other supernatural being could cross.
Alex had crossed lines himself that night. After he had
brought Gwen home, he had been overcome by his attraction to her. When she had
reciprocated, they’d been writhing around on her couch, lost in passion, when
Alex had felt himself start to shift. He had been out of control and it had
scared the hell out of him. Before they could finish the act, he’d bolted into
the night and run to Sergei’s home.
Sergei had eventually calmed Alex down and sent him on his
way. It had been the middle of the night, and Alex was so shaken that he’d
dialed up the Cat People’s leader—not caring if he woke him.
“What the hell, Longtree?” Alex had screamed into the phone.
“Listen man, I was just working with the information I had.
Markov told me the new human consort was in town, and I had this dream—”
“You scared the hell out of her and almost decapitated her
pet, Tommy!”
“I’m sorry, Alex. I thought she was in danger. My bad.”
“Your bad? Stay the fuck out of our territory, Longtree!”
Alex had hung up before letting the man-cougar explain.
* * * * *
Present
The tall, lean leader of the Cat People was exactly where
he’d said he would be—standing at the junction of the two-lane highway and the
rutted county road. Alex swung the ‘Vette onto the gravel shoulder and reached
across the passenger seat to push open the door.
“Where should I put these?” Tommy asked, holding out a
stringer heavy with sunfish.
“Throw ’em in the ditch,” Alex muttered.
Tommy glanced at his catch. “No fucking way, man. This is
dinner.”
Alex rolled his eyes. Fucking cats.
“I heard that, dude,” Tommy said, then folded his long body
into the sports car and laid the still-flopping fish on the floor mat between
his boots.
“Where’s your rod?” Alex asked.
Tommy grabbed the inside of his upper thigh. “Right here,
motherfucker!”
Alex chuckled in spite of himself. The leader of the Cat
People had been walking the earth for centuries, but he still looked and acted
like a college kid.
“Your fishing rod, moron.”
Tommy smoothed back his silky waist-length black hair. “Oh,
that. I left my rod and tackle down at the docks. Nobody will take it. And if
they do, it just means they needed it more than me.”
“What’s that, some kind of ancient Indian wisdom?”
“That’s Native American wisdom to you, dog breath.”
Alex shook his head and grinned. The tension that had
consumed him since he’d woken up in a cold sweat from his dream seemed to drain
away in Tommy’s presence. The Cat King always had a calming effect on Alex.
He’d been introduced to Tommy soon after his induction into the wolf pack.
Sergei had told Alex about the bears and other shifters, and
explained that they mostly kept to themselves. But the Cat People, he’d said, were
unlike any other supernatural beings. Their hierarchy wasn’t determined by
challenges or even lineage. There was just a cosmic understanding as to who
their leaders were. It was preordained and undeniable.
The U.S. population was divided by the Mississippi River and
Tommy Longtree was the undisputed leader of the eastern clan.
The two men rode in silence for a few miles and Tommy didn’t
flinch when the speedometer hovered around one-hundred-twenty. Finally the Cat
King spoke.
“So, this dream…”
Alex ran his hand through his hair. “Yeah, I’ll get to that.
First tell me about yours—the one you had before the…incident…with Gwen and her
dog.”
Tommy paused and cleared his throat. “About that, man, like
I said, I just misread the signs.”
“Just tell me what you saw, Longtree. What the hell
possessed you to nearly knock the block off of a fat golden retriever?”
“Okay, so the night after Markov told me about your new
human consort, the old one—John Chaney—came to me in my sleep. God, I liked
that old guy. He was very chill and the dude had a killer wine collection.”
Alex huffed
Alex had crossed lines himself that night. After he had
brought Gwen home, he had been overcome by his attraction to her. When she had
reciprocated, they’d been writhing around on her couch, lost in passion, when
Alex had felt himself start to shift. He had been out of control and it had
scared the hell out of him. Before they could finish the act, he’d bolted into
the night and run to Sergei’s home.
Sergei had eventually calmed Alex down and sent him on his
way. It had been the middle of the night, and Alex was so shaken that he’d
dialed up the Cat People’s leader—not caring if he woke him.
“What the hell, Longtree?” Alex had screamed into the phone.
“Listen man, I was just working with the information I had.
Markov told me the new human consort was in town, and I had this dream—”
“You scared the hell out of her and almost decapitated her
pet, Tommy!”
“I’m sorry, Alex. I thought she was in danger. My bad.”
“Your bad? Stay the fuck out of our territory, Longtree!”
Alex had hung up before letting the man-cougar explain.
* * * * *
Present
The tall, lean leader of the Cat People was exactly where
he’d said he would be—standing at the junction of the two-lane highway and the
rutted county road. Alex swung the ‘Vette onto the gravel shoulder and reached
across the passenger seat to push open the door.
“Where should I put these?” Tommy asked, holding out a
stringer heavy with sunfish.
“Throw ’em in the ditch,” Alex muttered.
Tommy glanced at his catch. “No fucking way, man. This is
dinner.”
Alex rolled his eyes. Fucking cats.
“I heard that, dude,” Tommy said, then folded his long body
into the sports car and laid the still-flopping fish on the floor mat between
his boots.
“Where’s your rod?” Alex asked.
Tommy grabbed the inside of his upper thigh. “Right here,
motherfucker!”
Alex chuckled in spite of himself. The leader of the Cat
People had been walking the earth for centuries, but he still looked and acted
like a college kid.
“Your fishing rod, moron.”
Tommy smoothed back his silky waist-length black hair. “Oh,
that. I left my rod and tackle down at the docks. Nobody will take it. And if
they do, it just means they needed it more than me.”
“What’s that, some kind of ancient Indian wisdom?”
“That’s Native American wisdom to you, dog breath.”
Alex shook his head and grinned. The tension that had
consumed him since he’d woken up in a cold sweat from his dream seemed to drain
away in Tommy’s presence. The Cat King always had a calming effect on Alex.
He’d been introduced to Tommy soon after his induction into the wolf pack.
Sergei had told Alex about the bears and other shifters, and
explained that they mostly kept to themselves. But the Cat People, he’d said, were
unlike any other supernatural beings. Their hierarchy wasn’t determined by
challenges or even lineage. There was just a cosmic understanding as to who
their leaders were. It was preordained and undeniable.
The U.S. population was divided by the Mississippi River and
Tommy Longtree was the undisputed leader of the eastern clan.
The two men rode in silence for a few miles and Tommy didn’t
flinch when the speedometer hovered around one-hundred-twenty. Finally the Cat
King spoke.
“So, this dream…”
Alex ran his hand through his hair. “Yeah, I’ll get to that.
First tell me about yours—the one you had before the…incident…with Gwen and her
dog.”
Tommy paused and cleared his throat. “About that, man, like
I said, I just misread the signs.”
“Just tell me what you saw, Longtree. What the hell
possessed you to nearly knock the block off of a fat golden retriever?”
“Okay, so the night after Markov told me about your new
human consort, the old one—John Chaney—came to me in my sleep. God, I liked
that old guy. He was very chill and the dude had a killer wine collection.”
Alex huffed
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