To Love a Stray Ch. 06

"Feeling better now?" She asks.

"Yes but these clothes really aren't me," I tell her uncomfortably.

Wade half turns in his chair to look at me and grins, "Now with all the trouble I had keeping those two big sons of mine away from the house I'd take it as a personal favour if you would walk over to the warrior quarters like that and make those boys turn somersaults." He says as his eyes tell me exactly what a male werecat thinks of my outfit.

"They'll get the wrong idea!" I protest.

"Well make them toe the line. Show them you're not the push over they were hoping for," Wade tells me. "Come on, I'll walk over there with you. I want to see them get put in their places."

I watch as both Wade and Marissa get to their feet leaving their half finished cups of coffee on the table, I follow them from the house reluctant to go over to The Quarters the way I look but I have no real choice. Marissa waves me up to walk beside her and I chew on my bottom lip nervously as Wade places both index fingers in his mouth and whistles shrilly. The first out of the door are Donovan and Justin followed by Mitchell.

"It's Rosy!" Donovan yells and runs towards me; he grabs me around the waist and hugs me fondly. "I thought you were dying yesterday!" he declares as he leans back to look at me. He's nearly as tall as me I realise and not far from being mature enough to understand a heat cycle.

"Rosy!" Mitchell says warmly and I grin at him, "You okay?"

"Better than okay," I say happily.

"Uh oh! Here comes Micah," Donovan warns and moves away. I glance up in time to see Micah stalking towards me with an angry scowl on his face before I am engulfed in his arms and he is openly sniffing at me and pulling me up against his taunt body.

"Stop it! Micah! Stop it!" I protest as I try to struggle but he is holding me too tightly and I can't get my arms up between us.

"Micah! Back off now! You know better than to treat a she-kitt like that!" Wade orders sternly and I can feel the reluctance in Micah as he lets me push myself out of his arms. Edwin is right there to grab me but one discreet sniff and he quickly releases me with a disappointed smile. Steven has seen enough to back off with a friendly grin and I frown angrily at Micah before turning to Sam and giving him a brief hug.

"Micah, you had better behave yourself! If I even suspect you have stepped out of line I will come down on you very hard." Wade warns with a serious frown.

"I had better not smell any toms from any of the other clans having been here," Micah growls.

"You arsehole!" I yell at him angrily, "You had better not of meant what I think you meant! I have had it up to here ..." I motion over my head, "...with ..." I scream with anger as I am lost for words and I ball my fist up and punch him in the stomach as hard as I can. His breath comes out with a satisfying whoosh and I storm into the building.

I can hear the others laughing outside and I head for Mitchell and Sam's room, I hurriedly strip off the offending clothes take a deep breath and unleash my cat. She comes racing out and I welcome the pain as my body changes with an explosion of energy. I yawn and flex my whiskers, arch my neck and stretch delicately before heading for the back door at a sedate pace. Everyone falls silent as I nudge the screen door open and walk outside. I walk up to Mitchell, Sam and Dwayne in turn and nudge their leg before walking several steps towards the tree line and looking back over my shoulder at them.

"I'm going too," Edwin declares as he begins to strip his clothes off.

"Can we go too Dad?" Donovan asks excitedly.

"No, You, Justin and Jazzy have to stay here. Rosy hasn't hunted with the others before and they have to get used to each other," Marissa cuts in.

I start towards the tree line at a trot, my ears twitching backwards and forwards listening for the dreaded sound of pursuit. When it comes I bolt forward for a short distance before managing to collect myself and stop to turn and face those behind me. Micah is the first to reach me and I snarl my displeasure at him and slap at his head with sheathed claws before extending my nose for a friendly sniff, Sam rubs down one of my sides and I turn my head towards him with interest but Micah reclaims my attention with a nip to my shoulder.

Mitchell arrives and I greet him with a purr before turning my attention to the others who arrive on mass. Someone licks my side and someone else nips me low on the foreleg while others jostle each other to rub themselves against me. Finally having enough I lay my ears back and snarl a warning, all but Micah back off and I whirl away to go racing along the tree line for a short distance before turning into the trees.

