Cats and Dogs_Age of Night_Book Four

by May Sage

  He definitely, definitely didn't sound like a Vergas bigot.

  "Wait, can't you just like, huff and puff and blow the house down, guy? I feel I've been lied to in my childhood."

  "It's all boar shifter propaganda," the guy replied, all the while removing his shirt and using it to dry his sweaty forehead.

  Christine stared, and she wasn't the only one. She was part of the Wyvern, which meant seeing a bunch of hot guys in various stages of undress on a regular basis, but none of them looked quite like that.

  Hunter had the physique of a freaking god, with his large, thick shoulders, a golden tan, and a set of sexy abs. His waist was thinner, and that mouth-watering V leading inside his pants was making it hard to concentrate. Hunter didn't miss leg day either; his thighs were thick and hard.

  Was she licking her lips?

  From the corner of her eye, she could see Vi fanning herself and Rain nodding appreciatively, but Hunter's eyes were on her.

  "Hey, looks like you wanna take a bite, and I might just let you, Red."

  He was flirting with her, the only submissive in the pride. That made no sense. When they were outside in the world, Christine got just as much attention as any of the women of the pride from regulars. She had her pick of guys. But sups paid her little attention. Submissives weren't sexy; they were immediately friend-zoned. The members of the pride really didn't mess with each other, in general, but the two newcomers, Theo and Luke, were flirting with the single females, trying to get their attention. Not with her, though. She knew the deal. Dominants were attracted to women just as strong as them. When she paired up some day, it would be with a submissive guy.

  But Hunter Force exuded dominance, just like Rye, and yet he was flirting with her, not Vi, the dominant werewolf, or Rain, the strong and sexy witch.

  Hey, that was a serious confidence boost.

  "Ask me again later," she replied with a wink, congratulating herself for not stammering on each word. "Work to do."

  She was pretty sure he wouldn't ask later; he was just being nice. But still.

  Christine's arms were in serious danger of falling off when Hunter stopped and sniffed.

  "Do you smell that?"

  The others looked at each other in confusion; Vi shrugged to show she had no clue what he was talking about.

  "Lasagna. Someone is making lasagna."

  "Ian's cooking tonight," Christine confirmed. "He was thinking lasagna or risotto."

  "Oh my fucking god, what is it with your nose? You shouldn't be able to identify lasagna from a mile away."

  Hunter shrugged. "There are only so many things people can do with a Bolognese sauce, extra basil and garlic, and a béchamel."

  "You can't smell béchamel, dammit."

  "You can when you're fucking starving. I smell cheese browning; I think it's in the oven. We might as well head back now, I don't think we can do much more for today."

  They'd removed all the inner half logs, pulled the destroyed insulation out, and cleaned the walls. He was right; there wasn't much to do until the new foam they'd ordered arrived. There was wood coming in a couple of days, too.

  They could have started working on the carpet, but tomorrow was soon enough, as they all needed a break at that point.

  "I think I'm gonna shift and run on the way back if you don't mind," Hunter asked politely, purposefully looking at her.

  Ah, he was wondering if she minded wolves; fair question. A while back, her cat might have been spooked, but, in the meantime, it had run with Vi often enough.

  She replied, "Yeah, my cat can also use the exercise."

  Hunter's eyes widened and he chuckled. "Yeah, no. Bad idea. I meant, I should run back, by myself."

  Christine crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes. "You don't think I can handle your wolf."

  "No, I know you don't want to handle my wolf."

  "And how would you know that?"

  "Because I've seen you with that little dog. You grimace whenever he comes in your space, begging for attention."

  Touché. But she didn't like admitting defeat, so she said, "That was a dog, I like wolves well enough. Vi's alright."

  Amused, Vi held her hands up in surrender. "Don't get me involved in this. I am a neutral observer. But I'll point out that I purposefully restrain my wolf around the pride."

  She did?

  But now that Christine had started this little argument, she couldn't let it go. Besides, her cat was egging her on, liking the turn of events.

