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

Chapter 13

Kate was exhausted, dirty, annoyed, and the stupid cut on her side wouldn’t stop bleeding. “Can’t you do something about it?” she hissed at Fatim angrily. “It was your fault anyway!” The dumb cat just scoffed and turned away, ignoring Kate completely.

She sighed, realizing that Grams had just asked her something and Kate had absolutely no idea what since she hasn’t really been listening. “Sorry, I’m just too tired.”

“I know, honey.” The old lady sounded warm as always when it came to younger cats. “You and Melanie get some rest, we will continue this tomorrow. You’ve both done a great job today.”

Kate nodded while trying to suppress a yawn. She and Melanie were the stealthiest cats in the entire gang, and when Grams needed someone to sneak into a place and gather information in secret, it was always one of them who had to go. Today was so important that they went both, each having her own target and goals to achieve. And, despite all odds, they were both successful in sneaking into the research facility and snooping through the documents there. The problem was that none of it made any sense, which only added to Kate’s frustration.

Upon leaving Grams’ office, she nearly stumbled into a man, avoiding him at the last possible moment. “Damn, watch where you are going!” It was one of the Prime’s mates, the smarter one. The one she asked to watch over Zoe. “Wait a second, why are you here?” She frowned, grabbing his shirt. “Where’s Zoe?”

“Hey, nice to see you too!” He smirked, unphased by her unspoken threats. “I’m not babysitting that devious creature again. First, she ran off on me, and then, when I finally found her again, she kicked me out of your apartment.”

Kate felt her lips curl back as she violently hissed into his face. “Kicked you out?! For f**k’s sake, she is seven! Did you leave her alone all day?!”

“Of course not. Your wolf was with her. I mean, yes, he was holding a big knife, but she was alive the last time I saw her, so-”

Not letting him finish, she shoved him aside and rushed through the corridors, his words haunting her. Of course Zoe went to Nick, she should have thought of that. He seemed to be quite friendly towards the girl but wasn’t it all a trick? That i***t Emmet said he was holding a knife. Would Nick hurt Zoe to get revenge for everything the cats have done to him?

If only she weren’t so damn tired, it was like her brain was engulfed in a thick fog, not allowing her to think straight. Her mind… the mind link! She quickly reached out to Zoe, relieved that the connection was there, the girl was alive. Kate gently brushed against her mind to see whether her niece wasn’t scared or in pain but all she got was a giddy feeling and the tune of the Hakuna Matata. Great, now that stupid song was stuck in her head again.

The first thing that crossed her mind after opening the door was that she accidentally entered someone else’s apartment. It was incredible, the place hasn’t been this clean ever since she moved in a few weeks ago. The mouth-watering smell that welcomed her made her stomach rumble, reminding her that she hasn’t eaten anything all day. Aside from the tiny mouse Fatim caught in the afternoon, but that was hardly more than a small snack. The pretentious feline didn’t even want to eat it, just to play with it a bit and then leave it on some poor person’s doorstep.

Nick was holding a knife, yes, that part was true. But he was using it to chop some tiny green leaves, putting them into a salad bowl, while Zoe danced around him, singing and grinning happily. That was the point Kate realized that Emmet was probably just messing with her and she was too tired to understand that. What an asshole, she was going to punch his stupid face the next time she saw him.

“Kate!” Zoe exclaimed, throwing herself at her aunt.

When the girl’s hand slid over the cut on Kate’s side, the woman winced but managed to hide the pain from Zoe, not wanting to scare her. “Hey, kitten. It smells amazing here.” Her eyes found Nick, noticing how the smile had vanished off his face and he looked startled again, quickly putting the knife away and retreating all the way to the corner, as far away from Kate as he could. There must have been some traces of her earlier panic still showing on her face because he was shifting his weight nervously and biting his lip, waiting for her reaction.

“We made dinner!” Fortunately, Zoe didn’t seem to notice the tension between them. “Did you know that salad was healthier than pizza?”

Oh, great, now she looked absolutely incompetent, unable to take care of a child. And perhaps she was, constantly stuffing a seven-year-old with fast food was hardly a proper adult thing. “Of course she did,” Nick replied hastily, probably noticing the frown forming on Kate’s face, “sometimes there just isn’t enough time to cook. Everything is ready, so… I better go,” he muttered, avoiding Kate’s look.

“No, stay.” Kate extended her hand to stop him from leaving but remembered how he always recoiled from her touch so she pulled it back. “You are the one who cooked, and, by the looks of it,” she craned her head to peek into the big pan on the stove, “you’ve made enough for a regiment.”

He smiled nervously. “Zoe did most of the cooking, actually, I just gave her instructions. And made sure she didn’t cut her finger off.”

