What the Cat Dragged In

by BA Tortuga

“Ha ha ha. I swear to God, Con. You’re my goddamn hero. Thank you. Sam was losing his mind, and I wasn’t far behind.” Gus grabbed Connor, hugged the bobcat tight, and Brock caught himself growling under his breath.

  Gus whirled, letting go of Connor, and advanced on him, shoulders squared. Brock bristled, his teeth grinding, his hands clenching into fists. This was why he was a lone fucking wolf. He didn’t do pack politics.

  “Hey, y’all. Hey, Gus. Don’t. Please, y’all. Easy. We’re damned tired. You’ve got to be exhausted as fuck, right? Like, totally.” Connor put himself between them, completely unafraid. “Breathe and get y’all’s shit together before we scare the babies.”

  Gus stiffened, vibrating. Then he glanced at Connor and Mona in turn. To his credit, it was Brock he looked at when he spoke. “Sorry, man. Sorry. You’re my first challenge.” Gus winked, and Brock snorted.

  “I’m a lover, not a fighter.”

  Now Connor hooted. “Uh-huh. Sure. Let’s eat.”

  Gus nodded easily. “You two go with Mona, and I’ll check on Sam and the littles. Be right back.”

  “He hasn’t slept, guys. Forgive him. He likes to pretend that Sam is crazy for those kids, but he loves them.”

  “I get it.” Brock spread his hands. “I was out of line. My excuse is ten hours on the road.”

  “It’s a damn fine excuse.” Connor leaned over, nuzzled him like they’d known each other for years.

  “It is.” Mona led the way into a smaller cabin, warmly furnished with handmade quilts and bizarre arts and crafts made by kids. A teenaged wolf darted out of a back hallway to put himself between Brock and Mona.

  “Hi, Richie,” Connor murmured. “He’s with me.”

  “Uncle Connor. You found her. Again. Randi’s….”

  A she-wolf launched herself at Connor, who caught her easily, and not for the first time, Brock was struck by Connor’s strength. Stocky little shit. “Hey, baby girl. She’s fine. You’re fine. We’re all okay.”

  She licked Connor’s chin, a sharp whine sounding.

  “I know, huh? That was scary, but me and Brock, we showed up like the white hats we are. Have you met my buddy Brock? He’s a hero, like a real one. He saves bears from poachers.”

  The she-wolf was young, just shifting again, he would bet. She clattered back to the floor, then came to him, bowing gently.

  “Hey. Nice to meet you,” Brock said.

  She offered him a wolfy smile, then the top of her head, so he scritched her ears. These were good folks; they really seemed to be a decent pack. He couldn’t blame Connor for wanting to call this home.

  “Come sit at the table, boys,” Mona murmured. “Food is ready. If you want to eat with us, you have to go get your clothes on and use your manners, Randi.”

  Randi slunk out of the room, and Richie snort-laughed, which made Mona stare at him until he subsided. Brock could see how she could raise a whole pack herself.

  He sat, the scents of meat and tomatoes and chili powder making his mouth water.

  “I missed your chili, lady.” Connor moaned softly. “Is there cheese? Can there be cheese?”

  “Cheese and sour cream.” Jason, the coyote, flopped down after carrying in a tray of condiments, including onions, mustard, and ketchup for the burgers, and some kind of slaw. “Buns there. Cornbread there. Butter.”

  “Y’all thought of everything.”

  “Mom cooks when she’s worried.” The obvious Alpha-female sat next to the coyote. “Sam is never going to leave the girls’ bedroom.”

  Connor chuckled, the sound husky. “Gus will change his mind.”

  “I bet.” Jason winked at the lady. “This is my wife, Helena.”

  Brock smiled, trying to keep all the names straight. “Pleasure to actually meet you.”

  “No one expects you to remember them tonight, Fuzzy. It took me days.”

  He gave Connor a sideways glance. Maybe Connor’s bit of psychic ability extended to him hearing the occasional thought. “I like to be prepared, Ragbone.”

  “I can see that about you.”

  “Mmm.” He filled a bowl with chili, cheese, and sour cream, then crumbled a piece of cornbread in it. Rock on. One of his favorite meals, even with the beans.

  Connor’s chili was more cheese than anything, and it made him chuckle. Goofball kit.

  “He likes salty cheddar a lot,” Richie said softly.

