Revealed Thoughts

"Who the fuck are you?"

Katrina's demeanor was clear. She was not willing to stick around and chit-chat like a British household during tea-time. She led the man to the kitchen table and immediately went to, ironically, prepare two cups of mocha-green tea. Her eyes darted from the stranger sitting patiently at the table to the kettle screeching on the stovetop. She thumped her fingers along the countertop while feeling Whimsey come around and press along her leg. 

"So." Katrina glanced from the man to the kettle before she decided that the tea was warm enough. She poured the tea into two cups and brought them over to the stranger. She placed one on the table and the other remained in her hand as she took a sip. She nearly coughed the liquid out as it scorched the tip of her tongue. It seemed like whenever men were in her house, granted not many arrived, she seemed to have an accident including tea. 

"I'm Luka, and I'm ---

"Human," Katrina interrupted. 

"A hunter," the mysterious Luka spoke back up. Katrina let out an exasperated sigh before letting a massive eye-roll sneak out. 

"So you're here to kill me," Luka let out a laugh as Katrina gave a sneer in response. She knew this man wasn't here to cast her into the depths of hell, and as far as she was concerned, hunters wanted nothing more than to kill every single werewolf in existence. 

"Actually, I need your help. You can't freak out on me, though." Katrina just shrugged her shoulders, knowing she couldn't promise anything. At this point, nothing could really phase her. I mean, after learning she's a whole monster-werewolf-thing, she's not sure what more can stun her. 

"You know Henry Wager, right?"

"Hold on, how do you know him?" Katrina stumbled back in her seat as she placed the teacup down on the table. She ran a hand through her hair before pinching the bridge of her nose. 

"He's my cousin." 

"Wait, wait, wait. You mean my boyfriend, Henry, right?" 

"You mean ex-boyfriend?" Katrina knitted her brows before leaning back into her seat, feeling the weight of whimsey plopping up on her lap. She brushed through whimsey's fur before glancing back outside. 

"We had a fight, I wouldn't call that breaking up," Katrina mumbled under her breath. She heard Luka laugh before taking in another deep breath. Why in the world does he know about their little fight? Why does it matter to him? 

"You sounded pretty pissed off at him," Henry whistled aloud. 

"Why the fuck did you listen to our conversation!" Katrina slammed her hands on the table and stood up, her eyes starting to glow a deep gold. She held her glare with Luka who looked completely unphased. 

"Listen, little Lycan," Katrina let out a growl. The beast that rumbled within her didn't appreciate the remark, and truthfully, neither did she. Luka seemed to take the idea and help his hands up in the air in defeat. 

"Okay, I'm done messing around. Listen, Henry is someone you don't want to be around. He's not going to help you." 

"Don't you think I know that!" Katrina screamed aloud, her voice mixed in with that of the beast. She noticed Luka jump and as much as she would like to freak out and plead for forgiveness, there was this feeling within her stomach that enjoyed the small flashes of fear twisted within his face. 

"Will you listen to me, already," Luka grumbled as Katrina still glared at him, slowly sitting herself down. 

"I'm sorry. I'm still getting used to---" Katrina froze for a second while gesturing to herself, "this."

Luka pressed a hand up to Katrina, and she couldn't help but feel a little bit guilty. Here she was, once again, yelling at a stranger she only just met. She fully sat down in her seat and took another sip of tea.

"Katrina, please just listen to me. I know you're stubborn, but I am trying to save your life. Henry's goal is to kill you. He isn't trying to make you his wife, he isn't a student, and he certainly isn't twenty-one." 

"Why are you telling me this, Luka?" Katrina crossed her arms and stared up towards the ceiling. The lights flickered every now and then and the air condition clicked on and off. The silence that lit up the house was only a faint memory brushed to the side. Instead, tension grew all around the room like a fire growing in size with every single second the two shared the same vicinity. 

"Honestly, I hate your kind. I truly despise the very existence of lycans. But," Katrina could hear Luka take a kindled breath as he nervously shifted his eyes down towards the cup of tea. He let out his breath," one of your kind saved me last night. And, I just ---"

Luka couldn't finish his words. Katrina noticed the sincere look in his eyes, and despite her original hesitance towards him, something was different. With everyone swarming into her life within these last few days, this stranger, that is supposedly trying to kill her, is one of the people she has trusted the most. 

"I get it." Katrina finished Luka's sentence, her eyes, now back to normal, meeting his. Sure, she didn't understand exactly what he was going through, but she could see the look in his eyes. And she just knew he was in pain. It was so clear in the way his eyes glanced downward and nose scrunched together. 

"But aren't you apart of this whole hunter organization that is meant to butcher our entire existence?"Luka let out a dry, unhumorous laugh, and Katrina simply cringed in her seat. She could see the way his soul ached with every heartbeat. Whatever was bothering him was a knife being driven into his chest, and she couldn't decipher what it was. 

"It's complicated. I truly despise your kind for what you have done to my family, but, at the same time, you give me a sense of hope that I've never felt before with any other lycan. Do you want the whole truth, Katrina?" She nodded vigorously, it was the words she had been searching for during the entirety of these last few weeks.  

"I've been praying to hear those words for a long time, Luka. These past two weeks have been the epitome of hell, and I want nothing more than the truth. Please, help me." Katrina finished her tea and nervously looked towards her hands. Was this the first time she was going to get answers? Not two-faced answers, with secrets still hidden between the cracks and more truth to be discovered. She wanted full-fledged answers, no matter the consequences. 

