Lone Wolf

One. Two. Three.

It’s breath came in hard gasps, the frigid chill of the winter morning seemingly making it hard to manage a solid inhale without irritating its lungs. I could easily tell that its front leg had healed incorrectly from a previous injury, visibly making it limp slightly as it walked. I wasn’t sure how long it had been wandering, but judging from its condition, I’d have to guess a good while. Narrowing my eyes, I tilted my head slightly and focused on its back foot. It had serious damage on it, far worse than the front limb, making it likely unable to hunt the simplest of animals.

That explains why its ribs are showing, but with the amount of carnivore shifters in these woods it probably eats whatever leftovers it can find.

After a brief glance back to its damaged foot, it huffed and tried to sit down in the large snow drift it had been trying to get through for a bit. It then began trying to scratch at its matted throat. Blood had dried there, the dark color easily visible on the blond animal as it tried to get at an itch concealed by the matting. It could probably rinse off some of the blood in a river or pond, but the infection that would cause… it wasn’t a good idea.

Its left back foot’s claws quickly got stuck in the mats after only a moment, making it yank it out with a quiet yelp as the claws pulled on the mats connected to the injury. Looks really itchy. Shaking its head, it grumbled and flopped over in the soft white snow, then rolled onto its back and seemed to finally manage to scratch the itch a little. It wouldn’t bring much relief doing it in the snow, but it was all it could probably do at the moment. At least it isn’t rubbing the wound on the bare ground or a tree trunk.

Seemingly satisfied for the moment, it rolled back over and stood up, shaking out its coat. It looked like it was going to continue on its way toward the south. The thought of not knowing where its next meal was going to come from was likely more unnerving than the cold or its current injuries, but that was life in the forest during winter months. I heard its stomach growl a moment later, making my tail flick slightly. N othing to eat around here. Especially not for you. I thought to myself as it began to step out of the small depression it made in the snow.

Well, enough waiting and watching. Time to go, worthless coyote.

I thought I’d run them all out of town, but here one was, standing right in the middle of my hunting grounds. It looked half dead already, which would make it easy enough to finish off. It had to be a shapeshifter, considering all of the normal ones had been eradicated years ago. Tricky bastards, especially if they have a human side. My small black ears flicked when I picked up the sound of its stomach growling again. I couldn’t hold back the sound of my own rumble when its scent hit my nose a moment later, causing me to take in a deep breath. Blood. Of course. It was completely covered in it, but smelling it gave me a whole other adrenaline rush.

When the coyote caught the sound of my growl, its own ears stiffened and turned slightly, then it whipped around… but it was too late. I had already leapt, front legs outstretched, canines bared, claws extended, ready to dig into flesh and remove the unwanted mongrel. And then our eyes met.

Mate!

I faltered, then tumbled into the snow like a newborn kitten. I was up fast, of course, but now it was on the attack, snarling as it bounded toward me with killer intent.

Yeah, right. Not in your condition, pup.

I hopped up on my hind legs right as it got close and then swatted downward with my right paw, landing a good thump onto its head. The hit sent it straight into the snow between my legs, its body sliding a few yards before coming to a stop with its head buried in the powder near a spruce tree. I thought it would be down for the count with its already-inflicted injuries, but it surprised me by standing back up, albeit a bit wobbly. I was already facing it, sitting in the snow as my tail swished back and forth with slight interest. Of all the things my jaguar could have chosen as a mate, it actually decided on a blasted coyote. It was infuriating to say the least, but… Heaving a sigh, I shook out my rosetted black body and stretched my back legs, then my front, in quaint feline style. When I looked back up at him, he was just standing there, panting quietly, eyes appearing wary.

It knows it’s not going to win this.

Feeling a little safer with the knowledge that the other was likely not going to attack so openly again, I slowly padded through the thick snow, my big paws making easy work of the steps where the coyote had faltered because of the depth. The moment I got close enough to smell more than just blood, his masculine scent swam through my nose, making me flick my whiskers in slight disapproval. I wasn’t averse to having a male mate but stacking that with a coyote shifter was just cruel.

I gently ran my muzzle against his, hearing his warning growl loud and clear, but choosing to ignore it. He knew if he wanted to live, attacking my perfectly-fit jaguar wouldn’t get him anywhere but in a grave faster. His teeth were bared, but he stayed where he was as I strode around him, nudging his side to get another strong scent through the blood. I wasn’t quite sure what it was, but it seemed like a mix between something unfamiliar and pine needles.

Interesting.

While my natural curiosity had me wanting to shift and ask what he smelled like, because surely he’d know, I knew that wasn’t the move I needed to make right then. Shifting was, but not the questions. I stalked away from him a few feet before turning back around and allowing my body to change. The look on the coyote’s face was pretty humorous. It obviously hadn’t expected me to shift in the frigid weather, but I was used to it for short periods and I really needed to talk to him immediately. Mind-linking was convenient, but it was hard when you didn’t trust each other and I preferred words anyways.

“I’m not going to ask you to shift as well, because I’m sure your body’s ability to hold heat is much less, considering the shape you’re in.” It growled, but I just rolled my eyes and continued. “Don’t go denying it, stupid coyote. Now, as much as I don’t like your kind, I know you need help, and if you can do one thing for me, I’ll let you rest and wash up at my home, along with eat your fill.”

I could sense his surprise once again through the connection he was trying to form between us, obviously considering speaking with me through our thoughts instead of with his human mouth. The idea of hearing his voice, even just in my head for the time being, had my inner feline purring with excitement. I waited several long moments before I finally heard him reply in my head. His voice sounded incredibly exhausted but still masculine and deep as he asked me his one-word question.

What?

This was going to be the hard part. I knew it was a bad idea to tell him we were mates right off the bat, because he was obviously at least partially dominant, so he was probably expecting to get the signal instead of his partner. Of course, sometimes neither got a decent signal or realized what it was, so I suppose I’m lucky in that regard. Returning my full attention to the coyote, I felt my lips tilt up slightly at his scowl. Definitely prideful, even as injured as he is, I thought to myself, pursing my lips to try to figure out what I should say.

The idea came so randomly that I had to grin, which made the coyote growl, but I didn’t care. It was a bit of a stretch, but it might just work. So I put away my smirk and put on a serious face as I crossed my large arms over my well-muscled chest.

“I’m a bouncer at a local club. It’s a mix of a restaurant and then club later at night, but only eighteen and up, and obviously twenty-one for drinking. Right now, we’re extremely low on waiters and bussers. So, work for a little bit and you have a place to stay for free, with as much food as you’d like, and your own room.”

It was a great deal, and even though he seemed offended at first, judging by his pinned-back ears and sneer, his features slowly relaxed as his stomach gave another loud rumble. Come on, please. Just come with me. I’ll take care of you, I thought to myself, wishing I could send him the words but knew that they’d likely hurt more than help the situation if I did. It wasn’t exactly every day that a shapeshifter who would normally be an enemy offers you a job with free room and board in the middle of forest.

Kine

I wanted to kill him for calling me a coyote but when he offered me a deal, I had to bite my tongue and actually think through it. I hated living with others, even in the pack I’d left awhile ago. Barely anyone was allowed in my large home. He was also a feline, another strike against the idea, especially since he was a black jaguar and not some small cat. On the more positive side, I needed a good ten meals to even begin getting my body on the road to really recovering, and a bed. No more cold snow. I gave a slight swish of my tail. Getting cleaned up so I could get the itchiness around my neck taken care of also sounded pretty damn good. I still wasn’t sure why he wanted to help me, because I wasn’t used to nice, but I couldn’t afford to be picky.

Okay, I replied to him finally. The smile he gave me the second after I answered was unnerving, as well as the fact that he hurried over to me and shifted back to his jaguar form to run his tongue from my chin to my nose. Ew! I hadn’t even allowed other wolves to do that in my old pack, disgusting. Come on. It’s going to be a long walk back so we need to go now. It should be dark by the time we get to the city so we shouldn’t have to sneak around much. I’ve got clothes near the outskirts, and I’m sure people will just think you’re a dog I found. he thought to me as he began tromping off through the thick snow, easily managing while I stumbled after him.

We went through the forest and, some time later, ended up in a large prairie with a pond frozen over in the middle. Judging from the sun in the sky, it was likely close to noon already. I thought we would just stop for a drink if there were any portions of the body of water that weren’t frozen, but instead, the jaguar bounded forward and leapt right onto the sheet ice, sliding a good fifteen feet out into the middle of the pond. You’re insane, I stated flatly as I began stalking around the outer edges of the water. He was seriously skittering around on something that would obviously be straining under his weight.

Just pussy-footing around. Haven’t you ever played before, coyote?

My ears pinned at hearing that lesser canid’s name describing me. I am a wolf! I spat back bitterly. He stilled near the other end of the pond, a quizzical look on his dark features when I looked over. Really?

Anger flared in my belly, and before I realized what I was doing, I bolted out onto the ice, sliding when I figured out that I needed to stop, but unable to. Whoa! There was no fun in sliding out of control on a bed of frozen water that could break at any second!

When I finally managed to come to a skidding halt, no thanks to the cat, I heard him snickering. It sounded more like sneezing since he was still in his feline form, but I wasn’t stupid. Regaining my balance somewhat, I hesitantly began taking careful steps toward him and the edge of the pond where he’d sauntered. I had to keep from looking down because I swear the first time I did, I saw a dead fish, frozen in midmotion just beneath the surface. That’s going to be me if I don’t get myself off this dangerous ice, I told myself, angry that I’d let myself be pushed into doing something so stupid just because of a few words. It didn’t matter if he thought I was a coyote or whatever, because as soon as I was off the darn ice, I was leaving. Sure, the thought of a warm home and food was tempting, but I wasn’t used to being dishonored and it was extremely hard to ignore coming from a complete stranger, let alone a cat.

He was already waiting for me when I finally stepped off of the ice, long black and dark orange rosetted tail swishing in the thin layer of snow at the bank. I stalked past him, though, not bothering to spare him one glance as I headed to the left, a different direction than the way he had been taking me.

Hey, wait. Where are you going?

I had expected his questioning thoughts, but I hadn’t expected him to come bounding over and promptly block my path, not allowing me through no matter how many times I tried to skirt around him. Move, I warned.

No, he huffed back immediately, making me bare my teeth to which he gave a nonchalant yawn. It had obviously not just been because he might be tired. In fact, it was much more likely he’d done it to prove a point. He could keep me here if he wanted, or he could kill me. His teeth, especially the front canines, were easily hidden when his mouth was closed, but when he yawned, his upper lip tucked back and I was graced with a close-up view of the giant teeth.

Silence took over after the display, both of us staring the other down. It hurt my ego to be pushed around by a cat but even more so because he was literally looking down on me due to his animal’s height. After what felt like nearly half an hour, though I’m sure it was a good deal less, he took a small step back and sat down.

You are coming home with me. You know staying out here will be your death, so just suck up your hurt pride and come get better.

I hate him . I really hated him, but he was right. Not that I didn’t deserve to die for what I had done back at my old pack, even though shapeshifter rules are far more lax about murders than most, but I just couldn’t stop fighting to stay alive. The crap I’d been scrounging as I’d traveled had barely been keeping my body from shutting down and hunger constantly gnawed at my insides. Even my inner wolf had begun nudging at my conscience to try to goad me closer to a city so it could at least dig through the trash. Hmph. I would never sink so low, I thought to myself before narrowing my eyes on the cat’s.

Fine. But as soon as I’m able, I’m leaving. He gave a quiet sneeze as he began walking past me. I had a feeling it was another snicker, but I bit my tongue and just began following him.

We walked for the better half of the day. He was true to his words, because by the time the city came into view, it was dark and my legs were completely numb, leaving me stumbling every other step. I forced them to move each time I fell into the thick layers of snow that coated the side of the small hill we were currently traveling down. A particularly deep dip caught me near the bottom. I struggled to get out of it, leaping with what little strength I had left, but that only aided in toppling the nearby walls of snow down onto me. This is ridiculous, I thought to myself as I began trying to dig my way out. My body was so cold that the chill didn’t bother me anymore, which probably wasn’t a good thing, but I was past the point of caring. I just wanted that promised food and rest. I took a small break after a moment to try to catch my breath and heard quiet sniffing coming from above.

Where are you? the cat’s voice questioned frantically into my mind.

I could clearly hear it pacing above me now, so I gave a small barking growl in response. The pacing stopped immediately, as if he heard what I’d done, so I did it again. Not a second later, his giant paws were scraping at the snow above my head, clearing it faster than I thought possible. When I finally pulled myself free and looked for him to give my thanks, he was suddenly right in front of me, rubbing his muzzle against the side of my face with a loud rumbling sound coming from his chest. At first, I thought it was a growl and was going to bite, but then common sense kicked in and I realized he was just purring. Odd to know something is actually happy that I’m alive, I thought with a roll of my eyes. It’s also probably a good thing that I remember that big cat shifters can purr, even though some of their wild relatives can’t.

I let him do as he wished for a minute before snapping my jaws at him in warning that I’d had enough. Affection wasn’t something I was used to nor interested in. He backed away, though I could tell that he still wanted to continue.

Are you okay to keep going? he asked gently. He obviously knew I could barely move. Hell, my legs were literally shaking where I stood. I will keep going, I replied, not wanting to bend to my current weakness. I was grateful when he didn’t argue and instead just slowed his pace and walked with me as we began moving again.

Nagol

“Just a little further,” I said soothingly as he struggled to get through the last bit of frozen slush to come out onto the street leading into town. I’d left my clothes beneath one of the bushes and was just finishing up changing back into them when he walked over, panting heavily. He might be exhausted, but I could feel the pride rolling off of him in waves. He was battered and broken all over, but the guy was still going. It was admirable, if not a bit crazy. I’d wanted to carry him since the time he’d fallen in the deep snow, but he was adamant about walking so I hadn’t pushed him, even if he was wearing himself down to the bones.

The road we were now starting on was coated in ice because it wasn’t often used. It was an old service road, which was perfect for coming and going as an animal not native to the area. Looking down, I smiled as his wolf swayed slightly but still managed to keep up with my human legs. I was going as slow as possible to help spur him to keep going, but the temperature was dropping quickly and even with my nose frozen I could smell more snow coming.

Name?

The sudden question from him caught me off-guard and made my smile widen into an excited grin. It was a bit of a shock that he actually wanted to know, considering how much he seemed to dislike me, but I wasn’t going to hesitate in giving my mate such an important piece of information.

“Nagol Lemont.”

I waited with baited breath to hear what he thought of it, since it was a powerful name in the feline shifter community. Not that we were close to each other, since we preferred to be by ourselves or with our mates, but Nagol was a strong name often reserved for those who would hopefully grow to become very powerful.

That is an odd name. His response drew my grin into a frown, but I didn’t let it get me down. It was probably a weird name for someone not used to cat shifters. Most of us had interesting names.

“What is yours then, my coyote?”

I knew I shouldn’t have poked fun at him with that lesser animal’s name, but I couldn’t get enough of his attention, even if it happened to be provoked and negative. His growl told me that he didn’t appreciate the joke, and he remained quiet for several long minutes before I heard a tired reply in my mind.

Kine.

My brows went up and I chuckled, drawing another glare from him. “Really? And you thought my name was odd? What about your last name?”

That seemed to catch him off guard for some reason, because he actually tripped over his own paws and barely managed to catch himself before he got a mouthful of the frozen pavement. I waited through another long stint of silence in which we got much closer to town before he finally replied, Do not have one. That was rather odd. Wolves treasured their last names… They flaunted them to show support of their pack and family.

Perhaps he got kicked out of his pack for some reason, I thought to myself as I watched him try to out-pace me. He was upset, so I let the subject drop for the time being. It did spike my darn feline curiosity, though, but I’d wait until I got him to agree to stay with me before I tried to get it out of him.

When we finally got to my street, I turned left and Kine followed, now seriously showing his exhaustion. He dropped every few steps but was determined to keep going on his own. I wanted nothing more than to scoop him up in my arms and carry him straight up to my apartment, but I knew he’d get angry over it.

Poor baby, I thought to myself as I stopped by the stairs. When I looked down at him where he’d dropped by my feet, I could see the disbelief in his face. He won’t be able to do it without passing out.

“I know you’re going to hate me for this, but please don’t struggle or we’ll both get hurt when we fall.”

His head snapped up and our eyes met, but I was already leaning down and scooping him up before he could protest. Not that he didn’t give me some serious snarls when I did get him into my arms, but I ignored them as I quickly jogged up the flight of stairs.

Put me down! he shouted weakly in my head. It shouldn’t have, but it made me snicker as I set him back down on the landing. He snagged my favorite pair of black sweats with a nip, adding a small hole to show that he was pissed. Normally, I’d be miffed about that, but whatever. He didn’t break the skin, and I knew he was going to likely bite for being carried without warning.

“Okay, my poor pants deserved that, now let’s get inside.”

I couldn’t hide my smirk as I slid the key into the lock and pushed the door open, standing aside so he could go in first. My apartment was almost like a condo, though I had a feeling that it was likely just a renovated three-story house at one point. It had three floors, two of which I rented. There were two bedrooms, one on the second floor of the building and the other on the third. The second floor also had a large bathroom and kitchen, and I currently slept upstairs, which was perfect because Kine wasn’t going to be doing stairs anytime soon. Thinking of how comfortable he would be on the huge bed I had in the spare room, I looked for him to show him where it was but… Aww. He’d tried to get up onto the sofa in the living room a few yards in front of me while I had turned to relock the door, but obviously didn’t have the energy left as he’d dropped right next to it onto his belly, then passed out cold. His back legs were splayed out to either side, along with the front ones, proving just how exhausted he really was. Glad I cranked up the heater in anticipation of it being freezing before I got back. Since I knew it might get a little chilly between the heater’s small breaks, I went into the guest room and pulled the large down comforter from the bed and gently laid it over him so that his head was the only thing not covered.

I had wanted to at least give him a good scrubbing and some antiseptic for his injuries before he went to sleep, but there was no way I could wake him up right then. Shaking my head, I slowly ran my fingers, from where I settled myself beside him, over the matted but soft fur atop his head. My instincts wanted me closer, much closer, but I didn’t want to scare him away, because that’s what waking up next to a huge jaguar would probably do.

Man, I’m pathetic. I only just found him today and already I want to hold him close and tell him everything is going to be okay. My mouth quirked slightly at that thought. Because I’ll make it okay. Better than okay for my mate. Kine.

Dominance

Nagol

I need to wake him up.

But he’s so cute sound asleep.

But he’s been sleeping for nearly two days.

Arguing with myself, I paced about the kitchen, getting things ready to cook that I’d just picked up at the store. I had intended to wake him the night before so he could eat and clean himself up, but after a few nudges, he was still completely out cold. When I came home early this morning, I noticed him even deeper asleep, if that was even really possible. His whiskers were twitching slightly along with his eyelids, making me think that he was having some kind of eventful dream. Definitely couldn’t wake him up from that, either. So now, after I’d taken a long nap and a shower, I decided to see if the smell of food cooking would rouse him at all.

I was definitely no chef, but I had mastered putting foil on a baking pan and adding meat, then sliding it into the oven. It took quite a few burnt meals to realize that I actually had to pay attention to it while cooking, but now I was good enough to risk offering him the food without worrying about poisoning him, hopefully. Man, it would suck if he didn’t like it. It would be bland, of course, because hell if I knew the difference between some fancy spice for steak and basic table salt, but he could add what he wanted from the salt and pepper shakers.

While the food began to cook, six steaks and a good bit of bacon as a treat, I headed upstairs to grab the book I’d been working on for the past week. Since I was the only person who got called in when the other bouncer couldn’t work, I didn’t usually get a whole lot of time to read. They should really just replace the guy. He’s ‘sick’ more times than he’s there. I tried not to be one to judge, but every time I saw the guy, he looked sick but in a stoned or drugged-up sort of way. Grabbing the book I’d come to get, I quickly turned back around and headed downstairs to check the food. Steaks didn’t take long to cook, especially when we could technically eat them raw just fine, but I knew I needed to at least heat them up a bit in case Kine’s immune system wasn’t quite up to par.

When I stepped off the last stair and looked over to check on him, I was shocked to see the area void of the blanket and my wolf. Him. Not yours yet. Ignoring my inner conflict, I first checked the front door to my left, giving a huge sigh of relief when I noticed it was still locked. He couldn’t have locked it again unless he had a key, so he has to still be here. And that’s when I heard it and smirked. Trying not to rush, I set my book down on the arm of the sofa and strode into the kitchen. Stopping in the doorway, I felt my heart give a sudden thump hard in my chest at what I saw. Or really, who.

I knew he was probably going to get pissed since his upper lip was already beginning to retreat to show teeth, but I couldn’t help lowering the normally loud volume of my voice and making it softer as I spoke to him with a reassuring smile like one would to a child.

“Hey, Kine.”

He growled before I even finished saying my two words. I imagined I should respect and acknowledge that he didn’t want to be bothered, especially now that he was huddled in the corner near the stove with the heavy blanket wrapped around his naked human body. I felt an immediate nudge at my conscience but ignored it, knowing that my jaguar was just being a horny cat. Well, it was getting nothing for a long while, if Kine’s now fully bared teeth had anything to do with it. Not that I minded, though. I wasn’t going to force him, even if he eventually ended up rejecting me when I told him that we were mates. God, he definitely would if I said it right now. I can just tell that he used to be a high ranking wolf from his posture and eye contact. No shapeshifter in their right mind would stare down someone they knew could kill them if they weren’t used to being in charge. I need to work on his dominant side. It’s okay to ha ve, but …

“Do not glare at me, Kine.” My voice rose back to its normal booming deep tone as I began walking toward the oven, grabbing the mitt beside it when I got there. I really wanted to just tell him that he was going to have to learn to be submissive because I was the one who was going to be dominant, as I’ve always been, but that would probably have him either snapping at me, or gone in a second. Neither result was one I wanted to entertain.

Ignoring his grumbles for the moment, along with my wandering thoughts, I busied myself with getting the steaks out of the oven and on the stovetop to rest for a few minutes. The quiet sniffs coming from Kine made me want to hand him all of the food right away, but he really didn’t need to add a burned mouth to all the other injuries he’d already gotten. So, keeping an eye on him, I got us two big glasses of water and offered him his with a small smile. He shrank back farther into the corner against the cabinets and gave me a warning growl in response.

You’re human right now, Kine. You’re not going to be dealing any damage to me, I thought to myself, wanting to roll my eyes but holding back just in case it might actually spur him to try to attack. Instead, I moved the glass a small amount to draw his attention to it, then grinned.

“Take the cup from me, Kine, or I’ll eat all the steaks and bacon I just cooked.”

His eyes grew wide in shock, but then narrowed with a few extra emotions that I could just lump together as anger with a dash of hatred. Harsh. But I wouldn’t be deterred. It was a simple task, and if he couldn’t do it, then he would just have to deal with the consequences. It wasn’t like I was asking him to come to bed with me or something. He seemed to finally give in, though he was still growling as he began to reach one arm out from beneath the blanket. Going to have to work on those growls, too, but this is good for now.

When his fingers finally reached the glass, I had to bite my lip to keep from sucking in a breath as they brushed against mine. To keep myself from messing up further, I quickly dropped my gaze to the small ridge I’d noticed near his wrist and unconsciously frowned. My poor wolf. It was a reasonably old break, at least a few weeks. It was healed decently well, but the damage was definitely there to see in how he used the hand. He seemed to have to concentrate on the action of moving it, especially his fingers. It was as if his body wasn’t able to connect to what he wanted to do with it if he didn’t focus. Almost like he’s relearning how to use it. I finally released the glass once I was sure he had a firm hold of it, then straightened as I got down some plates from the cabinet to the right of the stove, and after fishing out two forks and knives, I began loading up the plates with meat. As I worked another thought came to mind, which made me smile but also inwardly frown. He’d used his bad hand in the presence of a predator he didn’t know or trust. He must still be feeling badly if he let such a slip go by without notice. Thank god I was the one to have found

him.

Kine

So close… just reach up and grab one, I told myself with pursed lips. I’d set the cup of water down to my right, nowhere near as interested in it as I was the huge pile of meat slowly being divided onto two plates. Nagol seemed to be lost in thought, about what I wasn’t sure, but I took my chance as my belly rumbled encouragingly. Grabbing hold of the oven handle with my left hand, I squeezed it as tightly as I could and then used it to help push myself up onto my knees. He didn’t notice the action. So, leaning some more of my weight on the handle since I was still pretty tired, I moved my right hand up abruptly and actually managed to snag a big piece of steak. The idea of having it in my mouth in a second had me grinning in triumph, but then Nagol jumped and gave a surprised snarl. I had been expecting him to be caught off guard, but I was already so on edge at that moment that my body jerked and then everything happened way too fast for my exhausted mind to contemplate until it was over.

I’d accidentally pulled the oven open when I tried to lean away too quickly. That put me off-balance, which in turn sent me toward the scalding inside portion of the oven door . Now I was sitting in his lap, dazed but not burned. Wait. Lap? Glaring over my shoulder, I saw Nagol’s worried expression up close and personal. I didn’t like the idea of being so close to him, but I did take a moment to actually look at his features. The first things I noticed were his soft golden eyes that appeared split down the center with a cat’s pupil. I knew enough about werecats to know that his animal was likely close to the surface, thus changing his pupil’s structure. Moving on from them, I noticed he had a slightly crooked nose, no doubt healed from a previous fight. Male felines weren’t the best at getting along, and it was no different for the shapeshifters. The last thing I noted was the small amount of black stubble, which dusted around his strong chin and encircled his slightly dark red lips.

“Are you okay, Kine? Your hands aren’t hurt, are they?”

My hands?

I had gotten distracted suddenly—by what, I wasn’t sure—but definitely snapped back to reality when I felt Nagol’s large hands running down my arms to entwine our fingers so that he could turn my hands over and check the palms. I was about to snarl at him because this was seriously way too close, but then he blew out the loudest sigh I’d ever heard as he leaned over by my ear.

“Thank god. Scared the hell out of me.”

I wanted to ask why he would be scared of me getting burned, or maybe the sigh was because he was worried he’d get scorched trying to help. Either way, I was done entertaining the little moment we were having. Crawling out of his lap, I quickly adjusted the blanket back over my bare butt and then reached for the piece of meat that was lying on the floor just a foot away from where I’d dropped it. Finally, some real food, I thought hungrily, right before the piece of meat was suddenly snatched up.

“H-hey!” I yelled, the startled word coming out automatically as I watched Nagol walk over to the sink behind me and begin washing the food off.

“You didn’t wait a few seconds while I finished dishing out our food, so you lost this piece;” he said with a matter-of-fact voice that I had a feeling I would be hearing often… and not liking. If he hadn’t mentioned that it was going to be one of mine, I probably wouldn’t have cared if he put it on his plate, but taking a high quality piece of food from an alpha was extremely dangerous. I bit back the thought that wanted to creep in, telling me that I was no alpha any longer and, instead, watched as Nagol put the rinsed steak atop a single one next to a small pile of bacon. The other plate drew my attention then, and my stomach growled loudly at the sight of four of the original six steaks stacked there, along with an unhealthy, mouth-watering portion of bacon.

“Come to the table and eat.”

What?

“Wait! I can just eat here. Give me my plate,” I said as sternly as I could. He stopped by the entrance to the kitchen at the sound of my voice. I thought he might actually do as I asked, but then he turned just enough to give me an infuriating smile before walking out of my line of sight. Give me my food, Nagol. The words were thought to him with a deadly undertone, but he didn’t even bother to reply. Instead, I could hear the sound of a fork and knife beginning to scrape against one of the plates. Everything in me wanted to attack him, my wolf’s instincts making the idea more and more appealing.

If you don’t come over here and eat, I’ll just enjoy your portion too, he thought to me. I growled loudly, but the scraping sounds never stopped.

Dammit!

After sitting for another minute, I carefully got myself onto my hands and knees and, humiliatingly, crawled toward the entrance to the kitchen. I made sure to pull the blanket along as well, because while I didn’t mind my body, it was generally submissive when you approached another dominant wolf in their home without clothing… and sometimes sexual. The thought of being beneath him in bed made my stomach churn in upset. Over my dead body, I told myself as I gave a grunt of effort and tried to get to my feet. I failed, which wasn’t a surprise, considering I’d tried earlier when he was upstairs but immediately fell back to the floor. Stupid foot. The breaks to it were much more of an inconvenience than my hand’s lack of sensation. Several bones in my heel had been broken, making it awkward to balance. I could get used to it if I decided not to get it fixed, but right now there was no way I could get up. And crawling in front of him just for food…

Nagol

I was honestly surprised when he didn’t walk around the corner. Of all the things I’ve asked him, I thought just eating at the table was simple enough that he probably would have done it anyways. I guess I’ll be getting an extra meal then. I projected the thought to him but received only a small hint of depression in return. Cutting another piece rather audibly, I stuck it between my lips and chewed, gaze glued to the wall were the kitchen opening was. He was right there, I could feel it, but why he didn’t just come to the table escaped me. Surely, the food was more a lure than him saving his torn-up pride from a short walk to the dinner table.

When I had eaten four of the six steaks and a good amount of the bacon, as well as cut up the rest, I finally felt that I couldn’t eat or stall anymore and pushed my chair back to stand. I’d decided while I ate that he would be allowed one steak, but I’d keep the other leftovers in the fridge for later, but when I walked around the corner and saw him beneath the blanket, and more specifically, the part of him that wasn’t beneath the blanket…

I pushed it too far too soon. I’m sorry, baby. The thoughts were whispered in my own mind as I ran my eyes over his feet, visible at the far end of the bunched-up comforter. One looked perfectly fine, if not a bit dirty, but the other was tilted at an odd angle from very visible, multiple breaks. It hadn’t looked that bad when he was a wolf. Bad, yes, but he had still walked on it. The breaks weren’t permeating the skin, but it looked pretty close for some of them. Shaking my head slowly, I knelt down in front of him and gently set my right hand on the impression his head gave from beneath the blanket. He grumbled a little, but I could tell that it was halfhearted. He must have left his feet bare to tell me why he had disobeyed without truly telling me. While I didn’t like that he hadn’t just voiced the reason why he didn’t come, since I wouldn’t have expected him to crawl, I was glad that he’d at least managed to tell me indirectly.

A content smile found its way onto my lips as Iset the plate of food down on the tile in front of him after adding the othersecond cut up steak and gave his head a gentle pat before standing back up. Hedidn’t go for it right away, which I figured was going to happen, so I walkedover and picked up his water, setting it down next to the plate before headingupstairs. When I came back down with a set of pajamas in my hands, I heard theobvious sound of the fork stabbing at the pieces of steak, along with franticchewing. I wanted to sit down and watch, even though it sounded kind ofcreeper-ish, but instead I walked over, and standing just out of sight, kneltdown and set the clothing near the plate. The sounds of eating quieted for amoment, but as soon as I got back up and walked over to sit down on the sofa,they picked up again. I stretched out and grabbed my book from the arm. With mywolf fed, I figured I could get in a few pages of reading before I was neededagain, but not wanted.    

(This book is currently available on Amazon under T. Kierei. Please consider getting it if you liked it so far :) )

Baby Steps

Kine

The meal I’d been given disappeared in only a few minutes, finally sating my hunger. With something in my stomach, I was ready to fall back to sleep but knew I needed to at least take a shower before I did so. Grabbing the clothes Nagol had set next to my plate, I tugged on the pants and then moved back until I was by the counter, tossing them up onto it before taking hold of the edge with both hands. It took a bit of effort to get myself up and balanced on my left foot.

“You can do this. Just need to learn how to walk again,” I told myself, clenching my jaw in concentration. Slowly shifting my weight onto my bad foot, I felt myself going off balance, but firm hands were suddenly resting against my waist, stopping my descent.

I gave Nagol a warning growl, but instead of backing away, his fingers gently pressed into my skin, then began pulling me away from the counter. Panic started to set in that I would fall, but he easily held my weight and after a moment, I stopped grumbling and tried to focus on using my bad foot. Thankfully, it didn’t hurt anymore, but I was still having a lot of trouble.

“You just need to get used to it until we can get you in for surgery.”

Surgery?

I didn’t have that kind of money. Hell, I doubt I even had access to my account anymore.

“I can’t afford such a thing,” I told him with as little emotion as I could, even though I felt like many were weighing on my shoulders. Your life’s not over if you can’t fix your foot. You can learn how to walk again.

“We can save up and pay for it,” Nagol answered. Okay, something is up. No stranger would voluntarily take in an injured and aggressive werewolf just for a little help at a restaurant.

Since he wouldn’t release my waist, I just turned slightly in order to stare at him over my shoulder. “What’s in it for you?”

The expression that took over his features told me that he’d anticipated my question but hadn’t come up with a solid answer yet. I gave him a minute, watching him process what he wanted to say. When he seemed to finally figure it out, he gave me a wide smile. “I honestly can’t stand werewolves, or canids in general, but… you.” He shook his head, making my stomach twist with an emotion I didn’t understand. “We—” He tried to continue, but then paused again. I narrowed my eyes on his and a faint red colored his cheeks. “You should go shower.”

His answer caught me off guard so much that I didn’t even realize he had moved his hands up my arms to grasp my elbows until he had a firm hold on them.

“What are you doing?” I asked, eying his hands with distaste.

“Helping you, even if you don’t want it,” he responded with that same annoying grin on his face.

Opening my mouth, I intended to tell him exactly that, that I didn’t want his help, but he began moving without warning. His step backward ended up pulling me closer due to his hands on my elbows, which in turn had me stumbling. I expected to fall, but his grip tightened on my arms the moment I lost my balance, and easily held me up when I began to drop.

“Sorry, took too big a step to start with. Don’t worry, though, I promise I won’t let you fall, but this way is probably going to give you results much faster than using the counter and we can just walk to the bathroom.”

He was correct about the counter thing, but that didn’t mean I wanted him touching me. “I don’t want your help,” I stated plainly, keeping my eyes on his, even though I knew now wasn’t the time to try to challenge him. Instead of getting upset, though, he just widened his smile and took a small step back, forcing me to move toward him.

“Stop.” I growled, anger beginning to push through the surface.

Not listening, he just took another step back, then another and another. I didn’t have any damn time to yell at him because I had to focus on where my feet were going as well as trying to balance with the bad one. By the time we traversed from the kitchen tile to the living room and hallway carpet, then back to tile in the bathroom, I was actually doing pretty well. The first few steps had been the hardest, but as long as I kept moving, I could actually balance without too much of an issue.

“Alright. I’ll let you do as you like from here since I doubt you’d want me scrubbing your back and whatnot.”

He gently guided my arms over toward the multi-toned brown granite countertop. It was a bit surprising to see in a bathroom, but as I looked around, I noticed the place actually looked professionally designed. Must be the apartment owner’s doing. Once he pointed out the towels hanging near the huge walk-in shower, he ducked out of the room and shut the door, leaving me to my own privacy. I was a bit apprehensive to walk without his help, as pathetic as that sounded, but I did manage to use the countertop to get over to the toilet. Since the lid was already shut, I carefully sat myself down and worked on getting the pajama pants off. It was a chore, but once they fell to the floor, I reached over and pulled the frosted sliding glass door to the side. It slid behind a second one, which made sense. They split the shower in half so that I could enter from either the front or back.

Looking inside, I found the water controls and quickly figured out the hot and cold, then worked with the nozzles until it was a comfortable temperature. Finding the actual button that turned it into a shower took a moment, because it was wedged right above the spigot. Pushing that, I watched as the water began raining down from above. Since everything seemed good, I was about to get down on my hands and knees and crawl inside, because I didn’t trust my balance yet, but then I spotted two things. One was extremely appreciated, a small stool near the middle so that I could move in and out of the water by turning without having to sit on the cold tile, but the other…

“What the hell is that?”

