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For days, Caleb silently fumed over Katrina’s pact with Devon Archibald It felt as if she had chosen the huge vauinary, he wanted nothing less than revenge for having narrowly avoided death at the hands of his unexpected adversary Seeking sye And while she had listened patiently, his brief conversation with her had been useless; she had all but openly agreed with Katrina’s decision He ca to her for a while for spite

His friend and teachingas to how his ca Unfortunately, he could scarcely tell her what actually happened His reflection on their conversation had only raised his ire, accompanied by a sense of betrayal by his mate

Still, he followed the rules he had promised to uphold and lied to his friend He told Tanisha that he and Katrina had a nice enough time, but he didn’t care to revisit the location anytih that she didn’t see any evidence of his physical injuries, though his body still felt very sore and achy in places However, his perceptive friend did detect so hiht, and he was still somewhat upset over the event

Tanisha advised hi to yourself youthat you love the resentment, or it will eat you alive inside and prove detrimental to the overall health of the relationship In the case of arguo on both people’s parts and instead be brave enough to make amends for the benefit of the relationship"

He conceded the logic of her advice, but countered, "So, what do you do when Willia a decision you believe is short-sighted, particularly where he didn’t take your feelings fully into account?"

She paused to consider Caleb carefully "Well, first, I’d ask hih to him to consider more seriously"

"And then?"

"Then," she continued with a sht he was sincere, I’d let him kno disappointed in him I was And if he weren’t sincere, he’d spend a few nights thinking it over while sleeping on the couch"

He sht not work quite that ith Katrina His alpha-vampire e person, even for a vahed and thanked her for her advice He half-considered calling Alton, but quickly discarded the idea because the stately vareed with Katrina on her decision Of course, he was still boycotting Paige, as well

By Tuesday afternoon, he was still vexed over the entire affair, though he realized he needed to work through his feelings somehoever, Wednesday passed with no resolution

By Thursday evening, he had two evening classes left to teach and needed to refocus his attentions on the upco lectures He went to the student union to eat dinner and was happy when Tanisha unexpectedly joined hi a section of Early As for an adjunct professor who had just had surgery and couldn’t teach for the remainder of the se class ell But as his second section started, so up the PowerPoint presentation for his lecture when he spied a quick blur of movement outside of his open classroo to be in his early thirties and sporting a crew cut stood in the hallway curiously staring back at hie in his twenties appeared beside hi to his taller associate A chill went down Caleb’s spine as he realized their odd ested they were likely to be vampires It hen the taller one ss that Caleb finally had his answer

He immediately looked down at the computer screen at the instructor station before hih Windows He announced, "Just a little delay getting my PowerPoint to come up, everyone Go ahead and open up your books to chapter eight and review the questions at the back of the section for discussion You ht want to jot down some quick answers in case I call on you, as well"

He casually slipped his phone fro to scroll to Katrina’s nulanced up discreetly and noticed both of the men had disappeared, and he paused to consider what to do next

If he dialed Katrina, she uy hory if he didn’t call her Then again, neither of theCertainly, while unnerving, it hadn’t caused the saht in the wildlife preserve

He sighed, finally deciding a text ht be the better part of valor But instead of texting Katrina, he texted his friend and protector, Paige Granted, she was in California, but she could at least advise hiinning, so he had a little over an hour on his hands to consider other options

He hastily sent the ht now Plez advise C

He set his phone aside and pulled up the PowerPoint for his class A quick glance through the roo answers to the textbook questions His cell vibrated, and he read Paige’s reply: Don’t panic, kiddo Stall for time P

His reply was, Wish U were here Thx

He started his PowerPoint slideshow and glanced down to read another reply fro, he slipped his cell phone back into its pouch and anticipated that Paige was likely already on the phone to Katrina So he did the only thing he knew he could do: he began lecturing, despite the anxiety for a much better actor over tiing professor of history

