Cat Scratch Fever; Blue-Collar Werewolves V (27 page)

Matthew slipped further into the kitchen.
“Naomi.
There
you are.” His eyes widened in shock as the
room burst into giggles. Naomi wanted to slip into the floor. He
looked around. The tigresses were bent over, slapping their thighs
in mirth. “Uhhh. Really. Is there something you need?” Naomi shook
her head. Emphatically. God, no. Not right this minute.

“You’re the Leo?” Daria stepped in front of
him. Like a train wreck seen in slow motion, Naomi got to the scene
too late. She grabbed her sister’s arm in warning, but he was
already nodding.

“Daria! No!” she hissed at her sister
without effect. Daria had been a clan Lia in her own right long
enough.

“Great! You can go ahead and look over the
candidates and make your choice of your Lia official.”

“Candidates?” he looked thoroughly confused.
His gaze slid to Naomi for an answer. Her traitorous body got the
warm tinglies that he sought her first.

“Yes,” Daria was just getting warmed up.
Naomi squeezed her arm hard in warning. She would handle this.

“Matthew,” Naomi held a warning finger up
before Marpha could protest. The rumble of the lionesses and
tigresses made her snap close her mouth. “You were turned and then
fell ill before some things could be explained.”

“I wasn’t exactly ill.” He glanced at the
other women then behind him as Nathan and Brandon barged in.
Neither looked uncomfortable to be surrounded by that amount
hostile female. They did look like they would take apart anyone,
male or female, who messed with their chosen leader.

Naomi didn’t want to get distracted. She
gave a brief nod, then letting go of Daria, she made a motion for
the other candidates to present themselves. It was not at all what
she’d been planning. She’d originally hoped for some sort of
ceremony to ease the rejection for some of them,
okay—
Marpha
, would feel.

“One of the things, is that the Leo needs to
choose a…mate. The next Lia.” She held up her hand again to stall
his questions so that she could get through this before she died of
embarrassment. What was worse, she knew that everyone in the room
knew her state of embarrassment. And yes, arousal at being close to
him. Naomi cleared her throat with a light cough and tugged the
scooped neck of her t-shirt down to reveal the cat’s eye and shield
tattoo.

She gestured at the other three females and
both Marpha and Jillian pulled their shirts aside to reveal their
marks. Marpha just a tad too eagerly. Naomi cleared her throat
pointedly and Katra sighed, showing her mark. She turned her
attention back to Matthew and wished she could read the neutral
expression he’d adopted. Did he care for her at all? Or would
Jillian’s calm, well thought out manner win the day. Katra’s
loyalty and ferocity were good traits in a leader. “The mark is
supposed to indicate the goddess’ blessing.”

Matthew looked at Nathan. The panther was
surprisingly serious. “You’re supposed to pick a mate from the
marked females.” His eyes moved over all of them and he finally
smirked. “There was another, but our Naomi kicked her ass into next
year. You should have seen it. I think even the wolves were hot
after seeing that.”

“Nathan!” his statement shocked her into
losing her embarrassment.

“What?” he tried for innocent and
failed.

“Shut up, Nathan.” Matthew’s words held no
heat. He looked at the assembled females and chose his words with
great care. “Thank you for coming. We’re going to all need to
support each other, whatever clan.”

“But who do you choose?” Marpha insisted.
She slinked over to him and dared lay a hand on him. Naomi couldn’t
stop the warning growl deep in her throat.

Matthew shook his head, slowly and kindly.
“I’m sorry, but it wouldn’t be right for me just to assume that I
can command a woman to be mine. I’d much rather do my asking in
private.” Marpha wilted a bit, but she had a hard head. The gleam
in her eye said that she felt this was a reprieve only. Then
Matthew turned to Naomi and his smile deepened. “I have a dinner
engagement tonight. Come with?” his light brown eyes held all the
hope of a kid on Christmas morning. The females gave one another
knowing looks. “Please?”

“I…” She racked her brain for an excuse. “I
really don’t have anything to wear for a nice dinner.”

“It’s at my house.” Brandon supplied. The
look on the wolf-cat’s face was positively evil. “And trust me,
with five pups, casual is the only way we go at my place. Besides,
Karen has been wanting to talk to you again. She misses the
constant female company of the Pack.”

