bed. The had been bonding ever since the dark humored brunette came upstairs and practically forced her to eat something earlier in the day.

"She sounds terrible," Sicily grinned and Katherine smiled slightly. While Charity was much more free spirited than Katherine and often got on her nerves Katherine couldn't help but miss her twin.

"But she's wonderful. I think you would really like her." Katherine frowned and tried to ignore the stinging sensation in her eyes. She was never going to see her sister again and that made her sad. She wished instead of going for a run that night she had gone with her sister. What she wouldn't give to spend fifteen more minutes arguing about stupid things like boys and make up.

Sicily sensed the change of mood and looked down at her hands. She wanted to give Katherine a sense of privacy in her thoughts and she even began to ponder her own. Even though she did not have the best relationship with either of brothers they were still always there for her and she couldn't imagine life without either of them.

A clearing of a deep throat snapped both of them out of their thoughts and Katherine blushed slightly when she saw Elias standing there with a stern look on his face. He looked upset to see her down there and that made her stomach drop. Why was she so happy to see him but he was so unhappy to see her?

"Did you let her get any rest today Sicily?" Elias noticed that Katherine had been changed from a hospital gown to a pair of black sweats and tee shirt. Her hair was no longer tangled but looked to be freshly washed and brushed.

"She wasn't tired Elias," his younger sister glared at her brother and then smiled sweetly at Katherine. Elias didn't know how to feel about this. In a perfect world he would be ecstatic that his younger sister was friends with his mate. But this was not the perfect world and it would only make it harder for Katherine when she had to go if she made friends with those within is pack.

He wanted nothing more to be friendly with her and make her feel like she belong here with them, but he knew he could not let that happen. He could not wait for the girl to heal completely. Bryson had caught the scent of an unfamiliar wolf and Elias knew what that meant. This was how it had all started 14 years ago and he would not let it get further than the unfamiliar scent. She would be gone by the end of the week and there was nothing that was going to change that fact.

"I think I can handle it from here Sicily." He glared at his sister, more so from his new realized facts than anything she had done, and motioned for her to go.

"But--" Sicily ground out.

"Go home Sicily." Elias growled and folded his arms over his chest.

"Whatever Elias. Thank you for spending the day with me Katherine. I had fun." Sicily hugged the girl softly as she passed her on the way out and then glared at Elias until she was out the door. Elias widened his eyes in surprise at the use of her name but did not say anything to stop his upset sister. Katherine noticed the heat in their exchange and folded her arms over her chest in discomfort.

She hadn't meant for Sicily to get in trouble for hanging out with her. She didn't know why but she felt more comfortable around Sicily than she had been with her own sister in recent years and it made her sad that her new friend was being sent out the door with a glare.

"You didn't have to do that you know?" Katherine spoke softly at Elias and looked down at the ground. Elias softened his gaze when he looked at her but quickly hardened it again. The feelings that she was bringing out in the members of her family and pack were not good or welcomed. Everybody that had come in contact with her from his father to the pack doctor to his own siblings seemed to be under whatever spell she was casting. They all thought she was adorable and couldn't wait to be in her presence again to learn more about her and that was not good. While she was not danger she brought danger with her and he would not haven the events of fourteen years ago, or even two years ago, repeat themselves again.

"Have you eaten?" He spoke gruffly at her and she simply nodded her head.

"Bed then." Katherine scoffed and rolled her eyes. She was almost eighteen, not a five year old. She did not need to be bossed around by a twenty three year old male. But she wasn't going to waste her time arguing with him.

She brushed past him going through the door and heat filled his body. He tightened his jaw and grabbed onto the door frame to keep from grabbing her waist to bring her back towards him.

When he finally heard her bedroom door shut he let out a deep breath and let go of his hold on the frame. He rolled his eyes when he saw the wood splintered from his grip and moved away from the damage.

Although the food that Sicily had made seemed fantastic he could not find it in himself to eat any of it. Instead he wrapped in up and placed it in the fridge. His thoughts were swarming with Katherine and the disappointed way she had looked at him when told her to go to bed. From what he had briefly observed from her the first night he met her he knew she was extremely independent and did things her own way. However with the danger she was in now independent was one thing she could not continue to be.

She could not be the carefree teenager she was meant to be anymore. She was cursed to a life of always looking over her shoulder, well until he found a new mate that was. Once The Others' were positive their kind was no longer in danger of being tainted by a human they would leave Katherine alone and she could get on with her life.

Elias tensed at the thought of finding a new mate. He had been looking since the day after the accident two years ago for a new mate. But nobody ever measured up to the blue sparkle in Katherine's eyes or her carefree laugh. Nobody ever came close to making him feel like she did that night when she held his hand like her life depended on it. Nobody ever made his body heat with a simple brush of their body.

And he knew nobody ever would. That was the hard part about letting her go. He knew it was for the best that they go their separate ways but he was desperate to hold onto what she gave him, what this specific human gave him.

Locking his jaw he ran a hand through his hair and then let out a loud growl. Fate was cruel. Fate was dangling the one thing he wanted more than anything in his face and ripping it away from his grasp the moment he had it.

And who was he kidding? He never had really ever got the chance to grasp Katherine and he never really would.

Before he could stop himself he grabbed the glass vase that was the centerpiece of the island and threw it against the wall.

The noise startled Katherine, even though she had not been asleep, but she did nothing to go examine it. For whatever reason she felt her heart was breaking and she was doing everything in her fragile power to stop it.

It wasn't working.