Cat Scratch Fever; Blue-Collar Werewolves V (22 page)

They laid him on the bed as the door shut
loud enough to pull her back to the present. Silence reigned.
Feeling the alpha wolven’s attention shift to her, Naomi moved her
hand from where she’d sunk her fingers into his hair again. She
lifted her chin, and sat on the bed. Let them think what they
wanted; she needed to see for herself that he would live.

“I am Diana Weis,” The alpha female held out
a hand, which Naomi took, though she had to let go of Matthew to do
so. This close, she could tell that the woman was no wolven. Rumors
that the wolves were taking mates outside their species had been
floating around for years. The conformation registered numbly
inside Naomi.

Shaken, but by no means weak, Diana glanced
down at Matthew once more before taking Brandon in across the room.
Her words were meant for Naomi, but her attention was more for her
newly resurrected wolf. “We’ll talk once you get settled in.” She
left her mate’s side to approach Brandon.

The big blond male held out a hand, “Adam
Weis.”

Taking the huge hand, Naomi studied the man.
She bowed her head formally. “Naomi Lindi. Daughter of Shiar Lindi,
Lia of the Primus Lion family.” Taking her hand back she laid her
palm over where the god’s mark was on her chest. With a turn of her
head, she included Diana in the greeting. If there was one thing
that Naomi’s mother had drilled into her, it was to
never
come onto a strange female’s territory without establishing clear
boundaries of respect. “I am honored to be permitted in your
territory.”

“You and yours are welcome Naomi.” Adam gave
her a small smile the pulled the hard line of his lips up slightly.
She had a feeling that if the man ever really smiled, it would be
devastating. His cool blue eyes were fixed on Brandon as well. “You
have brought my son home safe. For that I am thankful.”

Naomi shook her head, retrieving her hand so
that she could touch Matthew once more to remind herself that he
was really alive. “No. The rescuing was definitely all Brandon and
Nathan’s doing.”

“And Matthew,” Nathan interrupted to meet
Brandon’s eyes. The wolven nodded his agreement. Nathan raised an
eyebrow. “Did he really take on the gods?”

“What do you think?” Brandon lightly touched
Diana on the shoulder and nodded to Adam before coming to kneel in
front of Naomi. Her eyes widened at the strange warm touch of wolf
and cat that emanated from him. His eyes had lightened from dark
brown to hazel. The magic of the wolf and cat inside him smelled
and ran wild. The depths of his eyes spoke of the thin veneer of
civilization that kept him human. “Lia, don’t leave him alone. Keep
Nathan at hand and
listen
to him.” The tips of his fingers
pressed his point home on her knee. “If you need privacy, then call
for him or myself.”

Naomi wanted to ask about Morrow, but she
obeyed the silent warning in his eyes. There was something between
Brandon and Matthew now, a bond that had been forged by their near
deaths. She was honored that he’d include her.

“What are you?” The question slipped out,
breaking the small warm connection she’d made with him.

Like the wild thing he was, he stood and
strode to the door, ignoring her question as if she’d never spoke.
He looked at Nathan, his demeanor obviously one of one guard
passing duty on to the next. The same dynamic the two had sorted
out during their escape. “I want Dr. Davidson to look him over
before he goes home. Then, I’ve got things to tend to.”

Nathan nodded. “Diaper duty. Check.” Without
another glance back, he slipped out of the room. Adam and Diana
followed him out. From the looks on the alphas’ faces, Naomi could
tell that they weren’t happy or comfortable with the situation and
they wanted answers. With the wolven alpha pair gone, all that
remained was her, Nathan and their comatose Leo.

Naomi sighed. Her eyes drifted shut. She
wanted to sleep for a week. She jerked into full alertness when
Nathan knelt like Brandon had done earlier.

“My Lia.” His head bowed, forehead touching
her knee. It was all very strange and she touched his arm to urge
him upward. His hands slipped around her calves, warm and feline.
“Shhh. Wait,” Nathan whispered. “I didn’t get a chance to tell you.
There is a lot you need to know.”

“Nathan, get up.” She frowned, giving up on
prying him loose and settling her hand on his shoulder. The poor
guy. That he’d set himself up as their protector was, sweet? Kind?
It told much about his devotion and only a part of how far he’d
pushed himself to be where he thought the cat god wanted him. His
exhaustion made her want to take care of him. “You keep treating me
like some kind of queen from before the Wandering. And I’m not. You
need to rest.”

