The Runaway Cat (Book 2 Cloverleah Pack Series)

by Oliver, Lisa

  Griff cupped his hands around Diablo’s big head and leaned his face in so close he could almost kiss him. “I thank the Fates that you are my mate and I will thank them every single day of my life. I want you more than I want to eat, drink or breathe. I never want to spend another day without you near me and I want to spend my whole life showing you how much you are loved. Because I do love you Diablo and I always will. There is nothing on this earth that can change that.”

  Diablo looked at Griff’s sincere face with his big yellow eyes and knew that every word that Griff had said was true. This man loved him no matter what and it was their future that was important not Diablo’s past. He felt a purr rumble up from his chest and then he quickly shifted, his head still in Griff’s hands. Griff immediately leant in that last little distance and kissed Diablo soundly. Diablo rolled his body so he was lying on his back and pulled Griff down off his knees to lay on top of him, their lips locked together. When they finally came up for air, Griff laughed.

  “I am so glad you shifted sweetie. I wanted to kiss you so badly and I wasn’t sure I wanted to kiss a cat even one as gorgeous as yours.”

  Diablo smiled but his eyes were serious as he spoke. “You are anything but ordinary Griff. Believe me you are truly amazing both as a man and a wolf. If anybody should be thanking the Fates then it should be me. You compliment me in every way. My cat might be bigger than your wolf, but you are bigger and stronger than me in our human form. You are calm and laid back where I can tend to be a bit volatile. You have been open and honest with me, even to the point of telling Tony that I was to be in your phone calls for your jobs. That is a huge deal to me. I know you are wickedly intelligent even though you try to hide it and you have created a life full of love and good friends. That is not an easy thing to do.”

  He reached up and kissed Griff again before pulling back and saying softly. “I can’t tell you that I love you yet because my head is still a bit of a mess and I want to be free of the FBI before that happens. But believe me when I tell you that I believe in your love for me and that means more to me than you will ever know. I am totally committed to us and our life together and I don’t ever want to leave your side.”

  If Griff was disappointed in what Diablo had said about loving him he didn’t let it show. He twined his hands in Diablo’s silky blond hair and kissed him hard, pushing his tongue into Diablo’s mouth as soon as it opened beneath him. The kiss went on and on and Diablo felt his arousal grow. By the time Griff pulled his lips from his mate’s both men were breathless and panting hard. Foreheads pressed together they tried to pull themselves together.

  Fuck Griff I need you so badly.

  I know, lover, believe me I know, but…

  I know, no lube

  The joys of shifting lover.

  They both laughed. Griff pulled himself to his feet and pulled Diablo up with him.

  “Come on let’s shift and head home. We’re expected at Kane and Shawn’s for dinner but I am sure we can do something before then.”

  Diablo’s eyes gleamed as he shifted into his cat and once Griff was in his wolf form, Diablo nudged his shoulder pushing him to lead them home. They both took off at a run.

  Chapter Thirteen

  It wasn’t until they were dressing to go out that Griff bought up the fact that he had promised to phone Tony back the following day. Diablo was quiet for a moment and seemed to be concentrating hard on smoothing his muscle shirt over his chest. Looking at Griff who was lounging on the door frame watching him he simply shrugged and said, “Do you know what he wants?”

  “Hmmm, yes. He mentioned something about us going back in to get Corbin.” When he saw the look of horror on Diablo’s face Griff quickly added, “I didn’t say anything to him except that I had to go and find you. You are the priority for me, nothing else.”

  “Fuck, what day is it?”

  “Monday.”

  “Christ I can’t wait until Friday when my bloody resignation is final.”

  Griff pushed himself up off the door frame and grabbed Diablo in his arms. He loved the fact that Diablo wrapped his own arms around Griff’s waist and held him close.

  “Neither one of us is going to do anything that we are not comfortable with, okay. We will hear Tony out and then we will tell him no. It’s as simple as that.”

  Diablo nodded and Griff held him for a minute more before turning around and heading out the door with Diablo tucked under his arm.

