Chapter 11
2069 Words
Kate wasn’t surprised to see the werewolf grinning from ear to ear. She had grown up knowing all about the war and the birds and even to her, it sounded ridiculous. Sadly, it didn’t change anything about the truth.
“See, you are laughing,” she pointed out, an amused smirk refusing to leave her face. Why did it feel so good to see him laugh? Maybe it was still her guilt that had grown into monstrous dimensions when she saw him in the cage, increasing rapidly every time he looked at her with fear in his deep brown eyes, every time he flinched when she moved. She really did f**k this one up.
He was still guarded around her, naturally, but, to her huge surprise, he was willing to hear her out, talk to her. There didn’t seem to be any seething hatred towards her, at least not from Nick. But it looked like he had his wolf under control for now, so Kate decided it was a problem for another day. Which was most likely never going to come, because why would he stay? There was no logical reason for him to do so.
She wasn’t entirely honest with him when explaining why he shouldn’t leave. Yes, everything she said was true, but she might have exaggerated the danger coming from Nick being in Silver Falls. The pigeons didn’t exactly have a keen sense of smell and they wouldn’t be able to tell he was a werewolf. Unless they spotted a giant wolf running through the streets, of course, they were not stupid.
But there was a smaller, more personal reason why she wanted him to stay. A part of her felt strangely drawn to him and protective about him, a feeling that cats rarely had for anyone outside their closest family members. Kate didn’t feel that way even towards the other members of their gang. Even Fatim, who didn’t care about anything and anyone in the entire f*****g world (except for Zoe), seemed to like Nick.
Guilt. That must have been the reason. The only reason that made sense to Kate. She felt guilty about him getting hurt because of her and she wanted to make sure he was alright. That was the only way she allowed herself to think about it.
If only the stupid dog didn’t smell so good! Kate didn’t understand that at all, normal dogs smelled atrocious and the few werewolves she had come across before weren’t much better. But this one… More than once had Fatim urged her to go to the cell and just f**k him, pointing out that since he was chained to the wall, he couldn’t exactly fight back even if he wanted to. Sometimes the cat really did sound like a sociopath.
But even though Kate managed to fight off the primal urges and didn’t go rape the poor man, the images Fatim was sending her were driving her crazy. Having him here, so near, in her own f*****g bed… Well, let’s just say that she might have come to sniff him once or twice while he was under the effects of the sedatives. Perhaps it was a good thing that when she opened the door for the third time, she found a little black kitten sleeping on the bed next to him.
Nick pouted, trying to control his expression, probably because he was afraid of insulting her and making her angry. “I’m not laughing.”
“Do you want me to get you a mirror?” Kate couldn’t help herself but tease him. “It’s alright, I understand how ridiculous it sounds.”
He chuckled openly this time, shaking his head. “No, that’s the thing. It doesn’t sound ridiculous at all. It’s just… my life got turned upside down so many times over the past few days that some,” he snorted, “werepigeons can’t really mess up with it anymore. I mean, you are werecats, right?” Kate nodded in amusement. At least he wasn’t stupid. “See, two days ago I didn’t know such a thing even existed. And here you are. Why should…” he snorted again, his shoulders twitching, “werepigeons, sorry, that word is just funny. Why should the birds be any different?”
Bastet, he was so f*****g adorable when giggling! The sound itself made Fatim purr and knead the pillow she had been curled up on in their joint mind. “I want him,” she said matter-of-factly.
“Will you stop that already? You hated every single guy I have ever hooked up with! And now you are trying to make me jump on a werewolf like I’m some b***h in heat?!”
“Yes.” Fatim was never the one to beat around the bush.
Nick tilted his head to the side, probably guessing she was having an inner conversation with her cat. “So, how are pigeons a threat to the world, and why are you fighting them?”
Kate had to admire how well he controlled his voice now, it didn’t even sound like he was making fun of her, he made it look like he was genuinely interested in the topic. And she did promise to explain everything to him. “Centuries ago, we used to be allies. At least that’s what the old legends say. Both our kinds are cursed and we thought we could find a solution together.”
“Cursed?” Nick raised an eyebrow. “You don’t seem cursed to me,” he muttered quietly as if he didn’t even mean to say it out loud.
Kate smirked. This was a sensitive topic among all cats. “I don’t know if it’s a curse, perhaps we were just made to be this way. But many of us still think it’s unfair.” Still not understanding, Nick shook his head and Kate sighed. “The wolves are apex predators, even the normal ones have no natural enemies, they are big and strong. And werewolves? Adira is what, almost twice as big as a normal wolf?” She did seem gargantuan towering above Zoe. “You have seen Fatim. My cat,” she explained after seeing his brows furrow.
“The tabby one who lured me into a trap?” A corner of his mouth curled up. “Yes, that’s hard to forget.”
