by M. A. Church
“So you’re cognitive in this form. Good to know you can understand me still, even if we can’t communicate.” Lawson chucked evilly. “Hmm, I know some who’d give just about anything for that.”
“Meerow?” Oh reeeeeally? I kneaded his shirt, purring. Letting a claw come out, I pierced his shirt.
“Hold up now!” Laughing, Lawson laid his hand over my paw. “Easy there, hellcat.”
I was careful not to slice skin. I might not be able to speak, but I could still make my point. I even let out a little chirrup to make sure he got it.
“Okay, okay.” Lawson snickered. “Message received. You don’t need be verbal to get your point across.”
He had no idea. I could speak verbally. It just wasn’t in English. Just wait. I’d have him speaking cat in no time. We sat there, him petting and me purring. This was nice, especially when he really dug in and gently scraped his nails against my skin. Ye gods, that felt good. Then he scratched right above my tail, and I was very tempted to yowl.
“You know, you sure give off a lot of heat.”
I was a longhair. Of course I did.
“Well, this is going to sound stupid, but I kind of thought you’d do more… cat things, since you’re a cat and all.”
I jumped off him and landed on the floor next to his feet. After a quick head-butt and flick of my tail, I trotted over to an old wood box tucked away in a corner of the room. Looking back at Lawson, I imperiously meowed at him to follow me when he just sat on the couch.
“That was a ‘come here’ if I ever heard one,” Lawson mumbled as he stood and walked to where I was sitting. “Jeez, was it me who said you couldn’t communicate verbally?”
“Meeer.”
“Oh, hush you.” Lawson looked in the box. “Well, I’ll be. This is your toy chest, isn’t it?”
I stood on my back legs, which put my paws on Lawson’s hip. I stared at him. “Me-wow.”
“What? What did I…. Oh. Oh! Oh, heavenly day.”
I couldn’t really laugh as a cat, but my whiskers did twitch. I loved it when he blushed.
“I didn’t mean that kind of toy chest. Perv.”
Like I’d have that out just sitting around in the living area. Silly mate. It was in my bedroom.
“Good grief, did you rob a pet store? I’ve never seen so many toys.” Lawson bent down and checked out the box.
Suddenly a handful of balls hit the floor, and off they rolled. Some were rubber, and those bounced. Others were hollow with a bell inside. There was every shade of blue and green in the spectrum. I eyed one of the balls as it rolled away.
The urge to lunge after it nearly had my bottom wiggling, but I wanted to see what else he pulled out. Next came the electric mice and the little birds that made sounds. I liked those too. Lawson squeezed one of the nonelectronic mice at me.
A few feathered teasers floated past my head as he continued to explore my goodies. Then he…. yay, he found the wand with the colored fabric attached to one end. I loved that, but it wasn’t something I could really play with on my own.
I rubbed against him. “Meow, meeow, meeeeeow!”
Lawson looked at me. “Like this one, huh?”
I swatted him on the arm. “Me-now!”
“Think we have a winner.”
Lawson picked the wand up and backed away from me. He jerked the wand back and forth, making the long material at the end flutter and dance. Crouched low, I watched it, the snapping movement holding my attention hostage.
My tail flicked behind me, a nervous little twitch as I watched the material tease me. My back legs tensed. The material taunted me, goading me to try to catch it, to maim it. I launched across the room, gaze zeroed in on the material fluttering in front of me.
Lawson jerked it up and I sprang up after it, claws extended as I swiped at my prey. I heard Lawson’s surprised laugh as I twisted in the air and landed on my feet. Damn, I barely missed the stupid thing. I nonchalantly chewed on a claw.
“Jesus, Heller. You had to be close to six feet off the floor.”
I sniffed. “Meeer.” Really, that wasn’t that high.
There was a ball next to me, so I batted it across the floor and took off after it. I chased it through the house, swatting at it to keep it going. I could hear Lawson behind me. When it slowed down, I got in front of it and slapped it at him.
“Whoa!” Lawson slid to a stop and chased the ball down.
