A Game of Cat & Mouse

by Astrid Cielo

  Sadly, Brenna’s mother had died about six months after their arrival.

  However, just as his father had with Essence, he didn’t ask questions, preferring to allow pride members to come to him when ready. Caleb needed to stop that practice. Essence’s problem taught him that if he wanted to help the members of his pride he sometimes had to be proactive about it.

  “I challenge Miranda Sullivan for her position as alpha female!” Brenna stood her hands on her hips her mouth curled in a moue of distaste as she looked over Miranda.

  Miranda’s brown eyes widened, and she looked at Caleb. He could feel her panic as if it were his own. Hell, maybe it was his own. Caleb loved his mate and did not want to change one thing about her.

  However, the facts remained that Miranda was a little mouse and Brenna was a cougar. He obviously hadn’t thought of this possibility.

  ***

  Brenna barely kept the look of glee from her face as she challenged the little mouse for her position as alpha female. The mouse’s eyes widened as the implications of her challenge flowed through the stupid bitch’s head.

  Yeah, bitch, I’m a cougar, and I will take you out in one little bite.

  Brenna could almost feel the power of being alpha female. But first things first.

  She had to dispose of one annoying

  rodent. Miranda’s whispered questions floated to her ears, and Brenna decided not to withhold a smile. It was rather amusing.

  “Can she do that?”

  Not about to lose her audience, Brenna answered the filthy rodent.

  “Why, yes, of course I can. According to the pride bylaws, and I quote, ‘Should the alpha or alpha female of any pride be considered weak or unfit for their duty as alpha, then it is the privilege of the pride members to challenge for that position.”

  “On what grounds do you claim Miranda to be unfit?” Caleb growled.

  Oh, but he was a prickly male. Even more reason to rid herself of him as soon as possible after Miranda’s tragic death, besides she much preferred Daryl him anyways.

  “Miranda is a mouse. Historically, alphas for any shifter group, be that wolf, lion, or cougar, has been the strongest of the group. Miranda, by size and species alone, is inferior in strength, speed, and prowess. Would any here disagree that Caleb is the strongest male among us?”

  Brenna was satisfied with the response, knowing that the entire pride adored Caleb, and it made her want to vomit.

  Daryl was twice the man that he was.

  “What does that have to do with your challenge?” Caleb growled yet again. It seemed she would have to speed things up so that Caleb didn’t blow a gasket.

  “I’m simply making a point. How many of you can say the same for Miranda? How many of you can say that Miranda is the strongest among you?” Everyone looked to Caleb for guidance. She could tell many of them wanted to say she was the strongest, but in the end, very few did so. “There we have it. The stipulation for challenge has been met, and therefore, I challenge Miranda Sullivan for her place as alpha female.”

  “What do I do? I’m not actually too familiar with every bylaw,” Miranda said, her face pale.

  “I offer to fight as a substitute!”

  Brenna turned to the black-haired

  female who walked toward the front. Who is this bitch? When she stood mere inches away, Brenna bristled at the look of contempt that flashed in her gray eyes.

  “What are you trying to prove?” The gray-eyed female had balls. Brenna would give her that. Now it seemed as if another had to die.

  “I simply want what is best for the pride.”

  Miranda stepped beside the female and placed a hand on her shoulder to gain her attention.

  “I can’t let you do that, Aspen. It isn’t good for you in this condition.” The girl named Aspen looked at Miranda in open-mouthed shock.

  “It really doesn’t matter whether you find her acceptable as a substitute or not because the bylaws clearly state that the current alpha female must face the

  challenger in a fight in shifter form.”

  Brenna was furious when Miranda’s

  attention focused on the gray-eyed Aspen.

  She hated to repeat herself.

  “What do you mean my condition?”

  Aspen asked, her confusion plain to see.

  Miranda stared at Aspen then turned her gaze to Caleb before turning back to take a big sniff of Aspen. Aspen seemed even more confused. Miranda tilted her head and regarded Aspen with curiosity.

  “I just assumed you knew,” she said.

  “Knew what?”

  “That you’re pregnant.”

