Cat on the Fence

by Tatiana Caldwell

  “So, party’s over?” someone asked.

  “Party’s over,” Justin said, his voice thick with bitterness. He turned around and spoke loudly so the whole group could hear. “Let’s clear camp, folks, our week has been cut short. We’re heading home early. For those of you who have travel arrangements that make you unable to go home for a couple of days still, go find a hotel outside of Starved Rock. We need to spread out, scatter, so it’s harder for anyone who may be tracking us to do that.”

  Everyone started to scatter and Karabi panicked. She grabbed Justin by the arm as he was turning to walk away. “What about Alex?” Karabi asked. “Are we leaving before you decide whether or not you will help Alex?”

  Justin crossed his arms and glared at Karabi. “This was your and his fight just now with all of those Wolves, right? I think we just gave you all the help we have right now.”

  Karabi sighed heavily. “But we haven’t even received the results of Alex’s blood test yet. And he still needs—”

  “At this point, it doesn’t really matter what his test results are, does it? The Pride is going home. There won’t be any initiation. Maybe he can try again next quarter. That is, if he’s still a Werecat then,” Justin said with a chuckle.

  “Dammit, this isn’t about him joining the Pride,” Karabi exclaimed. “It’s about curing him of whatever the Rabids passed on to him!”

  “Listen, Minstry, just cool it. Cassandra isn’t going to let you guys go without some kind of diagnosis for your tiger friend here,” Justin said. “The hour’s almost up, I’m sure the lab work’s about done and she’ll be looking for you any minute. If you’re smart, you’ll just listen to what she has to say, then immediately get out of here and go about your merry little way. At the next quarter retreat, plan to be initiates and join the Pride.”

  “That’s it?” Karabi barked. “She’s just going to give him a prescription or something? What about any additional training he may need? Some guidance?”

  “Like was said before. That’s for Pride members only. And before you even think to open your mouth and argue—” Justin put his hand up to stop both Karabi and Alex from protesting. “Just remember that you’ve done plenty enough for the Pride today. You’ve shown up out of nowhere, demanding help, without any intention of joining us. One of you may be infected with rabies or whatever the Rabid Werewolves have, potentially putting us all at risk of falling prey to Tony the Rabid Tiger here. And then to top it all off, you bring a whole bunch of uninvited guests who come in and wreck the place.” Justin shook his head and wiped his nose with the back of his hand. “You’re lucky as hell that we’re even considering letting you join in the future. Now, please don’t cause us any more trouble than you already have.”

  Karabi kicked at the ground as Justin walked off. Pretty soon it was just Karabi and Alex standing there in defeat. Alex grabbed her by the arms and pulled her into his chest, holding her tight. “It’s all right, I’m okay for now,” Alex said. “Let’s get ready to go. Maybe we can keep looking for answers on our own.”

  “You didn’t really think I was going to let you leave without telling my tiger brother something, did you?”

  They turned around to find Cassandra walking toward them.

  “At this point, we didn’t know what to think,” Karabi said.

  Cassandra shook her head. “Justin can come off as a hard-ass but he’s not nearly as bad as he seems,” she said. “He loves the Pride and is just very protective of it.”

  She lifted Alex’s head by his chin and peered into his eyes. “You seem fine,” she said. “But you’re not. The toxins that convert humans to Werewolves is in your bloodstream. I won’t pretend to know the full effects of that, especially since it was a Rabid that bit you. Nor do I know exactly how to cure you. But your girlfriend knows someone who does. And they’ll need this.” Cassandra placed a vial of blood in Alex’s hand.

  “I don’t understand,” he said. “Is this mine?”

  “It’s from the Rabid you killed.”

  “The one that bit me?”

  Cassandra raised one brow and grinned. “He’s the one that bit you? Even better. Now get out of here, both of you.” Then she grabbed Karabi’s hand as she was turning to leave. “Don’t you ever say the Pride hasn’t done anything for you,” Cassandra said before parting.