A swift kick, and the ball came back at me. Good! He got the idea. Pawing at it, I shot it into the kitchen. My claws clicked on the wood floor, my tail held high as I hauled ass after it. I made a lap through the kitchen, slipping and sliding across the floor as Lawson followed behind me, laughing. I swatted it at Lawson, but he missed it, and it rolled into the living area again. I yowled playfully at my mate as he ran out of the kitchen after it.
“I heard that,” Lawson yelled from the other room.
The ball came flying back, and I chased it under the kitchen table chairs, weaving my way through them, and then I took a hard right as I batted the ball. Damn floors. My ass slid around, almost turning me in a full circle. I ended up facing Lawson.
Lawson covered his mouth, giggles spilling out. “Ah, oops?”
“Rawl!” I declared, and then ran straight at him.
“Shit!”
I sprinted through his legs and ran full speed toward the den with Lawson hot on my heels. I saw the ball the same time Lawson did. My mate sped up. Surely he didn’t think he could beat me? While he hauled ass around the coffee table, I jumped the damn thing and landed by the ball.
“Holy cow, Heller!” Lawson shouted.
Guess he didn’t know what an excellent jumper I was. I dropped down on the ball. That should be pretty clear as to who won.
“Meooow!”
“You know, all I’d have to do is pick you up to get the ball.”
I flashed my fangs at him.
“Huh. You got some choppers on you.”
He didn’t know the half of it. They were longer and thicker than the average cat’s.
“Very well, hellcat, I give. You won.” Lawson came to me and scratched the base of my tail. “Thank you. I enjoyed seeing your cat. But can you change back now? We still have things to discuss.”
I rubbed my face against his chin and headed for the bedroom. I shifted, dressed, and joined Lawson in the living area.
“Thank you too. That was a lot of fun,” I said. “I, ah, hope we can do that more.”
“I’d love to. Seeing you so playful was a treat.” Lawson sat in one of the overstuffed chairs and pulled me into his lap. “So this joining ceremony. What is it, and what do I have to do?”
“The ceremony takes place at the Circle of Stone. It’s on clowder land, and it has belonged to us for as long as we’ve been here. It’s an actual circle made of large, bulky boulders at least four feet across and eight feet high.”
“Sounds like Stonehenge.”
“Yeah, I guess it does, a little. Anyway, it’ll be us, the elders, the betas, and our Alpha. You swear an oath like I said, and that’s it. There’s usually a small party afterward, welcoming the new mate. See? Not a big deal.”
“Yeah, it doesn’t sound like all that much. Fine, I’m not going to worry about it,” Lawson said. “What do we have planned for today?”
“How about we do some grocery shopping? We can grab a movie and have a nice dinner here. How’s that sound?”
“Sounds good.”
We spent the rest of the week hanging out and getting to know each other.
Chapter Seventeen
Lawson
THE WEEKEND had rolled around again, and here we were sitting in Heller’s den on a Saturday morning, watching TV.
Suddenly Heller turned off the TV and looked at me. “I’ve been wanting to ask you something all week, but I’ve been afraid to. You’ve spent every night here. We’ve been together all day. We’ve had fun, right?”
“Yeah, we have.”
“You haven’t gotten tired of me during that time, right?”
“Of course not! You’re my mate. Why would you…? What are you getting at, Heller?”
“Well, I was hoping I could talk you into moving in with me.”
I just knew my mouth was hanging open.
“Lawson?”
“I, ah… wow.” Well, hell, I should have seen this coming too. Guess I should have seen him nearly dumping me on the floor so he could get up and pace.
And across the floor he went….
“We’re mates,” Heller stated. “There’s no undoing this or getting a divorce. We made love, took each other’s blood, and now you aren’t human any longer. We took a pledge to each other, and frankly I don’t see why we should live apart.”
“I—”
And back he came.
“Are you having second thoughts now? Please tell me you aren’t. I mean… I thought you said you were sure about us, and that we weren’t rushing this! Oh gods. Do you not want to live with me? Do you think it’s too soon?”
