Chapter 12 Werecat
Werecat
Drew yawned, wanting nothing more than to call it a night, but he couldn’t.
He had an assignment due by the end of the week, and with his magical studies taking up most of his spare time, he’d fallen behind on his coursework.
He’d begged off his lesson that evening with Kensington and had come straight to the library after class, determined to finish what he had to.
Zach was curled up on his lap in his cat form, his eyes closed and a soft purr emanating from him as he kneaded Drew’s thigh.
Every now and then, Drew would scritch the top of his head, and Zach would purr even louder.
It always made Drew smile, and he was happy he could make Zach feel good, even when he was being forced to sit around and do nothing while Drew studied.
He was just lucky there were very few people in the library and so no one had complained about him having a cat with him.
He managed to get another few paragraphs written and had almost finished when someone approached the table. Drew looked up and blanched when he saw it was Edward. He’d been even more snarky and horrible to Drew since the night at the club, but Drew had done his best to ignore him.
“Phillips,” Edward said and sat down uninvited opposite Drew.
“Edward, to what do I owe the pleasure?” Drew asked coolly.
“What are you doing here so late?” Edward asked instead of answering. He was wearing a preppy sweater with dark blue designer pants, and his blond hair was carefully styled.
Drew tapped his laptop with his finger. “The assignment for Henderson.”
Edward grunted, but didn’t say anything in reply.
Drew was usually so busy ignoring Edward that he didn’t really ever look at him, so he was surprised to see Edward looked tired, with dark bags under his eyes.
If it were anyone else, he might even be concerned, but as this was his long-time bully, Drew found he didn’t feel much sympathy.
The silence drew out, becoming awkward and uncomfortable, but Drew was determined not to be the one who broke it. Edward had approached him for a reason and he could either spit it out or fuck off.
What do you think he wants? Zach asked silently.
No idea.
If he’s an ass to you, I might have to scratch him up a little.
As much as I appreciate the sentiment, don’t do anything that draws attention to you. I don’t want the librarians to ban you from coming in here.
Hmph.
Drew continued to stare at Edward but arched his brows—both of them, since he didn’t possess the skill to only lift one like Zach and Kensington, much to his annoyance.
It seemed to be enough to jolt Edward from whatever fugue state he’d fallen into.
“So, um, how have you been?” Edward finally asked.
Drew snorted. “Oh, great, you know, except for this dick who takes an unhealthy delight in making my life a misery.” Seriously, who the hell did he think he was?
Edward managed to look chagrined. “Um, yeah, about that . . .” He ran a hand through his hair, and despite staring intently at Drew for the past five minutes, was suddenly unable to look him in the eye. “I’m sorry for being a douche. I hope you can forgive me.”
Drew fought the urge to laugh in his face. “Are you serious right now? You make my life a living hell, not just in high school but at uni too, and you think one I’m sorry is enough to gain my forgiveness?”
You tell him, Drew! Zach said, sounding proud.
Edward winced. “I get it, okay. If I were in your shoes, I wouldn’t be too quick to forgive me either, but I really hope we can put this aside so we can move on.”
“Move on? Edward, I hate to break it to you, but we’re not, and never will be, friends,” Drew told him bluntly. “If you’d shown some form of maturity after high school, then maybe we could have been, but you didn’t. You kept on being the same bully you’ve always been.”
A flush spread over Edward’s cheeks. “I was kinda hoping that maybe we could be more than friends.”
Drew was rendered speechless, but Zach wasn’t. I’m right here! Who does he think he is?
“Excuse me?” Drew finally managed to choke out.
“Phillips . . . I mean, Drew. I was hoping maybe we could get a coffee or something,” Edward said, eventually meeting Drew’s gaze.
“Even if you hadn’t been a dick to me for the past six years of my life, you do remember Zach, yeah?” Drew held a hand up. “Really good-looking guy with a killer smile and an even better ass who I happen to be involved with? I’m pretty sure you can’t have forgotten about him that quickly.”
Instead of looking abashed, like Drew had expected him to for being called out, Edward became very earnest. “Look, I just really don’t think he’s right for you, Drew. He’s gotta be at least twice your age, maybe even more. What can you possibly have in common with him?”
“More than you think,” Drew snapped.
Edward shook his head. “There’s just no way you can connect with someone that much older than you. Really connect.”
“And you think I can connect with you? Really connect?” Drew threw his words back at him, and then his tone turned faux jovial.
“Oh, Edward, remember that time you damaged the lock on my locker so I couldn’t hand in my essay on time, which was worth ten percent of my grade?