“And I didn’t!” she grinned, twirling around to the rhythm of a song Kate didn’t know which was playing out of Nick’s phone. It sounded like it was probably out of some Disney fairy tale as well.

“I can’t wait to taste it. I’ll just take a quick shower and then join you, alright? How about you set the table? You know where the plates are?”

Zoe gave her an incredulous look. “We have actual plates?”

“Hey, don’t act like we never ate out of a plate here!” Maybe once or twice. Damn, she was really an irresponsible person. “They’re in that cupboard. I think.” She stopped by her bedroom, noticing most of the dirty clothes from the floor were stuffed in a big laundry basket. It felt weird imagining Nick going around her room and picking up her underwear. But given how nervous he was around her, it probably wasn’t his doing. No, this looked more erratic, as the work of an easily distracted child.

Fatim was too busy picturing Nick picking up Kate’s panties and sniffing them with a blissful expression before putting them into the basket. “f*****g hell, stop that!” No matter how tired she was, the idea seemed to have awakened some primal desire within her. Crap, now she was going to have to take a cold shower.

The wound has finally stopped bleeding but it still hurt like hell. It was a long, deep cut, running up from her right hip halfway up her ribcage. “Clumsy cat,” Kate mumbled, hissing in pain when the mint-scented shower gel started to burn on the exposed flesh.

“Go f**k yourself,” Fatim hissed back at her. “I was a bit busy not to getting torn to shreds by that stupid guard dog you somehow forgot to tell me about! How the hell was I supposed to know there would be barbed wire atop that fence?!”

Kate had to take a deep breath, gritting her teeth, quickly washing the foam off. The cat was right though, it wasn’t exactly her fault. “Sorry. Even with the birds around, I didn’t think a dumb human research facility would be so well guarded. Good thing we didn’t get caught. You were great, as always. I was the one who screwed up.”

“We did bring the footage back, wasn’t that the important part?”

Turning off the water, Kate reached for one of the last clean towels. Damn, she should really do laundry sometimes. But not today, today she was too tired. “Yea,” she sighed, carefully tapping the towel around the cut, not wanting it to start bleeding again. “But footage of what? It doesn’t make any sense. They are obviously doing something big but what?”

Fatim yawned and shrugged. “You are right, we are too tired to think. Maybe s*x would help us relax.”

“By Bastet, will you stop with that already?” Kate groaned quietly as she put on a bra and a loose T-shirt. “Nick is frightened of me, there is no way he would want to have s*x with me. Even if I wanted to. And I don’t. Don’t!” The sweatpants weren’t exactly clean anymore but it was the last pair she had, so they would have to do for now.

Raising an eyebrow, the cat smirked. “Mhm, that sounded very convincing. You are forgetting that I’m in your head, my dear human. There is no point in lying to me. And, by the way, he is a man. Just walk up to him and tell him you want to have s*x. I bet he will say yes without a second thought.”

It was pointless, Kate just decided to ignore her, wrapping her wet hair into a towel and peeking into the living room.

“Come on, I’m hungry!” Zoe urged her to hurry and Kate walked closer to the table, noticing Nick’s flushed cheeks when he looked at her. Huh, perhaps Fatim was right? Shaking the thought off, she sat down and eagerly grabbed the fork and a knife.

Kate had no idea what it was, but it was beyond delicious. There was a lot of meat, chicken probably, but also lots of various vegetables in the pan, making a colorful mix. The sauce was slightly sweet, tasting a bit after pineapples, which, as Kate realized with a surprise, were added to the pan as well. It went well with rice and the leafy green things she saw Nick cut when she got home. With a pinch of shame, she realized she never even tried to cook something this healthy for Zoe. What an awesome guardian she was.

“Guys,” she said after finishing her plate, faking a frown, “I’m very sorry to inform you that from now on, you will have to cook for me like this every single day. I mean, this is amazing! Is this broccoli?” Using her fork, she fished out a tiny green floret out of the pan, studying it more carefully. “I had no idea broccoli could taste this good. And what are these green leaves?” she pointed to the salad bowl.

Nick was blushing furiously and Zoe was beaming with pride. “That’s, uh… ruh-colla? And spinach, tiny baby spinach!”

“Rucola,” Nick corrected her quietly, waiting until she repeated the word. “The Italians actually put it on pizza a lot, I thought you two would know it,” he joked nervously. “And this is not really some fancy meal, just whatever was at hand put together into a pan.”

It seemed that he wasn’t used to receiving praise. “Okay, first? The place that delivers pizza here also sells kebabs and I seriously doubt the owner is Italian. The only green thing I’ve ever seen on their pizzas were olives. And second, the food was delicious and I don’t want to hear anyone belittle it. Especially since you said that Zoe was the one making it.”