"Well, here's the truth."

-

Hayden threw the papers off his desk and slammed his hands along it. He had one job, meet his mate and make her fall in love. He met her alright, but he seemed to fail miserably at part number two. Wasn't this supposed to be a love story? That's how his parents met, how the trackers met, how every Lycan's mate story met, so why not him? 

"Damnit!" He screamed as he cracked his desk in half, tossing part of it to the ground. He was attempting to take deep breaths, but everything within him wanted to run to her, feel her touch on his, look into her beautiful eyes. God, he knew her for only those few minutes, but it felt like he knew her his whole life. 

"What isn't that the third one in the past two months?" 

Hayden turned around and met London in her eyes. Her lips teased around a lollipop, and her apparent smirk told him everything. She found the situation humorous, a love-struck Lycan being withheld from the love of his life. Well, perhaps it was a bit too soon for that, he considered. But, wasn't it supposed to be magic, two puzzle pieces matched together? 

"God, you are still a pup. You haven't learned this yet?"

"This?"

"Women are difficult you dense idiot." London scoffed before walking further into Hayden's office, picking up a few stray papers.

"Your brother did the same thing a few days ago. I swear, your family is odd." 

"Wait," Hayden froze for a second and straightened his back out. Pulling a stray piece of hair out from his face. "Archie really acted up? He hasn't had something like that happen to him, well, months." 

"Kid has it bad. I suspect he found his mate." 

"You're joking." London shrugged her shoulders and walked to the window. Darkness started to cover the field their house stood in, and the moon showed her glory through the shimmers of clouds. 

"Come on, kid. You all get super hormonal when you are close to meeting your forever soulmate." Hayden let out a chuckle and put his hands on his head taking in a deep breath. "But, I think his situation is a little bit harder." 

"Oh come on, how can my situation not possibly be easier than ---"

"I suspect his mate is a hunter." 

"What?" Hayden's sudden outburst startled London a bit, but she picked up her posture and walked back over to Hayden, placing a lone hand on his cheek. He knew they had a drunk aunt nephew situation; London was something like a friend, someone who he can go to when presented with a situation such as this. 

"Oh come on, you can't be oblivious. You finding your soul mate took long enough, but him, considering he is, you know, can't imagine it." 

"God, mom, and dad can't accept the fact that he is gay, but the fact that he might be mated to a hunter is even worst." 

He took in a shallow breath before kneeling down and picking up a few stray papers that landed on the ground. Thoughts followed through his mind, like a river running rampant during a storm. 

"He knows we will always be here for him. But, I'm not here to talk about, Archie. I'm here to talk about you and your thick mind that refuses to listen to a thing that anyone wants to tell you."

"Well sheesh, beta." London let out a laugh, and Hayden couldn't help but crack a smile. It was amazing how she managed to make him smile despite the mayhem that surrounded him, like a tornado rustling around his mind. 

"So, you aren't going to go out to look for your mate and beg for forgiveness?" 

"I don't know where she even lives, London."

"There is a certain tracker that has so happened to know exactly where she is. As well as a brother that seems to have formed a connection with her. Go ahead, stop making excuses. I'll clean up this whole mess, you, go, shoo." 

"Thanks, London." With a newfound life, Hayden sprung him from his depressed posture and ran out of his office, hustling over to Archie's room. The maze-like house he managed to easily, and with his agile speed, he got to his brother's room in an instant. 

He attempted to open Archie's door, but the lock only twisted, stubbornly staying shut. He knocked on his brother's door, but only a moan could be heard from inside the space. Hayden let out a quick shout, but Archie only murmured a quick shut up. 

"Open the door you idiot, we are going to meet my mate." 

"Fuck off, I'm having a moment, Hayden." Hayden huffed and knocked again on the door, but it still remained locked, not even budging. He didn't want to break it down; with his strength, he could tear it down like a sheet of paper. 

"Let me in or I break this thing down ... again." He could hear Archie let out a groan before footsteps stormed in his direction and the door flung open. Archie's eyes were red with tears; Hayden could only freeze for a moment before a frown met his face. 

"I'm sorry. Maybe I rushed things." 

"Maybe? You can't leave me alone for just a few hours to do something I need to do?" 

"Listen, London told me what she suspected. Do you think it is true?" Archie's stature faded and he slunched against his door frame. His arms crossed as he looked don towards Hayden's feet. 

"A hunter of all things. I knew it was him; the night of the full moon, I found him. He was hurt, and Katrina saved him. What if I hurt him? He saw me and Katrina, and he didn't hurt us. Am I missing something?" 

"Do you know who it was?" 

"I'm not positive, but I think it is a higher up." 

"Even better," Hayden murmured under his breath, taking a deep breath through his mouth. "What can I do?" 

"Turn him into a Lycan so he won't kill me in my sleep? Make me straight? Find me a new mate?" 

"Stop it. You can't change who you are you dumbass. You know I will always support you and love you. Let's find out who he is and learn what we can do about the situation." Archie let out a sniffle and the two embraced in a hug. 

They embraced for a few minutes while no words were spoken, it was a long overdue brotherly moment. Hayden knew his parents may not have accepted Archie's sexuality, but he always would. 

After a little bit, the two released, and Archie wiped away the last few stray tears. 

"Let's go talk to Katrina."

End of Revealed Thoughts