Wasn’t that hilarious? Oh, and what about the time you shoved me in the back so I tripped over the janitor’s mop bucket and ripped open the knees of my only pair of jeans?
We’re so connected! It’s enough to make me want to grow old with you!
” Drew batted his lashes at Edward and then an instant later dropped the facade and glared at him.
“Trust me, I have much more of a connection with the man who treats me with respect, who cares about me, makes sure I’m looked after, and who can make me laugh. That will never be you.”
Edward shook his head. “You’re wrong, Drew,” he insisted. “I can be that person for you.”
“Years of teasing and bullying say otherwise.”
“Did your mother never tell you that boys tease the people they like?”
“My mother is dead, Edward, so no, she didn’t. My aunt, on the other hand, taught me that bullying is wrong, and that excusing that sort of behaviour as being okay because someone ‘likes you’ is not okay.”
Edward was clearly getting frustrated now at his inability to convince Drew. There was nothing that could have prepared Drew for what he did next, though. Edward reached across the table, grabbed a handful of Drew’s shirt, and hauled him into a kiss.
The action dislodged Zach from Drew’s lap, and the angel was not happy with Edward’s action. He hit the ground and transformed into his human form, upending the table and flipping it to one side. Zach roared as he pushed Edward away and inserted himself between him and Drew.
“What the fuck?” Edward cried as he fell onto his ass, staring up in horror at Zach. “Where did you come from?”
“How dare you touch Drew without his consent!” Zach snapped, and Drew could just imagine the look on his face. He couldn’t see it, though, since Zach’s back was pressed right up against his front.
“How did you do that?” Edward said, stuck on trying to figure out where Zach had come from. “You just appeared out of nowhere, man!”
“Do not concern yourself with where I came from,” Zach said in a deadly voice. “Just remember that if you ever lay a finger on Drew again, I’ll be there, and I won’t let you walk away unscathed.”
As menacing as Zach was being—Drew figured he’d had to perfect his acting ability after masquerading as a demon for centuries—Edward just really wasn’t getting it, too caught up in where Zach had appeared from.
He was looking around wildly, and then his eyes opened comically wide.
“The cat! The cat is gone and you’re here instead.
Fuck, fuck, fuck. You’re a . . . a . . . a werecat!”
This made Zach pause, and Drew placed a hand on his hip as he peered around his avenging angel at Edward on the ground. “What the hell?” Zach asked. “Werecat? What the fuck are you on about?”
Edward’s eyes darted from side to side, his face pale with fear. “Does that mean werewolves exist as well? Oh, God, do you prowl around at the full moon, finding people to turn?” He audibly gulped. “D . . . D . . . Drew, are you a were creature as well?”
It was mean, but Drew wanted to laugh at the panic on Edward’s face.
Instead, he managed to school his expression into something almost blank and said, “I think it’s time for you to go, Edward.
” He glanced over at the large window not far away.
“The moon’s getting pretty full, and I’m starting to feel peckish. ”
Edward yelped and scrambled to his feet, and with one last terrified glance at Drew and Zach, he ran off through the library.
In the distance, Drew could hear a librarian scolding him for running, and then he was overcome with a fit of giggles.
“W . . . w . . . werecat!” he laughed. “He thought you were a werecat!”
Zach snorted and turned, and pulled Drew against him. “Fucking moron.”
Drew laughed some more as he tried to imagine what it must have looked like to someone who didn’t know of Zach’s capabilities.
He really couldn’t fault Edward for coming to that conclusion.
He was distracted, though, by Zach’s thumb coming up to wipe over his bottom lip.
“What is it?” he asked, as he noted the intensity of Zach’s gaze.
“You still have his saliva on you,” Zach growled.
“Eww, yuck!” Drew wiped over his mouth with the back of his hand, trying to get rid of every last trace of the unwanted kiss. “Is it gone?”
“Yes,” Zach said, but he still didn’t look happy.
“You know what would make it better?” Drew asked.
“What?”
“If you got your saliva all over me instead.”
Zach arched a brow. “Is that a really weird and disgusting way of saying you want me to kiss you?”
Drew laughed again. “Yeah, yeah it is.” His voice turned as smouldering as he could make it. “I want you to claim me, Zach. Mark me as your own.”
Zach’s eyes went dark with lust and possession, and he threaded his fingers into the hair at the nape of Drew’s neck, pulling their faces close together. “Now that I can do,” he purred, then he proceeded to claim Drew right there in the library.