Operation “Tiger Escapes Zoo” was officially on.
Alex closed his eyes and waited, counting five minutes in his head, giving her enough time to sneak into the nearby men’s room and plant the duffel bag there and then leave the zoo gates. He was amazed at how well he could hear her footsteps outside the door, walking down the hall.
When the five minutes were up he lifted his head but Frank was looking through the fridge over by the door. Alex had to wait another few agonizing minutes until the doctor went into the connecting door to enter the den to feed the tigers.
As soon as the man stepped out of the room, Alex moved quickly but quietly off the bed and over to the door. He was amazed at how easy it was to sneak while a Cat—even a gigantic one. He closed his eyes and thought about fondling Karabi, which was something he could only do while in human form, and quickly found he had a hand and fingers. He quickly unlocked the door, opened it and peeked out. Not seeing or hearing anyone else nearby, he shifted back into Cat and bounded down the hall to the men’s restroom.
“When the vet tech comes in is when you can make your escape,” Karabi had said. “Give me five minutes at least first, to set things up and head out of the zoo to my car. Shift from Cat to human when he isn’t looking, open the door and go running down the hall as a Cat as fast as you can. Go to the staff restroom right at the end of the hall and then hide in the last stall and turn back into a man. I’ll put your clothes in there so you can get dressed. If anyone follows the tiger in there, they won’t find a tiger and will think he jumped out of the window I left open and go looking.”
The door to the restroom was a push one, so he was able to enter it even while still Cat. As soon as he bounced into the bathroom he skidded on the freshly mopped floor. Alex stopped himself just inches before crashing into John, who was pissing into the urinal. Alex arched his back and roared in surprise. John jumped and screamed like a bitch, getting urine all over himself as he scurried out of the bathroom, nearly tripping over his feet.
Shit,Alex thought. This meant he had pretty much no time at all to get out of there before someone came in. He raced to the last stall, paused just long enough to shift back to human and quickly went inside and locked the door. His clothes and a lab coat were nestled between the back of the toilet and the wall as planned. Karabi had placed his shoes on the floor in front of the toilet, so someone taking a quick glance under the door might think someone was in there and leave the stall alone. She’s a clever one, Alex thought as he hurriedly got dressed and recalled the next part of Karabi’s plan.
“Okay, here’s another idea. Put on your clothes, and then this on over it.” She waved a lab coat. “If anyone asks, I’ll tell them you’re a vet student doing shadowing today.”
“And if someone recognizes me?”
“Tell them you came in to meet with me to follow up on the Zoo Ball results.”
“And I’m wearing the same outfit because…”
“You’ve been in the hospital since Friday. You just got checked out, and so you put back on the only clothes you had there and came straight here.”
Alex frowned. “I don’t like lying.”
“Hopefully you won’t have to. Besides, without the tie or mask, would anyone notice?”
Alex picked up his pace even further when he heard the commotion coming down the hall. He’d barely stuck his feet into his shoes when the restroom door banged open. They started kicking in each of the bathroom doors as Alex quickly pulled his pants and underwear down and plopped on the toilet just as his own door was kicked open.
“Sorry, man—a tiger escaped and passed through here, did you happen to see?”
Alex covered his face with his hands, his elbows on his knees, and grunted as if he were pushing hard. He peered at the guy he didn’t recognize through his splayed fingers and shook his head. The guy looked disgusted and quickly backed out, at which point Alex leaned forward and closed and locked the stall door again.
“The tiger must have jumped out of this window,” John said. “Do you see it?”
“I’m looking. I don’t see anything,” another man said.
“Fuck. Let’s go!”
They all stormed out of the bathroom.
Alex sighed with relief as he waited for the guys to leave the building. When he was pretty sure they were all outside he quickly left the bathroom, slipped on the medical mask and casually walked out while everyone was distracted, looking for the tiger. Pretty much unnoticed, he walked right out of the zoo. Once he was outside the gates he picked up speed and lightly jogged across the street to the parking lot where he found Karabi waiting in her car.
