Chapter 12
2237 Words
The apartment Kate led him into was strangely clean and empty, especially compared to the mess in her place. But it was well furnished and equipped, almost like a luxurious hotel room.
“I can’t believe that the Moon Goddess had to pair me up with the most suicidal man in the entire universe,” Adira sighed when Nick sat down on the couch with his phone in hand.
Turning the device on, Nick frowned at the wolf. “I’m not suicidal. Do you really believe she was lying to us? You were literally drooling over her the whole time and wanted me to f**k her on the spot!”
“f*****g someone and trusting someone are two very different things,” Adira rolled her eyes.
“Not in my world.” Despite being a socially awkward nerd, Nick did have a chance to hook up with a couple of girls while in high school but none of them ever caught his attention. Mainly because they weren’t really interested in him but rather in his status as the future Alpha of the pack. Which girl wouldn’t want to be the next Luna? Nick hoped for a real relationship with someone who he could really connect with.
Adira snorted and shook her head. “You’ll die a virgin.” Yes, given the recent events, it was certainly a possibility.
No missed calls, no new messages. Nick tried very hard to ignore the sharp pain that looking at the screen caused him. He was never a popular guy but he did have a few people he would dare to call friends. His brother hated him, yes, but what about his mom? His grandma? Did nobody miss him? Nobody cared whether he was even still alive? Did Nick simply cease to exist in their minds, did his father’s words when he was banishing Nick from the pack remove him from everyone’s memories as well?
The truth was way harsher and simpler - nobody gave a s**t about him. Not enough to go against their Alpha’s orders and risk getting into trouble for trying to contact a rogue. Why did it even surprise him? He hugged his knees, curling up on the couch for a moment, fighting the tears that kept pushing themselves into his eyes. “I know, I know,” he said upon feeling Adira stir in his mind, “I’m being a crybaby. Sorry.”
“I think in this case you are entitled to,” she sighed. “We’ll find a better pack, where people will appreciate us for what we are.”
It didn’t sound very convincing. “Yea, sure,” Nick smirked, “if we don’t get killed by a gang of werecats first. Or the werepigeons don’t take control over the world.” That thought made them both laugh.
Truth be told, Nick had no idea what to think about the crazy story Kate had told him. She didn’t seem to be making it up and it even made some twisted sense. But damn, werepigeons? What was next, weremosquitoes?
He ordered some more pizza to sate his immediate hunger, the few pieces he had at Kate’s place could hardly make up for the whole time in the cage when he only ate a couple of sandwiches and the chocolate rolls Zoe brought him. He needed some groceries as well, since he was used to eating normal home-cooked meals and not surviving solely on fast food as Kate seemed to be. And there was only a bottle of ketchup and a box of three-month-old eggs in the fridge.
Kate had given him a credit card, saying she promised to pay for his food and other things he might need, but it felt too weird to be using it. Like he was… her pet? Adira snickered over the idea, sending him an image of him with a leash tied to a dog house. Why the hell did that make him horny again?
He managed to get a quick shower before the pizza guy arrived and, after eating and sorting out the groceries that were delivered not even half an hour later, Nick actually felt like an accomplished and responsible adult. If only he could ever afford to live in a place like this. He still had some money but without a stable income, it would be gone fast. And it was hard to get a job when he was supposed to be staying off the streets to not be spotted by the werepi-birds. By the birds. Evil birds that were using dark magic trying to break the curse that made them shift into pigeons. Goddess! How was he supposed to not laugh over it?!
A quiet rustle from the hallway caught his attention. The building was very quiet, Kate told him that only a couple of other cats lived on the upper floors and that nobody was going to pay attention to him. And, up until now, he really didn’t notice anybody else around. Smirking, he got up even before there was a quiet knock on the door, having a pretty good idea about who it was.
“Why are you wandering around her on your own again, young lady?” He tried to sound serious but Zoe wasn’t fooled.
“I’m bored. Come play with me.”
The girl was seriously going to get him into trouble. “Where is your aunt?”
“Kate is out,” the girl shrugged nonchalantly but Nick could see she was hiding nervosity. Kate was probably away on some dangerous mission. “Come on, we can eat pizza and watch Batman!” She tugged on his hand, trying to pull him out into the hallway.
Nick had to chuckle. “Aren’t you a bit too young to be watching such movies?”
“I’m sssseven!” Zoe hissed, her eyes flashing yellow for a moment. “Leila likes the one with Catwoman.”
“Of course she does. Fine, let’s watch something.” He did manage to convince the girl they should watch the Lion King instead. An accomplished adult indeed! When she asked him to order more pizza, he shook his head. “How about we clean the kitchen up a bit and I will make you some normal dinner?”
Zoe pouted and crossed her arms in front of her chest. “I like pizza.”
“Who doesn’t? But you need to eat other things as well if you want to be a big and strong cat.” She didn’t seem entirely convinced but excitedly helped him put all the boxes and other mess from the kitchen and living room into big garbage bags and showed him where the dumpsters were.