“
Listen—”
The door opened on Nathan’s
words. The werepanther’s lip curled into a snarl as he assessed the
intruders from his crouched position.

A woman's voice interrupted them. “Nathan. I
should have guessed who gave the wolven the idea that the Leo had
already taken a mate,” she drawled. Diana Weis, the wary doctor,
and tall dangerous looking wolven walked in behind her. A long
braid that trailed over his shoulder to his waist did not take away
from the aura of danger that exuded from him. The wolven’s casual,
long limbed body was that of a predator, the ultimate hunter, who
would and could defend his Pack.

Nathan stood, placing himself between them
and the female who strode into the room. In the midst of the scents
of wolf and construction, Naomi picked out the smell of leopard
female, very definitely not Nathan. Her tight jeans rode low on her
body, giving a glimpse of her taut belly not covered by the tank
top that managed not to cover the distinctive cat’s eye birthmark
on her chest. Her short black hair fell in layers around her face
with its calculating green-gold eyes and deceptively delicate
shoulders.

“Both Brandon and your tiger tell me that
you would want to meet with your…” Diana paused, a crease forming
between her eyebrows as she watched Naomi. The air in the room
tingled with tension. “
cat.
She arrived yesterday, insistent
on being informed when Nathan arrived.” She glanced at Nathan then
the female before returning her gaze to Naomi. “She says she is
here for the Leo.”

Naomi walked around Nathan, sizing up the
other woman. She might be relatively innocent in the ways of men,
but women, now that was another story. Lionesses grew up in female
dominant households. What males that were born usually took off as
soon as the Wandering hit. Female cycles in the different species
of werecat were regular and weak until a male came into
breeding.

Then the fur really flew while hormones and
emotions ran high, sneaky dramas played out, ending when he finally
chose and the couple locked themselves behind closed doors until
the female was pregnant. His biological task finished, the male
took up his Wandering again. This female was no different as she
stood defiantly in the middle of the room and inhaled Matthew’s
scent.

Outside, more wolves waited in the hall
while the leather clad one followed Nathan’s example by putting
himself in front of both his alpha female and the frail human
doctor. Naomi was thankful for that, seeing as how the doctor had
come along to help them out. It irritated her that this woman
threatened the wolves hospitality because she thought she had a
chance with Matthew.

Only a couple of minutes had passed since
the interruption and Naomi frowned, realizing that there would be a
choice after all. She’d never thought that there would be other
candidates for the position of the Leo’s mate. Silly her, of course
the biology here would follow true to the cat’s natures. “I am
Naomi,” she tried for neutrality, failing on the hint of the growl
that trickled after. The female glared at Nathan who’d blocked her
line of sight of the weakened Leo. “and you are?”

“The competition,” she snarled, flicking
Naomi’s presence off like a dirty peasant. “Not that you look like
much in that department. You can leave now.”

Fury rolled through Naomi. The cat god
thought that
this
was a suitable candidate for Matthew’s
affection? She could understand some female who understood the
responsibility of leadership, like her mother or sister Daria who’d
been chosen as Shiar’s heir to be the Lia for the Primus family.
She moved fast, inserting herself between the stranger and Matthew.
“Get out.” She felt Nathan’s comforting presence behind her, but
did not acknowledge him. This was a female’s fight. Mate-mark or
no, there was no way Naomi was letting this skank near Matthew.

“I have a right.” The woman used painted
nails to pull down the neck of her top to fully expose her mark.
“Do you?”

The challenge spurred the unfamiliar fury to
action. Naomi rolled forward, inserting a foot between the other
woman’s. With a quick hook, she pulled one foot out and pushed the
female over. She embraced the Change. Fast. They hit the floor with
Naomi’s lioness’s teeth already around the other woman’s
throat.

With a thrust of magic, she enforced the
dominance lesson that her mother Shiar favored over disobedient
females who thought to topple the Lia from her leadership. Naomi,
charged the power, pouring it over the female’s skin like a
combination of static electricity rubbing fur the wrong way. The
air crackled, making the female’s hair lift. One more push and
Naomi’s opponent mewled and went limp, her eyes wide with more than
a little electrical shock.

