by Parker Skye
All three shook their heads slightly and refused to meet his gaze. Logan paced and ran both hands through his unruly black hair, making it stand up even crazier than normal. He finally stopped in the middle of the room, closed his eyes, and took a deep breath. Finding his center, Logan opened his eyes and scanned the guilty parties’ faces one more time.
“Well, he couldn’t have gotten out of the house, so where is he?” Logan asked, forcing himself to stay calm. It had already been a hard enough day for all of them. If Logan continued his tirade, he knew it would only add to his pack’s growing anxiety. As long as the cat hadn’t escaped the house, it would be fine. At least that’s what Logan would keep telling himself, he decided.
When Adam’s blush turned scarlet and he ducked his head even further to avoid Logan’s eyes, though, Logan’s lip turned up in a silent snarl. He felt his eyes narrowing to slits. Someone better start fucking talking soon or else, Logan thought.
“Um, we trapped him in your room,” Ben answered, taking the attention off his mate. While Logan was proud of Ben for defending his mate, Logan still had to remind himself not to punch his brother in the face right then.
“Motherfucker!” Logan continued cursing all the way down the hall to his room. Being the de facto alpha of their small group, Logan had claimed the master bedroom with its attached bathroom. When he threw the door wide, he found the feral cat bathing his nuts smack in the middle of his king-sized bed. Logan scanned the room and saw widespread evidence of the cat’s presence. Parallel gouges ran down every leg of his desk and puncture marks studded both arms of his leather recliner. A suspicious stain was slowly spreading across the rug at the foot of his bed. Logan glared at the cat and growled, almost welcoming his wolf forth to kill the little demon. The cat simply glared back and returned to licking his privates.
“Let’s set some ground rules, Judas. This is my room, not yours. If you enjoy breathing, I’d also suggest you stay the fuck off my bed!” Logan was vibrating with anger at the violation of his personal space. His reaction became even more lethal at the cat’s continued nonchalance. Logan doubted there had never been a cleaner pair of testicles than that fucking cat’s right then.
Logan lunged toward the bed and the cat finally ran. A fuzzy brownish-grey streak flew through the door and down the hall. Honestly, Logan didn’t care where it went as long as the cat was out of his room. A wicked grin broke out on his face as he imagined Judas making himself at home on Adam’s pillow. It would serve the man right. Even better if Adam turned out to be allergic.
Dawn was breaking by the time the entire pack made it back to bed. No one had seen hide nor hair of the cat again. Logan knew they could easily find Judas if they really wanted to, but nobody had any desire to interact with the beast anymore until they were better rested.
Logan had gotten almost too good of a look at the cat while it was splayed out on his bed, performing the basest of personal hygiene. The cat was easily the ugliest feline Logan had ever seen. Judas’ mottled grey and brown fur was short, except around his face where it stuck out in odd patches like some version of a feline mad scientist. His mismatched blue and green eyes should have been intriguing, but the hateful way the cat glared just emphasized his ugliness, both inside and out. And, if Judas was any less than twenty pounds, Logan would eat his own tail. That eliminated any inclination Adam might have to call the cat “cute”. To top it all off, if there had been any doubt about the cat’s gender; Judas’ gigantic balls would be a dead giveaway. How those things didn’t drag the ground, Logan had no idea.
Refusing to feel sorry for the homely creature, Logan set up the cat’s food and water bowls in the kitchen, stuffing down his residual silent rage. Logan also made Adam assemble the litter box in the laundry room and assigned the other man the duty of cleaning it permanently. Adam readily accepted his punishment, not uttering even a single sound of complaint. When Logan caught Ben preparing to argue about his mate’s sentence, Logan’s glare must have been enough to make his brother know this was a battle he wouldn’t win. Finally the work was done and the pack dispersed to their separate rooms. Logan for one was ready to see the inside of his own eyelids for at least the next eight hours.
Stripping back down to his boxers, Logan settled into his bed for the second time that evening. He sincerely hoped this time he managed to actually get some sleep. Logan switched off the bedside lamp and sighed in relief as his head hit the pillow.
