Page 36 of Were-Geeks Save a Kitten

“When I was in school, I learned Spanish. Did pretty well at it.” Yordan was thinking out loud, trying to twist his mind around something that wasn’t filled with massive disappointment. “Then I tried to learn Chinese. Don’t ask me why. It had something to do with those martial arts films.” He shrugged. “Anyway, it was a hell of a lot harder than I thought it’d be. Not just because it’s a totally different kind of language with all those tonal things, but because my brain was English and Other. Whenever I went to a language that wasn’t English, I ended up in Spanish. Then I had to consciously shift to Chinese.”

The kitten huffed out a breath. Kit didn’t even lift his head.

“Don’t you get it? When you change to a wolf, are you really thinking wolf? Or are you just thinking ‘change’?”

Kit lifted his head slowly, cocking it to the side. It was freaking adorable, and Yordan really wanted to scratch the puss under the chin. But he refrained.

“Remember when I said, ‘Don’t think’? What if you thought about going wolf? Like, actually becoming a wolf. All the little bits about being canine...”

He stopped talking because the temperature was dropping again, and the Scottish Fold kitten was surrounded in a golden glow.

Yordan held his breath. Kit probably did too.

And then, right in the center of the bed, stood a full-grown gray wolf. The creature was huge, his jaw was large, and he was abruptly dancing around and yipping like a puppy. Or a very happy Scotsman turned wolf.

Yordan threw himself enthusiastically into the joy. Nothing compared to moments like this where man and wolf could play together in absolute delight. If he were an insta-shift wolf, he would have joined Kit in canine play, but this was equally great. They played for a time until both of them dropped onto the floor in happy exhaustion.

And then Yordan sobered.

“You’ve got both the kitten and the wolf,” he said, a twinge of envy in his voice. “You lucky shit.” That could be a huge advantage. There were plenty of times when a huge wolf wouldn’t work. Just about any mission in a town or city. But a cute little kitten? “You can go anywhere and fit in.”

Kit leaned his whole canine body against Yordan and purred. Or at least attempted a purr. Wolf bodies didn’t really do that like cats could, and the resulting sound was funny as shit. Yordan laughed as he dug his fingers into Kit’s ruff.

“So, now you’re back, better than ever.” He took a breath. “And Pee said she could have all the bets collected by now. That leaves only one thing.”

He glanced down at Kit to see the canine face looking at him. The expression was serious, as was the slow dip of his chin as he shimmered back to human. A second later, Yordan had his arm resting on Kit’s naked back.

“We can’t go yet,” Kit said, his voice starting gravelly but stabilizing within seconds. Then he stood up and crossed naked to the computer. The man was in work mode now, and his entire body went from giddy enthusiasm to focused leader as he quickly pulled up his email. “You’re right,” he said after a moment, though Yordan hadn’t said a word. He was too busy admiring the man’s lean body. “The debts are all handled now, even Marsha’s. Plus, Pee says there hasn’t been a spin cycle in over a day. That tells us we’re on the right track.”

Yordan looked up. “Right track? We know—”

“We never know anything for sure with fairies.”

True enough.

“But all the other glitches seem to be gone too.” He tapped a few more keys. “Even our Hawaiian fever dream helo seems to be miraculously fixed.” He glanced out the window. “Looks like I’m not in hot water after all for losing that one.”

Yordan straightened up to his feet. “Bonus.”

“Yeah, but...” Kit continued tapping on the keys. “Recovery crew is coming up tomorrow to get the pieces. Nero’s pack finished their mission and is heading home.” He started listing off what every combat pack was doing and what they would need in the next few weeks while Yordan watched, amazed.

He’d never really thought deeply about the sheer logistical challenge of managing seven combat packs. Kit seemed to know what every piece of Wulf, Inc. was up to and how each person supported the whole. It was impressive as hell, and he began to realize that Kit couldn’t leave everything to chase a fairy. He was too important.

Which meant it had to be him.

“It’s all right, Kit,” he said as the man continued flipping through things on the computer. Wow, Yordan could barely process the spreadsheets Kit clicked through in a rapid tap-tap-tap. “I’ll go.”

“Not without me, you won’t.” It wasn’t a growl or even a threat. It was a simple statement when Yordan wasn’t even sure Kit was listening. “Both our names are on that page,” he continued.

“But you don’t need to. I can handle it, and frankly, you’re way more—”

“If you say I’m more important than you, I swear I’m going to deck you.” Kit stopped typing and looked straight at Yordan. “You’re thinking hierarchically,” he stated. “You need to think laterally. Or holistically. Or like my fucking lover.”

Yordan held up his hand. “You’re my boss. That’s a fact.”

Kit shrugged. “Every piece in the organization is important. Every combat wolf—that’s you and Coffee—supports the whole structure. Every nerve that coordinates the wolves is important. That’s what I do. And you, too, if I have anything to say about it.”

Yordan rolled his eyes. “Let’s leave my future employment out of this.”