  Karabi stared after her for a long time, lost in her thoughts, until Alex took her hand in his. “Let’s go,” he said.

  She nodded. “Okay.” She interlaced her fingers with his as they went to the parking lot together, mostly quiet.

  It wasn’t until they got into the car and Karabi was turning on the engine that he finally asked the question she’d been dreading ever since Cassandra mentioned it.

  “What did the doctor mean by you knowing someone who knows how to cure me?” Alex asked.

  Karabi sighed heavily again. She’d tried to avoid it all this time. Even potentially put Alex at risk, simply because she’d rather come here and face the judgment of the Pride she loathed than swallow her own pride and take Alex where she needed to in the first place.

  “My parents,” she answered finally as she backed out of the spot. Then she shifted the car to drive and peeled out of there.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Alex laid his head back against the car seat and stared up at the ceiling. “So after all of that, everything somehow comes back to your parents? Incredible.”

  “Incredible isn’t exactly the word I’d use,” Karabi said. “I’m thinking more like setup.”

  “Setup?”

  “I think all of this was a setup.” She angrily slapped at the steering wheel. “I don’t know what I was thinking, staying in Chicago. I should have packed up a long time ago and moved far, far away. But I was too stubborn to let them drive me out.”

  Alex was listening but what she was saying didn’t make sense. “Move away? I don’t understand. Why should you have moved away?”

  “So that I could have some sort of control over my own life, don’t you see? But even with me no longer being involved with them they are still controlling me, apparently.”

  “I don’t see how they’re controlling you. Your mother just made me aware of the position. There’s no way she would have known that I’d take it, or even apply. Or that we’d fall for each other.”

  “Right,” she scoffed, “and so you living there, working at the zoo and meeting me, us falling for each other, your injury, me bringing you to the Pride, my parents being the ones who have to help us—all of it is just a coincidence, right?” She snorted and shook her head. “You have no idea just how manipulative and controlling my parents are.”

  Alex shook his head. “Surely you don’t think your parents had anything to do with the Werewolf attack in the alley. Do you?”

  “I don’t know. I do know they want nothing more than for me to come back home and to the Pride like a good kitty. Settle down with a mate—they’d prefer I have just one, not two like the Pride does—and produce a litter of little Weres.” She shrugged. “So I guess I wouldn’t put much of anything past them in order to get their way.”

  “Well, I don’t blame them,” he said. “You’re their family. I think a family really should do almost anything to try to stay together.”

  She paused for a moment, seeming to gather her thoughts. “Answer this honestly. If the retreat hadn’t ended early, and if they would have let you become an initiate, would have you considered joining the Pride?”

  “Yes. I would have considered it.”

  “Why?”

  “Because they’re like me,” he said. “It felt like I belonged there with them. Crazy long list of rules and all.”

  “Even though you know how I feel about them?”

  He exhaled long and slow. The truth was, he was expecting her to get over her stubbornness at some point and agree to join the Pride with him. “I guess I was hoping you would change your mind.”

  “What makes you think I would change my mind?�
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  “Because the Pride is also your family.”

  Karabi made a retching sound.

  Alex wasn’t sure if it was Karabi’s blatant disregard for familial ties, if the rabid tiger within him just had a short fuse or if it was simply the topic itself that pushed several of his buttons—but he was highly annoyed.

  “So let me get this straight,” Alex said. “You would fight me tooth and nail to keep the lions at the zoo together—even when faced with injured animals and not enough money to support them—but you’re too stubborn to even consider giving your own family or Pride a chance? Hypocritical much?”

  “It just is what it is.”

  “Wrong, is what it is.”

  “That’s not my fault.”

  “Some things are exactly as you make them.”

  “I don’t get it, Alex.” Karabi’s voice was shrill. “Why are you so concerned about my relationships with anyone other than you?”

