Chapter 23 Calder
TWENTY-THREE
Calder
I shoot a text to the pack group chat.
ME
Kady’s cat is missing. She needs help looking for him. Are you in?
I grimace, shooting over a picture of Larry’s squished face along with a map that Kady has divided into sections for us to search. I can’t help but be jealous of that damned cat, which is pathetic—I know—because of the way her eyes light up whenever she talks about him.
Maybe I shouldn’t have agreed to help her. I’ve been the one advising the others to stay away from her, knowing Kady’s father is likely to cause trouble, yet I can’t seem to take my own advice.
I can still smell her sweet slick all over my hand.
Fuck, seeing the blissful expression on her face when she comes is going to be permanently etched in my mind—her parted pink lips, her breathy moans.
The stunning omega who always tries to hold it together, letting herself go and surrendering to me exceeded every expectation I didn't even know I had. What I wouldn’t give to get her alone and fully have her submit to me.
“Pull yourself together,” I mutter to myself, readjusting my boner in my pants. I’m supposed to be looking for a cat, not fantasizing about its owner.
Ezra is first to reply.
EZRA
Not sure I should be on campus right now.
ME
Apparently, the Blandon Pack is looking for the damn cat too. We need to find him before those assholes do.
HALE
You’re joining the search, @Ezra. That’s an order.
I despised the Blandon Pack from the first time I saw pictures of them splashed over The Valley Voice blog. But this vendetta of theirs is going too far. We need to take action to stop it before someone gets seriously hurt. Dread churns in my stomach. What if something happens to Kady next?
RIVEN
Almost at the TVV office…
HALE
We’re on our way. Be there in ten. We’ll find the little guy.
I vault down the stairs to find Riven waiting at the door.
“How’s your telescope?” I check his expression for any signs of distress. “Kady told me what happened earlier.”
Sometimes, it’s the small things that can throw Riven off for a few days and make him withdraw into his own shell. However, he seems surprisingly well-composed, considering.
“It’s fixable.” His brows draw together. “Where should we start looking?”
“The alpha quad,” I reply. “I didn’t want Kady and her friends walking around there alone.”
Not that I don’t trust Kady to handle herself. She’s already proven that she’s more than capable on multiple occasions. However, when I think of her around other unbonded alphas, my fists involuntarily clench. The thought of another alpha even looking at her makes my skin prickle with unease.
“When Ezra and Hale get here, we’ll split up some of the other areas too,” I continue. “Let me text Kady an update.”
I quickly create a new group chat called “Larry Search Party.”
ME
I thought we could start a chat to keep you updated on where we’re searching. Riven and I are heading to the alpha quad first.
KADY
The Blandon Pack live in House 29.
HALE
We’ll find him, Kady.
She doesn’t reply, only sends more Larry pictures.
There’re at least fifteen of them—Larry sprawled over a cushion, Larry’s giant paws playing with a curtain, Larry cuddled up in Kady’s lap wearing a smug smile, and him tucked into sheets, rubbing his whiskers against her bare leg.
I swallow hard at the sight of her smooth, silky skin.
How is it rational to feel this jealous of a damn orange fluff ball?
Riven and I grab a golf cart then speed off to the alpha quad.
The moment we park, we hop out, stopping every alpha we see to show them a photograph.
Most simply laugh or make a snarky remark about Larry’s appearance.
Their attitudes irk me—so much so that I’m starting to become protective over him myself.
Finally, Hale and Ezra appear, parking Janice then joining us. Between the four of us, we come up with a plan to cover the entire quad. It’s a large area, so there are many places for a cat to hide. If we don’t find him soon, we’ll have to print fliers.
“Larry!” I pace down the sidewalk. “Larry!”
Up ahead, I spot Shea Cockburn, slinking back to his house.
His hands are empty, but I watch him closely.
I hang back until he’s gone inside, then I approach their pack house.
My nose wrinkles at the smell of rotting garbage.
The place is an absolute dump, with overflowing trash bags piled outside.
How can three guys produce so much waste?
I sneak down the side of the house, craning to look over the gate into their yard. Unsurprisingly, it’s also filled with junk—broken bicycles, a few smashed-up barbecues, and mechanical parts that look like they’ve been pulled from a rusty car.
