Monster
Jason's POV

A Hellcat! My mate is a fucking hellcat.

When I saw her shift and jump in front of me and Rick, I was scared shitless because of what she looked like and because she took the bullets intended for us. I was terrified that they were fatal wounds, but she just kept going, ripping her way through the fuckers that attacked us, taking more bullets on the way. I could clearly see she could handle it herself, but I wanted to help her so she didn’t have to get shot, but Rick held me back.

When she ran out the house, I ran after her. I Think we all did. Then she stopped and roared so loud the earth shook, somehow making us bow our heads in submission.

To my surprise, she shifted back and stood there in all her glory. I know it was inappropriate, but damn, I wanted her. She looked so hot.

Luckily, she accepted my shirt and let Doc take a look at her which was necessary because of the wounds. It scared the shit out of me, but she took it like a champ. She didn’t even flinch.

Rick and I follow her outside when Rick says, “we need to talk.” She turns around, scowling. “We don’t need to do a fucking thing!”

To my surprise, she walks up to the pack house, goes inside, and heads straight to the kitchen. She doesn’t give a fuck about all the bodies lying on the floor. Walking into the kitchen, she goes straight to the fridge, takes out two raw steaks, and chomps them down. She sighs and wipes her mouth with the back of her hand before she turns around.

“I’m going to change and then we can talk.” She looks at me and my heart skips a fucking beat. “Put on a fucking shirt!” With that, she leaves the pack house and heads for the cottage.

Rick and I just stand there with our mouths open. “Well fuck,” I say before I turn to Rick. “You know she just saved our lives, right?” He slowly nods. “Yeah. She saved all of us, taking some serious hits on the way.”

I scratch my beard. “What are you going to do? You know if she leaves, I’m going too, right?”

“I know. But she’s dangerous, Jason. We need to think of the pack.”

“That she just saved,” I say, making him sigh. “Let’s see how our talk goes.”

The people from the pack that was a part of the shooting starts cleaning up. Some have to go outside to puke, and others simply can’t handle it. Moments later, Kat comes back and looks at the carnage she left behind. Without blinking, she starts to haul bodies out on the lawn, so that we can burn them. When that’s done, she goes inside and looks at all the blood.

I can’t help but watch her every move. She’s only wearing tights and a sports bra, showing off her amazing body. Her thick black hair with orange streaks in it is braided over her shoulder and she's strong. Lifting furniture around like they were made out of feathers.

Then she looks at the blood again and gets an uncertain look on her face like she doesn’t know what to do. There are a bunch of mops and buckets in the corner, but she looks at it, shakes her head, and starts to dry the blood off the floor, using paper towels.

I get a mop and a bucket full of water and get to work. Maybe she doesn’t know how to use it, so I make sure that my movements are slow so she can learn.

She sits up on her knees and watches me with a hint of a blush on her cheeks. Fuck, I want to hold her in my arms. I wonder if it will ever happen. The thought of it makes my chest tighten and Maloc whimpers, “we will. She saved us, so she must feel the bond between us.”

“I hope you’re right.”

She gets a mop and a bucket herself and tries to mimic my movements, but she struggles and after a while of grunting, she growls, sending vibrations through the floor, snaps the handle in two, and goes outside. That makes me want her in my arms even more. I can feel her frustration through our muted bond, so I go after her. She’s sitting in a chair, looking over the backyard so I slowly walk over to her, sit down in a chair next to hers, and feel and even see the heat waves coming off of her.

She doesn’t say anything, she just glances at me like she wants to say something, so I sit quietly beside her, and it takes all my self-control not to reach over and touch her.

Then she turns to me. “Hold out your hand.” I raise an eyebrow and ask, “why?” She rolls her eyes. “Just hold out your fucking hand.” I smirk and hold out my hand, waiting to see what she’s going to do.

To my surprise, she reaches her hand out to mine and brushes her fingers against the palm of my hand, sending tingles through my entire body which makes me hold my breath. Then she turns my hand around and makes me run my fingers over the palm of hers. She shakes her head and pulls her hand back. I on the other hand am ecstatic because I got to touch her again.

Looking straight ahead, she asks, “do you hate me?” That takes me completely by surprise. Why would I hate her? Because of what happened? “No, I don’t hate you.”

She sighs. “Are you scared of me?” I shake my head. “Well, I wouldn’t want to meet you in the fighting ring.” A smirk tugs at her lips, “But, if you’re asking about your hellcat tiger thing; I have a healthy respect for it, but I’m not scared of you,” I say.

