by Joyee Flynn
And just to be a goof because I needed the smile… I decided straight lines were boring. I went here and there, all over on my way back to the vineyard to drop off the clippings. I’m sure if anyone saw me they’d wonder if I’d fallen off my rocker but I didn’t give a shit.
When I got there, I stopped singing and turned off the mowing part so I was just driving to the compost pile, ignoring the stares I was getting. I gave Brian a wave after I shut it down and then took off my headphones.
“What ya got there?” he asked hesitantly. Oh good, that meant someone had told him I’d been yelling.
“Needed some time to think so I thought I’d mow the warriors’ lawn and bring it for your compost.” I shrugged as if telling him I didn’t want to talk about it any more than that. He nodded and thanked me before getting back to whatever he’d been doing.
I unhooked the back, easily picking it up and dumping it on the small pile. When I went to put the mower back together I heard that yowling again, but louder this time. Glancing around, I saw a small cat.
“Did you guys get a pet?” I called out to Brian. I froze when the animal hissed like it understood me and didn’t like what I said.
Brian jogged over and started laughing when he got within ten feet. “Ya got too much grass and pollen up ya nose, Ferris. That not be a normal cat.”
It took me a second to figure out what he was saying and when it hit me, my eyes went wide. “I didn’t know there were shifters who were house cats.” The little guy hissed again and crept closer. “Not a house cat? Sorry, buddy, I don’t know what you are then. I mean, you look like a tiny cheetah. You don’t have to be afraid. No one will hurt you.”
The cat crept closer, stalking its prey… Which seemed to be me.
“Did ya run over its tail with the mower? He looks ready to attack,” Brian asked hesitantly.
I glanced at him to reply and the shifter made its move, leaping onto me and climbing me like a tree. I was grateful he didn’t use his claws and all, but it was totally bizarre. I pulled him off my shoulder and held him in my arms. He stared at me and started purring.
“Aren’t you just the cutest thing,” I cooed, trying to get him to relax. I felt the air vibrate around me and suddenly my arms were full of naked male.
“I’m a jungle cat,” he hissed, his teeth still longer than normal.
“Sure, sorry,” I mumbled, still not able to smell anything other than grass, compost, and probably a boatload of pollen I’d inhaled. Just as I went to set him on his feet, he wrapped his legs around me and bit my neck. “Shit! Get him off me!”
Brian raced over and I watched as the guy’s hand changed into a paw and he batted Brian away, his teeth still in me. Then he lifted his head and stared at Brian. “Back off, Irishman. He’s mine.”
“What?” we both gasped.
“Move away from the compost and you’ll be able to smell me,” he purred as he licked my bite closed. “You’re mine now and I’ve claimed you.”
“Thanks for asking,” I grumbled as I did as he wanted. When I was about thirty feet away from all the stinky, I buried my nose in his neck and inhaled. I instantly got hard and my fangs came out. “Mine!”
“Yes.” He shredded my shirt and moaned at the skin-to-skin contact. “All yours, Ferris.”
“What’s your name, kitty? And how do you know mine?”
“Rylan Zeev. I smelled my mate and came to check it out. I’ve been watching you for the past few hours to see if you were approachable. I just couldn’t take it anymore and needed you.”
“Could you stop humping my stomach?” I moaned. “I can’t focus when you’re doing that.”
“No. You belong to me!”
“I know, but we need to talk, kitty.”
“After you fuck me for at least a week,” he mumbled as he tried to get my belt off.
“Where’s your stuff? Where did you come from?”
“Really?” he bitched as he leaned back to stare at me incredulously. “I’m throwing myself at you after having claimed you and you want to talk. Am I ugly or something?” He didn’t wait for me to reply, letting me go and standing on his feet as he made a frustrated sound.
“No, you’re gorgeous,” I whispered as I got my first real look at him. He was maybe five six, lithe, with longer brown hair and blond highlights. But it was his orange eyes that held me captive. They were breathtaking. Not pumpkin color, but not rust either, somewhere in between.