Katrina sat at the desk in her study going over some financial paperwork she had requested from one of her overseas bank accounts and an elite credit card co that her mate was very put out with her as of late, and wondered how rees Either way, she dreaded the thought of further arguments with him Gotta love those lose-lose scenarios

The cordless phone on her desk rang, and she snatched the handset out of its charger station before the second ring One quick dart of her eye at the caller ID revealed it was Paige

"What’s up, shorty?" she quipped

But instead of a snappy coe’s tense voice at the other end "Red, our boy’s in a little trouble tonight"

"What kind of trouble?" she de a class, and apparently two vampires have shown up outside his classroom He texted me to say he’s not scared, but wanted advice I told him to stall for time and stay calm, but I think you better haul ass up there"

"Thanks I’m on my way," Katrina snapped as she slapped the phone onto the desktop and sped out of the room Dammit, Caleb, why the hell didn’t you callher cell phone, keys, and combat knife

After Caleb finished his brief lecture, he selected individual students to answer each of the questions at the back of the chapter He realized only about half an hour had passed, but it was h tie would have ies Maybe Kat’s searching the caht it odd that she hadn’t appeared to indicate her arrival, but at least there had been no reappearance of the two vampires in his doorway, either

The question and answer session with his students was co to have a plausible reason to detain them further, he adjourned his students approxi and cautioning them to prepare for a possible quiz next Tuesday The students cleared the room before he even had time to shut down the instructor co downstairs to his office in near silence As he unlocked his office door, he considered whether he should try calling or texting Katrina He postponedhis briefcase with items he wanted to take home with him Unfortunately, the briefcase was too s into a backpack he kept in his office for such an occasion An eerie feeling crept up his spine as he wondered where Katrina was

He finished preparing his backpack for the journey hoh to see whaton outside Fortunately, s ell lit by larounds, so he had a reasonable view of the immediate vicinity

Suddenly, he noticed his two unexpected visitors standing beside a large pine tree approxi He had al and were both standing on the shaded side of the tree sheltering theht

His heart leapt in his throat as he noticed one of his history class students stop near the ed her in conversation Beth Wilkinsacross the grounds to the parking lot on the opposite side of campus He wasn’t sure what the vampires intended for him, but he knew Beth was in a particularly vulnerable situation and would have no idea of the potential danger posed to her

He rabbed his leather jacket before pulling his office door closed behind him His heartbeat increased anxiously, but he deliberately walked out into the cold night air towards the trio He adopted a stern expression and stopped perhaps twenty feet from the two vampires, who noted his approach with curious expressions

Beth noticed the distracted attention of the two figures, and her head slowly turned to gaze at Caleb with an alhtly to her chest Apparently, even she had begun to groary of the two er to her

"Beth, it’s getting pretty late," he observed "Do you need someone to escort you to your car?"

Beth sed and replied appreciatively, "No thanks, Professor Taylor I’"

"Okay, see you next Tuesday," he replied with as casual a voice as he could ht anxiously

She turned and walked aith hurried steps, glancing back over her shoulder twice before disappearing around the corner of the science building Caleb’s gaze settled on the two vampires, who appeared mutually amused by him

"Caleb Taylor, I presume?" asked the tall vahly of your skills for a professor that’s so young"

"I found h his false bravado was shaken by the growing feeling of vulnerability for anyone else in the vicinity

The shorter Native A vampire smirked "I can see why Pete wanted to stop and see if you were the real deal You’re gutsy for a huathered the taller va what they wanted with hiht," caed voice frolance behind him, but quickly decided it was more prudent not to take his eyes off the two valad for that, because he would have missed the priceless expressions of surprise and dismay as they looked past hi But Caleb was startled noticeably as Katrina’s body suddenly appeared before hiht sight of the handle of a co from underneath the back of her leather jacket

"Who are you, and what do you ith my mate?" she coldly dehtly and held their are in combat at anyin the air around Caleb, and he flexed his muscles with anticipation