“Oh?” He nodded at her implied question, but
didn’t explain why they’d separated themselves from the wolven. But
she felt for his mate. She remembered the loneliness after she’d
first left her clan. Naomi had liked the woman from the moment
she’d flung herself into her mate’s arms. She looked back at
Matthew. “I suppose I could go.”

He grinned and leaned in for a quick kiss on
her cheek. “Great. I was afraid that I was going to have to get
Nathan to hold my hand.” He shook his head and shoved at the
panther as they walked out. They both laughed. “I didn’t want him
to get any awkward ideas.”

“Well, my Lia. It’s official.” Daria grinned
from ear to ear. “You need an outfit that will knock his socks
off.”

“He was barefoot.” She couldn’t resist
poking back. Though inside Naomi wanted to dance a giddy dance.

Daria rolled her eyes. “So who’s the weird
guy with the double scent who’s supplying dinner?”

“Well,” Naomi appointed herself chief bag
collector and began shoving loose bags into one. “He’s been
watching over Matthew since the beginning.”

“Brother-in-law.” Nathan strolled back in
and snatched a loose apple from the table. They’d all been quiet
about the relationship out of respect for both Matthew and Brandon.
All the women’s jaws dropped at that bit of information. “The Leo
is also the son of the wolven’s alpha female.” He waggled his
eyebrows at the tigresses. “Hey, I’d like to have a tiger or two by
the tail.” They groaned at the bad come-on.

“No, thanks leopard.” Katra said.
Speculation lit her features. “Now that
is
something. Not
just dinner, but a
family
dinner.”

“Oooo.” Daria and the lionesses made
approving sounds. “Even after you kicked his mom’s butt. Now that
is
important. You need the perfect, I’m hot, but still great
with the in-laws, outfit.”

Naomi rolled her eyes. “Daria, its dinner.
With Brandon, his family, Nathan, and Matthew. We’ll be doing our
best not to kill each other.”

“Not true.” Nathan crunched into his apple,
making them wait as he chewed and swallowed. He gestured with the
half eaten fruit. “Brandon actually likes you. You should have seen
the last female mated into the wolven Pack. Chase is practically an
uncle and Brandon shredded India’s arm nearly to the bone the first
time they met.”

He stopped at the unease scenting the room.
“Well, there were extenuating circumstances. The wolves bite first
and ask questions later. They thought she might be a stray that
brought the Hunter to their territory. She was.” He ate another
bite, then sighed at the expectancy in the room. “It’s all good
now. India stays away from Brandon. And Chase would rip out
Brandon’s throat if he hurt his mate again.” He shrugged, leaving
the room with a parting, “No harm, no foul.”

“Okay, I changed my mind.” Daria watched
Nathan go. “
That
guy is the weird one.”

Naomi let her gaze follow Nathan’s retreat
as well. “He’s completely loyal.”

“And hot, for one of Bastet’s chosen.”
Jillian said from the pantry. “What a waste.” Naomi hadn’t noticed
the female disappear.

“Goddess sure has a lot of chosen people.”
Katra said. “What’s the leopard chosen for.”

Jillian was quiet as she stacked and sorted
cans. “Long ago, the goddess had those who were closer to her than
others. She chose them for her own personal servants to guide with
dreams and visions. They were a type of warrior and religious
order. A cleric, I think the title was. They knew her will better
than any others. They also loved her and feared her more than any
of the other cats.”

The work of putting away food and beginning
the meal was much easier with more hands, just as Naomi suspected.
The female companionship was wonderful and feeling like a traitor
to the panther she couldn’t resist throwing him under the bus to
get herself off the gossip wagon. “So why is that a waste?”

Jillian stacked more cans. Naomi was
thinking the female might be a tad OCD at her arrangement and
rearrangement of the order. “Because, Bastet has only one chosen
mate for her clerics.”

“So?” One of the lionesses stopped her
inventory of the cookware. “So they only chose a mate once. Now,
only the very rare gets a mate. If at all. So what’s the big
deal?”

Jillian stopped and looked around the pantry
door. She looked just like Naomi’s school teachers when faced with
dense students. “Because they only get
one mate.
One lover,
chosen by the goddess. That’s
it.
”

“Wait a minute. Are you saying that all that
hotness is untouched?” Katra asked.

