Page 9 of Remy & the Wildcat
He turned into the breeze and inhaled again, more slowly this time, and then he picked up a scent that didn’t belong. It was a little more wild, a little more sweet, than anything he’d ever smelled in the woods before. Like a late-blooming flower or the way the low-banked bonfire could smell sweet and smokey at the same time.
His father padded over to him, nudging him with a curious whine.
It would have been super handy to be able to talk in his shift, but he wasn’t sure what he’d say anyway.
Tilting his head, he listened intently, and in the distance he heard a few low howls and yips, which meant some pack members had found something fun to chase. But in the midst of those sounds was another one, like a warning from a cat. He remembered hearing that sound when Lyric had brought her mountain lion mates home. It was the sound of distress.
As far as he knew, there weren’t any mountain lions hanging with the pack tonight, which meant it might be a natural cat out in the woods, but that seemed a little unlikely since the territory smelled strongly of wolves.
His heart clenched and his wolf let out a worried howl in his head.
He wasn’t sure why, but he was very worried about whatever had made that sound.
Giving his dad and brother an encouraging follow me bark, he raced off in the direction of the scent he’d picked up, hearing the sounds of the pack on the trail of something.
He ducked under logs, leaped over shrubs and rocks, and made his way toward the far edge of the territory.
As he passed a huge oak, he caught up to a few of the slower pack members who were following a few young males. Ahead in the darkness but illuminated by the full moon, was a cornered animal, hissing and baring thick fangs.
It looked a little bit like a mountain lion, but smaller and fluffier, and seriously pissed and scared.
The moment the cat met his gaze with its cranberry red eyes, everything within him clicked into place.
That was no normal wild animal, that was a cat shifter.
And his truemate.
Letting out an unholy, furious howl, he charged through the males who were inching closer to his female, clawing and biting to fend them off, and putting himself between the female and the approaching males.
He loved that his dad and brother joined him without even needing to know why, they just stood shoulder to shoulder with him, warning the males to keep their distance.
The female was panting hard and making a curious, but wary sound.
Linus barked at the males, moving forward and sending them off to hunt something else.
Only when they were alone, did Remy relax enough to turn to face her.
She was…freaking adorable.
Her ears were down, her red eyes wide, and her whiskers twitching. She was smaller than him with tawny fur with faint stripes on her back, and a fluffy tail.
He sat on his haunches and whined, looking up at the sky and then lowering his head.
It was a little earlier than he wanted to be out of his shift, but he didn’t want to risk her taking off if she was still scared.
He let go of his shift, his human body returning. He rolled his neck and stretched, and then squatted down, twisting his body so he wasn’t flashing his junk at her.
“Hey, sweetheart. I’m Remy. You’re in the Tressel Pack territory, and those wolves were young and clearly didn’t know you were a shifter. Are you okay? Are you hurt?”
She regarded him closely, then her mouth parted and he could hear her inhaling deeply. She purred softly and his heart skipped a beat at the sweet sound. Staring at him for a long moment, he saw her eyes change from cranberry to emerald, and then she ducked behind the tree and he could hear the sound of her shifting to human.
Glancing at his dad, he said, “Would one of you run to the house and bring some clothes for us?”
Lennox barked in understanding and loped off. Linus made a curious sound and Remy whispered, “She’s my truemate, Dad.”
Linus’s brows lifted and then he gave him a wolfy smile.
Remy chuckled, then said, “You okay back there?”