The Panther

by Ezra Dawn

  “We will be. None of them are out on scouting missions right now.”

  Nodding, Joel says, “Good. See you then.”

  With that he and Negan leave, and Benji and I are alone again. Turning to him, I say, “So, breakfast shopping and movie marathons today sound good?”

  He grins and says, “I like that plan but only if we can make-out like teenagers at some point.”

  Leaning in, I kiss his lips and say, “I’ll gladly make-out with you like a teenager anytime you want, agápi mou,” then after one more brief kiss, I add, “Have a seat and I’ll make us breakfast.”

  Benji takes a seat at the island and I get to work assembling the ingredients for French toast, eggs, and bacon. Once I have everything cooked, I hand Benji his plate then sit across from him to eat.

  After taking a few bites, Benji says, “So, tell me more about this thing you call the internet. What is it?”

  His child-like curiosity is adorable. “The internet is a global computer network that provides a variety of information and communication facilities consisting of interconnected networks that got its start in the late sixties with the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency but only became public in 1991 with the creation of the world-wide web. It’s like a library of sorts, but with more than books. You can look for anything, recipes, pictures, random facts, whatever you desire.”

  He tilts his head to the side as if pondering that answer then asks, “How does shopping fit into it?”

  “There’s online stores now where you can buy clothes, groceries, and anything else you need without having to leave the house and it gets delivered to you. That’s where we’ll get your clothes. We can’t order you any jeans or regular shorts until we figure out the correct size, but we can order more athletic shorts and sweats for you since they stretch and have a drawstring to adjust the fit. I could ask around and see if any of the pack members might have something in your size too, if you’d rather wait until you’re ready to go into town.”

  He chews a piece of bacon and says, “I’d rather buy some things online. It’s the only way I’ll learn how to do it myself and I think it would be good for me to have something of my own that isn’t borrowed or a hospital gown.”

  Nodding, I say, “I understand. Was there anything else you wanted?”

  “Shoes. I’d love a pair of shoes.”

  Smiling, I say, “The good news is, your shoe size should be exactly the same as it was when we were teens, but we can go up a size, just in case. Anything else?”

  “Maybe something to read? It’s been a long time since I held a book.”

  “I’ll get you a couple copies of your favorites, and an e-reader.”

  He raises an eyebrow at me and says, “An e-reader?”

  “Yes. It’s a tablet that links to online bookstores where you can buy e-books that are priced lower than the print version. I also have some books of my own that you can read in the meantime.”

  “Huh, that’s interesting. I can’t believe things have come so far.”

  “You should see how far video games have come. There’s a ton of gaming consoles and games out now and with the invention of the smartphone comes apps you can download from the internet and play on your phone.”

  “I can see I have a lot to learn.”

  “Don’t worry, I’ll help you and if there’s something I don’t know about, I’ll find someone who does.”

  Benji bites his lip and says, “What about money and a job? I don’t want to rely on you forever.”

  Reaching across the island, I take his hand in mine and squeeze. “We’re mates, what’s mine is yours, including money. I’ve made enough doing what I do, that we could never work another day and be fine, but I can tell independence is important to you after having it taken from you for thirty years. I know you didn’t get the chance to finish high school, so we can enroll you in classes to get your GED and then go from there. You can go to college like you wanted and get a job you love to do afterwards, and I’ll support you until then. Sound fair?”

  With a smile, he nods, “Yeah. Sounds fair.”

  When we finish eating, I load the dishes into the dishwasher, drop a pod in, and start the cycle. Benji is already in the living room when I finish, so I go upstairs and grab my laptop. Returning to Benji’s side I open the laptop and boot it up. Benji gapes at it and says with fascination, “What is that?”

  Laughing, I say, “This is a laptop, it’s a portable computer. I use it for a number of things, like watching movies when I’m on a job, or researching something. It’s how I connect to the internet and what we’ll use to shop online before we start our next movie marathon.”

  Benji snuggles against my side and says, “Show me the magic of the internet.”

  Winking at him, I say, “Your wish is my command,” and open a new browsing window. This is going to be fun. I can’t wait to show him everything.

  One Week Later…

  The past week has been a whirlwind, filled with learning all I can about the world’s changes without getting overwhelmed, getting to know Kuro, and being sexually frustrated. Thanks to Doc Ferriday wanting to be sure I’m in perfect health, Kuro and I haven’t done more than kiss and fondle each other and I’m getting desperate to claim him. It doesn’t help that over the past two days, he’s been working on a present for the doc and his family that’s taken most of his focus so, I’ve had to resort to doing things myself.

  On top of ordering some things the baby and parents might need, he convinced Ethan to give him a couple photos of the family, and exclusive access to the nursery. He even managed to get all three of them to pose in animal form for a few pictures. Kuro refused to tell them what it was for, but I have a feeling I know. A few days ago, I was sitting by the window reading while the rain poured down and happened to catch Kuro drawing me when I finally put the book down. Seeing him doing something he hadn’t done in years, filled me with joy, so I have a feeling the present he’s working on is some sort of drawing or painting for the family.