I am fast as I twist and turn through the undergrowth; I hear the others falling behind and twitch my ears as I try to work out who is managing to stay fairly close. I pause on top of a log and look back for an instant before running once again. Further on I stop on top of a stump and look back, in the lead is clearly Micah by his size with Edwin a close second and three not far behind. I turn and run once again only this time I notch my speed up and take to the trees for nearly a quarter of a mile before hitting the ground at full speed. I slow up and rotate my ears listening for pursuit, hearing only faint sounds I slow to a stop and leap up onto a fallen log in clear view.

I have recovered my breath and am ready to continue on running when two werecats come into sight, I call and they change course slightly to head my way and I jump down to meet them. Edwin is first to reach me and rubs his head on my shoulder before sitting down to catch his breath. Mitchell is a short step behind him and greets me enthusiastically before laying down to rest. Edwin rises to his feet to give several long coughing calls before coming over to rub his head on me roughly, I gather he isn't very happy with me for some reason and I set about grooming his shoulder trying to calm him down.

Micah is only a short time reaching us followed closely by Sam who bites me gently and cuffs me several times until I lay my ears back and hiss at him. Chris, Malcolm, Timny and Dwayne arrive with Dwayne limping in one foreleg. Steven is the last to arrive and clearly in a bad mood as he snarls at me and receives a hard cuff from Micah. There is a melee as we greet each other and the toms try to outdo each other rubbing against me, finally I hiss and spit snapping my teeth near their flanks until they quickly retreat.

Micah grabs me by the back of the neck biting down until I cower on the ground submissively. He keeps a firm hold on me as he moves to stand over me.

My cat happily lifts our tail as he moves over me and the shock as he enters my passage pumping eagerly holds me still until he surges deep inside me releasing his seed. I screech in surprise and jump from under him pulling out of his hold on my neck as I turn and swipe at his shoulder taking care not to use my claws harshly. He backs away looking as surprised as I feel and I turn away to sit down and clean myself intimately after his service. Chris nudges my shoulder and I turn towards him with an angry growl, Mitchell comes forward with a whine but I get up and begin walking away.

Micah moves up beside me and I lay my ears back in warning but allow him to nuzzle me around my ears before he takes the lead as we move through the trees. I hesitate mid step to nose a deer print but the print is old with grains of sand blown into it and the scent has gone. Micah leads us up a slight hill and slows so he can sneak forward and look ahead, his tail is twitching and I watch it for a few moments before boldly walking up beside him.

Ahead of us is a small clearing along the banks of a shallow stream and nibbling the grass are four deer. I freeze and drop into a crouch before inching forward, a sharp nip on my flank makes me jerk and glance back, the others are creeping forward and I slow my approach so they have a chance to get into position as well. Micah moves to the lead and I focus on a small doe behind the others, she is fat and shiny with a tendency to look around with every second or third bite. I carefully settle each of my paws in the leaves and twigs as I keep half an eye on Micah, his haunches bunch and then he is leaping towards the deer. The slight noises around me as the others leap forward break my concentration for a split second and I am a leap behind the others as they rush forward.

My deer gives a startled jump as she jerks her head up but I am landing from my first leap and bringing my hind feet up outside my front feet and power housing ahead in another long leap. The deer manages two startled jumps and then I hit her hard in a messy take down that has us both tumbling over and over, my jaws are clamped around her throat as I come to a rest on my stomach and I can taste the sweet blood that pours into my mouth. When the deer has twitched for the last time I stand up and grasp her carcase by the neck as I straddle it and begin to drag it towards the cover of the trees. I tear into the deer eating hungrily, blood runs from the meat and I purr as I rip chunks free. I look up as I hear a whine and see Sam standing watching me eat, I look around to see the others sharing the meat from the kills.

Micah and Steven are eating together while Edwin, Malcolm and Chris eat from another carcase. The last carcase is host to Mitchell, Dwayne and Timny while Sam watches me. My first instinct is to growl and protect my kill but seeing the others eating together I lie down and lower my head submissively. Sam moves towards my deer slowly and looks from the carcase, to me then back again asking permission to eat silently. I begin eating once again and soon his muzzle is buried in the carcase beside mine as we both eat hungrily. When I have eaten my fill I sit up and begin to clean my face, eating a kill is always a messy thing for me and I lick my lips before using my paw to clean my muzzle. The venison has been a treat I don't often have.

