Kate Ross

Kate Ross is the mother of Lucas Ross and a member of Black Cross. She is the leader of her own cell and raised her son to hunt vampires from a young age. Kate is the widow of Mr Ross and the wife of Eduardo.

Background
It is implied that Kate was born into Black Cross and raised to be a vampire hunter, eventually becoming the leader of her own cell. Given she is stated to be in her forties in Evernight, she was probably born between 1960 and 1969. Kate married a man with the surname of Ross - implied to be a fellow vampire hunter - and they had a son named Lucas. Kate raised Lucas to follow in her footsteps. Kate's husband was killed by vampires when Lucas was very young, giving her a personal vendetta against them. She eventually remarried another hunter named Eduardo, her second-in-command.

Evernight
Kate appears late in the novel, unexpectedly appearing the hotel Lucas and Bianca Olivier are staying at and finding them in bed together, after Lucas called her to explain his cover had been blown and he'd been forced to flee Evernight Academy. Though Bianca and Lucas were only sleeping, the situation is still awkward for all involved, though Kate brushes it off and takes her son and Bianca back to her cell's current headquarters, located in an old church. Kate seems to like Bianca, though she doesn't realise Bianca is half vampire and assumes Bianca was kidnapped by vampires as an infant. When the Evernight vampires, including Bianca's parents arrive to 'rescue' her, Kate says that they're "done lying to this girl" and prepares to fight to protect her cell and Bianca. Her life is further endangered when the vampires set fire to the church to force the cell out, but Kate is saved due to Bianca deciding to go with the vampires willingly, to avoid a battle which could cause major casualties on both sides. Kate reluctantly allows Bianca to leave and escapes with son, husband and comrades.

Stargazer
Kate's leads her cell on a hunt for a vampire part of a dangerous tribe that has been killing humans, allowing Lucas and Bianca to meet up again. Kate is relieved to see Bianca is alright. Kate later leads her cell in an assault on Evernight Academy, having heard a rumour that the vampires were intending to massacre the human students. She and her cell torch Evernight before fleeing, bringing Bianca and Raquel Vargas with them. Kate offers to let them join Black Cross and they both accept.

Hourglass
Kate helps oversee Bianca and Raquel's training and goes on the run with her cell from the Evernight vampires, who are seeking vengeance for the burning of the Academy. Kate takes shelter with another cell in New York, run by Eliza. There, Kate survives an ambush lead by Mrs Bethany after Bianca inadvertently gave away their position. Unfortunately, Eduardo is killed by Mrs Bethany, making him the second husband has lost to vampires. Kate is devastated and vows revenge. She helps torture and interrogate Balthazar More and is enraged when Balthazar claims (falsely) that their target was her son. Kate is apparently not present when it is discovered that Bianca is part vampire and that Lucas knew all along, though she presumably discovered this after they escaped.

Afterlife
Kate goes to Vic Woodson's house with her cell to find Lucas after he called them for help when bianca was dying in the previous novel. However, when Kate realises her son has become a vampire, she attempts to kill him, saying its the only way to "give him peace" and believing he's now a monster - in spite of the fact Lucas is still the same person and is pleading with his mother to listen to reason. A fight ensues between Lucas and his allies and Black Cross. Bianca, now a wraith, intervenes by possessing Kate; Dana and Raquel also betray Kate to help Lucas. Kate flees with the rest of Black Cross when the police arrive at the scene. She later tries to kill Lucas again, this time wearing copper rings to prevent Bianca from controlling her body again. However, she is again thwarted. When Bianca turns Lucas human again, she suggests he contact Kate, but Lucas refuses after everything that has happened, stating that he now understands his mother "has limits" and will always choose her duty to Black Cross over her love for her son.

Physical Appearance
Kate is said to be in her forties. She bears a strong resemblance to her son, Lucas; they're both described as having angular faces, being "square-jawed and sharp chinned" and having dark green eyes. They have similar golden-brown hair, though Kate's is slightly lighter and is chin length. Kate is muscular with "sculpted" arms and quite tall, even slightly taller than her son.

Quotes

 * "You're finished lying to this girl [Bianca]. In fact, I'd say you're finished, period."

Appearances

 * Evernight
 * Stargazer
 * Hourglass
 * Afterlife

Trivia

 * Kate is ironically quite similar to Mrs Bethany, her hated enemy, in that they were both members of Black Cross, were both highly skilled hunters and both lost husbands. They both also seek revenge for the death of their husbands and both have a questionable sense of justice when it comes to their missions. In another twist of irony, Mrs Bethany is the one who kills Kate's second husband.
 * The name Kate is diminutive of the name Katherine (it is not specified if Kate's name is short for Katherine), and is derived from Latin meaning "pure" or "clear". Interestingly, Katherine (also nicknamed Kate) is the name of a major character in Shakespeare's play The Taming of the Shrew - Bianca Olivier, who is, for all intents and purposes, Kate's daughter-in-law, was named after a character in this play.
 * Both Kate and her son have names with Latin origins.
 * Lucas introduces Kate as "Kate Ross". This would imply that Kate did not take Eduardo's surname when she married him. One could theorise she did this to prevent him from becoming a target from vampires (as she had already lost one husband to vampires).