  I’ve slowly gotten used to things over the past week. I’m still not ready to face the big city, but I’m getting there. Kuro has taught me how to work all the appliances in the house, how to play the new video games, how to use a phone, and a computer. He enrolled me in GED classes that I’ll take online and bought a measuring tape to get my sizes so, I wouldn’t have to wear sweats or athletic shorts to the baby shower. I didn’t like the idea of looking like a lazy bum. On top of all that, Kuro opened a bank account for me and deposited money in there so, I’d have a credit card with my name on it and my own money to spend for when I finally faced the world and wanted to go out on my own to eat or shop.

  Some things are exactly the same as before. Kuro took me to see his collection of cars and art pieces yesterday. Which was amazing, I’d never seen so many expensive things before. He had a number of cars from multiple time periods spanning from the model T-ford to the Mustang Fastback and so many paintings from different famous artists including one by Pablo Picasso and Van Gogh. We took a few of his cars for a test drive and while on one of the empty roads, he let me drive. When he saw I wasn’t terrible at it, he told me he’d get the pack’s identity guy to secure a driver’s license and other paperwork for me.

  While the drive through the city wasn’t terrible and all the tall buildings and shops fascinated me, the sheer number of people milling about made me nervous, so, I don’t plan on visiting it alone anytime soon. Kuro and I have planned a short outing next week for dinner and a movie so, I can sort of dip my toes into being out in the world again. Since restaurants and movie theaters aren’t likely to have changed very much, I’m confident I’ll be able to handle those places with ease, because they were around before I was taken.

  It’s not the crowds I’m afraid of per se, it’s the fear that any one of them could be working for a lab, recognize me somehow and snatch me again. It’s irrational and not likely to happen but, I can’t help how I feel. I want to move past my
fears, and I know it’ll take time, which is why, I’ve decided to go ahead and talk to a professional in the hope that they can give me some pointers on how to do it. Kuro was happy to volunteer to go with me to my first appointment, something I’m glad for but, I told him it’s something I needed to do alone. Though if my plan for tonight works, I won’t truly be alone since Kuro and I will be bonded, and I’ll have him in my head thanks to the mind link.

  I had to enlist the help of Joel and Negan, since I haven’t met anyone else from the pack yet other than in passing when I’d take a walk or go for a run, in animal form. I ordered some things online and had them shipped to Joel’s house while Negan picked up the champagne and chocolate covered strawberries. They delivered them this morning after Kuro left. Since I’m meeting Kuro at the baby shower, I have time to put the things from my plan into place. He’s putting the finishing touches on whatever he’s painting in the nursery and I’ll bring the other gifts with me. Thankfully, Kuro showed me where Ethan and his family lives or my plans could’ve been ruined.

  I’ve got the paperwork saying I’m completely healthy and free to do whatever I want in my pocket; the champagne is sitting in a bucket of ice that I added rock salt to and found a cover for that goes over the neck of the bottle to seal the bucket and help keep the ice from melting. The chocolate covered strawberries are in a covered tray on the nightstand with a row of icepacks underneath them, so they’ll also stay chilled, and rose petals litter the bed. I’ve also got candles all around the room for a bit of mood lighting. I would’ve gotten regular candles but, didn’t want to leave them burning while we were gone, so instead, I got flameless ones. I want our claiming to be special so, I did an online search for romantic settings and came up with this one.

  As soon as I have everything set up just right and deem the setting perfect, I go downstairs pull on my shoes, grab the presents from the couch, and exit the house. Walking down the path, I enjoy the sounds and smells of nature. Over the last week, I’ve spent a lot of time outside, enjoying my freedom. I almost slept in the hammock on the back porch all night once, but Kuro moved me to our bedroom. I haven’t been able to enjoy the fresh air in a very long time. Even when I was being transported from one lab to another, I couldn’t enjoy it since they sedated me for the trip. Whistling a tune, I heard on the radio during the trip to Kuro’s warehouse, I turn down the path leading to where Ethan’s house is located. The baby shower is being held in the backyard, so instead of going through the house to get there, I go around.

  A lot of people are already here, but I don’t let the crowd worry me. This is pack territory, no one is going to snatch me from a party when there’s a bunch of wolves milling about. Spotting the gift table, I deposit the presents then move to where the coolers are. Grabbing a soda from one, I pop the tab, take a sip, and look around trying to spot Kuro. When I see him exiting the house, I find myself trying not to laugh at his appearance. His black t-shirt is splattered with paint. There’s blue streaks on his face, and his hands are stained with an assortment of colors. Once Kuro spots me, he grins and makes his way over but, before he can greet me with a hug and a kiss, I stop him with a raised hand. “Don’t come any closer.”