That’s when I hear it. A faint scratching noise coming from an overturned trash can coupled with a faint meow.
It can’t be… Can it?
Not caring about the possible consequences for trespassing, I effortlessly scale over their 6′ fence, dropping down on the other side on both feet.
During some of my misguided attempts at youth journalism, I got pretty good at getting in and out of places I shouldn’t have been—much to my mom’s dismay, coming home in dirty clothes from squeezing underneath fences.
I scan the yard, finding no sign of the Blandon Pack. However, one of the back windows of the house is open, and faint voices come from inside. I duck, making sure I stay lower than the height of the window, then creep closer to the trash can.
“Why’d you have to go and take her cat?” The alpha speaking sounds like he has a blocked nose from his nasal tone. “It’s reckless, Kyro!”
Do I prioritize rescuing Larry or getting evidence? Ignoring my instincts yelling at me to get the cat, I grab my phone and hit record. This could be the proof we need to get the Blandon Pack off campus and away from Kady for good.
“I thought you’d be happy, Ty,” another voice, which I assume belongs to Kyro, replies. “We wanted to teach her a lesson.”
“Yeah,” a third voice adds. “She’s making a fool out of us. This’ll teach her.”
“Maybe we can blackmail her with it?” Kyro suggests. “Get her to tell everyone that we’re the best alpha boyfriends she ever had? She may even want to court us—for real—this time?”
Anger seizes my muscles, wanting to rip his tongue straight out of his mouth. He’s delusional to think he has a chance with Kady after everything they’ve done.
“I need some air,” Tyler huffs.
The back door flies open, giving me only seconds to dart behind a battered chair. Through the gaps between the legs, I watch Tyler pace back-and-forth across their patio. A few minutes later, he returns inside, finally letting me exhale properly again.
“Okay,” I hear Tyler say. “I think we should just get rid of it.”
Get rid of it? As in hurt Larry? Hell fucking no are they touching a single hair on his fluffy tail. I’ve heard enough.
I slip my phone back into my pocket as the meowing from inside the bin gets louder, as if Larry can sense what the Blandon Pack is contemplating.
I approach the bin cautiously, hoping none of them turn to look out of the window. With bated breath, I slowly lift up the bin. Larry blinks up at me, eyes half closed from the sudden stream of light. He hisses, sticking his pink tongue out, an empty chip bag balancing on his ear.
“Hi, Larry,” I whisper. “I’m here to take you home, okay?”
Larry tilts his face to the left, studying me. His eyes seem to narrow in suspicion, as if he’s assessing me. Since when are cats so perceptive? He licks his paw. His ginger fur is matted with dried blood from where something in the trash can must have caught him.
I slowly remove my coat, careful not to make too many sudden movements to spook Larry or alert the Blandon Pack to my presence. From inside, I can still hear the guys bickering about their next steps. I’m pretty sure I overhear a ransom sum being discussed.
“Come on, Larry.” I drop the coat over him then scoop him up into it before he can make a sound. “You’re coming with me.”
He doesn’t resist, sniffing my coat, before nuzzling his face like he’s giving it the seal of approval.
I wrap him up in a cocoon before picking him up, surprised by how heavy he is for a cat.
Until now, I’ve always been a dog person, but watching Larry rub his head into my chest and purr is enough to make me reconsider.
“Stay quiet, okay?” Am I going mad, talking to a fucking cat? “I’m busting you out.”
I swear, Larry nods at me, inclining his chin down as we set off.
I slide the bolt across the back gate, wincing at the high-pitched screech as I let us out of the yard.
As soon as I’m home free, I jog back to Hale’s car.
I can see the others halfway down the street, Riven’s legs poking out from underneath a bush while Ezra and Hale are knocking on doors.
“Guys!” I call out. “I’ve got him.”
I thought I’d feel smug, playing the knight in shining armor, but all I feel is sheer relief to know that the little guy is safe. With Larry tucked in my arms, I grab my phone to call Kady. She’ll be worried sick, and I have the overwhelming urge to make sure she’s okay.