  Brenna almost found this interruption worth it when Aspen placed her hand on her lower belly and her face scrunched as tears tracked down her face.

  “Are you sure?”

  “Well, my nose doesn’t usually lie, so I’m almost certain.”

  Zackary caught the girl before she hit the floor and laid her on a vacated bench.

  How touching.

  Tired of being ignored, Brenna raised her voice above the small roar of the masses.

  “Do you accept my challenge or forfeit your role as alpha female.”

  “One little fact you seem to be

  overlooking, Brenna,” Zackary said as he left Aspen in the care of Winston and Evelyn Dawson.

  “And that would be?”

  “Any challenge gets a three-day grace period for preparation or whatever. I thought you read the bylaws.” And this smart ass will be third to go.

  “Fine, I’ll give you the three-day grace period, but after that, it’s you and me,”

  Brenna said, emphasizing her point with jabs to Miranda’s chest. She nearly screamed as a bruising grip grabbed her hand. She looked into the eyes of one pissed-off alpha and mate. His eyes glowed and claws dug into her skin.

  Brenna didn’t flinch. She could show no weakness.

  “Keep your hands off my mate,” he

  growled.

  Despite his warnings, she would do a lot more than touch his mate in three days. In three days, she would destroy her, then what was left of a broken alpha.

  ***

  Miranda placed another cool compress to Aspen’s forehead. After the revelation of her pregnancy, she’d fainted. Caleb, already livid about Brenna’s challenge, ordered his childhood friend carried to his home. Dr. Weber accompanied them, and her mate, Saul Weber, a nurse was placing the IV line.

  “How is she?” Miranda wrung her hands as she looked over Dr. Weber’s shoulder.

  Dr. Weber patted Miranda on the

  shoulder. “I know that look. Get it a lot in the ER when a parent feels responsible for a wreck that hurts their child or any other number of things. I’ll tell you this; you didn’t cause Aspen to faint. The girl is pregnant and, according to Evelyn, vomited most of the night and morning. She’s dehydrated. Your news just pushed her over the limit. Probably was the best thing since, she would have just continued vomiting and denying what her body told her. Now we’ll give her fluids, and when she’s rested, she’ll come back around.

  She’s not in a coma or anything. She still responds to stimuli. Give her some time, and she’ll be just fine,”

  Caleb stopped his incessant pacing and stared at Miranda.

  “What?” Miranda finally asked,

  uncomfortable with his staring. It was not the I’ll-rip-your-clothes-off-and-take-you stare, but the what-are-you-thinking stare.

  “How can you think you’re responsible for this?”

  “I don’t know, Caleb; she fainted right after I spilled the beans about her being pregnant.”

  Caleb leaned down and planted a chaste kiss on her lips. She wished she could climb into his lap and hide. There was still the challenge to worry about. She knew she was forgoing dealing with that issue by fussing over Aspen. She couldn’t deny that she was scared. How could she possibly win against a cougar?

  Miranda took pride in her status as a mouse shifter. However, even
she realized how impossible it would be for a mouse to beat a cougar in a fight. What could she do though? Forfeit? She immediately dismissed such an idea because she was Caleb’s mate. She didn’t want to know that another female held a position beside him other than herself. Call her jealous because she’d say that was true.

  “How am I going to win?”

  Miranda hated the desperate ring to her voice, but she knew the odds were

  staggering. Caleb picked Aspen’s head out of Miranda’s lap and pulled Miranda up. He placed a pillow under Aspen’s head and then picked Miranda up. Miranda sighed at the feeling of safety and home that surrounded her when Caleb settled her in his lap. She burrowed deeper within his arms, inching her hands under his shirt hem to feel his skin against her own.

  Everything melted away. The challenge that she was sure to lose, the stress from being single to mated all in the course of a few days, and the added anxiety of school starting on Monday. Within Caleb’s arms, there was nothing. There was Caleb, and there was Miranda. Nothing else mattered in that instant.

  “I love you,” she murmured into his chest, the beat of his heart soothing her frazzled nerves.

