Adversity (16 page)

Nathan
and Jeremy took Byron to see Ryan, leaving me alone with Opa. I
knew he probably wanted to be entirely alone, but this time, I
wasn’t going to take his feelings into consideration. This time, I
needed to be strong, tenacious, and brave. All of the things I
wanted to be.

“
Don’t you think running off to have a sulk is a little
counter-productive?”

He almost
dropped his mug of coffee in surprise. “Don’t sneak up on me like
that.”

“
You’re a werewolf. Sneaking up should be near
impossible.”

“
Yes, well…” He waved me away in his embarrassment. “Don’t you
have some homework to do?”

“
No.” I stared at his back, wondering how to begin. I finally
decided on jumping in. Screw the consequences. “Opa. When are you
going to see sense? Can’t you see you’re pulling the family apart?
If you really want them to respect you, then you have to show some
respect first. You can’t act like a bull and shove your way through
every conversation.”

He raised
both brows in surprise. “Child, are you really lecturing me on
manners?”

“
No. Common sense, maybe. We’ve only just pulled Nathan back
into the fold, yet you seem determined to push him away again. You
loved us once. Doesn’t that mean anything to you now?”

We stared
at each other as my words echoed in the air. Did he love us still?
Was that hurt I saw in his eyes?

“
Mémère would want you to take care of us. She’d want you to
love us, no matter what. And Nathan’s not stupid. He’s pretty
smart… for a werewolf. And if he says he trusts Ryan, then I
believe him. Maybe you should give him some credit for a change.”
He didn’t say a word as I left the room, but I turned back for the
last word anyway. “You might not remember the man you used to be,
but I do. He wasn’t anything like you, and I’d really love to have
him back.”

***

Kali

She
hadn’t seen him for three days. Three whole days. Nibbling on her
fingernail, she wondered what could have happened. Had he grown
bored of her? Too busy on the farm? Had his wife found out and
forbidden him from seeing her?

Every
single day that she didn’t see him felt worse than the last. She
barely ate; she couldn’t sleep, and her takings grew less and less
as her concentration fell. Her heart was breaking at his desertion.
She knew his absence would tear her up. She wouldn’t survive losing
the only hope she’d had. He’d been the only one to keep her
going.

Drina had
all but abandoned her and constantly insisted that Kali should take
on her responsibilities with pleasure. Keeping joy in her heart,
when her world was crumbling around her, seemed
impossible.

She
watched for him on the way home, desperate for a glimpse of him. A
gasp of relief came to her lips as she saw his form. She ran to
him, urgent in her need to get close to him, but he backed away,
hands raised.

“
What is it?” he asked as his eyes darted from side to
side.

“
Where have you been?” she demanded, tears standing in her
eyes.

He looked
momentarily shocked at her words. “I don’t have an obligation to
you.”

She bit
her bottom lip to squelch a sob. “But you said…”

“
I’m sorry.” His eyebrows gathered into a frown. “Did something
happen to you?”

“
Oh, Andriy. The worst news I could ever hear.”

She
trudged across the fields to find a place to sit, confident he was
behind her. When her tears had stopped, she told him
everything.

“
The ceremony is in a couple of days. And after that, he’s
forcing me to marry.”

“
To marry,” he said slowly. “To a good man?”

She shook
her head. “A vile man. My father’s selling me, condemning me to a
life of misery. I can’t live like this.”

“
We all have our crosses to bear.”

For some
reason his words irritated her even more. She thought he would at
least be upset at the idea.

“
Do you even understand what this means? I’ll live a decade of
misery, and then I’ll die in childbirth. Because all he wants, all
any of them want, are my children.”

“
I’m sorry…”

“
Sorry,” she gasped. “Sorry? You don’t see it. You don’t see
what will happen. In a couple of days I will be chovihani. I will
work every day. And I am the seventh of the seventh. My children
will be guardians of my people. Wolf guardians.”

“
Wolfmen?” he asked, his voice suddenly excited.

“
Of sorts,” she said, feeling as if the life would drain out of
her right in front of him if he didn’t begin to speak the words she
needed to hear. “Don’t you care that I’ll be married?”

“
I’m
married,” he said gently, and her
tears began again.

“
I thought you would help me get away,” she cried before
running away. He called after her, but she couldn’t bear to look at
him. He didn’t care for her after all.

Her life
was almost over.

Amelia

I woke up
with the worst headache yet. With tears streaming from my
eyes—partly from Kali’s sorrow—I struggled to get dressed. Nathan
had already knocked on my door three times to get me out of the
house and to safety, which he thought was the café of the hospital,
a slightly ridiculous idea to me. Apparently, my lecture had helped
the cause, because Opa had finally decided he wanted to meet with
Ryan and Willow, once and for all.

I would
be stuck to Perdita’s hip while the rest of the family took care of
business, but at least I would get out. Besides, Perdita and I
needed some time together. I checked my phone, but neither Connor
nor Ger had texted or called me since I kissed Connor. I tried to
ignore my disappointment. I wasn’t even sure if I liked Connor that
much, but if he’d acknowledged what happened, at the very least, I
would have felt better.

She was
waiting for me outside the hospital, dancing from one foot to the
other.

“
I’m so happy to see you,” she said with a grin. “I’m bored out
of my mind here.”

“
Ugh, I’m sorry I haven’t been to visit you more
often.”

She
looked taken aback. “Are you kidding? You have your own stuff to be
dealing with. I’m happy you’re here now. I’m kind of nervous,
though. Wanna wig out on caffeine with me all day?”

“
Sounds like a plan.”

We bagged
ourselves a table by the window. She really was hyped up. She
couldn’t stop fidgeting. I wondered how it would feel to constantly
wonder if your mate was okay or not.