  "Don't be ridiculous, it'll be just fine. You wolf wants to run, my cat wants to run. I bet Vi could also use the exercise."

  The she-wolf pointed to her chest, "Switzerland personified. I am neutrality herself." After a beat, she conceded, "But I totally could use the laugh, so I'll tag along."

  Rain pouted. "Why can't I shift? I don't wanna miss the fun."

  Hunter was shaking his head. "Alright. Let it be remembered that I gave her a fair warning. Whatever happens from here is entirely her fault."

  On that note, the guy nonchalantly removed the rest of his clothing. Shifters didn't make a big deal out of nudity. Christine blessed her guardian angels when he pulled down his pants, revealing a seriously biteable rounded ass. She regretfully looked away, peeling her own clothing off and folding them, asking Rain to drop them near the house.

  Then the sweet, freeing, and painful bone-breaking shift began, and her cheetah was in the driver’s seat of their body. Her eyes were on the wolf. He was huge - so big he'd have some trouble getting out of doors. His head was at the level of Rain's shoulder. In comparison, Vi's red wolf seemed like a sweet little pup.

  The wolf was watching her cat closely, eyes narrowed. Then, he ran, suddenly and at full speed.

  Christine's cat dashed out of doors at full speed, and took to a tree, climbing up as high as she could.

  Looking down, she found the wolf jumping to get to her.

  Christine was starting to question her decision, but her cheetah wasn't scared at all. She laid down on a branch and stretched languorously, as if to tease the wolf, laughing at his poor attempt to get to her.

  The wolf moved back, and ran again, head butting the tree as hard as he could. The trunk wasn't thin, but given the size of the monstrous beast, the impact resonated through the whole tree and made her thin branch vibrate. She jumped to another tree and, finding it too thin to hold her weight, she had to jump down to the ground.

  Smart, annoying wolf. He was on her before she could get back on her paws.

  Chapter 13

  Perspective

  “I warned you,” Hunter said, doing his best not to laugh his ass off.

  "You didn't warn me nearly enough. You didn't say that your dumbass animal would lick me. I have saliva all over me."

  She was adorable when she was grumpy.

  "Sorry?"

  "That doesn't work when people say it while grinning like idiots," Vivicia thought it necessary to interpret.

  They reached the border of the woods, and Rain was waiting right in front of the pride house with their clothes.

  "What did I miss?"

  "Nothing," Christine lied.

  "Hunter chased her through the woods," Vivienne said. "Then he jumped her, licked her, and let her go - gave her a head start. And chased again. My wolf wanted to play, too, but I might as well have been invisible. And when I tried to join in and play with Christine, he growled. Trust me, you don't mess with his wolf when he growls."

  Accurate recap. Hunter had expected that his wolf, who'd found Christine so fascinating from the start, would want to play with her, but he hadn't expected that the beast would feel quite so protective. Telling the wolf that Vi was a friend of Christine hadn't helped. He hadn't wanted her anywhere near his kitty.

  His.

  A dangerous word in their world.

  It was considered rude to stare at someone after shifting back, entirely naked, but Christine was a fucking vision, with her ample breasts and curvy hips. She was also
a real redhead, unless she actually dyed her pubic hair. He didn't think so. He would have smelled the dye.

  To force himself to stop looking at her, he'd walked ahead, but he gave in one last time as she was getting changed. Hunter caught her while she stared at his ass and winked.

  They got dressed and walked towards the house. Realizing that they'd shortly be surrounded by too many shifters with good hearing, Hunter went for it. "So, where's the house where Mike and I are staying?"

  "Near the lake," said Christine. "That's where Ace lived before we arrived last year. Easy to find; just go for the biggest place - and maybe the only house that doesn't smell of disgusting slime."

  Rain was rolling her eyes, and Vi bit back a grin, as Christine carried on, "But Mike can stay with the kids if he wants. We just don't typically allow people who aren't pride in the pride house overnight. Ari, Luke, and Theo stayed there before we included them in the pride, too."

