Chapter 37: 15

After his shower, Darrell threw on a pair of worn jeans and had taken a cold beer from the fridge and sat out on the porch swing. He had been out there for hours. He watched the sun go down over the mountains. It was dark now and out here in the country; the only source of light was coming from inside the house. He stared up at the starry sky. He had been nursing the bottle all day. He still had half a bottle, only now it was warm.

After the sun went down, the door a few feet away opened, and Katelyn came out with a bottle of beer in her hand. She walked over to him and offered Darrell the beer. He looked at the bottle. “I thought you might like a new one,” she said. “This one is cold.”

He reached out and took it, giving her the half-empty bottle. Katelyn put the bottle on the floorboards and took the seat next to him on the porch. She rested her head on his shoulder and watched the stars with him. He actually liked having her seated next to him. It was a comfortable silence, which was nice.

He had never just sat with a woman. He would have never guessed it felt so good.

Her affection was comforting. She had not runoff. She had not fought with him about the matter. Now she sat with him. She was giving him time to get over the horrible thing he had just done. She did not recoil from him, and that gave him home. “I didn’t want to have to kill him,” he spoke softly.

“I know.”

“That’s not who I am.”

“I know.”

Darrell sighed heavily. “I get it.”

“Get what?” She asked, lifting her head to look at him. “I get why you don’t want to marry me. Why would you want to marry a monster that kills your kind?”

“I don’t think you are a monster.”

“Why not? I am.”

Katelyn placed her hand on his chest, just over his heart. “I know your heart. You are a better man than Nigel ever was. You are not afraid to do the hard things if it means you can protect the people you love.

Life is complicated. But I’m going to walk the path with you.”

Darrell was confused. “What?” Was she saying what he thought she was saying? Did he dare to hope?

Katelyn smiled. “I’m going to marry you.”

Darrell grinned. “Really. You think you can handle this crazy life?”

“To be with you, I will adapt.”

“You just made me a very happy man.”

***

The following morning Darrell drove Katelyn back to her parent’s house. She wanted to tell her parents they were getting married, but since they had not known each other long, they decided to tell them she was moving into his house and then after a few months, she would tell them they were getting married.

Katelyn knew she was doing the right thing. Even though their time together had been brief, the imprinting had Katelyn feeling as if they had known each other all their lives. Only she doubted her parents would understand that.

Darrell had suggested they keep their engagement a secret for now. The pack was not ready to accept Katelyn, and he wished to give them more time to warm up to her presence in the pack.

When they walked into the house, Katelyn found her parents looking concerned. Her mother stood up as they came into the room. “What is going on?” Katelyn asked.

“It is Nigel,” the authorities must have found his body. That was quick. “He’s in the hospital.”

“Wait. What?” She gasped, genuinely surprised. He was alive. Katelyn looked at Darrell, who had the same stunned expression.

“Apparently, he ran his car off the road, and it almost killed him. He crawled to the highway where a motorist found him. He’s in the hospital in critical condition.”

“That’s terrible,” Katelyn said. It truly was. If he regained consciousness, he would tell the world about Darrell and the rest of the pack. Judging from the look on Darrell’s face, he was thinking the same thing. She had no idea how they would get to Nigel while in a hospital. All Katelyn knew was, he had to be silenced. “Look, that’s a horrible thing for him, but beyond common human sympathy, I don’t give two shits about Nigel.”

“He was such a big part of your life for so long. How could you say that?” Her father said.

“He was sleeping with Karen.”

“He made a mistake. We all make mistakes. He was looking for you to make amends,” her mother said and then glared at Darrell. “And you. He was looking for you too. After the disgraceful scene you made at the brunch. You ruined two lives. You are not welcome in my home,” her mother snapped, pointing at the door. “Kindly remove yourself from my home.”

“While Darrell probably could have done so with more tact, he did the right thing. If Karen was already cheating on Scott, she would have just kept doing it. He saved Scott a lifetime of hardship.”

“Karen is your flesh and blood. You owe her more loyalty,” her father snapped.

“Where was her loyalty when she was sleeping with my man. Screw Karen. She is dead to me. So is Nigel. The only person who has never lied to me is Darrell, and you are being extremely rude to him.”

“I don’t care,” Her father snapped. “I don’t want ever to see him again.”

Darrell said nothing, but he looked wounded that even now, her family preferred Nigel over him.

Katelyn sighed. She was going to do the right thing and stand by her man. “I’m sorry to hear that because we are getting married. If my future husband is not welcome in this house, then neither am I,”

she turned and took Darrell’s hands. “Let’s leave.”

“How can you marry this man?” Her mother barked at her. “You barely know him.”

“The length of time you know someone does not determine or limit the love two people have for each other,” Katelyn snapped. “I love you, Mom, but you are small-minded. I’m leaving, and I’m not coming back. I’ll send someone for my things,” she said as they walked out the door.

Her parents followed them out into the driveway. “Don’t do this, Katelyn,” her father yelled after her as she and Darrell climbed into the truck. “If you leave with that man, don’t ever speak to us again. Do you hear me, missy?”

Darrell looked at her. “Last chance to stay.”

She placed her hand over his. “Let’s get out of here.”

Darrell shifted gears, and they drove off. It was hard to leave. She would miss her parents, but she was going to stand by Darrell. She loved him too much not to. As they drove, she noticed how distracted he was. He was worrying about Nigel waking up.

“You are thinking about Nigel, aren’t you?”

“I was so sure he was dead. I can’t even imagine how he survived it.”

“You will just have to try it again.”