“Then what’s the problem? Why won’t you claim me?” he asked hesitantly as he eyed me over. “Are you straight?”
“No, I just, give me a second here,” I said as I tried to shake off my lust. I went back to the mower, grabbed an extra shirt I had out of my bag, and headed towards him.
“I heard vampires were weird with nudity.” He rolled his eyes as he sighed and took the offered shirt, slipping it on over his head. “Happy? I’m dressed. Now what?”
“I don’t know,” I answered honestly. He was coming on so strong and a little hostile that I had no clue what to do. “How did you end up here? I mean, we’re out in the middle of nowhere here.”
“I heard about a coven that accepted other supernatural beings so I thought I’d check it out. When I was driving here, I smelled my mate and pulled over. I shifted and headed this way to investigate.”
“Okay, then why don’t we go get your things and we can take a ride to where I’m staying. We can talk there and I could use something to eat.”
“Hey, are you all right?” he asked quietly as he moved his hand to my chest. “You look like you’re going to pass out.”
“Rough day,” I answered as I glanced around and saw every eye was on us. “Can we please go somewhere private? I was kind of having a meltdown before you showed up.”
“Sure, yeah, I can understand that.” He gave me a half smile and moved his other hand to my chest. “But I demand a kiss as payment for my patience.”
“I’d like that,” I breathed as I lowered my head. I wrapped my arms around him and pulled him flush against my body. Rylan moaned as our lips touched. Kissing him was like sticking my finger in an electrical socket without all the nasty side effects. It was charged and so was I now. I wrapped him back around me, holding his head to mine with my hand as I plundered his mouth.
“Cat!” someone shouted loudly as I heard a flurry of movement. Instantly I turned towards it, moving Rylan off of me and then behind me. It hadn’t sounded like the good kind of shouting and I wasn’t going to let anyone hurt my mate.
Chapter 2
Rylan It touched me to see my mate, who started out hesitant, jumping right into the connection now. Plus, he was massive and moved me behind him as if to protect me. Silly vampire.
“Took you guys long enough to figure out I was here,” I drawled as I moved back in front of Ferris, watching a bunch of wolves come racing towards us. I leaned against his chest and moved his arm around me, smiling when he squeezed me tightly. That and his hardon pressing into my back.
“Why didn’t we smell you sooner?” a guy about my height with long auburn hair asked me. “I can smell Rory from a mile away but you got so close.”
“I can mask my scent until someone’s right on me,” I answered with a shrug. “I got distracted and let my concentration slip.”
“What are you?” a taller man asked darkly. “And why are you here?”
“Chill, Tyler. He’s my mate,” Ferris answered firmly. “What’s with you guys?”
“Most wolves don’t like cats,” I answered for them. “Lots of packs bitch and fight because we’re different. It’s stupid and petty. Like it matters or something?”
“Nah, we’re not like that,” the guy with the long hair said, his posture relaxing and then so did everyone else’s as if following his lead. “We’ve had some attacks from bad guys. Demons and bad wolves from our old pack so when we smell something strange, we tend to jump into protective mode. I’m Ayden.”
“Rylan, nice to meet you,” I said,
giving him a wave. I heard what he was saying, but I wasn’t about to move closer just yet. “I heard of a coven that accepted shifters and wanted to check it out. I can’t stand the way my pack does things.”
“Are they hurting you?” the guy Ferris called Tyler asked gently. “We can keep you safe here.”
“No, nothing like that, but thanks,” I chuckled, shaking my head. “They’re just insufferable asses who are elitists and annoy me.”
“That means you’re rare,” Tyler said slowly. “The only shifters I’ve heard of being like that think they’re better than everyone because there aren’t as many of them.”
“You got it.” I pointed to my nose, joking around about him guessing the reason. “I’m a margay.”
“You smell like a fierce, large cat, but you’re just a little kitty?” one guy chuckled.
In a flash I moved out of Ferris’s arms, over to the guy and shoved him as hard as I could. He went flying and I moved along with him, waiting until he was on the ground before putting my bare foot on his chest, keeping him down. “Be careful who you pick on, wolf. I’m small but don’t mistake that for weak or prey.”
