A Game of Cat & Mouse

by Astrid Cielo

  Miranda’s heart hurt.

  “Caleb?” He turned back quickly, his face shadowed in misery, but a sparkle of hope was there in his beautiful golden brown eyes.

  “We can talk about it later?” Caleb nodded and turned to leave. “Caleb! About Gunner—”

  “I’m going to address sealing the mine permanently. I will wait to address what Gunner did after you have explained. I trust your judgment, Miranda. Besides, as alpha female, your input will be

  important.”

  Then he was gone, and Miranda was

  reeling with the announcement of her becoming alpha female. Of course, you idiot, you’ll be his mate!

  ***

  Brenna threw her glass at the wall, but its shattering could not suppress the rage that lived deep inside of her. The burn of the liquor still resonated through her, still not enough to subdue her rage. Ever since her mother’s death three years before, Brenna found it difficult to control her ever-present anger. She’d lost her tether to peace. However, she couldn’t forget.

  Never would forget.

  Sliding down the wall of her small house, she fought the memories that always assailed her when she drank. Yet, she couldn’t help herself. The beatings came back. Her dad, her mother’s mate, getting drunk. Then he would become mean, first beating her mother until she could not defend her daughter.

  The beatings were always worse when her mother protected her. Brenna

  shuddered. But in the end, she’d showed him, had showed them all, as the blood ran down her throat, that she was one cougar who couldn’t be messed with. That day she’d made herself a promise. No matter how long it took or what she had to do, she would become alpha female of a

  pride. Her mother’s discreet acceptance into Pinewood Creek’s pride was a

  surprise. Her eventual successful removal of the alpha pair was only the first step.

  Now all she needed was the current alpha to claim her.

  But that stupid bitch kept getting in the way. She’d saved Gunner when Brenna was supposed to do it and become the hero. Never mind she’d hid the brat in the first place. Picking up the book that held the bylaws of the pride, Brenna James smiled. Maybe, just maybe, she could end this with the rules that bound them all.

  ***

  Caleb stood, his mind working over what Miranda had said before he left her naked and well loved. Had he refrained from telling her he was alpha of his pride because he didn’t trust her? He dismissed that thought almost as quickly as it passed through his brain. He trusted Miranda, almost instinctively. It was if he’d known her his whole life. So why hadn’t he told her?

  Honestly, he hadn’t told her about his alpha status because he feared she’d run.

  But that wasn’t the whole of it. He’d still didn’t feel like an alpha and was striving to become like his father, who’d embodied the meaning of alpha.

  “Alpha?” Zackary’s voice pulled him from his personal struggle. He looked up to find several members of the pride regarding him with curiosity.

  “Sorry. I called all of you together to help ensure that this mine is closed for the safety of the other kittens in the pride.

  Apparently, the boards we placed were not enough to deter a certain kitten from wandering in. We need to collapse the entrance, but I’m not sure how we should do that.”

  “I could rig a small explosive.” Zackary said.

  Caleb smacked Zackary behind his

  head. “What?”

  “How about you don’t advertise you

  know how to make an explosive.”

  “Hey! I don’t really know how to make an explosive per se, but I was implying we take out the structural integrity of the mineshaft and allow it to enclose itself.

  You don’t have to make a bomb.”

  Caleb regarded Zackary warily before the wisdom of his words sank in. Of course, it would not be easy, but he could always document it as a safety training exercise and get a few sticks of the explosive they used to destroy buildings.

  Zackary’s uncanny intelligence, combined with Caleb’s experience in architecture, this could work.

  “Okay, but I’ll order some real explosives made by professionals to reduce the risk of misfire. Map out where you think the explosives should be set and get it back to me in a few days. I have to get back.

  Thanks everyone for your input.”

  “What are you going to do about

  Gunner?” someone yelled out as he turned to walk away.