Naomi let go, shifting her body back to
human as the woman crab walked backward to the tense wolves at the
door. “Stop,” she ordered, building power again when the female
didn’t stop fast enough. “Your name.” she wanted to know which
little kitty-cat to watch out for.

“You can’t do that.” Said the frightened
wereleopard. “No one can do that.”

“Our Canis Matra can.” Injected the wolven
male. Diana gave him a warning tap and he looked down at the much
smaller woman. “What do you call the alphas of the werecats?”

“The Leo and Lia,” said Nathan before his
attention shifted and he approached the shaking leopard female. He
reached down and pulled her up. “You may want to answer the Lia
with a tad bit more respect cousin.” He smiled wide and snapped the
air with sharp cat’s teeth. “Because what she leaves, I will
finish.”

“She isn’t the Lia.” Insisted the female.
“You said that he has to pick from the candidates and
that
female would be the Lia.”

“You said…what?” Naomi wanted to know.
Especially with the slight flush that tipped Nathan’s ears.

He looked back at her with pure chagrin
touching his eyes. “I may have been a little vocal about my visions
as a kit.”

The female jerked her arm, without success
of dislodging it from Nathan’s grasp. “Vocal? Nate, you’ve always
been crazy.”

Naomi shocked her again, taking a bit of
relish out of the squeal. “Your name?”

“Patrice.” Nathan shook her. “Patrice
Parda.” She glared at Naomi. “But you’re not the Lia. Not yet.” She
hazarded another sneer at Naomi. “We don’t even know if you have
the mark.”

“She has it,” Nathan assured her before
shoving her toward the door. The wolven male stopped her with a
hand on the shoulder as Nathan fired his last verbal volley. “A
real queen doesn’t have to flaunt herself. She simply is.” He gave
a small bow and a smile aimed for Diana. “Much like the Canis
Matra.”

“This is your last warning, Patrice Parda.”
Naomi made sure the words held a nice formal tone so that there
would be no misunderstanding. “Get out of my sight. Leave the
wolven territory without any more trouble.”

Patrice’s mouth dropped. “But I have a
right…”

“No, you don’t.” Naomi told her with a
possessive smile and a tilt of her head. “If I find you anywhere
near the Leo, I will rip out your heart with my own claws.” And she
would. “Is that in any way unclear?”

Patrice nodded as the wolven male shoved her
out the door and gave her a push down the hall. “Carter! Make
yourself useful and give the lady a ride out of the county.”

Diana led the way into the room, waving away
her protector’s concern. “Enough, Chase. The doctor still has to
look Matthew over and Naomi needs to change clothes.” In her other
hand, she handed Naomi a bundle of clothing as she glanced
hopefully at Matthew. “Has there been any change?”

“Not since this morning,” Nathan’s cheeky
answer was met by both Diana and Naomi’s cool expressions. He mimed
a zipped lip and retreated to the other side of the bed. “Shutting
up now.”

Dr. Davidson approached the bed. An
uncertain smile hovered on his graying and worn features. Setting a
brown leather satchel by the bed, he had a wary, overwhelmed look
of someone who had gotten much more than he bargained for. Bending
down, he gingerly touched Matthew’s shoulder. When no sudden or
violent response occurred and he continued his quiet repose, the
doctor became bolder. From the satchel, he removed a stethoscope
and listened to Matthew’s heart. Peered into his eyes and watched
responses to a penlight before moving on to major orifices. He took
a temperature reading with an electronic thermometer. He frowned
staring at the readout. “His temp is reading at one hundred and
nine. But I believe that is close to normal for supernaturals?” he
glanced up at Naomi for conformation.

She nodded. “Yes, for shape shifters. I
would imagine that vampires have a low body temp. Fairy kind, I
have no idea.”

The doctor’s eyebrows rose nearly off his
head. “Fairies?”

“Ha-ha,” Nathan grinned, before shooting him
with a finger gun. “Gotcha, doc.” Distracted, the doctor laughed as
Nathan gave a tiny shake of his head in Naomi’s direction. Uh-oh.
Apparently, fairies were still in the proverbial closet. She faked
a laugh, feeling a little bit of guilt at the doctor’s
embarrassment for having fallen for her ‘joke’.