“Try it again? Killing him on the side of the road is one thing. It gets marked as a traffic accident or an animal attack. Killing him in a hospital in the middle of Aspen will attract the police and the media. It will be called murder, and somebody will have to pay for that. It is not as easy as walk in and walk out. I have to go to Gordon. We need to brainstorm a way of getting to this guy that won’t result in someone heading to death row,” she could appreciate his dilemma, and if there was any way she could make it easier for him, she would.

They drove back to Feral, where they stopped at the Blood Moon Studios to talk to Gordon. Luckily he was without a client but in the process of going through his business paperwork. When they walked through the door, Gordon came out of the small back office to greet them. He was smiling. “Well, isn’t this a surprise? I see you still have the human with you,” Gordon then offered Katelyn a sympathetic smile. “No insult intended, Darling. It is just that you are a serious breach to my pack’s wellbeing,” if he believed that he was not going to like what they had to tell him. Darrell frowned, sharing a concerned look with Katelyn that Gordon instantly picked up on. “Is there a problem?”

It was clear by how Derrell hesitated that he did not want to tell Gordon about Nigel. Nervous, Derrell ran the tip of his tongue over his bottom lips. “The boyfriend survived.”

“WHAT!” Gordon yelled, his eyes flashing with rage.

“He is in the hospital in critical care. I don’t know how, but he survived.”

An unfathomable growl rumbled from deep inside Gordon, and then his eyes stopped glowing as he regained control of his rage. “Ok,” he said, doing his best to stay calm, “is he conscious?”

“I don’t know.”

Gordon took a moment. “Alright. First things first. Someone has to go to the hospital and find out if he is conscious and if he is whether or not he is lucid. I want to know who he has talked to, if anyone. I want names and, if possible, addresses. We are going to contain this before it gets any further out of hand.”

“This is all my fault,” Katelyn sighed.

“No, it is not,” Darrell tried to comfort her.

“He’s right,” Gordon said. “This isn’t your fault. It is his,” he nodded at Derrell. “He knew the rules, and he thumbed his nose at all of them. Now the pack is going to pay for his mistake.”

Katelyn watched as Darrell cast his eyes down in shame like a child who had just been scolded by his father. “I’ll do it,” Katelyn said.

“What?” Gordon sighed. “Do what?”

“I’ll go to the hospital. I’ll find out if he is conscious, and if so, who he has talked to.”

“Why would you do that?” Gordon asked. “It is not your pack.”

Katelyn stepped up and looked Gordon dead in the eye. “I love Darrell. I’m friends with some of the others. You might never accept me, but in my heart, I see this as my pack. I will protect the pack.”

“Talk is cheap,” Gordon challenged her, “prove it,” he wanted proof she would give him proof.

***

The following morning Darrell drove Katelyn back to her parents’ house early on his way to work so she could collect a few of her things and her car while they were at work. She loaded up her trunk and back seat with everything she owned. Then she said goodbye, the place that had been her home all her life.

It was strange how it did not feel like home anymore.

Before she headed back to the place she would now share with Darrell, Katelyn took a quick trip to the hospital. She parked down the street, so she did not have to pay for parking. She wanted no record that she was here. She went inside and asked the Administrative desk what floor and room Nigel was in.

Once she had the information she required, Katelyn went up to the fifth floor and located Nigel’s room.

She found him in a hospital bed unconscious, but that did not mean he was not awake earlier. She walked over to the bed and took the file chart off the foot of the bed. She looked around to be sure no one had seen her. She skimmed through the file. According to this, he had been unconscious when he arrived a few days ago and had not regained consciousness. She supposed that was a good thing. It meant he had not had the chance to talk to anyone yet. However, if he woke up, it would be bad for everyone.

She had no love for Nigel, but she felt bad that he had to die. Sure, he was an asshole that was going to cause a lot of trouble when he woke. Unfortunately, at this point, he knew too much. It was him or the pack. And frankly, in her mind. Fifty lives outweighed the one. Nigel had to die.

She should go back to Gordon and tell him what she knew. Then let him come up with a convoluted scheme on how to kill Nigel while not drawing attention to the pack. Or…? She noticed he was on a respirator. The machines he was hooked up to were keeping him alive at the moment. Her gaze followed all the tubes and wires and came to rest on the main plug that was inserted into the power outlet.

Could it be that easy?

Katelyn reached for the plug then pulled her hand away. How did Darrell and the others do this with such ease? She walked back to the door and looked down the hall to see no one at the nurses’ desk. If she was going to do this, she had to do it now. She quickly walked back to bed and took the plug in her hand. She took a few quick breathes, trying to work up the nerve to do what she knew she had to do.

Katelyn looked at Nigel one last time. “I’m so sorry about this. I wish there was another way, but someone has to die, and it isn’t going to be my friends,” she took one more deep breath and then pulled the plug.

Everything shut off, and she heard Nigel struggle for breath, then things went eerily still and silent. She placed her fingers to his neck, searching for a pulse, and when she found none. She plugged the power cord back in and made a quick escape. She was walking away quickly to the stairwell at the end of the hall. She clanked back to see a nurse arrive at the desk. She looked panicked, and then she ran to Nigel’s room just as Katelyn disappeared into the stairwell. As she rushed down the stairs, she heard an announcement come over the hospital PA calling for a code blue. She did not know if they could bring him back, but she was hoping they could not. She was not sure she could find the courage to kill him again.

She drove back to the house in silence, thinking about what she had done. She felt horrible. She even cried, not for Nigel but for tarnishing her own soul for having done it. If you did something wrong for the right reasons, did it make it right? She did not know. All she did know was she felt wretched.

Reaching the house, Katelyn unloaded her car and then decided to do some baking. Perhaps if she kept busy, she would not think about it.