Cat Scratch Fever; Blue-Collar Werewolves V

by Buffi BeCraft

  “She is not,” Marpha said again. The returning lionesses growled as Katra took their loads again and set them on the counter.

  “Will you shut up or get out? Preferably, get out. Leave for somewhere far, far, away.” Katra added her weight to the lionesses. “If the goddess sent this to Naomi, then her choice is clear. Dumbass.” The last was muttered, but still very audible.

  “What’s going on?” Kandace’s voice came from the open doorway, though no one could see her behind the wall of lionesses and Katra.

  “Just Marpha and her illusions of grandeur.” Katra made room for her grocery burdened kin to squeeze into the kitchen.

  “Get a grip. The Leo just woke up today. He hasn’t had time to make things official.” Kandace turned her back on the other females. “Besides, we all know there never was a chance. Take a lesson from the leopard Naomi kicked out.” She looked around. “We’re going to need more refrigerators.”

  “What leopard?” Daria asked. The other lionesses dismissed Marpha and Jillian as they turned at Kandace’s news. Lionesses loved new gossip. Especially when it involved a clan member. Naomi’s head swam at the chaos.

  Kandace and Katra exchanged sly looks. Kandace began unloading bags as she began the story. “There was a leopard female with the mark as well. She thought she’d insist on her right to sit by the Leo’s side while he was ill. Your kin not only slapped down and banished the leopard candidate; she held her own against the wolven alpha female.”

  “And won that round as well,” Katra crowed, ending on a giggle.

  “She’s also begun bonding to the clans.” Jillian said, bent over pile of plastic grocery bags holding canned goods. She looked up, somewhat owl-eyed at Marpha’s glare and shrugged. “I’m only stating facts.”

  “There is a chance!” Marpha slammed her hand on the counter top. She glared at the tigresses. “There is a chance!”

  “A chance at what?” Matthew’s deep voice came from the doorway. His lean features were head and shoulders above most of the females. He smiled tentatively at the sudden interest his presence generated. A snicker came from beyond the door, probably Nathan’s, as the panther was never far from his Leo. Matthew looked genuinely concerned. “Hello.”

  He nodded at everyone in the room, noted the groceries with a bit of relief. Naomi wondered how long after he’d woken that he’d realized the dire straits they were in. With the predatory gleam of every female in the room on him, he should have been very nervous. His gaze found hers and his uncertain smile brightened.

  Matthew slipped further into the kitchen. “Naomi. There you are.” His eyes widened in shock as the room burst into giggles. Naomi wanted to slip into the floor. He looked around. The tigresses were bent over, slapping their thighs in mirth. “Uhhh. Really. Is there something you need?” Naomi shook her head. Emphatically. God, no. Not right this minute.

  “You’re the Leo?” Daria stepped in front of him. Like a train wreck seen in slow motion, Naomi got to the scene too late. She grabbed her sister’s arm in warning, but he was already nodding.

  “Daria! No!” she hissed at her sister without effect. Daria had been a clan Lia in her own right long enough.

  “Great! You can go ahead and look over the candidates and make your choice of your Lia official.”

  “Candidates?” he looked thoroughly confused. His gaze slid to Naomi for an answer. Her traitorous body got the warm tinglies that he sought her first.

  “Yes,” Daria was just getting warmed up. Naomi squeezed her arm hard in warning. She would handle this.

  “Matthew,” Naomi held a warning finger up before Marpha could protest. The rumble of the lionesses and tigresses made her snap close her mouth. “You were turned and then fell ill before some things could be explained.”

  “I wasn’t exactly ill.” He glanced at the other women then behind him as Nathan and Brandon barged in. Neither looked uncomfortable to be surrounded by that amount hostile female. They did look like they would take apart anyone, male or female, who messed with their chosen leader.

  Naomi didn’t want to get distracted. She gave a brief nod, then letting go of Daria, she made a motion for the other candidates to present themselves. It was not at all what she’d been planning. She’d originally hoped for some sort of ceremony to ease the rejection for some of them, okay— Marpha, would feel.