Oh god. I didn’t need to have it explained. There was only one word for it. Cat. Shaking my head, I crawled into the shower and carefully got myself up on the stool, then looked along the wall to my right at the bristles, which looked like they should be on a heavy duty scrub brush. Definitely a giant cat-scratcher. It ran the length of the wall from about thigh-height to the floor. And in the shower, too. Rolling my eyes, I grabbed the shampoo that was sitting on a ledge in the back along with conditioner and bodywash, and got busy giving myself a much-needed scrubbing. The shampoo and conditioner weren’t too bad, considering their scent of mint, but the bodywash really made me hesitant to use. It had one of those fake smells I couldn’t really place as anything familiar, making it just smell like nasty chemicals. I’ll just get a new one when I get my first check, I thought to myself as I awkwardly scrubbed all over with the stuff.

When everything was finally rinsed, I was going to just turn off the shower and get busy drying off, but my eyes couldn’t help but return to the darn scratcher fastened to the length of the wall. It was even a light tan color, matching with the rest of the bathroom’s theme of different shades of brown. Though I have a feeling it’s more because all the cat scratchers are that color, and he had to have one special-ordered. Wonder what he told them… that his cat liked to scratch itself in the shower? Snickering at my own stupid joke, I slid from the small stool and shifted. Being able to stand on my own again was invigorating and made me a little excited. That’s what I was going blamed for the slight brush I gave with my muzzle against the weird bristles after nudging the stool aside. Since the shower was on, the bristles were wet, which actually made it work really well, considering when I turned, I saw a big patch of my matted fur stuck to it.

That had felt kinda good…

Nagol

After thirty minutes, I was getting a little worried. I could still hear him in the shower, but it sounded like he had shifted into his wolf form considering the light clicking of claws on the shower tile that met my ears. The thought of him tearing up my bathroom wasn’t too worrisome, but my scratcher… I love that scratcher so much. I had to get it special ordered and it was frustrating since I didn’t even have a cat. Why do people have to be so curious when you want to order a gigantic scratcher that adheres to walls but don’t have a cat? Grinning to myself, I finally decided to just get up and go check on him. If he was in his wolf form, then he shouldn’t care either way. I made sure to walk loudly as to not startle him anyway, but I evidently didn’t need to worry about that because even after opening the door, he was still in a world of his own.

Definitely my mate. I leaned against the doorjamb and crossed my arms over my chest. Kine was completely wrapped up in my scratcher, rubbing along it at every possible chance he got. Clumps of blond fur were already built up on a good portion of the four feet of bristles. He kept going for a good five minutes, yipping every now and then when he seemed to get a particularly itchy spot scratched, but then he noticed me in the doorway and immediately backed away from the now-completely-blond scratcher. Oh, of course. The ‘I didn’t do it and you can’t prove it’ look.

“You do know I have black fur and yours is blond, right?” I raised a brow to emphasize I meant the dark yellow patches of fur on the tan bristles behind him. After a moment, his proud posture shrunk a little and he flicked his ears with a huff of indignation.

“Uh-huh. I’ll clean it this time, but you’ll have the pleasure next time you use it.”

I was about to leave and go get ready for work when I noticed something red dripping from the fur below his neck. “Are you bleeding?” Without really waiting for a response, I grabbed a clean washcloth and a small pair of cuticle scissors— gotta keep the claws in order— and stepped right into the shower. I’d taken off my shirt while reading to be more comfortable, but the jeans I had on were definitely going to need changing after I finished tending to him.

I just scratched my neck a bit too hard. It will be fine, he replied into my mind, making me frown as I tried to get closer. Kine kept backing up, though, obviously not wanting my help again.

“Please let me just look at it. Your fur looks really matted right at your throat, and if it gets infected, it could cause a lot of problems.” Instead of letting me do what I needed, he scooted back to the far corner and began snarling at me. I didn’t want to have to say it, but I wasn’t going to let him walk around with an open wound. “Don’t make me shift, Kine. You know you won’t win this fight, so just let me tend to the injury, and then you can do as you please for the rest of the night since I have to work.”

He seemed to quiet down for a moment after I spoke, then, thankfully, walked forward until he was sitting in front of me. Of course it was just at the edge of where the water was spraying, so I got soaked while he stayed mostly just damp, but I didn’t mind. I was already wet anyway, so what was a little more water? Scooting closer, I carefully leaned over and began gently sorting through the thick fur on his neck. Most of it looked to have been brushed out by the scratcher, along with the rest of his body, but I quickly found the spot that had given him trouble. Ouch. Definitely isn’t going to be brushed out without causing a good amount of damage.

“Found it,” I whispered as I focused on carefully snipping pieces of it away while tugging on the mat gently with my other hand to be sure I wasn’t getting skin.

Do I work tonight?

The question caught me off guard a little, making me pause for a second to lean back and look at his pretty face. “Nah, I figured you’d rather get some more sleep. My boss can run his workers ragged so I think it would be best to rest for at least another day, and…” I grinned at him, leaning over to bump our noses together, which got me an annoyed grumble. “You still need to master walking on that foot.”

I figured that would be the end of the discussion since he didn’t seem like a talkative guy once he got his answers, but he surprised me with another reply. I do not like being useless.

Hiding the smile I wanted to give since I figure he’d had enough of them by then, I leaned forward and finished clipping the clump of fur from his throat as I thought over his words. There was no way I wanted him working tonight, and with his balance off, there was no way he really could. However… Leaning back again to sit on my heels, I tossed the mat of fur behind me into a corner to clean up when I did the scratcher, then gave him a small nod.

“If you’d like, you can just do a few things around here. Now I know you have to work on your balance and whatnot, so obviously I don’t expect you to get everything done, if any really at the moment, but there are always small chores that I can’t keep up with. The dishes could probably be run in the dishwasher, or laundry done.” Shrugging, I turned on my knees and reached out of the shower after turning it off to grab one of the towels I left sitting on the back of the toilet.

“Here, cover yourself with this, then shift please. I want to check the injury again and put some antiseptic on it.”

I knew he would protest, but I didn’t bother waiting for it as I got up and walked over to the medicine cabinet. It took me a moment to find the stuff I wanted, but by the time I stepped back into the shower, he was in his human form, the towel draped over his lap as he leaned back lightly against the stool already nudged near the back wall. Thank god the apartment has this huge shower design. Any other shower would have been totally cramped with just the scratcher, but this one easily held the small stool as well, without any issues.

Hearing Kine clear his throat made me snap out of my own thoughts. “Right, tilt your head back just a little and I’ll clean up the wound and bandage it,” I said with an embarrassed mumble. He did as told, and I took the washcloth and wiped at the injury since I hadn’t been able to really use it through his wolf’s thick fur. When it looked nice and clean, I squeezed some of the antiseptic onto my fingers and very gently rubbed it over the injury, then fastened a large Band-Aid over the small gash. At the same time, I noticed that the injury had been a small part of an old one which was mostly scarred over but had been quite big, judging from the marks it left behind.

“There we go. All done.”

I got back up right away and stepped out of the shower to give him his space. “I’m going to head up to my room and change for work. Be back down in a few minutes.” Before I walked out, I moved the clothes I’d brought in for him closer to the toilet seat, then grabbed the pants he’d borrowed off the floor to wash since I’d accidentally stepped on them with my wet feet.

When I finally got upstairs, I was extremely giddy. If I hadn’t left when I did, I probably would have begun sifting my fingers through his gorgeous dark blond hair, which wouldn’t have ended well. But if it had ended well… Groaning, I shook the thought from my head and busied myself with getting ready. I pulled off my soaked pants and tossed them in the corner, along with the pair Kine had borrowed, then tugged on a light gray shirt that was honestly a bit too small. My boss really liked the idea that his bouncers show off their muscle so I didn’t question him about them since he bought us the shirts in the first place. After pulling on a pair of black boxers and comfortable, worn blue jeans I gave my hair a once-over with my fingers to mess it up a little, then headed out of my room for the stairs.

Instead of going down them, though, I halted at the top, one foot in the air ready to step down. I pulled it back when I noticed Kine on the floor a few feet from the stairs down below. He was wearing the clothes I’d left him but looked upset, which led me to guess that he’d tried to walk again and fell, but pride surged through my chest when he gave his head a sharp shake and pushed himself back up on his hands and knees. You can do it, Kine. You can beat your handicap, I thought to myself as I watched my mate struggle back to his feet. When he finally tried taking another step, I smiled at the same time he did. There you go. You can do it. Determination lit his eyes, and he took another step. He fell again, though, but at least he was close enough to the sofa to catch himself, which he did.

Since the show was over and he hadn’t seen me watching to spoil his mood, I calmly made my way down the stairs and toward the door to pull my shoes on. I could feel his eyes on my back but didn’t turn around to face him until I was grabbing my car keys from the hook on the wall. “I’m going to head out. If you get hungry again, there is some hamburger meat defrosting in the fridge along with more bacon. There’s also two dozen eggs and some vegetables and fruits, so get whatever you’d like. Just leave the whole chicken for later, I’ll be cooking that as soon as it’s finished thawing.”

I knew I should have left out mentioning the chicken altogether, but he still had a lot of learning to do and I wanted to see if his dominant side would go against the order when I wasn’t here to enforce it. He gave me a small nod from where he sat on the sofa, and I returned it, then headed out for the night.

Jaguar in Your Bed

Kine

He had known I would have trouble with his order when it came to the chicken. He’d done it on purpose. Rolling my eyes, I pushed myself up off the sofa and hobbled toward the kitchen. I had to use the walls several times to finally get to the counter where I heaved a sigh of relief as I balanced some of my weight on the ledge. I glared down at my bad foot, almost willing it to be back to the way it had been but knowing that it was impossible to wish such a thing. Even with Nagol, it won’t be fixed. There was no reason for him to waste his money on a shapeshifter he didn’t even know. Shaking my head, I looked over at the fridge, and after running my tongue over my lower lip, I hopped to the door and pulled it open.

The action nearly sent me stumbling backward, but I grabbed the side of the fridge with my left hand to steady myself enough to prevent the accident. Grumbling under my breath, I looked inside, sighing as the cold air met my warm face. Nagol had been telling the truth about his fridge being full, but the only thing I seemed to notice was the large chicken wrapped in plastic in the back. I felt a strong need to reach for it just to disobey the darn cat, but before I even began to adjust my weight in order to do so without falling, I realized the sheen of frost on the outside through a small whole in the bag and snorted.

“You would tell me not to touch the thawing chicken… yet it is completely frozen still.”

I wouldn’t have been able to eat it for several hours anyway, and running the oven or stove while balancing on one foot wasn’t a situation I felt like getting myself into. “You win, stupid cat,” I growled as I snatched an apple from the door and bit into it angrily. As I ate, I leaned back just enough to allow the door to close, then put my weight against it while random thoughts stirred through my mind. Mainly, the fact that I likely wouldn’t be able to stay at the apartment safely. While I hated feline shapeshifters, Nagol wasn’t half bad, but the problem was his dominance. I might not be an alpha any longer, but after so many years being in control, it was stifling to bend to another’s will, even if it was just something simple like not touching a food item.

Blowing out a stressed breath, I hopped over to the trashcan and tossed out the apple core, then turned on the sink to take a long drink of water. He had cups, but after being in my wolf form for so long, I was just more comfortable lapping at the water coming from the faucet. He would probably get annoyed at the way I drank, so might as well take pleasure in getting away with the disobedience while I still could.

Not like it matters right now anyways since he’s not home, stupid.

Shaking my head, I carefully began to limp toward the bedroom Nagol had earlier said I could use. I didn’t intend to stay for long, but after taking twenty minutes and several falls to get there, the large, plush bed made my heart jump into my throat. I knew it was just a spare bedroom but a bed… I had been so exhausted earlier that I had just fallen asleep on the carpet. That had been more than good enough. The pull of the comfortable-looking dark blue blankets and thick, fluffy white pillows made my inner dominant wolf shirk its instincts and spur me toward the bed. I fell into it, and my vision faded before I even settled completely.

Feels like heaven.

Nagol

Working overtime two nights in a row was beginning to wear me down, but I couldn’t contain my excitement as I fought with my shaking fingers to fish my key from my pocket and actually get it into the lock. When I finally got the door open, I expected to be greeted with a growl or at least a glare, but when I didn’t see Kine anywhere, my heart flinched in my chest.

Where?

My mind began to panic as I shut the door, locking it quickly before running toward the kitchen. My heavy boots thudded loudly on the tile as I hit the brakes when I realized he wasn’t in the room. But the lights are still on in the living room. Maybe he’s in the bathroom? Without even bothering with common sense, I stormed down the hallway toward the bathroom… only to skid on the carpet when I caught sight of something in my spare bedroom. Turning, I walked to the entryway and heaved a huge sigh of relief. Kine lay on his belly, legs partially hanging over the side of the bed as if he’d just fallen into it and passed out.

I bet he did. My tired pup.

Smiling, I walked over and very gently lifted from beneath his arms to tug him up to the head of the bed, then moved his legs. I carefully slid a pillow beneath his head and added a light blanket. Finally content that he was as comfortable as he could get, without being wrapped in my arms— in due time, hopefully —I quietly shed my clothing and set the check from work on the nightstand beside the bed. I had gotten a two week advance, and to repay it, I would work any extra spots that needed covering. So far, it was only tonight and the next, but there were likely to be more opening up as people got sick or lazy.

Grinning, I looked down at my mate and shifted before climbing into bed. It took a bit of maneuvering to lie down without jostling him too much, but I finally managed it, giving him one rough lick against his cheek before finally settling in for the night. My Kine is worth it. I can’t wait to see him walk normally again. Those were the last thoughts I managed before I fell into a deep, contented sleep pressed up against my mate. I wanted to be in my human form and hold him in my arms all night, but I knew that would have serious repercussions in the morning so I would make do with what I figured I could get away with.

Come the afternoon, I didn’t want to move. It was still a little early for me to be waking up, but I could feel Kine beginning to stir beside me. Unfortunately, by the time my mind realized that he probably wouldn’t appreciate waking up next to me, jaguar or human, it was too late. His gasp came first, obviously surprised that I was in his bed. But when I didn’t stir, as hard as it was to remain still, I felt him slowly calm his breathing. My heart was hammering beneath my soft black coat as I felt him shift around in bed after a minute. The sound of paper then hit my ears, making them flick out of habit.

“I know you’re awake. Now explain this before I walk out the front door and never come back.”

Just hearing those words had my cat’s dark golden eyes snapping open. It would tear me apart to let him walk out the door, but I knew I wouldn’t be able to stop him. I had no right to him, mate or not. I had to earn the right to claim that title. Flicking my tail as nerves settled in my belly, I hesitantly leaned over and ran the side of my face along the blanket covering his side. The gesture got a warning growl, but my purr easily drowned it out in volume. Of course that didn’t make him any happier.

“Nagol, shift now. What is with this check? You said we would both work toward the cost. I wanted to be the main one paying for it. I can’t accept this kind of money, no matter how disturbingly nice you are.”

I looked up at him and huffed, but he wasn’t budging as he returned my gaze with a glare of his own. Knowing that I couldn’t put it off any longer, I swallowed my fear and returned to my human form. I was naked, but that was the least of my concerns. My body was toned from hours of hunting in the forest each week, on top of working out for my job. Seeing his eyes flick over it, though. Now that was a rush that went straight to something between my legs that really didn’t need to be reacting right then, of all times.

Kine cleared his throat, drawing my attention away from my growing problem. I leaned on my hands anyway, making sure my arms covered most of the issue from his view, if not all. After a deep breath, I met his gaze again and tried to smile.

“Morning… Kine.” I felt my backside wiggle slightly, my tail gone but the habit still strong to flick it side to side. It was rare that I was so nervous that it would come out, mostly only seeing the habit when I was curious, but right then I was seriously close to embarrassing myself by wagging my damned butt like a pathetic dog begging for a bone. Don’t think about bones, I scolded myself with a faint blush.

Instead of answering, he held the check up, making it clear that I was to continue talking. Biting back a sigh, I straightened my shoulders and leaned back since the mood was definitely killed. No need to hide anything.

“Okay. You’re probably going to leave… or at least hit me after I say this, so please just let me get it all out first. Then you can have a free hit and do what you want.”

Hell, I’d let him use me as a punching bag if it might change his mind.

It was sad, but I knew what he was going to answer before I even began trying to get words out of my suddenly drying mouth.

“I-I like you.” That got a growl immediately, making me chuckle to myself as I shook my head and smiled up at him. “Just let me get through it. Like I said, I like you, and no, not as in I want you in bed right now.” Another growl, which made me realize we were sitting in bed and I was quite naked. “Dammit.” Staring back up at him, I huffed and tried to keep going. “Like I said. Please don’t think I’m trying to buy you. You’re worth far more than some stupid check. To me, you’re invaluable.”

Kine’s eyes suddenly went wide, making my heart stumble over itself at the idea that he might have figured out what I was trying to say before I had to piece the rest of the words together. Unfortunately, his face fell a moment later into one of confusion as he stared down at the check he held between his fingers, then back up at me.

“I don’t understand. How could a random werecat want me, a werewolf? You don’t want sex. Or at least you don’t want to buy it from what you’ve said. Then you say I’m in… in.” He seemed to lose his train of thought for a moment before responding in a quieter tone. “Important. But I don’t know you, and you don’t know me.”

His eyes hardened and my heart hurt at the look of distrust in them. You can trust me, baby. I’ll prove it to you over and over until you can never deny it, just give me that chance, I thought to myself.

When he didn’t immediately continue, I tried my luck as my tongue seemed to have shrunk enough for me to manage a sentence. “You can’t help much at my work with your foot that way. It’s a lot of standing and walking, and I want you safe.” His eyes narrowed, and I flinched. It was pathetic, considering I was one of the strongest shapeshifters I knew, but I was seriously on edge with Kine right then. I didn’t want to lose him, and each time he seemed to get upset, I just wanted to hug him to my chest and tell him the full truth instead of this beating around the bush garbage.

“So,” he mumbled under his breath as he turned his attention back to the check. “You’re going to pay for the surgery, and I’m going to pay you back when I can work again?”

My smile quickly stretched into place as I nodded enthusiastically. Of course I wouldn’t tell him that I didn’t want to be paid back, nor would I accept it, but he didn’t need to know that. When he didn’t return my smile, I felt it falter on my face.

“So what is this? Am I your charity case for the year? Do you make a habit of finding random half-dead shapeshifters in the woods and treating them like pets?”

My smile died completely at his harsh words. They weren’t really a surprise, considering how tense he’d been when I’d found him and technically forced him to come to my home, but they still hurt.

“No, ba—Kine. You’re not a charity case.”

I knew I’d slipped up but had hoped that he hadn’t caught it. My hopes were not answered. His face turned red as anger fueled another, much louder growl. “What were you about to call me, cat?”

Ignoring the jab he tried by calling me a cat, I licked my dry lips and looked down at the blankets where my fingers were fisting from stress.

“Answer me, dammit!”

His hands were suddenly on my shoulders, then I was on my back. Considering I was a good fifty plus pounds heavier than him, at least, I was surprised that he had gotten me down. I’d let him, of course, I just didn’t think he’d be able to move the weight so quickly. The idea of being pinned didn’t sit well with my dominant cat as Kine pressed his palms against my chest, but I bit back the growl it wanted me to voice and instead closed my eyes. Calm down, Nagol. He’s panicked. Blinking my eyes back open, I gave him a tiny smile and just let the words fall from my lips before I could make the situation worse.

“I said baby.” The situation began turning further south as he bristled and bared his slowly changing teeth. Knowing that he was going to shift any second, I quickly forced out the rest. “Because you’re my mate.”

For You

Kine

My mind was having trouble functioning all of a sudden. At first, his words had my entire body tingling with such a strong sense of need I nearly climbed into his lap just to be closer to him. The next wave that crashed over me, however, was common sense, swiftly followed by roiling anger. The words repeated in my head so I could see if I could try to calm myself down. To tell myself that he hadn’t actually said what he had, but it was no use. He said I was his mate. Only the dominant in the relationship usually got the signals. By saying I was his mate, which was obviously a joke, he had just called me weak.

“Kine? Please, listen. Please. I’m not calling you submissive or weak or anything of the sort.”

He sounded sincere, but his words only made my wolf beyond furious as my animal side began taking over my human body. While a shapeshifter’s animal never truly had a mind of its own, its instincts often made it seem like it did. Right then, I let it have its way as fur sprouted over my skin and my jaw extended into a snarling muzzle. Nagol was wise to begin backing up, but I wasn’t going to let him get away with what he’d said.

To wait for a mate all my disgustingly long life and then to have this joke thrown in my face!

Roaring in anger, I pounced off the bed. Hitting him hadn’t been planned, so when I collided with a huge black jaguar, I had to shake myself for a second, having been stunned momentarily. My intentions were to bite him as soon as I could get my vision stilled again, but when a wet, sand paper-like tongue ran along the right side of my face, I bristled and swatted at his nose. He dodged easier than I would have liked, especially considering he was way bigger than me and shouldn’t be able to move so easily in the space we were taking up between the bed and closet.

Kine, I love you.

My chest tightened as I lunged again. He surprised me for a second time by not dodging. Feeling my teeth sink into his shoulder should have been bliss, but the only sense I got out of it was a further constriction in my chest. When I heard a deep rumble overpowering my own growls, I thought he would finally fight back and it reinvigorated my fire of anger. But when the only thing that happened was a gentle, giant paw settling on my wolf’s shoulder, my eyes widened and I hesitated. My jaws were still clamped down on his shoulder, but while I was extremely angry at this disturbing turn of events, I couldn’t force myself to keep tearing at his fur.

I love you, baby.

I released my jaw and nudged the bleeding injury I’d just made, letting a rumble leave my mouth in warning. I didn’t like that he was able to get inside my head so easily or that I’d let what he had said take over my actions. My wolf had calmed and retreated in my mind, leaving me in control of his body to think through what had just happened. Everything felt numb, though.

“Kine?”

Nagol’s voice brought my attention back to the present, and more specifically, to the feeling of strong arms wrapping around my wolf. I knew the gesture was meant to be caring, but I couldn’t stand being restrained. Not even as a pup while misbehaving in the bath.

Let. Me. Go.

Instead of doing as told, he gave a quiet chuckle and started purring again. Trying to back out of his hold, I grunted and dug my paws into the carpet, but he just followed. Dammit! I thought to myself in upset.

“I know what I said wasn’t what you wanted to hear, but please. Before you leave, please get the surgery. I don’t want to be paid back for it. I just want you happy and healthy.”

Arguing was useless. I couldn’t say that I was either of those things before Nagol found me. My eyes widened immediately, and I felt my whole body go rigid. Before. I am not happy now. Perhaps getting healthier, but what is there here to make me happy? I thought to myself. A sneer formed along my muzzle as my lips pulled back. Nothing, I answered myself with a sarcastic grumble. But you would be an idiot to not accept the surgery.

It was frustrating and I would never admit it out loud, but there was no denying that fact. My wolf could walk decently enough on both of my injured feet, but when in my human form, it was a whole different story.

Let me go. I will have the surgery.

What little scrap of ego I still had felt like I had just smacked it with my paw. Nagol didn’t seem to sense my upset, or really, he just didn’t care because he was doing his annoying cat face-rubbing thing again. I had to clench my jaw to keep from trying to bite him. Appreciation wasn’t something I felt often but I figured I should just give in… for a minute. That’s not to say my ears weren’t pinned and my hackles weren’t raised, but I gave him his full sixty seconds to rub his face against my wolf’s before I gave him a warning growl to back away. This time, finally, he listened.

Nagol

It was extremely hard to pull away from him, but my wound needed tended and judging from the rising volume of his growls, he wasn’t feeling the love anymore. Oh well, I got a full minute to cuddle! The thought warmed my belly like no other as I finally stood up and pulled on a pair of pajama pants that had been sitting on top of my dresser. In my peripheral vision, I saw Kine shift. He had a tear in the left leg of the pants I’d lent him, but since I was a decent amount bigger than him, until he gained some weight, they were still wearable and hadn’t been ruined by his wolf.

He scowled, noticing that I was staring, but I just returned it with a content smile. “The surgery is tomorrow at seven in the morning as long as the x-rays only show normal breaks. I’ll pick you up right after work, and we’ll head to the doctor.”

His face paled as shock took over his expression. I hadn’t wanted to tell him I had already scheduled it, and so soon, in case he thought to use that against me or get angry about it. This way, he’d already agreed to go, and I had a feeling he kept what promises he did manage to make. He didn’t say he’d promise to go and the x-rays could show problems, forcing us to withhold from the surgery . The thoughts had me fidgeting, but I just walked stiffly to the door before glancing back at him.

“I’m going to go make that chicken. I’ll let you know when dinner is ready.”

Instead of waiting for an answer I likely wouldn’t get, I headed for the kitchen and quickly scrubbed down my injury. I healed pretty fast but not quite fast enough. So I hurried to the bathroom and wrapped it in a light bandage and mentally reminded myself to wear a long-sleeved shirt that night, if not a jacket. Definitely a jacket.

Finishing up the bandage, I gave it a light pat and winced, then chuckled. You’re so special. Shaking my head, I turned to walk back to the kitchen but immediately whipped myself back to face the mirror when I saw Kine through it as he struggled in the hallway. He was holding onto the wall between the guest room and hall, trying to balance enough to take a step. With him being my mate, I obviously wanted to look, but if I did, I’d also want to help. Heaving a deep, yet quiet sigh, I grasped the edge of the counter and closed my eyes. I was normally a pretty calm, easygoing guy but seeing him having trouble, even though he was slowly managing it, was making me go insane. Not to mention that I want to rub up against him like crazy until he smells like me for weeks. That too, dammit.

“Nagol?”

Whirling around, I opened my mouth to answer something that would likely get me bitten again, like Yes baby?, but thankfully my heart was stuck in my throat at the sight of him looking bashful. Bashful! So cute! He licked his soft lips and looked down at the floor, then slowly back up to meet my eyes. If he was trying to wind me up, he was doing an excellent job at it.

“Um… can I— In the kitchen.”

He paused, making my mind wander to things he could do in the kitchen. We could do in the kitchen. Inwardly blanching, I shimmied closer to the sink and turned slightly. Don’t be a pervert, Nagol! He probably just wants to get something to snack on.

“Can I help make dinner?”

His sudden question had me refocusing on his bare chest. Err. I forced my gaze to rise and meet his, then added a nonchalant smile. “Sure. I’m going to take a quick shower so I’m ready for work. Can you get the chicken out and set it in the sink, then get warm water running over it?” It was already defrosted, but it would be good to make sure, and that would give him something to do that’s safe for at least a few minutes because of his balance issue. I knew it was a bit mean to give him such a task, but he would probably get upset if I just told him to sit on the counter and cut up vegetables.

“Okay,” he replied before turning and heading toward the kitchen, using the wall for support. I licked my own drying lips and peeled my gaze away from his backside where it was settled nicely in my borrowed pants. Giving my head a sharp shake and smacking it accidentally on the doorjamb, I turned and shut the door. Get a grip. My cat responded with a suggestive purr, which I quickly shoved aside as I stomped over to the shower and got the water going. I hadn’t really wanted to take one, but as soon as it was warmed up and I had my pants off, I was in my feline form and going at the scratcher like I’d just been given two full bags of cat nip. It didn’t even bother me that I hadn’t gotten Kine’s fur off of it yet. My black coat just mixed with his blond as I hurriedly paced the tile.

Nagol?

My paws kept moving on instinct as I heard his voice in my mind. That was until I smacked my head right into the shower’s back wall. Ow. Growling quietly to myself, I lay down and shifted back to my human form. The cool shower gently massaged me with a tempo of water that felt like a mirror of my heartbeats. You’re sulking when he’s asking for you.

Pull it together, Nagol, I thought to myself. I knew I should have replied to him right away, but I had to keep myself from saying something stupid, or letting him know that I’d just run right into the wall because he’d simply said my name in my head.

Yeah, Kine? I finally replied, glad that my thought didn’t sound odd.

I put the chicken in the oven and cut up some vegetables to pan fry… since you’ve been in there for nearly thirty minutes.

Thirty? Crap! Pushing myself up off the tile, I got the shower turned off and quickly dried myself with a towel. Sorry, lost track of time. That’s fine, and I’m coming , I thought to him as I yanked my pants back on, got my shoulder rebandaged, though I should have just waited to bandage it until after the shower instead of doing it twice, and walked out of the bathroom. A slight chill caught me as it always did when I just got out of the shower, but it made my mind clearer, which I was thankful for.

Kine was leaning against the counter by the stove, trying to hide a smile. He should be grinning like a devil after all he’d gotten done with his bad foot, but I didn’t want to ruin the good mood he seemed to be in so I just smiled and went to the fridge to get myself a glass of milk. Besides cat nip, it was my vice. At least I didn’t have to make up fake cat names just to please the annoying person at the register in order to get a lot of milk, like I did when I went to buy cat nip.

As I filled a glass and put the gallon back, I heard my phone ringing in the other room. I wasn’t expecting a call, but as I retrieved it from my pants pocket where I’d forgotten to take it out, my calm smile immediately turned downward. Why is my boss calling? I couldn’t not answer it since he’d helped me so much with the money, so I took a deep breath and held the phone to my ear.

“Hello?”

“Hey, Nagol. I’ll cut to the chase. Our other bouncer isn’t answering his phone and we seriously need you here now.”

No! I didn’t want to go in so early. Especially not since Kine finally seemed to be relaxing a little. Holding back a growl, barely, I forced a smile, which just looked like a snarl, and replied in a falsely content tone. “Sure, no problem. I’m on my way.”

The sigh he gave on the other end at least meant that he wasn’t just pulling my leg to get as much out of me as he could for the help. “Thank you, Nagol, seriously. You can take off tomorrow for this double, I’ll find someone for that shift or hire a new damn person.”

I was about to hang up and finish getting dressed when he cut back in. “Oh yeah, tonight is formal. I know you don’t usually work it, but you need to wear a tie and jacket. I won’t make you wear a suit since this wasn’t planned, but give your hair a brush and look neat.”

Before I could reply that I didn’t even know how to tie a tie, he ended the call. Really?

Three minutes later, I was stumbling out of my room, hopping as I yanked on my sock with one hand, dress shoes held in the other. I seriously wasn’t a fan of dressing up, but thank god he didn’t make me wear an actual suit. I managed to find the new pair of black jeans I’d bought two weeks ago and my rarely worn dress shoes. For a shirt, I just went with a white button-down, because that’s really all I had that could even be considered dressy. Finishing the outfit was a black leather jacket that managed to look tough but still somewhat appropriate. When I got into the kitchen, I knelt down and got both shoes on and tied, my fingers working in a blur to get done as fast as possible.

“What’s going on? Are you leaving already? I didn’t think you had to work for at least another few hours.”

I was a bit sad to not hear an ounce of worry in his voice, but that couldn’t really be expected, so I brushed off the hurt and stood up with a frustrated grin. “Got called in for a double. The other bouncer didn’t show so I’m up for a double.”

Kine frowned but then shrugged and turned to add the vegetables he’d cut into the warm frying pan on the stove . Oh crap! “The chicken. I-I’ll take it out. We can have it tomorrow.”

He turned around, raising a brow in question. “Why? Just have it later when you get home.”

I was about to tell him that it was extremely dangerous for him to be leaning into an oven with his bad balance to get something that weighed more than a few pounds, but my mouth became suddenly as dry as a desert when I noticed he was wearing my dark red apron. I had no idea how I’d not noticed, but I definitely did then. Keep it together. Don’t look. My mind was off its rocker if it thought I would be able to look away from my mate standing in my kitchen, cooking dinner, with my apron on.

“Here, your tie.”

I blinked, realizing Kine had walked over to me and was now tugging at the tie I’d pathetically managed to strangle around my neck. I’d just planned to have my boss fix it, but as I watched Kine’s nimble fingers get it undone, then begin to wrap it correctly, I could barely breathe. My thoughts got even more blurred when his scent drifted to my nose, bringing with it the smell of the forest. He shifted his weight slightly, and my arms shot out instinctively as he teetered. He tensed the second my fingers grasped his waist, but while I expected to get hit for touching him, especially his bare skin that my thumbs now pressed against, he actually just leaned closer and meticulously finished tying my tie.

“Nagol.”

Lifting my eyes from my perfectly done tie, I felt warmth rise in my cheeks at his scowl. Obviously he wanted me to let him go, but I really didn’t want to! Instead, I glanced over his shoulder at the oven and then back. “Let me take the chicken out of the oven. It’s too dangerous for you to do it with your foot.” I knew my words would make him upset, but I didn’t care. His safety was more important than his pride right then.

“No,” he replied without a moment’s hesitation.

My nose flared in annoyance while I replied right back, “Yes. We can cook it later. There’s plenty of other food you can cook on the stovetop.”

His eyebrows narrowed as his arms crossed over his chest. “If you take it out, I will just put it right back in when you leave.”

I bared my teeth angrily, but he just smirked. There was nothing I could do in this situation, and he knew it. I wouldn’t just throw the chicken away either, because that would be wasting food.

“Please?” I tried, nearly whining the word. Worry was eating at my insides like nothing else, and I knew he could see it on my face, but he also wasn’t going to back down. After a minute-long stare-down, I finally shook my head, looked down, and sighed.

“Fine… but please—” I raised my eyes back to his. “Please dear god, be careful.”

He rolled his eyes, but I ignored the gesture.

“I’ll be back in time to pick you up for your appointment. If anything happens…” I fished my phone from my back pocket and placed it in his left hand, then gently wrapped his fingers around it. “Call the first number on the contacts list. And no, I don’t care if you go through the phone, or my laptop, or whatever else is lying around.”

He opened his mouth to respond, and likely not in a positive way, when I leaned over. The action had him pausing, not happy with his personal space being invaded. That made me grin.

“I love you, Kine,” I whispered against his cheek before pressing a barely there kiss to his soft skin. Before he could do anything, I was out the door, the biggest smile I think I’d ever had firmly plastered on my face. This might be a terrible night with working a double while stressing over him being burned, but at least I managed to get a small bit of reassurance into me with the kiss I stole.

No doubt I’ll pay for that when I get home.

If it was Kine doing the punishing, I’d gladly take it to make him happy. And maybe like it.

Almost… But Not Quite

Work was bustling, to say the least. It wasn’t even one yet, which is when we normally got the huge rush, but the place was already splitting at the seams with people. I’d also turned away more fake IDs than I had all month. Must be some kind of high school event going on this week. One that requires every damn underage teen within ten miles of this place to try to get it tonight. Rolling my eyes, I sent in the last of the people old enough to actually go inside, then took a deep breath to try to relax. The line had shrunk, and now the only people I saw slowly trickling in were regulars, so I didn’t bother carding them.

“Good evening, Naggy.”

The slick, sensuous words made my skin crawl in distaste immediately. It was odd, to say the least. Tawny stepped around my left side, squeezing between where I stood and the entrance. I nudged him slightly to be sure he wasn’t going to cause problems with the traffic coming and going from the building, then stared down at him with a raised eyebrow.

“Good evening,” I said with a bland, uninterested voice. It was a shock to me after all the times I’d had him that I didn’t even want to touch him then. He was still gorgeous, though, standing a perfect five foot eight inches tall with smooth, rosetted blond hair and blue eyes. He looked like a literal angel… but had a thing for lying beneath devils. The guy could sweet-talk his way into your bed in seconds, and if somehow that didn’t work, he’d get you into the alleyway next to wherever you were even quicker. So when I just greeted him, it was obvious that I’d taken him by surprise. Hell, even I was surprised. But as soon as I thought that, I saw a flash of what Kine could look like beneath me in bed, splayed out and panting for me.