"Wait," the taller vampire insisted with his hand held up "We’re not here to cause trouble I’m Pete Crenshaw, and my friend is Eric Holata We’re froh town on our way to the Rockies"

The shorter vampire spoke up "Yeah, we heard about how you and your mate killed that South A we heard was true"

"Why did you approach him? Why not me instead?" Katrina demanded

The two vampires fell silent Then Pete replied, "We, uh, heard about how you were an alpha -"

Eric interrupted, "We thought it would be easier to talk to yourso trivial"

So, word’s getting around about either Katrina’s stern attitude or temper Or maybe both, Caleb mused He feltmoment

"You should’ve approached me first," she corrected Eric "You both seem fairly inexperienced, so let me offer you a little tip It’s traditionally better protocol to approach a vampire first, rather than their human mate"

These two must be really new vampires, she mused She wondered who their creator was and why they hadn’t been mentored better

"I see that," Pete replied "Thanks"

The shorter valance at his friend and offered, "We’ll be going now, if you don’t mind Sorry to have disturbed you and your mate"

The two slowly backed away, but Caleb stepped out frolances at each other before focusing on him as he reached inside his leather jacket and pulled out a business card

"Here, take this Eht have about what happened to us," he offered as he extended the card in his outstretched hand

Petee business card

"Thanks," the vampire said "I’ll do that e reach our new destination"

Both vampires nodded to Katrina deferentially and turned to depart in a blur Caleb squinted into the darkness beyond the farther caer discern their location Katrina’s hand firht shoulder, and she rotated his body to face her

"Why did you do that?" she demanded

"Do what?"

"Your offer to answer their questions basically circuh me," she explained

He looked away andpolite"

"I thought you didn’t likeup unannounced," she countered with an arched eyebrow

He gazed up into her eyes "Just the ones trying to kill rasp his chin between her thuer, and she tilted his face upwards to erous and reckless confronting the defenseless, no less," she chastised "And second, I can probably guess why you contacted Paige instead of me But if she’s not in the immediate area, you call me first when trouble arises Understood?"

She had anticipated he chose to call Paige first to make the point he was upset with her It also occurred to her that heher to respond to the threat instead of asking Devon to assist Yeah, as if I would ever defer my responsibilities to him when I had the ability to respond in person, she fumed Either way, she wasn’t pleased with his decisions that night

"My student appeared to be in danger, and I’ to just sacrifice her to the wolves without intervening," he retorted However, he silently conceded she was correct about his being defenseless It felt as if he would have had little chance against those vampires, even under armed and better prepared circumstances

She continued to hold his chin fire isn’t around, are we clear on that?" You don’t get a pass on that stipulation, my love

"Clear," he replied flatly, after which Katrina released his chin His eyes strayed back towards the social sciences building, and he saw Tanisha watching from her office ith a wary expression

Daht class He was one of the few full-ti a class that late, so the offices were usually deserted by the tiht have seen from her office

Katrina noted her aze and turned her head to look in the direction his eyes were staring She fleetingly glimpsed Tanisha before the blinds were turned up Her mind raced with the possibilities of what Caleb’s friendvampire-specific, unless she noticed how quickly the two vampires departed If so, she may have to be dealt with

Caleb didn’t like the look in Katrina’s eyes, and his body tensed "Oh, no You can’t," he challenged, anticipating sori

"Hold on! You can’t -- No, wait," he starasp her arlanced down at his hand, and then stared intently into his pale blue eyes They had a pleading look, and she sensed the tension in his body and facial expression However, the rules were quite clear on hu her true nature

"Please Let ive me until tomorrow"

She drew in a deep breath and released it slohile considering his request Perhaps one day’s time will be reasonable to ensure I make an informed decision

"Tomorrow No later," she stipulated firmly

He nodded "Fine Thank you," he replied with relief

She bobbed her head curtly and directed hi very weary suddenly, and walked back to the building with Katrina following closely behind him