“Most likely.” Jillian said.

“How do you know all this?” Katra stopped
what she was doing to watch Jillian go back to her sorting. “Most
of the clan history is lost.”

Jillian paused and smiled. “Because like
knows like.” She frowned and moved another can. There was a telling
silence in the room.

“So the Leo is your chosen mate? I thought
Naomi was.” Katra sounded confused.

Jillian shook her head. “I am an appropriate
candidate for him. But he is not who she has chosen for me. Bastet
has her own reasons for marking me. If it is a lesson and if we
fail, then she will present it again. I am here to…” she stopped to
choose her words. “provide balance and protection for whomever is
chosen as the Lia.”

“Do you think Nathan is your mate?” Naomi
couldn’t resist. It would be kind of cool to see the panther find
true love.

Jillian made a face and shuddered. “No. The
more I think of it, the more he feels like a brother.” She regained
her composure and looked around for more cans. “It will happen when
Bastet is ready to share his affections with a mate.”

“Or yours.” Naomi told her.

Jillian nodded. “Yes. When she is ready,
there will be no doubt.”

* * * *

Sitting in the backseat of Brandon’s truck,
Matthew suffered pangs of longing for his own car. He liked his car
and hated being dependent on someone else for something as basic as
transportation. “Where is my stuff?” he leaned forward and
asked.

“Nathan’s storage building.” Brandon
answered without taking his eyes off of the road. “The panther
didn’t have much in it, so there was plenty of room for your
stuff.” It bothered Matthew that he’d have to sell the thousands of
dollars worth of equipment. What would happen to the rest of it and
his house? Could he arrange to sell it off without stepping back in
the werewolves territory? Brandon’s voice interrupted his worry.
“Looked like good quality equipment too. You shouldn’t have too
much trouble picking up where you left off.”

“Maybe,” Matthew realized that he needed to
call Doyle to pick up the finished gate that he left behind. A
replacement cell phone was just one more thing on his to do list.
Settling back in his seat, he resigned himself to watching the
vaguely familiar scenery go by. Familiar because this was where
he’d grown up. No doubt he’d driven all over this area with his
friends. He couldn’t remember all the back field tailgate parties.
Parked on out of the way country roads with his girlfriends. All in
all, he’d had a good childhood.

The truck slowed and pulled into a driveway
in front of a two story Southern style house in sore need of a
makeover. Tricycles, wagons, and an assortment of other children’s
equipment littered the yard. A couple of tire swings hung from a
large oak tree in the front yard. “This is nice.” Matthew scanned
the yard for signs of life, finally seeing a curtain twitch from
one of the front windows on the porch area.

Brandon snorted. “It’s a pile of crap
compared to the house that burned. But it has room.”

“Are you going to let your brother move in?”
Matthew’s mouth twitched, remembering the conversation with Brandon
on the way to BioPet where he threatened to make Christmas tinsel
out of his Pack brother. It seemed ages ago. Brandon’s dark frown
stopped any other teasing. The frown wasn’t it, Matthew decided. He
was picking up on the other man’s discomfort. The subject had
touched on a sensitive subject. “Or not,” he amended. “I imagine
it’s nice to spread out some.”

“Yeah. We need plenty of room.” the answer
was flat, but Matthew felt the unhappiness behind it. Then Brandon
got out of the truck and all there was left to do was follow. He
pulled at the overly tight neck of the new long sleeved t-shirt. He
stopped and stared at the leopard spots shadowing his hand. There
were kids here. What if he couldn’t control himself?

The warmth of Naomi’s hands covering his
pulled his panic up short. She smiled, all sunshine and light, a
beacon to his overwhelmed emotions. Threading his fingers through
hers assured that for the moment, she stayed close. Ahead, Brandon
stalked to the house. He paused a moment, then gathering himself up
tall, entered, leaving Matthew and Naomi to come at their own
pace.

“It’s going to be fine,” she told him. “Even
if it’s been a while. Males wander, but your birth clan always
welcomes you home.” Matthew wanted to remind her that he hadn’t
been born to the clans. He’d done his leaving by choice. Bad
choices that had hurt good people. Instead of ruining the moment,
he brushed a kiss over her temple and released their joined
hands.