“I—”
And forth.
Heller twisted his hands together. “I don’t think I can stand not having you with me. My cat will go crazy and… and we belong together. Plus I told you I was sticking close to you after that were scared you.”
“I—”
And back again. It was like a slow-motion tennis match: back and forth, back and forth.
“I really love my home, but if you’d rather we live somewhere else…. But my house is big and very nice. Don’t you like it? I mean, you rent. Half the stuff in your house isn’t even yours. And gods, you live with Marshell. I’m pretty sure I couldn’t stand to live in the same—”
“Would you just stop!” I yelled, stopping the rant Heller had launched into. Jesus, it was the only way to get a word in edgewise. “Breathe, Heller.”
“But—”
“Nope! Now come here and sit back down. All that pacing makes me dizzy.” Heller flopped down on my lap, and I wrapped him up so he’d stay where I wanted him. “Babe, I never said I wouldn’t move in.”
“You never said you would,” Heller griped, refusing to look at me.
“I got three words out, and you were off on a tear. No, no… just stay your cute ass here.” Heller was straining to get up. “Would you just give me a second to respond before reacting, please? That’s how we ended up here in the first place—you didn’t listen. You made an assumption, and off you went.”
Well, now, that was a pout if I ever saw one.
“First off I’m fine with moving in with you. I think living with Marshell is out too. You two in the same house is just a no-go. Why would we even consider that when you have such a beautiful home?”
“So you will move in here?”
“Yes.”
Heller huffed. “Well, why didn’t you just say so?”
I squeezed him good, earning myself a grunt. “I’m going to hide your favorite ball.”
Heller reached down through my legs and squeezed my balls. “Good thing I know where to look, huh?”
“Smartass. Tell you what, why don’t we take both trucks and head on over there? I really don’t have much. What do you want to do with my bedroom furniture?”
“We can put your stuff in the fourth bedroom. I have my office in there, but it doesn’t take up much space.”
“You sure? I hate to take up your office space.”
“I’m sure. This will be your home, and I want you to feel like you belong.” Heller stood. “By the way, before we go, I need to move my clothes out of one of the walk-in closets for you.”
I followed him to the bedroom. “Where are you going to put them?”
“Your closet had my offseason clothes.” Heller opened the other walk-in. “I’ll use the closet in the fourth bedroom for those.”
My mouth fell open. I’d seen inside the other closet, and I knew it was full, but I hadn’t expected this one to be also. “Good God, man.”
Heller looked at me. “What?”
“Did you hold up the men’s department store? I’ve never seen so many clothes. These are just your out-of-season clothes?”
Heller shrugged. “I like to shop, what can I say?”
I stepped into the closet and looked around. I saw several high-end name brands. “Jesus, I’d hate to see your credit card bill.”
“I only have one, and it has a zero balance.” Heller stepped in the closet too and grabbed an armful of hangers. “I pay it off each month. My credit score is actually very good.”
I grabbed the back of his belt buckle and pulled him to me. “Why, look at you, Mr. Responsible.”
Chuckling, he glanced over his shoulder at me. “That’s not a name often applied to me.”
I patted his ass. “You got them all fooled, don’t you?”
He shifted the piles of clothes he held. “You could say that.”
“But I see you.”
Heller stared at me for a moment, and then a shy smiled appeared. “Yeah, I think you just might. Grab some clothes and let’s get going. These are getting heavy.”
“Uh-huh.” I grabbed an armful and followed him, not saying anything about the fact he was a shifter and could probably lift me over his head. A pile of clothes shouldn’t be too much for him. Besides, I saw the blush he sported.
Under all the layers was a man who was vulnerable and very sweet. It took two hours, several trips to the other bedroom, and some rearranging of Heller’s closet, but we finally cleared mine out.
We spent the rest of the weekend getting Heller’s house ready for me to move in. Heller had close to three dozen pairs of shoes stored in mine that had to go into his new closet, so we decided to stop by one of the big-box stores and get some shelving Monday.