“I knew you were just joking!” Tawny said as he leaped up, hugging me with his arms and legs as his mouth began to nibble at my right ear. Even with him nearly grinding on me and messing with one of my weak spots, I didn’t feel anything at all. Well, that wasn’t completely true. I did feel dirty and like I was cheating on Kine.

“Get off.”

Even as I hissed the words, I was quickly undoing his legs from around my waist, then removing his hands. When he dropped back to his feet, he had a confused pout on his face and his hands moved to his hips.

“Alright, buddy, you better start explaining. Someone steal all of your catnip or something?”

He knew I was a shifter, of course, since he was as well, but while I was a calm jaguar, he was a snippy ocelot. They were known for having little patience and finicky attitudes, and Tawny definitely fit the bill to a T.

“Listen, Tawny. I’m sorry, but I’m done.”

I was about to finish that sentence with “I have a mate now”, but I had a feeling that would only spur him on further to get under my skin and in my bed. I was notorious for never having found a mate when jaguars usually did fairly fast. It just sort of happened for most of the other big cats in the area, but I’d been single and basically taking out my sexual frustration on Tawny or any other horny cat shifter I could find for years. Being one of the stronger cats in the feline population in the city had its benefits in that category, but I was done sleeping around.

I thought he would simply leave at that since I was dominant to him, so I turned my attention back to my job, only to feel him begin to rub his face against my back. Oh you sneaky little bastard. He nearly got my jaguar out with the blatant act of disrespect, but I couldn’t just shift on the sidewalk, even if he was scent-marking me. Thankfully my boss came out a moment later and told me he’d take the door so I could go on break. Perfect.

Immediately I swung around and grabbed Tawny, tossing him over my shoulder before stomping into the alley a few yards away. For once, there weren’t any drunk people in it, passed out or sucking each other’s faces off, so we actually had a little bit of privacy. When I stopped walking about halfway down the alley, Tawny squirmed out of my hold and dropped to the dirty ground, landing in a crouch with a content purr. I bit my lip to keep from rolling my eyes as he straightened and licked his lips teasingly… making my stomach turn with the urge to vomit.

“As I’ve just said. I’m done, Tawny. Do not bother me again.”

He hissed, and if he were in his feline form, I knew his hackles would be rising. We had both agreed upon a friends-with-benefits situation, and that’s all it ever was.

When he didn’t reply, I figured he finally got it so I turned, but I was mistaken as he yelled at my back. “You might be through, but I’m far from it! You’re mine, and whoever the hell the new whore is that’s got you preening over them now. he’s going to have to fight!”

The next three seconds were a blur of aggression and instinct. When I cleared my vision, blinking repeatedly, I could feel my cat just beneath the surface, barely contained. My canines had elongated to sharp points, and I could feel the wind against my jaguar’s ears as they pinned back against my hair and I hissed in Tawny’s terrified face. I had never attacked him in the six years we’d known each other, but he had said the wrong thing at the wrong time. No one threatens my Kine and gets away with it. The thought was nearly given a follow-through with my extending claws, but luckily for both of us, I heard my boss calling for me, his voice getting closer as he spoke.

I dropped Tawny immediately and forced my cat back inside. Tawny took off, which was smart. Without him nearby, his scent faded and I was able to calm myself down enough to fake a smile as I stepped out of the alley to greet my boss.

“There you are. Wanted a quickie that bad?”

I glared, making him take a step back and raise his hands. “Sorry, sorry. It’s just what happened the last few times when you two went into that alley.”

Shaking my head, I sighed and ran my fingers through my hair to try to get a hold of myself. I thought I had been somewhat under control, but Tawny’s words kept playing in my head. There was no way that he could really hurt me in a fair fight, and once Kine was healed, he would be hard to harm as well. But Kine wasn’t healed… and Tawny was a very determined bastard when it came to getting what he wanted. I had to force myself to focus on my boss at the moment, though, or my eyes would begin to glow gold and that wasn’t something a human would want to see. Actually, they probably would, but it wouldn’t end well for me.

“We aren’t doing that again. I ended whatever it was.”

He seemed surprised but shrugged it off after a moment and smiled.

“One of my new guys finally called me back so you can head out. He should be pulling up any minute so I’ll just take the front until he gets here.”

The look of relief on my face must have been a sight because he gave a loud laugh and smacked me on the shoulder, then squeezed before steering me toward the staff parking lot and giving me a light shove.

“Go on. Get going. I’m sure your new guy is waiting eagerly at home for his man to return. He must be something to drive away Tawny, but I’m glad for you. I hope he’s everything you’ve been waiting for.”

His words had me pausing in my steps and turning slightly to look over my shoulder. It was surprising to hear such a thing from a guy who used Tawny quite a bit too, along with a few of his other bussers, but then again, he wasn’t a sleaze. He treated everyone with respect, even if they were just hooking up for sex. As long as he doesn’t try to hook up with Kine…

I gave him a smile. “He is. And he’ll be a great worker too, just no hitting on him. He’s taken, for good.”

My boss just laughed and waved me off before turning to head back to the front. Needless to say, I sped home as fast as the legal speed limit would allow, then took the stairs three at a time until I was walking through the door, and right into a pan.

Ouch. What the heck?

Shaking my head, I glared at the contraption that had to have been set up by Kine in retaliation for having kissed him. It was simple, but it was still going to leave a big bump on my forehead for a bit. It did get the point across though… which I now chose to ignore. Grinning, I yanked the string down from the light fixture, taking the pan with it, before I stalked into the kitchen and tossed it on the counter to deal with later.

“Kine?” I called, having not seen him on the sofa or in the living room at all. When I didn’t get a response, I quickly stalked over to his room and peeked inside since the door was ajar, but he wasn’t there. A knot began to form in my stomach as I darted to the bathroom but found no Kine. It was a long shot, but I rushed up the stairs and into my room, freezing at the doorway when I saw the most beautiful, adorable sight.

Kine was tangled in the light blanket I kept atop my comforter for nights that were a little too warm for the heavier one. Tonight was one of those nights. Some of the snow had melted outside, and with the heater on, it was pretty warm inside. I actually should turn it down, but… He just looks way too adorable!

“What are you staring at?”

The annoyed, sleepy mumble just made me grin wider as I saw Kine trying to open his eyes. He didn’t bother sitting up, even as I approached, likely looking like a creeper. Only for Kine! I thought to myself, then inwardly cringed. God, I am a creeper. He stretched in front of me and gave a huge yawn before rubbing the side of his face against the blanket. The gesture had me in bed, rubbing my own face against his, even though he was growling right away to tell me that it wasn’t appreciated. Nope. Didn’t care.

“Will you stop it!” he snarled, finally beginning to shove at me as he rolled onto his back. Since I didn’t want to make him mad a few hours before his surgery I did relent, though it took some effort. Pressing my forehead into the blanket next to his head, I took in a few deep breaths, then flopped over onto my side. I was pretty sure I still had my stupid grin on my face, especially considering the look Kine was giving me, but I didn’t care. In fact… Leaning forward abruptly, I swiped my tongue out and caught the tip of his nose. Instead of the growl that I expected, though, he just huffed and rolled his eyes.

“Don’t go thinking that just because I’m in your bed it means you can start turning up the affection.”

My face hurt from smiling so much, but it, along with his words, didn’t stop me from reaching up and gently pressing my palm against his cheek. When he didn’t react with anything but another glare, I began gently rubbing my thumb along his lower lip. Slight surprise shone in his tired eyes, but again, there was no aggressive response. My heart even leaped into my throat when he gave a content sigh and let his eyes drift closed.

The chance was there. The offer. He wasn’t attacking, or growling. He would let me do it. Everything in me felt tight, as if electricity was coursing through my body, making all of my muscles rigid with anticipation and worry. Just lean forward. Do it. Kiss him. Before he changes his mind.

Show him how much he means to you. The thoughts spurred my shaky body on, and I moved slowly, ever so slowly, toward his lips. My eyes closed when I was barely an inch away. And then he growled out words that immediately froze me in place.

“Why the hell do you smell like some horny cat has been all over you?”

Curiosity and Cat Nip

Kine

The look on his face was that of a puppy who’d been caught chewing up a new pair of shoes red pawed. Guilty. My eyes narrowed dangerously, snapping him out of his obvious panic as he jerked up into a sitting position and began lifting his hands in an ‘I surrender’ gesture.

“I swear to god I didn’t do anything. This guy I used to um… do stuff with wouldn’t leave me alone. I even threatened him to stay away, but I have a feeling he’s just going to try to come here.”

I was about to snarl at him to get the hell away from me when his own features suddenly morphed to show anger that could rival my own. “I swear if he tries to touch you, I’ll kill him.”

My mouth went dry. He was pissed. Beyond pissed, even. When he looked back down at me, I could tell that he was furious but also frustrated. What I didn’t see, though, was an ounce of guilt. Little sporadic rumbles were also beginning to start up from his chest, making me fidget. When I saw his hands go to either side of his jacket, I quickly sat up and snagged his wrists. He froze, wide-eyed gaze landing on mine in question.

“Don’t tear that up.”

A huge, embarrassed blush became visible on his cheeks and he looked down. Guessed right then. “Stay still for a second,” I said as I carefully began tugging the jacket off his shoulders. While I was glad that he was upset about the other person climbing on him, he shouldn’t ruin his nice clothing just to prove that he was mad. After pulling the jacket off him, I tossed it onto the floor and leaned over, nuzzling against his shoulder, then chest, and finally, the waist of his pants. I could feel his curious gaze on me as I moved, but when I got down to my last target, he visibly flinched, obviously surprised.

When I finally straightened up and leaned forward, putting both of my hands on his knees, he looked like he was about ready to grovel on the floor if it would get me to like him again.

Wait.

Again?

Glaring at the wall for a moment, I growled out a frustrated breath, then stared back up at his face.

“I trust you, idiot.”

The look of relief that flooded his face was a wonder. He had been so angry only a few moments prior, and now it looked like I’d just told him that we could stay in bed for the next week and hump like bunnies. A faint image of that thought found its way into my head, and I had to swiftly look away from him or risk him seeing me turn red. It was a good idea to turn away… but also a bad one.

The second I took my gaze off of him, I was tackled to the blankets and a very heavy, and very loud-purring Nagol was suddenly nuzzling our faces together. God, this guy has some serious vibrating skills . Another image flashed into my mind, as well as a question about whether he purred so much during sex or not…

“Get off!” I shouted as I shoved at him, but that just got his attention away from the nuzzling, which was good, but then it redirected to licking! “Ew, come on. Nagol!” I had to keep squinting because of his darn tongue cleaning my face. It felt like a softer version of sandpaper, if that made sense. But either way, I wasn’t interested in a bath, and even if I were, I was perfectly capable of doing it myself.

When he didn’t let up, I sighed, then began counting down out loud. I started from ten this time, giving him a bit longer than last time. When I got closer to one, his arms began to relax, then he pushed himself up onto his hands and knees. It wasn’t really the off I wanted, but it was good enough to at least let me get some air.

“I’m sorry I, it’s…” he stuttered, struggling to keep himself from leaning back over. I could see it in his eyes. The hunger. The need. They squeezed shut for a second as he scooted off of me and began trying to get his shirt off without tearing it. His jaguar was close to the surface, which was very clear considering the small patches of black fur beginning to sprout along his neck and the back of his hands.

“Nagol.”

His head jerked to the side to face me before I even finished speaking his name.

Dork.

Shaking my head, I got myself up onto my knees and leaned over, helping him get his fancy shirt off. Then he tossed his pants and boxers. I was silently thankful that he shifted fast, not giving me the chance to stare at anything specific. A rhythmic thump brought my full attention to the huge cat sitting right in front of me.

“Um, well. This wasn’t planned very well, now was it?”

He tilted his head, purring up a storm, and gave a loud rumble in response.

“I’m going to guess that you’re too worked up to change back right now?”

Nagol lifted a paw in response and began cleaning it with his tongue.

That’s an affirmative then.

Sighing, I glanced at the clock he had sitting on his nightstand and groaned. He had followed my gaze, and was beginning to freak out.

“Calm down. We still have three hours. Surely it can’t take that long to get you to change back and to the hospital.”

He gave me an annoyed look and twitched his whiskers. I grunted in response, letting my wolf sneak in for the snarky reply. Nagol narrowed his eyes and lifted one big fuzzy paw, then bopped the top of my head just enough to make it nod once.

“You did not just do that.”

His left ear flicked, then he looked over at the wall, ignoring me.

You fuzzy little… big bastard.

Growling under my breath, I noticed his backside was closer to the edge of the bed than the rest of him and smirked, then shoved. I honestly wasn’t expecting him to go over, and if he did, he should have at least landed on his feet. The falling-off thing definitely happened, and the landing on his feet thing, well, didn’t. A very loud thud echoed in the dim room, and I couldn’t help myself as I burst out laughing.

“Oh my god! What’s in your butt? An anvil?” I half-shouted, unable to quiet myself down even though I knew I shouldn’t poke fun at such a dominant shifter. He took it surprisingly well, though, and even grabbed one of his back paws in his mouth and tugged playfully.

“You are the dorkiest jaguar I’ve ever met.”

And the only jaguar I’ve ever met.

His head tilted as he released his paw, then rolled over off his back to sit in front of me. His head began tilting again, but I quickly realized that it wasn’t just his head this time.

“Um… Nagol? You okay?”

A loud, rumbling yowl was his answer before he flopped straight to the floor and began rolling around like a cat on drugs. My eyes narrowed, then my gaze darted to the floor around him. There were little flecks of green everywhere, and I could even see a big clear baggy that was mostly empty just beneath his left shoulder.

“I can’t believe this. I have surgery in three hours and you’re getting high as a kite on cat nip.”

When he just answered with another yowl, I heaved a frustrated sigh and got up, carefully limping toward the door before turning and staring at him, using the wall to keep my balance.

“You, here. Now.”

He thumped his head down and gave a few rubs. I cleared my throat and pointed down near my feet with a glare toward him. “Now. Meow-Man.”

With great, and I do mean great, hesitation, he got himself up and swayed over to sit against the wall. I noted the huge pile of catnip dusting the area where he’d knocked it over from the nightstand when he’d fallen off the bed, then looked back down at him.

“God, you’re so high you can’t even sit straight.”

I knew cat nip was pretty strong when it came to shapeshifters, but this is ridiculous!

As if to try to prove me wrong, he pushed himself off the wall, then did a sort of slow motion fall into the other one.

“I rest my case. Come on. And try not to fall down the stairs.”

He huffed, like he’d actually do it. Which he did. Every. Single. One.

I stood at the bottom after using the railing to hop down, having been smart enough not to try to get in the way. He would have smooshed me and probably laughed about it, considering how out of it he was. At least that meant he didn’t really feel much of the odd fall, and judging from the way his cat was sashaying toward the bathroom, I doubted he had anything broken or bruised much.

Following after him, I got the water running and opened the curtain. He jumped right in, even though he slipped in the process. I followed him in, only removing my shirt I’d pulled on earlier before grabbing a brush.

Guess I didn’t need to get the brush. He was going at the scratcher like it was a lifeline. Of course he fell several times, splashing into the water, but he didn’t seem to mind. In fact, the last time he fell, he just lifted his butt and continued rubbing the side of it on the bristles fastened to the wall while warm water drained over half of his face. Getting on my knees, I poked his cheek, getting his bright golden, slightly unfocused eyes to look up at me.

“Okay, you. That’s enough. Let’s get the rest of that stuff off of you, then we’re going to have a serious talk about you and nip.”

He at least had the right idea to look embarrassed about it, but I guess I couldn’t blame him since I’d pushed his jaguar. But still. That was seriously a lot of catnip. As I got busy brushing it out of his thick coat, I asked him why he had so much. Another embarrassed look was his response, but he also managed to nudge at my mind enough to hint that he wanted to talk about it later, when he wasn’t flying high.

“We’ll talk later then,” I agreed.

After about an hour, I had him completely brushed out, shampooed, and conditioned. He was able to stand on his own then, and after I finished drying him off, he easily stepped out of the shower.

“I’m gonna rinse off real quick. Go get dressed if you can shift. If not, just hang out and I’ll be out in a minute.”

I heard a grunt in response and the quiet sound of paws trotting off, so I figured he was going to try to change. While he was gone, I scrubbed myself after tossing the rest of my clothing, then dried off fast before wrapping a towel around my waist. When I stepped out of the bathroom, my body tensed with the sudden chill, but it felt pretty darn good. Refreshing.

“Here.”

Before I could even turn toward Nagol, there was a shirt being tugged over my head. When I got it settled over my chest, I looked over just in time to take the rest of the clothing he offered before he scooped me up into his arms and deposited me on the sofa. I wasn’t very happy about being carried, but I did want to get the boxers on, so I didn’t growl at him for it.

While I got changed, Nagol headed into the kitchen. He came out a minute later with a glass of water, sipping at it as I finished pulling on the pair of basketball shorts over the underwear. I wanted a drink, but since I would be in surgery, I needed to wait until afterward. The idea of it renewed in my mind made me shiver a little, but Nagol was suddenly there, pressing a kiss to my forehead before helping me up.

“It will be fine, I promise. I’m back in control of myself, for the most part, and I’ll be there when you go to sleep and when you wake up.”

He slid his hand into mine and squeezed, smiling wide. “We should be off. They want to do a quick exam before they start and take x-rays, to be sure everything will go smoothly.”

I gave a hesitant nod and allowed him to help me to the door, then down the stairs. My heart was going a mile a minute when I slid into the passenger’s side of his car, but the moment his hand slid back into mine, it calmed just enough to keep me from panicking.

Instigator

Nagol

Letting them put him under hurt a lot. And not just because he was digging his nails into my hand. I kept cooing into his mind that everything would be okay. That I would be there when he woke up and I would watch from behind the glass wall until I was allowed back in after the surgery. He didn’t tell me flat-out that he was afraid, but I wasn’t stupid. All of the signs pointed to that. Even his wolf whined in my head, making a rare appearance as a separate entity from Kine as his instincts flared. I reassured it as much as I did its other half, pressing a gentle kiss to the back of Kine’s hand when I finally felt them both drift off into a deep sleep.

As soon as the doctors were ready, I got up and walked outside, knowing that they needed the room to move about freely. I watched the entire surgery, my heart hurting as blood coated the surgical sheets beneath his foot. They had to make several cuts because of the amount of breaks, but even knowing that, it still made my stomach turn. He was going to be in a lot of pain. At least the x-rays had just shown that they were normal breaks, allowing the surgery to be done without any setbacks.

It’s for the best, though. He’ll be able to walk again.

I nodded to myself, licking my dry lips nervously. My gaze stayed locked on Kine, roaming up to his relaxed face before going back to the surgical sight several times over the next few hours. By the time it was over, I was feeling light-headed, but the doctor that came out to talk with me while his colleagues wrapped up Kine’s foot and took him to a room to wake up, was all smiles as he took off a rubber glove and offered his hand. I shook it, trying to return the smile but having a feeling it was more a snarl from stress than anything else.

“He did really well. He might feel a little off once he wakes up, and vomiting is normal, but you should be able to take him home as soon as he’s coherent and we’ve gone over his vitals.”

“Okay,” I mumbled before slipping past him and heading to the room down the hall where they had taken my mate. The other doctors were just finishing up checking Kine’s cast when I walked in so I carefully sidestepped around them and stood near the bed. The second the doctors were gone, I picked up Kine’s hand and pressed a kiss to each of his fingers, and a lick, for good measure. That lick turned into multiple ones when Kine didn’t wake up immediately. Of course I knew that he wouldn’t just open his eyes, that it took awhile for the drug to wear off, but I nearly found myself in a licking frenzy when he finally whispered into my mind. Stop it, you creepy cat.

His words made me give an exhausted chuckle of relief and, I’m sure to his pleasure, stop licking his fingers.

“Sorry,” I returned quietly. His eyes were open when I lifted my own to look, but they seemed so tired.

Can we get out of here? he asked, making me smile.

“The doctor wants to check you one more time once you’re coherent enough to talk, then we’ll head straight home.”

He tried to nod but didn’t quite have enough control of his muscles yet.

Do I have a big ugly cast on my foot?

I glanced down at said foot, smirked, then returned my attention to his wary eyes.

“Ugliest one I’ve ever seen.”

He groaned, and I laughed, feeling some of the stress drain away when I heard a faint chuckle in the back of my mind from him. The doctor I’d been talking to walked in about twenty minutes later, smiling at us as he took his chart out from under his arm and made his way over to the few machines that were still hooked up to Kine. He jotted down a few notes, then set his clipboard and pen down to unhook what was left.

“You’re heart rate and blood pressure all look good still, along with your other vitals. Are you feeling okay?”

Kine nodded and spoke with the doctor about handling his foot after a few scratchy failed attempts. When they were finished a few minutes later the doctor handed me the release paperwork and also nodded to a pair of crutches against the wall. I thought they might have wanted him in a wheelchair, but seeing Kine’s eyes light up at the sight of the crutches quelled any thoughts of forcing him into one. Since the doctor was already walking out, I figured we were good to go.

“Let’s get you out of here.”

He nodded, pushing himself into a sitting position and swinging his legs over the edge of the bed with a bit of help from me. I ran over and grabbed the crutches once he was situated, then carefully helped him slip from the bed and balance on his good foot. The drugs they had him on were still wearing off, but Kine managed the crutches pretty darn well and only teetered a few times.

We headed for the front desk once he was ready, and I paid what was left of the balance for the surgery and got his discharge papers signed. When we were finally in the car with his crutches in the back, I heaved a sigh and leaned back against the headrest. I could feel his gaze on me and knew he wanted to leave, but I needed a moment to pull myself back together.

“Thanks.” Kine whispered, making my eyes blink open in surprise.

I turned my head slightly so that I could see him, but his own attention was focused out the window. His ears were a faint red color, though, which made me grin as I got the car started.

Cute.

The drive was quiet, but not awkwardly so. Every other red light I was glancing over at Kine, and I could feel his gaze on me each time I refocused on the road. I stopped at the pharmacy on the corner of my street and filled his prescriptions the doctor gave, then finally pulled up in front of my apartment. I got his crutches upstairs first, knowing that he would try to use them on the stairs because he was so stubborn. Once they were up against the wall by the door, I headed back down and leaned over with my arms open slightly.

“Come on. You can’t walk up the stairs right now. Just grin and bear it?”

He was obviously not happy, but he did as told, minus the grinning, and wrapped his arms around my neck so that I could pick him up. After I kicked the door to my car shut, we headed upstairs. I might or might not have taken a tiny bit longer than necessary, but to actually have the guy I was crushing on so hard stuck in my arms for an extra few seconds? Totally worth it. I set him down carefully when we got inside, helping him with his crutches until he was comfortable, then got the door shut and locked. Everything was now set for a nice relaxing afternoon, likely with sleep happening sooner rather than later, but when I turned and noticed Kine glaring at something, I looked around him and paled.

Tawny.

“What the hell did you not understand about what happened earlier?” I hissed, my voice barely above a whisper, though a snarl was easily heard mixed into it. I didn’t remember giving him a key, but he obviously had some way into my apartment since the sneaky bastard was standing in my living room with the smuggest grin I’ve ever seen on a dead cat’s face.

“You have three seconds to get out of my apartment.”

His nose twitched as if he still had his whiskers in human form.

“Nah, I think I’ll stay. Besides, you can’t make much noise with your neighbor’s home below us.”

He stuck his tongue out at the end of his sentence and I felt a disturbingly strong urge to bite it off. Instead of running and hiding like the frady-cat he should be right then, he sashayed right up to Kine and ran his gaze up and down him, appraising. My blood boiled, and the growl I had barely managed to keep to a low grumble when I spoke previously echoed loudly in the silent room.

“I have to say, this guy isn’t nearly as bad as what I thought you’d pick up. How much are you paying him to actually stay here? That’s gotta be some serious money compared to what you used to give me just to come over for the night.”

He did not just… and I only paid him once because he could have gone into work instead!

Seeing Kine’s shoulders tense up, I fidgeted and stepped forward, growling at Tawny until he stepped back enough for me to carry Kine into the spare bedroom. He was pissed about it and I’m sure, about what Tawny said, but fuck it. Once I set him down, I turned, knowing that the little shit would be standing in the doorway to watch the damage unfold, which he had tried his best to cause.

“I swear to god, I will skin you alive if you don’t get out of my life, now! I’m done with you and your damn attitude! You’re nothing to me anymore. I have what I want. Who I want. And I’ll kill you if you try to mess up whatever meager progress I’ve fucking managed to make with him!”

Tawny looked frustrated but also resigned, to a point. He sidled closer to the door.

“There’s no way this mutt is your mate. But I’ll let you play with him until you get bored.”

I hissed and began shifting, crouching as my feline formed. Tawny was wise and stepped out, shutting the bedroom door right as my clothing tore apart. I wanted to go through the door after him. The only thing really stopping me was Kine’s fingers sifting through my thick fur. He was leaning over the edge of the bed in order to pet me… and that had likely saved me from doing something stupid.

“It’s okay, Nagol. Come here.”

When his fingers left my coat, I couldn’t help but turn toward him and follow as he forced himself to hop to the door and open it just in time to see Tawny disappear out the front one, slamming it shut. Kine shook his head once before continuing to hop over to the sofa. When I sat next to him, but on the floor, he grabbed a brush I’d left on the coffee table and smiled. I was still angry, seething, in fact, but as soon as he patted the seat beside him, I hopped up. When he patted his lap, I set my head in it. And when he started stroking that brush through my fur, I heaved a tired sigh of relief and snuggled in closer.

“You know I’m just doing this so that you wouldn’t neuter that guy in your living room. That doesn’t mean you can have free cuddles.”

I huffed, ignoring his words as I nudged his belly and purred.

“You’re about to be pushed off the sofa.”

Even though he said that, he continued to brush me, taking his time and getting through any small mats.

I love you.

I could tell he was rolling his eyes at my thought, but the brush didn’t stop.

I love you, Kine.

My chest rumbled with a loud, content purr even though he didn’t respond. He didn’t need to. That brush sifting through my coat was enough to tell me that we were okay still. Since that was taken care of for the moment, I decided to change the topic to something a little less hazardous.

I’m sorry I got so high earlier.

He grunted, flicking my ear to make it twitch.

“Do you have any more of that stuff?”

I wanted to lie, but he was a wolf. He could probably sniff the stuff out if he wanted to, and I didn’t want to lie to him anyways.

Yeah…

“Before bed tonight, I want it all in the garbage can.”

I hesitated, thumping my tail uneasily on the sofa.

“Nagol?”

His voice was chiding, and I deserved it.

I’ll get it all… but I don’t think it will fit in the garbage can.

He groaned, leaning back against the sofa. I knew he was frustrated, and I felt bad for making him feel that way. I’m sorry. I will try my best to stop.

After a few moments of silence, he finally pressed his hand to the top of my head and rubbed slightly.

“Alright. As long as you try. Just take out the trash tomorrow so that you won’t be tempted, okay?”

I gave a solemn nod and was rewarded with a pet. Thinking that I might lose all of my nip was a bit worrying, but if it made Kine happy, then I would do my best to quell the habit.

Waking Up To You

Kine

Such a dork.

I let my fingers sift through his soft fur, tugging loose small knots.

“So… I’ll start work the day after tomorrow.”

He bristled, baring his teeth up at me for a second, making me smirk at his obvious disapproval.

“You know I’ll heal fast. I’m getting good food and not living in the forest anymore. My bones should be mended enough to at least begin observing and learning.”

His ears flattened and he huffed out a frustrated breath.

At least the day after that.

Rolling my eyes, I licked my pointer finger and promptly shoved it in his ear. Nagol yowled, bounding out of my lap, shaking his head to try to dispel the wet sensation I left there.

What was that for? he asked. I smirked and got up, using my crutches to go into the kitchen. Nagol was hot on my heels, pouting into my mind that I shouldn’t be moving. When I got into the kitchen he was already in his human form again, and judging from the fact that I was now sitting up on the counter and he was fuming about the room getting food ready, I figured he wanted me to stay where I was.

“You know I can walk with the crutches? That’s what they’re for.”

Nagol ignored me until he had a chicken sandwich carved from the leftovers of what I’d made last night. When he did finally acknowledge me, it was by raising different condiments, silently asking me what I wanted on it. I sighed and nodded to the ketchup and mustard. He added them, then put everything away before handing me the plate. I would have preferred to just eat on the sofa or at the table but bit my tongue and nibbled at the food, watching him watch me in his birthday suit.

“Um. Thanks for the sandwich, but can you cover your cold cuts?”

His brows went up, then he glanced down, a faint tint of red forming on his cheeks.

“Oh, yeah. Sure. Be right back.”

He literally darted toward the exit to the room, but skidded to a halt near the door and whirled around right as I thought he’d disappear. Instead, he pointed at me and narrowed his eyes seriously.

“Stay.”

My wolf bristled at the obvious order, but again, I swallowed what little pride I had left and just continued eating my sandwich after taking two pain pills between bites. I was surprisingly hungry, so by the time Nagol was back, I was nearly finished. He smiled, noticing my lack of leftovers, and immediately went to make another sandwich. I didn’t object and took it once it was ready, shoving the last piece of my former one into my mouth to clear the way. After I finished the second one, a small bowl of ice cream was waiting, and after the ice cream, a big bar of chocolate. I nibbled at the chocolate after setting the empty bowl aside, but then put it down as well.

“I think I’ve had more than enough food. I feel fat.”

Nagol had been watching me intently, though he tried his best to make it seem like he wasn’t. Since he had plenty of time to just watch me, I figured he could do something else with his time.

“Hey, Nagol?”

His head whipped around in a blur to look at me. If he were a dog, he’d be panting at how badly he wanted my attention. I could tell.

“Go get your catnip and let’s get rid of that now, hm?”

His face fell, but he slowly nodded, eyes downcast as he grabbed some garbage bags from under the counter and trudged out of the room. A moment later I heard him head upstairs. It was almost fifteen minutes later, according to the clock on the microwave, when he finally came back downstairs with two garbage bags in his hands, which were visibly weighed down a decent amount.

“Oh my god. You addict.”

He turned bright red as he set the bags down and tied them both tightly. I was going to keep poking fun at him, but when I noticed he was actually struggling to pull away from the bags, I realized he really was addicted.

“Hey?” I asked, my voice quiet. He looked up at me and I swallowed hard. “Since my foot is messed up pretty bad for tonight, um, in case I need something… Can you stay in my room?”

My whole body heated up at the smile he gave me. It looked like the damn sun had just pushed away all the nip-clouds over his head and was now shining down on him with glee. Oh god.

“No touching, though, of course,” I added, wanting to make sure he didn’t get any weird ideas from my offer. He nodded, his excitement having not dimmed in the least.

Typical.

“Alright, the doctor said I should get some rest, so help me down please. I want to use my crutches to get to my room, but I won’t jump down from here, okay?”

He nodded again, walking over to help me down. I was surprised that he actually let me use my crutches, but also thankful. Being carried around would have been easier, but I wasn’t one to be easy on anything, let alone myself. I got myself to my room on my own and sat down, allowing Nagol to set my crutches aside before he ran back over and got my bed in order. It hadn’t really been that messy, but now it was perfect.

“It’s still really early, but I’m tired. You don’t have to stay with me if you don’t want to, but can you take out those bags before anything else?”

Nagol fidgeted but went and did as asked. I had a feeling there might be more, but I wasn’t going to push him on it. He was getting rid of most of the nip so the rest I could just sniff out when I was doing much better. I also didn’t want to put more stress on our situation. When he returned, I had already managed to get myself under the covers… even though it was too hot under them. Nagol stood near the bed for a moment, and I knew he realized that I was trying to put a barrier between us. He ended up being a gentlemen, though, and after removing his shoes, slid into bed on top of the blankets, not even coming close to brushing against me.

It only took a few minutes for me to begin to drift off, likely because of the surgery, meds, and my body healing. I wasn’t sure if he actually fell asleep at all, but when I awoke later, the clock on the nightstand said it was getting close to midnight. I felt much better, but also like I didn’t want to move for another year. Everything was actually so comfortable that I began to fall back to sleep… only to realize that something was nudging at the back of my mind. It wasn’t very prominent, so when I looked at Nagol, sleeping curled up right next to me, I had a feeling I knew what it was.

He’s dreaming.

With very little defense.

He must be really stressed… exhausted.

I knew I shouldn’t have, but after settling in again, I let my eyes close as my mind drifted toward the feeling of his. The dream sucked me in surprisingly fast, taking me directly into his thoughts as they played out. I’d never even known that you could share a dream with someone else, but it made sense since we could talk to each other’s minds while awake.

As I began looking around the dream, I quickly noticed that it was a blurry version of his room. I also noticed two figures in the bed, partially covered by a blanket… but not in any of the right places. My eyes tried to stay above the waist, or well, his butt, but when I realized what activity he was enjoying in his dream, I was in for some serious trouble.

His hands were all over me, but not in a perverted way. I wasn’t really sure how that worked, because we were definitely doing the naughty. But he was so gentle as he took me, his tongue licking at my neck and face whenever he wasn’t kissing me. I remembered how rough that tongue was, but obviously this version of me didn’t think anything of it. Well, that wasn’t true. Judging from the way he was squirming, he definitely thought something pretty damn good about it.

Oh man, I need to get out of here.

I could already feel myself getting flustered, but evidently thinking something in someone else’s thoughts while they slept was the same as actually talking to them, because Nagol froze right in the middle of making love to my other self and looked over his shoulder. His eyes were wide and hungry, dark with lust. I actually felt myself flinch as he carefully pulled free of my dream-self and reached a hand out to me, palm up. The idea that I could take that fake me’s place was intoxicating.

Wait. Intoxicating? I don’t want to be there!

“Come here, baby.”

I swallowed, taking a step back, my shoulders pressing against the wall. Nagol smiled calmly, curling his fingers slowly before unfolding them and repeating the action. The gesture called to me. I knew I shouldn’t go, though. I should leave.

“Kine, baby. Come.”

“N-no,” I replied shakily.

He just continued to smile, motioning one more time before patting the spot where my other self had been lying. Now it was empty. Waiting for me. The real me. Taking a deep breath, I felt myself take a step forward. It wasn’t voluntary. Or at least I kept telling myself that. All of my thoughts began to become muddled as I got closer and closer to him, though. And when my palm finally pressed against his and his fingers curled around my hand, everything just seemed to happen.

I was under him.

He was licking me, everywhere.

We were both getting into it… and he was definitely trying to get into me.

And then we woke up.In the exact same positions.

Slipping

Kine

Coming to my senses was a bit of a disappointment… but a huge fucking relief. Minus the F-word. Because that was definitely not happening. I would normally be snarling my head off because Nagol was still nudging at me beneath the blanket, but he did look really apologetic and was obviously trying to stop himself. His cat was probably not wanting to stop, though, which I could understand. My wolf was a bit caught in the moment as well. Thankfully, he knew better than to do what I told him not to.

As he was getting control of himself our eyes met. We were both panting quietly, and I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t aroused, but he thankfully broke eye contact and cleared his throat, then carefully got himself out of the bed. Looking over at the clock, I noticed that it was only four in the afternoon, but I still felt like a brick of lead, especially after the extra awkwardness of our previous activity.

“Oh crap! I’m gonna be late!”

Before I could question Nagol he was up and over by his dresser, yanking on a pair of boxers he’d just fished out of the top drawer. Pants and a shirt quickly followed, and judging from the attire, I deduced with little effort that he was going to work. I don’t really know what made me say it, but before I could stop myself, I was asking if I could go.

Great idea. You’re half asleep and half turned-on, not to mention your foot is still trying to piece itself back together, and you want to go with him.

“Not a chance.”