  “Because I love you, and it’s obvious that you have some serious hang-ups that you still really need to get over. How can I plan a future with you if you’re still bogged down by your past?”

  Oops. He hadn’t quite meant to blurt all of that out. She kept her focus on the dark road ahead of her. But the conflict was visible on her face. “I hope that doesn’t scare you,” he said softly. “The fact that I want a future with you.”

  “No, it doesn’t scare me,” she said. “I think about you that way too. So long as you’re not expecting me to agree that we should be serious right now, it’s fine.”

  He winced. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “I’m just being honest, Alex. It’s been a hell of a couple of months since I’ve met you. I’m so confused. I’ve just ended a long-term relationship—with disastrous results, I must add. Got hot and heavily involved with you, which led to the triggering of your Cat.” She glanced at him briefly with a severe expression. “And speaking of cats, look at how much I’ve been shifting lately. I’ve been the cheetah more times in the past five weeks than I have in the past five years! Also, I’ve never had a romantic relationship with a male Cat. Honestly, I’d sworn off romance with Werecats of either gender when I was still in my teens because of all of the dawdling around everyone tends to do with each other, and the focus on making babies, babies and more babies. Then I find out that my parents practically arranged for you and me to meet… I don’t know, Alex. I honestly don’t know what to think right now.”

  He remained quiet for a while after she was done venting. He’d been so caught up in the whirlwind that was now his complicated life that he hadn’t really stopped to consider how much of an impact all of it had had on Karabi too. The difference, however, was despite of all the commotion, he was certain that he wanted to be with her.

  “So what do you want?” he asked.

  “I don’t know.”

  “Do you want me at all?”

  “Yes, but—”

  “There’s a ‘but’?”

  “I’m not sure that I want to want you. Or for you to want me.”

  He frowned. “Can you help me even begin to understand what that’s supposed to mean?”

  “Alex, I’m the first Werecat you ever met, and you think you are in love with me. How do you know that isn’t just some instinctual animalistic need to mate, instead of real, true love? Can a Cat even really fall in love, or do they just sniff out their perfect biological ‘mate’ or what have you?”

  “But I’m not just a Cat. I’m a man too, who wants you for more than just sex. Does it matter why the Cat and man want you? Isn’t it enough to know that we both want you?”

  “Yes, it matters! Your Cat could just be so desperate for a mate that he’s clinging to the first available Werecat he ran into, just long enough until he meets a Queen better suited to him. And you, Alex, the man—maybe you just want a family so bad, you’d be willing to do whatever it takes to join and remain in the Pride. Even if that meant sleeping with other women. Do you not see how this could be a problem?”

  “But there wouldn’t be a sleeping-around problem if we claimed each other.”

  Karabi rolled her eyes. “We discussed that already.”

  “God dammit, Karabi, I’m not asking you to marry me! I’m not trying to cage you nor am I asking you to settle down with me for life, not when it’s obvious you’re not completely ready for that. I want just to be your number one and only Tom. While you’ll have me.”

  “But you’re not getting it, Alex. It’s the principle of it all. The why we’re even considering doing it. Just because the Pride wouldn’t leave us much choice.”

  “I know, I know,” Alex rolled his head from side to side, “it’s about the rules you’re expected to follow. Rules and expectations that have been set upon you since you were a child, and you’re Karabi the Rebel. I get it. But I also know that deep down, you miss them. The Cats. Your parents too. And I know you care for me as much as I care for you. You’re just scared to face it all. You don’t want to want what others are telling you that you should. Even if you do want them.”

  Karabi laughed. “I don’t know how you can be so certain what it is that I want when even I don’t know what I want.”

  “Maybe in some ways, I know you even better than you do.”

  She scoffed. “You sound just like my damn parents.”

  Alex threw up his hands, his temperature rising. “Fine,” he said. “I get it. We’ve been moving too fast and now we’re at a crossroads.” His arms and hands were trembling. How long had they been doing that? Was it because he was frustrated or because of the bite? “I don’t want to pressure you into doing anything you don’t want to, or being anyone you’re not. After you get me home and your parents give me or tell me what I need, you’re not obligated to stay.”

