Captivate Me (Book One: The Captivated Series) (16 page)

So what, then? What would
I tell him? That I was changing my mind about him? ‘Oops! Sorry,
Levi. I didn’t want you after all.’ Did I care about him? Yes. Love
him? Yes… now in a more platonic way. But did I
want
him? Not like I wanted Gabriel.
I could never say that, either.
Jesus…
what am I going to do?

My thoughts snapped back to my
conversation with my mom the other day, how she had hesitated when
I asked her if she’d ever been with someone whom she felt like
might be better for someone else. The next time I could talk to her
without Anna around, I would. Whenever that would be.

Or maybe that was it.
Maybe that was the answer to my breakup with him – that I felt he
would be better off with someone else. That he deserved better. It
was the truth, and yet less harsh than all the other truths. I knew
he loved me, but I also knew he’d caught on a few times to my
indecisiveness – in the hallway after the game, when he kissed me
after we were summoned to our dorms during our kickball tournament.
Surely this wouldn’t take him completely by surprise. And the
flower he’d found at lunch – I would have to come up with something
for that too. I’m sure his mind was reeling with who was bringing
those to me. Would he ever believe the break-up wasn’t about
someone else? Even if he didn’t, I would never divulge that to him.
He could assume all he wanted. I needed to protect him from that
truth, and I would take it to my grave… figuratively speaking. Levi
and Gabe would never meet anyway.
I
hope.

I rolled to my side. Enough about the
break-up; my heart needed rest. Next on my agenda – what I was
going to ask tonight at dinner with Gabriel and his coven. I had so
many questions about their way of life and what committing to that
life would mean for me. For one, I was still worried about Sam and
if he was a half-breed. Would Iris’ rules permit me to visit my
family? And if so, could I tell them about my living arrangements?
If not, that would be a problem.

I rattled through a few other
questions and issues in my head and tucked them away for later, but
there was one thing I already knew for sure – if I planned on
joining their coven, I’d need to buy a lot more black clothes. I
suppose my new dress was a start.

* * *

Despite my exhaustion from barely
sleeping the night before, sleep never came. My mind wouldn’t rest.
Anna, however, dozed off as soon as the last ray of light hid
beneath the horizon.

Sneaking out of the school seemed to
be getting easier and easier. Almost too easy. I reminded myself
not to get sloppy with it, though. If someone caught me, the school
would start watching me like a hawk – not good when you want to
visit a hot guy and his coven in the woods every night.

When I’d made it to the tree line, I
paused despite the ever-tugging pull and smiled at the sight of
flickering torches in the distance. That foreign glow that I had
been so wary of the night before could possibly become a familiar
symbol of home. I warmed to the idea.

“Hey, Kat,” a whispering voice
said.

I squeaked a curse word.

A hand grabbed mine – a
soft, strong hand. I would know the feel of that hand in my
sleep.
Gabriel.
My body instantly relaxed.

“Sorry,” he said, stroking the top of
my hand. I relished the sensation. “I didn’t mean to scare
you.”

Damn, even when he whispered my name
it was enough to make me melt. Would it be wrong of me to ask him
to record it so I could take it back to my room with me later?
Maybe not wrong, but a solid ten on the creep-o-meter. Never mind.
“It’s all right,” I replied, blushing, embarrassed by my creepy
thoughts and squeaking out the curse word. Good thing the moon hid
selfishly behind the clouds tonight and neither of us could really
see the other’s expression. He’d see my cheeks glowing bright pink.
Again.

“This is where you’ve been entering
the woods,” he continued. “So I waited for you here.”

“How long?” I asked. The idea of him
anxiously awaiting my arrival sent a flurry of butterflies through
my stomach.

“Oh, only for about an hour,” he
attempted to say nonchalantly before chuckling and adding, “or
so.”

The butterflies threated
to make a hostile takeover. He’d waited for me for an hour,
possibly
hours
.
“Looking forward to seeing me again, huh?” I teased.

“More than you know.”

Oh, I know. Believe
me.

Attached by our hands, we made our way
toward the lights. The closer we came to the camp, the more the
smell of roasted meat teased my hunger. I’d only eaten a fraction
of my lunch and none of my dinner in anticipation for tonight.
Right on cue, my stomach growled.

“Someone’s hungry,” Gabriel said,
playfully squeezing my hand.

I swallowed to keep a handle on my
saliva. “Whatever it is, it smells good.”

“That’s one thing you’ll learn about
us – we know how to make a feast.”

A feast
, I mused. Who says ‘feast’ anymore? These people really were
disconnected from the world. I then wondered how old Gabriel was.
If he was immortal, he could be any number of years old. Before I
had the chance to verbalize the question, we entered the clearing
and Iris’s musical voice squealed with delight.

“Oh, you came back! I’m so happy you
decided to join us again.”

Gabriel released my hand as Iris
wrapped me in a tight hug. Air… I needed air!

When she released me, she brushed my
hair from my shoulders, studying me with a luminous smile. Her eyes
sparkled like polished amethysts. Such a contrast from her mood
when I had left yesterday – she must have gotten over her lovers’
quarrel with Kai. “We’ve prepared a big feast tonight for the
occasion,” she beamed.

“So I was told,” I replied. Smiling, I
looked to Gabriel who smiled back with his mouthful of pearly
whites. He too looked like he had lit up from within, his beautiful
face radiant. Who knew my presence could make everyone this happy?
And if I was completely honest with myself, I felt giddy as well.
The fuss over my arrival, the feast they’d prepared, spending more
time with Gabriel and learning more about what I am and this way of
life – for the first time in a long time, my heart wanted to
soar.

Iris slid her hand into mine. “Come,”
she said, grinning at my exchange with Gabriel. She must have
approved of our fascination with each other.