  Caleb turned back and sighed at the inquisitive faces that looked at him expectantly. “Gunner is a child, and despite what we’ve taught them, they will make mistakes. I promised Miranda that I would wait until she talked with me before I spoke to or punished Gunner.”

  “What does Miranda have to do with

  anything?”

  Before Caleb could control himself, he held the man by his neck. The fact that he would dare to discount his mate as his alpha female was more than Caleb’s

  frazzled nerves could take.

  “You will not speak of your alpha female that way!” he said through clenched teeth, his claws extending and retracting, drawing blood from the male’s neck. A hand on his shoulder pulled his attention from the prey his cougar had cornered.

  “Alpha, he didn’t know. Not everyone knows yet.” Zackary’s soft-spoken words filtered through his mind, ringing with clarity. Caleb had yet to claim Miranda, bowing to her wishes of slow and

  methodical. He wanted to make her

  happy, but his cougar was impatient. It wanted its mate, and it wanted it now.

  Caleb was unaware of how close to the edge he’d become since meeting Miranda.

  He had been uncharacteristically sharp with his pride. Something his father wouldn’t do. He was not fit to be alpha.

  Taking a deep breath, Caleb released the male, only then realizing that the male he was strangling was Winston Dawson, a man who owned one of the stores in town.

  He was by far one of the nicest people Caleb had ever had the chance to meet or know.

  “I’m sorry, Winston; I don’t know what came over me.” Winston surprised Caleb by laughing.

  “I understand. If I’m not mistaken, your father bruised a few people before he claimed your mother.”

  Chapter 10

  Miranda stirred from her nap to awaken in darkness. She looked around and finally found the glow of the alarm clock on the bedside table. 9:30 p.m. Miranda sat up and stretched, her heart nearly pounding out of her chest when she noticed Caleb sitting in the shadows, his eyes following her every movement. “Caleb?”

  He moved slowly as he stalked toward the bed, crawling up and taking her lips.

  Miranda melted into him, as she always did, her body readying itself for his possession. Caleb moved from her lips to her throat, bathing her pulse point with his tongue.

  “I missed you,” he said against the skin of her neck.

  “I missed you too, Caleb, but I haven’t been anywhere.”

  “I’m going mad, Miranda, knowing that you are right here, but I have not claimed you. My cougar is going crazy.”

  Miranda sighed. She knew it would be hard on him, but the truth was she couldn’t see tying her life irrevocably to a man she didn’t love. That wasn’t the case, though, not anymore. Mirada did love him, so what held her back? Was she still smarting from his omission of his alpha status? Was it the fact that the relationship was so new?

  She couldn’t put her finger on it, but something inside of her would not allow her to say yes and allow him to claim her.

  Miranda lifted her hands and pulled his face to her so that she could peer into his eyes.

  “Caleb, I think we need to talk.”

  Caleb sighed and rolled to the side, leaving Miranda feeling oddly bereft without him, but this had to be done.

  Didn’t it? Miranda sat to face him, pulling the sheet to cover her chest. Miranda smiled and tapped Caleb’s chin to bring his eyes back to her face. No matter what her insi
des were screaming when it came to committing fully to this man, it made her feel beautiful when he looked at her, his eyes taking her in as if she were the most beautiful creature in the world.

  “About Gunner, I know that you want to punish him, and I even understand the why. I would punish my child if he’d put himself into danger like that, and as a teacher, I know that children need

  discipline. Without it, they have no roadmap to follow. Now when I found Gunner, he was in the mineshaft covered with a piece of wood inside a small cart.

  At the time I wondered how he got into the cart, but he can transform into a cougar, so whatever. But, Caleb, he was fully clothed, and when I led him to the entrance, he couldn’t get out of the entrance without his mother and me removing some of the

  boards.”

  “What are you saying, Miranda?”

  “Well, when I was at Gunner’s house, I scented him in his room, his child smell mixed with the tuna fish sandwich he’d eaten at dinner. Of course I also smelled his mother, Essence, and even more faintly Zackary, but there was someone else’s scent. It never sent red flags up until I found Gunner in the mineshaft and that same scent was detectable around the area.”

