Like Cats and... Wolves? The Werepigeon Apocalypse [FREE and COMPLETED]

Chapter 20

Kate was pacing her living room, fuming. How dared he? Stupid dog! She should have never taken him out of the f*****g cage. His mate? Ridiculous. Nobody was going to order her to be with him, to like him. She was her own person and all the deities of the world could go f**k themselves! She was stronger than this.

Fatim was unusually quiet, as if contemplating the werewolf’s words. The last thing Kate needed was for the cat to side with him but it didn’t seem like that was the case. “We belong to no one,” the cat growled, “and surely not to a dog.”

“Exactly!” What the hell did he think was going to happen? That she would drop on her knees in front of him and start worshiping the ground he walked on? Well, he could go f**k himself too! It was not like she had time and space to deal with clingy werewolves. Not if what he told her about the papers was the truth and Kate truly believed it was. That dumb i***t can laugh all he wants. The birds were dangerous.

Grams seemed to agree with her when Kate finally calmed down enough to go over to the Prime’s place and tell her everything. Well, everything important. The filthy tricks of the werewolf goddess were certainly not important.

“So, they have given up on magic and turned to human science instead?” The older woman sighed and sat down in a comfortable chair, rubbing her forehead. “I guess it makes sense. They are getting desperate, running out of options. But if they can really turn themselves into something bigger and stronger, we won’t be able to fight them off anymore.”

Kate nodded solemnly. “Yea, we barely have a fighting chance now. With how fast they reproduce… their numbers grow every year while ours remain the same.” Or get lower.

“We need to stop this research at all costs. Destroy the facility, kill everyone involved, leave no trace behind that it ever even existed.” The words may have sounded hard but Kate agreed. It was the only option.

“It shouldn’t be hard, Mel has already been looking around the large gas pipelines and containers. Sabotage should take out most of the buildings.”

Reaching into her desk to pull up the compound blueprints, Grams nodded, running her hand through her hair. Kate’s phone beeped and she rolled her eyes. Who could possibly be texting her right now? Seeing an unknown number didn’t really surprise her, she kept changing her phones and numbers often and not every time she had a chance to transfer all her contact information.

The message contained a single image and Kate felt her heart stop beating. A wave of pure horror washed over her as she stared at the photograph and she had to lean against the wall not to fall down. No! Fatim cried out loudly in panic as well. This could not be happening.

Kate closed her eyes for a moment, hoping that when she opened them again, the whole thing would turn out to be just a horrible nightmare. But the image didn’t disappear or change. It was still Zoe, lying unconscious on a concrete floor, a whitish-yellow metal collar around her neck. There was no text accompanying the message. It wasn’t necessary. The threat was clear enough.

The phone loudly thumped on the floor as it fell out of Kate’s hand, making Grams turn her head abruptly, eyes widened by surprise. Kate barely even registered the woman was talking to her, darkness almost taking over her vision. She slid down on the floor, hugging her knees and taking quick, shallow breaths, staring into an empty space. There was no fighting the panic now, the horrid realization that Zoe’s life was in danger because of her hit Kate like a hammer. She literally felt a sharp pain in her chest as if someone had crushed her ribcage, shattering her heart into thousands of pieces.

*-*-*

Nick had no idea for how long he had been on the floor after Kate left. He cried like a damn baby, hating his entire life, cursing his pointless existence. What was he even good for? Everything he has ever done was wrong. He was wrong. Just a useless piece of s**t like his father always said.

Adira tried to talk to him but he shut her out completely, not wanting to hear her comforting words. He didn’t deserve to be comforted. No doubt she would leave him too if she had a chance. Like everybody else in his stupid life.

At first, he ignored his phone when it started ringing. Everybody could go f**k themselves. But then it dawned on him. Who could possibly be calling him? People from his former pack were forbidden to contact him and he didn’t really know anybody else. A tiny spark of hope that it would be Kate jolted through his chest but when he finally did get up to pick the phone up, he froze after seeing the three letters on the screen.

MOM.

Has he not been through enough pain already today? Seriously, what did he do to deserve so much suffering?