“I stirred the pot!” The girl exclaimed happily while Nick gave Kate a shy smile.

Damn, if only he wasn’t so cute, especially when he was smiling like that. It really made her want to jump his bones. “You’ve corrupted me, you filthy beast!” she hissed at Fatim who only chuckled in response. “Wait a minute,” Kate turned to Nick again, realizing something, “where did you get all this? I’m fairly certain there was only a box of bad milk and maybe some old yogurts in the fridge.”

“I… uh… ordered some groceries, I hope that’s okay?” Nick replied hesitantly.

“As long as you used the card I gave you?” The way he pouted his lips and avoided her look was a good enough answer. “We’ll talk about that later,” she said quietly, not wanting to argue about that in front of Zoe. But this was not a thing she was willing to drop. The gang had money, lots of it, and she did promise to pay for Nick’s expenses if he stayed. He was young and Kate doubted he managed to save up much before getting expelled from the pack. No, it was more likely he was either still in school or freshly out of it. There was no way she would let him pay for her and Zoe’s food.

Zoe was finished with her plate as well and took it to the sink along with Kate’s. “Hey,” she said on her way back, “if I have to cook for you now, does that mean I don’t have to do my homework?”

“Nice try.” Kate had to smirk over the girl’s ingenuity. “You can cook after you’ve done your homework.” Damn, she should probably help her with that too. That was going to be hard. Kate never really went to school since she had so little control over her shifts and there was a constant danger of revealing her secret to other kids. She and Emily were homeschooled to some extent but Kate still felt stupid knowing a common high school teen knew so much more than she did. The werewolf was most likely way smarter than her as well.

Zoe was much more in balance with her cat and she could go to school without any bigger issues, a fact for which Em was always grateful. She wanted a better future for the girl than just fighting and dying in an ancient war. And even though Emily wasn’t around anymore, Kate felt obligated to make sure Zoe had the future her mother had always dreamed of. No matter how hard it sometimes was.

Kate helped Nick put the rest of the food into boxes and in the fridge, making sure he took some for himself as well. Just when she was about to talk to him about the money, Zoe called on her from the couch. “Can we watch this movie?”

Kate quickly looked over the screen to make sure it wasn’t something like The Alien the girl demanded to see last week, but it was animated and the Disney logo in the corner calmed her down. “Sure, why not?”

“Actually,” Nick said, nervously running a hand through his hair, “didn’t you say you wanted to see Frozen again?”

Zoe agreed cheerfully and started to look for the movie on the list. Kate fought hard to suppress a groan. “Why Frozen? What was wrong with that one?” At least it would be something new and not the same thing for the tenth time.

“Well… Most of the movie is about dead people and sort of an afterlife, so I wasn’t sure it wouldn’t make her… sad?” He shifted his weight, avoiding Kate’s look.

“Dead people? I thought it was a kids’ movie?”

He quickly nodded. “It is, it’s actually very tasteful, but… I don’t know, maybe it would even help her. Sorry, I didn’t mean to interfere, it’s not like I have any kind of experience with this situation. I should probably go, I don’t want to disturb your evening any more.”

As if Kate had some experience with such a situation. “No way. If I have to suffer through Frozen again, then you are joining me.”

“I actually like Frozen,” he chuckled and blushed a bit.

“Oh really?” Kate teased him as they were walking to the couch, not really believing he had seen a kids’ movie. “Who is your favorite character, hm?” Nick hesitated for a moment and Kate smirked. “Ha, got you. You haven’t seen it.”

“Hey! I was just taken aback by such an intricate question.” He headed for an armchair, clearly intending to leave the couch for Zoe and Kate but the girl grabbed his hand and forced him to sit down next to her. They looked almost like a perfect family from the TV commercials, a young couple and their beautiful daughter between them. It didn’t matter that Kate would have to get pregnant when she was twelve or thirteen to have a daughter of Zoe’s age.

Zoe was about to play the movie but Nick grabbed the remote from her and turned to Kate. “And, for the record, it’s Anna. I mean, Elsa would be the obvious answer, because she is so cool with her powers, but I think Anna is way more awesome, because she risks her life to save her sister without having any powers at all.” With those words, he hit the play button and handed the remote back to Zoe, leaving Kate speechless.

He really had seen the movie. A sudden wave of disappointment washed over her. Of course, she should have realized it sooner. He cooked and cleaned, liked kids' movies, always so polite and humble. “I guess there will be no s*x after all. He must be gay.”

Fatim snorted. “Oh, sister, sometimes you are so clueless. I don’t think a gay would check out your ass and t**s every few moments like our dear werewolf has been doing ever since you got out of shower. This man definitely does not swing the other way. And he wants you. So stop pretending like you don’t want him too and ride his werewolf d**k!”

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Next update: Thursday