  "Interesting. But nonetheless, those directions are dreadfully lacking. I think you should take me there after dinner."

  Her mouth popped open, and her eyes widened, as her friends chuckled.

  "Oh. Yeah, sure. I... I guess I could totally do that."

  "My, Christine Taylor, are you rambling? I think I make you a little nervous."

  She narrowed her eyes. "Not even a little bit," she lied.

  "Yeah?" Hunter asked, cupping her chin and tilting her head to look her right in the eyes, as the others passed the threshold of the house.

  The girl stared right back at him for half a beat, before dropping her eyes and biting her lips.

  A submissive reaction, he realized. Everyone else he’d interacted with for years would have taken it as a challenge and stared right on; instead, she looked away and blushed. It was fucking hot, coming from this confident, teasing woman. He had no other choice but to cover her plump lips with his and playfully nip at her bottom lip.

  “Weren’t you told lying’s naughty, kitten?”

  “Weren’t you told licking is gross, doggy?” she countered playfully.

  Hunter laughed. “Yeah, right. Gross. We’ll see what you say later.”

  Redirecting his attention towards the door, Hunter was surprised to find Rye standing there with Vi and Rain; surprised, because his sense of smell had always alerted him of new arrivals. But Christine was all sorts of distracting.

  "Chris? Ian's looking for you. Something about wondering where his favorite knife is."

  The woman stared at Rye pointedly but went in, nonetheless.

  This was where he was going to get a warning about touching their females. He could stay and break bread with them, but Rye had an issue with him poaching Christine. Or, worse yet, he was wondering whether Hunter was doing it with nefarious intentions.

  "Vi, Rain, a minute."

  Dismissed, the other females left them to it.

  "I'm not Chris' keeper, and she's already going to give me grief for saying anything at all, but let me warn you. If you're sniffing around her because she's hot, no problem. Can't blame a guy for noticing. If you're trying to cozy up to her because you think she's the weakest link in the pride, expect to have your balls cut off. Not by me, not even by Ace. Christine will take you apart piece by piece and laugh while doing it."

  He said every word seriously. Like he thought the girl could actually gain the upper hand over him.

  Hunter said, "I just like her, man. That's all there is to it. Two adult shifters playing. No ball cutting necessary. But, hey, if I mess up, I'll let her knee me in the junk, promise."

  Rye smiled like he knew something Hunter didn't.

  "Right. Come in. You're in for a treat. Ian cooked tonight."

  Everything people said about wolves eating like it was their last meal was true; he could devour enough to feed four grown regulars, but Ian's cooking transformed his stomach into a bottomless pit. After they'd finished every single bit of lasagna, Ace came out of the kitchen with dozens of cupcakes filled with cream and topped with ganache.

  "Are the others on patrol?" he asked, noticing the absence of three pack members.

  "Yeah. Ian hid some food for them, wouldn't tell us where, so we can't eat it, too." Daunte sounded distraught at the idea of having to leave some of the lasagna to the others and Hunter's stomach concurred.

  From what they all said, he figured than Ian didn't cook often, and that while they generally had sweets every day, from the bakery owned by their Alpha female, Ace didn't often bake at home, either. They'd made tonight special for them, Hunter and Mike.

  Once they'd eaten and drunk everything on the table, Ian and Daunte went to put the kids to bed.

  Lola didn't like that plan much. She escaped Ian's arms and rushed to Christine, calling a clear, heart-breaking, "Mama!"

  Hunter felt like a bolt of lightning had struck him as he watched the little girl jump in Christine’s arms and bury her head in her torso. “Mama puts me to bed.”

  "Chris is on vacation for the week, Lola bear."

  "That's okay, Ian. You guys do the others; I'll put her to bed."

  Hunter's brain was working overtime when Clari interrupted his train of thought. "It must be a little sad for you, considering her mother is your sister, but Lola calls us all that."

  Funny, but being upset that someone else had taken his sister's place hadn't even crossed his mind.