He reached for the phone and pressed the green button. No matter how much he wanted to avoid that conversation, you can’t just ignore your mother calling you. That would be rude.

“Yes?” His voice was a hoarse whisper, his throat hurt from all the crying, and Nick quickly wiped the tears off his cheeks with a paper towel from the kitchen.

“Nicolas!” His mother sounded almost relieved. “I’m so glad you are okay!”

Really? What was he supposed to say to that? She didn’t exactly support Alpha Christopher’s decision to kick Nick out of the pack but she didn’t try to stop it either. No, Luna Bethany has never been the epitome of motherly love. “I am,” Nick said quietly. No matter how angry he was with her, it was still his mother, and hearing a familiar voice right now was more than he had hoped for.

“I was so worried! The world is such a dangerous place for a lone wolf!” Oh, yea? Then why the hell did she let his father make him a rogue? Bethany sighed before continuing. “Look, I… I think we can all agree that the situation here got a bit… heated. You can’t exactly blame your father, his reaction was totally understandable, but… he might have overreacted a bit with this whole rogue thing.”

“Of course you can blame your stupid father!” Adira growled so loud Nick flinched and nearly dropped the phone. “We’ve done nothing wrong!”

Nick ignored her. “Should you even be talking to me, mom?”

“Well, no, under normal circumstances. But I’ve been talking to your father and… he might be open to letting you return.” Nick’s heart skipped a beat when hearing his mother’s words. “Under certain conditions, of course,” Bethany quickly continued, “like you would have to officially renounce your title as the future Alpha, you’d be demoted to an Omega, but-”

“I could go back home?” A tiny seed of hope took root and quickly spread through his chest. Home?

The fur on Adira’s back bristled. “You aren’t actually considering going back, are you?” she breathed out in disbelief.

“Weren’t you the one who wanted to have a pack?”

“Yes, but… A pack where people will respect us, not laugh at us! We are not Omegas, Nick. You want to spend the rest of your life being pushed around and scorned?”

From a logical point of view, Adira was right. But Nick was not willing to let logic take over at that moment. Not when he could go back home, be back with his own people again. Who cared that he wouldn’t be an Alpha? He never wanted to be one in the first place. Sure, most people wouldn’t be thrilled to see him back. But at least he would have someone around him. Not like here, where everybody hated him passionately and not even his one true mate wanted to be around him.

“Not everybody hates you here, Nicolas,” Adira pointed out with a quiet sigh, showing him Zoe’s excited face. “And I think Kate just needs some space and time to go through it all. She didn’t reject you. You can’t just leave her!”

“... Nick?”

He realized his mother had been speaking to him. “Sorry, mom, I just got a bit distracted by my wolf. I would love to come back home.”

“Yes,” Bethany hesitated, “that wolf of yours… we will talk about it when you return. But you can’t exactly run around here as that thing. That’s still not acceptable.”

“That THING?!” Adira let out a vicious snarl but Nick pushed her away.

“Sure, mom. We will sort it out when I get back.”

“Asshole.”

“Of course. Love you, Nicky.” It didn’t sound very honest. It never did.

Adira retreated to the back of his mind, distracting him by growling quietly and sending flares of hatred in his direction. Nick did his best to ignore her while collecting his things and stuffing them into the bag. The hallways were empty as he snuck through them out of the building. Nobody tried to stop him. Zoe was at school and Kate… Kate didn’t matter, he tried to tell himself while Adira snorted. “She literally told me to leave her alone. I’m fulfilling her wishes.”

“Mhm. Keep telling that to yourself, maybe one day you’ll actually believe it. Coward.” The wolf was mad at him but she couldn’t exactly do anything to stop him, other than keep annoying him with intrusive thoughts.

It was almost weird to be outside after so many days he spent either locked up or hiding in his or Kate’s apartment. Nick looked around cautiously but couldn’t see any suspicious birds. Just a normal life in a normal town, people heading to grab lunch, women with strollers sipping coffee from fancy biodegradable cups, toddlers waddling around them, exploring the treasures hidden in the cracks on the dirty pavements.