Just as his eyes slid shut, plaintive meowing sounded right outside his bedroom door. The faint scratching of claws on wood was like nails on a chalkboard to Logan’s fragile psyche. Logan groaned aloud and forced himself to ignore it, hoping the cat would take the hint and go away. After ten minutes of nonstop meowing, Logan’s phone signaled an incoming text.
Ben: Please make it stop. I’m begging you.
Logan sighed loudly and threw his covers to the side. When he opened the door a crack, the ugly cat looked up at him; his mismatched eyes seemed to be sparkling with a combination of mischief and hope. .
“Fine, but if you piss on any more of my stuff, I’ll end you.”
Logan stepped back and the cat slowly weaved its way past the edge of the door. Logan climbed into bed while Judas made himself at home on the recliner. Logan could feel the cat staring at him creepily. Hoping the cat would just leave him alone for a while if nothing else; Logan rolled over and forced himself to decisively give in to his exhaustion.
Chapter 3
Logan had long ago given up the fight to protect his furniture and personal items. It had been weeks since Judas was dumped on them and the cat’s personality hadn’t improved at all. Logan’s personal belongings seemed to take the brunt of the cat’s overly destructive tendencies. Logan’s desk now functioned more as a scratching post than a place to get any work done. Logan eventually relinquished the leather recliner to the cat once the puncture marks from Judas repetitive claw sharpening covered both arms entirely. The sharp bits of leather sticking up through the holes made the chair too uncomfortable to sit in anymore unless anyone had a burning desire to sit on a pin cushion.
Despite Logan’s warning, Judas had persisted with the habit of pissing on any scrap of fabric he found lying on the floor. After weeks of cursing at the cat and throwing shoes, it seemed they’d finally broken the cat of this foul behavior, at least. Either that or Logan and his pack had been the ones trained not to leave anything lying around that they didn’t want to reek of cat urine. Honestly when Logan examined his own movements over the last few weeks, he realized it was probably not the cat that’d changed behaviors, after all.
Logan had no idea why the cat had chosen his room to share, but it seemed Logan was stuck with him. At least Judas mostly left him alone once lights were out unless Logan forgot and shut the door. Then Judas would scratch under the door maniacally and meow, regardless of whether he felt he was trapped in or out. Judas didn’t seem to care what side of the door he was relegated to. Apparently Judas just wanted the freedom to come and go as he pleased. As long as Logan left the door cracked, the cat was blissfully silent.
This morning, Logan woke to a heavy weight pressing down on his chest attempting to suffocate him. Logan’s eyes flew open in surprise and mismatched, slitted eyes blinked sleepily back at him. Well this is new. Logan’s wolf growled deep in his chest, but Judas only blinked unconcerned.
“Get the fuck off me, Judas,” Logan said, pushing the cat bodily to the side. His chest burned where the cat dug in his claws, initially refusing to budge. Logan’s perseverance finally won out, however, and the cat thumped to the floor, easily landing on all four feet. Judas flicked his tail up in apparent disgust and sauntered out of the room.
Logan scanned his closet and pulled on his nicest button-down shirt and khaki slacks. They’d been here long enough to settle and learn the territory. Now it was time for Logan to find a job. Otherwise, he was going to lose his mind sitting around this empty house all day. Ben, Adam, and Ryan were all attending
classes full time at the university. Izzy had gotten a job at a local cafe as a cook. Logan was the last of them to figure out something to do with his day other than binging on daytime television and watching the cat be an asshole.
Logan had three interviews today, two in sales and one in construction. He hoped against hope to get one of the sales jobs. He had plenty of experience in construction, though, and none in sales. While he didn’t hate construction work per say, it wasn’t Logan’s preferred method of making a living. But it was a job and a paycheck, so if that was all he was apparently good for in the human world, Logan knew he would take it.
Logan finished buttoning his cuffs as he strode into the kitchen, the absence of the wonderful aroma of breakfast cooking more than a little concerning. Izzy always got up early and cooked breakfast for the pack, insisting it was the only way their brains would be fully functional in class. Izzy’s mate, Ryan, sat at the kitchen table reading from his textbook while he finished off the rest of a blueberry bagel.