She was happy she had arrived in time and that the vampires apparently meant hist towards her fro Devon Archibald’s life Maybe she had spoken with Alton far tooto see the potential benefits to an additional va available, if even for a lihts quickly returned to Caleb, and a yearning, both physical and emotional, rose within her She lamented how it had been over a week since they had last been intiether She took a moment to appreciate histo retrieve his belongings and lock up his office She reflected on his recent efforts at working out more, of which she appreciated the results Not that she hadn’t found hiin with

Nice butt, she observed with amusement Her body craved a sudden desire to take him home and make love to him But her hopes were dashed quickly when he exited the building a few ht-lipped expression His footsteps were heavy as he walked towards her, and he stopped a couple of feet away froht," he offered half-heartedly "I guess I’ll see you at hoested

He stepped forward and bent his face updown to meet him halfway, she h rather than a nice, passionate kiss, he ainst hers in a brief peck

"Thanks," she muttered darkly Of course, he’s likely still upset with ht have to kill one of the few huhed and followed him to his car to make sure he was safe Why the hell does it seeuy lately? She was definitely starting to feel so arrived quicker than Caleb wanted, as it had been rather late when he and Katrina had arrived hoht before His hts of what he would ask Tanisha to ascertain what she had seen He certainly didn’t want to lose his friend, but even more importantly, Tanisha had a family, and he didn’t think he could live with himself if he deprived theood, sincere person and didn’t deserve to have her life cut short by so that should not have happened on ca, he felt as if the fault were partly his for bringing such threats to the campus by his very presence

His eventual conversation with Tanisha took place later thatThey had the same schedule that day for open office hours He entered her office and closed the door behind hiuest chair next to her desk

Tanisha barely looked up fro, Caleb I can bet I knohy you’re here It’s about last night, isn’t it?"

"Yeah, last night," he replied quietly, though his pulse was already racing

She pursed her lips and glanced over at him with a serious expression "I saw you step outside to check on that student," she offered "Was she one of yours?"

He nodded "Yeah Her name is Beth"

Tanisha’s eyes narrowed "Did you knoho those two guys were?"

This time he shook his head "Nope Still don’t, really"

"Yeah, I kind of got that i your and Katrina’s reactions towards them," she ventured as she stared at her desk like she was recalling past events

He let the silence groeen them for a few moments and asked, "Did you happen to see them leave?"

She frowned "No I picked up the phone to call security, but stopped for so But they were already gone I was surprised how quickly they left, because I only turned e of relief flowed through him, and he had to force hiht "Yeah, they took off pretty fast," he agreed

She arched her eyebrows and ad at times, but I can see where that could be handy on occasions such as last night"

Caleb was delighted, though more from relief than froht"

Tanisha’s hazel eyes stared directly into Caleb’s "Was Katrina angry with you last night? It looked like she was reading you the riot act right after those guys left"

He took a deep breath and let it out slowly to stall for tiht what I did was too risky"

She nodded "It was But that also doesn’tto do for your student We’re not just educators Our students expect for us to look after them while they’re here This is our doe those men"

"Thanks," Caleb replied with a pleased sht have been smarter before you walked out there," she added

He rolled his eyes "Oh, not you too! It’s bad enough to have Katrina preaching to ruff doesn’t mean she doesn’t have your best interests at heart, too"

He frowned as he considered that and conceded that his mate did indeed care very deeply for him He loved her for that And while he still felt miffed with Katrina over her Devon decision, it didn’t mean he didn’t love her He shook his head and decided he was siood friend

Later that evening, he told Katrina about his conversation with Tanisha She listened intently, observing his body language and staring into his eyes as if probing hireed no harm had probably been done For that, he was thankful However, the entire affair impressed upon him how important discretion hen it came to vampire-related matters The ordinary world was a ht just a few o

By Saturday, Caleb had had tied that even if he resented receiving assistance fro not to have called Katrina when those two vaht have risked his own life and emotionally devastated the love of his life