I walk to the stream and drink my fill before lifting my head to look around, the others are cleaning themselves after eating and I notice not much remains of any of the deer. Edwin comes over for a drink before standing beside me and rubbing his head on my shoulder, when this gets no rebuff he begins cleaning my face near my ears and I lower my head and turn it so he stops. Micah comes over and rubs against my side and I lean into his body as he turns around and comes up between Edwin and me rubbing against that side as well, he rests his chin on the back of my neck for a moment before moving away to drink. Gradually everyone make their way over for a drink before Micah turns and with a soft grunt heads off towards the trees. The others turn to follow him and I hesitate a moment as I glance back at what's left of my kill before I trot after them.

I trot along beside Mitchell for a while before growing bored and taking to the trees, I hear Micah calling me and I stop to look down at him from my perch on a branch. I yawn and show my teeth off before jumping down from the tree to trot along with the others once more. I begin to grow tired from the exercise with a full stomach and settle into a steady walk along side Mitchell, I stop and watch the others continue on until Micah stops and looks back at me. He motions with his head the way he is headed but I sit down and don't follow his urging to get me to walk with them, he returns to me and rubs his head on my shoulder but I shy away from him and race past him to run on ahead.

I slip into my fast paced travelling trot and am surprised when the toms catch up to me and keep pace, we travel quickly now and finally leave the trees to come out in the clearing of the compound. I break into a sprint and head for the quarters, Edwin keeps pace with me for a short distance and I stretch out a little more as I dig in for more speed. I am alone for the time it takes me to shift and I reach for my clothes hurriedly as I hear the others enter the building, the memory of Micah mounting me and serving me sets my temper burning and I storm through the house looking for him. I find him outside in the middle of his shift and I grab up a t-shirt I recognise as his intending to hit him with it, I swing my arm back but I am grabbed from behind and swung away from him.

"No you don't! Never ever touch anyone while they are shifting!" Mitchell orders as he firmly plants his body between Micah and me.

"Touch him! I'm going to fucking well smash him!" I yell angrily as I try to step around him.

"Don't touch anyone while they shift!" Steven yells at me as he comes over to stand beside Mitchell.

"What's going on?" Sam demands as he comes over to us pulling his jeans on.

"She was going to touch Micah in the middle his shift!" Steven exclaims outraged and Sam grabs me by one arm and drags me back inside.

"You can't go touching someone in the middle of their shift; they are totally vulnerable and defenceless!" Sam tells me angrily.

"You saw what he did to me out there didn't you?" I yell at him.

"I didn't realise what the heck was happening until you screamed and jumped away from him!" Sam says looking upset. The screen door bangs loudly and Micah storms into the room, I turn to face him angrily but he towers over me and I take a step backwards.

"Don't you ever try to do anything when I am shifting!" Micah roars angrily.

"You make one of them your bitch because if you ever do that to me again I will neuter you with one swipe of my claws!" I yell back at him.

"I don't seem to recall you protesting while I was doing it!" Micah snarls at me as he rubs at the long shallow scratch marks that start near the point of his shoulder and travel nearly all the way down to his elbow.

"I thought you were just being all dominant tom until I realised where you were!" I snap as my anger starts to leave me and I start feeling embarrassed.

"I'm having first shower!" Micah snaps and walks away leaving me standing there. I become aware of the other toms coming into the lounge room, several of them are sniffing loudly and when I glance their way I am mortified as I realise they can smell sex on me.

"Why did you try to run away?" Mitchell asks me.

"I wasn't running away," I say surprised and glance at Sam.

"Weren't you?" He asks doubtfully.

"No, I was just running for the sake of running after being ..." I let my voice trail off without mentioning the cage I had been in and I look away uncomfortably. I try not to remember that each time before when I had run I had indeed been running away and I almost grimace to myself as I realise my past was colouring their view of me.

"You wouldn't understand," I mutter and head outside. I sit in the shade along the side of the building feeling miserable, the hunt had been supposed to make me feel better -- feel more like me but all it had managed was making the others doubt me.