  “Whoa! Is Miranda passing out too?”

  The familiar voice brought a smile to her face. Zackary crouched at Caleb’s side and looked into Miranda’s eyes. It warmed Miranda’s heart to see the concern in his hazel depths. “Are you okay?”

  “I’m okay, Zackary. I’m just a little overwhelmed with being alpha female and then being challenged.”

  “Ah, don’t worry about that. I’m sure you’ve got her beat,” “You do know I’m a mouse shifter, right?” Miranda said.

  “Yeah, Gunner thought it was the

  coolest thing to be rescued by a little mouse. Now he wants to be a mouse too.”

  “While that’s great and all, I’m still a mouse, and Brenna is a cougar.”

  Zackary nodded. “Yep. Everyone in the pride is a cougar… well, except for you.

  What does that have to do with anything?”

  Miranda took a deep breath. “Zackary, in three days, I will go head-to-head with a freaking cougar! I’m going to lose.”

  “Not necessarily. Haven’t you ever heard of the tortoise and the hare? Tom and Jerry? David and Goliath? The coyote and the roadrunner?”

  Miranda could only stare at Zackary as he named off an array of fictional

  characters from stories and cartoons. He couldn’t be serious, could he?

  Miranda winced when Caleb’s booming voice echoed through the room.

  “You’re comparing Miranda’s upcoming fight with Brenna to cartoons and children’s stories. Are you absolutely insane?”

  Zackary held his hands up in an “I

  surrender” gesture. “Look, what I’m saying is that sometimes the weak – no offense, Miranda – can overpower the mighty.

  Does she have a chance to beat Brenna?

  Sure, she does. She just can’t do so with brute strength. I’ll tell you this, if you really want to get to know your target, I’m talking down and dirty details, then call Kelsi Peters. She knows just about everything. Everyone always assumes that Mrs. Rogers knows everything, but Kelsi puts the CIA to shame. Don’t give up, Miranda. You’ve got lots of people rooting for you. Besides, no one really likes Brenna. She’s ill-tempered and behaves badly.”

  “And I’m just now hearing about this?”

  Caleb growled in exasperation, and

  Zackary just shrugged.

  “Nobody wanted to bother you with

  someone’s unlikeable personality. We all mostly ignored her. Guess we shouldn’t have, though. I don’t think anyone expected her anti-social personality to escalate to this. Everyone always believed she acted this way because of her mother.

  No one could really stand her enough to get to know her.”

  “I have to know what’s going on in my pride, Zackary,” Caleb growled.

  “Look, Caleb, we’ve been worried about you. It was as if you went from a carefree and friendly dude to a depressed man with no real direction. You’ve done a complete one-eighty in the past week. There’s a lot of stuff the pride just dealt with to keep from pushing you over the edge. We didn’t want to lose our alpha.”

  Miranda looked into Zackary’s hazel eyes in shock. She’d never heard the male use Caleb’s name. He always referred to Caleb as alpha.

  “That’s the first time I’ve heard you call him by his name. You usually call him alpha.”

  Zachary paled. “I-I didn’t...I mea-“

  “I’m sure Caleb doesn’t mind being

  called Caleb, Zackary. It is his name.”

  Miranda said.

  Caleb nodded his agreement, and she hugged him tighter. Zackary seemed to calm, and his easy demeanor slipped back into place.

  Now that she was safe in Caleb’s arms, Miranda felt she could conquer anything, and there was no time like the present to make that a reality.

  “So, you were saying I could beat her in this fight. How?”

  ***

  An unfamiliar laugh brought Aspen back from unconsciousness, but her mind

  remained too sluggish to assimilate her current situation. She sat quickly and instantly regretted the movement as her head swam.

  “Not so fast,” came the whisper beside her. Aspen looked up into a female’s hazel eyes and fought to remember the woman’s name. Settling back on the couch she rested on, the sounds of conversation floated around her.

  “I can’t believe you’re watching this,”

  Caleb’s rich baritone voice said.

  “Oh, you’re just mad because the mouse is totally kicking some kitty butt!” Miranda said.