Nick kept his head down while heading to the bus station. The town wasn’t important. He was leaving anyway. He walked past a bakery, the mouthwatering smell coming from inside made him pause and his eyes searched the shop window for chocolate rolls without him even realizing it. Zoe liked them, perhaps he should get her some? No! He was not going back. Kate made it pretty clear he wasn’t welcome there anymore.

The bus ticket cost almost all of his remaining money but it didn’t matter. Back with the pack, he was not going to need it anymore. He clutched the piece of paper in his hand, blankly staring at the printed letters. Why were there tears welling up in his eyes? He should be happy, shouldn’t he? Not many people get a second chance after being kicked out of the pack.

“Yea, because normally they only get kicked out after actually doing something wrong.”

That was true. “What would you have me do? I can’t stay here!”

“Of course you can, you would just have to show an effort, put up a fight! But you are f*****g weakling, choosing an easy way out. Instead of fighting for your mate, you will torture yourself with hours of stupid Taylor Swift wailing and then end up in a place where everybody will resent you. You do realize that your disgusting asshole of a brother will be Alpha eventually? With absolute control over your life? You’ll end up scrubbing everyone’s toilets with your f*****g toothbrush for the rest of your miserable life!”

Alright, Nick might not have considered that part. And, sadly, Adira was right, that was a very likely glimpse into his future. Their future, because whether she liked it or not, she was stuck with him. An exasperated sigh escaped his lips. “I don’t have a choice.”

“That is where you are wrong, Nicolas.” The wolf’s eyes narrowed as she stared at him intently. “This is quite possibly the last time in your life when you actually do have a choice. Just be sure to make the right one.”

Yes, once he gets back home, he won’t have a choice anymore. He will have an Alpha to obey, just like he did for his entire life. Right now, he was free, and while it was scary, it was also strangely attractive. Nick didn’t even have time to think about it before, not with all the desperation, kidnapping, torture, hot s*x with Kate…

Kate. Was he really going to leave her now? Abandon his mate? She might not want him as a mate for now, but he could still be around her, proving to her that he had something to offer, that she could trust him. Adira was right. If Kate really didn’t want him, she would have rejected him. But she didn’t, she just ran away, scared and confused. Just like he was right now. Choosing an easy way out, like a coward.

Damn that stupid wolf for being right all the time. Nick smirked at the bus ticket in his hand. Yea, there was no way he was going to get a refund for that. “It’s just money,” Adira rolled her eyes. “I can always hunt something for you if you get hungry.”

“Eww. No more ducks, please.”

The wolf snickered. “It’s natural, Nicolas. Now quit stalling and go get our mate.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Nick chuckled and stuffed the ticket into his pocket, quickly leaving the bus station. Even though he didn’t really know the town, it was easy to retrace his steps, especially with Adira’s keen sense of smell.

He did have just enough change to buy a chocolate roll for Zoe. As he stopped in front of the bakery again, the sudden wave of pain made him double over and slide down on his knees, knocking all air out of his lungs. A young woman with a stroller leaned over to him, a concerned look written all over her face. “Are you alright? Do you want me to call you an ambulance?”

“No, thank you.” Nick gritted his teeth, his hand clutching his chest. No doubt he looked like he was having a heart attack. Adira came forth and helped him deal with the pain, to dial it down a bit. “I’m fine,” he smiled at the woman, leaning against a wall to stand back up. She just shrugged and returned to her baby, shooting side glances in his direction.

Nick forced his legs to move. He wasn’t lying, he was fine. The pain wasn’t his. But that was the only good thing about it. Because the pain was Kate’s and if he felt it over such distance and without her being marked or even having accepted him as her mate, it must have been something horrible. Nick picked up a pace, sprinting over to the apartment building downtown the werecat gang owned.

Curses were forcing themselves over his tongue. What an i***t he was. His mate was suffering and he wasn’t there to help her because he was acting like a child. Goddess, he hoped he wouldn’t be too late.

***

Next update: Thursday