by Lane Whitt
No one can accuse my girl of being short winded but the more she talks the more I want to kiss the fuck out of her. When she said that she was stronger than the built boy in front of her I thought I'd have to step in and stop her. The kid looks like he'd like to test that theory. The looks on the bitches’ faces are priceless as this tiny little girl tells them like it is. Her speech tears at my heart but pride swells within me when she talks about always getting back up. I know she does, my brothers and I have seen it.
Kitten turns to a girl with more make up on her face than a dead person who's been shot square in the nose. The bitch's eyes narrow at my girl but she keeps her mouth shut. I think she chose well considering the steel in Kitten's eyes. She looks like she could eat this girl for lunch. As she's wrapping up I see her turn back to the douchebag. She tells that fucker that's she got nowhere to go but up and I have to hold back from shouting 'HELL YEAH BABY' at her. She then asks where he's heading and the little fucker stands there with mouth open, unable to answer her. She turns and walks off, looking like she's doing just what she said she did, forgetting about them. I fucking LOVE her.
My wolf is purring seeing her display of dominance and begs me to make her mine. Telling me that she'd be a good mate and fierce mother of my pups. I feel a tugging at my arm. I forgot all about Miss Annie being there.
"Stop that growlin boy, she took care of business jus' like I knew she would." She tuts at me. I didn't know I was.
I turn out of her hold, not wanting anyone's hands on me but Kitten's at the moment. My wolf won't be happy until she's in our arms. "You should do something about that guy." I tell her. "Ban him from here or something."
She heaves a sigh. "I wish I could, fact is, he's ta star player on ta hockey team, him and ta rest them boys are the main income 'round here. I'll talk ta the coach, but seein' as he's his Daddy, I don't reckon he's gonna do much about it." She shakes her head. I can tell she hates the situation but it's either her place of business or Kitten. Her choice is obvious, even though I hate it.
I watch as the kids race off the ice, readying to leave. The runt that Kitten helped out earlier is looking at her like she holds the moon in her hands. Kitten won't look at him and I wonder what that's about. The kid finally comes out of his stupor and gets his shoes on as well. Miss Annie approaches her, telling her that she'll collect the skates and clean up here. Kitten looks around, probably for me and I make my way over.
"Hey Logan." She says sadly.
I can't help myself, my wolf won't let me. I grab her waist, pulling her into me. Fuck that feels good. I tilt her chin up and crash my lips down on hers. She gasps in shock and I use the opportunity to taste her. Fucking shit... this isn't calming my wolf in the slightest. I growl at her taste, savoring every second of it. I hear her whimper and I'm lost. That's the sexiest sound I've ever heard.
I forgot all about there being children present. Not to mention Miss Annie. "That's enough a that boy, you've made your point. Let ta poor thing breathe."
I pull back, looking down at my girl. Her face is flushed and she's just blinking at me. It's adorable. I smirk down at her. There's more where that came from baby. Out of the corner of my eye I catch movement. I see that fucker Adam hiding behind the stands like a bitch. The look in his eye says this isn't over. I agree. Kitten may have stood up for herself today but what that little shit doesn't know and she doesn't seem to remember, is that she has eight terrifying werewolves to back her up now. Oh yes, we'll be meeting again bitch boy, I think at him as I glare in his direction. He takes one last, longing look at my girl and turns away.
Chapter 18
Kitten
The ride home was mostly silent as I stared out the window. When Logan kissed me my mind had stopped working completely. It was almost scary in its intensity, but the rumble I felt in his chest called out to me, begged me to let go and lose myself. I totally did. Afterward, he backed away from me, his demeanor changing. I wondered briefly if I did it wrong but my embarrassment at doing that in front of so many people, children at that, soon overrode my worry.
Logan tried to put on a happy face when we first got in the car but it didn't last long. He told me how proud he was for putting those people in their place, and I had told him that people don't have places. That was the whole conversation.
When we pull up to the house seven gorgeous men are standing on the steps. I can't help the smile that overtakes my face. As soon as Logan stops the car I throw the door open and pounce on Reed, who's the closest.
He chuckles at me. "Hey there, excited much?" I nod my head vigorously. He just laughs harder, his blue, green and gold flecked eyes sparkle as his blond hair blows in the wind. I kiss his cheek quickly and jump down. Seeking my next target.
Finn has turned and started to walk to the door so I get a running start and jump on his back. It's high but I managed it. I kiss him quickly too as he stumbles forward.
"Be careful Kitten!" Remy booms at me. I turn and stick my tongue out at him. He smirks and just shakes his head.
"Did you have fun at work Kitten?" Finn asks.
I groan and press my face into his neck. Mmmm Finn even smells sweet. "I don't want to talk about today. How was your day? What did you do?" I ask, trying to change the subject.
Finn brings a hand up, touching my arms where they cross over his chest. It's comforting and I try to melt myself over him as best as I can as he climbs the steps to the house. "I spent most of it reading actually, but I wanted to be out here when you came home." He answers. Sounds better than my day.
