Nathan licked his lips and sighed then nodded. “You’re right, it’s not that big of a deal. Sorry I pressed it, I didn’t mean to upset you.” He seemed to withdraw from her a little bit immediately after that. Had she said something wrong?
Neither of them said much else as they finished packing up and headed back to the cave. The walk back was a two-hour journey in awkward silence. Sofia sensed there was a lot more Nathan wanted to say. There was probably a lot more to the whole quarterly retreat thing with the Pride than she was fully grasping, but she didn’t really feel like discussing any of it. The truth was, she didn’t like having to leave so soon after meeting him.
It was hard to believe she’d only met the man six days ago, since already it was as if she couldn’t imagine her life without him. The idea of waiting a whole week at minimum before she could see him again seemed unbearable.
But anything more he had to say on the subject would only make it worse for them both. She was a grown woman with a demanding job, her own apartment and shit to do. It was silly to make like her departure was the end of the world when she wasn’t even supposed to be on the mountain in the first place. The last thing she wanted to do was spend her final night with him fretting over things she couldn’t change.
It was about half past five and the sun was already low in the sky by the time they made it back to the cave. It wasn’t until they neared the entrance that Nathan broke the silence. “You can stay for dinner at least, right? It’ll probably start in about an hour or so.”
“Sure. I’d like that.” She nodded and looked around. “Is there a place I can get cleaned up for real first?”
“Yeah. There’s a really nice shower in that RV right there.” He led her to one of the vehicles that were parked off to the side of the cave. He knocked on the door, waited a moment then opened it and went inside. A moment later he came back out and nodded at her. “No one’s inside, you’re free to use it. There’s soap already in there and everything. I’ll go put this stuff up and bring you something to wear from your suitcase.”
He was being nice and polite but the tension between them was still thick and uncomfortable. Sofia flashed him a smile and thanked him then stepped into the RV. She watched through the window as he carried their camping supplies and disappeared into the cave before she headed into the shower.
It felt like forever since she’d properly cleaned up. Tongue baths were nice and all, but there was just no substitute for a bar of soap and hot running water. She stayed under the stream for a long time, trying to gather up the courage to go back out there and face Nathan, as well as the other Werecats who she hadn’t even bothered to try to meet yet, only to say goodbye.
When she finally got out of the shower, she found her purse, a set of her underwear and one of her outfits neatly laid upon a bench seat. Sofia smiled with glee to herself as she zipped up her black dress pants and latched them and began to work on the buttons of her green satin blouse. Now that she’d gotten a handle on shifting, it was safe to wear something other than that flimsy rookie dress that came off almost too easily. So good it was to be in her own clothes again.
She started down the stairs of the RV and spotted Nathan outside, standing nearby. His arms were folded across his chest and he looked annoyed. Sofia hesitated and for a moment she wondered if she’d been in the shower long enough to miss dinner and piss him off, but she checked her watch it was only a little past six. When she fully exited the vehicle, she saw that a man and woman were out there too, facing him, wearing angry expressions.
“Nathan?” She looked at him then the other two, then back at him again. “Is everything okay?”
“No, it’s not,” the unfamiliar male snarled. Sofia studied his unruly, dirty-blond curls and strangely colored eyes of dark-yellow mixed with bright green. She couldn’t recall meeting him, nor had they been introduced, yet somehow he seemed vaguely familiar. But not in a good way. “Your friend Dawson here took you and kept you away for two days.”
She shook her head. “No, no, he didn’t take me. We left the cave together,” she explained.
“Which shouldn’t have happened.”
Sofia knitted her eyebrows in confusion. What were they so angry about? “I don’t see what’s the big deal—”
“He didn’t even tell anyone you were awake, let alone that he was leaving with you,” the woman said sharply. “Not even me, and you were my patient.” She approached Sofia and held out her hand. “I’m Dr. Cassandra Kennedy. It’s good to see you’re up and about. And to get to meet you, finally.”