  Aspen opened her eyes, grateful that the room didn’t spin, and looked over at Caleb holding Miranda in his lap. A familiar childhood cartoon played on the television.

  “How do you think this will help you to win against Brenna?” Caleb sounded worried, and everything rushed back to Aspen. Her hands found her lower

  abdomen, and she cupped it protectively.

  She couldn’t believe it.

  “It’s hard to imagine becoming a mom,”

  the whispered voice said to her. Aspen looked over at the female with strawberry blonde hair and hazel eyes, and she finally realized whom it was.

  “Essence?” The female smiled and

  nodded. She looked briefly over at the alpha couple wistfully before turning back to Aspen.

  “It’s overwhelming at first but don’t worry. When he or she is born, there will be nothing more important.”

  She petted the little spotted kitten purring peacefully in her lap. Aspen swallowed and fought to keep the tears at bay. She should’ve known that something wasn’t right. Now the emotional

  rollercoaster, the fatigue, nausea, and vomiting all made sense. She was

  pregnant. Aspen stood slowly and stared at the IV in her arm.

  “Aspen!” Miranda’s squeal brought

  attention to the headache pounding in Aspen’s temples. She winced in pain, and Miranda covered her mouth. “Sorry, I was worried about you. I’m sorry about earlier. I thought you knew.”

  “It’s okay. I’m glad you told me. I thought it was just the… um, thanks.”

  She bit her lip and chastised herself for almost telling her secret shame. If her own mate did not want her, what would her friends think? Though she’d only known some of these people for a brief amount of time or had just recently rekindled her past relationships with them, Aspen was extremely grateful for their presence. Aspen fiddled with the IV, attempting to take it out, but a hand clasped over hers.

  “Not so fast,” came the masculine voice.

  “You need this fluid so just sit back down, and when it is through, I’ll take the IV

  out.”

  Aspen looked into Saul’s green eyes and relaxed at the familiar face. He was older than she was, but she remembered him.

  He smiled and guided her back to the couch. Aspen sighed
and allowed her head to rest on the arm of the couch.

  “Why are you watching cartoons?”

  “Zackary’s silly notion. He thought it would be a great way for Miranda to train for her upcoming fight against Brenna,”

  Caleb said.

  Aspen smiled at the gruff tone in Caleb’s voice. He loved his mate and was worried about her welfare. A feeling of sadness washed over her as she longed for the same thing with her mate. She beat that feeling back down to deal with the issue at hand.

  Aspen didn’t know Brenna, having just met her today. She could honestly say she didn’t like the girl though. She’d seen the look in Brenna’s eyes. She’d seen greed and hatred there but no concern for the overall wellbeing of the pride. Whatever that bitch had planned wasn’t good.

  “So how is the cartoon supposed to

  help?”

  Miranda looked at Caleb and waited for him to turn his attention back to Aspen before she shrugged. Miranda had no clue either. Zackary came into the living room and handed Aspen a plate and a glass.

  “What’s this?”

  “Food,” he said simply before turning to the cartoon. Aspen looked over at

  Essence, who smiled fondly at her brother.

  “He brought you a sandwich and a glass of milk. He always fixed that for me when I was pregnant with Gunner.”

  The little kitten on her lap stretched and jumped down before making his way to Miranda. Gunner rubbed against her legs, gaining Miranda’s attention. Miranda laughed before bending and picking the kitten up in her arms. Gunner purred in Miranda’s hold, and she smiled.

  “I can’t wait to see you holding our own kitten,” Caleb said as he watched Miranda with the small kitten. Miranda’s fair cheeks filled with color at his intent stare, and Aspen struggled to keep her emotions under control. She picked up the sandwich and took a bite. Peanut butter and jelly?

  Essence laughed, and the worry that seemed to cloud her features since Aspen had met her faded, returning her to what she was – a young female.

  “It was my favorite,” Essence said.

  Aspen swallowed the bite and placed the sandwich back down. She didn’t like jelly.

  The jelled confection didn’t please her palate; there was something about the texture that made her want to puke. She placed the peanut butter and jelly