  “One of the things, is that the Leo needs to choose a…mate. The next Lia.” She held up her hand again to stall his questions so that she could get through this before she died of embarrassment. What was worse, she knew that everyone in the room knew her state of embarrassment. And yes, arousal at being close to him. Naomi cleared her throat with a light cough and tugged the scooped neck of her t-shirt down to reveal the cat’s eye and shield tattoo.

  She gestured at the other three females and both Marpha and Jillian pulled their shirts aside to reveal their marks. Marpha just a tad too eagerly. Naomi cleared her throat pointedly and Katra sighed, showing her mark. She turned her attention back to Matthew and wished she could read the neutral expression he’d adopted. Did he care for her at all? Or would Jillian’s calm, well thought out manner win the day. Katra’s loyalty and ferocity were good traits in a leader. “The mark is supposed to indicate the goddess’ blessing.”

  Matthew looked at Nathan. The panther was surprisingly serious. “You’re supposed to pick a mate from the marked females.” His eyes moved over all of them and he finally smirked. “There was another, but our Naomi kicked her ass into next year. You should have seen it. I think even the wolves were hot after seeing that.”

  “Nathan!” his statement shocked her into losing her embarrassment.

  “What?” he tried for innocent and failed.

  “Shut up, Nathan.” Matthew’s words held no heat. He looked at the assembled females and chose his words with great care. “Thank you for coming. We’re going to all need to support each other, whatever clan.”

  “But who do you choose?” Marpha insisted. She slinked over to him and dared lay a hand on him. Naomi couldn’t stop the warning growl deep in her throat.

  Matthew shook his head, slowly and kindly. “I’m sorry, but it wouldn’t be right for me just to assume that I can command a woman to be mine. I’d much rather do my asking in private.” Marpha wilted a bit, but she had a hard head. The gleam in her eye said that she felt this was a reprieve only. Then Matthew turned to Naomi and his smile deepened. “I have a dinner engagement tonight. Come with?” his light brown eyes held all the hope of a kid on Christmas morning. The females gave one another knowing looks. “Please?”

  “I…” She racked her brain for an excuse. “I really don’t have anything to wear for a nice dinner.”

  “It’s at my house.” Brandon supplied. The look on the wolf-cat’s face was positively evil. “And trust me, with five pups, casual is the only way we go at my place. Besides, Karen has been wanting to talk to you again. She misses the constant female company of the Pack.”

  “Oh?” He nodded at her implied question, but didn’t explain why they’d separated themselves from the wolven. But she felt for his mate. She remembered the loneliness after she’d first left her clan. Naomi had liked the woman from the moment she’d flung herself into her mate’s arms. She looked back at Matthew. “I suppose I could go.”

  He grinned and leaned in for a quick kiss on her cheek. “Great. I was afraid that I was going to have to get Nathan to hold my hand.” He shook his head and shoved at the panther as they walked out. They both laughed. “I didn’t want him to get any awkward ideas.”

  “Well, my Lia. It’s official.” Daria grinned from ear to ear. “You need an outfit that will knock his socks off.”

  “He was barefoot.” She couldn’t resist poking back. Though inside Naomi wanted to dance a giddy dance.

  Daria rolled her eyes. “So who’s the weird guy with the double scent who’s supplying dinner?”

  “Well,” Naomi appointed herself chief bag collector and began shoving loose
bags into one. “He’s been watching over Matthew since the beginning.”

  “Brother-in-law.” Nathan strolled back in and snatched a loose apple from the table. They’d all been quiet about the relationship out of respect for both Matthew and Brandon. All the women’s jaws dropped at that bit of information. “The Leo is also the son of the wolven’s alpha female.” He waggled his eyebrows at the tigresses. “Hey, I’d like to have a tiger or two by the tail.” They groaned at the bad come-on.

  “No, thanks leopard.” Katra said. Speculation lit her features. “Now that is something. Not just dinner, but a family dinner.”

  “Oooo.” Daria and the lionesses made approving sounds. “Even after you kicked his mom’s butt. Now that is important. You need the perfect, I’m hot, but still great with the in-laws, outfit.”