Though she was still confused, Sofia nodded and shook the hand of the petite, serious-looking but attractive woman with straight brown hair that stopped just at her shoulders. “Sofia Saldana. Nice to meet you.”
The man approached her and Sophia resisted the urge to shrink away from his hand. “I’m Justin Finland, it’s a pleasure to formally meet you,” he said as he shook her hand.
“Justin…” she mouthed his name and looked over at Nathan to try to ascertain if this was the Justin, the one who had jumped her while she was jogging a few days ago. The ticked-off expression on Nathan’s face confirmed it for her. She looked back at Justin with her mouth agape. “I don’t understand what’s going on—”
“Our buddy Dawson here broke several Pride rules when he ran off with you on Thursday morning,” Justin said. “We don’t take too kindly to rule breakers here.”
Glancing between everyone, Sofia blinked and fidgeted uneasily. Apparently Nathan was in trouble. And somehow it was all her fault.
* * * * *
Nathan took a deep breath and filled his lungs, trying to tell himself to remain calm and patient. “So there she is, folks, alive and well.” He held out his hand toward Sofia as if presenting her. “As I said—and that I hoped both of you would have known me well enough to know—I haven’t hurt her, or abducted her, or anything like that.”
“Don’t get so worked up over the accusation,” Cassandra chastised. “The last we’d seen of her, she was unconscious. Then the next morning, I come to check on her and she’s gone. And you’ve had her out for over two days now, without leaving a word. That’s not like you. What were we supposed to think?”
Nathan scoffed. “I told you all the day she got here that she was with me. So I don’t know why you’re surprised I left with her.”
“Because you broke the rules, Dawson.” Justin got all up in Nathan’s face. “It’s a rule that all newcomers get introduced to the whole Pride. It’s a rule that all females get to choose who they mate with, and when. You don’t get to scoop her up and snake off somewhere for two whole days and a half, hogging a pussy all to yourself before anyone else even gets a good fucking whiff, man!”
Nathan moved forward, brushing his chest threateningly against Justin’s. “Back up off me,” he warned him. “I already told you it was different with her, and that a formal introduction wasn’t necessary. She didn’t come here for any pride, she didn’t want to meet anyone else yet, she wasn’t looking to do any choosing. She was only on the mountain to see me and she was only in the cave because you jumped her.”
“Dude, fuck what you already told me.” Justin’s voice grew even louder, angrier. “The Pride rules.You fucking broke them!”
Nathan’s ears grew hot and a low growl began to rumble in his throat as his aggravation at the accusations and Justin’s tone grew.
“Listen, it was me, not Nathan,” Sofia spoke up. She placed her hand on Justin’s shoulder, turning him to face her. “I told him I really didn’t want to stay. I don’t know any of you and as far as I’m concerned, I’m not officially a member of this pride or a participant of this retreat. I won’t even be in California after tonight. I’m brand-new to all of this, so I didn’t know we were breaking any rules, and honestly I’m still not sure I understand what we did that was so wrong, but it was all my fault, not his.”
Nathan felt bad that Sofia even had to be engaged in this, at this time, when she and h
e were already a bit edgy with each other. But there was more she needed to learn about Weres sooner or later, as well as understand how the Pride worked, and why. Snapping off further at Justin and Cassandra wasn’t going to do anything but make the situation even more agitating for everyone, so he remained quiet.
Cassandra sighed at Sofia and hugged herself. “It’s chilly out here, and dinner is being served as we speak. Let’s go inside. We can explain it to you while we eat.”
“What about Dawson?” Justin asked, his eyes still lit with anger. “How are we punishing him?”
Wanting to punch Justin dead in the mouth, Nathan balled his hands into fists. But he bit his tongue and held back, waiting to see how Cassandra would respond.