Jace, Tristan and Kellan rush past us, getting through the door before we can. When Finn stops in the grand entrance room thing, I pull my head up, looking for the reason my ride has stopped. I hear the others shuffle in behind us as I stare at the monstrous sized teddy bear sitting in the middle of the room.
Oh. My. God. It's blonde colored with pretty sky blue eyes and a gold bow around his neck. Around the bear sit's basket after basket of tiny candy bars and packets of different candies. I pat Finn's shoulders, squirming to get down. He releases me.
I pace back and forth in front of the bear from across the room. I look at the guys, hating what I have to do. There's no escaping it though, sometimes things just have to happen. You might not know why, it just does.
"Forgive me for what you're about to witness." I say to all of them. I run at the bear that's taller than me, full force, tackling it to the floor. I put my arms around it as far as I can reach and attempt to hug it to death. I giggle uncontrollably as we roll over, the bear's weight pinning me underneath it. It's fluffy but that's a whole lot of stuffing.
Logan and Tristan are the first to burst out in laughter but the others soon follow their lead. I'm still trapped under my treasure laughing, struggling to call out for help when I see Kellan's shoes appear. He lifts the bear and helps me to my feet.
"Why on earth did you do that?" He asks.
I wipe tears from my face and calm myself enough to answer him. "It had to be done. Tell me that it didn't cross your mind at some point."
He chuckles. "Actually, that's the same thing Tristan did when he saw it." That doesn't surprise me. Tristan is awesome. "He also said it had to be done.
"Is he the one that got him for me then?" I ask. Kellan looks around, his eyes landing on Remy.
"We're not sure who got it for you Miss Kitten." Remy says.
"I highly doubt that Rem." I tell him. They know, but just like the flowers, they don't want to say. He smirks, looking pleased about something.
He gets serious. "Follow me to my office now, Miss Kitten? I told you, we have things to discuss." He reminds me. I kiss Kellan on the cheek before bending down and scooping a handful of the candy bars up. I examine one of them. It says fun size Kit-Kat on it. It rings a bell but I'm too interested in discovering what's inside of it to care.
"This way." Remy commands.
"Hold your horses Remington. It's the girl's first candy bar, for crying out loud." Jace pleads
with Remy.
I've stuffed three of them in my mouth by this time and I try not to choke as I hear a 'ding! ding! ding!' in my head. Jace. This is all Jace's doing. The flowers, the candy, the bear. I wish I could say that knowing he was behind all of this makes me unhappy but it doesn't. I liked the flowers, I LOVE the bear and I might kill anyone who tries to take this chocolate away from me. He even got the fun sized ones. I'm pleased about this but I'm not going to let him know it. Not yet.
Standing, I pretend like I still don't know who did this. "Well, thank you to whoever got me these things. Again."
Remy clears his throat so I follow him. When he rounds the corner I rush back and drop my handful of candy, picking up an entire basket instead. Tristan laughs at me but I just wink at him and take off after Remy.
Chapter 19
When I walk into his office Remy takes one look at my edible treasure and shakes his head. He comes toward me and makes a move to take my basket.
"MINE." I growl at him. Turning to the side and placing a protective arm over my candy.
He stakes a step back, raising one eyebrow. At first he looked taken aback, now he just looks amused. "Kitten, if I wanted the candy you never would have seen it in the first place. I was merely going to set it aside for now as I have serious things to discuss with you and I think it will interfere." Remy says slowly.
"Oh." I say lamely. I still don't give him the basket though, I sit on the chair and put the basket on the floor in front of it. He looks down at my basket, for too long, I think! I use my foot to push the treasure under my chair and narrow my eyes at him.
He shakes his head in wonder as he rounds the desk to sit. After putting on his I-mean business-face he speaks. "First off Kitten, I want to apologize that it took me this long to have this conversation with you. Be honest with me, here. Do you know a man by the name of Charles Daily?"
I shake my head. "I don't think so. Why?"
"Because Kitten, he is very interested in you. Before you came here, did you ever notice anyone following you?"
What kind of question is that? "Uh...no. Who would follow a street kid around?" I ask, confused.
Remy sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose. "When you told us where you resided Kitten, Ash and I went to take a look. We wanted to see if you had, in fact, killed the man who attacked you."
Oh my God! I think I must be brain damaged to have forgotten all about that night. What's wrong with me? Here I am, happy, eating candy, and continuing on like nothing ever happened. I'm a horrible person. The worst kind of person.
"Don't!" Remy barks out. I jump slightly and focus back on him. "Let me finish before you start thinking bad about yourself.” The man you hit with a brick, didn't die Kitten, you must have knocked him out. He went through your belongings at the warehouse. They were scattered all over the place. We think he was looking for something. Maybe information on you. Maybe something he thought you had."
I see red as I picture what Remy just said. 'Mine, mine, mine, mine' rings through my skull. That bastard touched MY stuff.
"Focus Kitten." Remy says, the friggin mind reader. "We brought back everything we could find. I need you to look through it and tell me what's missing. We'll do that when we're done here."