I wanted to take back what I said, but the second he replied, I felt my wolf’s hackles raise. We argued for a short time, but after I tried to stand and accidentally put pressure on my bad foot and nearly fell, I gave in. Well, at least for that night. Resigned, I spent most of my time after he’d left doing small chores around the apartment until I felt the need to rest more. That was basically how the next several days went. Each time I asked to go to work with him he would decline, claiming that my foot wasn’t healed enough. After a week had past, I was done staying home. Werewolves healed far faster than normal humans and I was already putting pressure on it without too much pain.

“I’m going whether I have to hop there on one leg or not.” I growled at Nagol as I sat on the bed, my fists scrunching the comforter angrily. If he let me take the cast off, I wouldn’t have to hop … Nagol’s brow furrowed in distaste at my words, and I could tell that he was thinking hard, trying to figure out a way to keep me home. He quickly gave up after only a few moments, however, which wasn’t a surprise. He was frazzled and stressed from all of the work he’d been called in for that week and he was likely going to be late if he didn’t leave soon. When he whirled around to me after tugging on his shoes, his mouth opened, probably to try and tell me that I wasn’t coming again, but no words came out besides a few stuttered breaths. I took that as my chance and scooted to the edge of the bed, then looked back at him.

“Can I have a change of clothing, then my crutches? I only need one shoe since I’ve got this ridiculous cast on right now.”

He sighed, exasperated, but didn’t bother arguing and instead did as I asked. He helped me get changed into loose cargo shorts and a comfortable sweatshirt. It was still cold outside, but we were going to be inside so I could deal with the shorts. Besides, I wasn’t going to fight my cast by trying to get pants on. No doubt I’d lose that battle, considering the behemoth fastened to my foot right then. When I was all ready to go he helped me up and handed me my crutches.

Once outside, I took a deep breath of fresh air and smiled while Nagol locked up behind me, then carefully scooped me up into his arms as I hung onto my crutches and we headed down the stairs. The street was unusually packed with cars, or at least more-so than I’d recognized in the few times I’d come and gone from the apartment.

“Is something important going on today?” I asked as Nagol carried me over to his car and helped me into the passenger’s side. As he put my crutches in the backseat, he answered, “I think there’s a concert tonight that will be going pretty late. Some popular new band. We can swing by if you want afterward. They seem pretty good, but I’ve only heard them on the radio.”

I wasn’t really one to listen to random music, or much music at all, but going back to the apartment after his shift didn’t sound that great, so I just nodded as he sat down in the driver’s seat and glanced over.

“Great, we’ll go check it out after my shift. It’s a short one, and I think my boss actually has a few extra tickets since we helped promote the show.”

“Cool.”

I really didn’t have anything else to say and since Nagol was in such a rush, he focused completely on driving. The silence was comforting. Besides, I’d been on my own for awhile after having lost my pack, so having to suddenly deal with Nagol twenty-four seven was kind of a stimulation overload. Letting my head lean back, I took a few deep breaths and relaxed, closing my eyes. When the car stopped around fifteen minutes later, I blinked my eyes open to see a small but attention-grabbing sign in neon white reading Butler’s. A slight hint of unease settled in my belly, but when Nagol parked, then walked around to help me out and onto my crutches, I didn’t mention it. I was actually pretty glad I hadn’t and surprised when we walked into the establishment and it was actually nowhere near as sleazy as I had thought it would be. In fact, there really wasn’t any sleaze in the whole place. The butler theme was subtle yet apparent, but not a single guest was misbehaving and there was only one stage, no poles, and minimal dancing.

“Not what you expected?”

Hearing Nagol’s voice near my ear made me jump and grumble a little, getting a quiet laugh from him as he walked slightly ahead of me toward an empty table off to the side. It was clear that it wasn’t going to be used since it wasn’t set up with any silverware, so I quickly made my way over to it and sat down, setting my crutches against the wall to my left once comfortable.

“Honestly, no,” I finally replied, getting another chuckle from him.

He disappeared for a moment into what looked to be the entrance to the kitchen, reemerging a few moments later with a glass of ice water and a man tailing him. When he got close enough, I took the water and set it down on the table after taking a sip. The man, who I assumed was his boss, introduced himself and we shook hands, but then he quickly pulled Nagol away and toward the entrance of the restaurant.

Right. He got called in for work and is the bouncer.

Figuring that I had awhile before he would be coming back, I scanned the restaurant portion of the club, then began taking mental notes. I planned to pay him back for the money I owed him by working, and since this place looked a lot better than I thought it would, I’d be more than happy to do the basic labor he said they needed until my debt was repaid. Throughout the next several hours, people came and went, but I never stared at anyone for more than a minute so that I didn’t disturb them. The restaurant ran pretty smoothly and even the bar, which got busier as day shifted to night, was handled fairly well.

I was so focused on the swift movements of the two bartenders, a young woman and older man, that I jumped when Nagol suddenly slid into the booth across from me, looking a bit mussed and possibly a little frustrated. The frown he was trying hard to hide made it all the more better, making me smirk as I felt a bit of playfulness push through my normally-salty attitude.

“Looks like you’ve had your fun outside,” I said, watching as he scoffed and finished off the water he’d brought me when we’d first gotten there. I’d drank nearly all of it, so I didn’t care if he finished it. It looked like he needed about three anyway, and maybe a few beers. Leaning his elbow on the table, he rested his head against his hand and gave a huge sigh.

“Some places around here serve beer way too early, and way too much of it.”

I raised a brow and leaned forward slightly, resting my chin on my own arms. “So they send their drunkards over here to bother you?”

Nagol nodded. “Gotta turn them away, but sometimes they don’t feel like listening and I have to use my awesome muscles to help persuade them.”

His sudden cockiness made me snicker, drawing his frown up into a slight smile as he reached across the table and squeezed one of my hands briefly.

“So, you ready to go?” he asked, making me scoot to the edge of the booth, silently answering his question as a yes. He quickly came around the table, holding my crutches until I was up on my good foot and could balance to take them. As we headed for the door, he mentioned the band again, and I nodded, wanting to go see them. I had no doubt that Nagol was tired after that random shift and I definitely was as well, but a little music would probably help us both chill out for at least a few minutes.

The walk to the building where the concert was taking place was only a few minutes from the restaurant’s parking lot so we just decided to walk after getting two tickets from Nagol’s boss, even though the evening had chilled slightly. I could tell that Nagol wanted to wrap an arm around me when I began to shiver a little, but thankfully he withheld the urge the whole way. It would have made using the crutches awkward, too. Inside wasn’t much warmer, but as we began walking, I was led through a door by Nagol, who was grinning at me.

“Got VIP tickets. This way will get us to the front area much faster, and normal fans aren’t allowed back here.”

“Oh. That’s good.”

Judging from the curve of the hall, it swung around the side of the building and eventually ended up near the front stage. It was a good idea, especially if you could sell a ticket for a good amount extra or give them away and make someone’s life a whole lot easier by taking this route. That’s at least what I thought before we came upon several doors on our left side… and the one at the far end opened. The last person I ever wanted to see again stepped out, froze, sniffed the air twice, then turned to pin me with a deadly glare.

Everything inside me went on high alert, and Nagol picked up on it immediately. His body slipped between us, blocking our views of each other. It was a smart move, but that wasn’t going to stop Tanner. I knew he expected me to be dead, and when I heard footsteps exiting the room a second later and a familiar scent hit my nose, I cringed. Cole. Of course.

“I don’t know how you’re still alive, but you better call off your cat or he’ll die too.”

I was slightly frustrated that Tanner hadn’t kept his title, since I would have been able to feel inklings of power from my old pack pulsing through him, but I felt nothing. Well, that wasn’t exactly true. He had power. A lot of it. But he was a stray alpha right then. He won the power, but, for some reason, chose to give most of it to someone else. Likely one of his parents. It would make him weaker if he did give it away, and definitely not immortal, but I wasn’t stupid. He was still stronger, especially since I had such a big handicap at the moment.

Nagol’s angry hiss snapped me out of my thoughts and back to a rather unpleasant reality. I really just wanted to return the way we had come and never come back again, but of course I wasn’t allowed to get away with something so simple. Nagol hissed again as I heard one of the two werewolves take a step forward.

“You aren’t touching him, so I suggest you just be on your way,” Nagol said, growling his words, though I knew they would do no good against either wolf.

“Why would you defend something so disgusting, cat?” Tanner asked, making me cringe again as I realized what he was about to tell Nagol. I needed to figure out a way to stop the information from leaving his lips, but there really was nothing I could do short of running away before Nagol heard what I had done previously in my life. He growled at Tanner’s words, but when the werewolf continued speaking, I felt my blood run cold.

“He’s killed a ton of kids! He tried to kill me when I was five, but I was the one that got away. And when I came back, I thought I’d killed him, but the bastard evidently managed to survive. Well, you won’t survive this time, you coward.”

The look on Nagol’s face as he turned around to face me was, quite honestly, heartbreaking. I wanted to tell him that Tanner was lying, but my stupidity decided to finally make an appearance and I stuttered out the first thing that came to my mind.

“I-I did it because if I stayed alpha, I stayed nearly immortal. The kids who didn’t shift until their fifth birthday were to be the next alphas! They would have killed me, b-before I got to find you!”

Tanner scoffed as he sauntered closer, Cole hot on his heels. “Alphas don’t have to kill each other in fights. Actually, it hardly ever happens now. You just wanted the immortality because you’re a greedy son of a bitch.”

I knew he wanted to shout at me because of the deadly tone to his words, but I also knew that we were in a public place and someone could easily walk by us and overhear. Not that I cared about that right then. What was more important was the pure look of hatred on Nagol’s face and how it morphed and grew as Tanner spoke.

“He’s over one hundred. Go ahead, ask him. You can also ask him how many kids he’s killed to get there. I’m pretty sure it was close to eleven or twelve, wasn’t it, Kine?”

My mind was spinning. Only getting faster by the second with each fact he told Nagol. I didn’t realize I was making myself look even guiltier until Nagol was right in my face, teeth bared and ready to attack. I’d been silent. And he’d been asking me exactly what Tanner had told him. I wanted to lie just to see that hateful look vanish from his eyes, but my wolf refused. It was ashamed, and I was as well to some degree. I still knew killing the kids had been wrong. I’d always known that, but as you become more concerned with yourself, you stop caring about other people. Even to a point where you would kill someone just to prolong your own chances at finding happiness.

My feet moved on their own accord, taking me up onto my toes and forcing me to lean forward just enough to press my lips against Nagol’s. I knew it would be my last chance to get any kind of affection from him, so I stole it for a memory.

“I’m sorry, Nagol. You should have left me to die in the forest.”

His mouth opened, likely to answer, but I was already in my wolf form bolting down the hall, dragging the darn cast several yards before kicking it off. It hurt like hell, but I needed the weight off or I wouldn’t be able to even stand a chance of outrunning any of them with just three legs. As it was, I only heard human footsteps following, so they obviously weren’t shifting. That was a small gift I gladly took, spurring myself through one door that thankfully opened with a good shove. The door to the outside would have been tricky, but I slipped through right as a group of three girls began walking inside. I heard them scream in surprise but didn’t stop. I couldn’t afford to.

I can’t even stay in this town anymore.

Or in the forest.

Or with my mate. The one person I’ve lived my life for.

Karma. You bitch.

Woof

Each step I took away from Nagol felt terrible. Like I was leaving a piece of myself behind. He had managed to tame my stupid temper and evidently took my heart at the same time. Of course. I stepped into a filthy puddle, then turned into an alley a few blocks from the forest to rest. I didn’t feel safe, mainly because I could still sense the others around, obviously looking for me, but they would expect me to dart for the forest. Hell, I wanted to be there. Maybe jump into that frozen lake I’d come across when I’d first met Nagol.

Where are you!

The shout inside my mind made me flinch and quickly dart beneath a dumpster, my claws scrambling on the slick wet ground as they forced me into the small dark space. It reeked to high heavens, but as paws stopped near the dumpster only seconds later, I was extremely glad that I probably smelled like sewage right then. The weight I’d lost while on my own was also a benefit because there was no way I’d have been able to shimmy my way into the space if I had any real muscle to my body. At least my wolf’s fur made me seem somewhat healthy. Hopefully enough so that they didn’t bother looking in small places.

I was thankfully right that Tanner and Cole didn’t bother to check beneath the dumpster. Unfortunately, when I saw large black paws stop a few feet away after the wolves left, I felt my chest constrict and must have sent out some kind of signal because a sudden rumble met my ears from Nagol’s jaguar. Less than a minute later, his huge teeth were in view, lips pulled back in obvious warning. We both knew he could easily move the dumpster and tear me apart… but he was giving me a chance to leave. It hurt, but at the same time, it told me that he did care for me to some, likely now-miniscule, degree.

When he got up, I had to force myself to stay put until he was completely gone. I then crawled out of my disgusting hiding place, too upset to even bother shaking off the nasty, rank water and miscellaneous that now soaked my coat or clung onto it, using the water like glue.

You can do this, Kine. It’s just garbage . I smirked at that. I’m just garbage. Fitting.

Laughing at myself on the inside, I began making my way out of the alley when a shadow fell over my form, making me jump back sloppily and bare my teeth. At first, I thought it was Nagol, having just waited at the entrance to the alley so that he could pounce on me once I was out. When I realized that it wasn’t him a second later, I immediately went on to thinking that it was Tanner or Cole. But again, it was neither. Instead, a young kid that couldn’t have been more than sixteen or seventeen was staring at me, startled but still very openly curious. I suppose it made sense since you didn’t normally see a wolf in the middle of a city.

“Oh cool,” he said, smiling as he slowly squatted down and I took a step back. Kids were definitely not my specialty, and neither was kindness. I warned him again with a growl, but he just reached into his back pocket and pulled out a snack stick of beef. It was twisted in a wrapper, telling me that he’d already eaten some of it. I wasn’t that hungry, but when he presented the remainder of the thing to me, I forced myself not to bite, even though it was the first thing I wanted to do. If I bit him, he’d scream. If he screamed, other people would come. If that happened, I’d likely be going to the animal control shelter or shot on sight.

Stupid kid.

Making myself step forward, I hesitantly took the piece of meat between my teeth and forced it down my throat after a few chews. I only ate it in the hopes that he’d just go away, but of course it just made him think that I suddenly loved him because he grinned wide and stepped forward with his hand out for me to sniff. Seriously? Dogs don’t even do that for the reason you’re thinking. I did it, though, because the idiot already had his fingers way too close to being shoved up my nose if I didn’t play along. The scent that I got from him was mixed, like most humans. Of course the beef stick he’d just fed me was a prevalent smell, but beneath it was a decent smell of pine trees and maybe sandalwood.

Without even realizing it, I was taking small, gentle licks at his fingers. I didn’t like humans, and especially not children, but I bit back my normal personality as I felt his fingers sift through my disgusting fur. If a wolf came near me smelling and looking like I probably did, I’d have likely kept my distance or attacked them. To think that some human boy would bother with me was odd.

“Are you lost, boy? You look like you haven’t had a good meal in awhile and—” He whispered the last part with a quiet chuckle. “—a bath.”

I rolled my eyes and sat down, sticking my tongue out to pant like a normal dog might. It got annoying fast, so I just tucked my tongue back in and huffed.

“Weird dog. It almost looks like you’re annoyed.”

Good guess.

His nails began to scratch between my shoulder blades, the place where I could hardly ever reach, even when in my human form. It felt good, so I let him do it for a minute before grumbling my distaste for his touch in general.

“Okay, okay. I got it. Only pets when you want the pets.”

Did he just puppy talk to me?

When he gave me a pat on the head, I knew my thought was correct.

“Stay here for a second, okay, boy? I’ll be right back!”

Before I could even bother to saunter off, he was gone, then back again. It was quite humorous, in all honesty, when he held out a new big stick of beef in the middle of a noose made from a cheap looking leash he must have bought at one of the convenience or grocery stores around the corner. There weren’t many options to weigh, though I hated the one that was the obvious choice.

My ears flattened to the side of my head as sadness warred with uncertainty. I knew exactly what I had to do to ensure that I survived, but I didn’t know what living with actual humans would be like. I wasn’t exactly pet material. However, the idea of being caught by either werewolf on my tail or Nagol seemed far less healthy than some kibble and a few baths. At least for the time being.

That’s how I found myself finding the willpower to step forward and duck my head. The looped leash slipped behind my ears and then he tugged it gently until it was tight enough to keep me from being able to back out of it. Judging from the look on the kid’s face, he wasn’t expecting it to be that easy, but I really didn’t want to bother wasting energy on a fight I had to lose in order to be safest.

“You uh… don’t want the food?” he tried, nudging the smelly stick closer to my nose. I made a face at it, getting him to smile and put the nasty thing away. My hospitality only went so far.

“Got ya. Well, I’m not sure how Mom and Dad will react to me bringing home a random dog that looks like a wolf, instead of picking up groceries, but we’ll soon find out, hm?”

As he led me to his old car and I hopped in, the only thing I could think about the entire time, including that of the ride to his house, was that I hoped the reaction didn’t involve guns or animal control being called.

You Can’t Be Serious

Home wasn’t exactly what I had expected. Sure, it was a house… Kind of, but it wasn’t any house I would find myself wasting money on. Run-down was an understatement, but it was still somehow standing on its weathered cinder blocks. The outside of the mobile home showed obvious signs of an attempt to be cleaned, but it had clearly gotten to a point where the effort was fruitless. Even though the structure was quite possibly the most hideous thing I’d ever seen, in front of it was a surprisingly well-maintained vegetable garden. It was a bit early to have much growing, but I could tell that it was ready and waiting for the last bit of chill from winter to disappear so things could get started.

I kinda wanna dig it up.

“Come on, boy, let’s not prolong this any longer,” the boy said as he tugged my leash and I followed him inside. I expected the place to smell, which, technically it did. I just wasn’t expecting it to smell of sandalwood and… turkey? When he walked forward again, I followed, eventually ending up in the kitchen in front of a very shocked woman who I assumed was his mother. Her hair was graying and curled loosely, stopping at her shoulders. Laugh lines were very prominent on her face, as well as a giant pair of glasses that couldn’t possibly need to be so large.

“Miguel! What on earth are you doing with that… dog!” The pause before finishing was likely due to her uncertainty of whether call me a dog or come out and say that I was a wolf. It was hard to miss, but I figured she didn’t want her son freaking out, having realized he’d brought back a real wolf. The boy didn’t seem to mind, though, because he put on his best begging face as his mom rolled her eyes.

“No, you cannot keep it.”

Him.

“But Mom! He was sitting in a dirty alley! Look at him! Obviously whoever had him abandoned him!”

The kid’s whining was annoying, but I bit back a growl in favor of being able to stay, though his mother still didn’t look happy that I was there at all. She swallowed whatever dislike she had for me being in her kitchen and instead put on a forced smile and clasped her hands together in front of her slim frame and torn dark blue apron, which read “Kiss the Cook”. There was a rip between the two s’s, which kind of made it look like kill, but I had a feeling doing so, even though directed by the apron, would be frowned upon. So I just sat on my haunches and waited as the woman spoke to her son.

“How about this, Miguel. You go out and hang flyers with his picture and information, along with our number, and if no one claims him within a week, maybe we can work something out.”

Looking around the tiny kitchen, I noted that it was spotless, but also lacking many things I had back at my old house. There was no toaster oven, waffle maker, crock pot. Hell, there was only a basic, old-fashioned toaster that looked as if it had been bought from a thrift store for five dollars.

Do I really want to live here instead of running?

It was a tough question to answer, especially because Miguel was now yelling happily and tugging at my leash, forcing me to follow after him into another smaller room. What I saw there had to have been a dinosaur. Literally. A huge computer tower sat beneath a desk on the floor as dust motes danced around it, trying to bury the poor device that should have been put out of its misery when the first laptop came out. Instead of throwing the thing out like he should, Miguel walked over and dropped into an even older looking computer chair, then switched the tower on. I didn’t think it would boot up at all, but to my surprise, it sputtered and beeped, then the oversized monitor groaned and flashed to life.

When the desktop finally appeared about ten minutes later, I rolled my eyes. Not only was the thing older than dirt, but the desktop was completely cluttered with what looked to be junk. I only saw a few useful programs, the rest just needed deleting because over half looked like viruses.

This computer must be immortal with all the garbage on it. Can’t believe it’s still breathing.

After a few clicks, he had the Paint program open and was holding a small digital camera up to my face. I bared my teeth, annoyed by its closeness. He wisely backed it up a bit, then snapped a picture. While I squinted to try to get my vision back from the ridiculously-bright flash, he loaded the photo to the computer and typed up a few words and a phone number for the poster. I had no doubt that if any of Tanner’s or Nagol’s friends saw it, let alone either of them, I would be neutered and buried.

I can’t let him put those up!

My life and dignity depended on those posters being destroyed… So that’s exactly what I did after he printed a good twenty from the ancient clunky printer beside the computer monitor. When I grabbed the posters, Miguel blanched, then tried to grab them from me as I tore apart each and every one by shaking my head back and forth vigorously.

There is no lost dog. I’m not lost. I know exactly where I am.

“No! Bad dog!”

I ignored his shout as I spit out the remaining shreds of paper. He didn’t look happy, but instead of shouting again, he just printed another twenty, then swiped them away before I could get to them.

Oh? It’s on, little human.

When he quickly walked out of the room, I trotted after him. If he thought just moving would keep me from getting the papers, he was sorely mistaken. Right as he reached for the door handle with his right hand, I snatched the papers out of his left one and commenced shredding. When I had finished, Miguel’s mother was standing over me, staring down at the papers in disbelief.

“I don’t think he wants to be found. He already shredded the first twenty,” Miguel tried, glancing from his mother to me, then back to her. His mother sighed right as the handle to the door jiggled slightly. My hackles shot up and I growled, making Miguel jump as the door opened. I was going to charge the wary man that walked through, but when Miguel tugged on the leash still around my neck and told me that it was his father, I hesitantly forced myself to relax. The man easily stood over six foot tall. His hair dark brown matched Miguel’s almost to a T and his surprised face at seeing me definitely matched his wife’s previous one.

After staring for a literal minute, he moved his gaze to his wife and began walking toward her. “I thought we agreed no pets until he could get a job and pay for it himself?”

Miguel’s mother sighed and followed his father into the kitchen, Miguel tugging me along after a moment. Dinner seemed to be ready since she was getting down plates and beginning to pile turkey and mashed potatoes on each one. The thought of a hearty meal like that made me begin to drool, unknowingly doing so until all eyes were awkwardly on me.

Oops.

Forcing myself to turn away, I sauntered off to the tiny living room right next to the kitchen and took a seat by the sofa. The smell of the food alone was enough to make me keep swallowing saliva, but when Miguel and his father came over and dropped down onto the sofa to begin eating, I practically felt the house rumble with how loud my stomach growled.

How pathetic does that sound? I asked myself as I flopped onto my belly and set my head on my paws after nudging the stupid leash aside so I didn’t have to rest my chin on it. I wasn’t going to beg for something. No way in hell. I’ve been hungry before, I could just deal with it. My eyes were about to close as I forced them not to look at the food, when a small plate of turkey was set in front of my nose. It wasn’t nearly a meal for a werewolf of any size, but judging from what I had seen her dishing out, it was likely all that was left, and feeding her family definitely came before feeding a random stray wolf dog. So, I bit back any frustrated thoughts and ate the scraps of food, then licked the plate clean in a matter of seconds before settling back down.

The gentle pat on my head I got a moment later from Miguel wasn’t expected, nor wanted, but I let it happen anyways. I had to bite my tongue on it, but thankfully that was all the affection he intended to give me since everyone began digging into their food as the television turned on to the news.

Of all things? Don’t they have some actual TV channels?

My question was answered when the channels were flipped through and most of them were a static black and silver.

Don’t know why I expected anything else. They are poor as dirt.

The channels finally stopped being changed when Buffy the Vampire Slayer came on. The show was extremely old, and I never really thought it was interesting, but I found myself watching it anyways until the television was turned off and I was ushered to bed. The memory of actually padding my way to Miguel’s room was blurry, along with hopping into his bed and curling up at the bottom near his feet. The one thing that did register enough to possibly remember later was a quick but gentle belly rub as he told me I needed a bath, and one final pat atop my head.

Soap

“Come on, boy! Time to get a nice bath!”

Just kill me now.

I groaned when his words met my ears. They were far too happy for how early it must have been. Don’t kids like sleeping in on the weekend? My eyes lazily slid over until they landed on the tiny clock situated on his bedside table. It was flashing seven o’clock.

You’ve got to be kidding me .

Before I could protest and dig my way under his old, slightly torn blanket, he had my leash back around my neck, after having removed it before I fell asleep, and was tugging me right off the bed.

“It’s okay. I actually volunteer at the local Humane Society so I’m used to grooming animals. Especially ones that don’t want to be groomed.”

When he said that last part, he was smirking down at me, a look in his eyes that seemed disturbingly out of place. Sensing that I would regret trying to fight this battle, I silently let him lead me into the bathroom. Miguel literally had to get up onto the old counter so that I could get into the tub. The counter creaked with his weight and would have likely crumbled if I nudged it at all with him on it. It was a tempting thought. He probably realized what I was thinking because he quickly hopped off the counter and shut the door, though I noted that it just began to open again, the latch obviously broken.

“Alright, boy. Let’s get this done so that Mom doesn’t get mad about you stinking up the house,” he said, not bothering to look at me as he got the ancient fixtures on the tub turned. It took awhile for water to actually come out, and when it did, I rolled my eyes at the fact that it was far from hot.

“Sorry, no hot water. You’ll get used to it.”

My ears pinned back to response to his words, but he just poured a waterfall of cold water over my face using an old rusty pot, ignoring my annoyance. My fur was thick enough so that I didn’t really feel the temperature that badly, but when he began scrubbing at my skin, I wanted to tear his arms off. It was an aggressive thought, even for me, and especially considering the situation. I figured out that it had come from my wolf. Because he was uncomfortable being touched by anyone besides… My eyes narrowed and I growled at the wall in front of my nose. The flaking paint almost seemed to minutely peel away in fear.

It took me a moment to notice that Miguel’s hands had stopped scrubbing an odd smelling soap into my coat and he was now eying me hesitantly. He didn’t really look scared so much as careful. I’d be careful around me, too, if I were him. After my history, hell, I’d put me down. A harsh pain shot through my mind immediately, making me whimper like a frightened pup. Nagol? It caught me off guard so badly that I was now shaking from the aftershock as the pain drifted away. It couldn’t have been him.

I expected Miguel to back off after that since he’d already stopped washing me, but when his arms slid around my neck and wrapped me in a hug, I blanked. It had never happened before. The hug, yes. Being unable to react to it and just having your mind wiped clear in an instant? No.

“Don’t worry, boy. Everything will be okay,” Miguel whispered into my soaked coat, his voice shaky with emotion. I tilted my head, rubbing my muzzle along his hair as I whined. You don’t know that. He shouldn’t have understood, and honestly, he likely didn’t. Except, after a quiet moment just letting the water run as background noise, he leaned back just enough to rest his forehead against my own and smiled sadly, our eyes meeting.

“You can trust me. I don’t know why you were in that alley or what happened to you before that, but I promise I’ll do everything I can to make sure you have the best life.”

I thought that would be the end of our nonexistent conversation, but then he sniffed twice and blinked several times. Oh god. Don’t cry . Not that I would bother with trying to comfort him. His eyes lowered from mine and he sniffed again before letting one last sentence stumble out of his mouth.

“E-even if it can’t be with me.”

My ears jerked up as I focused on him. He doesn’t want to keep me? Not that his house, if it could even be called that, was anywhere close to what a human should live in, let alone a werewolf, whom I thought deserved better than most humans. Miguel’s home was almost humorous for a mouse to want to live in.

“Anyway. I need to get you cleaned up, so just bear with it for a minute please.”

Instead of waiting for me to reply with a grunt or growl, he quickly finished scrubbing me up and down, then rinsed all the soap out. I didn’t wait for him to dry me with the rough-looking towel sitting on the toilet seat and instead jumped out and sauntered my soaked butt right out of the broken door.

“Wait! Mom’s gonna kill me if I get the floor wet!”

Miguel’s shout didn’t slow me down, but when he tackled me with the small towel, I did humor him and stand still so that he could pretend to try to dry my thick fur.

“Boy, you have a ridiculous coat,” he grumbled out as he dried my left side, then began working on my right even though the towel was already sopping wet. “I think I might need to get you shaved. Summer’s coming and you’re bound to be overheating with this much fur.”

Shave me and I end you.

He flopped back on his butt and chuckled, tossing the wet towel behind him. I watched the thing slosh to the floor. “As much fun as it is annoying you with baths, I need to go do the laundry while Mom and Dad are at work.”

Work? This early?

If they worked even on weekends, then how come they couldn’t afford something better than this shithole?

It made me curious, but I had no time to think on it because the leash around my neck was tightening a minute later as Miguel tugged me toward the door. He had a huge laundry bag hoisted over his shoulders and I noticed after a quick glance that the soaked towel was now missing, likely in the sack of dirty laundry.

“Let’s go do chores, boy.”

Just what I’ve always wanted to do.

I followed, keeping my distaste for the word chore to myself. It wasn’t like I actually had to do them. It did, however, mean that I needed to go out in public and that added a big risk of being seen by someone I didn’t want to see me. Speaking of being seen… With a quiet grunt, I jerked my leash free of Miguel’s hand and darted behind a bush, relieving myself right as he walked over. He had one eyebrow up, surprised that I didn’t want to go bathroom in front of him.

“Well, uh… I guess, good boy? As long as you don’t go bathroom inside, I’m happy.”

He picked my leash back up once I was done, and we headed to the laundromat. It was about as run-down as his house, but where you could tell that Miguel’s mother actually tried to keep her measly home together, the laundromat was literally falling apart from the inside out. I found myself hopping over random missing tiles on the floor only to stop in front of an ancient washer with its paint nearly completely peeled off.

“Yes! We got the good one, boy!” Miguel half-shouted at me as he began unloading the bag into the machine. I wasn’t sure how the machine was any kind of good, but I wasn’t going to argue. Mainly because wolves can’t speak English. Instead, I glanced over at the small counter where a tiny food stand barely functioned. It didn’t look like there was any actual machinery to work with, which made sense as I noticed the so-called chef stacking cold cuts on white bread. It would obviously be bland and not that healthy, but when Miguel ran past me and handed the man a single dollar for a small sandwich, my eyes were zeroed in on it like it was gold.

“Hey, boy, I know what you got last night wasn’t much.”

He pulled off a small piece of food and offered it to me. It was hard not to snap, but I very slowly took the morsel and swallowed without bothering to chew.

“Okay, um, let’s see. Can you uh… sit?”

If he hadn’t had that sandwich in his hand, I would have bitten him for trying to command me. As it was, my stomach made the decision and forced me to try to sit. Try, because I wasn’t stupid. Humans wanted results, but if you gave it to them right away, then they got bored or didn’t reward you as greatly. So, during the next hour, only taking a break to switch the laundry, Miguel taught me how to sit on command and also give him my right paw. I refused to hand him my left or put too much weight on my back foot while sitting, as I didn’t want to give away my handicaps and risk a possible vet visit that could end in a brochure about the health benefits of neutering.

He seemed happy enough with what he had taught me when the food was finally all in my belly. I was happy too, since the meal was greatly needed. Hell, another ten or so were needed, but I would just have to get what I could. When Miguel had the sack of clean clothing tossed over his shoulder, I turned and was about to start navigating my way out of the laundromat, when I heard him suddenly stop and speak.

“You know what? I think I’ve finally figured out a good name for you.”

Uh-oh.

Biting back a grumble, I turned around and sat, looking up at him with my best fake curious face on.

“I think I’ll call you Kind, because even though you’re a huge dog and look like a wolf, you’re really just sweet.” He smirked, then patted my head. “Albeit a bit grumpy at times.”

Hmph. And you’re just an annoying poor kid… Who’s saving my life.

Changes

Once back at the house, Miguel set to work folding all of the laundry he’d washed after filling up a bowl of water for me. Sometime around four, the front door opened and his mother walked in. Her face was drawn with exhaustion, but as soon as her son looked up at her with a smile, she quickly mirrored it with one of her own.

“Hey, Mom, how was work?” he asked as he got up, setting the shirt he’d been folding on top of the stack that was already finished.

“Great, sweetie,” his mother replied as her expression turned to one of gratitude and excitement, and she scurried over to him and scooped him into a hug. “I got a raise!”

I remained silent as he cheered, his smile stretching wider as he shared in his mother’s excitement. The look in Miguel’s eyes when he was released from the hug was one of hope. Such high, high hopes.

“Mom! Does this mean that maybe we can keep him?” Miguel tried immediately, turning to glance at me before looking back at his mom with wide eyes. The look that his mother returned to him made my heart stutter with worry and Miguel frown.

“Sweetheart, I know you’ve wanted a dog for a very long time, but right now, I think it’s best that you give him to the Humane Society you volunteer at so that he can get a home that can truly afford to give him what he needs. I might be getting a raise, but I could either decide to use that money on him so that he is well fed and has flea control and regular vet visits, or I can spend it on my family.” Her shoulders sagged a little and she sighed, wrapping her son in a second hug for a brief moment. “I’m sorry, Miguel. You and your father come first, and that’s how it has to be.”

All of Miguel’s previous excitement had dissipated into depression as he grabbed the leash he’d yet to remove from around my neck and tugged me toward the door. I had half the mind to fight him on it, not wanting to go, but his mother was unfortunately right. Their home needed so many repairs and Miguel could stand to gain several pounds. I didn’t like the idea of being thrown into another situation that could possibly go south, but staying with Miguel’s family would only hinder them.

Thus, for once, I swallowed down what I wanted and followed Miguel out the door. The whole way to the Humane Society I contemplated running away, but even if I did, I had no doubt Nagol had some of the cats in the city on the lookout for me. Hell, he might already know where I was but hadn’t struck yet because I was with Miguel. Maybe he really was the cause of the abrupt sorrow I felt rush through my head the other night? Eh, either way, with my luck, he’ll adopt me and then slit my throat.

The walk to the Humane Society was quick, as it was only four blocks away from Miguel’s house. As soon as we walked inside, my nose wrinkled with distaste. It smelled terrible to my sensitive wolf nose, but I had no doubt the stench would only get worse when I was locked away with the other animals.

“Hello, Mary.” Miguel spoke hesitantly as he walked up to the counter wearing a fake smile. The receptionist looked at him, then down at me, before her eyes widened in surprise.

“Hey there, Miguel. That’s one big dog you’ve got there. Must be a wolf hybrid.”

Miguel shrugged, pursing his lips as the woman walked around the counter and came out a side door. She knelt down in front of me, offering a hand that I begrudgingly sniffed to make her happy. After giving me a gentle pet, she looked up at Miguel.

“We normally don’t take strays, but I suppose you’re here to surrender him?” she asked, noting Miguel’s eyes as they began to blink quickly. He nodded, offering her the leash with a shaky hand. “I f-found him in the alleyway near the g-grocery store down the street.”

Mary smiled and nodded, taking the leash and giving my head another pat that I didn’t want. “Alright, thank you for bringing him in. Do you have any idea about his personality? Is he fixed? House-trained?”

Oh shit. Fixed. Shit shit!

Miguel licked his lips while I silently panicked about losing my boys. “Um, he’s pretty calm for a big dog but will grumble when you try to do something he doesn’t like. He’s also picky about what he eats, or at least he hates beef jerky. And uh, he’s not fixed.”

Yes, I am! Please dear god, pretend I am!

“Okay, that’s not a problem then! We can get him all of his shots and then the vet can get him fixed when she comes in on Monday if he doesn’t already have an adoption on him.”

Try to fix me and I’ll eat your children, lady!