"You okay?" It's Edwin who has found me and he eases down not far from me.

"Just go away and leave me alone," I say miserably, my misery does not like company.

"Just for the record ... I know you weren't running away. There was no fear or stress in your scent," Edwin says lightly before getting back to his feet and walking off. I turn my head and watch him go stunned he actually believes me. There is a yearning deep inside me to leave this place and yet I am reluctant to go and leave the toms behind, I groan as I close my eyes and lower my head.

"Sulking are you?" Steven startles me out of my thoughts and I lift my head to glance his way. He is standing with his arms crossed and feet akimbo, he looks angry and very very intimidating from my position sitting on the ground.

"What do you want?" I ask dryly.

"Micah says you're to come inside where we can keep an eye on you," Steven tells me tightly.

Ah so he doesn't like being used as a messenger boy and he hasn't forgiven me for being ready to smash Micah while he was changing.

I get to my feet and head inside ignoring Steven who walks behind me, I don't let him know he is getting to me as the sound of his steps behind me make me feel like I am being stalked. I head for the shower and am relieved to find it free, I shut the door behind me and quickly strip then turn on the water. I wash myself and take care to wash away as much evidence of Micah's service as I can; finally I am satisfied with the results and step from the shower. I only have the clothes I had on with me so I dress but leave off my underpants that smell of sex with Micah and crumple them up in my hand before I turn to the sink and rinse them thoroughly. In the lounge room I find Doc seated in one of the chairs while the others are spread out all over the room.

"Hallo Rosy. Would you mind if I took a blood sample so we can try to work out which clan you're closest related to?" Doc asks.

"Actually yes I would mind," I say annoyed.

"It would help with some research I've been working on, trying to trace back which werecats are actually interbreeding with humans." Doc tells me patiently.

"Frankly I'm not interested," I tell him levelly.

"Ok, can you answer a few simple questions?" Doc asks resigned.

"Such as?" I counter.

"You're a Caruthers right? Harry Caruthers was your father?" Doc gets a note pad and pen out.

"In everyway that matters yes, but if you mean biologically then no. He was my step-father; he fell in love with my Mum not long before I was born." I say tightly.

"You know your mothers family name? Who your biological father is?" Doc asks evenly.

"Well I been told two different versions on that count, either my father is a mongrel bastard who uses women as a punching bag or he is some slime ball who gets a married woman pregnant then leaves her to face her husband alone. Either way a low down cunt in my estimation," I say bitterly

"Who told you two different stories?" Doc queries softly.

"Donald Caruthers is my step father's uncle and the guy I used to work for, he told me the abused story. He told me my mother was too frightened to go back to her husband; he believed the guy abused her. She said too much had happened to be able to go back. When I asked Harry about it he told me a different story, claims Mum said she couldn't go back and break her husbands heart with the child she carried -- me. He figured she must have had an affair and got pregnant with this other guy and her old man couldn't have kids or didn't want them, me. Harry said Jeddah always claimed her unborn baby was her last chance, but either way she was damned." I can't keep the bitterness out of my voice as I remember my turmoil as a child.

"Who's Jeddah?" Doc asks.

"Jeddah MacIntosh, my mother. Harry called her Miss Molly," I say bluntly.

"I don't...!" Sam exclaims but is shushed by Micah I guess they all want to hear the grimy details.

"Do you know the name of her husband?" Doc asks in a strained voice.

"Ray MacIntosh," Mitchell supplies the name and I turn towards him with a snarl.

"How do you know the low down cunts name?" I challenge him.

"He's our father," Sam says getting to his feet, "Jeddah was our mothers name,"

"That's fucking crap! My mother would never have left any of her children! Hell both Doc and Harry said she was so paranoid about something happening to me she never let me out of her sight! Harry said the only reason I wasn't with her when she died was because she went out to get something to eat," I say in disbelief.

"Don't you see Rosy? You were the she-kitt they tried so hard for! The one that lived!" Mitchell tries to tell me with excitement.

"What! You're saying I was born a werecat! That's fucking bullshit! I didn't change until after a cat had attacked me! I was human!" I yell furiously in disbelief.