  “Now let’s go meet the pack.”

  “Oh God I think that is making me even more nervous.” But Diablo was laughing as he said it.

  “They will love you, you’ll see.” Griff was quietly confident that they would as they walked out the door.

  Because Diablo hadn’t got his bike back yet the two men did the five minute journey in Griff’s SUV. Diablo was quiet but his hand rested in Griff’s all the way. Griff took a look at his lover, dressed in his customary black with his blond hair free and hanging down his back. Griff realized that Diablo had told him that he didn’t have much in the way of friends at all and with being a cat shifter he probably had no idea about how important the pack was to Griff. Yet Diablo had also said that he wanted Griff to be able to stay with the pack, so maybe he did understand that much. Griff trusted his friends and he just hoped that no-one would make Diablo feel uncomfortable. As they pulled up in front of Kane and Shawn’s huge house he saw Diablo look at it and then at the woods beyond with a sense of longing on his face.

  “No running Diablo, please.”

  “I know Griff, but I have no idea how to act with a pack. Solitary animals and all that.” Diablo tried to smile but he was really nervous. He knew if Griff’s pack didn’t like him then that would make life really hard for Griff.

  Griff opened his door and stepped out pulling Diablo out with him.

  “Don’t think of them as pack. Think of them as my annoying family, my best friends. We don’t do the pack dynamic here. We are all just guys that happen to be gay wolf shifters who all work together at Custom Rides.”

  “They don’t know about your work with Tony right?”

  “Kane and Shawn do, as I told you before but it is not something we ever talk about especially in front of the others.” Griff was leading Diablo up the path to the porch.

  “So you see my problem.” Diablo stopped Griff and looked at him in the eye. “The first question people ask about you is ‘what do you do’? I have been an undercover agent for seven years. I can hardly talk about that and I don’t want to be lying to people who are your friends.” While Diablo’s voice appeared calm Griff could sense the underlying panic.

  “You can tell them you are an undercover agent but that you can’t talk about anything specific. They will understand that. You can also tell them that you are soon to be retired and that you are looking at starting your own security business.” Griff leaned in for a quick kiss. “See no lying involved. You should be more worried about the fact that you claimed me while I was drunk because I am sure they are going to be more interested in that aspect than anything else.”

