Chapter 17

"What's a werecat doing in a pack?" I blurted out before I could stop myself.

Kade grinned. Even his face looked feline. "Technically, I'm not an official member of the pack. More of an honorary guest," he offered, shaking my hand. "It was a mutual agreement."

"Yes," Naja said slowly. "A mutual agreement where you forced yourself into our territory and wouldn't leave until we let you stay."

"Just like a mutual agreement!" Kade said smoothly. "Now, what is our dear guest doing here?" 

"Here's here to work."

Kade grimaced dramatically. He turned to me and spoke solemnly. "You'll be in my prayers." 

Naja glared at him and dragged me away. I looked between the two, eyes wide. "What do you mean by that? Hey, Naja, what does he mean by that?"

She led us to the back near some punching bags and a closed in ring surrounded by springy red bungees. I caught a pair of thick boxing gloves she tossed to me and tugged them on.

"Starting so soon?" I gulped. Naja's usual carefree face was replaced by the look of an Alpha-- strong, dominant, a leader.

"Now or never," she said. "Come here, I'll teach you the forms before we start. Make sure you stick to these, unless you want a broken hand."

I nodded, letting her lead me through the steps of different punches. She taught me two-- the hook and uppercut. Naja was strict, sometimes yelling when I couldn't get it right, but I didn't care; it felt good to have someone teacher watching over me, pushing me to my limit. 

My breath quickly became ragged, skin slick with sweat. I was only moving my arms, yet my muscles felt like soggy noodles. 

"Stop." Naja flexed back my hand back. "Who are you trying to hurt, your opponent or yourself?"

"Opponent," I gasped.

"Then act like it." She let go of my hand. "Again."

"Yes, Alpha!" 

*****

"You still alive, newbie?" A teasing voice asked, nudging my side with a cold water bottle.

"Barely." I grinned and sat up, taking the bottle and gulping it down. 

Kade flopped down next to me. "Felt that. That damn she-wolf works me to the bone."

"As she should," I replied jokingly, throwing the empty water bottle at him.

"Hey!" Kade objected, dodging the bottle and chucking it back at me. "Just because I work here doesn't mean I have to!"

"Pretty sure it does." I laughed as the bottle hit me in the chest. "If you don't work, you'll be fired." I stuck my tongue out at him.

Kade rolled his eyes. "Youngsters these days," he muttered, combing a hand though his long black hair. He stood up with a grunt. "Naja should come get you soon," he called, walking away. "The studio closes soon, and I'm not on pick-up duty, so I'm out of here."

"See you soon!" I said to his back before standing up myself, finding Naja organizing the weight section. She looked up at me as I approached, wiping her hands on her pants. 

"Everything's finished up over here," she said. "You ready?"

"Mhm."

We left the studio after locking up, taking the bus back to the apartment, which I was thankful for. I didn't think my sore body could handle even the short walk back home. We found Ramona in the kitchen taking containers out of a large, brown paper bag.

"Welcome back," she chirped. "I ordered some Chinese takeout. I was too lazy to cook anything."

Naja gave her a peck on the cheek. "That's fine, hon. I was craving this all day, anyways."

The couple helped pile my plate with foods foreign to me, rating each one on a scale of spicy to savory to sweet. I tentatively put each dish in my mouth, chewing carefully before swallowing. Some were delicious, with extreme flavors that exploded against my tongue, while some were mediocre, and others simply didn't suit my palate.  

I was soon stuffed, cuddling on the couch with a blanket, my eyes half closes and sleepy. I had previously taken a shower, getting all the sweat and stink off me. Warm showers and a full belly had always made me drowsy, even so far back as a pup living with Papa. He had carried me to bed countless of times when I fell asleep after dinner and a full day of hard playing.

"Augustus," Ramona said softly, brushing my hair from my eyes. "You can't sleep yet. We have something to discuss." 

"Hmm?" I sat up, keeping the blanket tucked under my chin. 

"It's about living arrangements." 

"You're not kicking me out, are you?" I asked, a burst of panic blooming in my stomach.

"No, no! We would never!" Ramona said hurriedly. "It's just that. . ." She looked over at Naja as if asking for help.

"We're going into heat and rut," Naja put bluntly, "and we can't exactly have you hanging around for that."

"O-oh!" I wasn't expecting that. Though I had been wondering when their moon week would come, as it's almost been three weeks since I've started living with them. "So, where will I stay?"

"Malcolm offered you his spare room," Ramona said. "You'll be moving in tomorrow."

"What?" I shot off the couch, my mouth hanging open. "So soon?"

Ramona looked at me sheepishly. "Sorry for the late notice, but our moon week fluctuates, meaning it comes and goes randomly. It's not something we can really control all that much." 

Echo, however, didn't seem to have a problem with these new arrangements. she said.

"Is that okay? If you don't feel comfortable, you can stay at Kade's place, or with Ophelia, but we figured you would be most comfortable with Malcolm because you've seen him the most," Ramona stressed, reaching for my hands.

"Ah, it's fine! I was just a bit shocked. . . Back at Red Brook, there weren't a lot of people to talk about heats and ruts, so I was simply surprised," I said, squeezing Ramona's' hand. "It's like you said: you can't control it. I'll go pack for tomorrow!"

I bid the couple goodnight and went to my room, tossing some clothes and toiletries in a suitcase they had given me.  

Staying at Malcolm's place. Me. For a week, or perhaps even more, because their moon week was unpredictable. 

I drew in a deep breath, but that didn't stop a smile from curling on my lips.