“Anybody see you?”
“Yes, but he didn’t recognize me.”
“Good.” She started the car and peeled out of the parking lot.
“What do you think is going to happen when they can’t find the tiger?”
She shrugged. “I have no idea, but they won’t find it. And you’re free. Good job, by the way, on the shifting.”
“Thanks,” Alex said even as the world was spinning. “That was crazy!” He ached all over and he felt woozy. “I don’t feel so good.”
“Let’s get you home. Where do you live?”
“I’m in Evanston.” His eyes rolled around in his head as he rattled off the address.
Karabi slammed on the brakes at the stoplight a little too hard and he lunged forward, making his headache worse.
“What’s wrong?” he asked.
“You’re shitting me. You live in the Forest Gardens townhome complex?”
“Yeah. What’s wrong with that?”
“Nothing. It’s just that—my parents own those apartments.”
“That’s great.”
“No, it’s not.”
“Why no—” There was a sharp pain in his chest. He touched the side of his suit and came away with blood on his hands. “The Werewolf bite,” he groaned. “It’s bleeding.”
“Shit,” Karabi muttered. “You can’t be alone. I’m taking you to my place.”
He smiled meekly. “Sweet. I’ve been waiting to hear you say that,” he said.
Then his world faded to black.
Chapter Eight
“Come on, Alex, wake up.” Karabi shoved at the shifter until he stirred in the passenger seat. There was no way she could get him upstairs on her own and she couldn’t exactly ask someone to help her take a bleeding man up to her apartment without encountering a lot of questions. For the first time in a long while she really wished she had more friends. By leaning on Karabi for support, he was able to get himself out of the car and up into her apartment.
Now Alex sat on the lid of her toilet seat, looking weak. She unbuttoned his shirt and slid it off him. She’d seen him naked plenty by now yet it still gave her a rush to undress him. The fact that he was in her bathroom, inside the place she lived, added a new layer of intimacy between them that made her pulse race with excitement. He was watching her with sleepy yet acutely aware eyes. He seemed both fragile and predatory at the same time.
Karabi looked at the wound on his chest. There was an oozing, angry black, blue and orange swirl where one of the Werewolves had chewed into him. She’d never seen anything like it. “Does it hurt?”
“It stings. Itches a bit. It’s more irritating than it is painful. I was fine earlier. Why do you think it started bleeding again?”
Karabi shook her head. “I don’t know. It looks more like pus than blood. Maybe there was something poisonous in the Werewolf’s saliva. I think your body is trying to rid itself of an invasive substance.”
“Is it infected?”
She touched her hand to his forehead. “You don’t have a fever. If so, it’s unlike any infection I’ve ever seen. I may have to see if I can find some information about Werewolf bites online. I’m just going to disinfect and dress the wound for now.”
“Isn’t there someone you can call for advice on this?”
“Not really,” Karabi said quickly.<
br />
Alex raised his brows. “Where are all of your Werecat friends?”
“I don’t have any.”
“You don’t know any other Werecats?”
“I know of plenty of others,” she replied haughtily. “I’m just not friends with them.”
“Why not? You seem to play well with others.”
“I just don’t want any. They’re Werecats, and so it’s complicated.”
That seemed to give him pause. “What about family? Do we Werecats have shape-shifter relatives?”
“I don’t talk to my family.”
“Not often?”
Karabi grunted. “Not at all.” She finished bandaging Alex and put away her supplies. “I’ll wash your shirt. My ex left a t-shirt here that you might be able to wear in the meantime. Let me go get it.”
He followed her to the bedroom, not willing to let the subject go. “Are your parents Werecats?”
“Yes. Both of them are.”
“Why don’t you talk to them?”
She opened the drawer, pulled out a t-shirt and tossed it at Alex. “Because I don’t want to.”