When Miguel just nodded, Mary frowned, wrapping the kid in a gentle hug before putting both of her hands on his shoulders and squeezing to get his attention. “You did a great job saving him and bringing him here. We’ll take good care of him and you can come visit whenever you’d like until he’s adopted. I’m sure he’d be glad to see you.”

A new fake smile found its way onto Miguel’s face, and he mumbled, “His name is Kind” before he turned and trudged out of the building.

I didn’t know the woman was trying to move me until she knelt back down and scratched me behind one ear. “I’m sorry, Kind. You probably wanted to stay with him. I know I would if I were a dog; he’s a great kid. He did the right thing giving you to us, and I promise you’ll get taken care of here.”

She tugged on the leash again, and this time, I begrudgingly allowed her to lead me into the back area.

“Hey, Anna? Miguel brought us a big stray boy. I think he’s a hybrid. Said he found him in an alley, and I just couldn’t tell him to bring him to animal control. Do we have any extra room?”

I sat as she spoke, trying to act as calm as possible as the two women talked. Anna, who I assumed was a veterinary technician judging from her attire, smiled down at me before turning her attention back to Mary.

“I’m sure we can find somewhere to put him. Didn’t that Great Dane we took from animal control last week get adopted yesterday? Its kennel should be open.”

“Oh, right! I’ll go get him situated in there, then bring him some dinner before we close up for the night,” Mary replied before tugging on my leash. I followed obediently until we stepped into an extremely loud, extremely smelly hall of run cages. They were built into a concrete wall and ran all the way up and down the room. In nearly every one, a dog barked, making my head begin to throb. The cage she intended to put me was right in front of us and looked to be one of the largest ones they had.

Not interested.

Ignoring the leash pulling at my neck, I turned and calmly stalked back into the room we’d just left, using my nose to nudge the door back open right before it could close. Mary tried to pull me back into the run area, but I easily moved into the far corner of the quieter room and laid down, resting my head on my paws.

“Looks like he’s decided he isn’t going to stay in the kennel,” Anna said with a laugh as she walked over and gave my head a good rub.

Stop touching me, you darn humans.

        "I suppose he can just stay in here for the night. He doesn't seem to care about the cats in the cages next to him, and there isn't anything out that he can really get into," Mary said as she looked around the room for anything I might want to tear up.

Yeah, let me get some of those cotton swabs and needles. That’s exactly what I want to eat.

The thought had me rolling my eyes before they narrowed on the disgusting smelling bowl of kibble that was now in front of my nose. I might be hungry, but I wasn’t going to stoop to eating generic kibble garbage yet. At least give me a real brand. I’d rather eat a cat.

“Not hungry, boy? That’s okay, we’ll leave you be. I’m sure today hasn’t been the best for you,” Anna said as she headed for the door, switching off the lights once Mary walked through. When I heard the lock click into place, I heaved a sigh of relief and got up to look around. There really wasn’t much out in the area that I could see. Not that I wanted to chew on stuff like a normal dog, but I did have to pee. Eventually I found two dirty towels in a hamper in the corner and managed to position myself so that I hit the towels decently well and didn’t make a mess on the floor.

When I was finished, I entertained myself by scaring the cats and drinking from a water dish that had been left out in the other corner, likely for patients that ended up in there for basic exams. The night passed by uneventfully after I settled back down. Sleep eluded me, partially because I was contemplating shifting and breaking out, and partially because I was terrified of being neutered. I might deserve to die for what I’d done, but I didn’t deserve to lose my manhood!

Come morning, I was a frazzled fluffy bundle of nerves. Anna was the first one to arrive and frowned at my full food bowl when she stepped into the back room. I knew I should have eaten to stem suspicion that something might be wrong, but I just couldn’t force that stuff down my throat. Just the thought of it had me wanting to gag.

“Well, at least you drank the water we left out. That’s good,” she mumbled as she refilled the bowl and set it in front of me. I drank a good half of it before looking over at the laundry basket Anna was investigating with a wrinkled nose.

“I guess you had to go. At least it was on the towels so we can just wash them, instead of the floor.”

My thoughts exactly. You’re welcome.

Once she was done cleaning everything up, she turned back to me with a thoughtful grin. “Maybe you’d like to go outside today? We don’t usually adopt out animals that haven’t been fixed, but we can. It just requires the person to pay extra and get their money refunded once proof of neutering is given.”

Wonderful , I mused silently to myself.

“It seems Miguel already gave you a bath so you just need your exam, a couple shots, and some flea control to be ready to go. Lucky for you, the vet said she needed to swing by this morning to pick something up so she can give you your rabies shot real quick.”

Anna got busy drawing up vaccines after she finished speaking and then got down one of those topical flea preventatives. “Alright, all set. Come here, boy. Or, I think Mary said Miguel had named you Kind? Will you come here, Kind?”

Huffing, I sauntered over to her and dropped my backside to the floor in a sit.

“I know, I know. The vet’s office is never a fun place. Just a few pinches, a bit of blood drawn, then the last shot from the vet and you’re good to go.”

When she got the first shot ready, I eyed the syringe, then looked away as she hesitantly poked me in the shoulder. She seemed relieved when I didn’t bite her, even if the thought did cross my mind. The vaccines shouldn’t bother me, even though I don’t need them . If it got me out and adopted, and not fixed, then I’d suffer through a few shots.

“Alright, all done! Wow, you’re such a calm boy. I bet whichever vet you end up going to with your new family will love your mellow nature.”

Anna was all smiles as she cleaned up the syringes except for two, then gave me the topical flea treatment. Right as she was tossing the empty package the door flew open and another woman walked in that was a bit larger than her, but shorter at the same time. Her eyes lit up when she saw me, but she was obviously in a rush because I just got a quick pat on the head, then she injected the rabies vaccine and wished Anna a good day before disappearing again. Once she was gone, Anna finished writing on a sheet she’d had out, then clicked the pen closed.

“Alright, you just need a physical and worm tests and you’re all set. I’d forgotten to do that yesterday, but you had been through enough at the time.”

I stood still as she got to work, checking my reflexes and teeth. She messed with my bad leg quite a bit, but I managed to hold back any whines that came with the slight pain she caused. When she said something about needing a stool sample after drawing a small amount of blood and began walking toward my backside, I drew the line. If she wanted a stool sample, then I’d give her a stool sample. Hunching my back, I squatted and pushed, dropping exactly what she was after right there on the floor. It was embarrassing, but not as bad as her sticking something up my butt to get it.

“Um, well. I guess that works,” Anna said as she grabbed a poop bag from a roll on the counter and picked up the present I’d given her. While she got the two tests set up, I finished off the last of the water and waited until she checked the results.

“All clear on both. Great. Now I just need to check your temperature and you’ll be good to go.”

She started for my back end again but stopped abruptly when I let my lips peel away from my teeth and released a growl. It wasn’t loud to me, but she jumped back as if she’d been burned.

“Um, well. You don’t look like you’re sick and all of your tests came back negative, though you need to gain a bit of weight. Maybe we can just try your mouth? I need a temperature…”

I opened my mouth when she tried to nudge the thermometer into it, then closed my lips around it. “Wow, smart guy.”

When the thermometer beeped a moment later, I opened my mouth and allowed her to withdraw it.

“You’re running a little higher than normal, but that’s probably just from stress.”

She gave my head a pat before writing down the temperature, then grabbed the paper and my leash. “Let’s get you loaded up for the adoption event, handsome boy.”

Having no argument, I followed after her, my paws thumping steadily on the tile floor until we entered the front room and I saw Miguel sitting in a chair pushed against the wall. When he saw me, his face lit up, though I wasn’t focused on his smile. What bothered me was the strong scent of smoke in the air that clung to him as I approached, replacing the pine and sandalwood I was used to smelling on him.

“Hello, Miguel, did you want to come to the adoption event today? We’ll be bringing Kind since his physical checked out and he got his shots.”

The boy nodded, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong when he stood and took my leash. I noticed a small amount of ash on his hands and whined, drawing both of their attention. Anna was just opening her mouth to speak when Miguel dropped to his knees and hugged me tightly, burying his face in my thick fur.

“Miguel? What’s wrong, hun?” Anna asked, kneeling down to rub his back as he began to sniffle. Normally I’d be annoyed and back off so that he didn’t get snot in my fur, but I could tell that now wasn’t the time. When he finally leaned back and wiped his nose and eyes with his arm, I knew something bad was going to come out of his mouth.

“I’m sorry. There was a-a fire. Last night, I-I…” He trailed off, and I awkwardly leaned over to lick his cheek. Anna hugged him and patted his back.

“Do you want to talk about it?” she asked, getting an immediate head shake from Miguel. “Alright. Just let me know if you do and I’ll be here to listen.”

He nodded and she stood, offering him my leash again. Miguel took it, holding onto it tightly as Anna led us out of the office right as Mary walked in. “We’re heading to the adoption event. I assume the other dogs are already loaded up?” Anna asked, to which Mary nodded.

“Awesome. Have a great day here. Let’s hope for a lot of adoptions.”

Mary smiled and nodded, wishing them a good day before heading behind the front counter to get to work.

“Um, Ms. Anna?” Miguel asked, his eyes hazy with unshed tears.

“Yes, Miguel?”

“Is the event at Reeve’s Park?” he asked, getting a nod from Anna in response.

“Can I walk him there please? It’s not very far…”

With a warm smile, she nodded again as we stopped by a van where I could hear several dogs barking from inside. She gave me one more pat and then hopped into the van, telling Miguel that she’d meet him there. As soon as she had driven away, we began walking… and Miguel began talking. His voice was quiet and resigned, but when I began to piece together what he was saying, my heart ached for him.

There was a fire the night before caused by the old wiring in his home. He’d been out late picking up food for dinner and arrived just as the fire took over the whole building. A fire crew was already there, preventing him from going inside, but they were unable to save his parents. He’d already been taken to the police station and children’s services had been contacted. He was due to report to them by five this evening, leaving him just enough time to do the adoption event before his life went even further to hell.

I decided then that I’d be on my best behavior for him. He was practically leaning against me as we made it into the park, his hand resting on my back for support. There was already a decent group of people gathered around the large van they used to transport the dogs. Several volunteers had some out, though I wasn’t familiar with the breeds. Most seemed mixed.

“Here we go, boy. Let’s get you a great home, hm?”

The cheery tone in Miguel’s voice didn’t hold through his entire statement, but I gave him an excited yip anyway. It made him give me a tiny smile and I wagged my tail. We approached the group after he took a moment to compose himself. People seemed afraid of me at first, but when I just laid down in the grass next to where Miguel sat, they soon began to swarm around us, asking all sorts of questions. I forced myself to deal with all the petting as Miguel happily answered each person.

By the time an hour had passed, there were several people interested in me, but no official adoption had been made yet. Miguel had just spoken with the last person around us at the moment, and I was settling in to relax until the next wave came when the sound of heavy footsteps approaching had me lifting my head to look.

No!

Whimpering, I buried my face in Miguel’s lap as the man approached and sat himself down in front of us. My whole body was suddenly on pins and needles, humming with fear.

“What a gorgeous dog you’ve got there. What’s his name?”

Miguel seemed confused by my behavior but simply began petting me as he answered the person. “Thanks. His name is Kind. I found him in an alley all covered in dirt.” He wrapped my head in a gentle hug when he’d finished speaking, then pressed a kiss to the top of my head.

“I named him that because he’s the sweetest dog ever.”

“Oh is he?”

My heart beat a mile a minute when I felt Nagol’s hand gently rest atop my head and rub softly. The gesture probably looked cute to Miguel, but I could feel the tense hostility flowing into me from the contact.

“How would you like to come home with me, boy?”

What Hurts the Most

Nagol

Watching the boy’s face change into one of sadness at my words pulled at my heart. Someway, somehow, Kine had gotten the kid to like him. It had to have been just to try to save himself, though. There was no way such a cold-blooded monster would willingly act as a pet to a human boy unless it benefited him greatly. Smiling at the kid, I lifted my hand from Kine’s fur and offered it to him. We shook, and he sniffled, then got himself together and forced a smile.

“My name’s Nagol.”

The boy answered quickly with his own name, “Miguel.”

I nodded, returning my hand to Kine’s fur, feeling him tense beneath my touch.

“How do I go about adopting him?”

Miguel’s cheeks reddened slightly as he got himself up and I followed to my own feet. “Right this way,” he mumbled quietly, tugging on the leash around Kine’s neck to get him moving toward the large table set up by the Humane Society’s van. The woman at the table wore a name tag with Anna written on it. Since Miguel suddenly seemed to get tongue-tied at the table, I smiled at the woman sitting down behind it and spoke. “I’d like to adopt this boy. How do I go about that?”

Anna’s face lit up as she sifted through a small stack of papers, then presented me with one that had Kine’s name on it as Kind. It showed that he had gotten all of his shots and was clear of worms and fleas. As I read over the details, a finger suddenly appeared, pointing to one part that had been circled in pen.

“He still needs to be fixed, so his adoption fee will be one hundred fifty instead of just fifty, but when you bring us proof from a veterinarian that he’s been neutered, we will refund one hundred dollars.”

“That sounds fair enough,” I replied, glancing down at Kine with a smirk before returning my attention to Anna. She had a new paper out and was sliding it across the table to me along with a pen.

“Please fill out this form. Once you’re done, we can schedule a home check and payment.”

I nodded, leaning over to fill in each blank with my personal information. After about ten minutes, I had it all done and slid it back across the table with one hundred fifty dollars in cash. Anna took the money and went over the form, then glanced at the spot that had asked what I would like to name my new pet.

“Kine? That’s pretty close to what Miguel picked out for his name.”

“Yeah, I figured it would work best since it’s close and half the time when people say kind, it comes out more like kine anyway.”

She laughed and signed her name at the bottom of the adoption form, then looked up at Miguel, who had said nothing during the entire process. “Miguel?” Anna tried, getting the kid to at least look up and meet her eyes. “Would you like to do the home check?”

Miguel shrugged, then mumbled out a quiet “Sure.”

With that confirmation, Anna looked back up at me. “Do you have a specific time that would work well for a quick visit?”

I glanced at my watch, noting that it wasn’t even three yet.

“Right now would actually work if he’d like to come check out my apartment. It’s one of the three-story buildings a few blocks north.”

Miguel seemed to look in the direction I meant before turning toward me and looking at Anna. “I can go right now. That’s not very far.”

“I actually walked here, too, so we can just walk there and he can check out whatever he needs to,” I added.

Anna seemed perfectly content with that and quickly shooed us away to do the home check as she got ready to help the small line of people that had built up behind us. I let Miguel walk Kine as we headed for my place, the cool afternoon air chilling my skin just enough to be comfortable while under the sun. As we walked, I noticed the strong smell of smoke clinging to his body and also realized that his hair and clothing were mussed. Almost as if he hadn’t slept since the day prior. Curiosity had me yearning to ask, but common courtesy kept my lips sealed.

When we got there, I headed upstairs, unlocking my apartment and stepping inside, then holding the door open so that he could walk in with Kine. The moment they stepped inside, I could feel a sudden, heavy emotion in the air. Miguel straightened his spine and walked through the place, checking each room quickly before returning to look at the bathroom and kitchen.

“W-well… It all looks good.”

His hand was shaking when he lifted the leash and held it out to me.

“Just remember to um, get him fixed. You can set up an appointment with the Humane Society or another vet. As long as you can give proof he got it done.”

I nodded, not entirely sure I wouldn’t get him fixed. He deserved it, but for now I was going to let him think over the possibility of losing his manhood for awhile. “Got it. Is there anything else I need to do?” I asked as I reached out and took the noose leash from Miguel. When the kid shook his head, I licked my lips nervously. After three silent and awkward minutes, I heaved a quiet sigh and motioned to Kine. “I’m sure he’d appreciate a good-bye hug… And uh, maybe you can come visit him from time to time.”

I had only just meant to say the first half of that sentence, because honestly, I wasn’t sure if Kine would be around to be visited. But it just slipped out, dammit! Kine seemed just as surprised as I was, judging from the look that briefly flitted across his face before Miguel dropped to his knees and pulled him into a strong hug.

“I promise I’ll come visit when I can so you be good for Mr. Nagol, okay?”

As if to answer him, Kine whined and leaned his head against the kid’s, then leaned back a little to lick his cheek. I hoped that was it, because I really wasn’t one for tears, but of course Miguel was now bawling his eyes out. Sighing, I forced myself to fake a smile and was about to kneel down and try to comfort him, when Kine suddenly shoved him over and began cleaning his face like a crazed puppy. The sight was shocking, and I swear my jaw was on the floor when Miguel finally shoved Kine away a minute later so that he could sit up.

“Okay okay, no crying. I got it, geez. I guess I don’t need a shower now,” Miguel said, a smile on his face as he wiped some of the slobber off. Eventually he stood back up and took a deep breath to steady himself before looking up at me. “Thanks for adopting him. He’s great, I promise.”

Before I could even reply, Miguel was out the door, the sound of it slamming closed a moment later making me jump slightly. When the echo from it drifted into silence, we both realized we were alone… And when Kine finally lifted his eyes to meet mine, my temper flared. After retrieving a sharp blade from the knife rack by the stove, I stormed around the counter and grabbed the leash still around his neck. Kine let his weight drop when I began to pull on the leash, but that wasn’t going to stop me. With a ferocious growl, I yanked the leash harder, watching as Kine began to choke as his body was forced to move.

“Walk or choke. Either way, you are going to come,” I snarled out, pulling harder as I forcefully dragged him down the hall and into the bathroom before slamming the door shut.

“Shift!”

His eyes jerked open wide, but he didn’t change. An urge to hit him welled in my chest, but my jaguar fought it enough to keep my hands on the leash and knife. At least for long enough for the extremely hostile thought to pass. When I did release the leash, it was to grab Kine by the scruff and throw him into the shower, lifting him easily with one hand. His wolf thudded onto the tile with a grunt, and I didn’t give him a chance to regain his footing as my hand jerked his scruff back.

“I said shift, Kine!”

To my surprise, he did as told this time. My heart clenched at the sight of him. He was a little skinnier than he had been, and pale, but he was Kine. My mate! My jaguar cried in my mind, wanting me to rub against him until our scents melded together as one. Grinding my teeth, I released my hold on his neck and tangled my fingers in his soft blond hair, then yanked his head back. The sudden jerk had his mouth gapping open and I quickly tightened my fingers, making him wince.

“It had to be you.”

The words left my mouth before I could stop them.

Fuck it. Might as well let all of my anger out. Get this over with.

“I wait my whole life to commit to someone and god gives me you! Some pathetic bastard that felt the need to kill kids in the name of finding his one true love!”

I spat the words, noticing some spittle landing on his face, but I held him too tightly to give him the chance to react to it.

“You disgusting, filthy piece of garbage. My jaguar might be forced to love you, but I am not! And I will not be swayed by your fake lovey-dovey shit with Miguel.”

With that, I drew the blade, fighting with myself, wanting to press it against his smooth throat where the rope had made a red mark from when I’d pulled him into the bathroom. My jaguar howled in my mind at the sight of it, but I shoved it aside.

“Any last words, dog?” I sneered, watching Kine’s stressed features tense further before his left eye opened the slightest amount, having stayed closed from worry.

He then turned his head ever so slightly before whispering shakily, “I-it wasn’t fake.”

I couldn’t stop myself. One second, he was bent slightly backward, a knife tight in my hand, and the next, his head was shoved into the tile floor of the shower as I leaned over him snarling, “Take. It. Back. You lying bastard!”

I waited, expecting him to recant in order to try to save his life. The reaction I got, however, wasn’t what I’d hoped for… And it made my chest suddenly hurt like a train had hit me when he numbly mumbled, “Never.” His eyes were closed again, but I could see the tears begin to overflow as he continued in a quiet tone I had to strain my ears to hear. “He’s so… sweet.”

I let out a warning growl, not wanting to hear him speak that way about anyone.

“He was orphaned. Last night. A fire.”

Oh! That’s what that smell had been.

Leaning back on my heels, I heaved a shaky sigh and watched him. Once he had run from Tanner, Cole, and myself, I went back to speak with the two briefly, taking charge of the situation because it was in my territory. They relinquished authority to me in concerns to Kine, but I could tell that they hadn’t been thrilled about it. If they found him again anywhere else, I had no doubt that they’d kill him.

But he’s my baby.

The thought shocked me to the bone. It had to have been from my jaguar. It was just confused.

“….Wan’ to.”

Blinking, I looked back down at Kine, wondering if I had accidentally projected that thought to him. “What?”

He began pushing himself up on shaking arms, and I had half the mind to shove him back down. Unfortunately, the other half of my thoughts were about hugging him to my chest and whispering in his ear that I would try to forgive him. That we could work something out eventually.

Damn mating bond.

“I-I want to…”

My eyes narrowed as he got himself seated awkwardly on the tile, his eyes wide with worry. “You want to what?” I taunted him, goading him with the words. They seemed to affect him, making several more tears fall down his cheeks before he finally replied in a hushed voice.

“Be s-something. Anything, to you. T-to Miguel. Anything.”

Just a Bite

Kine

Seeing the sick look of satisfaction spread over Nigol’s face made my stomach twist into knots. When he reached over and pressed his palm gently against my cheek, I knew something was wrong.

“You want to be something to me?” he asked, making the knots in my belly tighten painfully as I nodded. Nagol leaned back on his heels, then pushed himself to his feet without saying a word. Having a feeling that he wanted me to do the same, I stood, trying my hardest to ignore the pain from my mostly healed foot and not worry my lip, even though I wanted to dig my teeth into it just to feel some sort of relief from the tightness in my chest as I waited.

“You will be my personal worker until you have paid me back for everything I spent on you, then you’ll disappear from my sight. If I ask you to do something, you’ll do it without arguing. You will go to work with me tomorrow night and do as my boss tells you. Tonight, you’ll clean the apartment until it’s spotless.”

Biting down on my lips to keep them from shaking, I gave a sharp nod, blinking fast to keep myself from looking any more desperate. Of course he’d want me to pay him back before removing me from his life.

“Good. Now I need to go, get busy.”

When Nagol turned and disappeared out the door, I waited one full minute to steady myself, then climbed carefully out of the shower and limped toward the kitchen. I noticed a pair of black shorts sitting on the counter and tugged them on, figuring they were for me to at least appear decent. I then turned my attention to the kitchen. It was surprisingly dirty, with dishes piled up in the sink and stuff overflowing onto the counters and stove. It honestly looked like he’d tried to cook each day but failed at least three times before managing something that might have been edible.

The front door slammed shut a moment later, leaving me to get busy with the cleaning. And busy I was. For the next six and a half hours, I scrubbed the kitchen, often getting on my hands and knees to get to stains that had dripped down the lower cabinets and onto the tiled floor. When I finally had the room looking like it was brand new, my hands were blistered and burned by some of the strong chemicals I’d had to use, especially to get the stains up off the floor.

             Satisfaction ran through my tired body as I took one final look around from the entryway. It sparkled, making my dwindling pride receive a small but desperately needed boost. My excitement was short lived, however, when I heard heavy footsteps come up the stairs outside. Without really thinking, I threw myself onto the sofa and curled up, suddenly feeling far more exhausted than I thought I was. It weighed heavily on my mind, making me fight to keep conscious as the door opened and those same heavy footsteps I'd heard going up the stairs walked over to stop beside where I lay.

I wanted him to say something. Anything. To notice how nice his kitchen now looked, or even notice the chemical burns on my fingers and realize that I had worked very hard on doing as he wished. Instead of speaking, his fingers were suddenly there, sifting through my dirty hair. It felt so unbelievably good. My body relaxed in an instant as a gigantic wave of relief washed over me. It was a sadistic idea, but if cleaning his home to the point where my hands ached and I was exhausted made Nagol stroke my hair just like he was doing at this very moment, then I would gladly belittle myself to such a thing.

“Geez, Nagol! You couldn’t even wait for me?”

Resentment pulsed through my body as the lighter man’s footsteps zipped up the stairs and stopped just inside the apartment.

“What the hell? Why is that guy here?”

The hatred was hard to miss in the ocelot shifter’s voice, but I couldn’t be upset about it. If I wasn’t pretending to be asleep, my voice would have been twice as venomous at knowing that little twink was here. My attitude went even further south when Nagol’s hand left my hair and he straightened up, then walked over to Tawny.

“He’s only here because he owes me money. Once he’s paid me back, he’ll be gone for good.”

The words were cooed, followed by the sound of a deep, disgusting kiss.

“He hasn’t touched our bed?” the guy growled, still obviously not happy with me being there.

“Of course not. He isn’t allowed anywhere near either bed.”

That had the guy purring. “Then let’s go break in the new sheets.”

Hearing a deep chuckle reverberate around the room as response hurt, but not as much as the sound of them walking into the spare room, the one that had been given to me the first time I’d been here, and shutting the door. The noises started up almost immediately, torturing my mind as it forced images of what they had to be doing through my head. Unlike hearing porn, my body felt like it was being doused over and over with buckets of ice water. I thought I’d feel Nagol’s pleasure through our bond, but when I felt nothing I just figured that he was being careful to keep me out of his mind.

It was a relief when I finally began to doze, but every couple of minutes I was awoken again by the cries of that disgusting cat. I wasn’t sure how long they were actually at it, but at different times throughout the night they started up again, leaving me with a heavy cloud of tiredness when the guy finally left come morning and Nagol passed out in the bedroom. I felt numb, and even though I tried, I just couldn’t get my eyes to shut again in order to sleep. Each time they came close, disturbing images filled my head and I flinched, nearly throwing up on more than one occasion.

By the time Nagol was finally awake, sometime around noon, I had already cleaned the upper bedroom and was working on the bathroom downstairs. The shower area was shining like new after an hour of scrubbing and my hands were blissfully numb from the chemicals. I knew I should have worn gloves of some sort, but after not finding any during a brief search, I just gave up and figured I’d deal with the consequences later. Unfortunately, said consequences happened right after I sat back on the floor and heaved a content sigh.

“What are you doing?”

Hearing his voice warmed my chest, but at the same time, froze it. If that were even possible. When I didn’t turn around or reply, Nagol reached over me and snatched my left wrist, yanking it up to force me to my feet and face him. When he saw the chemical burns on my hands his eyes widened and he quickly yanked me forward, then lifted me up onto the counter by the sink.

“I can’t believe you would be so stupid…” he mumbled as he dug through the cabinet right next to my left cheek and pulled out three items. Before I could even read the first bottle, he was holding my wrists together with one hand over the sink and pouring a good amount out of it onto my burned hands. I hissed in pain, my hands shaking from the resurgence of sensation that had been numbed for a good while. Once he finished pouring what I could only assume was disinfectant, he set aside the other half of the bottle and then grabbed a small tube and began squeezing a small amount onto my palms before rubbing it all over my fingers and hands. Oh, it’s an antibiotic. The gooey feeling made me want to rub the stuff off, but Nagol didn’t give me the chance as he undid a long white bandage he’d taken from the last item he’d gotten down, which had been a small cardboard box, and began wrapping my hands up tight.

“Why didn’t you just ask for gloves, stupid?” he growled as he put the rest of the stuff he hadn’t used back into the medicine cabinet, then turned his glare on me. He had a point. I should have asked for some gloves, but as I opened my mouth to tell him just that, my words came out completely different than what I’d intended.

“Why do you care? I can still work, so you’ll still get your money’s worth.”

Without waiting for a response, I scooted off the counter, nearly melting to the floor when our bodies slid together. Suddenly I cursed the closeness of his small bathroom. Sure, the shower was huge, but that came at the loss of space in the rest of the bathroom. If only last night hadn’t happened, I might have grasped at his body and begged him to just touch my hair or even give me a hug, but when I took in a sharp breath from the surprise of us touching, I also took in the scent of that horny cat whore. It doused the fire in my system amazingly well.

Shoving my way to the side, I managed to slide out of the bathroom. Of course, he was hot on my heels, his eyes boring holes into the back of my skull. He cut me off before I even got to the kitchen and grabbed my wrist to pull me inside.

“Make breakfast while I shower. I want a lot of protein.”

Oh I’m sure you do. Need it after all the energy you expended last night and this morning,

I thought to myself as I bit my tongue. I nodded to him silently and got busy making scrambled eggs, sausage, and bacon while the shower ran. I was quite proud of myself when I got the whole meal on a large plate just as the bathroom door creaked open. Nagol appeared a moment later, his hair still dripping slightly as he scratched a spot just above the red and black striped boxers that now clung to his damp hips. While he stepped over to the plate of food, I got busy cleaning the pans and utensils I’d used to cook, using a pair of rubber gloves Nagol told me were under the sink. My own stomach was begging loudly for food, but I couldn’t even think about eating without feeling my stomach heave.

The entire time I cleaned, I heard Nagol eating and felt his eyes on me intermittently. Right as I was finishing up and removing the gloves, his plate was shoved next to me. There were still a few bites of eggs left, along with two pieces of bacon, but even as I thought about trying to eat a few forkfuls, I knew I’d just end up throwing it up moments later. Thus, to my own chagrin, I grabbed the plate and moved toward the garbage can.

“What are you doing?”

Pausing with the plate right over the trashcan, I forced back a sigh and turned, setting the plate on the counter before looking at Nagol. “Throwing away the food you didn’t want?”

He looked utterly shocked by my response, which was almost hilarious. If only I wasn’t so depressed and tired, I might have just laughed.

“You can eat it, you know?”

Oh? Glad that I’m good enough for your food scraps.

“Not hungry,” I stated blandly as I grabbed the plate and shook the food into the trash, then walked back over to the sink to clean it.

“You can’t tell me that you’re not hungry. I just spent eight minutes listening to your stomach growl as I ate. Not to mention, you look like a walking stick.”

Thanks.

Shaking my head, I set the plate in the sink and turned. “Thanks, but I don’t want any of your food.”

Hoping that he’d just accept my answer, I began to turn, but of course he was going to be difficult. He grabbed my shoulders and turned me, forcing a frustrated growl from within my chest. Thankfully I managed to cut it off before it actually got free of my mouth.

“You’re lying. You’re nearly starving.”

“Yeah?” I questioned, my voice souring.

“Yeah,” he said, crossing his arms over his chest as if he were the smartest person on the planet all of a sudden.

“So you wanna know the real reason I don’t want food right now?”

Nagol smirked, nodding. I rolled my eyes and leaned back against the counter, took a deep breath, and began promptly verbally tearing him a new asshole. “You think that someone who just listened to their mate fuck a whore all night would be able to stomach any kind of food without puking? And if I even could eat anything, I’d rather make myself puke by eating from a trashcan outside than touch an ounce of your disgusting food!”

Feeling his skin suddenly against my chest had me flinching. “Let me go,” I whispered hoarsely. When he didn’t respond, I ground my teeth together and screamed. “I said fucking let me go! You still smell like that stupid whore!”

“Kine…”

“Shut up!”

“K-Kine, ba—” I slammed my hand against his chest, the slapping sound echoing around the kitchen as the pain from my chemical burns reverberated up my arm. “Don’t you d-dare call me… call me…”

His fingers brushed against my cheek ever-so-slightly and I felt his muscles bunch beneath my fingers as he leaned over. His nose brushed against my hair as he whispered, “I just walked closer. I’m not holding you, baby.”

My eyes snapped open wide and I began to realize that he was right. I was leaning against his chest, my arms bent, one hand had its fingers splayed over his pecs while the other was wrapped around his waist. Embarrassment swamped my senses and I quickly pulled myself away. Or at least I tried to. The moment I began to push away, his arms were there, wrapped around my waist, holding my thighs flush against his own.

“I-I’m s-sorry, I…” I huffed, suddenly finding it hard to get in a decent breath. It was partially because of his hold, but it was also likely because he was pushing me up against the sink, using his hips to easily hold me there, which freed his hands.

“Don’t.” I warned quietly as his fingers trailed up my arms, pausing intermittently, as if he were unsure of his own actions. After a long, tense minute, his hands settled atop my shoulders, thumbs massaging above my collarbones. My breath hitched in my throat when his fingers began tickling up along my neck a moment later. Then they stopped again, all except for his left thumb. It didn’t stop. It gently rubbed against my lower lip in slow, torturous motions. I wanted to give in to whatever he was doing. Give him whatever he wanted, but… Swallowing slowly, I looked up, meeting his lusty, confused eyes and said the words that would end this awkward situation.

“I killed children to be here.”

His thumb froze immediately, making a tear run down my left cheek.

“You hate me for it… And I now hate myself for it.”

I ducked my head, glaring at his chest.

“So please. Please don’t do this. Whatever this is. Let me pay you back. Then let me go.”

His mouth was just opening to speak when we heard light footsteps run up the stairs.

“Nagol!”

My stomach gurgled and I gagged, closing my mouth to keep from throwing up stomach acid.

“Could you eat?”

I heard Nagol’s rushed question as his hand dove into my hair and pressed my forehead to his chest. My stomach churned again and I shook my head, but he evidently wasn’t done as he spoke against my hair and a key jingled into the lock.

“If I get rid of him, can you eat? Anything? Just a little?”

The door opened, and I turned around, gagging into the sink as I heard Nagol run to the entryway. “Listen, you need to go.”

There was a hint of surprise when the other guy replied, but Nagol refused to let him get far, and after a frustrated argument, Tawny left and the door slammed shut and locked behind him after he threw his key at Nagol. I knew Nagol would be back in the kitchen soon, but before he even walked in, my legs gave out, depositing me against the cabinet beneath the sink on the floor. My foot hurt. My hands hurt. And my heart hurt.

I remained with my head down, eyes on the floor as Nagol walked back in and slid to the floor across from me, back against the drawer freezer beneath the fridge. I knew he was waiting for me to respond, but I just couldn’t. Not yet. When several minutes passed, he got back up and I heard something being cooked. My nose was partially stuffed up, so I didn’t know what he’d made until he sat himself down beside me and slid a plate between my bent legs and into my line of sight. It was a fourth of a grilled cheese sandwich with a lot of turkey and bacon melted into the cheese. My stomach churned at the idea of eating it, but at the same time, it begged me to try.

That’s how I found myself shakily reaching down and retrieving the sliver of sandwich, then slowly lifting it to my lips. I couldn’t taste it much, but as soon as I took a bite, the sandwich seemed to disappear. A movement just in front of me had my eyes looking back down and relief flooded over me at the sight of the food. Another fourth was on the plate, and I quickly snatched it up, my previous hesitant reserve no longer valid as my stomach yearned for sustenance.

When I finished that portion, another appeared, then another and another and another. I don’t know how long I ate, or how many times Nagol went back to cook so that I could continue to stuff my face, but by the time I was finally full, my head felt heavy and I found myself leaning against something that eventually moved to lift me. I was set down on the sofa and a blanket covered me, but before I drifted off, Nagol’s voice nudged its way into my mind.

I shouldn’t have jumped at what Tanner had said. I don’t doubt what you did, but to judge you for it so quickly was unfair. Tomorrow, we’ll talk. Get some rest, Kine. You don’t have to come to work tonight and no one will bother you.

As soon as he’d finished his thoughts, I passed out, finally relaxed enough to trust my eyes to close.

You Decide

Nagol

Worry helped me be a complete dunce during work. And it wasn’t because of what I thought it would be. My chest still hurt at the thought of the kids Kine had killed and the fact that he had never denied it, but what was really making me want to ram my head into a wall, then run home, was the idea that he might not be there when I got back.

Dammit. Bipolar much?

Taking a few deep breaths, I checked several IDs from the people staring at me and my awkward antics. They rushed inside, allowing me to finish the remaining line before sagging my shoulders and leaning against the frame of the open door to my left.

I shouldn’t have been such an asshole.

“Hello there, sexy jaguar.”

Please leave me alone, for God’s sakes!

Glowering down at Tawny, I tried my best to ignore him, but the bastard refused to be pushed aside. Instead of leaving like I was silently suggesting, he put his hands on his hips and literally hissed.

