Tiger's Mate

Chapter 43

•Ethan•

A snarl ripped from my throat the moment I heard it and I shifted in the blink of an eye, hunching and standing in front of Katski, shielding him from view the best I could (in the limited space). If it was Kallen back for another round — I would rip him to shreds. That asshole probably rang the doorbell as a taunt, but it didn't matter. Whether he busted open the door or I did, he was not getting to my cat-boy.

"Hey now, let's all just be calm..." Katski's hands were in the air, waving like a traffic cop signalling a speeding car to slow the fuck down. Too bad for him, I was not calm. I was the very furthest thing from calm.

I was ready to beat the shit out of something.

Which is probably why my brain decided charging at the door was my next best decision.

Four things happened within those next thirty seconds of my life. One; I ran at the door. Two; it opened on its own. Three; I went barreling into thin air and rolled down the stairs, snout-first in the dirt. Four; I rolled over — only to stare at Maia and Sage, both wearing hoodies and pyjama pants, and carrying three loaded grocery bags of what looked like the whole snack aisle at Walmart each.

The three of us kind of just stared at each other for a few solid seconds — Katski still inside, staring from the back.

"...Please tell me someone got that shit on video." Sage stood there with her mouth gaping and the grocery bags trembling in her hands. That was when I realized she and Maia were one breath away from completely losing it. And they sure as hell sucked at hiding it.

I quickly shifted — kinda stretched but still in-one-piece shirt and pants still on — and barrelled down at them with a new snarl, this one found out of irritation. "What the hell are you two doing here?!"

"Uh, we brought snacks," Sage answered, holding one of the bags higher like it somehow answered everything. Which — it did fucking not!

"So?!" I blurted. Just as I heard an exclamation from inside going 'oh thank god, I'm starving!'. I was so going to punch his dumb ass.

"See, the yarn-chaser is happy."

"Hey!"

Maia smiled brightly like nothing was amiss with the situation. "E, we're here for you and Katski, ok? What's so wrong?"

What's wrong is that they shouldn't even know about this place, I thought. Not that I didn't trust them, it was just...ugh...everything felt so tense. I couldn't shake it.

"You weren't followed?"

"Oh no of course we were, the rest of the pack is a few minutes behind us — ow!"

Maia leaned back from elbowing Sage in the gut — evidently shutting her up — before rolling her eyes. "No. We made sure." I eased up my posture, just a little. "So...can we come in?"

I rolled out my shoulders and sighed, folding my arms over my chest and shrugging. "Ask the yarn-chaser," I said.

Katski appeared at the doorway, though I wasn't all too happy at seeing him up when he should be resting. He threw a look at me for the use of the nickname before his face brightened into a welcoming grin. "Hey, you've got food, absolutely."