Tiger's Mate

Chapter 26 prt. 2

•Ethan•

Soft rock still played through one ear when I opened my eyes again, knowing I had fallen asleep at one point after the bus had made the single stop to give students a quick break to get out at the gas station. My neck felt slightly sore from the bad angle I had slept against the seat, and that was the first thing I felt when I came to. I groaned quietly and rolled my neck, about to raise my arm to massage the back, but my right arm was being weighed down.

I blinked open my eyes, fully awake now as I dropped my gaze down to the source of warmth at my side. Katski was still asleep, the earbud still in his ear while he leaned on me with his head resting on my shoulder. Normally I didn't take to being used as a personal pillow, but for him I couldn't bring myself to move a centimetre. I didn't want to do anything that would disturb the damn perfect image of the werecat sleeping at my side. His eyes were closed, his breathing was gentle, everything about him seemed so soft and captivating and...vulnerable. Who the fuck would ever think of hurting him?

I shut my eyes tightly. Katski didn't talk about it, and he didn't bring up any mentions of the hunter or what had happened since the first time he told me, but I knew he still thought about it. Even now.

When we had been riding quietly awake in the bus earlier, there had been a moment I had seen his eyes fall a little distant. Looking out the window and simply watching the trees pass by, I was almost certain he had been thinking about his clan back home. Hell, I knew I wasn't the kind of guy that showed much affection but still, the thought of leaving my pack behind was simply an unthinkable idea for me. To actually do it caused pain beyond simply leaving your home. The bonds that lived between packs and clans, the tethers that made us strong and bound us together in kinships stronger than just blood were something many found impossible to let go of.

'I didn't want anyone in the clan getting hurt in case he found out...'

He was stronger than I think he gave himself credit for. For the very reason that he could give up the people I knew he cared for to protect them. In my mind, he was the furthest thing from a rogue or a deserter there could be.

He began to mutter incoherently in his sleep, shifting before slightly snuggling feeling into me.

Cat, I thought teasingly, letting my earlier thinkings fade away as I smiled down at him — certain no one could see. He was all mine.

I really didn't want to ruin the perfect image I had currently snuggled against me like a house cat, but I knew my options were thin when the bus made a turn and dropped pace. To be fun, I reached over with my free arm and gently placed it over his fine honey brown hair before giving it a playful ruffle.

"Get up Kitty Cat, we're here."

His closed eyes furrowed cutely before he blinked open drowsily. "Hm, huh?"

"So much for those three cups of coffee you mentioned," I said with a light chuckle, deciding to ruffle his hair again and mess it up even more.

"Hey cut it out jerk," he muttered as he shook me off and got up from my shoulder, yawning while I worked to get the circulation back into my sleeping arm.

He flashed a glance and noticed and it seemed from the expression of surprise he made that he had only just realized where he had been making himself so comfortable. Upon looking up to catch the smirk on my face he ducked his head sheepishly and looked away. In that moment I did something entirely impulsive and raised my phone to snap a picture of this moment. The little click caught his attention, but he was too late to realize or stop me.