Don’t do that in front of humans, you insane furball!

“What’s gotten into you? I tried to let you screw my brains out last night and you weren’t able to get hard once! Not once! Do you know how fucking embarrassing it was to be the only one trying to get off while my lover just lays there and grunts every once in awhile?”

A line was beginning to start to my right, but with Tawny in the way, I couldn’t check IDs. Not to mention his voice was loud and grating to the nerves. Dammit.

“Listen, Tawny, I’m not going to have this conversation right now. I need to do my job and you’re hindering it. If the boss sees, we’ll both be in deep shit and you’ll likely get fired for starting crap at work. So just go back inside and wait the tables, please.”

It took a lot of effort to add that please in there, but it seemed to cool his jets enough to send him back inside. That left me to do my job and mull over what I needed to say when I got back to Kine.

By the time I finally clocked out and got myself home, I was so stressed that it took me four tries and several drops before I managed to get the key in the lock, then turn it. Stepping inside, I was surprised to see Kine there, sitting on the sofa where I’d left him when I’d left for work. He still had the blanket partially wrapped around his waist, which is how it was when I checked on him right before I left. His gaze rose to meet mine as I walked in and locked the door behind me. Tension drifted through the air as I set my jacket aside on the counter and forced my legs to take me to the sofa, then sit. Before I could talk myself out of it, I knew I had to say something before we even started. Or, well, several somethings. So I tried my best to steady my worrying hands in my lap, then turned toward Kine.

“First off, I didn’t have sex with Tawny the night before last.”

The sudden angry look on Kine’s face told me that he didn’t believe a word I’d just said.

“I swear. He was making a ton of noise trying to get me into it, but I just couldn’t.”

My face burned at the admission, but I quickly pushed myself away from those thoughts to square my shoulders and keep going. “Take that as you will, but we have something else to talk about now.”

My eyes narrowed slightly on his and he fidgeted, opening and closing his mouth several times before finally meeting and holding my eyes.

“It all started when my time as alpha was soon to be up. My pack is ancient, and thus holds powers most others do not.”

I nodded, knowing somewhat about older packs. It was something every shifter was taught when young. Mainly, don’t mess with ancient packs, whether they be wolves or other animals. They were extremely few and incredibly far between, but they were out there, and they were powerful.

“My pack’s powers, while including extra strength and healing properties to the higher ranking wolves, the alpha himself gained one power that no other did.”

“Life,” I slipped in, getting a solemn nod from Kine in response.

“Life. Extended life, in fact. When I first began to realize I was going to lose my position, likely before finding my mate, I began to get extremely stressed. I guess I could feel my mind beginning to cloud over with frustration, but I didn’t do anything really to try to stop it. So when we were having our pack meeting for that month and one of the attendees brought their boy, who had just turned five earlier that day and shifted for the first time, I felt a sudden pull at my strength. It was subtle, but even being so, I could feel it as clear as day coming from the boy when our eyes met.”

I wanted to reach over and take his bandaged hand when he paused, but I knew I had to wait him out. He took a few minutes to collect himself again, then rolled his shoulders to ease some tension.

“I found myself patrolling later that night. At the age of five, children were allowed to follow on patrols but had to be accompanied by at least one parent, even though young werewolves are generally more advanced than a human five year old. Well, at some point, he lost his parents and I was walking alone… Then I felt the pull on my powers again. When he came around the corner in his wolf form, his eyes narrowed on my own and I bared my teeth in warning. Instead of doing what any other wolf would have and turn to run, he snarled and allowed his hackles to rise. I should have ignored the challenge, been the better wolf. He was only a kid and probably didn’t understand exactly what he was doing.”

Kine’s whole body sagged against the sofa, and he closed his eyes to take a few deep breaths.

“After I killed him, I didn’t feel the pull again for twelve years. I tried to keep myself away from that situation, but a few days after another boy’s fifth birthday, we were eating a pack dinner at the lodge we had built for such activities, when he grabbed my plate of food from in front of me and ran off to eat it. I wasn’t quite sure yet if the pull meant that they would be taking over as alpha, but not three days later, he challenged me. It wasn’t for my title, because he was obviously far too young. However, the moment he bared his teeth and growled, I knew that one day he would take my place. Take my power.”

He shifted his weight on the sofa a little, sitting back up with his hands resting over his legs. “I didn’t kill him at that time. It wouldn’t be fair to him and I already had a pup’s blood on my hands. So I let him live and walked away… Until he challenged me again when he was eighteen. That’s when I got really scared, because over the previous few years I’d been feeling my powers slowly draining, and his slowly growing. When the challenge finally came the night of his eighteenth birthday, I didn’t hold back. He had grown cocky from the time I’d walked away, unwilling to face him. He died easily, and my power flooded back to me so quickly that I felt like I’d been hit in the gut, though not all of it came back.”

“That night, I went home and realized when I looked in the mirror, that I had aged at least two or three years. It hadn’t been all at once, I was sure, but it definitely had occurred in the time I’d been extremely busy with the pack and allowed the boy to grow up and the return of my powers hadn’t brought my youth back. During the gap between when I’d killed the five year old and the years that followed before the next one turned eighteen and made his official challenge, I’d permanently aged. It scared the hell out of me.”

“So when you let them live till they were eighteen and could actually fight you for your position, you realized that you lost more of your lifespan because the other wolf tended to steal some of your powers before they even became alpha?” I questioned, curiosity taking over my thoughts at his strange story. He nodded and I frowned, finally beginning to understand.

“After that, and after still not finding a mate, you began to kill the five year olds that you felt a pull from?”

He nodded, licking his lips.

“I also noticed rather quickly that the pups that didn’t change until at least five years of age were the alpha candidates, though every once in awhile one would shift early, but I would still feel the pull on my powers and have to figure out a way to kill them.”

My eyes widened. “Like they were evolving to shift earlier, if only to get the chance to live past five?”

He shrugged but nodded. “Yeah. I made the rule that five-year-olds who hadn’t shifted had to be killed for the safety of the pack. As most of the wolves on the council at the time were extremely superstitious and believed nearly anything I said, I was able to make up a stupid fake story and they put the rule into law. Some wolves left because of it, but most stayed and dealt with it as best they could.”

“How is it that you came to this point then?” I asked, wanting to know what finally forced Kine to run.

His answer was a dull, tired laugh. “Tanner.”

My mouth dropped open as I gaped. “The singer we met a few days ago?”

He nodded, another quiet chuckle slipping free of his lips. “Yeah. His parents didn’t want to abide by the law and let him run when he was five. In all honesty, I wasn’t worried about him returning. He was five, for god’s sake. He was as good as dead in the forest by himself. Except, he didn’t die. Another pack found him wandering in their territory years later, and by that time, I was also feeling the strain on my powers, as if someone was stealing them from me. But I couldn’t figure out how, because no other pups had been born that hadn’t shifted and none had bothered to challenge me in any way. I waited another year, and watched myself grow older. That’s when I realized that Tanner had to still be alive.”

The rest was pretty self-explanatory, but he continued, finishing his story. “Tanner returned, even though I had tracked him down and tried to kill him beforehand. He beat me, nearly killing me as my powers quickly began to desert my body for his. I don’t know why, but when I met him again at the concert venue, right before I was forced to run, I didn’t feel any real alpha power coming from him.”

His lips pursed and he licked them. “I think he gave away his status. I don’t know to who, but he gave it to someone from the pack. Just like that. I didn’t think it was actually possible, but then again, if the wolf was strong enough, then I suppose it could have worked since it is passed down to offspring and whatnot.”

I could hear the anger welling in his chest at that information, but thankfully he managed a few deep breaths and calmed himself after a good shake of his head.

“Alright,” I replied, trying a small smile when he gave me an incredulous look.

“Alright? I just told you that I’m a diabolical serial killer who planned and carried out multiple murders of children, and all you’re going to say is alright ?”

Well, I didn’t think it was alright, but… “ Hakuna Matata ?“

The look on Kine’s face was one of utter disbelief.

“You did not just quote The Lion King. “

“It means no worries…” I had to dart off the sofa when Kine lunged for me, both of us laughing at the stupidity of my quotes during such a serious time. When he jumped off to try to shove at me, I spun around, wrapping him in my arms with a deep laugh. His hands pressed against my dress shirt and his face changed to a soft shade of red. The color only brightened when I leaned over so that our noses almost brushed. “What’s in the past is in the past. I was wrong when I attacked you for what you did, and made you work, and let you believe that I was sleeping with Tawny. While killing is never okay, shapeshifter laws are far different than human ones and there is really nothing that can be done about it now. You’re my mate, and I wouldn’t change that for anything. I hope you can forgive me for what I put you through, and I will do my best not to judge you for things that can never be changed.”

When he looked up at me, I saw his determination and attitude begin to return, which had been missing since we met Tanner days ago. It forced a smirk from my lips, getting an eye roll in response.

“So,” I chimed as I released him, but not before giving his backside a light tap. He gave me a growl for it, but it was worth it. “I usually volunteer at the orphanage down the street when I have free time, and I’m really not that tired so… How about we bring them an adorably giant, fluffy, frustrating therapy dog to brighten their day?”

He was in his wolf form the second he was able to toss his shorts off. I didn’t bother to look away from the glimpse I got of him below the waist before he changed, but I did look away when he glanced up, face eager and panting. Grabbing the noose leash, I slipped it over his neck and we headed out. Both of us were still a bit on edge, but when we pulled up to the orphanage and hopped out of the car, I knew there would be no trouble. He could pretend he wasn’t very interested in seeing Miguel, but I knew Kine wanted to go specifically for the kid, and perhaps to make up for even a slight bit of his past. Of course the other kids were going to come with the deal, but somehow I had a feeling he would be fine with them, too. Perhaps Miguel had even taught him something that no one else could have over the years… Perhaps.

Interrupted

Kine

Before we even got up to the door, I could hear kids screaming “ dog!“ from the side yard. The thundering of little feet swiftly followed, making my belly churn with worry. The door was thankfully opened by an older woman who appeared to be a worker, and instead of stepping out, she held the door open for us with an inquisitive look down at my wolf form. Once we stepped inside, I froze, my jaw opening slightly in surprise at all of the beady little eyes staring me down from the hallway. I could feel Nagol’s worry through our faint connection but was too nervous to focus enough to catch any thoughts directed toward me.

So instead of trying our connection, he knelt down and wrapped his arm around my shoulder. “You ready, boy?”

I gave him a small grunt and swished my tail, practicing a wag that would seem convincing to the kids. It got Nagol chuckling, and since he stood back up and started forward, I figured I’d calmed his nerves enough. Too bad my own were still going crazy as we stepped toward the hall with the woman following.

“Nice to see you again, Nagol. Who’s your new dog? He’s huge!”

Why thank you, though I’m surprised an old lady like yourself looked there.

“His name is Kine. I just adopted him from the Humane Society, and since he’s so calm, I figured he’d be great to work with the kids here.”

As if his words were the magic password, several of the younger kids ran out from the hallway and nearly tackled me in hugs. Their squealing was ridiculously loud, but that wasn’t the worst part. No, that title was reserved for whichever kid currently had a full diaper. My sensitive nose wanted to run off my face as I tried to hold my breath as often as possible to keep from keeling over.

“Mana, do you have a stinky?” Nagol asked, drawing my attention to him as he scooped up a little girl trying to tug at my left ear. A strong waft of poop-smell slapped my nose as he took her into another room. I tried to duck away from the oncoming wave of children to just get a breath once he was gone, but each time I managed to free myself from one, two more charged ahead. It almost got to the point where I felt the need to growl, but thank god my night in dull sweatpants arrived just in time!

“Kine!”

Miguel’s excited voice had my prior fright washing away. He ran straight for me, grabbing my leash from a little boy that couldn’t have been older than seven. Nagol took that moment to come out of the room with a much cleaner smelling Mana, and after setting her down on her feet, he walked over to us and smiled at Miguel.

“How’re you doing, kid? Figured you’d want some fuzziness to make today a bit better.”

Miguel’s face lit up and he actually hugged Nagol. It was quite funny, because Nagol was literally frozen for a moment before he finally reached around and patted Miguel’s back a few times.

“Um, I’ll take that as an affirmative. Glad I could brighten your day.”

I couldn’t help but tilt my head into the hug that I got from Miguel a moment later, feeling so much better just having the kid near me. It was weird, after my history and general dislike for children. Heck, the guy literally had nothing now, but I still valued him enough to want to come visit him in an orphanage full of sharks. I mean, kids.

“Hey, Ms. Cara? Can I go take Kine for a walk? He’s the dog I was telling you about this morning.”

The woman’s brows rose as she looked at Nagol, silently asking if it was okay, I assumed. Nagol nodded right away, turning to hold the door open. “We can go for a quick walk. I’m sure he’s got a lot to tell Kine about.” The other kids groaned that the new kid was taking the dog away so soon, but after Nagol assured them that we’d be back, they calmed a bit and let us go without a fuss. Once I was back outside I reveled in the strong gusty wind, loving the feel of the crisp, cold air against my face. Miguel and Nagol seemed a bit chilled by it though, making me snicker.

“Haha, maybe we’ll sheer you so you can enjoy the winter with us?” Miguel said, smirking.

I was momentarily flabbergasted, confused as to how he had understood my body language when I was a dog. Nagol didn’t seem too bothered by it, though, and instead turned his attention to Miguel.

“So, how have you been? I don’t remember seeing you at the orphanage two weeks ago when I’d visited.”

He was being pretty direct, but I suppose that made sense. I listened intently while intermittently peeing on a random tree or bush.

“Well, I don’t really want to talk much about it,” Miguel mumbled, shrugging as we rounded a corner. “A fire happened a few days ago, and well, I’m now an orphan.”

His eyes were slightly red, but the fading dark marks beneath them told me that he’d likely cried so much that he was just empty of tears. The torn look on his face made me want to curl up in his lap on the sofa at Nagol’s and let him pet me, talk, or cry for as long as he needed. But you can’t tell him that because you’re a dog. My mind chastised me. We were just turning another corner, likely going in a circle until we made it back to the orphanage, when Nagol suddenly stopped, making Miguel and I do so too.

I wasn’t really sure why we’d stopped until a frustratingly familiar mop of dirty blond hair caught my attention. If I could have hissed, I would have. As it was, I had to bite back a growl that just itched to come up from my chest. Nagol remained calm, but I could see the muscles tense in his shoulders. “Hey, Miguel? Why don’t you continue your walk and I’ll meet you back at the orphanage.”

There was no hint that his words were actually a question and Miguel didn’t argue as he began heading down the street, tugging me along beside him. I wanted to know what was going to happen between Nagol and Tawny, but we were too far away before they began speaking to hear anything. The whole way back I was on edge, grumbling at anyone that got too close and barely focusing on Miguel’s words, even though I knew I should have paid attention.

We got back just in time to duck inside as the sky opened up and rain came roaring down with a loud crack of thunder. Kids were running about, coming in from outside to avoid getting drenched. Several of the younger ones were also crying, likely from the loud thunder rumbling almost nonstop. As soon as everyone saw me again, however, most of the crying stopped and I was suddenly swamped by smelly, loud, wet kids. I forced myself to stay still, though it was definitely a chore not to growl or snap at all the little hands pulling at my fur.

After what felt like forever, but what the clock told me was only twenty minutes, the children were forced to disperse by one of their caretakers. It was a different woman than before, but she was just as polite as she spoke quickly with Miguel, then told him to head up to his room so that she could clean the floors. It made sense, though I was surprised to see the kids actually listening to her. Probably because they didn’t want to do it themselves. Either way, she allowed me to go with him as long as I was house-trained. Hah.

“Let’s go, boy,” Miguel said with a smile as we headed up the rickety stairs, then turned to the left, entering a tiny room with terrible lighting. “Guess the storm got the electricity.”

Ah, scratch the bad lighting.

I could easily see in my current form, though, so I quickly made my way toward his bed, intent on jumping up until I realized just how dilapidated it was. Man, the bed at his pathetic mobile house was better than this, and that’s saying something.

“I know, you’re too good for this old thing, boy. Sorry I don’t have anything else for you to lie on.”

Holding back a roll of my eyes, I got myself situated on the floor and huffed. I didn’t need some prissy bed. I was a dog after all. When something caught my attention moving over by the window, I lifted my head and flicked an ear.

Ah, figures he’d have a roommate. Honestly, I’m surprised he doesn’t have more.

“Hey, Cody, this is my… well, this was a dog I took care of for a little while. He’s really nice if you want to pet him.”

I thought the kid would jump on me like all the others had, but he actually seemed really reserved as he quietly slid from his own dilapidated bed and squatted down in front of me. It didn’t take long for me to check him out. And there wasn’t much to look at. He had a mop of dark blond hair and brown eyes. His jeans were torn and worn nearly to pieces and his dull red shirt wasn’t much better.

“Hey… dog.”

My ears flicked up at the hushed sound of his voice. I almost didn’t hear his words. He seemed like he was waiting for a response, so after a moment of silence, I gave him a quiet grunting woof. That got a smile out of him as he hesitantly reached over and set his hand atop my fuzzy head.

“What kind of dog?”

The question didn’t really seem to be directed toward anyone specifically, but I figured it was for Miguel since he was the only one in the room who could answer.

“I think he’s a wolf hybrid. He’s really sweet, though, even being so big and part wolf.”

Just to prove his point, Miguel slid from where he’d perched himself on the edge of his bed to kneel down next to me, wrapping one arm around my shoulder for a partial hug. His roommate glanced up at him, licked his lips nervously, then surprised me by leaning forward abruptly and wrapping his arms around my neck in a tight hug. The hug wasn’t something I’d expected, but the feelings that came with it? Those nearly blew me off of my feet. I had always been good at picking up on people’s emotions, but I never really cared enough to read much into them. Right then though, I didn’t need to focus to understand the boy. He was gone not a moment later, having run out of the dim room. I glanced up at Miguel, who was grinning like an idiot as the lights flickered back on.

“He hardly ever interacts with people from what I’ve been told. Ever since he came in years ago, he’s barely spoken to anyone and just sits in here reading books he borrows from the library.”

I wouldn’t mind not talking to people for awhile, though I must admit it would probably get lonely after some time.

“He never even bothered with the other dogs that are sometimes brought here. I think he likes you.”

After he finished speaking, he flopped over onto his bed and stretched out. Since we had to wait for Nagol and the lady downstairs had specifically told us to stay upstairs for awhile, I did the same, stretching before resting my head on my paws for a quick nap. It was unfortunately over too soon. Sensing eyes on me, I opened my own to see the weird kid Miguel had mentioned staring down at me.

Um. Hi?

He smiled, almost as if he understood me. “Hello. I remember Miguel mentioning your name was Kine.”

I raised my brows, nose flaring slightly as I pretended to sniff him.

“You’re really smart.”

Of course I am.

“I-I don’t talk much… or do much, but um. Would you maybe want to be my friend?”

Normally I’d think no right away, but as he took out a large book that was obviously worn from years of rereading, I found myself content to scoot forward just enough to rest my head atop his crossed ankles and listen… because for once, that’s all someone wanted from me.

Enough

Kine

As dusk came around and the thunderstorm quieted, I knew something was wrong. Nagol hadn’t returned, and while I could sense him somewhere nearby, it was just not close enough for me to contact him mentally. It wasn’t until most of the kids had settled into bed and the thunderstorm was raging in the dark sky outside that he finally moved close enough for me to try to get through to his mind. At first, I felt him trying to keep me out, but eventually I managed to nudge my way inside.

What are you doing, Nagol?

Silence met my question and remained for nearly five minutes before he finally responded. We can’t do this, Kine.

My heart jerked in my chest and I bit back a whine, not wanting to wake the boys who were asleep in the two beds to my left.

I thought we had decided to try… I can change. I have changed, I thought to him in return, letting my hurt seep into the words as I sent them. He didn’t respond for another five minutes, and that’s when I knew that Tawny had something to do with this conversation.

Please, Nagol. Talk to me face to face. Whatever he said, I want to hear it from your mouth. Please.

Another lengthy silence. Then my entire body relaxed from its tense state when he replied with a simple, Okay.

It was about fifteen minutes later when the older woman from the orphanage came upstairs and took my leash, leaving the two boys to sleep as she led me downstairs to Nagol. The moment I saw him, I ran, my leash slipping from the woman’s grasp. Knowing that I wouldn’t stop, Nagol, soaked from the storm, dropped to his knees and opened his arms to catch me. Even if I had forced him to hug me or get run-into, I could still feel the flare of his emotions through the bond we still had.

“Hey, buddy. Sorry I’m so late picking you up. Hope those kids didn’t scare you too much.”

He rubbed a hand along my side as his attention turned up to the woman. “Did he do okay?”

“Oh yes. The kids were very happy to have him, and he was resting in Miguel and Cody’s room when you came in,” the woman said, calm excitement in her tone. “And you know what? Cody was actually reading to him!”

Her hands clasped together with happiness, though she was sure to keep her voice down.

“Really? Cody was actually reading to him?” Nagol replied, his voice sounding utterly shocked. Was it so weird?

I thought to myself.

“Yes! If you can, please bring him back whenever possible. I think he’s just what Cody needs to finally begin coming out of his shell. I’m sure Miguel would also love to keep seeing him and taking care of him, too.”

I felt Nagol hesitate, then chuckle quietly as he patted my fur. “I’ll see if I can, ma’am. For now, we’re going to head home. It’s been a long day.”

The woman nodded and Nagol stood, taking my leash before wishing her a good night and turning to leave.

The walk back to Nagol’s home was tense, both of us obviously trying to figure out what we were going to say to each other. But also, being so close, I couldn’t help but catch his scent every few moments through the damp air the storm had left behind. It made me want to be petted by him. To just roll over on the sidewalk and have him rub my belly. Those thoughts continued to push at my mind, washing away my nerves and putting something else there, making my body tingle in anticipation. I wanted attention from Nagol. Badly. The second we got inside, I shifted and was hugging his arm while nuzzling against his shoulder. I felt like a damned cat in heat but just couldn’t help myself. I thought Nagol might push me away, not feeling like being any kind of nice after nearly calling our situation off, but he actually turned toward me with a stressed smile.

“What did you talk about with him?” I asked.

The look on Nagol’s face forced me to swallow hard and focus.

“He said that he’d contact Tanner and find a way to get you to him if I didn’t push you away.”

I wasn’t surprised. But this time, I was ready to fight for what I wanted.

“So what?”

Nagol blinked, his expression suddenly becoming blank, then confused.

“I’m not afraid of that slutty cat, and I’m not afraid to fight for what I want now. I may have done terrible things in my past, and I’m sure I’ll be paying for them until my years are up, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to let them rule what time I have left.”

I saw Nagol begin to open his mouth to argue but didn’t want to hear it. So, I just reached up, dug my fingers into his short dark hair, and yanked his head down until our lips slammed together. Our connection flared open abruptly and I nearly choked on the level of emotion flooding from Nagol as he wrapped his arms around my waist and pinned me against him, my back firmly pressed against the door.

My body hummed, eager for the affection it had thirsted for over the long, lonely years I’d spent waiting. Waiting for my mate. My lover. My… Nagol leaned back just enough to separate our lips and I gave a hushed whine of disapproval. That was until I allowed my eyes to blink open, wondering why I could still feel his breath on my lips if he wasn’t going to kiss me again. What I saw made my heart skip and stumble over its own beats.

Nagol leaned forward, rubbing his cheek against my own as he began to purr, the sound a deep rumble in his large chest. “My baby,” he mewled gruffly.

I thought his pet name would upset me like it had before, but when he leaned back once more and our eyes met, I couldn’t find a single ounce of dislike in my body. It was completely alive and eager.

“Mate!”

Taken aback by my sudden outburst, Nagol blinked, then grinned as he took a step backward. I felt my wolf hovering in my mind, no doubt having been the one to prompt the abrupt shout from my lips. It wasn’t completely to blame, though. After all the years of waiting, we were both on edge. That’s what had me stepping forward, my hands rising to press against Nagol’s firm chest as I stared up at him hungrily.

“Kine,” he whispered as he sifted one hand through my messy hair. I leaned closer, rubbing my cheek against his this time, hoping for some kind of positive response. I held my breath when nothing happened, my mind focusing on his fingers as they navigated through my hair. He did that for nearly a minute as I counted the seconds in my head, but right before I got to sixty, his fingers tightened into a fist, snagging my hair and forcing my head back abruptly. His tongue was suddenly on my neck, licking and licking and licking. As his attention began to cause bruising, I thought I would want to pull away from the pain, but I found myself letting out a quiet, excited howl as he continued.

“I’m worried that he’ll hurt you,” he grumbled, though he didn’t stop. He actually began to nip at my sore skin, leaving marks up and down my neck. Instead of bothering with a verbal answer, I wrapped my arms around his neck and dug my own hand into his hair with a rumbling growl. He moaned in response, and I swear to god, all that fake happy tail-wagging when pretending to be a dog was the only reason my backside was swishing back and forth right then!

“Mm, is that wagging for me?”

My face immediately flushed, the heat from the action making me turn to keep him from seeing. Before I could do anything else, though, arms snagged around my waist and pulled me back against Nagol’s chest so that he was now behind me. His nose dug into the crook of my neck, and I could feel him begin to nibble right away.

“I love you, baby.”

I felt the heat in my cheeks intensify, making the color there darken into a more vibrant shade of red.

“I like this color on you.”

His words were purred, but they weren’t what I was focusing on anymore. Nope. That would be the item being rubbed up against my backside. He stopped after a moment, but that’s exactly when I started. I heard his sharp intake of breath, likely from surprise, but when I didn’t stop rubbing against him, he began rubbing back. Being a bottom or having a male mate had never crossed my mind when I was living alone, but right then, I wanted him inside me.

Whirling in his arms, I got up on my tiptoes and licked at his lips fervently. I thought he would laugh at the foolish gesture, but when he opened his mouth and covered mine, we both groaned loudly and began fighting for dominance with our tongues as my hands tore blindly at his damp clothing. I knew I was tearing his shirt, and he had just sent the button on his jeans flying off in some random direction to hit a wall, but neither of us seemed to care. Soon he was naked just like me and I was on my back, pinned beneath his larger body as we moved opposite each other, the friction searing me deliciously.

Neither of us tried to be gentle or take our time savoring each other’s bodies. It happened fast and continued for several long minutes. The pain was bad at first, but pleasure mixed with it quickly and continued to grow until it was all I could focus on. When we finished the first time, I could feel Nagol completely through our connection and what he was thinking made me smirk. We’d just made love in his hallway on the floor, and he was freaking out about wanting to hide me now from Tawny. Of course, the urge to mate again was also there, quite at the forefront right beside his worry.

“You are so special,” I growled, getting him to blink out of his thoughts and look down at me in confusion.

“We already did it, so what does it matter if we don’t do it again or do it twenty more times? We still did it.”

He seemed to need a moment to process that, likely because of the heady haze in his mind, still trying to get over our previous activity. Well, I wasn’t in the mood to let him process, especially since he hadn’t even pulled out yet.

“Well, you can try to decipher what I just said, or we can screw again and care later.”

His face suddenly became a lot more clear and then lit up with a cocky smirk I couldn’t help but roll my eyes at. The important conversation we were going to have about the whole Tawny issue seemed to have slipped both our minds again as we spent the rest of the night doing just about everything besides talking.

Beginning

Kine

Oh my god, my ass hurts.

A headache lurked behind my eyes as I forced them open in the dark room. It took me a few minutes to clear my vision, then find a clock.

11 A.M.

Wait a second. Moving a little, I felt strong arms locked around me and looked up. Nagol was out cold, leaning up against the wall where he sat with me in his lap. We were in the living room, though I definitely remember having moved to the bedroom at some point. And maybe the bathroom… and kitchen. My face burned as I pressed it against his firm chest, allowing his steady breathing to calm my nerves as it slowly pushed at my forehead with each inhale.

“I’ve got to get to work, love.”

My head jerked up, eyes wide as they met Nagol’s half-open ones.

Damn, if that’s not the look of a content cat, I don’t know what is.

Definitely content, my delicious pup.

My mouth dropped open and I squirmed, trying my hardest to get out of his lap before my face became the color of a cherry!

“It’s alright, you’re just overprojecting your thoughts… and maybe I’m a little more sensitive to them because of our fun last night.”

His lips twitched up into a smirk and I bit my lower lip to keep from growling.

“Oh now, don’t be a sourpussy. Here, I’ll cheer you up.”

Before I could even question what he meant by cheering me up, his tongue was on my face, licking a path straight up to my left eye. I closed it just in time, shivering as a faint trail of saliva was left in its sandpapery wake.

Ewww.

“Somehow my cheerfulness is not rising,” I groaned, trying to nip at his tongue but missing three times in a row. My fourth try, however, had me catching it, only for Nagol to shove it into my mouth. The action got a surprised squeak from me, but I did enjoy the short-lived kiss before Nagol stood, bringing me to my feet.

“Gonna take a really quick shower, then you can take as long as you want.”

I frowned, following him as he headed toward the bathroom.

“I want to come.”

My words had him halting immediately, feet stopping just before the entrance as he turned.

“What?”

The look on his face told me that I was being stupid. Or maybe completely idiotic. Either way, I knew it was because Tawny was going to be there, and even after a shower, there was no doubt in my mind that he would be able to tell what we had been doing all night.

Well, bring it on, you spotted whore.

Squaring my shoulders, I narrowed my eyes and promptly stalked past him into the room to get the water started. “I’m going whether you drive me or I walk.”

He was behind me in a second, his hands on my waist, digging in just enough to make the pressure begin to feel uncomfortable. “He’ll smell it,” Nagol whispered against my cheek as he nuzzled it, making me growl quietly with contentment.

“And he won’t when it comes to you?”

His body tensed, and worry suddenly weighed down our connection.

“I…” he tried, only managing to get out the one small word. When he tried and failed to speak two more times, I just stepped into the shower and began washing. He joined me a moment later, but I could tell that he was still trying to figure out a way to change my mind about going. It wasn’t going to happen. I owed him money and I wasn’t worried that Tawny might get me. Tanner was the only one that bothered me by any means, but if he ended up returning, then so be it.

“He’ll know no matter what, Nagol, so stop scrubbing yourself to near-bleeding.”

Nagol fidgeted, eying the mark he’d made on his left arm with a confused frown. I waved my hand in front of his face, drawing his attention to me, where I had a scowl waiting for him on my face.

“Pull yourself together. One way or the other, he’s going to find out, and if he’s as good as his threat, Tanner will be here at some point unless I’m somehow shipped to him.”

He opened his mouth to try to argue, but I pressed a finger to it, silencing him right away.

“No. No arguing. I was stating facts. If you can’t handle it, then stay here, but I’m going into your work and I’m going to speak to your boss about starting that job.”

His eyes widened, then slowly relaxed with the rest of his body.

“Okay,” he whispered against my finger before I let it slip from his lips.

With the discussion evidently closed, we both washed up and got out, keeping our hands to ourselves the entire time. It was hard for me to do, but I knew Nagol needed a few minutes to himself. At least in his own mind. We both got dressed afterward, Nagol in his normal work clothes while I borrowed items from his closet like last time. Breakfast was quick but delicious, a large plate of eggs and toasted bagels with cream cheese.

We silently made our way to Nagol’s car once he locked up. I could tell that he was on edge, but I felt surprisingly calm as I slid into the passenger’s seat. The drive was quick, the city blocks flying by in the dim light as the sun began to rise. I slid from the seat when we got there, the shoes I’d borrowed, also from the closet, splashing into a small puddle that had formed from a likely overnight drizzle. The early morning air was comfortably cool as it rustled my hair.

“Let’s do this,” I told myself, walking into the establishment with as much determination as I could manage. Tawny was easy to find, mainly because his glare could have set anyone else on fire from the amount of hatred he was exuding.

Instead of bothering with him, I strode up to the manager and offered a smile and my hand. “Hello, I’d like to officially apply for a job.”

He eyed me for a moment, then glanced over my should at who I could only assume was Nagol. When his eyes met mine again, he smiled and nodded, pointing to a server working a table nearby.

“That’s Gil, go shadow him for the afternoon. Nagol already filled out an application for you so you are good to go.” I did as told, thanking him for the opportunity, then quickly introduced myself to Gil and got to work. Throughout the afternoon, Tawny tried his best to catch my attention in anger, but he was dismissed from his shift after two hours, having already been there for quite a while helping clean from the night before. I had no doubt that he called Tanner the moment he stepped out the door, but there was nothing I could do about it so I pushed it to the back of my mind and focused on what I was currently doing.

Normally the place didn’t stay open so late, or really, early, but because of the amount of customers, the manager had approved overtime until everything was ready for it to reopen later in the evening. When Nagol and I stepped outside at the end of the shift, it was drizzeling rain and the temperature had dropped several degrees to add a cool chill to the air. It felt pretty good after working for hours, and as I slid into Nagol’s car, I couldn’t help but feel like I needed to go somewhere.

“Wanna head to the orphanage?” Nagol asked, glancing over at me with a slight smile.

I perked up immediately, my own lips quirking into a smile wider than his as I answered, “Sure.”

He gave a chuckle that I didn’t understand, then nodded and got us on our way. I thought he might try to talk now that we had both had time to calm down during work, but when he just reached over and began stroking my hair, I gave a quiet sigh and leaned my head back into his palm, silently asking for the attention. When we pulled up to the orphanage, the meager rain had stopped and I was surprised to see Miguel in the side yard watching us as we got out of the car. Of course, I was now a dog , my tail wagging as fast as I could make it when I saw the kid.

“Hey, kid, how ya doing?” Nagol said as he walked over, waiting for Miguel to step out of the gate before giving the kid a small hug.

“Pretty good. They let me have today off school when I asked, so that’s why I’m here instead of there,” Miguel said as he stepped away from Nagol and knelt down to wrap me in a tight hug.

“Hey, Kine, I’ve missed you, big guy. Has Nagol been treating you well? If not, you can always come live here with me.”

He said the words jokingly, and I licked his face a few times to make him laugh.

“Cody is up in our room by the way. I’m sure he’d like to see Kine again.”

I was curious as to why he was home from school, but I didn’t bother trying to question Nagol through our thoughts as we headed upstairs. Probably still needs time to get used to not having his parents. When we walked into their room, Cody was sitting on his bed, a laptop closed by the foot of it. He had a new book open, his gaze only rising from the pages after several long seconds. At first, he looked genuinely bored and was returning his attention to his book, but then his head snapped back up and his eyes shone as they landed on me. He slid from his bed and quickly made his way over to me before sitting down and leaning back against Miguel’s bed. I stepped forward, allowing my head to rest on his shoulder and received steady, rhythmic pets for it. After a few moments, I heard two sets of footsteps leave the room and laid down against Cody, facing the door. I figured Miguel and Nagol were going outside to play ball or help with the younger kids downstairs. Either way, I let my head rest on the floor and perked my ears up to listen as Cody began reading out loud from the spot he’d left off at in his book.

Sleepover

Nagol

Sitting outside on the wet swings, I carefully kicked my feet out to steadily gain some height. Since I had volunteered at the orphanage several times over the years I was used to the awkwardly small swings. Miguel swung beside me, neither of us going as high as we could but instead settling for an even, content height and speed that was easy to keep up without much effort.

“Um. Thanks for bringing Kine back today,” Miguel finally said, a small smile ghosting onto his lips as he spoke.

“No problem. He’s a great dog.”

That changed Miguel’s tiny smile into one that was full-on beaming.

“He is! I’m so glad you got him. I was worried someone might not want to deal with his specific attitude.”

I smirked at that, raising a brow and getting a quiet laugh in response.

“He definitely has an attitude, but I wouldn’t change it for anything.”