  “I’ll keep that in mind.”

  “I just went in to go to the bathroom. I told the girls to stay put.” Richie hunched his shoulders up.

  “I don’t think anyone blames you, bud.” Brock hadn’t seen a hint of blame, to be honest.

  “No. Mistakes happen.” That was Mona who ruffled his hair. “And so do accidents.”

  His eyes gleamed a little, but Richie turned back to his burger. Poor guy. Brock had been there. His cousin Alia had gotten caught on the wrong side of a grass fire when they were kids, and it had been his fault for chasing her, biting her tail.

  Shit happened. You did your best, right? Right.

  Brock told himself that all the time. Sometimes it worked better than others.

  Connor stole a bite of his chili.

  “Hey!” He laughed, because he didn’t mind sharing.

  Connor whistled innocently. Silly kit. Brock pinched his leg under the table, and that just got him a fluttering of long, gold eyelashes.

  “Burger, Brock?”

  When he blinked down at his bowl, it was empty, and Mona smiled gently at him.

  “Sure. Thank you, ma’am.”

  “Of course. I have four here for you. I know Connor will eat that many, at least.”

  “You’re a goddess.”

  “And don’t you forget it,” Helena said.

  “Never.” Connor grinned over. “How’s the schooling going, honey? You killed anyone yet?”

  “It’s good.” She pushed her heavy hair off her shoulder. “I love it. Surprising, huh?”

  “Is it?” Connor shrugged. “I’ve never known not-teacher you.”

  “No kidding?” Brock stared. “Were you hatched?”

  “Which one of them?” Mona asked.

  “Connor.” He chuckled. “I don’t know the lady well enough to tease.”

  “Well, Connor, were you hatched?”

  “Nope. Born the normal fuzzy way.”

  “Raised by wolves?” Sam teased. Well, he was fairly sure that was Sam. Pretty, black hair, green eyes, slinky kitty. He’d only had the shortest glimpse of the man when they’d first arrived.

  Connor just snorted. “My momma would kick your ass.”

  “Probably. Moms are weird that way.”

  Mona laughed, the sound warm and obviously relieved. “You boys behave.”

  “Yes, Mom,” the felines said in unison, and for a second, Brock had the image of real, wicked trouble when those two got together. Gus caught his gaze, eyes rolling, and nodded once.

  Brock chuckled, then sucked down two burgers in quick succession. He could totally see why Connor liked it here. He hoped Gus really meant to have that beer with him later too.

  “Are the little ones asleep?” Connor asked.

  Sam nodded. “Sound.”

  The teenaged boy wouldn’t look at Sam, head down, back hunching as he tried to make himself smaller, and when Sam stood to go over to the kid, the motion was so smooth, so graceful, that it stole Brock’s breath for a second.

  Sam grabbed Richie and brought him to his feet, then hugged the kid hard. “I love you, Rich. She’s okay. You’re okay. We’re okay.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  “Nope. Kids do crazy things. She was being a big girl and exploring. I used to do amazingly awful things.”

  “And then some,” Mona murmured.

  “Hush, you.” Sam squeezed again. “Get over it, kiddo. It’s all ended well.”

  “Right.” Richie squared his shoulders. “I’ll keep a better eye on her.”

  “That’s all I can ask.” Sam ruffled the
kid’s hair before settling in his chair again.

  “Who wants dessert?” Mona asked. “Peanut butter pie.”

  The entire group made a sound that was more than hungry and just a step down from sex. That shit must be the best pie ever.

  “Would you like some, Brock?”

  “If everyone likes it that much, absolutely.” He rose, gathering plates. “Let me help.”

  “Thank you.”

  Both Richie and Randi, along with a wolf he hadn’t met and a pretty little she-wolf, helped too. They grinned at him when Mona pulled out two pies. One was a cold pie, all peanut butter and whipped cream, which he’d expected. The other looked like pumpkin pie, a custardy sort of thing that smelled like the best kind of sin.

  “Sam likes the icebox pie,” Mona said. “So does Pete here. Gus likes the baked kind. I’ll give you a bit of each so you can see which one you prefer.”

  “The baked. Please.”

  Mona chuckled. “Ah, the favorite of wolves.”

  “Hey! I’m not a pussy cat!” That was the wolf helping, but there didn’t sound like an ounce of meanness in the tease.