  Naomi rolled her eyes. “Daria, its dinner. With Brandon, his family, Nathan, and Matthew. We’ll be doing our best not to kill each other.”

  “Not true.” Nathan crunched into his apple, making them wait as he chewed and swallowed. He gestured with the half eaten fruit. “Brandon actually likes you. You should have seen the last female mated into the wolven Pack. Chase is practically an uncle and Brandon shredded India’s arm nearly to the bone the first time they met.”

  He stopped at the unease scenting the room. “Well, there were extenuating circumstances. The wolves bite first and ask questions later. They thought she might be a stray that brought the Hunter to their territory. She was.” He ate another bite, then sighed at the expectancy in the room. “It’s all good now. India stays away from Brandon. And Chase would rip out Brandon’s throat if he hurt his mate again.” He shrugged, leaving the room with a parting, “No harm, no foul.”

  “Okay, I changed my mind.” Daria watched Nathan go. “That guy is the weird one.”

  Naomi let her gaze follow Nathan’s retreat as well. “He’s completely loyal.”

  “And hot, for one of Bastet’s chosen.” Jillian said from the pantry. “What a waste.” Naomi hadn’t noticed the female disappear.

  “Goddess sure has a lot of chosen people.” Katra said. “What’s the leopard chosen for.”

  Jillian was quiet as she stacked and sorted cans. “Long ago, the goddess had those who were closer to her than others. She chose them for her own personal servants to guide with dreams and visions. They were a type of warrior and religious order. A cleric, I think the title was. They knew her will better than any others. They also loved her and feared her more than any of the other cats.”

  The work of putting away food and beginning the meal was much easier with more hands, just as Naomi suspected. The female companionship was wonderful and feeling like a traitor to the panther she couldn’t resist throwing him under the bus to get herself off the gossip wagon. “So why is that a waste?”

  Jillian stacked more cans. Naomi was thinking the female might be a tad OCD at her arrangement and rearrangement of the order. “Because, Bastet has only one chosen mate for her clerics.”

  “So?” One of the lionesses stopped her inventory of the cookware. “So they only chose a mate once. Now, only the very rare gets a mate. If at all. So what’s the big deal?”

  Jillian stopped and looked around the pantry door. She looked just like Naomi’s school teachers when faced with dense students. “Because they only get one mate. One lover, chosen by the goddess. That’s it.”

  “Wait a minute. Are you saying that all that hotness is untouched?” Katra asked.

  “Most likely.” Jillian said.

  “How do you know all this?” Katra stopped what she was doing to watch Jillian go back to her sorting. “Most of the clan history is lost.”

  Jillian paused and smiled. “Because like knows like.” She frowned and moved another can. There was a telling silence in the room.

  “So the Leo is your chosen mate? I thought Naomi was.” Katra sounded confused.

  Jillian shook her head. “I am an appropriate candidate for him. But he is not who she has chosen for me. Bastet has her own reasons for marking me. If it is a lesson and if we fail, then she will present it again. I am here to…” she stopped to choose her words. “provide balance and protection for whomever is chosen as the Lia.”

  “Do you think Nathan is your mate?” Naomi couldn’t resist. It would be kind of cool to see the panther find true love.

  Jillian made a face and shuddered. “No. The more I think of it, the more he feels like a brother.” She regained her composure and looked around for more cans. “It will happen when Bastet is ready to share his affections with a mate.”

  “Or yours.” Naomi told her.

  Jillian nodded. “Yes. When she is ready, there will be no doubt.”

  * * * *

  Sitting in the backseat of Brandon’s truck, Matthew suffered pangs of longing for his own car. He liked his car and hated being dependent on someone else for something as basic as transportation. “Where is my stuff?” he leaned forward and asked.

  “Nathan’s storage building.” Brandon answered without taking his eyes off of the road. “The panther didn’t have much in it, so there was plenty of room for your stuff.” It bothered Matthew that he’d have to sell the thousands of dollars worth of equipment. What would happen to the rest of it and his house? Could he arrange to sell it off without stepping back in the werewolves territory? Brandon’s voice interrupted his worry. “Looked like good quality equipment too. You shouldn’t have too much trouble picking up where you left off.”