“This is an unusual circumstance, Justin. The entire council will need to decide, not just you and I alone,” Cassandra said. “After Sofia has been introduced, you and I can bring the council up to speed and determine how we handle this. In the meantime, I think it’ll be punishment enough to not allow Nathan to be the one to present her for introduction.”
“Fine,” Justin grunted. He looked smugly at Nathan before turning and heading into the cave.
Cassandra turned as well but Nathan ran up to her, grabbed her by the arm and whispered sharply in her ear, “You’re making a bigger deal out of this than necessary. She’s not even here for the Pride, she’s flying out in the morning.”
“It is a big deal, Nathan. We can smell her all over you.” Cassandra glared coldly at him as she shrugged his hand off her arm and continued to head inside. “We’ll finish discussing this at dinner.”
Nathan exhaled heavily with frustration. He met Sofia’s confused look and tried to give her a reassuring smile. He placed his hand on Sofia’s back and gently guided her through the cave.
The dining room was a large area in the cavern with a single opening in the center of the ceiling that acted as a natural skylight. The glow from the setting sun streaming through the narrow hole brightened the middle of the otherwise dark room. The candles that were placed around the perimeter of the room and on the center of each table were being lit.
The room was noisy with the chattering voices, clattering dishes, chairs scraping across the stone floor and glasses being clanged together in toasts. Just about every adult Werecat in the Pride was there, as it was tradition for them all to eat the last meal of each day of the retreat together…and then to fornicate with each other in the celebration hall a short while afterward. Dinner was just getting started as they walked in, but as soon as the four of them stepped into the room, everyone and everything stopped.
All eyes were on Sofia.
Nathan grunted with disapproval. This was the part he was going to hate.
Chapter Nine
The sudden silence in the dining room was almost deafening. Sofia checked behind and around herself before confirming that the entire crowd was staring at her. Justin took her by the elbow and gently led her toward the front of the room. She glanced back at Nathan. He began to follow behind her, but two burly men grabbed him by the arms and held him back. He scowled at them but gave her a reassuring nod. However, considering that he was being restrained and that Sofia hardly understood what was going on, she was far from reassured.
“Good evening, folks,” Justin said, his voice loud enough for the entire room to hear. “Before we all begin our meal, I’d like to introduce a particularly special newcomer tonight. Not only is she a queen, but she’s an Ahfa queen.” At this, the crowd began to murmur at each other.
Ahfa queen? Sofia looked again at Nathan. She had no idea what an Ahfa queen was, but judging by the way the color seemed to drain from Nathan’s face at this announcement she gathered that he did.
“Because she is an Ahfa, we will all get to be personally introduced to her during tonight’s Mating Ritual,” Justin continued. “Please everyone, welcome Sofia Saldana from New York, New York.”
There was an enthusiastic applause and Sofia leaned toward Justin so he would hear her over the noise. “I understand that a queen is just a term for a female Werecat who hasn’t reached menopause yet or something, right? But what’s the Ahfa part mean?”
Justin laughed. “It means your friend Dawson here is gonna be in deep shit.”
Sofia furrowed her brows. “I don’t understand.”
“You will soon. I’ll escort you to your table,” Justin said, reaching for her arm.
Sofia flinched away, flashing a fake smile. “I’m fine, thanks.”
Justin shrugged then beckoned her to follow him. “I didn’t mean to hurt you that day. It’s against the rules to harm another Were unless it’s in defense, and I would never intentionally hurt a queen.”
It seemed more like a declaration than an apology. She kept her face forward, not making eye contact with him as she responded. “Nathan wasn’t meaning any harm either when he fulfilled my request to be alone with him. And yet you’re furious with him.”
“That’s different though,” Justin scoffed. “He wanted you to himself.”
“I don’t see how it’s different, from what I understand of why you attacked me…”
There were a few seconds of thoughtful silence before Justin came up with a retort. “You know Dawson’s taking advantage of you, right?”
“Is he?” she asked in a bored voice as she trudged behind him. “How so?”