“Rylan, that’s enough,” Ferris called out as he jogged over. “The wolves are our friends.”
“I get that but I learned early in life that if a shifter thinks you’re prey, they’ll walk all over you,” I said, smiling down at the guy struggling to get me off of him. “So I’m going to let him up and pretend that calling me kitty was his way of understanding I’m faster than him.”
“Yeah, man. No offense meant. I just have never smelled a margay. Your scent made you seem like a dangerous tiger or something. It just threw me.”
“Fair enough.” I let him up, giving him my back to let him know I didn’t see him as a threat as I strolled back to Ferris. “So you were saying we should head to your place?”
“Um, I live with Ayden and his mate, and all the wolves,” he said hesitantly.
“Not a problem as long as they don’t treat me like I’m some natural house cat.” I shrugged. I didn’t have any issue with wolves as long as they didn’t call me kitty, or kitten, or lots of the other nicknames they liked to give my kind since I was small.
He nodded, watching me curiously as I slipped my hand into his. “I’m sorry I called you kitty.”
“You can call me anything you want, my dear mate,” I said firmly as he led me over to the mower and grabbed his stuff. “If it’s a term of endearment or pet name from you, I have no issue. Other shifters calling me it as if to say weak, yeah, I’ll jump all over them and put them in their place.”
“I’ll spread the word to let everyone know not to joke with you,” Tyler drawled. I spun to face him, keeping my hand in Ferris’s.
“Right, because if I called you a dog you wouldn’t be all over my ass?” I raised an eyebrow, daring him to deny it.
“Right, but I’m not a dog. You are a small cat. Don’t assume any of us mean it as offensive if we call you kitty,” he threw right back.
“Fine, but you know that’s not always true. And even if you were a dog, calling you puppy would be taken badly. Most large cats look down on wolves for being smaller as wolves look down on us and lynx shifters.”
“I’ll give you that,” he agreed, his expression softening. “But we’re not like that here. Our Alpha was a douche of epic proportions and abused us in one form or another. We don’t judge here.”
“I’ll take that under advisement but forgive me for not just blindly accepting that,” I said gently. I heard a squeal and saw a young boy trying to squirm out of his mother’s arms.
“I want to pet the kitty!” he whined when his mom wouldn’t let him down.
“The kid can call me kitty,” I chuckled as I let go of Ferris’s hand. I walked the few feet to the cute little guy. “What’s your name?”
“Mikey.”
“Hi, Mikey. I’m Rylan. Do you want me to shift into a kitty?”
“Yes, please!” he exclaimed, clapping his hands. I gave him a wink and shifted. The wolves probably tore their clothes when they changed forms but since I shrunk to something smaller, anything I was wearing just fell to the ground with me. I moved from under the shirt and meowed. “Oh! Pretty kitty!”
“Yes he is,” Ferris said quietly.
The mother set Mikey down and he petted my head and then batted my tail when I flicked it at him. He giggled and his eyes lit up with joy as only a child’s could. I shifted back and pulled on my shirt when my mate growled at my nudity.
“Nice to meet you, Mikey. I’ll see you around, okay?”
“Okay, kitty. I’ll find some yarn,” Mikey said with a smile. Actually, it was more like, “O’tay, witty. I’ew find sme warn.” He was just too cute and everyone couldn’t help but laugh at his antics.
“No yarn,” I teased. “I’m a jungle cat. If you’re really good, I’ll teach you how to climb the highest trees one day.”
“Where’s Jalen?” Ferris asked Ayden before glancing around the group.
“Don’t worry, Ferris,” the man sighed, shaking his head. “He’s not your mate and you’ve found yours so go get to know him.”
“Hey, I know Jalen’s not my mate. I’ve made it very clear nothing is there or would ever happen, but the kid is becoming the little brother I never had,” Ferris snapped. “It’s not wrong of me to ask where he is when all the other wolves are here and I saw him right before I dumped the grass clippings.”