“
So how is everything at school?” she asked. “Joey only
remembers the bits to do with actual studying, and he’s crazy
dedicated to revising for the summer exams.”

“
Freak,” I couldn’t help saying, but she grinned at
me.

“
I know, right?”

“
It’s okay. Kind of lucky it’s a doss year because I haven’t
been paying much attention.”

“
Just okay?” she asked.

“
Well, kind of awful, really.”

She made
a sympathetic face. “What is it?”

I rubbed
the back of my neck, suddenly irritated by the heat of my hair.
“It’s just… everyone’s constantly talking about either you or
Nathan, lately, or this thing with your dad, or Nathan scrapping
with Aaron. It’s tiring to hear the same questions, over and over
again.”

“
New friends not helping?”

“
Actually, Tammie kind of helps me out now and then. Weird, I
know. I wish she could be like that the whole time.”

A frown
marred her expression. “Yeah. I don’t know what’s going on with
her, but there’s obviously something.”

“
I kind of kissed someone last night,” I blurted, my cheeks
heating up from the look she gave me.

“
Who?”

“
Connor. Don’t know his surname. He’s in my year, though. You
know him?”

“
There’s, like, seven Connors in your year. I need a little
extra,” she said wryly.

“
I don’t know much about him. I think he lives near me. He
hangs around with Ger and Julie, those girls you saw me with. And
he has the coolest colour eyes I’ve ever seen.”

“
Um, well, I don’t know about the eye thing, but I think I
might know him. He has a brother in sixth year. So, what, you like
him?”

I
shrugged. I really liked Andriy. Or rather, Kali liked him so much
that her desire had left its mark on me as well. What I felt for
Connor didn’t measure up to that in any way. “Maybe. We’re supposed
to be meeting up tomorrow, but… you know.”

“
Okay, what’s the deal, Little Miss Not-So-Enthusiastic? You
like him or not?”

I had to
laugh at her expression. I wondered if our relationship was similar
to one between sisters, and I thought of Kali and Drina. Yep,
pretty much exactly what it would be like.

“
He’s… nice. I think I might like him a lot if it wasn’t
for…”

“
For what?”

“
Andriy,” I admitted.

“
Who now?”

“
Andriy. Andriy from my dreams.”

She
scrunched up her nose. “Please tell me you’re not
serious.”

“
It’s not like… it isn’t… Oh, for the love of… it’s not me.
It’s Kali. She’s crazy in love with Andriy, and I feel it, too.
Everything she feels in the dreams ripples out into real life. I
get so many of the echoes that I can’t remember what
I’m
about.”

“
Now, I’m worried,” she said, “because I don’t feel as if
you’re exaggerating here. And this sounds really freaking dangerous
to me.”

“
Dangerous? How?”

“
Well, what if she feels like hurting somebody? Hurting
herself? What would that do to you? I think you’re right about
these dreams. They have to mean something. Nobody dreams about the
same person night after night. At least, not in the way you are.
You need to speak to your grandfather about this. Maybe he knows
more than we would. And those headaches. You’re still getting them,
right?”

I nodded
glumly.

“
Not only that,” she said, then hesitated. “You look sick,
Amelia. Really sick. Don’t think I can’t see how thin you’ve gotten
because you’re piling on the clothes.”

“
I’m not doing it on purpose. I just can’t eat
enough.”

“
Maybe you really are sick. We’re in a hospital. We could ask
one of the nurses about the headaches.”

“
No.” I shook my head fervently and regretted it as blinding
pain shot through my skull. “Not now. Let’s get this other stuff
out of the way first.”

Her face
fell, and I could see she had almost forgotten what Nathan was
doing.

“
They’ll be fine,” I reassured her, as genuine pain flitted
across her face.

“
I know. Even if it’s all a trick, they’ll still be okay,
right?”

I
couldn’t knock away her hopeful look. “Of course. They know what
they’re doing.”

“
When is this going to end? I mean, how long is it going to
take? Are they ever going to stop coming for us?”

I wanted
to throw up. The pain was worsening. I took some painkillers before
answering. “It has to stop. One way or another. We have to wait
until…” I took a deep breath. “Until my family does what it takes
to end the conflict.”

***

Kali

Her
father took her far from the camp, and part of her expected to die
out in the muddy fields. Sunny days had turned to lightning
crackling in the sky, and the grass was sodden with persistent
rain. Heavy heat sent beads of sweat down her brow.

The
stormy weather matched her heart.

Every
heartbeat signified another step closer to marriage and
unhappiness. Another step away from Andriy and the freedom he
represented. The ceremony would only be witnessed by two people,
Kali and her father. The earth wept along with her.

He
prepared the ceremony in a cave and forced her to stand outside in
the rain. He covered her eyes with a blindfold while she waited.
She steeled herself for the sound of the bells to ward off evil
spirits, but it didn’t come. She realised, too late, that he
probably intended to invite them. She swallowed hard a couple of
times and smelled liquid grass. Hot rain drenched her back, and she
sensed the eyes of small animals watching her warily.

Worst of
all, she saw the darkness in her blood. That thing which called to
her, clung to her, and lured her in. She ignored it because she
didn’t know what else to do. Her father’s ceremony, no doubt,
called it down upon her, but she would be brave. She would stand
tall and remain defiant to the last.

These
were her last days of freedom, and she wouldn’t waste them cowering
for mercy that did not exist. She would take her power, accept her
responsibilities, and allow herself to mourn for mere days instead
of years. She might not take on her destiny with happiness in her
heart, but she would not allow it to kill her in her sleep.
Andriy’s acceptance spurned her on.