“You’re a newly awakened Were and you’re in heat. He’s taken advantage of your delicate and naïve state to get what he wanted.”
Sofia laughed. “I’m sorry but no, I don’t believe that.”
“You think his affection is genuine?”
“I know it is. He’s completely honest with me.”
Justin side-eyed her leeringly. “Ha, is he now? So did he tell you about him and Cassandra?”
Sofia cut away her eyes.
Justin snorted. “I didn’t think so.”
Sofia grumbled to herself, but she wasn’t going to readily let anything Justin said solely sway her one way or the other. There was still a lot she didn’t understand about the Pride, the relationships between its members or the current situation. Until she received more information, she didn’t know what to think about anything.
They stopped at a small, round table decorated with a white tablecloth and four chairs, two of which were occupied by Cassandra and Nathan. Cassandra’s mouth was an angry slit and Nathan sat rigid in his seat. Justin pulled out a chair between them and beckoned for Sofia to take it.
“Cassandra here can take it from the top for you. I’m going to join the council. It was nice to finally get to meet you, Sofia.” Justin turned to eyeball Nathan with a wicked grin. “You get to sit here and enjoy the rest of your meal with her for now, Dawson, but I’ve got a pretty good feeling you’ll be eating your shit for dessert.”
Nathan didn’t even look at Justin. He just continued to stare off to the side in silence.
“Go on, Justin, that’s enough.” Cassandra shooed him off. “I’ll join you at the council’s table after I’m done here.”
Justin nodded and walked off, leaving just the three of them alone at the table. Sofia turned to Cassandra and Nathan and exploded. “Could someone please explain to me what the hell is going on? Why is everyone on edge? What was so bad about Nathan taking me out of here? What is this Ahfa queen stuff?”
Servers came by and ignored the tension at the table as they deposited silver platters of food and pitchers of drink, and went on their way.
Cassandra leaned back in her chair and folded her hands upon the table. “First of all, Sofia, you need to understand that we Werecats are practically an endangered species.”
“Why? Are we being hunted?” Sofia glanced at Nathan but he seemed distracted and remained aloof.
“No, we’re not specifically being hunted. But as far as we can tell, Weres of all kinds are simply rare,” Cassandra explained. “Especially Werecats. There’s still a lot about ourselves we don’t yet fully understand, like how exactly we�
��ve come to be, why we tend to have our first shift during puberty, why some are Late Bloomers and don’t shift until exposed to other shifters. Our numbers are thinning—there are more Weres dying of old age than there are ones being born.”
“Really? All the sexing going on every night during the Mating Ritual doesn’t help?”
“We haven’t quite figured out how to intentionally reproduce more Weres. Most Cats are born between the twenty-third of July and the twenty-second of August, to a mother who is also a shifter. But this combination doesn’t result in a Werecat child all of the time—only less than five percent.”
Sofia twisted her head. “Only five percent?”
“Five percent.” Cassandra nodded. “Almost all of us are the only ones amongst our siblings. And though the birth rates of Werecats are significantly higher when both parents are shifters, fertility rates among shifters are low, and even then the success rate of the offspring also being a Were is only one in ten.”
“Damn.”
“You’re a newcomer. Not only to the Pride, but to the life. Each and every one of us is valued, but our women are especially revered, which is why we call all female Werecats queens. So a new Ahfa female is a special commodity, indeed.”
“And an Ahfa is?”
“It’s an acronym. A.H.F.A. Available, highly fertile and of age.”
“What makes you think I am highly fertile?”
“I tested the sample of your blood I extracted while you were unconscious.”
Sofia recoiled as she recalled the unexplained bandage on her arm when she first woke up in the cave. “You did what?”
Cassandra waved it off as trivial. “It’s standard practice to test all newcomers for blood type, STDs and hormone levels. We got pretty excited seeing your results. There have been so few new Ahfa queens identified lately.”
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