What I've always known

4. Confusement at it's best

"What? What are you talking about?" I ask and feel more confused than I've ever been before.

"You're Alisha's twin sister, aren't you?" she asks, and my eyes fill with tears just by hearing her name.

    I look down at my hands and desperately try to hide the tears that are starting to flow. Mrs. Hasting takes out a handkerchief from her purse that she hands to me, and I accept it gratefully. I wipe my eyes and try not to smear the makeup more than necessary. She studies me in silence, and I sniff a little bit before I look up at her again. Her eyes fill with the only thing that I can't cope with; pity. I desperately try not to get angry, but it's hard to deal with near others. She must have noticed because she puts a hand directly on my shoulder and smiles at me.

"Breathe in and out slowly. You're safe, and no one will hurt you, " she says in a soft voice, and I do as she says.

    This is precisely what I'm afraid will happen, especially when I'm close to others. Aila isn't violent for no reason, and neither am I, but when I feel uncomfortable, she usually takes the helm to steer me right. Unfortunately, it usually happens through violence, neither we want it to or not. Aila has been a soul-animal to many others through the ages, but since everyone's different, she also can't use the same method on me. I listen to Mrs. Hasting's words, and slowly but surely, I regain control. Honestly, it's embarrassing that I don't have better control over myself, no matter what Aila or anyone else says.

"I'm sorry," I say silently, looking up at her through my lashes.

"It's all right, sweetheart. We've all been where you are at some point in life; no one's perfect from the start. Everyone needs training to become talented, and you are no exception," she replies, smiling at me again.

    I nod slowly and try to keep the tears inside that threaten to overflow if I'm not careful. She caresses my knuckles with her thumb, and bit by bit, I relax. Everything that's going on is overwhelming, and it's simply too much for me to handle at the same time. Mrs. Hasting is gratefully patient enough and allows me to take my time without pressing me. I look up at her and smile gently, unsure what to say. She smiles back at me like a mother does to her child. I take a sip of my coffee that cooled down during my little breakdown.

"Can you tell me a little about yourself?" she suddenly asks, and I solidify by the question.

    It's not that I don't want to tell her; it's rather that I don't have much to tell. All my happy sides have to do with either my parents or Alisha, and it hurts to think about them. I quickly get up and hurry out of the diner with one thought in my head; I can't stay here! The other visitors look at me like I'm an alien from another planet as I run out the door without looking back. I can't talk about myself, then my darkest secret that no one else except Aila knows of will be revealed.

    Yeah, I'm sorry, but I'm withholding information for you, too. I can't tell you the truth; it's just too painful. Mrs. Hasting is in front of me in no time and looks anxiously at me. Noticing the tears that fall, she quickly draws me to herself and hugs me with all her motherly love she has in her little body. Her warmth and love for me, even though we don't know each other, vibrate in my body like an invisible force. I cry audibly against her shoulder, and she lets me do it without commenting. She respects that it's tough for me, and I love this woman because she doesn't keep pushing out the truth.

"You know what, Katerina?" she asks, and I shake my head "no". "I'm going to have a family dinner tonight, and I wish you were attending; that would mean a lot to me."

"What time?" I ask, unable to say no to her after all she's done for me.

"At six o'clock, dress up in something you feel comfortable in and take the time you need. My sons and their friends will also participate. My husband is looking forward to meeting you too, but I understand if you can't take it right now," she says, caressing my cheek.

"I will, thank you," I answer in a low voice and smile gently.

"How fun!" she exclaims happily. "I'm tired of being the only woman in the house; it'll be fun to hang out with you."

    She kisses me on the cheek like a mother usually does and waves before she walks towards the car. I look after her, and only when she drives out of the parking lot do I walk to my car. Cassidy is a remarkable woman! You can't not like her and her cheerful energy. Thankfully, I have a few hours to find an outfit for the evening. I saw a boutique on the way here; hopefully, they have something I can wear. Unless you already understand, I'm no dress girl. The last time I wore a dress was at Alisha's funeral, and the time before that at my parents'.

    Before that must have been sometime when I was little, I think I have seen pictures where I wear a dress? f**k it; I have to wear a dress for the evening as simple as that! I walk into the store and look around for over an hour before I find the attire for me. It's a blood-red knee-length lace dress that hugs my curves in all the right places and also gives my skin a fantastic glow. To the dress, I buy a pair of black high-heeled shoes that are on sale; lucky me! When I look at the clock, I realize that it's only a few hours left until I'm supposed to be there. I throw myself into the car and rush home again; I can't be late yet again!