It was for that reason he decided to look past his own aggravation and seek to do so enjoyable with Katrina One of their recent enjoyable endeavors had certainly been his Find Caleb exploits, so it seeht view it as extending an olive branch However, he was determined to make his third install a site ent regarding preparations

He targeted a nearby abandoned construction site located off the highway outside of Mableton The largely concrete and steel beam structure was just a few years old and had been abandoned when the original owner, a small recreational vehicle and boat dealership, had been unable to fund the re construction They had intended it to be a three-story structure, but only the concrete and steel fra had been completed, as well as a reinforced concrete stairwell in one corner of the building The property was secured by a chain link fence, but his brief inspection revealed easy access underneath a section of the fence where the soil had been washed out by frequent rains

Caleb decided to survey the area fro the daytis, but he needed a pair of binoculars Fortunately, he had previously purchased a nice set soo and had packed thee With Katrina in town that evening, it seerabbing his iPod and queuing up Gra boxes froh hordes of stuff, including old e expenditure records, and miscellaneous collectibles As he removed the last box from the top shelf, it slipped off and fell onto the floor The lid popped off, scattering a series of photographs across the floor

"Dah the pictures so as not to bend or crease any of thee years, but a number of them were from childhood that hisup a photo of hi an old stuffed dog his parents had won for him at the county fair

Another picture was hiswith him next to a sparsely decorated Christether the year his abusive father had disappeared froht He stared at the picture, noting that he and his e year, his father disappearing one evening after work fro the family car with him Less than a year after the photo had been taken, his mother had secured their new home in the suburbs of Columbus, Ohio

He slipped the picture back into the box and reached down absently to stack the scattered photos into a pile I can look at old photos some other time, he resolved His past, particularly his youth, wasn’t necessarily sorabbed at three re pictures on the floor, one slipped from between the other two and floated just out of reach After placing the other two in the container, he reached for the lone one He quickly scanned the photograph, but so hith

The picture was of his e at the banquet where they had won a coe scholarships Caleb had no memory of the event because the children had not been present that evening, but his mind screa faces in the photograph First was hisbrunette wo to the left of the winners The caption read, Colue Award Recipients with Coh A her telltale green eyes and guarded s with a piercing intensity that blocked out the es flared within hisout his vision and causing hihtly glowing eiant orbs before hi an evil gri a leather belt in his hand That vision sent a rush of sheer terror though his body He felt a sudden pain in his left ar down it A loud cracking sound like a branch breaking erupted in his ears, and he thought he saw the blurry iuely aware of sitting on the cold garage floor with the photograph lying on the floor next to hi as if nothing had happened

"Crap," heto understand what had just occurred

The visions he experienced were all new to hireen eyes He’d seen theht she revealed her vaht he fled fro a sie of adrenaline rushed through his body as the implications of both the flashbacks and the picture impacted him like a haraph as he picked it up fro Katrina knew, or at least had met his e, the co for until her death just a couple of years ago A host of questions buzzed through his head si Amber to become Katrina? Hoell did she know my mother? Did she know me as well? Was her enrollment in my history class last fall more than just a coincidence? Was that why Katrina seemed so familiar to me last fall e first met?

"And why the hell didn’t Kat tellhim as a student in his history class last fall, she had nevernu to know each other, well before Katrina revealed she was a va she knew nothing about him or his past She lied to ed his te at the photo would cause additional flashbacks He went into the house to the kitchen where he tossed the picture onto the countertop After retrieving a bottle of beer fro the cap off, he took a feigs The cold liquid burned slightly as it coursed down his dry throat Finally, he plopped onto a barstool with a heavy sigh and stared down at the picture before hi for answers andto the abrupt revelations

Radiohead’s "Reckoner" was an ominous soundtrack from his iPod as he ruminated over the picture and started on a second bottle of beer He felt shock, anger, and a sense of betrayal at Katrina for having kept such important information from hi he had been sitting at the counter staring down at the picture He was only half-finished with his beer when he heard the garage door open It’s about tirily as he heard the faine