“He heard you call Rylan your mate, shifted, and took off,” Darcy explained. Seconds later there was a pained howl off in the distance and my mate’s face fell.
“Oh, Jalen,” he whispered and shook his head. “I swear I’ve never helped along his crush. I thought it would pass. It’s been a few months since the rescue. I don’t get why he still was trying for more?”
“Wow, don’t you have mirrors wherever you live?” I snickered. Ferris was a stud if I’d ever seen one. He was six six and at least three fifty of muscular firmness and yumminess, with big light blue eyes, and short black hair that was just enough to hold on to if I felt the need.
“It’s complicated,” Ayden answered for him. “I’ll text you when I find him and calm him down. I know you’re like a big bro, but he’s got a bunch of those, Ferris. It’s not good for him now when you feel that way, he wanted more, and you’re mated.”
“Are you saying I can’t hang out with Jalen? It’s not like we ever went off alone. We’re always in a group and he’s curious. I just wanted to help him acclimate.”
“Which is why he’s head over heels for you,” Ayden growled and threw his hands in the air. “He came from a pack where everyone wanted something from him and abused him. Now there’s a sweet, hot guy, who saved him, paying attention to him with no agenda or devious intentions. He eats it up. But you wouldn’t give him more so then the chase was on and—”
“Enough,” I snarled when I saw Ferris’s heart breaking right on his sleeve. “You should have told Ferris before it blew up if you wanted him to give your brother the cold shoulder. It’s too late now and shouting at Ferris and humiliating him in public is unacceptable.”
“You’re right,” Ayden conceded. “I’m sorry, Ferris. I just wish we’d handled this differently. Jalen was just starting to be happy like before our parents died and now his heart is shattered. I’ve got to go find him.”
“I was just trying to help the kid out,” Ferris whispered, staring at his feet. “He seemed so lost.”
“Hey, let’s get you home,” I said gently as I picked up his backpack. He nodded and let me wrap my arm around his waist, leading him towards my car.
“It’s not my home. I’m on protection detail for Ayden, Jalen, and their other brother Caven. I live with them.”
“Oh, well, maybe we should look into getting our own place,” I hedged.
“What did I do wrong? Do you think Ayden will report this as misconduct to the High Council?”
“You didn’t do anything wrong, I
’m sure,” I answered softly as I snuggled up against him. “You’re a very sweet man, Ferris. I can see that already by the way Jalen running off is tearing you up. I think Ayden’s got a lot going on and is worried about his brother. I’m sure this will just blow over tomorrow. You know how teenagers are all hormones and drama.”
“I guess,” he mumbled. We walked in silence until we got to my car. “Admit it. You’ve been thinking about getting in the car and driving away, forgetting you ever met me and my pile of shit.”
“No,” I gasped, turning and staring at him with wide eyes. “No, Ferris. That didn’t even cross my mind. It seems you’re having a hard time of things right now. I’m going to help any way I can just as I know you’d help me get away from my bitch of a pack and acclimate to life here.”
“Of course I would.” He stared at me a moment and then suddenly pushed me up against the car. I held on to him as his mouth mashed down to mine, his tongue thrusting inside. Of all the emotions he’d had swirling around in him, I was partial to his passion. Ferris seemed to have a vault inside of him just waiting to be tapped into.
I knew the perfect man for the job.
“I want you so badly,” I whispered as we parted, his eyes glazed over with lust. “I made that clear from the moment we met. But I think you need a bit to just breathe. Let’s go eat and talk, okay?”
“Why are you being so nice and changing your tone for me? You were demanding and fierce about having me right away when you jumped me.”
“And I normally am,” I told him honestly. “But that doesn’t mean I’m not flexible or understanding. I know what it’s like to be put through the wringer. So just let me help and we’ll fuck all week long in a few days.” I gave him a wink as I ducked under his arm. I grabbed my keys and clothes where I’d stashed them on the back tire. I quickly yanked them on and tossed Ferris his shirt.