I nod. I'm a little mad that he's had my things and he's kept them from me. I'll kick him in the shin for that later, hard. Harder than I do Logan. For now I want to hear what else he has to say.
Remington continues. "We were able to track his scent to a warehouse not far from yours. His blood was all over the place so it wasn't that hard. The warehouse was empty of people but we did find evidence that someone has been watching you for quite some time."
WHAT? "What kind of evidence?" I demand.
Remington shifts uncomfortably. "Pictures mostly, notes of your schedule, where you went and when. Who you talked to. Articles of clothing with your scent still on them."
My mind is spinning. Someone has been taking pictures of me? How did I not notice something like that? I did notice when my panties went missing but I just figured some pervert went through my bag when I was working. Wait...
"He's the one who stole my panties?" I shout at Remy, indignant. Son of a mother-licking-toad! If only I would have hit him again with that brick.
"Yes Kitten, but I think you're missing the biggest point here. Why he took them. Why he was taking pictures of you in the first place." Remy sighs, running his hand down his face. "Wolves had been in that warehouse Miss Kitten. The man who attacked you was human, but we think he was working for wolves."
I don't know what to say to that. "Do you have any clue why wolves would be interested in you Kitten?" He asks.
I blink at him. "I don't know Remy. You'd know the answer to that more than I would."
He frowns. "What do you mean by that?"
I slouch in my chair, feeling more confused than I ever have. "I mean...that you are wolves too and here I am...sitting in your office with you. Why did you all take me in Remy? You've lived for how long? I couldn't have been the first street kid you ran across, or the first beaten girl either. Why am I here? No other broken girls are here. What made me different?"
"I don't know Kitten, we've been trying to figure that out since you got here. You're here because each of us feels a certain pull toward you, like you are our sun and we your planets. It's never happened before so we don't know the answer to that." He shakes his head sadly.
Minutes or hours pass, I'm not sure. I bite my lip, picking at my jeans. I don't know how to feel about any of this. I was positive that the man who attacked me had been just a random bum who saw me enter the warehouse. I didn't even know werewolves existed until I came here.
"Kitten, talk to me. What are you thinking?" Remy asks, looking a little worried now. I'm worried too.
"Honestly Remington, I'm not sure what to do with this information. Am I endangering you guys being here? Are these people still looking for me? Why were they looking in the first place? Actually, they found me and followed me. But for what reason?" I feel myself tearing up. Why is this happening? What does it mean? I sniffle, bringing my hands to my face.
Remy is on my side of desk in an instant. "Hey, it's going to be okay. You have us. We won't let anything happen to you. Look at me Kitten." I sniffle again but remove my hands, searching Remy's steel eyes, for what? I'm not sure.
"We'll figure all this out together. Do you understand me?" His commanding tone is comforting for once. If Remy wants information I'm sure he'll get it. I nod my head, leaning into him. I bury my face in his neck, seeking comfort. He must understand because he picks me up and sits in my chair with me in his lap. His strong hand rubs up and down my back.
Minute-hours pass and I finally calm down. I lift my head and look at Remy. His eyes have gone soft now as he brushes loose strands of hair behind my ear. "I need you to go through your things Kitten. We need to know what he took, if anything. Think you can handle that?"
I nod and push myself off of him. I straighten my clothes and wait for him to lead me to my stuff. Remy takes me one door over from his office to a mostly empty room. There's a coffee table pushed against the wall and a burgundy rug laying in the middle of the room, on it, is my treasure chest. I run to open it, despaired by what I see.
My treasure chest is an old Army footlocker I found at the thrift store one day. I got it, thinking I could drag it around like the boy with the wagon. It was too hard to do that but I didn't want to give it up. I took it to the woods behind a strip mall that I was certain no one ever entered. Over the years I have collected things, putting them in my treasure chest. Favorite books of mine that the librarian told me I could keep because they were too worn anyway. Pastel drawings I drew once I discovered their magical quality. Other sketches in a sketch book. A baby blanket that the crazy cat lady said she found with me in the dumpster and the security videos of the market across the street from that dumpster. I had three years’ worth of them. The owner of the market was a pack rat and when the
store closed I offered to buy them. He was nice and traded me a picture for all of them. They were on discs in plastic folders.
But none of those are here. I sob into my hands. I never got around to watching any of them. One of the market's cameras pointed right at the dumpster, I was sure I'd find at least one of my parents with that footage. Or at least know when I was born. I'm beyond devastated.
Eventually I hear several pairs of footsteps moving behind me. I cried myself numb so I sit, staring at the blank wall in front of me. A warm hand lands on my shoulder. "These are pretty good Kitten. Did you do them yourself?" It's Reed and I know he's just trying to get me to talk. I don't want to but I don't want to be rude to him either.
I nod my head yes. He makes a 'hmm' sound. Does he not believe me? I look over to see him flipping through the sketch book, pausing and studying each page. I watch as a tear slides down his cheek. I will admit that some of those drawing are a bit disturbing if you can pick up the meaning behind them. I shouldn't have let him look, Reed's sad enough as it is. And he's artistic enough to read between the lines.