With Gabriel at our heels,
Iris pulled me across the clearing, and I gasped at the scenery.
They really
had
gone all out for me tonight. To the extreme. Handmade
garlands of dainty white and purple flowers draped between the
branches of the trees around the space; white paper lanterns hung
from the lower branches to illuminate a massive clothed table
covered with platters of roasted pig, some kind of fowl and other
game they’d probably hunted that day, and colorful bowls of fruit
and salads. A gilded cage with its own arrangement of flowers hung
beside the table with Iris’ bird inside. He bobbed his head at me.
Weird little critter.

Aubrey looked up from the table where
she was placing a few more flowers as finishing touches. She gave
me her best effort at a welcoming smile. That was more than I’d
gotten from her so far; I was surprised her face didn’t
crack.

Piper entered the space with silver
goblets cradled in her arms and spotted me immediately. “You came!”
The goblets tumbled to the floor as she bounded toward me. I just
stood there, flattered and dumbfounded, as she flung her arms
around my neck. I guess inviting someone into their family was a
big deal – I was a potential family member. I also wondered if
others they’d approached had denied their invitation and decided to
do the immortal thing on their own. My presence here tonight must
have indicated a partial commitment to them. But I wouldn’t go that
far just yet. I had an arsenal of questions waiting for
them.

The rest of the guys were the last to
arrive – Raymond, Kai, Brad and Colton – all carrying chairs to set
around the table. They each nodded their hellos.

After Piper had released
me, Gabriel took the chance to hook his elbow with mine and escort
me the rest of the way to the table. He slid a chair from the end
and helped me sit. “Thank you,” I cooed, my heart soaring higher.
Hot
and
a
gentleman. My dad would approve. Hopefully.

As the others settled in their seats,
I immediately felt underdressed for this ‘feast.’ All the girls
wore their versions of black dresses – Aubrey’s was of course tight
and short, Piper’s a doll dress with cap sleeves, and Iris’ long
and velvet like her other, except this one had beads in a filigree
pattern covering the bodice. The boys all wore black dress shirts
and slacks, even Colton, but he still had his red handkerchief
hanging from his back pocket. If I had known this was a formal
affair, I would have worn something dressier. I thought I was doing
good by wearing an off-the-shoulder sweater and leggings tonight,
not a hoodie and jeans – my usual woods attire. I wanted to put a
little more effort into my appearance this time, partly for Gabriel
– okay, mostly for Gabriel – and partly because I didn’t want to
feel like a toad amidst royalty. Oh, well.

After Kai had prayed over the meal, we
all dug in and not much was said other than to ask someone to pass
something or to compliment the way a dish was cooked. Everyone must
have been as famished as I was. Or maybe they were quiet because a
newbie was at the table. I almost scowled inwardly at the thought
of being labeled a “newbie” again, but the food… oh, the food
tasted amazing and distracted me from focusing on anything else.
Other than stealing a few glances at Gabriel. A lifetime of this
would be fine by me.

When the pace of our
eating slowed to a near stop and most everyone reclined in their
chairs, Iris took the dove from his cage and suggested we retire
around the fire to talk.
Here we
go
, I thought, silently preparing my
questions. Gabriel was the first to stand and offered me his elbow
again for an escort. Yep. I could
definitely
get used to this. I
beamed at him as I stood, my heart skipping a beat as he watched me
with pride. It felt like we had been together for weeks already.
After only a day, there was already a familiarity with the way we
interacted. It felt easy. No awkwardness or overthinking. It was
nice.

We settled around the fire with full
bellies and light spirits, but once Iris began speaking, the
atmosphere shifted slightly. This was, after all, a pretty serious
deal. This was a life-changing decision for me. Not that my life
hadn’t already dramatically changed after I’d learned I would live
forever – the idea felt daunting and exciting all at the same time
– but how I’d spend that life depended on how this conversation
would go.

“So, Kat,” Iris began. She sat
directly across the fire from me, her white-blonde hair glowing in
the firelight. “I imagine you’ve come up with a fair number of
questions since last night.”

All eyes were on me, and I folded my
hands to keep from fidgeting. Piper flashed an encouraging smile
from beside her.

“Ask anything you want,” Iris
cajoled.

I cleared my throat.
I
hated
being the
center of attention. Gabriel placed a consoling hand on my lower
back. It was meant to be comforting gesture, but every time he
touched me, it made it harder to concentrate on anything or anyone
else. Hell, just being in his presence did that, but I needed to
stay the course and remember my questions. “Well, for one,” I
began. “I’m close with my family. If I choose to join your coven,
will I be allowed to see them?”

The lines on Iris’ forehead deepened.
“Of course,” she said, her tone almost chiding, as if me suggesting
otherwise had wounded her. “This is not a prison. We are all free
to come and go as we please and visit whomever we like.”

I sighed.
Whew.

“But that’s not to say that you can
tell everyone what we are.”

That might be a problem. “What about
my parents, though? I’d like them to know.”

“Parents and siblings are fine,” Kai
interjected. “Since you’re part Angel, I’m sure your parents are
already comfortable with the supernatural. Telling them wouldn’t be
as much of a shock to their system. But friends and extended
family… it’s best if they stay in the dark. For many
reasons.”

“But why?” I asked. I didn’t have an
extended family to speak of – no aunts, uncles or cousins – but all
my friends here could definitely handle the
supernatural.

Iris gave me a sympathetic smile.
“It’s more than a matter of if they can handle our situation. The
fewer people that know about us, the better.”

I noticed everyone’s faces growing
grim, even Gabriel’s. His hand rubbed small circles against my
back.

“It’s for our own protection,” Kai
explained.

Did I hear him right? “Protection?” My
heart raced faster. Why would we need protection?