She sighs again and turns in her chair to face me. “I can’t be your mate.” I wince at the sudden pain in my chest and so does she.

“You keep saying that you can’t be my mate. If that’s true, then why are you still here?” She looks out on the lawn again and clenches her teeth.

“Si... Sikari won’t let me leave.”

Maloc scratches under the surface. “MATE.”

“Well, Maloc and I are happy about that.”

She grunts. “I still can’t be your mate. I’m not made for it.”

“Why not?” The thought of never having her with me makes my chest tighten even more.

“I just can’t. I’m a monster. I don’t know how to... love. I don’t even like people.”

“If you don’t like people, then why did you just save us? All of us,” I ask.

She frowns and scratches her neck “I like to fight. Sometimes I miss the pain, so I get carried away… And I like to kill.” She shrugs and looks away. “I told you, I’m a fucking monster.”

“Bullshit!” She looks at me with a raised brow. “Maybe you miss the pain and like to kill but, in my eyes, that doesn’t make you a monster.”

“You have no idea what I’ve done.”

“I don’t give a shit!”

She glares at me. “I DON’T GIVE A SHIT THAT YOU DON’T GIVE A SHIT!”

Then Rick comes around the corner. “Kat, we need to talk.”

“I DON’T WANT TO FUCKING TALK.”

“Tough,” he says.

“WHAT DO YOU WANT?”

“TO SAY THANK YOU FOR SAVING US.”

“YOU’RE WELCOME.” With that she storms away, shifts into her tiger and runs into the forest.

Rick scratches his beard with surprise painted all over his face. “What did you do?”

“I didn’t do a damn thing. And you fucking disturbed the first conversation we’ve ever had.”

“WELL, I’M SORRY,” he shouts.

“YOU FUCKING SHOULD BE.” With that we both crack up laughing, go inside, and finish cleaning up the blood. When we’re done, most of us go out of the pack house, sit down on the lawn and drink a beer while watch the sunrise.

“How did your talk go with Kat,” Janet asks Rick. Rick and I burst out with laughter again, making Janet look at us with a raised eyebrow. “It was a screaming match," Rick says. "She didn’t feel like talking.” Janet purses her lips. “Give her time. She’ll come around.” Will she? She seems hellbent on getting out of here. I’m so happy Sikari won’t let her, but I’m afraid Kat will win that fight. She’s a fucking force of nature.

Speaking of the devil, she walks over the lawn, heading for town. Just seeing her makes my heart skip a fucking beat, just like it did yesterday when she touched my hand. It felt so sensual and intimate, and I have high hopes for the future. If she stays, that is.

When she walks past us, everybody goes quiet, but I give her a little wave and she returns it by giving me the finger with a blush and a smirk on her face. Besides being a fucking badass, she's adorable when she blushes.

~~~~

Later that day, I wake up entangled in my sheets when I smell her. Her scent is strong so she must be close by which I replace weird because my house is on the other side of the grounds.

I quickly put on a pair of sweatpants, run down the stairs, and open the door. There, sitting on the front steps, she is. She gets up and holds out a sandwich. “... Are you hungry?” A smile spreads on my face, making her roll her eyes.

“Sure, thanks. Do you want to come in,” I ask. She shakes her head. “No. I just wanted to ask you… Rick keeps bothering me with this talk thing, and I... Will you come with me?”

She wants me to come with her. She actually wants to be in the same room as me? My inner boy is screaming, weee, but I just nod. “Of course, just give me a minute to get dressed.”

I hurry back into my bedroom, put on some jeans and a t-shirt, get out of the house and lock the door. Giving me the sandwich, she pulls out another one from her bag, and starts to eat.

We walk in silence while we eat. She keeps glancing at me, and I do my best to suppress the smile threatening to come out.

“Thanks for coming with me,” she says.

“No problem.” I don’t want to press the issue by asking her why. I’m just thrilled that she came to me in the first place.

“How did you know where I lived,” I ask.

She shrugs.“I asked Janet when she came with dinner.” Dinner? And she’s eating again? Where the hell does she put all that food? She’s tiny.

We reach the pack house, and when we’re about to go inside, she hesitates. “It’s alright, I’m right here,” I say. “I think Rick is in his office or the library. There won’t be other people around. Maybe Janet, but that’s it.” She lets out a big breath. “Okay. Let’s get this over with.”