  “No, but you are my boy’s best friend. You must have a lot in common. Richie likes the icebox too.”

  “What does Connor like?” Brock asked.

  “Anything with whipped cream. Anything.”

  “I’ll remember that.” He took a handful of plates with pie back out to the pack.

  Connor was sitting on the floor, cradling a couple of puppies, stroking their ears and talking to a huge wolf who was sitting beside them. “…I swear, y’all should have seen this bear. He was so fuzzy, and he wanted my jerky, bad. They have amazing lips too. All wiggly, like this.”

  And Connor wiggled and pursed.

  Sam cleared his throat. “Uh. Connor? Honey? Gray is blind still.”

  “The puppies aren’t,” Connor said, as if that was completely reasonable.

  “Pie,” Brock murmured, and everyone hummed again.

  “Gray will take his on the floor. He doesn’t do human unless he has to.” A soft-spoken, pretty little she-wolf offered him a smile. “I’m Marina. His wife.”

  “Hey. Brock. Pleased to meet you.” She was adorable, and Brock was amazed at how this little pack worked.

  “Same here. Are the babies bothering you, Connor?”

  “Not a bit. They’re just dozing.”

  “They’re so cute.” God, it had been a long time since he’d seen any cubs that tiny.

  “They are. Here, trade me. Pie for one puppy snuggle.”

  “You got it.” He sank to the floor so he could hand over the pie, then took one pup in each arm.

  He found himself a bit stunned. Was he really sitting here on the floor? Really?

  He grinned down at the cubs, who were mostly asleep. Sweet babies. One of them latched on to his arm, nibbling some.

  Sharp little milk teeth. Damn.

  “Here, hon, let me take them.” Their mom eased them away from him, her cheeks red. Someone must be hungry. He didn’t remark on it, just took the pie Mona brought him, the scent making his mouth water.

  Connor leaned against him, eating a huge piece of pie, moaning as he licked his fork.

  Brock stole a bite of the icebox pie, which was a fluffy peanut butter cloud. Yum. He preferred the dense, custardy, baked pie, though.

  Slowly but surely people began to leave, and he got it. It was closer to dawn than midnight, and exhaustion was pulling at him.

  “Come to bed, Fuzzy.”

  He blinked up at Connor, who stood in front of him, holding down a hand.

  “God, did I doze off?”

  “Maybe a little bit. I got me a room in the big house. There’s a bed.”

  “I like beds.” He took Connor’s hand and rose, listening to his joints pop. “Creaky! I’m so glad we found her, Ragbone.”

  “I am too. She was damn scared, and I hate that shit.” Connor led him to the main house, the place huge and warm, even though it was dark. “I’m on the top floor.”

  “There’s a top floor?” He peered about, his night vision not as good in his human form.

  “Uh-huh. Like a single room, more than a floor.”

  “So like a loft.” And sure enough, there was a stair/ladder, a railing that made it into a room, and all sorts of crazy kitty paraphernalia.

  “Christ, Ragbone. You have a little haven here.”

  “I do.” Connor stripped down, easy as pie.

  Brock pulled off the sweats they’d loaned him, reminding himself to get his bag in the morning. When he flopped on the bed, he moaned. “Oh God, this is nice.”

  “Uh-huh. Good bed.” Connor snuggled right up to him, like they were lovers, as if he’d invited Connor to cuddle.

  “Yeah.” He thought for maybe five seconds about pulling away, just on principle, but he was so damned comfy. So he stayed right the hell where he was.

  Connor kissed his jaw, the fluttering of the heavy gold eyelashes tickling him.

  He slung an arm over Connor, rumbling a little in his throat. He relaxed easily, slipping toward sleep. So not like him.

  Chapter Ten

  “UNCLE CONNOR!”

  The cries woke him up from his happy dreams where he was surrounded by warm wolf. Maybe invaded by him.

  “Uncle Connor! Breakfast!”

  “Are they always this loud?”

  Oh, hello. There was a wolf right there. Hot and big and rumbly.

  “Pretty much, yeah. Gray taught them all to be morning people. Sam and Gus were so pleased.”

  “I bet. You said Sam was a city kitty.”

  “Sam did Broadway. Can you imagine? He was used to late nights. And Gus, he spent most of his time underground.” But Gray? Gray was up at the crack of dawn, and these days, breakfast was at 8:00 a.m.

