Grayson (Completed)

Twenty-One

Edgar shot past me out the back door.

"No!" I shouted to him as I tried to catch up with him. I might be fast in Shifter form, but in human I was pretty much useless, and Edgar could run pretty fast too. I was barefoot, the dry grass cracking under my feet as I ran after him.

I stopped when I saw him running toward the woods. He was approaching some bushes, and I tried to call to him. "Edgar! Here kitty-kitty!" He refused to listen to me, instead padding softly around the bush in circles before moving on past it and closer to the edge of the woods.

I looked up, to where he was heading, and my body froze.

"Edgar! I hissed at him, trying to get him to come back as he edged closer to the man that was lurking behind the trees. When he didn't come, I shouted over my shoulder, "Grayson!" I knew he would hear me, because I had left the back door open when I had chased after Edgar.

Edgar, the little twerp, walked straight up to Kade, who stepped forward into the light and looked at me. With a twitchy smile that put me on edge even more than I was already, he bent down and picked up my furry little kitty, and my heart started thudding in my chest.

If he so much as hurt a hair on Edgar's head, the man was dead. Dead. And I would kill him myself.

Edgar was curled up safely in Kade's arms, and he started purring when Kade rubbed behind his ears. The little slut.

"Jonah, is everything al-" Grayson cut off when he found out what I was staring at, and immediately growled, low in his throat. I refused to turn around, keeping my eyes locked on the man holding my cat hostage – even if it appeared that Edgar liked being there.

In a move I didn't notice, Grayson must have shifted, because a giant black wolf was suddenly standing next to me, a continuous rumble coming out of his chest. I reached out and tangled my fingers in his fur, using him to support me. Seeing Kade had thrown me off balance. I thought he was smart enough not to show his face again.

There was a hand that landed on my shoulder, and I looked out of the corner of my eye to see English standing next to me.

"Oh, look," Kade said in a condescending tone. "Grayson has a buddy."

In response, Grayson let out a low growl that caused the hairs on the back of my neck to rise.

"Give me my cat back," I said to the evil man standing across from us.

"You mean this little guy?" he asked in mock surprise. He stopped petting Edgar and put a threatening hand on the back of his neck, subtly showing that he could snap my poor cat's neck at any moment.

Grayson took a few threatening steps forward, and Kade held up a hand with a mocking finger pointed at him. "Ah, ah, ah. Wouldn't want to have to hurt Edgar here and make Jonah upset, now would I?"

Grayson's lips pulled back, exposing sharp teeth that I wouldn't want to get anywhere near. Kade's own lips pulled back, but they formed an ugly smile full of malice and anger, with a tinge of envy.

It all happened too fast.

First Edgar jumped around in Kade's arms, snarling and clawing as hard as he could at him.

"You little bastard!" Kade shouted in pain, pushing Edgar away from him and then throwing him as hard as he could. He hit the ground and rolled for several feet, hitting a tree rather hard and then sitting there in a furry pile.

"Edgar!" I yelled. My poor kitty! He didn't deserve that.

While Kade was distracted, Grayson took a running start and leaped at him. Kade saw him at the last second, immediately pushing into his Shifted form. I heard clothes ripping as fur appeared and a tawny brown wolf appeared. He was a little smaller than Grayson, but not by much.