“Why not? Because they are Werecats, and so it’s complicated?”
“Yes, that’s exactly why,” Karabi replied angrily. “You sure do have a lot questions!”
“Karabi, I just found out that I am a goddamn shape-shifter with an infected Werewolf bite, and you’re the only clue I have as to what is going on right now. Hell yeah I have a lot of questions. So please, humor me and clue me in on some answers.”
She sat down hard on the bed and sighed heavily. “I wouldn’t talk to my parents even if they weren’t Werecats. My father is just so strict and so… ‘Traditional Indian’. Growing up, there were all of these rules and restrictions and ridiculous customs enforced upon me. And on my mother too, because she’s female. ‘It’s a woman’s place to cook and tend to the kitchen. A woman doesn’t get loud. A woman doesn’t defy her father or husband.’ Lots of patriarchal, gender-biased bullshit like that. Mum obeyed because she loves him and doesn’t have a choice, but I saw every day how broken she was in spirit. She was always only happy on the surface. ‘Fake happy’, I call it. I don’t want fake happy, I want real happy. I want to be me.”
“It sounds like it’s your father you’re upset with,” Alex said. “Why don’t you talk to your mother?”
“I’m upset with her too. She didn’t defend me enough. Didn’t defend herself enough. All my life, Papa tried to force me to be someone I’m not. When Papa discovered my bisexuality and shunned me for it and started treating me differently, she just pretended not to notice. Not once did she put him in his place, not once did she stand up to him and tell him how wrong he was!”
Alex sat on the bed next to her with Rao’s shirt still in his hand. “Did your father hurt you?”
“No. Not physically. I mean—I know he loves me. Or used to love me, at least. For a long while, I was his precious angel. But once I began to develop my own mind and voice, once I discovered who I was, things changed. His lack of acceptance really hurt.”
“I can understand how that would really get under your skin,” Alex said. His voice was low as he spoke. “I was raised by an aunt who hated me from the get-go—and I mean absolutely hated me. I think she resented the fact that my parents died when I was a toddler, leaving her to raise me. She treated me like an annoyance and her personal slave, and she was the only living relative I had. I never really felt as if I had a family at all. At least you can say you were loved.”
Karabi winced inwardly. “I’m sorry to hear you had a rough upbringing. I find it hard to believe that someone can know you and not love you,” she said. He turned to look at her, his face full of emotion. Shit, did I say the ‘L’ word with this guy? Already?! Karabi flashed a quick smile before changing the subject. “So what happened to your parents?”
“My father was a licensed pilot and owned a small single-engine plane that he and my mother used to fly for pleasure, according to my aunt. Shortly after take-off one day, they clipped a light pole and crashed into a parking lot. Both of them died instantly. My mother’s only sister took me in.”
“Your mother’s sister…” Karabi reflected on that for a second. “Did she ever tell you any stories about Werecats or Werewolves?”
“Not that I can remember,” Alex said. “She didn’t really tell me any stories at all. I do remember she hated animals—especially cats. The house next door had a few cats, and Aunt Rochelle used to vent all the time about why they were such horrid creatures. Heh, she may be the reason I’ve never been much of a cat person.”
“Interesting,” Karabi said. “I wonder if your aunt knew you were a Werecat, and that’s why she disliked you. She possibly feared you somewhat too.”
Alex bent one of his arms behind his head and looked over at Karabi with raised brows. “What makes you say that?”
“Werecats are rare, born only to either a Werecat mother and a human father or a Werecat mother and Werecat father, under the Leo zodiac sign. So at a minimum, your mother was one. Therefore, so was her mother, at least. Which means your aunt likely knew her sister and mother were Weres, and that chances were high you would be born one too.”
“But if that were the case, why would Rochelle dislike me so much? And cats?”