Miguel nodded and we swung in silence for another ten minutes or so before I said something that completely shocked myself.

“Hey, Miguel? I know this place does sleepovers, to get kids out of the orphanage for a night or sometimes a weekend.”

I fidgeted, really not sure what the hell I was doing.

“I-I mean, I know Kine would love to have you to hang out with, I’m sure.”

The excited spark in his previously calm eyes warmed my heart, but his response was anything but what I had figured I’d hear.

“Actually. I mean uh, thank you so much for asking…”

His gaze rose to where their room was on the second floor and he blinked several times. It looked like he was trying to keep from crying. I waited patiently, not wanting to rush him when he was obviously stressed.

“Thank you for asking but—” He turned his head and our eyes met. “—can you please take Cody? If only for a night.”

I was just opening my mouth to reply when he quickly cut me off and began talking way too fast. “Please. He’s been here for so long. No one knows how to interact with him and finally Kine came and he’s actually showing some of his true self! He’s been in his own room for years, too, because the kids are afraid of him because he hardly ever talks. Please, I-I already had so much, and even though I lost it, I don’t think it’s fair to accept when my new friend would benefit much more from it.”

Wow. I bet you don’t even know how mature you sound right now.

While I wanted to respond right away before he began talking again after he caught his breath, I had to really think about it. Not that I was worried about taking Cody for the night. The kid was quiet and I honestly had a feeling that he was smart as hell but just awkward in social situations. What made me stop and think through the situation was the scary idea that I had come up with where both kids came home with us for the night. Taking in a deep, steadying breath, I leaned back, my hands grasping the cold chains on either side of me so that I didn’t slip from the swing. I then blew out a sigh and straightened back to my normal stature.

“I think I’ve got an idea,” I said, drawing his attention to me right as I turned to look at him.

After another twenty minutes of swinging, we headed inside and up to Miguel and Cody’s room. As soon as we stepped inside, Cody became silent, though we had definitely heard him reading to Kine on our way up the stairs. I offered him a small smile and he returned it awkwardly. Kine got to his feet and shook out his coat, then stretched and yawned. I reached a hand down and tapped his head a few times before glancing at Miguel. He grinned and nodded, making me lick my lips nervously and look back down at Cody.

“Hey, Cody, I wanted to ask you something if that’s okay?”

The kid’s eyes widened in surprise, and he reached out to delve his fingers into Kine’s coat after he sat down on his haunches. Doubt the kid even knows he reached for Kine like a security blanket.

“Yes…?” he whispered, voice barely audible.

“Miguel is going to be coming home with Kine and I tonight to get a break from this place. If you’d like, we’d both like it if you decided to come as well.”

If the kid had looked surprised before, he looked absolutely flabbergasted then.

“I can?”

My brow furrowed at his question, the tone of his voice utterly confused.

Oh, wait a second. He’s asking if he can actually go.

“Of course you can. Kine’s really picky with who he spends time with and considering he’s been up here with you the whole time Miguel and I have been outside, I think he’s decided he wants you to come visit.”

He looked from me to Miguel several times before slowly nodding and standing up. That’s where he seemed to get lost. I was going to ask him why he wasn’t packing a bag so that we could go when Miguel stepped forward and took his hand, then tugged him over to the one dresser they evidently shared.

“Go grab your backpack, Cody,” Miguel said as he pulled his own over to where he knelt and began shoving a change of clothing into it.

When Cody returned with the most unused backpack I’d ever seen, Miguel helped him pick things out. That’s where Miguel’s help ended, though, as Cody was very particular about refolding his clothing and placing them in a particular order in the backpack. Once both boys were finished, Miguel tugged Cody into the bathroom down the hall, which they shared with all the other boys, and returned with toothbrushes that had their names written on them in Sharpie marker. Miguel’s looked like it was newly written, but Cody’s had faded nearly beyond recognition. After adding them to their backpacks, the boys stood before us, Miguel smiling and Cody looking down at his feet.

“Alright, let’s get this show on the road, hm?”

Miguel nodded and followed me out, both of us taking the stairs together while Cody and Kine took their time behind us. By the time I had them both signed out at the front desk, Cody and Kine were with us. I gave Cody a smile and held the door for the boys and Kine as we left. While I got the kid’s bags loaded in the trunk, they helped Kine into the car and then got in themselves. To my surprise, Cody and Miguel were both in the back, leaving Kine to sit up front. As I slid into the driver’s seat, I was going to ask if one of them wanted to ride up front, because I remember it being a coveted spot when I was a kid, but then I noticed their clasped hands in the middle seat. Cody’s hand was shaking and Miguel was gently rubbing his thumb over it soothingly.

I’ll leave them be.

I got the car onto the road and drove a little slower than normal in order to keep Cody from worrying any further. When we got to the apartment, I let Kine come out of my side and walked around to the trunk to get the kids’ backpacks. Miguel leisurely took his before heading upstairs but Cody seemed much more tense when he took his, then hugged it to his chest. I headed up the stairs ahead of him, letting Kine tend to Cody so that I could unlock the door for Miguel.

Flipping the switch once the door was open, the lights flicked on and we all stepped inside with Miguel shutting and locking the door. I was halfway to the kitchen with the intent to make dinner when I realized that I was tired as hell and didn’t want to cook a damn thing.

Turning on my heels, I clasped my hands together and looked at both boys. “So, how does pizza sound?”

Miguel smiled immediately, but I didn’t get much of a reaction from Cody. Not even a shrug. Thankfully Miguel was here and understood how to handle the other boy. He turned to him and began spouting off different topping possibilities that Cody either nodded to or shook his head against. When they seemed to have decided, Miguel turned back to face me. “Can we get pineapple, ham, and mushrooms please?”

“Of course. Do you guys want that all on one or split with pineapple and ham on one and mushrooms on another?”

Miguel looked uncertain for a moment, then asked, “Do they split it on the same pizza? I think I’ve seen it done where they split the toppings if you ask?”

I nodded, remembering that they do indeed do that.

“Okay, half pineapple and ham and half mushroom it is.”

After dialing the number I left on my fridge for the local pizza place, I ordered the boys’ pizza and then got two with pepperoni for Kine and I. While we waited for the delivery, I gave the kids a short tour as Kine padded behind us. When we got to the bathroom, I had to think on my feet about the scratcher fastened to the shower wall, or at least take the hint from Kine as he ran himself along it a few times.

“It’s for him. He refused to let me brush him and was shedding everywhere, so I actually built that after he tried using a smaller one at the pet store. Don’t ask me how I did it, though, I was kind of in a daze because my huge wolf dog was acting like a kitten.”

Miguel laughed and Kine rolled his eyes before I finished the tour with the kids’ bedroom, which was the guest room with new sheets and blankets. The bed was huge compared to the cots they had at the orphanage, and they immediately realized that they would be sharing, which didn’t seem to bother either, considering Miguel did a running jump up onto it and Cody actually followed, albeit at a much slower speed. He pressed against the soft blankets, testing the mattress at the same time.

“I’ve got some dishes to do, but you guys are free to do what you want here, watch some TV in the living room, play video games, or really do whatever. Just don’t start fighting and we’ll be good.”

Miguel chuckled and Cody actually cracked a small smile before I ducked out of the room and left them to their devices. When the doorbell rang about twenty minutes later, I answered it and paid the guy, tipping a good bit since he looked really tired and could probably use the money. When I turned back around with the three boxes balanced on one hand, three sets of hungry eyes were staring at me. Kine was standing right in the middle of the living room entrance while the boys peeked around the corner from the hall.

“Come on, you hungry dogs. Food time!” I sang with a laugh, drawing everyone to the table as I flipped the first two boxes open once they were set down. Miguel took a big slice of the ham and pineapple while Cody dug into the mushroom, both of them groaning in delight from the flavor. While they ate, I tossed Kine a few slices, noting that Miguel was watching with a slight frown.

“He refuses to eat kibble and barely eats vegetables so it’s basically been cooked meat since I’ve had him… and whatever the bastard could steal from my plate. Which has been more than I want to admit.”

He relaxed a bit, reaching for another slice.

“Don’t worry. He doesn’t get stuff this greasy normally. I tend to eat pretty healthy. If he gets sick tonight, I’ll know that there’s no more pizza in his future.”

He nodded, moving in for a third slice, this time of mushroom. That’s when I noticed that Cody had taken a pineapple and ham slice. I didn’t know why I thought about it for more than a second, but I was glad that they could share their different pizzas without a fuss. As everyone settled down to eat quietly, I finally got my own food and began to chow down on pepperoni. After a few slices, I would toss Kine one, both of us eventually finishing the first pizza before starting the second one. By the time everyone was done eating, the boys had finished their entire pizza and there was only two slices left of the two pepperoni pizzas.

I was going to suggest that we all watch a movie or play some video games, but then Miguel spoke before I could. “You look exhausted. If you want, we can entertain ourselves while you get some sleep?”

Sweet kid.

“Are you sure? I’m used to staying up,” I tried, wanting to make sure they wouldn’t be upset. I was the one who invited them over, after all. I should be making them feel at home.

“Yeah, it’s totally fine. We can watch TV or play some games. I think Cody also packed his book so he might read later.”

He had a point, but as I glanced at Cody’s suddenly worried face, I wasn’t really sure what to think. Eventually my sleepiness got the best of me and I nodded with a smile, telling them good night before trudging toward the bathroom with Kine on my heels.

“He usually sleeps in my room but might come out randomly. If you guys need anything, don’t hesitate to wake me up.”

They both nodded and wished me a good night. I grinned sleepily as I ducked into the bathroom and Kine followed me in, shifting before turning and locking the door.

Pages

Nagol

“Hey, baby,” I whispered against Kine’s hair as we got in the shower and wrapped our arms around each other.

He licked at the crook of my neck for a few moments before answering with a big, sleepy smile. “Hey.”

I could tell that he was already half asleep, which honestly just made him that much more adorable. Since he was so sluggish just reaching for the bodywash, I snagged the bottle before he could get it and poured a good amount into my hand then rubbed it together with my other.

“Can I?” I asked, still intent on whispering so that the boys didn’t think someone else was in here or that I was talking to myself.

Kine leaned back against my chest, giving me all the answer I needed. As much as I wanted to explore his body with my hands and then maybe do a little more, I knew that we likely wouldn’t be able to be quiet enough… or be able to stop. Thus, I contented myself with just washing— And maybe a tiny bit of squeezing when it came to his backside.

“Hey, Nagol?” Kine asked as he ducked under the water to rinse off his body.

“Yeah?”

“I think something’s wrong with Cody. Not like his awkwardness with people. There’s something else that I think is bugging him.”

I had that feeling too, but there wasn’t much we could do about it unless the kid wanted to talk.

“I don’t think he’ll say anything,” I replied, getting a nod right away from Kine.

“Maybe he’ll tell Miguel,” Kine mumbled as he stepped out of the shower and began drying off.

“I hope so,” I replied before copying him and then wrapping the towel around my waist before he handed me his own so that he could shift.

I’m sorry that you have to stay in your wolf form, Kine.

I should have thought about that before inviting the boys over, but it didn’t seem like he minded too much.

It’s okay. I’m actually glad.

His head lifted so that we could look each other in the eyes.

Um, also, if you don’t mind…

You want to go stay with them tonight?

I asked with a grin. His eyes immediately began to shine with an eagerness I rarely saw in him.

Go ahead. I’m sure they’d love to have you with them. Just don’t stay up too late, we might get called in tomorrow night and we have to bring them back, too.

He gave a quiet woof, and I chuckled, opening the door. Kine quickly padded out, tromping over to where I assumed the kids were on the sofa because I soon heard their disgruntled yells and the obvious sound of a dog shaking off.

Oh you evil wolf.

My lips stretched into a grin as I headed for the stairs, calling over my shoulder before heading up. “He wants to hang with you guys tonight! If he gets to be a pain, just toss him in my room.”

I got one loud “Okay!” and another much quieter one before I reached the second floor. After tossing my towel and pulling on a pair of boxers and pajama pants, I hit the bed hard, passing out in seconds.

…ol?

Nagol?

I groaned and rolled over, trying to ignore the voice in my head.

Nagol!

Startled, I jerked upright and looked around in confusion. No one was there.

Kine? I tried, hoping to get him through our bond.

Finally. You sleep like a damn cat.

I let his jab go and instead rubbed my hands over my face and yawned while replying. What’s going on?

I found out why Cody was acting odd. Do you have a book in your room?

Glancing over at my nightstand, I noted several books that I had been picking at once in awhile.

Yeah. I’ve got a few. Does it matter what kind? They’re mostly fantasy, adventure, and whatnot.

Those are perfect. Grab the most child-friendly one and come downstairs acting as if you were sitting in bed reading it.

Child friendly? Really? Rolling my eyes, I grabbed one of the books and slid out of bed. After checking that my pants hadn’t slid down or anything while I slept, I walked out the door slowly and headed downstairs. I wanted to hurry, but I knew that it would seem weird if he heard my footsteps rushing. So, as I carefully maneuvered down the stairs, I glanced at the back part of the book to refresh myself on the general storyline, just in case he asked if I was really reading at… whatever time it was right then.

Walk past the room and go get something from the kitchen, Kine’s thoughts suddenly instructed. I wasn’t about to argue. Instead of walking into the room, I did as told and made my way into the kitchen and began rummaging around. Now that I was actually in the fridge, a peanut butter and jelly sandwich was calling my name. There was even some freshly ground peanut butter from the supermarket behind the gallon of milk. Sneaky little peanut butter.

Trying to hide from me! I snatched up the container, then grabbed the jelly before turning to set it on the counter and retrieve two slices of bread.

By the time I had the ingredients put away and was shutting the fridge, I felt eyes on me. Allowing the door to shut, I turned and smiled when I saw Kine standing next to a very nervous-looking Cody. The boy’s hair was a complete mess, telling me that he had likely been asleep, or at least trying to.

“Hey, Cody.”

While waiting for a response, I noticed his fingers tightly grasping Kine’s left ear. His hand was shaking slightly, making me return my gaze to his to try to read something in his eyes. To my surprise, he wasn’t looking at me. Or really, not directly. My eyes followed his gaze down to the book I’d just grabbed again, then back up as I held it up.

“I’ve been reading for a bit and actually just finished it. Wanna read?”

His entire demeanor lit up with excitement and his lips even stretched into a wide, relieved smile as he nodded. “Please!”

I walked over, handing him the book. He flipped it open and began reading, devouring the first several pages before beginning to relax. Since he seemed to be okay then, I turned and walked back toward my sandwich, then glanced over my shoulder.

“Want a PB&J?”

He didn’t look up from the book but did nod, then added a quiet “Please.”

Even though he couldn’t see it, I nodded back and smiled before getting the peanut butter and jelly back out and getting busy.

He forgot the book he’d been reading at the orphanage. I think that’s something he needs to feel secure, Kine said into my mind as I worked.

I have a couple more up in my room so if he needs any, just let me know.

I thought to him a s I put away the ingredients again. I then grabbed both of the plates with sandwiches on them and handed one to Cody, then took mine to set down on the coffee table in the living room before going back to get cups of milk. I wasn’t sure if he wanted it, but when I set his cup down, he walked over to the table and immediately reached out to chug half of it.

Milk always wins with peanut butter and jelly.

We sat in silence for a long while. Neither of us bothering with the TV or with words. We just nibbled at our sandwiches, enjoying the silence. When they were gone, however, I couldn’t believe what began to happen. It was extremely gradual, but after nearly forty-five minutes of him quietly reading and me just relaxing, he actually spoke.

“I like this protagonist.”

It was a very simple statement, but I knew that because it came from Cody, it was a whole lot more.

“He’s great. Everything he does is for a very specific reason, and I love that the author usually cues you in on his reasons for each decision as he’s making them without making it too obvious.”

I saw his eyes widen ever so slightly and he gave me a nod. We were quiet for another few minutes before he spoke again.

“The way he breaks into the castle is genius.”

Grinning, I turned a little on the sofa and replied, “It is. Did you catch the part the author tried to sneak in?”

Cody immediately flipped back a few pages, scouring three of them twice before his mouth dropped open and he looked up at me.

“I can’t believe it!”

I laughed at his quiet shout, both of us knowing to be quiet because Miguel was still asleep.

“Read the next ten pages, I bet you’ll be even more surprised.”

He did what I suggested right away, and not ten minutes later, he was smirking like the Cheshire Cat. We ended up discussing that part for a short time before he continued. The next hour consisted of him reading, Kine sleeping at our feet, and both of us discussing small parts of the book with a few simple sentences. By the time my eyelids began to get heavy I had Cody resting his head against my shoulder, desperately trying to finish the chapter he was reading before falling asleep. I waited until he was completely out, then waited another ten minutes before gently scooping him up into my arms and carrying him to bed. I then went back and got the book, placing it next to him on the pillow before stepping out and shutting the door until just a smidgen of light could peek in.

A quiet sigh of relief left my lips as I turned toward the kitchen to turn off the lights. Kine stood in the entrance to the hall, tail wagging slowly. I gave him a tired smile and we both went around to each room and turned off the remaining lights, then headed upstairs. He curled up in my bed this time and I wrapped my arms around his fluffy wolf and tugged him to my chest, pressing a soft kiss against his fur before allowing myself to drift off.

A What?

Kine

Waking up to a belly rub was pretty darn nice. When it turned into scratches, I couldn’t help but kick my foot and give a quiet whine.

“Good morning to you, too. Sleep well?”

I blinked my eyes open halfway to see Nagol leaning over me a little. He had a content smile on his face, but I could also see some shadows under his eyes.

Are you tired? I can go check on the boys, I offered.

“Nah. It’s okay. I actually spent some time with Cody after you fell asleep instead of dozing on the sofa. I didn’t really pay much attention to the clock.”

You guys must have talked for awhile, though I don’t remember how long I slept at your feet.

“Actually, no. We barely spoke at all, but man. That kid is really… interesting.”

I tilted my head, silently questioning his words.

I see. I knew he was more than he appeared.

“I think as long as he has a book with him, he’ll be more comfortable interacting.”

Yeah. I figured he needed a book because he kept looking at his hands and making gestures with his thumb that avid readers do when flipping pages.

“Makes sense. Well, today’s another day.”

I fidgeted and rolled over, suddenly not feeling that great.

“Don’t worry. I’ll be here, babe. No matter when Tanner or Tawny come.”

His reassurance made me feel a little better, but now I was worried for a different reason. I didn’t think either of them would go after the kids for any reason, but I was worried about them watching their new doggy friend die.

“Don’t worry. The kids won’t see whatever happens.”

I nodded, then got up and stretched, flicking my tail over my back like a husky before hopping off the bed and shaking out my coat.

“I don’t hear them moving at all downstairs, but just in case, I’m going to start talking to your thoughts.” Nagol said.

Roger.

I replied.

Once we were downstairs in the bathroom, I quickly shifted and relieved myself, then shifted back to my wolf form and hopped into the shower. Nagol walked in right after and got the shower going for me, but then straightened back up.

“I’m going to go get breakfast started since we already showered last night. I’ll just wash my hair later tonight so you enjoy the scratcher for however long you’d like.”

Don’t mind if I do, I thought to myself as I began to do just that. After being in my wolf form for so long, my fur was beginning to mat so it felt really good to brush most of it out. It was a few minutes later that I heard the door creak open a bit more and then slip closed. I thought it was going to be Nagol, but when I looked, I saw Miguel instead.

“Hey, boy. Did Nagol leave you in here all alone?”

I stepped back a little when he slid the large shower door to the side to look.

“Ah, he’s giving you some time with your scratcher.”

He smiled and turned, doing his business since he obviously came in because he had to go. I ignored it since it was perfectly normal. Well, maybe not to do it in front of someone else, but I was a dog right then, so woof. When he was done, I was a bit surprised to see him tug off his clothing and step into the shower in front of me. It was plenty big enough, though, so I just continued to try to work out the mats against the scratcher as Miguel started washing himself.

“Nagol’s making bacon, sausage, ham, eggs, and god knows what else. I bet you’re eager to get the meat, huh, boy?” he said as he scrubbed at his hair, then ducked under the water to rinse. I gave a quiet grunt in response, quite looking forward to that array of food.

“Hey, Kine?”

Turning, I looked up at Miguel, only to see his lower lip begin to shake.

I had a feeling he would be upset about your parents still. You’re good at hiding it, kid… now give me a hug already,

I thought to myself. He did just that. Dropping down to the shower floor, he stared at me for half a second before lunging forward for a tight hug. It felt good. More than good, in all honesty. I lost myself in the emotions as my arms came around his back and tugged him to my chest, wanting to comfort him.

“Hey, boy, ready to get out?”

My mind didn’t process what Nagol had said until he pulled back the shower door that Miguel had slid shut and was staring down at us in shock. That’s when I also registered that I was no longer a big fluffy dog, but a naked human.

“Miguel? Is everything okay?” Nagol asked as we carefully unwrapped our arms from around each other and just… stared. Well, I stared because he was staring, but I didn’t blame him for it.

“Kine?” Miguel questioned in a nearly mute voice.

Pursing my lips, I licked them, then slowly nodded. I wasn’t exactly worried that he had found out that I was a werewolf, or really, more logically speaking, a wolf shapeshifter, but I was worried that he would be afraid. Shapeshifters didn’t always have the best reputation, and hell if I wasn’t the best example back at my old pack.

“A-Are you really a… a…”

That had me grinning. Not the stuttering, per se, but the hesitant smile he was beginning to show.

“Yeah. I’m really a… a… shapeshifter.”

He looked over his shoulder at Nagol suddenly, eyes brimming with curiosity. Both Nagol and I shared a look, then I shrugged and nodded. After another moment, we had a large black jaguar standing in the shower, the tip of its long tail swishing with interest.

“Oh my god! You’re so cool!” Miguel shouted as he reached forward and hugged Nagol where he stood beneath the warm spray from the showerhead. When Miguel leaned back he got a good licking, laughing as Nagol’s cat got busy cleaning his face and hair as it rumbled a loud purr.

“Alright, well, you two have fun in here. I’m gonna go make sure our bacon doesn’t burn,” I said as I got up and out of the shower. As I was drying off a thought came to my mind, making me turn and look at Miguel.

“Is Cody going to freak when I tell him?”

His smile faded, then came back at a lower wattage.

“I’m not really sure. He seems to take everything in stride as long as he has a book with him, so I think he might be okay. He won’t tell anyone either way, so that part isn’t really an issue.”

I nodded, not really worried about him telling anyway. Shapeshifters were a known species, just tended to keep to themselves. It was easier that way for everyone. Stepping out of the room once I dried off and got the towel around my waist, I walked right for the kitchen where I heard Cody getting something down from a cupboard.

Here goes nothing.

When I walked in, he first looked surprised and a bit confused. Which made sense considering I was a random nearly naked dude standing in the kitchen of the guy who brought him home, but was never introduced as anything but a fluffy big dog.

“Hey, Cody,” I said as I got everything off the burners, then walked back a few feet, extending a hand I wasn’t sure he’d actually take. When he just remained where he stood, clutching his book tight in one hand and a cup in the other, I gave a quiet sigh and straightened my back a bit more.

Okay, let’s try this then…

“I really liked the last chapter you read to me at the orphanage, when Marzan slayed the dragon on the hill just outside the kingdom of Navaria. Your thoughts on that part were actually just as interesting as the actual story.”

His eyes went wide, mouth dropping open. I felt a faint blush creep onto my cheeks and nibbled at my lower lip, waiting for a response. The one I got, of course, wasn’t what I had expected.

Not. At. All.

Before me stood Cody. Just two and a half feet shorter. Hunched. The book he’d been holding gripped like a vise between his sharp teeth. Everything about him screamed terror. His eyes were dilated, the whites showing and the pupils contorted in size. He was also shaking. So badly, in fact, that he was barely managing to stay steady on his paws. Thankfully he had at least set the cup down on the counter before he’d changed. I knew that approaching a scared wolf, even a young one, could end very badly, though, so I just stayed still, watching.

Nagol?

He took a moment to reply, then sounded quite happy when he did so. Yeah? How’d it go?

Is he brushing out your coat…? I asked with a mental eye roll.

Hell yes!

D. O. R. K, I spelled out to him before continuing. I told him… and now we have a little terrified pup shaking in the kitchen.

What!

His shout made me wince, but I quickly spoke again to make sure he didn’t react incorrectly. Don’t come out here. Keep Miguel in there too. I need to deal with Cody.

Err, okay. Just be careful, alright?

Of course.

Returning my focus to Cody, I noted that he had calmed a tiny bit and gave him a closemouthed smile. “It’s okay, buddy. I’m a wolf too, no one’s going to hurt you here.”

His ears were pinned back with unease, and he looked anywhere but at me. Heck, he looked so uncomfortable I thought he might just start crying or at least try to hide in one of the cabinets behind him. But to my surprise, again, he shifted right there on the floor. The boxers he’d slept in hadn’t been torn since his wolf wasn’t very big, so they remained generally around his waist as his body reformed and his hands reached up to grab the book from his mouth.

“You have a very handsome wolf.”

His eyes narrowed and he slowly stood, taking a step back, but when I just smiled, his demeanor relaxed a little.

“Well, it’s nice to finally get to talk to you, but I’m starving. So let’s get to know each other later, hm?”

Without waiting for any kind of verbal response, since I figured I wouldn’t be getting any, I got busy loading up four dishes with all the meats Miguel had mentioned, plus two pancakes each. When I was finally done portioning out the food, I turned and was surprised to see Cody a little closer, holding Nagol’s book in an awkward hug against his chest. He wasn’t fooling me, though.

“Here, bud. Your eyes are telling me that you’re starving. Eat up,” I said as I offered him a plate.

To my relief, he only hesitated for a moment before moving the book to one hand and then grabbing the plate with a hushed “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome, Cody.”

When he disappeared around the corner to go to the table and eat, Nagol and Miguel appeared. Both of them were now dressed and grinning like fools.

“Breakfast for the dorks,” I said as my own smile matched theirs.

Once we all had our plates, I carried cups, and Nagol held the gallon of orange juice, we all walked toward the dining area to join Cody after I slid on a pair of shorts that Nagol had brought for me. Before we were in view, though, I decided to shout to him, “By the way, Cody. Nagol is a jaguar!”

I got a groan in response and everyone else snickered.

Balance

Kine

Breakfast was delicious and quite fulfilling now that I didn’t have to pretend to be a dog and only eat a certain amount of human food. I wolfed down a good pound or two of food before leaning back in my chair with a loud belch.

“Nice,” Miguel said with a snicker.

I smirked at him, then glanced over at Cody. He was reading as he picked at his food, but I wasn’t upset about him ignoring us. Heck, whatever made him able to cope, he could do, short of hurting himself or others.

“So… I think today would be a good day to get to know you guys,” I said, looking up at Nagol with an obvious look.

“Yeah, I agree. Miguel, wanna go hang out while Kine and Cody chill for a bit?”

We all knew why Nagol made the offer to hang out with Miguel… so that I could work with Cody’s wolf. Thankfully Miguel eagerly hopped up, nodding as Nagol stood and motioned for him to follow him to the living room.

“Let’s see how good you are at Mario Kart, hm?”

Miguel laughed and ran over to the television to grab a controller and get ready to beat Nagol. I grinned, then turned my attention to Cody. I caught him right before his eyes moved from his friend back down to his book. They were wide and slightly dilated, no doubt from worry.

“Hey, can we go upstairs and talk for a bit?” I asked him, unsure of what he would answer. When he shrugged and began to get up, I gave a quiet sigh of relief and stood as well, leaving the dishes at the table to be cleaned up later. I let Cody take his time and ran ahead to make the bed and clean up any dirty clothing lying about. And by clean up, I mean just throw the dirty clothes into the closet and shut the door. By the time Cody was stepping into the room, I had it decently clean and was sitting patiently on the bed.

“Hey. So let’s talk about that pup I met downstairs.”

I knew I was rushing the conversation a bit, but I needed to know why he had reacted so negatively to another wolf, even though I hadn’t forced him to show me his. He should have been excited to see a possible new pack member, but he acted like I might try to kill him where he stood, yet also a tiny bit hopeful, considering he had shifted. The look he was giving me now also wasn’t very favorable, but since he wasn’t turning around and running yet, I was going to chalk it up as a positive.

“I-I don’t w-want to talk about i-it,” he finally stuttered quietly as he held his book with a white-knuckled grip in both hands.

Hmm.

That left me in a predicament. I wanted to know why he reacted as he did, but it was crystal clear that at least a good portion of that reaction was from a past he didn’t wish to explain.

Well, I can accept that. If there’s one person who can understand not wanting their past dug up, it’s me.

“Alright.”

His head jerked back in surprise, eyes widening.

“A-alright?” he asked, confused and wary.

Shrugging my shoulders, I nodded and flopped back on the bed after taking a deep breath and blowing it out calmly. “Yup. That’s it.”

When he didn’t speak for several minutes, I knew he was thinking. I heard the pages of the book he held turn a few times as well, but then, to my surprise, Cody walked over to the edge of the bed and awkwardly climbed in. He stayed on the corner, barely on the bed enough to not slip off. I gave him a small smile of encouragement, then shifted into my wolf form and stretched after kicking off my shorts, turning my back on him. I thought it might help relax him to know that I wasn’t watching, and after another minute, it seemed to have worked, because the bed depressed a little closer.

“Um…”

I thumped my tail against the blanket a few times in response.

“It, um. I don’t. My wolf doesn’t…” Cody mumbled, panic starting to become evident with his stuttering. I rolled over but didn’t sit up or really focus on his face that much, though I could feel his eyes on me.

“It um, c-can you… would you maybe— um.”

Huffing, I sat up, making him startle. Since he didn’t slide off the bed, though, I pushed a bit further. Lifting a paw, I smacked his knee playfully, just like a pup who wanted attention. The reaction I got was quite honestly the most adorable thing I’ve ever seen. He was suddenly a wolf again, but obviously had not been such for a very long time… at least not walking as one. He tried to pounce on where my paw slipped, but he was so close to the edge of the bed that his back legs slipped off with the sudden action, sending his front paws scrambling to try to keep him up, but it was inevitable. An abrupt thump sounded as his wolf hit the carpeted floor.

I quickly crawled to the edge of the bed and looked down, wondering if he was okay. When I didn’t see him but felt a hard yank on my tail, I yipped and whirled around. Cody was just hopping onto the bed, my tail slipping from his jaws as he did so.

Oh you little…

Without thinking, I leaped. I expected to land on my target and easily pin him, but Cody was full of surprises. He dodged, albeit sloppily, and stumbled into one of Nagol’s large pillows. I wasted no time in pouncing a second time. Pinning him this time was easy, but when I leaned in to start licking at his face, I noticed that his lips were pulled back and he was snarling a warning at me. I backed off immediately, then laid down.

He got to his feet, balance shaky on the soft pillow. When I didn’t reciprocate his aggression, he settled down after a few deep breaths. Another minute passed before his tail swished slightly, then he leaned over to give my nose a curious lick. I slowly lifted my right paw and bopped his nose gently, making him shake his head and huff.

I’m not here to hurt you, sweetheart,

I thought to myself. M y chest swelled with something I couldn’t recognize as I looked at his careful wolf. It padded around on the blankets and pillows, nipping and pawing at my much larger wolf. It was funny, and cute, and… I shifted abruptly, spooking him a tiny bit, but not enough for him to start fighting. After pulling on a pair of shorts, I scooped him into my arms for a quick hug, then placed a light kiss on top of his muzzle before he squirmed away with a grumble. His wolf was easily small enough to cuddle, and I doubted it would get much bigger, but he obviously wasn’t interested in that kind of attention. Whether his oddly small size was because of the past he didn’t want to discuss, a nutrition issue from the orphanage, or just genetic, I wasn’t going to question him about it.

“Hey, Cody?”

His fuzzy head lifted, ears perked and head tilted slightly as he sat facing me near the foot of the bed.

“I have a past I’d like to never talk about too, so I understand. I’m sure our histories are very different, but leaving the past in the past is something I’m more than happy to do.”

His ears flattened, but when he only stumbled closer and accepted a pat to his head, I knew he was relieved at my words. I ran my fingers through his soft fur and got a stressed whine in response, followed by several nudges from his muzzle.

“You’re a sweetheart, aren’t you? Such a pretty wolf, too.”

His tail thumped against the bed once as he licked my chin.

“I’m going to guess that you haven’t changed into your wolf for a long time. Maybe even the entire time you’ve been at the orphanage.”

I paused when he flinched, then whined.

“It’s okay, Cody. For some reason, being a wolf has caused you stress in the past, however, if you feel like you want to start shifting again, to give your wolf another chance, I’m here for you. We can leave our pasts in the past, and perhaps work on what we want for the future?”

When he changed back into his human form and hugged me, I swear I got some dust in my eye or something, because tears began to overflow and run down my cheeks.

“I-I didn’t hurt a-anyone. Th-they just didn’t w-want me,” he hiccupped against my bare shoulder as I rubbed his back, glad that once again, he hadn’t torn his boxers when he’d shifted.

I did hurt someone.

I thought to myself with a frown.

“It’s okay, Cody. I believe you.”

He whined, his wolf’s sound coming through his human mouth.

“I-I promise,” he added, making me nod and press a kiss to his messy hair.

“It’s all in the past now. You’re in control of what you want to do, Cody. Who you are. Whatever happened in the past will stay there. Now is your chance to move forward from it.”

He nodded, sniffling.

“I want t-to learn h-how to be me again. I want my wolf t-to be able t-to come out, but I’m scared I-I might be left again b-because of him.”

My heart swelled and something akin to pride settled in it as I squeezed his shoulder and smiled. Normally what I was about to say wouldn’t happen nearly so fast, but after seeing the look in Nagol’s eyes before we separated the boys, I knew what he wanted and now agreed whole-heartedly. The human orphanage was no place for a trouble wolf pup to grow up.

“Nagol and I would be more than happy to help you in any way possible, and we would never leave you because of your wolf… but there’s something I need to ask you before we decide on what to do to help you work with your pup.”

He blinked, wiping at his nose with his arm before giving me a slight nod.

“I need to know if you would like to call me your dad.”

Unwelcome

Nagol

We’d been playing for about ten minutes when we heard something thunk to the floor upstairs. It had both of us glancing up at the ceiling, our karts sliding off the road with the distraction. We stayed staring at the ceiling for another moment before looking at each other.

“I don’t hear any screams for help,” I said with a raised brow.

Some sort of skirmishing sound was heard, then Miguel grinned. “I think they’re fine.”

Nodding, I looked back at the screen to see that we had both lost and taken the last two places.

“Oops,” I mumbled, working to set the next round up. We played for another thirty minutes, and he beat me five out of the six races.

“Darn, kid, you’re pretty good.”

He snickered and I grinned, nudging him with my elbow when the next race began. It made him miss the start and he grumbled about it the entire three laps… then beat me anyway.

“Darn it. Even cheating, I can’t beat you more than once,” I huffed. He laughed and we raced again. I was about to get first for once when a banana materialized in front of my kart right next to the finish line, making it spin out and dropping me to fourth. My lips pursed to keep from letting a curse accidentally slip. I was always so good at playing this against the computer, but throw a kid in the mix and I was suddenly hitting third and fourth regularly.

“Uh, hey, Nagol?”

Turning my attention away from the TV, I looked at Miguel and replied, “Yeah?”

“Um, did you know Kine was a shapeshifter when you adopted him?”

Ah, figured he’d ask that.

“Yes, I already knew what he was.”

“Okay. Did you know him before that?”

I nodded, thinking to myself about how much I was going to tell him if he asked. “Yes, a little bit.”

He nodded, then looked back at the game before talking again.

“Did you guys separate us to be able to ask if you could adopt one of us?”