As soon as Katrina exited the Audi, she noticed an open box lying on the garage floor next to the storage shelves On her way into the house, she glanced casually at the box, noting that it contained soraphs When she walked into the kitchen, she noticed Caleb sitting at the counter listening to his iPod She immediately smelled beer and sao empty bottles and one that was half full She frowned as she observed the dark, alry, expression on his face It was a er, but laced with confusion

"Caleb?" she asked tentatively as she sat her purse on the counter "Is everything all right, my love?"

He remained silent as he stared levelly at her and took another swig of beer He sed the ed the bottle back down onto the countertop She blinked froainst thethe photograph in her direction with a swift motion of his hand

She slapped her hand over the picture before it floated off the edge of the counter, and her keen eyes focused instantly on it with ahorror Her past had finally co wanted to reveal in her own time had been released prematurely Suddenly, Pandora’s Box was open, and it was too late to slaht with a combination of shock and weariness

"Please, Caleb," she pleaded "Let me explain"

He jerked the ear buds fro, and held it up to her There was only a third of the contents re," he answered flatly

She had never seen him act this way before, and it worried her But she tried to concentrate on how best to approach the topic of the photo, desperately wishing she had er a luxury at her disposal, and her e, the company your mother worked for The picture was froe scholarships --"

"I know that already! I’ her to wince at his tone "I can deduct all that fro I don’t know, such as why you never told me about this When we first met, you made me think you didn’t know my ry She took a deep breath and released it slowly "I never lied to you, Caleb I listened intently to everything you told me about your past, but I never actually declared that I didn’t know you"

He wasn’t amused and deliberately lifted the beer bottle to his lips to s a larger-than-normal mouthful Then he placed the bottle down before him resolutely Only a quarter of the contents re else happened He never drinks like that

"Caleb, my love, you have to understand that I never wanted to hurt you And I’ve done everything in nored her last co did you know my mother?"

She blinked "I only spoke to her directly on one occasion, the evening of the banquet Even after I arranged for Wanda to receive an offer for a position at the company soon after your father disappeared, I th as he processed that infored for her to be hired? Why did you do that? Who was o A cascade of h her mind at once She silently recalled how Caleb, then an innocent young boy, had helped her by calling for an eency blood delivery as she had lain in a painful, burned condition beneath his father’s car in their rae She remembered how bravely he had delivered the blood supply to her and later returned to check on her Later that night, Caleb’s inebriated father had discovered hi assuainst his wishes In the child’s defense, she had killed Ted Taylor in that garage, though regrettably within Caleb’s view She had tried using a hypnosis technique, typically only useful for training ani Caleb’s memory of the event Of course, she wasn’t sure it was prudent to blurt all of that out to him in his current state and instead chose a sile parent to a wonderful young boy, and she needed help at a critical ti the adorable iht

"But how did you know that?" he demanded irritably "And ould you have cared? You’ve told me before you try to stay out of the lives of humans because they’re a threat to you"

She frowned at his rather base opinion of herto placate his temper Instead, she concentrated on how to answer best the more direct question

"Because I cared about you, Caleb," she explained softly "You saved my life when you were a child, and I couldn’t help but try to repay your kindness in soaze shifted to ed, "What the hell are you talking about? I didn’t even ain recalled the sense of fa her, and yet had no idea why There were no specific , and it confused him

Katrina saw the look of bewilderment on his face and moved towards him to try to comfort him But he jerked his hand up with his palht there"

She stopped abruptly, folding her arms across her chest as she frowned at his curious reaction towards her What’s gotten into you?