~*~*~

    Finally, I'm done! It's taken me over three hours to fix my hair and makeup. I'm not the girly type, but when I get invited to an upper-class family, I make an effort. My blonde hair is curled to perfection and flows far down over my shoulders. My eyes are adorned with long fake eyelashes, black-sparkly eyeshadow, and eyeliner while my eyebrows are on fleek! I'm not a self-centered person, but I look like a snack! All that remains is to put on the necklace my parents bought me on my fifteenth birthday. I wink to myself and walk downstairs to drive away.

    Fortunately, I'm not late this time; it would have been extremely embarrassing to arrive late twice on the same day. I ring the bell at the high metal gate, and Cassidy responds cheerfully before she lets me in. A big white house meets me when I drive up the hill; my intuition was right, this family's rich. I park and notice four sports cars parked right outside, such cars drive only rich people. Or shifters, obviously. I climb out of the car, lock it, and walk up the little staircase. Before I have time to knock, Cassidy opens the door and pulls me in. Her arms are around me in no time.

"Welcome, Kate! I'm so glad you could make it!" she blissfully exclaims just as she did earlier in the day.

"Cass, don't squeeze that poor girl to death before the rest of us have had time to say hello!" laughs a middle-aged man who comes down the stairs before he stops in front of me. "Hey, Kate! My name is Paul, and I'm Cassidy's husband."

"Kate," I politely answer, shaking his hand.

    I barely have time to drop Paul's hand before Cassidy pulls me into a luxurious living room. A large sofa set sits in the middle of the room, and the seats are occupied by four younger men who all look as if they just stepped out of a Calvin Klein catalog. Two brunettes, one black-haired and one blonde. All four are handsome, but one of them stands out from the crowd, with his bright blue eyes penetrating me into the soul. Cassidy introduces them. The blonde is Logan, the gamma, the black-haired is the beta Calvin, and the two brunettes are her sons; Mason and Derek. I wave a little half-assed and honestly don't care how they react; neither I nor Aila bow to anyone else, not even an alpha that Mason apparently is, given his aura.

"This is Kate!" Cassidy announces, the men greet dismissive, and I'm already tired of their company. "Oh, never mind the brooders! They were out drinking too late yesterday, come on, let's eat!"

    Cassidy pulls me into the dining room; it's the same table that's in the cottage where I currently live, with the difference that there are other chairs associated. I sit down next to Cassidy, and we begin eating because I don't talk very often if I have nothing to say, it gets embarrassing fast. The younger men look at me strangely from time to time, but I don't acknowledge them. Instead, I pay my attention to Paul and Cassidy, who tell various anecdotes about old memories. Cassidy knows I don't talk much, and I take it for granted that she informed Paul about this because he doesn't comment on it.

"So, Kate," begins the man I think is called Derek. "What is your soul animal?"

    Cassidy and Paul gasp when they hear his question. I understand that it confuses you, therefore I will explain why it's such a big deal. Asking someone such a private question when they don't know each other is just like asking someone you meet in town what kind of fetishes they have; it's simply distasteful. However, I already know this tactic; Derek is looking to find out how strong my animal is. A submissive doesn't react much but answers the question, a dominant alpha attack. I do the latter and hold him up by his throat against the wall without an ounce of shame in the body.

"Listen, desagradable niño!" I growl, and the others react enormously to my accent and aura. "Learn to show respect to those you don't know; I can break your neck here and now without anyone being able to say anything about it, given what an insult you just uttered. Since you don't know me, I'll let you go, but if you for a single second think that I'm a little girl you can dominate, then you can't be more wrong. Have I made myself understood, lobo?"

    He nods strenuously, and I let go of him, resulting in him falling on the floor. The other men look at me while Cassidy laughs; I'd also laugh if I had such a pathetic son. The funniest thing of all is that he is neither a beta nor an alpha; I guess his wolf is weaker than my tiger. I thank Paul and Cassidy for the food before I go out the front door. It's incredibly unpleasant to do that, but if I stay, I'm going to lose control. I hear Cassidy shouting something, but choose to continue to my car. Before I have time to start it and drive away, she comes running towards me.

"Kate, I'm incredibly sorry about this. I will absolutely lecture him for this, I promise!" she growls annoyingly; I know that it isn't directed at me when I see the men standing by the stairs; for fun, I taunt them a little.

"It's okay, Mrs. Hasting," I reply, looking at the boys, grinning. "He knows who the alpha is now, and if he doesn't, he'll realize it very soon."

A/N:

Hello everyone!

So, Katerina has met the Hasting family.

~ What did you think about the young men and their reactions to her being there?

~ What do you think their problem is?

~ What do you think Katerina's big dark secret is?

Please let me know your thoughts since they help me develope in my creative process! Thank you for reading, lots of love.<3

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F/B: Dreame author Linnéa Heikka

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