  “Maybe,” Matthew realized that he needed to call Doyle to pick up the finished gate that he left behind. A replacement cell phone was just one more thing on his to do list. Settling back in his seat, he resigned himself to watching the vaguely familiar scenery go by. Familiar because this was where he’d grown up. No doubt he’d driven all over this area with his friends. He couldn’t remember all the back field tailgate parties. Parked on out of the way country roads with his girlfriends. All in all, he’d had a good childhood.

  The truck slowed and pulled into a driveway in front of a two story Southern style house in sore need of a makeover. Tricycles, wagons, and an assortment of other children’s equipment littered the yard. A couple of tire swings hung from a large oak tree in the front yard. “This is nice.” Matthew scanned the yard for signs of life, finally seeing a curtain twitch from one of the front windows on the porch area.

  Brandon snorted. “It’s a pile of crap compared to the house that burned. But it has room.”

  “Are you going to let your brother move in?” Matthew’s mouth twitched, remembering the conversation with Brandon on the way to BioPet where he threatened to make Christmas tinsel out of his Pack brother. It seemed ages ago. Brandon’s dark frown stopped any other teasing. The frown wasn’t it, Matthew decided. He was picking up on the other man’s discomfort. The subject had touched on a sensitive subject. “Or not,” he amended. “I imagine it’s nice to spread out some.”

  “Yeah. We need plenty of room.” the answer was flat, but Matthew felt the unhappiness behind it. Then Brandon got out of the truck and all there was left to do was follow. He pulled at the overly tight neck of the new long sleeved t-shirt. He stopped and stared at the leopard spots shadowing his hand. There were kids here. What if he couldn’t control himself?

  The warmth of Naomi’s hands covering his pulled his panic up short. She smiled, all sunshine and light, a beacon to his overwhelmed emotions. Threading his fingers through hers assured that for the moment, she stayed close. Ahead, Brandon stalked to the house. He paused a moment, then gathering himself up tall, entered, leaving Matthew and Naomi to come at their own pace.

  “It’s going to be fine,” she told him. “Even if it’s been a while. Males wander, but your birth clan always welcomes you home.” Matthew wanted to remind her that he hadn’t been born to the clans. He’d done his leaving by choice. Bad choices that had hurt good people. Instead of ruining the moment, he brushed a kiss over her temple and released their joined hands.

&nb
sp; A flash of color disappearing around the house made him open his senses. Instead of an outside threat, he perceived one inside. At least his faint connection to this brother-in-law allowed Matthew to feel the threat Brandon felt.

  Not life-threatening, but enough for Brandon to be wary and want his territory free of the intruder. Picking up on his moods, Naomi’s golden eyes narrowed as she studied the house. When their gazes touched again, she nodded. Matthew gave a last light touch on her shoulder and quietly closed the distance to the porch.

  Toys scattered over the porch in the wan illumination of the yellow bug light by the door. With ease, he avoided stepping on several scarily buxom dolls, a remote control truck, and the pots from the pretend kitchen that nestled between the two windows. Her warmth and energy at his back assured him that she was both near and his back was covered.

  Matthew knocked twice and opened the door. His attention was immediately touched from Brandon’s loose stance to the extremely large man with a small pink ruffled child attached like a monkey to his neck. The man, wolven, had to be taller than six and a half feet, with the build and brawn of a silver-backed gorilla on steroids. Yet he held the girl with gentle hands. Setting the child down, he met Matthew eye-to-eye. Brown and steady, his appraisal held no censure.

  His silver and brown streaked hair was newly shorn, military style, and along with the lines and crags of his face, gave him the look of a general in red flannel plaid. He held out a hand, not quite discounting Brandon in his own home, but definitely bypassing him, to finish sizing up the stranger. “You must be Matthew. I’m Mack.”

  “Hello Mack.” Not seeing any reason for rudeness, Matthew allowed the other to shake hands with him. Hearing his name on a whisper, he turned and stared. His sister was beautiful. Tired, worried, and a million other things he remembered seeing in his mother as she breezed in and out. But definitely there was a calm center in her.