  He looks at me with a confused expression. There’s a hint of sadness in his gaze and I know he’s taking my reaction the wrong way. Wanting to reassure him, I grin and point at the paint stains, “If that isn’t dry, you’re not getting anywhere near me.”

  Kuro looks relieved before a mischievous smile crosses his face and moving with a speed, I didn’t know he had, he wraps me into a hug and rubs his hands on my face while snickering. “Kuro! You brat, stop it!”

  With a full laugh, he kisses me and says, “Don’t worry, agápi mou, it’s dry paint… but I do enjoy seeing you so flustered. It’s adorable.”

  Narrowing my eyes at him, I can’t help but smile. “You’re terrible.”

  “But you love me anyway.”

  “Always have, always will.”

  Kuro moves in closer and whispers in my ear, “I hope you don’t have an aversion to paint. I do have a very messy sexual fantasy that involves me painting your naked body and messing up the art when I take you.”

  Groaning, I lick my lips, and say, “Hush, you tease, I don’t want to get hard in front of all these people.”

  Kuro chuckles in my ear, “Wouldn’t be the first time something like that has happened, agápi mou, but I’ll stop teasing… for now.”

  Deciding to distract him I say, “So, when’s the big reveal for the nursery present?”

  He pulls his phone from his pocket and hands it to me. “I took some pictures since the plan is to gift them the key once they’ve opened all their presents and all the guests are gone, that way, they don’t have to wait for a whole crowd of people to tour through their house before calling it a night. Now, if anyone asks to see it, I can send them a picture and the happy family doesn’t have to be disturbed.”

  Typing in his passcode, I open his photo album and click on the pictures of the nursery. The beauty of what he’s done, takes my breath away. Kuro used the photos he took of them in animal form to create a mural on the nursery wall, of the forest with all its woodland creatures. There’re bunnies, butterflies, bears, foxes, deer, raccoons, birds, and anything else you could possibly find in a forest. It’s an exact replica of pack territory, and dead center is a family of three wolves with two pups.

  Kuro says, “I took a guess as to what the babies’ animal halves would look like. Assuming they take after their parents, then my guess should be correct. I’ve also left room to add to the mural if they have more kids.”

  The final touch is the series of portraits he painted based on their family photos, that he’s placed inside one of the cribs, leaning against the back set of bars with bows on them. The first portrait is of them on their wedding day. The second, is of the two men standing at their wife’s side each with a hand on her growing belly, and the third, is like a vision of the future, a portrait of the wife sitting in a rocking chair with Ethan and their other mate on either side, all looking down at two bundles of joy cradled in her arms.

  “Kuro, it’s beautiful, they’re going to love it.”

  His smile is beaming when he says, “You think so?”

  “I know so. I hope you’ll do something similar when we have children.”

  His eyes widen. “You want children?”

  Nodding, I say, “Yes. Not right away of course, but sometime in the future. I’d love to start a family with you.”

  Kuro kisses my forehead and says, “I feel the same about you.”

  There’s a loud whistle drawing everyone’s attention to a woman I don’t know who is standing by the food table with Ethan and his mates. “Alright everyone, now that the guests of honor have arrived it’s time to get this show on the road. Come get something to eat, pick up a baby bingo card and dot pen from me if you’d like to participate then find a place to sit. After bingo, we’ll have a few other games before moving on to presents and cake, so come on up and get some grub! There’s plenty to go around. Oh, and one more thing, each game winner gets a prize so, if you’re feeling lucky, be sure to play.”

  Kuro and I get in line at the food table. As the line moves, so do we, filling our plates as we go. When we reach the end, I take a bingo card and dot pen from the woman who smiles at me and says, “Hello there, I don’t recognize you. You must be new, I’m Miriam Ferriday, Ethan’s mother, and you are?”

  “Benji DeRozan.”

  She takes my hand and squeezes it. “It’s lovely to meet you Benji, welcome to the pack.”

  “Thank you, ma’am.”

  “You’re welcome. Now, I’m sure I won’t be the only one introducing themselves to you tonight. It could get overwhelming but, none of us will ever harm you. We’re a friendly lot. And if someone were to try, well, you have a lovely protector at your side.”

  Knowing she’s talking about Kuro has me blushing. Kuro takes a bingo card from Miriam an
d says with a smile, “Thank you Miriam, we’d love to chat some more, but we seem to be holding up the line, so we’ll find our seats now.”

  She laughs and pats his hand. “Have fun, and good luck.”

  Kuro and I find a table to sit at, and dig into our food, while playing the bingo game. Neither of us win, but it’s still fun. By the time the rest of the games end, my face hurts from smiling so much and I’ve met so many people, I know I’ll have trouble recalling their names at a later time. I can’t remember the last time I had this much fun. When it’s time for Ethan and his mates to open presents, they sit in chairs in the center of the back yard while two men move the presents from the table to the grass in front of Ethan and his mates, and Miriam, sits in another chair at their side, clipboard in hand, pen poised at the ready, to write down each gift and it’s sender.