“Izzy have work this morning?” Logan casually asked as he poured himself a cup of black coffee. As far as Logan knew, Izzy’s cafe didn’t offer breakfast hours, but maybe he was wrong.
“No. He’s still not feeling well in the mornings. I’m going to call Sylvia today and see what she thinks,” Ryan said, marking his place in the book. Sylvia was their pack healer and hopefully would have an idea what to do for Izzy’s bizarre stomach issues. Oddly enough, they had continued to plague the pierced wonder almost daily since the move. Not only was it almost unheard of for a shifter to get sick, but Logan had never seen one stay sick this long. Well, outside of females when they were carrying pups, Logan thought sardonically. That surely wasn’t the case here.
“Good idea. Maybe we should go home this weekend and let Sylvia look at him,” Logan offered.
“Maybe you should ask him what he thinks before you go making such big plans,” Izzy interjected as he entered the kitchen rubbing a hand through his mess of platinum white spikes. Izzy shuffled in on bare feet and still wore his purple fleece pajama bottoms covered in cartoon drawings of sheep. Logan tried to hide the shock he felt at seeing Izzy’s pale face. Ryan’s mate looked like death warmed over. Ryan coaxed Izzy to take a seat and made him a mug of hot tea with honey.
“Can I get you something to eat, babe? Cereal, eggs, oatmeal? Some fruit?” Ryan asked. Ryan had his head shoved inside the fridge as he dug around for something Izzy’s stomach might be able to tolerate.
“Just some dry toast would be fine. I think that may be all I can handle this morning,” Izzy replied. The color in Izzy’s cheeks had shifted from pale to slightly green as Ryan offered his laundry list of food options. Logan sat across from his pack mate and met Izzy’s violet-eyed gaze directly. Izzy flushed slightly and licked his chapped lips.
“I know. I know. I look like shit. Honestly, I don’t know what’s wrong either. Ryan said he’s going to call Sylvia today and if she wants to see me this weekend, I guess I agree,” Izzy said sulkily. When Ryan turned and scowled at his mate, mouth opening as if to argue, Izzy held up one hand.
“I mean, I think we should go. Absolutely, we should go,” Izzy continued. “Besides, Adam would love to see his mom again before his course load gets too hectic, don’t you think?” Ryan visibly deflated at his mate’s reluctant agreement and returned to making Izzy’s toast.
“What are we talking about?” Adam asked. He and Ben danced around each other in the kitchen while they both made cups of coffee. Adam poured himself a bowl of Apple Jacks and sat down at the table, eating them by the handful.
“We going home this weekend?” Adam asked with his mouth full. Logan watched silently for several more seconds, taking in Adam’s atrocious table manners. Sometimes he wondered what Ben saw in his previously human mate. Logan caught Ben glaring in his direction. Obviously he was doing a piss-poor job of hiding his judgement regarding Adam’s lack of social skills. Logan forced himself to stop staring as Adam messily continued his breakfast.
“Maybe,” Logan replied. “Izzy’s still not feeling well and he needs to see Sylvia.”
“Did you get sick again this morning?” Ben asked his tone thick with concern for his pack mate. Izzy nodded faintly and took another small bite of his dry toast. He pushed the plate away and looked apologetically at Ryan.
“Sorry, babe. That’s all I think I can handle. I promise I’ll eat more once my stomach settles down.” Ryan leaned over and put his hand on Izzy’s pale cheek fondly.
“Take care of yourself today, okay? I wish I didn’t have class this morning so I could stay home, too. It’s good you have the day off, at least,” Ryan said softly.
“I’ll be fine. You can’t start missing classes this early in the semester. You’ll never catch up. Remember, your pack is depending on you to do well in school, too,” Izzy replied. Izzy’s words served as a reminder of the importance their alpha had placed on the wolves completing their education.