  “So you don’t think Gunner got into the mineshaft by himself? And, by scenting, you mean you smelled all of this?”

  “Yes, Caleb. I’m a mouse. It is my best sense. As for sight, when I am a mouse, it is rather blurry. Thank goodness my eyesight is better in human form.”

  “So you believe someone placed Gunner in there?”

  “Well, it makes the most sense, given he couldn’t even get out of the small spaces between the boards. Essence didn’t even want to look there because she said none of the children go out there. I mean how often has a child gone out to the

  mineshaft?”

  “This is actually a first, which was why I was going to ensure punishment in front of the pride. I know it sounds harsh, but Gunner could’ve been killed.”

  Miranda scooted over to Caleb and

  snuggled into his side, laying her head on his chest. The rumble of his voice through his chest soothed Miranda, even if the question was serious. “You don’t think Essence did it, do you?”

  “I really don’t know anyone well enough to say what they would or wouldn’t do, Caleb. But Essence was beside herself, and I didn’t smell her in the mineshaft.

  Just Gunner and that other scent.”

  “I’ll be honest; I don’t know Essence and Zackary as well as the others in the pride.

  I grew up with most of the others, but Essence and Zackary joined the pride a little over three and a half years ago.

  Essence was pregnant at the time. My father allowed them to join but never related their story or the reason, and none of the pride has ever asked. We

  understood that if he wanted us to know, then we would. The other member I’m not as knowledgeable about is Brenna. She and her mother joined not long after Essence and her brother but about three months before my parents died. Her own mother died as well. Dad never deemed it necessary to say why each of them joined so suddenly, but like I said, if he’d wanted us to know, then we would.”

  “You loved your father, didn’t you?”

  Caleb looked down into Miranda’s eyes, and she smiled at the look of pride there.

  He was proud of his father, and he loved him, looked up to him. “I still do, and I love my mother. I miss them. Sometimes I wonder if I’m cut out for this. At times I don’t feel like an alpha, but a failure.”

  “Didn’t you grow up knowing you’d be alpha one day?”

  Caleb nodded. “Being conditioned to be an alpha, doesn’t ensure success. Look at my pride, Miranda. I’m not my father who had this pride running like a well oiled machine.”

  And there it was, the whole reason he hadn’t told her about his status as alpha.

  Caleb believed he was a failure and therefore disregarded himself as worthy to be the alpha. Oh, he took care of the pride, probably better than he gave himself credit for, but in the end, he did not see himself as alpha. Miranda’s heart filled with love, and suddenly, it did not matter if he loved her. Tomorrow night she would surprise him.

  “I have to work tomorrow,” Miranda

  said.

  “I know. I have to go into the offices tomorrow too. What are you doing after work?”

  “That depends.”

  “On what?”

  “That depends on what you want,”

  Miranda said poking him in the chest.

  “Should I go home or do you want me to come over and have my wicked way with you?”

  “I think you should come over so I can lick you from head to toe before I have my wicked way with you,” Caleb said. Miranda giggled. He was just too cute. “Am I forgiven?”

  Miranda smiled before darting her

  tongue out to tease his nipple. “You’re forgiven.”

  Miranda laughed as he rolled and pinned her under him. His mouth worked her to a fever pitch, and when he entered her, she clawed at his back until her shouts of completion mixed with his.

  Miranda lay in his arms drifting to sleep, her mouth curved into a smile. “I love you,” she whispered to her sleeping mate.

  ***

  Miranda stood in the center of her

  classroom, and butterflies that had never bothered her before flooded her stomach vigorously. School would start next week, and she was looking at the drabbest classroom ever. Thank goodness, her class was fourth grade. Had she been with kindergarteners, she would be screwed.

  Taking a deep breath, she got to work with the glue, construction paper, and the stapler.