AFTER A quick lunch on Monday, we headed to town. It was midafternoon and I wanted to drop in on Marshell before getting the shelving unit. I wasn’t sure if Janelle was there. Not that I didn’t doubt Marshell couldn’t handle being there by himself. Mondays weren’t busy for us. We weren’t there long.
Luckily we had some boxes in the back that I had for packing. We planned to stop by Remi’s and see if he had any spare boxes. Marshell ran me out after a lot of eye-rolling and huffing that he was perfectly able to handle the shop alone, that he didn’t need a babysitter, and that he was grown and his balls had indeed dropped.
Heller just barely managed to turn his snort into a cough. Turned out Janelle was moving in with Sam over the weekend too. That reminded me. I needed to ask when she and Sam were having their joining ceremony.
After that interesting conversation, we left. A quick trip by Remi’s, and I had a few more boxes. Then we swung by Lowe’s to get the shelving unit. We dropped it off at Heller’s house, and then we took both of our trucks to my old house.
We walked in and I immediately started laughing. I could tell Janelle had been there. The couch, loveseat, and end tables were gone, but Marshell’s overstuffed leather recliner was still there, as was his sixty-inch TV. She left several lamps and a few pictures he bought too.
“Man, I wonder if he knows she took most of the den stuff.” Heller cackled. “What time does he get home? Can we stay until then? I’d love to see his face.”
“You vindictive cat, you.” I cracked up at the look of glee on Heller’s face. No doubt about it, Heller hadn’t forgiven Marshell for how he acted yet.
“And?”
“And as much as I’d love to see that too…. All that stuff was Janelle’s. He’s hated that couch and loveseat from the day she brought it home, so any screaming you might hear would be that of joy.”
“Damn.” Heller sighed. “Ah, well, it was nice while it lasted.”
“Hey, there’s still the kitchen.” I nudged Heller. “Marshell bought one of those high-end fucking outrageously expensive coffeemakers. Janelle always claimed it was hers since she drinks more coffee than Marshell. It might be gone.”
A positively evil grin crossed Heller’s face.
“Let’s go see.”
Laughing, I followed him.
“Hot damn, I don’t see it!”
Huh. Cats held grudges. Who knew? I joined him in the kitchen. He was staring at an empty place on the counter.
“Yup, she took it,” I said.
“Yes!” Heller high-fived me.
I just shook my head. Heller was enjoying this way too much. “Want to see a grown man cry? Well, if we’re still here, you will. You’re getting way too much enjoyment out of this.”
“I sure am.” Heller looked around the kitchen. “Actually it seems like she took all the smaller appliances.”
“She likes to cook.”
“You didn’t buy any of this?” Heller waved around the house, then frowned.
“Well, remember they’re both older than me, and they had way more time to save money. I did buy some stuff around here, but not much. Okay, why are you frowning?”
“I….” Heller sniffed, and his frown deepened. “I didn’t notice it before, but there’s something… a scent…. What the hell is that smell?”
“Huh.” I glanced around the kitchen. “Yeah, I do smell something, but I’m not sure what.”
A low growl sounded from Heller as he moved around the area, sniffing. “It’s almost gone, whatever it is. Very vague and….” Heller’s nose twitched. “I know that smell, dammit, I just can’t….”
“What do you think it is?”
“I can’t quite get a handle on it, but I think it’s a paranormal scent. I don’t like this.” Heller pushed me behind him. “Stay behind me.”
The action irritated me a little, but I wasn’t stupid. If there was a paranormal running around here, intent on causing trouble, Heller would be able to handle him better than I could. After he moved me behind him, we left the kitchen.
“Paranormal? It’s probably Marshell or Janelle.”
Heller shook his head, still frowning. “Nope, that’s not it. Anyway, I know their scents.”
Now I was beginning to get concerned. Heller was really worried. “Do you think anyone’s here?”
Heller sniffed again. “I… I don’t think so. The scent is too faint now.”