  Karabi responded but he couldn’t quite make out what she said. Suddenly the tires rolling against the concrete, the heater blowing, the wind resistance against the car, the whole world was much too loud. Alex held his head in his hands to try to stop it from spinning. Within seconds his skin began to crawl all over as he felt the rabid tiger begin to claw its way out. Horrible timing too—his concentration was completely shot, his emotions were out of whack and it’d been nearly a day since he’d had a sexual release. There was no stopping the tiger from coming.

  Alex unsnapped his seatbelt and quickly tore off his clothes. Karabi was saying something and starting to slow down. But the only words he made out were ‘middle of the highway’ before his body parts morphed from a man’s to a tiger’s. But something was wrong with this tiger. This tiger had made a kill, had tasted blood and desperately wanted more. The small part of Alex that remain lucid and human feared that Karabi was in serious danger, whether she stopped the car or not.

  He couldn’t let himself hurt her.

  He saw that she was wearing her seatbelt, and so he swatted at the steering wheel and pushed his paw against her right foot, forcing her to accelerate. Once they closed in on the SUV ahead of them, he removed his heavy paw and waited for her to slam on the brakes. He saw Karabi’s airbag deploy just as he went crashing through the windshield, flying over the hood of the car and hitting the back of the vehicle ahead of them before slamming into the ground. He felt himself turning back into a harmless man, just before he closed his eyes.

  * * * * *

  Karabi stood outside the bedroom door of her parents’ apartment at Forest Gardens, keeping her distance as she watched her father work on the sleeping Alex. He was hooked up to IVs, kept on anesthesia and being given the much-needed fluids his body hadn’t been getting. So many conflicting emotions ran through Karabi. She wanted to run in and be by Alex’s side. But did she deserve him? Look at him. All of this was pretty much her fault. All of it. His discovery of his tiger. Getting bitten by Werewolves that were after her. Not getting the proper care he needed until she’d managed to swallow her pride and take him to other Werecats for help.

  At least if she hadn’t been so obstinate about
going to the Pride in the first place, things wouldn’t have progressed to the point where he felt he needed to eject himself from a speeding vehicle.

  Even now her stubbornness couldn’t bring allow her to enter the room with her father there.

  “Are you sure you’re feeling okay?”

  Karabi nearly jumped at her mother’s voice. Rohini had always been light on her feet and had to be the only person in existence who could consistently sneak up on Karabi. “Yeah, I’m fine. The seatbelt and the airbag saved me from getting a single scratch.”

  “Good. It’s good to see you too,” the older woman said. She wore her hair in a long, single braid that fell down toward her waist. She kept staring and smiling at Karabi as if assessing how she’d been doing all these years. It made Karabi feel painfully exposed and she refrained from looking her mother in the eye for too long.

  “It’s not so good, considering the circumstances.”

  “Alex is a little bruised, but it’s nothing your father can’t patch up. Your friend will be back on his feet in no time.”

  Karabi sighed. “What’s wrong with him? What’s wrong with his Cat?”

  “The Werewolf that bit him was rabid. He’s got the toxins from the Werewolf’s bite still inside him.”

  “How does a Werewolf turn rabid?”

  “We don’t really know how,” Rohini said. “Apparently it’s a new development that has popped up in recent months. The Rabids seem even more volatile than normal Werewolves. They shift every single night, full moon or not, and not fully into wolves, either. They become this creature that is neither a man nor a wolf.”

  “I hear they are taking Queens. What for?”

  “We are still trying to learn more about them. Information doesn’t come easy—Cats and Wolves aren’t exactly friendly. Sree has dedicated himself to trying to figure it out, however.”

  “Oh,” Karabi said. She glanced at her father as he tended to the cuts on Alex’s face. “So what’s happening to Alex?”