I’ve ever met someone as strong as Kate

I’ve met a lot of strong people in my life, but I don’t know if I’ve ever met someone as strong as Kate. Over the last few days, I’ve watched her yell at some of the stronger members of this pack until her voice cracked. I don’t know much about the missing girls, but I do know that Kate doesn’t seem like the kind of person to exaggerate or lie.

Kate stomps over to the bonfire. Everyone else is wiping their mouths and stretching after a breakfast of deer and eggs. I took my breakfast with Rico and the rest, but my feet are carrying me towards Kate by the time I finish.

Her angry eyes flicker towards me as I ease onto the ground beside her. I sigh and say, “I get it, you know.”

She turns towards me and brushes her long hair out of her face. “You get it? Do you get what’s it like to be a woman with a target on your back?”

I shake my head. “And I’ll never know what it feels like. I’ll never know what it feels like to be you, Kate. But I’ll tell you something. I respect you.”

Kate raises an eyebrow and says, “You respect me?”

The way that she says it makes it sound as if she’s waiting for me to pull the rug out from underneath her. I know that people like Reona have probably made her feel like that’s completely impossible, but I have to tell her. I don’t care if the pack leaders want to see Kate beaten into submission.

I’ve never been one to follow someone else’s lead.

Kate exhales and wraps her arms around her legs. She peers into the fire, watching the flames dance and lick at the wooden logs that a few men tossed in earlier. She sets her chin on her knees, then turns towards me.

“Why are you so nice to me?”

“The better question is, why is everyone else so shitty to you?”

She laughs, but there’s not a hint of humor in it. “According to everyone else, I’m the weakest in this pack. I’m not a strong hunter, I’m slower than everyone else, and my wolf is smaller than everyone else’s too.”

“Doesn’t mean you can’t kick ass.”

Kate shakes her head. “I don’t think you get it. You’ve been liked your whole life, haven’t you?”

Her gaze is penetrating and absolutely mesmerizing. Kate hides behind this shy veneer, but she is crazy intelligent, interesting, and objectively hotter than any of the other women in this pack. The fact that she doesn’t have a mate both blows my mind and makes me wonder if she’s ever going to look for one.

I sigh and say, “I can’t argue that. I’m a people person.”

“And people just gravitate towards you,” she holds up a hand, “I get it. You’re alikeableperson, whatever the hell that means.”

I knock my shoulder against hers and say, “Does that mean you like me, Kate?”

She’s still for a moment before she says, “It’s nice to have someone look after me. I haven’t gotten into it with Reona all week. Her lackeys are even easing off a bit.”

I feel something boiling in my stomach as I remember the way that Reona’s lackeys tried to keep Kate away when we were eating. What’s with this schoolyard bullshit? Are we pups? If I were a woman, I’d lay them out flat.

“Don’t worry about it,” I turn to her, so that we’re facing each other. “Do you want to get stronger?”

Kate shrugs and says, “How could I possibly learn to be stronger? I can’t make my wolf bigger.”

“You can’t make your wolf bigger, but you can learn how to kick their asses. It’s never too late. I’ll train you.”

Her eyes widen and she says, “You’ll train me? Why? Why would you want to do that?” Kate’s curious gaze turns into a darker, more suspicious one. Her eyes narrow and her voice hardens. “Did someone put you up to this?”

I hold my hands out in front of me. “I don’t think that anyone should be treated the way that you’ve been treated. What’s the point of me coming to this pack if I’m not here to make things better?”

Kate opens her mouth and says, “Uh, I- “

I jump to my feet, and she yelps. I lift my chin up and say, “Get up.”

“What? Why?”

“Get on your feet. Now.”

 

She keeps her eyes trained on me as she slowly gets to her feet. Her small frame trembles, but her eyes are defiant.

“Hit me.”

“What?!”

I smack the center of my chest and say, “Hit me. Come on, with everything you’ve got.”

Kate launches her small fist into my chest, but it feels like a tack being thrown against brick. I shake my head. “Come on, hit me! Make me feel it!”

A few wolves look in our direction and I look back at them. They quickly snatch their gazes from my eyes and go back to pretending to work.

She punches me harder. Her fist thumps against my chest, harder this time.

“Yeah! Come on, hit me! Hit me like you mean it!”

Kate bites her lip, then pelts me with her fists again. I’m still waiting for a sting, but it never comes.

I reach forward and close my hands around both of hers. Her bright green eyes stare into mine and a smile spreads across my lips. “See? I can train you to get better. Just like this.”

She nods. A bright smile spreads across her face, breaking up the sad look that she normally wears. It’s a welcome change, and I feel a pang in my chest. It feels like she’s looking right through me. It feels like she knows me, or wants to know me.

And I want to know her.