"I helped you to forget h "It was a technique that normally only works on animals, but somehow as a child you were susceptible to it"

"Why would you do that toher next revelation to hiht years old," she explained quietly "And you saw soht-year-old should see"

His heartbeat raced, and then the flashbacks fro bad happened that he was having trouble re He had memories of an abusive father, but so critical that he si and wondered even at that latePlease don’t freak out on el

"What?" he insisted in a raspy voice "What shouldn’t I have seen?"

A nervous, tense knot formed in her stomach as she stared directly into his eyes "Your father was abusing you in your garage after you helped led the beer bottle as he listened and waited

"And I killed him"

Caleb’s jaw dropped open in shock, and he nearly slipped off of the barstool "What?!" Holy crap! Kat killed my father? He shook his head "No I don’t remember that That can’t be true He disappeared, but --"

A flashback hit hi in his ears, and he saw a horrifying vision of his father’s face as he stared back at hih hollow, empty eyes Then his father’s body plummeted limply to the floor Caleb lurched from the barstool as his hands went to his ears, and his eyes widened with distress

Katrina was shaken as she watched his reaction, sensing that so had jarred both his mind and body A flashback? She had seen that powerful a reaction from him only once before, last fall when they had walked in the park together She had revealed herself as a va her glowing eyes He had fled through the woods from her in terror and nearly fallen into a steep ravine Fortunately, she had been able to grab his leg at the last asped once the flashback faded

She moved towards him in a flash and wrapped her ar the pain frole in her aro of rasp before she finally relented and released him She was very worried about his reaction and wondered what thoughts were going through his mind at that moment

Caleb backed away from her and shook his head resolutely "This is tooany sense," he insisted as he backed further away from her "What did you mean earlier when you said that I helped you? Exactly how did I help you?"

She sloaved her hands in a caled, "Please Caleb, cal Let’s sit down"

Other thoughts played through his frayed mind, and he muttered, "Wait a minute If that’s true, all those years, all that tiht my father was still out there somewhere, but he was already dead Myto defend us in case he tried to return, and it was for nothing!"

I never thought of that, she realized

The roo to catch his breath Gotta get soh the house towards the front door

She was at his heels i?" she insisted with concern No, ht reaction

"Outside," he mumbled

"Wait! Your coat," she interjected, but he was already halfway out the door and onto the front porch

She hastily grabbed his leather jacket fro the door closed behind her He was already halfway to the end of the house, heading towards the neighborhood park area, before sheher vahtly

Calebat the ground before him "What could I have done to help you as a child?" he asked with a frown

He abruptly stopped, leaving Katrina a step ahead before she stopped and turned to look at him His eyes widened with realization as he stared up at her

"Hold on Did you drink my blood as a child?" he demanded

It was her turn to be shocked, and she snapped, "No! Never children or pregnant women Never theh your blood tasted so sweet, just as it still does"

He recalled the flashback of his left arate at the side of her property facing the park It felt like he had to keep walking, keep , to s, trying to clear his head "How exactly did I help you, then?" he asked

She kept stride beside hiht the cooler of blood to me so I could feed and heal"

His frown deepened I don’t re, so he was forced to trust her for the ti "Heal fro throughout the park

"Isun," she explained sadly "I wanted to end uard by her answer, and stared at her incredulously She regarded hiht of a nearby light pole

"Suicide?" he asked with upraised eyebrows "You?"

She shrugged, unhappy to dwell on that ti, and pointless"

His h he still had no tangible ed your htfully and nodded "Yeah," she replied "The sunlight hurt like hell, and I lost my nerve"

He nodded "Whythe sie was the closest building within ht A completely unplanned coincidence, really"

He frowned and considered the oddity of her stateiven the idea of fate or predestination ht divine intervention hadAbsently rubbing at his eyes, he turned to walk further down the pathway

She patiently observed hiitated And he hasn’t made a run for any cliffs

"What e of subject soothing for some reason

"You," she whispered

He stopped and stared into her eyes as if trying to divine the honesty in her statement "What?"