  Brock kissed the back of his neck. “Go see the puppers. I’ll go grab my bag.”

  “The bathroom at the bottom of the stairs has a kickass shower, don’t forget.” He wiggled, taking a second to enjoy the latent promise of that heavy cock.

  “Mmkay. What’s breakfast, do you think?”

  “Well, there will be bacon. Since we’re here, I’m betting there will be sausage, maybe muffins or waffles. Eggs.”

  “Lucky us.”

  “Yes. The food here rocks my socks.”

  “Uncle Connor! Hurry! We want to show you our new books!”

  That was Lisle and Bella. The others were either too little or too old for that.

  “Hey, is that box of stuff I transferred to your truck still in the toolbox?”

  “Yep.” Brock rolled to the edge of the bed and pulled on the sweats he’d worn the night before. “I need my bag. I’ll grab the box too.”

  “Thank you.” He grinned and threw on a pair of jeans, skinning them up over his bare ass.

  “No problem, Ragbone. Look out below!” Brock leaped and landed lightly down on the floor, making the kids squeal. Connor could hear him rumbling, “Anyone shorter than me always has to take the stairs.”

  “It’s the Bear Hero!” Lisle gasped, and Bella gaped.

  Okay, that was pretty cool. Connor slid down the steps and grabbed the girls in a wild hug.

  “Uncle Connor!” They both threw themselves at him, hugging tight.

  “Hello, sweet babies.”

  “Did you have a slumber party with the bear hero man?”

  “I did. Am I lucky or what?”

  Lisle chortled. “He’s really strong. Did he carry you up the stairs?”

  “He’s not strong enough to pick me up. I’m big!”

  “No! You’re little like us.” Bella patted his cheeks. “We got books.”

  “I can’t wait to see.” He nuzzled her hands.

  “Brekkie first,” Randi said from the end of the hall. She smiled at him, pushing her hair back behind her ear. “Gussy is making all the things.”

  “Well, then, let’s go discover your Gussy.”

  “Okay!” The girls tumbled
over each other, running in front of him. Feeding their brood here was sort of an assembly line thing. They all pitched in.

  “Howdy, Gus. What can I do you for?”

  “Flip!” Gus handed him a spatula and moved to the big wall oven. There were pancakes on the two-burner griddle and eggs in a skillet.

  “Flipping!” He had this. Pancake man, that was him.

  “Good deal.” Gus shot him a grin. “Pete abandoned me for a potty emergency.”

  “Ah, the world of the busy daddy. I hope he has wet wipes.”

  “Me too.” Gus whirled like he was the dancer, sliding a pan of bacon onto the kitchen island. They did bacon in mass quantities at Chez Gus and Sam.

  “Very nice.” He flipped the pancakes once more, then poured batter in the empty spaces.

  “Thanks. I got to get the muffins in for Mona. She wanted raspberry white chocolate.”

  “I like raspberries. I like white chocolate okay. Is Sam sleeping still? I know he was out of his damn mind with worry.”

  “He is. He has a bunch of Pete and Lizzie’s offspring still.”

  “Aww. Puppy-pile!” He chuckled softly. Sam was like this weird uber-uncle or something.

  “Yep.” Gus winked. “Makes it easier to feed in shifts. Where’s your man?”

  “Either bathing or grabbing sh—stuff from the truck.”

  “Ah. Cool. I assume he can eat like you.”

  “Not quite, but he tries.”

  Gus chuckled. “And switch!” The muffins went in the oven, Gus skating back past him to flip stuff. “Unpan the bacon?”

  “I’m on it. Did you know your little ones are stealing pieces?”

  Lisle and Bella were munching away.

  “We won’t tell.” Gus winked. The man was in a fine mood this morning.

  “Good to know.” He stole a piece of bacon for himself. Oh, yum.

  “Crunchy goodness,” Brock said, wandering in. He’d scrubbed up fast. “That box is in the hall.”

  “Excellent.” He winked at Gus. “I brought p-r-e-s-e-n-t-s.”

  Bella’s eyes lit up. “For reals?”

  “Did y’all learn to spell while I was gone?” Connor asked, widening his eyes dramatically.

  She nodded. “Miss Helena teached me.”

  “Taught,” Gus corrected.

  “Taught,” she repeated.

  “Wow! Go you. After breakfast we can all look.” Connor winked at Bella.