  "I'm not pissed. I'm glad Lola has a good home. That's what Gwen would have wanted."

  "Tell us about Gwen," Ace asked.

  Strange. He never spoke about her because no one wanted to hear it. She was a disgrace to their father for having mated a feline; Arthur hadn't so much as said her name in three years.

  "She was badass. Could take any female in the pack. But she was also kind. There was a seven-year gap between us, but she always had time for her little punk of a brother, even when she joined the enforcers. She became Head Enforcer very young, the year I left for college. Then we lost touch, because I started to realize that the pack was three centuries backward, and I couldn't stand what they did, what they believed in. I called once a year, maybe. We exchanged platitudes. I didn't even know she'd left the pack until she turned up in Japan."

  There was an awkward silence around the table.

  "I can't be the only one with a family sob story. Come on, someone else take the mic."

  Turned out, everyone had their story; Jas had an evil twin - that, he'd known - Clari, an evil mom; Daunte, an evil sister who promptly whacked him on the head with a toy when he said that. He made light of it, but Hunter read between the lines. Just like there hadn't really been a place for him, from the moment he'd been born, it must have been hard for Daunte to grow up in the shadow of his legendary sibling and his equally notorious father, The Butcher. Even Rye had a pain-in-the-ass brother, Colter.

  The only difference was that all their siblings were alive and kicking.

  "If you think that's bad, wait until you hear Ari and Theo's story. Effing messed up."

  Jas had quietly disappeared a little while ago; she came back with huge bottles of moonshine under her arms and those went around the table.

  Hunter noted that while they were all up for a bit of fun, none of the pride members drank enough to truly affect a shifter's judgement. They were always on their guard.

  “You’re staring like you’re trying to make us out,” said a nice, sweet voice behind him.

  Hunter didn’t turn. He didn’t need to; he hadn’t heard her say much, but he had no issue recognizing that voice, regardless. Christine, back from putting Lola to bed.

  Not looking at her was a good thing; she was distracting. Although her scent did enough to mess with his brain.

  “Guilty as charged," he replied. "I’ve read whatever’s available online about your pack, but, actually seeing you guys, I’m not sure I know anything at all.”

  He felt something strange and now he had to turn towards her to see what it could be. When he looked at the beautiful redhead, there was a certain sad
ness in her eyes.

  “What did I say?” He frowned.

  “Nothing. It’s just that Ian updates our online stuff, but it was all written by Tracey. She died a few days ago.”

  Of course. They had been attacked from all fronts just two days ago; he knew, he’d been there, watching from the other side of the lake, waiting for his opening. The Vergas pack had decided to hang back until they had a clear shot inside the house.

  Good thing, too, because if they had been closer, he would have died when their scary-ass allies had turned up.

  “Shit. Sorry to hear that.”

  Christine shrugged. “It’s okay.” Then she started to walk away towards the kitchen. Hunter’s eyes followed her.

  Ian moved to sit next to Hunter and told him, his voice low, “We’re all keeping it together because of the kids, Christine more than anyone else. But Tracey was our youngest adult; when she joined us, she was just a teenager. Christine’s thing is taking care of people — kids, especially. She’s taking it harder than most. She just won’t show it.”

  Hunter attempted no reply. What could he say? There was no appropriate response to someone else’s grief. Condolences were pretty words that he found shallow, worthless.

  “She asked for days off on short notice; that’s not her thing, normally. I think she probably needs some time to process it.”

  "And you're telling me because you think she's too vulnerable for me to mess with her right now," Hunter guessed.

  Ian shrugged. "Maybe I am. And maybe I'm telling you now's not a bad time to provide her with a distraction."

  He lifted a brow, surprised. Weren't any of the very dominant males going to be assholes about his sniffing around Christine?

  Their acceptance meant one of two things: either they didn't care, or they truly believed she could take care of herself. What he knew of the pride made him cross out the first option. Which meant that there was more than met the eyes about the sexy submissive.

  Chapter 14