"No human had ever helped me like that before, much less a child," she explained with a distant expression, s "You were -- are so very special, so unlike anyone I’ve ever met"

He didn’t knohat to say and tried to force hisBut nothing ca , and you careat deal after drinking the blood, and you were so curious to look underneath that old tarp-covered car to try and look at e, drunk and feeling et"

Caleb balled his hands into fists at his side, and his stare became vacant as he recalled the s, sometimes for little or no reason, and the smell of booze on his breath Then he re and the black eyes she sometimes received from his father’s abrupt temper

Katrina watched his reaction intently and listened to his elevated pulse "He whipped your left arry, and I repelled his attack on you I put you outside so you wouldn’t see anything further, but you caain And this ti his dead body drop to the floor But you saw the entire thing, and it al sound in his flashbacks and the vacant look on his father’s face "I hope the bastard rots in hell," he rily

She waited a moment for his attention to return to her

"I wanted to erase that memory and try to help you lead a norently "I helped your h her continued success was hers alone"

"Except the college fund," he interjected

Katrina nodded "Yes, the college fund"

"Wait," he said He abruptly turned and walked down the concrete path again at a brisk pace

She walked silently a couple of steps behind hi better, I think Thank goodness

He stopped next to a park bench and perched on the front edge of it "So, then you deprogrammed me," he muttered absently

She sat in the middle of the bench next to him and reached out with her left arers were nearly at his shoulder when he stood up abruptly, stepping away fro his eyes wearily

Alrimace She wanted to touch hihed "I hypnotized you soht occurred to hie of the bench "You enrolled in my history class last fall," he prompted almost as an accusation "That was no coincidence, was it?"

She frowned, and then sighed with resignation "No, it wasn’t," she replied "I wanted to see how you had turned out as an adult I had no further contact with you after you had helped s about how you were doing on your school baseball tea for years throughout Europe visiting with other va the world, I heard from a contact at the company that your mother had passed away I knew then that I had to check on you So I came to Atlanta, and here we are"

Caleb felt the chill froin to penetrate his sweater, and he folded his arms in front of him as he stood steadfastly before her "So," he ventured carefully, "you didn’t progras for her to be real Hell, I want anything to be real right now

Katrina looked at hi back at her intently She leapt up froly It caught hiuard, and he spun in an alht firenuinely fell in love, Caleb," she assured hi, no hypnosis In fact, I never actually thought I would see you again once I left my Amber identity behind to become Katrina"

He appreciated the warmth from her and stood in her arms for a moment as he contemplated her response He suddenly felt so tired and tried to move towards the nearby bench, but she was like a statue bolted to the ground, and her embrace was like a steel cable wound around his body

She frowned down at hi hi him onto the bench beside her, happy to maintain her embrace around him once she had him next to her However, she did momentarily free one arm to pick up his leather jacket beside her and drape it across his shoulders

He appreciated the increased warh still quite upset that she hadn’t told hi’s revelations until he had confronted her, he still deeply cared for her He felt a little hurt and betrayed

"Who else knows about this?" he asked "Paige? Alton?"

"Nobody," she replied quietly "Just you and hed

"Are you mad at me?" she asked tentatively

"Yes"

Crap "Do you still love me?" she queried with some hesitation Her heart was in her throat as the seconds ticked silently by

"Yes," he finally replied "If what I feel is real, then yes"

Good, very good "It’s real It has to be," she confired, "Why? Why does it have to be real?"

"Because if it’s not, I don’t think I could handle that"

He turned to look at her with an odd expression, not quite sure what tothe ied and inclined his face to softly kiss the skin of her pale neck

She s her lips against his She tried to kiss him passionately, but he abruptly pulled away

"No, not like that Not right now," he insisted "I’ htened into a thin line He’s been upset with me so much lately First, Devon Archibald, and now this Dammit to hell, she fumed

"Fine," she replied forlornly, but quickly kissed him on the lips before he could object

He conceded that and shrugged into his leather jacket She reh for him to put on his jacket, but he ain