Alpha Leikos and the elders of the pack had decided that not only would Adam attend classes towards a degree, but the rest should go as well if they had a desire. They were all going to be away from home pack until Adam was done with school anyway. If they could each attain more education in things the pack might need in the future, that could only be seen as a bonus. So far, only Ben and Ryan had taken the pack up on the offer.
Izzy argued his calling was obviously in the culinary arts and he already knew how to cook better than any university instructor might. Logan realized that only left him as the single holdout. Until he knew what direction he wanted to take his education, though, Logan didn’t want to waste the pack’s money. He’d decided to give himself the year to figure out what he wanted to do with his life.
Logan watched the interaction of Ryan and his mate closely. While Ben and Adam were both taking heavy science and math courses, Ryan’s course of study made the most sense of them all. Heavy in political science and psychology, Ryan would most likely end up as some sort of mediator or counsellor by the time he completed his degree. Ryan always had been the most level-headed of their group. The way he put most of their needs, especially his mate’s, before his own made it likely his future career would continue to reflect those inborn traits. Logan stifled the sigh of self-disgust at his persistent lack of inspiration and plastered on a confident smile instead.
“I’ll have job interviews this morning, but I should be home by noon. I promise I’ll look after your mate,” Logan said to Ryan. Ryan smiled and offered his thanks before taking Izzy’s dishes to the sink.
“I’ll get the dishes. I’m not an invalid,” Izzy said, but Ryan ignored him and quickly loaded the dishwasher. Izzy sighed but didn’t bother to argue as he sat sipping his tea silently instead.
“It’s time to go,” Ben announced. Adam followed his mate out the front door, his heavy backpack slung over one shoulder. Ryan sighed and rose from his spot at the table. He placed a soft kiss on Izzy’s head and trailed the rest of their pack to the car.
“I wonder what Sylvia will say,” Izzy said. He turned his empty mug around and around on the table nervously. Logan noticed Izzy didn’t fiddle with his lip piercing as much as before when he was anxious. He wondered if Izzy had truly gotten more comfortable in his own skin or if he was just trying to break the habit. Logan knew Ryan hated it when Izzy accidentally made the piercing bleed from his unconscious manipulation of the small silver hoop.
“I don’t know, but I’m glad Ryan had the idea to call. I was going to do it today myself if he hadn’t mentioned it,” Logan said, knowing in his heart it was the truth even if the thought hadn’t occurred to him until he’d seen Izzy’s pale face this morning.
“Why don’t you go lie on the couch and watch some TV or read? I’ll finish up the last of the dishes before my first appointment,” Logan offered.
“Okay. That’s a good idea. Thanks, Logan,” Izzy replied and shuffled over to the large sectional sofa they had all insisted was a necessity. There would b
e no more shoving themselves onto a two-seater ever again, especially now that there were five of them sharing the same space for the foreseeable future. Izzy clicked on the television and flipped through channels until he found a cooking show he liked. Logan was just about finished wiping down the kitchen counter when Izzy’s concerned voice sounded from the other room.
“Um, Logan. Could you come here for a minute?” Izzy called. Logan turned and found Izzy staring in concern as Judas lay casually curled up around Izzy’s feet. Logan’s pack all bore evidence of the cat’s scratches and bite marks in various stages of healing. Izzy’s look of trepidation at the cat’s unusual offer of comfort was expected to say the least.
“Judas, what are you doing?” Logan asked the cat as if expecting an answer. Logan would have used one of his usual methods of getting Judas to move if the cat wasn’t so close to Izzy’s flesh. In the past few weeks, Logan had tried all the nonviolent methods he could think of with the cat -- spray bottles, rewards for good behavior, raising his voice; but nothing got a reaction outside of bodily manhandling the little shit.
Logan had begun to suspect the cat wasn’t just mean, but secretly terrified of everything and everyone. With his size, Judas just had the advantage of being able to fight instead of flee when he got spooked. Unfortunately, Logan’s realization didn’t save his pack any physical harm when the cat struck. It just made Logan feel sorry for the cat at the same time that he wanted to kill it.