  “Way to make me feel better Griff,” Diablo laughed. He could see Kane at the door waiting for them. It was time to meet Griff’s pack.

  ~~~

  The evening started off easily enough. As soon as Griff and Diablo got inside the house Kane introduced Diablo to Scott, Troy and Dean and then went to get them drinks. Shawn had them all go sit at a huge dining room table that easily fitted all seven men. The food was good and the conversation seemed general enough to keep Diablo’s nerves at bay.

  Diablo learned a lot through listening to others. He guessed it was habit more than anything else, but as the others spoke he also saw how the pack related to each other as a group. Kane and Shawn were undoubtedly the Alpha’s and just as obviously were deeply committed to each other. Kane in particular seemed obsessed with continually touching Shawn in one way or another. Nothing sexual but as if he needed the continual reassurance that the other man was there
.

  Shawn on the other hand was like the power behind the throne. He was as quiet as Diablo and he watched everything that went on around him. Diablo had inadvertently caught his eye a couple of times and Shawn just gave a shy smile and looked away. Shawn’s devotion to Kane was harder to pick and only showed in stark honesty when Shawn looked directly at Kane. Then his eyes gave away just how much in love he was with his mate. Diablo knew that Kane and Shawn had only been together about two to three months and he felt quietly happy in himself that he and Griff would reach that same level of intimacy just as quickly.

  The twins were so totally different it was hard to pick that they were even brothers except for the fact that they were identical, in every physical way. Scott was the brighter of the two in terms of how he dressed, styled his hair and his personality. He injected a lot of sexual innuendo into his comments but Diablo wondered how much of that was a ruse to stop the others from learning too much about him. Troy on the other hand was dressed more conservatively, his hair left to fall where it may and he didn’t offer a lot in terms of conversation although when he did respond to others in the group he seemed to be intelligent and he had a wicked sense of humor. Both men were about six foot tall with a wealth of muscles combined with shaggy blond hair and clear handsome faces. Diablo knew that as Beta wolves these two men would be good fighters and as he watched them interact with each other with such familiarity he could see they would make a powerful duo in a fight.

  The Omega of the pack, Dean could easily be overlooked. He was the smallest of everyone present and he too kept quiet a lot of the time. Dean was interesting with his thin features, pale complexion and deep auburn hair and Diablo guessed that within a couple of years he would be a real stunner to look at. As it was he was slim and obviously worked hard at being inconspicuous. But Diablo could see that Dean too possessed a lot of intelligence and he seemed to be a genuinely caring guy. It wouldn’t do for anyone to underestimate the smallest man at the table.

  Diablo knew it was a really bad habit to size people up when he was with them, but it was just the way he was. Working for the FBI often meant that if he didn’t make the right judgments first time, then his life could be on the line. From what Diablo could work out Dean had accepted him on face value for who he was, as had Troy and Scott. It was difficult to know what Shawn was thinking but it was Kane that was going to be a problem for Diablo.

  It wasn’t so much in the things Kane said. It wasn’t even in the way he said anything. On the surface of it Kane was friendly and charming. Diablo assumed this was a typical Alpha thing. But Diablo had caught Kane looking at him with narrowed eyes a couple of times and he had a horrible feeling in his gut that this evening was not going to end well. Being Griff’s best friend, his Alpha, his cousin and his boss meant that Kane had a lifetime of caring for Griff and Diablo could tell that Kane was not happy with Griff’s choice of mate for some reason. For now Diablo just ate his meal, kept a pleasant expression on his face and kept learning as much as he could about the men he was eating with.

  On the plus side what was really great to see was just how relaxed Griff was with his pack. He laughed and joked and took their ribbing, giving a lot in return and Diablo could see he was really in his element. Griff was handsome at any time but when he was happy his green eyes sparkled and his whole face lit up. Diablo thought he looked truly beautiful.

  Griff didn’t make Diablo feel excluded either. He would explain some of the comments the others made about stories in their past and like Kane with Shawn, Griff touched him a lot. Little things like brushing shoulders, holding his arm or running his finger down Diablo’s leg. It made Diablo feel warm inside and while he wasn’t sure why, he sure as hell liked it. As the men slowly came to the end of the meal Diablo started to hope that he and Griff could make a hasty exit before anything went wrong. Diablo seriously wanted to go home and fuck his mate senseless.

  Chapter Fourteen

  But of course that wasn’t going to happen. Kane waited until everyone had finished eating before making his move. His opening comments, directed straight at Diablo, were pitched loud enough to cut through the other men’s chatter.

  “Diablo. We haven’t heard a lot about you this evening. We know you are a cat shifter. What type of cat are you?” Kane’s tone wasn’t giving anything away but Diablo immediately knew trouble was coming. Problem was he didn’t quite know what Kane’s issue with him was so for now he decided to keep his answers short and honest until he knew what Kane’s end game was.