His words made my heartbeat speed up suddenly, especially because he didn’t mention us just trying to adopt him. He knew that Cody was just as good an adoptable kid as he was. Leaning back against the sofa, I licked my lips nervously and shrugged one shoulder right as Kine’s voice sounded in my head.

This Cody is mine. No can has, I’m keepin’ him.

His joking tone made me grin. I had no problem adopting Cody if Kine was able to understand and interact with him well.

“Kind of. We both wanted a chance to get to know you guys a little more, and Kine really wanted to check on Cody’s wolf. We kind of just reacted to each other at the table, and that’s how we ended up splitting you guys up.”

He glanced down at his hands, still holding the controller, then back up at me.

“I’m sure you’re curious about the outcome of this, and I’m pretty sure I already know at least half of the result. Kine just told me that Cody belonged to him, and I, in his own words; No can has. I had a feeling he’d want to adopt him, as a human orphanage isn’t the best place for a growing shapeshifter. Especially a pack-oriented one like a wolf.”

Miguel cracked up, his smile wide as he laughed, then sniffled and began to cry.

Ah, crap. Tears.

I tugged him into my arms after setting the controller aside and began to rub his back.

“What’s wrong, Miguel?”

Kine, I don’t know why but he was laughing, then suddenly started crying after I told him you wanted Cody. What the hell am I supposed to do?

I heard him laughing at me mentally and I really wanted to run up the stairs and push him off the bed. However, I was stuck with Miguel in my lap and tears I didn’t know how to handle running down his cheeks.

You’re hopeless. Just tell him the truth.

“Um, u-uh, hey, Miguel?”

His head lifted, eyes meeting mine. I could see a myriad of emotions in them, relieved that he wasn’t just upset.

“Kine told me that he asked Cody if he could officially adopt him.”

Miguel’s smile widened at the same time his tear production nearly doubled .

“So, well. I wanted to ask if you’d like to give me a shot as a dad, too. Though it is kinda early and we don’t really uh, know much about each other yet. I guess Kine and I just suck at waiting for things to happen…”

After volunteering at the orphanage for so long, I wasn’t really sure why I hadn’t thought about adopting sooner though. Of course, my job was probably one reason, what with its odd hours, but now that I had Kine in my life, I couldn’t see any reason to hold back since we’d both found a kid we were interested in adding to our new family. It was perhaps a bit fast, but adoption wasn’t permanent if the child didn’t wish it to be. We could give it a shot with both of them, then see how it went. When I realized that he hadn’t answered yet, I tilted my head, watching his expression slowly go blank, then change to worry, then faint hope.

“You… want us? Both of us?”

I was opening my mouth to answer yes, but then his slight smile turned down into a frown as he leaned his forehead against my chest.

“I don’t know if I can… call you dad yet.”

Oh damn. How heartless can I be? He just lost his family.

“Of course, I-I understand,” I stuttered out, embarrassed. He gave me another small smile and then a hug. We both sat for a few minutes, just trying to let ourselves relax.

I didn’t expect him to say anything anytime soon, but he surprised me when he leaned back so that I could see his face and spoke quietly. “If I could maybe… I mean…” His words drifted off. I could see that he was unsure, but I had a feeling I knew exactly what he wanted to say.

“How about we try this. I’ll sign up to be a foster. That way you can stay as long as you’d like, and if for some reason you feel uncomfortable or need a break, then I’d be glad to drop you off at the orphanage.”

His eyes widened, mouth dropping open slightly in obvious shock.

“Really?”

I nodded right away, not wanting to show any kind of hesitation. Being a foster was actually a great idea, and I should have thought of it before adoption, especially for Miguel.

“You’re a really cool kid and you have a big heart. You also seem to care a lot for Cody, so perhaps in time we can fill out adoption papers, but for now, would you like to give a shot at having us as fosters?”

The tears returned, but since he was nodding repeatedly, I just hugged him tight and chuckled.

“I’ll take that as a yes.”

We didn’t get anymore time to talk alone because not a moment later I heard feet running down the stairs, then we were both tackled in a hug from Cody. Miguel had turned just enough to catch most of it and quickly returned the hug as he slid off my lap, ruffling Cody’s hair in the process.

“Something good happen, hm?” Miguel said, holding back the tears I could see welling up in his eyes again. We were both surprised by the kid’s excitement, but hell, he had a right to be. When he finally sat between us, Miguel and I smiled curiously at him, doing our best not to give away anything we already knew. Cody opened and closed his mouth several times, as if he was trying to talk but couldn’t find the words. I knew it was likely from his normal nervousness, so instead of making him sit there in awkward silence, I pulled him back into a quick hug.

“I have a feeling Kine already spoke to you about it, and if he didn’t, I’m going to call dibs right now. Cody, will you let us adopt you?”

He tried to speak again, but then just gave up and nodded as Miguel squeezed him cheerfully. “I’m so happy for you!”

After a few moments of quiet sniffling and a couple chuckles, Cody lifted his head from Miguel’s shoulder and I could see his expression darken a little.

“Before you get upset over what I think you’re frowning about, Miguel will be fostered by us, too. If he decides to be adopted, we’ll cross that bridge when we get there. Till then, I suppose you boys are now pretty much brothers.”

I could see their excitement escalate, but also noticed a hint of worry in Cody’s expression.

Of course, his anxiety.

A knock at the door made what I was thinking quickly leave my mouth. “Why don’t you guys head upstairs and watch some TV while Kine and I talk?”

I’d noticed Kine had come downstairs after Cody, but he’d slipped into the kitchen to give us a few minutes. Now he was watching the door, eyes wide and posture taut. Thankfully both boys were quick to get up, Miguel taking Cody’s hand before they both ran upstairs. I looked back up at Kine and gave him a grim smile.

“It’s him.” His words were quiet and scared.

“I will stand with you, Kine. No matter what happens,” I said as I got up and walked over to him, wrapping my arms around his waist. We leaned in for a chaste kiss, then separated and started for the door when another knock sounded. My heartbeat sped up to match the pace of the three thumps against the wood and my mouth began to dry. I was worried, but my cat knew what it was going to do. It would defend its mate and do its best to keep its new offspring away from the situation as best it could.

Dodging a Bullet

Kine

Knowing that we couldn’t wait any longer, we stopped in front of the door and Nagol leaned forward, grasping and turning the knob after unlocking it. When the door slowly opened, we both stepped back, our eyes locked onto the werewolf standing just beyond it. He looked tired, but as soon as our eyes met, he straightened and stepped inside. The atmosphere in the apartment turned south quickly as I stepped back and made my way to the small dining room table. Nagol followed and took the seat to my right while Tanner shut the door and sat in front of us on the other side. My pulse was sky-rocketing while I tried to keep the fear I felt off of my face. When Nagol’s hand softly settled atop my right one, I forced a quiet but deep breath into my lungs.

It’s okay, baby. Deep breaths.

I did my best to believe him and calm myself as Nagol began to talk to Tanner.

“I can’t say we’re glad to see you.”

Tanner shook his head slowly, grinning at Nagol’s words. “I knew you wouldn’t be able to stay mad at him, no matter how terrible he is.”

I felt my body tense, but quickly relaxed again when Nagol squeezed my hand.

“We’ve come to an understanding.”

Tanner seemed amused by that, since he leaned forward, putting his elbows on the table to lean his chin on his hands. “Oh? Pray tell what amazing understanding you’ve come to that will make him repent for the things he’s done?”

I looked down at the table nervously, waiting to hear what Nagol would say.

“I don’t know about repenting, because you can never truly make up for lives lost, but he has only helped and supported those he’s met since you’ve been here last.”

The look on the other man’s face told me that he was actually somewhat surprised, but definitely not convinced. “Alright, so he’s helped people. That doesn’t add up to the amount of lives he’s taken, and it never will.”

Sorrow weighed heavily on my shoulders. He was right, being nice didn’t make up for the pups I had killed, but when Nagol responded calmly, I couldn’t believe what I was hearing.

“You’re right, it might not add up in your eyes, or mine, or even Kine’s… but it can change someone’s life far greater than you might think.”

Tanner’s eyes narrowed, likely trying to figure out what Nagol was trying to get at. I actually understood, but I didn’t want to use the kids like that.

They’ll be okay. I think it’s your best shot, and quite honestly, I think Cody would be heartbroken if you suddenly disappeared.

Nagol thought to me. He was right, of course, but I still felt uneasy when he looked toward the stairs and shouted, “Cody! Miguel! Come down here for a minute please!”

The thumping of hurried footsteps sounded on the stairs, followed by much slower, hesitant ones. I had no doubt that Cody could smell our guest and likely didn’t want to meet him.

Don’t worry, kid, I didn’t want to either, I thought to myself as Miguel stepped around the corner with a curious smile at seeing Tanner.

“Hello?” he said, a question in his greeting as he moved to sit at the end of the table next to Nagol. Tanner didn’t look very happy to see Miguel, likely because of me being there as well as a kid, but he held his tongue and nodded, then looked toward the stairs where we could all hear Cody slowly descending. When he finally appeared, it was just a brief glance around the corner before he ducked back into the hallway. I knew it was coming before Tanner even turned to me and spoke, so I braced myself and began thinking of an answer.

“Why is he so afraid?”

Come on. You can say it. We’re equals now, even if he beat you before, he doesn’t have his status anymore.

“He had trouble with wolves in the past and currently does not trust others easily. He is not afraid of me. He is afraid of you.”

Evidently Tanner didn’t like what I said, or just wanted to prove me wrong, because he stood and scooted his chair back right after I’d finished speaking. I jumped up when he began walking toward the stairs, not wanting him to pressure Cody just to try to make me look like a liar. I even let a growl slip in warning, which was immediately returned by Tanner, and would have likely started a fight if Nagol’s deep feline rumble hadn’t overtaken both of our quieter growls.

“Cody, he’s not a threat to you. He just wants to know about why you’re here. Can you tell him, please?”

I moved next to where Tanner had stopped at the base of the steps, then waited. Cody didn’t seem very interested in talking, or really being in Tanner’s line of sight, but when Miguel ducked in front of us and ran up to wrap him in a hug, I could feel some of his tension beginning to drain. Miguel sat him down on the top step and leaned over to whisper a few things into his ear that I couldn’t hear. Cody replied in an even quieter voice, then, after several more silent moments, he finally spoke.

“He’s my dad.”

My heart gave a strong jerk in my chest, and I had to force back an excited smile at his words.

“He’s… your father?” Tanner questioned, his tone holding a warning about lying. When Cody nodded, Tanner turned his glare on me.

Okay, time to speak again. Just focus on what you need to say.

“Long story short. After I ran from you the night your band was here, I was picked up as a dog by Miguel. He took me home and I stayed there for a short time before he turned me over to the Humane Society for animals. Nagol found me there and adopted me…” I swallowed hard, not feeling too well about saying the next part but knew that I needed to.

“He was fighting with himself on what to do with me and I didn’t understand at the time, but then he told me that he volunteered at the orphanage. He really loved children. He brought me with him, in wolf form, to begin at least making some kids’ lives better. I wasn’t exactly happy with the smaller children, but when I found Cody sitting alone in his room with a book, I just couldn’t leave him. He loves to read and does so often because of the issues in his past dealing with his wolf, the details of which he prefers to keep to himself.”

“So you thought it was a good idea to adopt him?” Tanner asked, his words icy. I felt my stomach clench and licked my dry lips.

“Yes.”

Thankfully, Miguel actually took over right then, giving me a much needed break to take a few deep breaths.

“Yes. He offered to adopt Cody because they relate to each other. He’s the first person Cody’s ever really talked to willingly. Even I had to pester him to communicate when we started sharing a room at the orphanage.”

I knew Tanner was likely weighing his decision on whether to tell the kids about me or not, and I prayed that he didn’t. Telling them was my responsibility, but I didn’t want to do it until both kids were more comfortable with me and Nagol first. When he gave a stressed sigh and turned to face Nagol, I looked between them, curious as to why he was now going to address him.

“Your little spotted friend is extremely annoying.”

Nagol glanced at me, then back to Tanner with a shrug, likely figuring that he was talking about Tawny. “He’s not mine. He’s just a pain and won’t leave us alone.”

“I see,” Tanner mumbled, returning the room to silence. The quiet let me focus on the emotions I could sense in the air and my mind, and one in particular was really bothering my wolf. It actually forced itself out, tearing the clothing I was wearing before running upstairs to Cody’s reaching arms. A flare of aggression passed through my senses from Tanner, but thankfully he held himself back so that I could comfort Cody. His hug actually helped me calm down as much as it did him.

Feeling his fingers tightening in my thick fur was a huge relief, but hearing his voice a moment later was a surprise. “P-please leave, sir. If he did something bad, then the police should be the ones here. Either way, he’s the one I would want to hear it from but only if he feels we need to know. I don’t want my past dug up and I respect him for wishing to have his own left alone. He’s never done anything bad to me, Miguel, or any of the kids at the orphanage, so please leave my new home.”

You are so strong, kid.

Tanner remained silent for several tense minutes before he finally let out a low, frustrated growl. “I will be back, many times, Kine. Nagol?”

“Yes?”

“I trust that you will keep him under control, and let me stress this immensely. The only reason I will walk out of this apartment without his body is because this is your territory and I do not wish to attack him in front of children.”

“We appreciate that,” Nagol replied as I heard him walk toward the door. Tanner followed him, but right before he left, he said one more thing to Nagol, just loud enough for me to catch.

“Watch out for that cat. He wants you, and I don’t doubt that he will be the one trying to remove Kine from the picture now that I’ve decided to leave him here.”

It Pays Off

Nagol

“I think I’ve decided what to do,” I mumbled as I turned, knowing that Kine was in the doorway since I’d felt his eyes on me while I was putting away the last of the dishes from dinner.

“About the cat?” he asked as I walked over, wiping my hands on a dish towel.

“Yes. He’ll be at work tonight most likely, so I’m going to give him an ultimatum.”

Kine’s right eyebrow lifted with curiosity. “So… what is it?”

“Either he agrees to back off and not go near you again unless work mandates it, or I’ll ban him from the territory, or I’ll kill him.”

The look on Kine’s face told me that I was crazy, but I was tired of that cat trying to rule my life. I had never said that I wanted him as a mate, and I was not going to put the kids at risk.

“Can you watch the boys tonight? I’m going to head into work a little early and try to deal with the situation. The workers at the orphanage know me so they won’t mind if the kids stay longer, as long as they don’t know I’ll be working and a dog will be babysitting,” I said as I headed for the door to tug my coat on, since I was already dressed. When I turned around, I noticed Cody and Miguel standing just behind Kine, making me grin.

“Come here, guys, I want a quick hug before work, please?”

Miguel didn’t hesitate to run forward and wrap his arms around my chest. I hugged him tightly, pressing a kiss to the top of his head. Kine was next, hugging both Miguel and I with his long arms. When we broke apart, everyone’s attention turned to Cody. He had the book I’d given him the day before grasped tightly in his hands, fingers worrying the binding. I knew that approaching him would probably get the opposite effect I wanted, so I waited for another few moments before giving him a smile and small wave.

“I’ll see you when I get home, have a good night, Cody.”

I thought that would be it, so I began to turn, but I managed to briefly catch him returning a tiny wave to me. With that I walked out, saying a final good-bye to everyone before Kine shut and locked the door behind me.

Pulling up at work, I could already tell that the cat was there, seeing his car on the other side of the street. Good. Time to end this. Hopefully without a cat fight. Since I was early, I hurried to walk inside, easily locating Tawny against the far wall. He had a smug grin on his face, telling me that he knew I’d be here to deal with him. In fact, he ducked out the back door down the hall near him when I began to approach, making me grin and hurry after him. He wasn’t going to get the benefit of surprise on me.

I stepped out seconds after him, turning my head as he dodged behind the door. A knife that hadn’t been in his hand before appeared, aiming for my chest. Thank you, instincts, I thought as I moved, easily dodging the attack with an annoyed hiss. It had obviously not been an attempt on my life, as the knife was far too small unless he hit me square in my heart, so I wasn’t going to take the bait and attack him… yet.

“I know that wasn’t meant to really hurt me, so talk to me, Tawny.”

He growled, his hair raising slightly like his hackles would have if he was in his feline form. “Why? It’s not like you’re going to listen!”

If you’re going to throw a tantrum, then no, I won’t listen.

“Talk, Tawny. I’m the dominant cat in this city, and I’m sick of this, now either tell me exactly what’s wrong so that we can try to fix it, or get out of my town.”

The guy’s face took on a sudden sickly glow when I finished speaking. He likely hadn’t thought that I’d threaten him with banishment, but the other option I’d considered was death, so he would get off lucky with just having to leave.

“You would kick me out?” he whispered quietly.

“Yes, if it keeps my mate safe.”

His eyes narrowed and a quiet growl sounded from his chest as he crossed his arms over it. “How the hell do you even know he’s your mate? That’s not something that just happens all of a sudden!”

“Actually, Tawny, yes, it is. I saw him stumbling through the snow in the woods while I was patrolling the area. The second I laid eyes on him, my cat yelled at me that he was mine. Nothing else mattered to me right then, other than getting closer to him.”

“You’ll get over it, that’s called a crush!” he tried, though I could see his fierce facade beginning to crumble.

“That is kind of how a crush starts, true, but it’s gotten to the point where I panic if I don’t know where he is. I’m upset when frustrated. I want exactly what he does, and I want to be next to him, even though he hated me at the beginning.”

Tawny looked down at his shoes, remaining still for a minute before lifting his eyes back up to meet mine. “Did you ever even like me, or were you just using me for sex?”

Ouch.

“Of course I did. I wouldn’t have ever slept with you if I didn’t like you, but it was never that way, Tawny. You’re an awesome guy who wanted to have sex, don’t lie. I was the same way. I wanted someone I could trust, who was nice and wanted no strings.”

Tawny huffed, though, thankfully, he seemed to finally begin to get it. “I guess I got carried away… I thought maybe I could be the one you wanted.”

I gave him a stressed smile, then set my hand on his shoulder and gave a gently squeeze.

“I’m sorry, Tawny.”

When he didn’t respond, I let my hand slip from his shoulder and walked past. I was nearly inside when Tawny’s arms wrapped around my chest for a brief moment before they disappeared, along with him.

Kine

Hearing a knock on the door brought our attention away from the brownies we were making in the kitchen.

Nagol isn’t supposed to be back for at least a few more hours… and he has a key.

The thought that Tanner might have come back, having changed his mind, made a frigid line of fear slip down my spine.

“Stay here,” I said to both boys. I lowered my voice and met both their gazes to make myself clear. They slowly nodded and moved against the sink, then knelt down. I wanted to tell them to try and find a cabinet to crawl inside, but the knocking was getting louder. With one final glance at the kids, I stalked around the corner and down the short hall. After looking through the peephole, I noticed that it wasn’t Tanner, but the guy he’d warned us about.

I can handle him.

He was only an ocelot, there’s no way that he could take down my wolf. With that idea, I unlocked the door and opened it. The one thing I didn’t expect, and what was considered extremely cowardly between shapeshifters, was the gun in his hand, pointed right at my chest. When he moved the gun forward, I stepped back out of instinct. We repeated the sadistic dance until we were several feet from the door in the makeshift dining room.

“Hello, Kine. Nice to see you again… and alone.”

Licking my dry lips, I forced a half-smile and straightened.

“I can’t say that I feel the same.”

The guy’s eyes jerked wide for a moment before they lowered into a sly, very cat-like glare. “I’m glad. So, Nagol told me that you were his mate and that you’re the only one he’ll want from now on.”

I nodded slowly, not really sure what other response to give.

“Perfect.”

Perfect? What was so perfect for him about it?

The sound of the gun being cocked made my attention immediately return to his weapon.

“I just need to kill you, then I’ll have him forever. There will be no more chance of a true mate with you gone.”

Wait a damn minute.

“So you think that if you kill me, he’ll come crawling back to you? My murderer?”

The guy shrugged, a gleam turning his eyes cold.

“I’ll work that part out later.”

This guy’s insane!

“Now then, enough talk. I’m sure Nagol has realized that I’m gone and is probably considering coming back here to check on his sweetheart.”

I tensed, getting ready to try and anticipate the coming shot. Both of us stood stock-still for a brief moment before we heard heavy panting behind us. I didn’t dare turn away from the gun, but when Cody’s dark blond wolf sauntered over to sit near the dining room table, I felt all of the color drain from my face. It was obvious that he was trying to mirror a dog, but he was panting too heavily and his eyes were dilated. When I looked up from the gun to Tawny, I could see him sneaking glances at Cody, seemingly trying to figure out if he was an actual dog, hybrid, or a shapeshifter.

“I’m sure Nagol would appreciate it if you didn’t shoot his dog, as well as his mate,” I tried, hoping to get his attention back. To my relief, he turned his glare back to me and smirked.

“I don’t remember Nagol having a dog.”

Shit!

“He adopted it from the Humane Society, there are papers for it somewhere around here.”

“Hmm. I’ll have to make him give it back. I’m sick of mutts.”

Yeah, well, they’re sick of you, too.

Noticing Cody moving from the corner of my eye, I forced myself to stay focused on Tawny and not give the guy any reason to return his attention to the wolf.

“Well, I would say it’s been nice knowing you, but it hasn’t. Bye, Kine.”

I barely had time to process his sentence before the sound of his gun firing met my ears. A bullet sailed just over my head as I ducked. Cody’s jaws were locked onto Tawny’s right arm, no doubt having saved my life by grabbing him in a split-second decision before the gun went off. We weren’t safe yet, though, and in fact, Cody was now the one in the most danger as Tawny struggled to remove him, still keeping hold of the gun. My wolf was right at the surface, and while I would have preferred my hands, I couldn’t keep him back from protecting his pup any longer.

Fur erupted from my overheating skin as my wolf shoved itself free of my human body and attacked. I immediately took Tawny’s left leg out from under him with a strong bite and yank backward. Before he even hit the floor, I was trying to get at his neck, eager to taste fresh blood. While he hadn’t shifted, his free clawed hand was definitely a deterrent, keeping me at bay as he swiped toward my face. He managed to catch me several times on my right cheek and once on my jaw, but right before he could land a really damaging hit, Cody jerked the part of Tawny’s arm he still held between his jaws, hard, making the man lose his focus for a moment. It was just the chance I needed. I lunged for his throat, sinking my teeth into the delicate skin there and squeezing as hard as I could.

“Cody, come on!”

Hearing Miguel’s shout had both of us looking up at him with perked ears. Cody was hesitant, but when he noticed that Tawny had dropped the gun and I was glancing back and forth between him and Miguel, he thankfully figured out that I could handle the situation now and wanted him to go. He released Tawny’s arm after another moment of consideration, then grabbed the gun carefully between his teeth and bolted up the stairs, following Miguel. I didn’t waste another second. I had already tried to reason with the cat, and I’m sure Nagol had also, so I abruptly shook my head, clenching my jaws tighter around his neck and felt bones snap between my jaws. I didn’t let go until I felt his pulse dissipate. When I finally removed my mouth from around his neck, I watched in surprise as his body blurred and wavered, then changed into a small ocelot.

Oh thank god!

It would have been really hard getting rid of a body, but removing a small cat was much easier than a human. Granted, there was still a decent-sized puddle of blood on the floor, but that was just going to have to be scrubbed.

“Kine?”

Jerking my head up, I felt my whole body sag to a sitting position with relief at the sight of Nagol standing in the open doorway. I didn’t need to explain what had happened, but I did need to explain everything else. So, after a few deep breaths, I managed to force my wolf back and allow my human self to return, then got to my feet. As to not track blood anywhere however, I stood where I was and waited until Nagol had the door shut before I started talking a bit too fast.

“He came back after talking to you. I thought it was Tanner at first, knocking at the door. When I saw that it was him, I should have called you. I thought I could handle him, though, b-but he had a gun.”

Nagol glanced around, then returned his worried eyes to me.

“Cody took it upstairs,” I added right away, watching as Nagol darted past me, leaping over the blood before vanishing upstairs. There was a very short conversation that I could just pick up random mumblings from before Nagol returned with the gun in his hand, the safety thankfully on. He set it down on the counter and lifted me from the puddle of blood, carrying me into the shower.

“Wash up. I’m going to get rid of his body. There will be no charges as he was the aggressor and this is my territory, so I have the final say, especially because there is no human body.”

I nodded, beginning to feel numb as the water was turned on and blood washed from around my mouth, hands, and feet. When he disappeared, I sat down and scrubbed myself to the bone, needing to erase the blood. I heard Nagol return about twenty minutes later but didn’t get out of the shower until I was shivering beneath the cold water and my skin was red and raw. When I finally walked back into the dining room with a towel snug around my waist, I could see that Nagol had completely cleaned up the blood and scrubbed the floor. The gun was also missing, likely gone for good. Just like Tawny.

It hurt me to kill him. To kill again, period, but I wasn’t going to let him hurt Cody… and I wasn’t going to let him take my mate from me. If that meant that I’d have to live with another life on my hands, then that’s what I would do.

“Hey, baby.”

Hearing Nagol’s quiet purr, followed by his gentle arms wrapping my waist, made me lean back against him for some much-needed comforting. Of course, that meant a tongue bath against my cheek, but I didn’t care. Not anymore. In fact, I returned the gesture fervently, silently asking for the attention. We stayed that way for several minutes before Nagol finally released me so that I could turn and face him. He took my hands and squeezed, giving me a reassuring smile before glancing up the stairs.

“We need to go talk with the boys. Especially Cody, he was very shaky when I came up and took the gun.”

I nodded, following after Nagol. We only stopped for a quick moment so that I could pull on a pair of shorts from the spare bedroom, then made our way upstairs. When we stepped into Nagol’s bedroom, I went straight to Cody as Miguel ran past me to get a hug from Nagol. Cody was still panting, but when he saw me, he began to thump his tail awkwardly against the ground, the habit likely from being nervous.

“Hey there, buddy,” I said with a calm tone as I sat down next to him, leaning against the wall by the nightstand he was currently trying to hide beside. He scrambled into my lap a few moments later, then slowly began to try to shift. When he finally returned to his human form, I hugged him tightly and pressed a kiss to his hair.

“Thank you for your help, Cody. You saved my life.”

The sound of Nagol whispering to Miguel caught our attention for several minutes before Cody turned in my lap and wrapped his arms around my neck. We hugged each other and let ourselves relax. Cody’s breathing finally slowed after awhile, then evened out.

“I’m proud of you, Cody. You and your wolf did amazingly well in a stressful situation.”

I felt him hug me a bit tighter, then let go to climb out of my lap and get to his feet. After adjusting his shorts on his hips slightly, he crawled into Nagol’s bed, scooting over to the other side before grabbing one of the books sitting there.

Ah.

He began quickly thumbing through the pages, silently reading each one far faster than I would ever be able to . I knew he was just trying to cope with what had happened and would likely need to talk more about it at a later date, but for the moment, I was glad that he seemed okay and back to normal.

“So, I saw some unbaked brownies sitting in a pan in the kitchen that are calling my name,” Nagol said with a slight smile directed my way. Understanding, I quickly walked over and chimed in, motioning for Cody to follow as Nagol walked out with Miguel hot on his heels. “Yeah, we were just about to put them in the oven.” I said.

Cody looked up at my words, waiting a moment before scurrying out of the room to walk down the stairs with Miguel. The book remained firmly in his grasp, but that was fine. When I got to the top of the stairs, Nagol grasped my wrist and turned me back to face him. His free hand lifted, pressing against my cheek as he gave a tired smile.

“I’m glad you’re okay. I had one of my scouts bury him respectfully.”

I nodded, glad that Tawny was at least buried appropriately.

“Don’t let it get to you, Kine. You were forced to make a decision, and I would have done the exact same thing. We cats actually are a little more aggressive than most shapeshifters, especially when it comes to mates or significant others, so I knew that when he disappeared from work shortly after we spoke, that he’d likely be coming here.”

He squeezed my shoulder and I sighed, taking the kiss he gave me before he took my hand and began walking down the stairs. I followed quietly, but when we walked into the kitchen and I saw our boys getting the brownies in the oven, Cody holding the door open with the book still in his free hand and Miguel sliding the tray in, I knew that eventually we’d be okay.

“Thank you, boys,” Nagol said before looking at me. “We need to go tomorrow and sign up to be Miguel’s fosters and also do the paperwork to adopt Cody,” he added before beaming at our soon-to-be sons. They were both licking at separate spoons that had obviously been used to mix the chocolate brownie batter.

“So, while brownies are good for dessert, I think I’m craving a delicious early breakfast, and I see a family that looks like they’re starving. Would you boys like to set the table and grab the juice and milk while I help Kine get the food cooked real quick?” Nagol asked as I heard his stomach growl loudly.

There were nods all around, and as the boys got busy getting plates down from the cabinets and to the table, I grabbed Nagol’s hand and pulled him in for one more quick hug as I whispered against his lips with a content grin, “Love you.”

-End

Epilogue

Kine

Work was finally starting to settle down after a huge five hour rush. Another concert was in town, but thankfully it wasn’t Tanner’s band. After two months and only a small letter in the mail as a reminder for Nagol to keep me under control, we figured that Tanner had finally decided to let the matter rest. Or, at least not come after me again unless I leave Nagol’s territory.

Not likely going to happen. I thought to myself with a grin as I glanced over at my mate by the open door. Seemingly feeling my eyes on him, he turned, sending me a big grin before returning to checking ID’s.

We should be allowed to go in a few minutes, baby. His voice said in my mind. Even though it was inside my head, it was still hard to hear over the loud music that had started up around ten. With a glance at the clock, I noticed that it was indeed time to head out. After finishing wiping down the rest of the empty tables in my section, I checked with the servers to see if they needed any help, then went to check with our boss to see if we could clock out. Normally we would just do it and leave, but with the extra business the concert brought we were asked to tell him before we left. Thankfully after a brief hunt through the kitchen I found him and was told that we were free to go.

Let’s head out. I told Nagol through our bond as I clocked out, then waited for him to do so a few minutes later. I was eager to get out of the loud building, sighing when we finally stepped out into the warm air. With winter long gone, the nights had taken on a warmer temperature, which felt amazing after being in frigid air conditioning for eight hours.

Walking hand in hand, we made our way to his car, only breaking contact so that we could slide inside and buckle up. As soon as we were on the road I took his hand again, squeezing it gently as a smile slipped onto my face. The ride was quiet, likely because both of us were eager to get home and spend a few minutes with the boys before they went to bed. Even after telling them numerous times to be asleep before we got back from our shifts, they refused, wanting to be able to say good night face to face. Eventually we gave up, mainly because we weren’t home to force them to go to bed. Thankfully we did manage to get our schedules changed for most of our days, allowing us to get home closer to two in the morning instead of five.

We’re early tonight.

It was definitely a good thing, considering both boys had their final exams to take very soon. The car came to a stop in a parking spot and after leaning over to steal a quick kiss, I got out and ran up the stairs, pulling the key to the apartment from my pocket before stopping on the landing to unlock the door. Nagol was behind me when I stepped inside, the smell of baked chicken meeting our noses.

“Mm,” I said, licking my lips as I stepped into the kitchen.

Miguel sat a tray on the stovetop before turning around with a small smile as Cody glanced up from the book he was reading in the corner next to the oven.

“Hey boys, how was your day at school?” Nagol asked as he walked over and gave Miguel a side-hug, then leaned over and patted Cody’s hair before turning to get a drink from the fridge. We normally discussed our days after work so that we had something to contribute from if the boys asked.

“Great! I got a B on my exam and my guidance counselor said that if my grades are good on my final tests, I should have no problem getting a scholarship.”

His enthusiasm made me grin, and the fact that he was getting a scholarship! “Awesome! I’m really proud of you, Miguel. You deserve it, you work hard.” I said as I walked over, rustling his hair before getting down plates for dinner.

Miguel used the oven mitts he already had on his hands to grab a bowl of hot mashed potatoes and bring it to the table, and Nagol got the drinks, which happened to be water for everyone except Cody, who really enjoyed grape juice with chicken. We questioned why once, but when he just shrugged we figured that it was just another answer we would never get it, and that worked just fine for us.

Once everything was set up on the table I slid into my seat, watching as Cody did the same across from me and Nagol took the one at the head of the small table. When Miguel didn’t appear, I looked back over toward the kitchen, only to see him peeking around the corner like Cody did when he was nervous.

“What’s wrong, Miguel?” Both Nagol and I asked at the same time. I hurried to my feet, motioning with a hand for Nagol to stay seated for a moment. I then walked over, stepping into the kitchen, ready to listen to whatever was bothering him… only to have something nudged against my chest.

Looking down, I saw a piece of creased paper and a pen.

Huh?

Taking both items, I flipped the paper around and began reading. Only, I didn’t need to go very far to realize what it was, and what I was definitely going to do about it. A wide grin spread across my lips as I looked up from the paper to meet Miguel’s nervous eyes.

“I’m glad that you’re ready to join our family officially now, Miguel.” I whispered, finding it hard to speak any louder as I turned and set the paper down, then began signing.

Nagol, come here.

I heard the sound of a chair scraping against the floor, then heavy footsteps before Nagol appeared beside me. It only took him a moment to realize what was happening, and the second I had finished signing most of the document he grabbed the pen and hurried to write his name each place it was needed, too. Except, when we both got to the last part we glanced over at Miguel, who was now looking a little sheepish.

He actually had the lady at the orphanage write in the last sentence. I told Nagol, humor in my words.

Well, I’m not opposed to it. You?

Not really, but it would be completely their responsibility. I replied.

“We’ll sign the last line on the condition that you and Cody are responsible for it. If for any reason it isn’t taken care of, then it will go back, understood?”

Miguel’s face lit up as he nodded repeatedly. A quiet yip from the doorway brought our attention to Cody, who was trying to hide a smile behind his book, even though his inner wolf had given his excitement away.

Oh the mongrels. They were in this together. I thought to Nagol, who just laughed in my mind in response.

“Alright. We’ll go to the Humane Society and look tomorrow before work, okay? We’ll have to make sure that it gets along with our current dog , though, right Kine?”

I rolled my eyes as Miguel nodded again, then tackled me with a hug before going to Nagol and doing the same thing. He then ran over to Cody and started talking about looking at dogs on the laptop we’d bought Cody for his online schoolwork.

“Boys, dinner!” I called, getting a response right away from Miguel that made me roll my eyes again. “We already ate, that was for you guys!”

No wonder it hadn’t been much when considering four people. Nagol thought to me, chuckling aloud as he signed his name on the last line, the one written in pen by the orphanage worker. I shook my head and did the same, making sure that my cursive was a bit hard to read so that they wouldn’t recognize my name as Nagol’s dog, then followed my mate to the table to condense the portions to our two plates.

He’s a tricky one. I thought to Nagol as we began eating.

Yeah, but I’m glad. I actually wanted to get a dog for Cody, since you helped him so much in such a short time. I think it will be good for him, and you know Miguel has wanted one for a long time.

I nodded, unable to argue his point, and I kind of wanted a dog. That, and hearing the boys talking over the pictures on the computer of different dogs, Cody’s voice just as enthusiastic as Miguel’s, made my heart warm.

You look adorable when you’re excited about something.

I looked up at him with a raised brow, but he just winked and leaned across the table, getting mashed potatoes on his shirt as our lips connected. You’re a special kind of cat. I thought to him, but didn’t bother hiding my pleasure at the short kiss. When he leaned back, he wiped off the potatoes with a napkin and smirked.

“And you’re my special coyote…”

I was about to growl at him for that, but when he walked around the table and tugged me out of my seat and into a strong hug, I suddenly forgot what I was going to say.

“That I’m so glad I found.” Nagol finished with a grin.

Sighing out the frustration from his previous statement, I leaned against his chest and smiled.

Mine.

Nagol chuckled, the sound reverberating through his chest and into my cheek.

“Yes, Kine. I’m yours.”