  Her mind wandered back to the phone conversation she’d had with her mother after Caleb dropped her off at the school.

  “Hi, Mom.”

  “Miranda! I’m so glad to hear from you.

  So, tell me all about Pinewood Creek!”

  “It’s a beautiful town, Mom. I love it.”

  “So who’s the man?”

  Damn her mother’s all-knowing ways.

  When she’d been a child and done

  something wrong, there had been no

  hiding it from her mother. When she’d lost her virginity at a high school party to a big jerk, she’d called home, and her mother had known instantly what happened.

  Miranda had often accused her mother of placing cameras on her person, but she’d never been able to prove it. No matter the situation, though, she’d helped Miranda pick up the pieces.

  “I found my mate, Mama.”

  Miranda had to pull the phone from her ear as her mother’s screech was loud enough to burst eardrums. Miranda

  laughed as she heard her mother yelling in the background, “Blake! Sweetheart, your daughter found her mate! We are going to Pinewood Creek!”

  “Oh my God, Mom! You don’t have to do that.”

  “Like hell I don’t! My baby girl is mated, and I need to meet this man and put the fear of your mother in him.”

  “Um, I’m not actually mated yet, Mom.”

  “And why not, Miranda? Is he some kind of coward or something?”

  “No! Nothing like that.”

  “Well, what is it, girl? Speak up!”

  Miranda leaned against the wall, using it as a guide to slide down into the floor.

  “I’m scared, Mama.”

  “Well, of course you are, dear.”

  Miranda laughed as the tears bunched in her eyes making her vision blurry. “That doesn’t really help, Mama.”

  “Sweetheart, there isn’t anything I can say that would make it better. It’s scary when you find your mate, but it’s also wonderful and pleasurable, if you know what I mean!”

  “Mom!”

  “Sorry, dear. I’m going to tell you like my mother told me. Girl. It’s your mate, so just let it happen. Jeez, you act like it isn’t fated or something.”

  Miranda laughed. “Thanks, Mom.”

  “By the way, how did you keep that

 
; randy mouse from claiming you? I

  remember when your father found me; he ensured there was no denying.”

  “About that… well, he’s not a mouse.”

  “What is he, a human?”

  “Not exactly, Mom. He’s a cougar.”

  “Holy shit!”

  “Exactly.”

  “Well, we’ll be there sometime

  tomorrow, baby. Don’t worry, your daddy will kick his ass if need be.”

  “Well, there isn’t a need, but I can’t wait to see you and Daddy.”

  “Bye, honey, your father is calling.”

  “Bye, Mama.”

  Now here she stood with bits of

  construction paper littering the floor, her mind not able to focus on decorating for her new class. Miranda looked around at the incomplete artwork and projects and crumpled to the floor. School started next week, and she, Miranda Sullivan, would be responsible for teaching a class of twenty-two fourth graders. Miranda viewed education as a fundamental of society and valued the benefits of a good education.

  She had studied for this moment and passed all the tests, but what if she wasn’t ready to do this? What if she failed?

  Strong arms enveloped her, pulling her into a new, but familiar, embrace, and while the worries didn’t disappear, they did lessen. Moving to a new town and

  accepting a teaching job wasn’t really like her, but she refused to let life pass her by staying safe in her cozy little nest with her parents. She had to try. It meant the world to her that she had someone to lean on when things became too tough.

  “What’s wrong, Miranda?”

  Miranda smiled, his concern warming her heart. She thought to say that she was fine. Everything was better now in his arms, but if she wanted this to work, then it took more than sex. It took trust. She had to build a foundation to last when the urge to mate subsided.

  “I’m scared. What if I’m not good at this?”

  “At what?”

  Miranda extended her arms in

  exasperation. “At this! At everything! I will be responsible for the education of twenty-two fourth graders next week, and I’m terrified.” Caleb placed a chaste kiss on her neck and pulled her closer, placing his mouth by her ear.