Once the dishes were washed and the sink and the counter scrubbed clean, Nick went over to his new place and brought some of the groceries back into Kate’s apartment. He was not exactly a master chef, but cutting things and putting them into a frying pan was simple enough. Apparently, cooking his own meals was another thing absolutely unacceptable for an Alpha, at least according to his father.
Zoe got so excited over the clean living room that she volunteered to tackle the mess in Kate’s bedroom as well and Nick certainly wasn’t going to stop her. He was just cutting the meat when someone banged at the door. “ZOE! Damn girl,” a deep male voice muttered a couple of curses and somebody fumbled with the lock.
Nick’s body was suddenly covered in a cold sweat. He remembered the voice. It was one of the assholes who brought him into the cell. Who shot him with the f*****g wolfsbane darts. Nick could barely hear anything over the wild beating of his own heart and before he realized what he was doing, he leaped towards the door, opening it swiftly. The man on the other side looked stunned by surprise and Nick didn’t give him a chance to react, throwing him against the wall and putting the big kitchen knife against his throat.
“Hey,” the man said in a conciliatory tone, trying to sound calm while taking quick, shallow breaths, “this is not necessary.”
“Oh, really?” Nick growled at him, fully aware that his eyes were turning black and his teeth were getting longer and sharper as Adira’s rage started to engulf him.
The man slowly raised his hands in a gesture of surrender, keeping the rest of his body motionless since the knife was still firmly pressed against the skin on his neck. “Yes, really. Look, I’m sorry for what happened, but I was just following orders. Kate said to stay away from you from now on and I was absolutely planning on doing that. I was just looking for the kid, I’m supposed to be keeping an eye on her and that little weasel disappeared the moment I turned my back on her.”
Damn, Nick should have thought of that, Kate wouldn’t just leave Zoe alone without having someone watch over her. The man raised an eyebrow. “Should I be worried that you are in their place with a big f*****g knife in your hand?”
“No.” Nick took a step back from him, realizing that it probably didn’t look well from the stranger’s perspective. “You should be worried about what my wolf is planning to do with that tranquilizer gun and your asshole.”
He snorted in amusement. “I can imagine. You’re a tough kid, I like you. I’ll just check to see if the kitten is still alive and in one piece and then get out of your way, alright?” Nick took a moment watching his face, trying to calm his frantically beating heart and tame Adira, who demanded they rip the man’s throat out immediately.
Only now did Nick notice that the man was older than he had originally guessed, probably in his late forties. About the same age as Nick’s father. This man had seen Nick curled up on the floor naked, crying in pain, begging for mercy. And yet, unlike Nick’s father, this stranger wasn’t looking at him with contempt or disgust. There was an amused smirk on his face and maybe a bit of a reluctant admiration hidden beneath it but no scorn or mockery. He patiently waited until Nick nodded before entering the apartment.
“Wow,” he said after looking around, “did Kate finally decide that cleaning up that atrocious mess was easier than getting rid of the army of ants that was bound to invade this place sooner or later?”
“Nick and I cleaned up,” Zoe peeked out from Kate’s bedroom, frowning at the man. “What do you want, Emmet?”
His brows went up. “What do I want? Perhaps next time you could give me a warning before sneaking out on me? Kate would kill me if something happened to you!”
“If I warned you, then I couldn’t exactly sneak out,” Zoe snickered and Nick snorted quietly. The kid had a point.
Emmet blinked a couple of times, clearly not sure how to respond. “Okay. That’s true. Still, you can’t just run off and play with stray dogs!”
“Nick’s a wolf!” Zoe growled, her tiny clenched fists resting on her hips. It was adorable how she was bent on defending Nick’s honor.
“Even better,” the man rolled his eyes. “I noticed how he was trying to snap you in half.”
A smirk twisted Zoe’s lips. “Oh, be glad Adira didn’t snap you in half. Anyway, Nick is watching over me. So you can go. Away. Bye.” She swiftly turned around and slammed the bedroom door behind her right into his flabbergasted face.
“Bastet, I hate children,” he groaned. “Fine, she’s all yours. Enjoy.”
Only after Emmet left the apartment had Nick realized that he had been desperately clutching the knife handle the entire time. “Why didn’t you kill him?” Adira grumbled, sending waves of displeasure in his direction.
“Sure, I’m going to start murdering people right in front of a child. What the hell is wrong with you? Perhaps you would like to munch on his liver before Zoe’s eyes as well?”
She smirked but Nick could sense her embarrassment. “Nah, he probably drinks a lot. The liver wouldn’t be good anyway.”
“And you keep calling me weird?” Shaking his head in disbelief, Nick went back to preparing the dinner.
Zoe came over a few minutes later, watching him curiously. “Do you need help?” Her voice sounded almost shy. “Mom always used to let me cut the carrots.”
“Uh, sure, why not,” Nick gave her a smile and pulled out a smaller knife and a cutting board. “I don’t have any carrots but those big red peppers need to be chopped into smaller pieces. Just please, don’t cut yourself.” The girl nodded excitedly and pulled up a chair to kneel on so she could reach the counter more comfortably. Nick put on a playlist with the greatest hits from Disney movies and they worked together, humming and singing along with the familiar tunes.
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Next update: Tuesday
- Writer