“Well, it sounds as if your aunt Rochelle isn’t a Werecat,” Karabi said. “I imagine growing up with a Werecat sister and one or both parents being Werecats when you’re just a regular human would have its challenges. Because, I mean, most Werecats are really into being Cats.”
“Not you,” Alex said.
“I’m not like other Cats.”
Alex chuckled. “I bet you’re not. So what’s the deal with the other Werecats? What are they like?” he asked.
“Well, for the most part they live the same way normal people do. Have a house or apartment, go to school or work, have friends and family, et cetera. Except that they tend to go to private schools with other Werecat children, and they work at businesses owned and run by mostly other Werecats. Like lions form prides, Werecats of all kinds—whether tiger, cheetah, lion, cougar or whatever—all network together to form a very large group, also called a Pride. About four times a year the entire Pride gets together for a week or two of wild partying and heavy petting.”
“Are you in one?”
“I was brought up in the one my parents belong to. It’s been so long since I’ve had any interaction with the Pride that I’m pretty sure they consider me a Stray, now.”
Alex raised a brow and cocked his head. “You already know what I’m going to ask. What’s your issue with the Pride?”
Karabi scoffed. “The Pride has all of these rules and restrictions and ridiculous customs,” she said, rolling her head in circles to emphasize that she was repeating herself.
Alex laughed. “I see a trend. Miss Karabi Minstry doesn’t like rules and restrictions and customs.”
She shook her head in earnest. “No, I don’t. I’m a free-spirit type. And the Pride has many rules, restrictions and customs. Ugh, and hierarchies. Between the Pride and Papa, I had no idea how to just be me until I left all of it behind when I turned eighteen.”
“Ah,” Alex said. He lay back on the bed and rested on his elbows. “Give me some examples of these rules.”
Karabi opened the drawer of her nightstand and pulled out a trade paperback and handed it to him. “Here. See for yourself.”
Alex took the book and flipped through it. At the top of each page was a rule, followed by paragraphs of explanations. Some of the rules only had a paragraph or two, others had up to several pages. He read out loud just the titles of the first ten.
“Neither the identity nor the whereabouts of any Werecat, or of the Pride itself, should be revealed to a non-Werecat or non-relative.
“A Werecat should not intentionally harm another Werecat who is a member of or a guest of the Pride.
“Due to the declining birthrate of Werecats, every
fertile member of the Pride, regardless of sexual preference, should attempt to procreate by mating with other Werecats.
“Only the Pride Council Members have the authority to determine punishment for rule breakers.
“All members of the Pride are expected to be dedicated and active participants of all the Pride events and customs, and to obey and uphold Pride rules.
“Fertile Werecats not in monogamous relationships are expected to participate in the Mating Ritual every quarter.
“Queens (fertile, female Werecats) have the right to choose which Toms (fertile, male Werecats) they will mate with.
“A.H.F.A. (available, highly fertile and of age) Queens are expected to mate with at least two sexual partners during the Mating Ritual.
“All newly identified single Strays must be introduced to the Pride—no hogging Toms or Queens all to oneself!
“Sexual activity must only occur between bodies all in Cat form or bodies all in human form. There is to be no sexual activity between bodies in mismatched forms! (Feline species need not be the same.)”
Alex stopped reading after rule number ten. “Wow,” he said. “There are almost two hundred pages in this book. These are a lot of rules. And they’re very specific and, um, personal.”
Karabi crossed her arms. “Exactly!”
“How many are in this Pride?”
“Two hundred.”
“Are those all the Werecats in the world?”
“No, there are other Prides,” Karabi said.
“Can’t you just join some other Pride, then?”
Karabi shook her head. “Although we know there are other Prides, it isn’t open knowledge who or where they are. Prides tend to keep to themselves, and stay hidden. I don’t know much about them, nor them about us, likely, but from what I do understand about Werecats, I suspect they all have very similar rules.”
“Why wouldn’t all of the Werecats in the world just band together? Form one big Pride?”
Cat on the Fence Page 8