  “A mix breed. Black panther.” Bland tone, bland face, Diablo could play this game all day. He could see Griff looking at him with a worried expression on his face but for now Diablo focused on Kane.

  “So does that make you a big cat or one of the smaller ones?”

  “Depend on what you are comparing me too.”

  “What mix?”

  Crap, Diablo didn’t want to answer that one. He should have guessed his size could be an issue for an Alpha but as he hadn’t been in this position before, where he actually wanted the pack to accept him for Griff’s sake at least he didn’t quite know what to say except the truth. “Cougar and tiger.”

  “What type of tiger?”

  “Siberian.” Diablo heard Dean gasp and Kane narrowed his eyes.

  It was Scott that spoke up though. “How the hell did that happen? How did a cougar end up mated with a Siberian tiger in the United States?”

  Diablo sighed. “My mother was on heat. The circus was in town. My father happened to be the star attraction. They fucked in cat form through the bars and then my mother let my father out of the cage once she had shifted into her human form. He ran off and hasn’t been seen or heard from since. They were not mates. Given his size my mother had the one cub, me.”

  “So I will ask again. How big are you?” Kane’s voice was positively terse and when he saw Diablo raise his eyebrow he added, “in comparison to the cougar and the tiger.”

  “Bigger than the cougar, slightly smaller than the tiger.”

  “And when compared to a wolf like Griff or me or Shawn here?”

  “Bigger.” Diablo looked at Griff who was holding his hand and gave him a small smile before he turned back to Kane, his face expressionless once more. “A lot bigger probably although I haven’t seen your wolf form Kane, nor Shawn’s.”

  Kane’s frowning face didn’t let up when Shawn gently put his arm over his mate’s shoulder. It was though Shawn was trying to keep Kane calm. But then Kane changed tactics, or so it appeared.

  “And this mating thing with your mother and father? Is that common among cat shifters? To fuck and leave?”

  “My mother and father were not mates. They fucked once. No claiming involved. When my mother let my father out of his cage she didn’t expect him to stay and he didn’t disappoint. Unless they find their true mates’ cats are solitary creatures and prefer to be on their own.”

  Kane leant forward and leaned his arms on the table pointing a finger at Diablo. “You claimed Griff and then you did a runner too. Isn’t that just the same, fuck and leave?” The anger in Kane’s voice was evident to everyone in the room. Diablo closed his eyes for a second as he felt a wave of sadness from Griff come washing over him. He just wanted to get up and punch the living shit out of Kane for hurting Griff. But then he would be just as bad and as angry as Kane was. He wasn’t going to hurt Griff no matter what Kane said.

  Keep calm, keep calm, keep calm.

  “You know the story about what happened with that Kane. I know that Griff told you. I’m not about to discuss any aspect of what I do in my undercover life with you or the impact it might have had on me or Griff.” Diablo could tell his anger was starting to show and he quickly reined it in and tried a more reasonable approach. “Doesn’t it say something that I came back and Griff is happy that I am here?”

  “Yes but for how long?” Kane was growling now. “You claimed Griff. You obviously won’t let him claim you being as you are the stronger ani
mal and all. So you are free to come and go as you please? Do you know what it does to a wolf without his mate, cat? Do you?”

  Diablo knew that Griff was going to say something and he squeezed Griff’s hand to keep him quiet. For the moment this was between Kane and Diablo.

  “Yes I do.” Diablo kept his voice soft trying not to antagonize Kane any further.

  “Do you? Do you really? Griff will be in pain. In a short time he will get sick and then he will die in pain. And because you cats are ‘solitary’ creatures you won’t even care.” Kane was shouting now and every one at the table was looking at him stunned.

  Diablo knew it was time to make a strategic exit before his own anger escalated this argument into a physical fight. For all his anger Kane really cared about Griff and this was something the pack had to sort out for themselves. Even if Diablo promised Kane that he would never leave Griff, which he had already promised Griff himself, he knew the Alpha would not believe him. Not in the mood he was in. He stood up and stepped away from the table.

  Griff stood up to go with him and Diablo stopped him. He stood close to Griff and pulled Griff’s head down so they were looking at each other and for a moment no one else existed. Diablo could see the anguish in Griff’s face and his gut twisted at the thought of being the cause of that pain.

  “No Griff honey,” he said in a voice soft, but loud enough for everyone to hear. “You need to stay and sort things out with your Alpha and your pack. I told you I won’t stop you having anything to do with them and I meant it.”

  Leaning his head forward so their foreheads were touching Diablo reached Griff through their mind link.

  I have to go honey or this will get ugly and I don’t want to fight your Alpha or your pack. It will hurt you. You need to stay and make things right so you don’t lose your pack.

  I am coming with you. I don’t want you running off where I can’t find you. If the pack won’t accept you then they don’t accept me either. Griff’s inner voice was firm.