Kate’s cheeks flushed. “Yea, sorry about that.”
“I’m not sorry.”
“Fatim is sorry too. But you have seen her, what did she look like to you?”
Nick scratched his head. “Uhh… She was beautiful,” he blurted out, his face immediately turning red. f**k, he was so awkward it was adorable. Kate couldn’t hold back a chuckle listening to his stuttering. “I-I mean… Not t-that, I… I meant… Goddess, I’m an idiot.” He hid his face in his palms for a moment before carefully checking her expression, no doubt worried she was angry with him. “Sorry. I mean to say that she looked like a normal house cat, well-fed and well taken care of.”
“Is the stupid dog calling me fat?” Fatim hissed, her eyes narrowing.
Kate decided not to reproduce that thought to Nick because it would no doubt cause another round of blabbered apologies and she didn’t want to torment him unnecessarily. “Exactly. She looks like a normal cat. You, werebears, werepanthers, and others turn into big and dangerous creatures. I turn into a twelve-pound cat.”
“And the werepigeons turn into… pigeons?” A smart guy, what a rare sight! “Yes, I can see how turning into a rat with wings could be considered a curse. So, they are messing up with magic trying to break this curse?”
Kate shrugged. “They used to be. When cats and birds started working together on breaking the curse, they tried all kinds of magic. But birds were more desperate and they turned to the darker arts, touching things that were better left alone. That’s when the cats went their separate way, stopping the birds from summoning an ancient evil that would probably destroy every living thing on the face of Earth. Most cats accepted that we are what Bastet made us to be. But birds never found their peace, they kept trying, getting increasingly more desperate and reckless. They are using humans now but we haven’t figured out what for yet.”
“Humans?” Nick frowned. “How are humans going to help them break a curse?”
“I honestly have no idea. It has something to do with that facility at the western edge of Silver Falls, but we haven’t been able to find out what yet. I’m sure it’s nothing good though. They are getting more and more confident, as if they were closer to achieving their goal. Whatever that is.” Kate had to admit that with all the facts put out like this, the cats seemed like losers who had no idea what was happening.
“The research fa-” Nick’s head jerked towards the bedroom door when Kate was already on her way there. Their heightened senses couldn’t possibly miss Zoe’s quiet wailing. The girl was having yet another nightmare and Kate carefully sat on the bed next to her, scooping the tiny body up into her arms and cradling it.
What was she supposed to do? Zoe missed her mother, feeling alone and abandoned, surrounded by grumpy grownups and her aunt who might have been cool but was in constant danger of dying. No wonder the girl got so strongly attached to the first kind soul that passed through her troubled life.
“Mom?” she sniffled, squinting around in confusion. “Kate? Where’s mama?”
Kate felt tears rolling down her cheeks. Zoe asked about her mother from time to time, especially when she was a bit confused like right now and Kate never knew what to answer. Every time she said that Em was not coming back it seemed to break the girl’s heart over and over again. And Kate’s as well. “I’m sorry, sweetie. Mom is not here,” she whispered, battling her own painful memories.
“Right,” Zoe sighed, fortunately this time she caught up fairly quickly, “she is in cat heaven. I…” she frowned, looking around the room. “Nick? Where is Nick? What did you do to him?”
“I’m here, kitten,” Nick’s head appeared in the door, “I’m fine. I was just talking to your cool aunt.”
Kate sniffled, torn between viciously hating the werewolf for sticking his ugly snout into their family business and being eternally grateful for his presence, which seemed to soothe Zoe enough she didn’t even start crying. “Everything is alright. I promised I would keep your wolf safe. Have I ever broken a promise?” The girl shook her head and rested it against Kate’s chest, snuggling closer. “See? You can go back to sleep and then I’ll order some more pizza, okay?” Damn, children should probably eat something healthier than pizza and Chinese takeouts, right? Kate reminded herself to do some Google search about it later.
“I told you she was cool,” Zoe smiled at Nick.
A strangely warm emotion flashed through his expression, tugging at Kate’s heart. “She is,” he nodded, trying to sound serious but unable to conceal a chuckle. Was he making fun of her?
“Mhm. Will you stay?” There was so much innocent hope in the girl’s face Kate had to close her eyes. Awesome. Just freakin' awesome. The werewolf was no doubt going to disappear the first chance he gets, breaking Zoe’s heart again. And she was going to blame Kate for chasing him away. If the girl didn’t hate her before, she was surely going to start now. f*****g hell.
But Nick surprised her. “I promise I’ll be around when you wake up,” he said quietly and when Kate looked at him in surprise, he gave her a curt nod. For now, his eyes said, but nonetheless, a boulder fell off Kate’s chest. Her lips formed the words thank you without actually making a sound, because the girl in her arms started to drift off to sleep again.
***
Next update: Sunday
- Writer
