Chapter 24: One Sabren Gets Some Hard Truths While Another Learns What it Means to Be Truly In Heat
While Steele began his research into Sabrens, Officer Drake hurried through the building and to his squad car where his partner Shaw was waiting patiently for him. He was a little breathless as he climbed into the car and fastened his seatbelt.
Eyeing his partner curiously, Shaw put the cruiser in gear and took off for their patrol area. They rode along in silence for a little until Shaw's curiosity got the better of him.
"Well, don't keep me in suspense here. Did the 'peacock' yell at you?" He impatiently asked.
Drake glanced at his partner. Shaw was a good officer, only a few years older than himself, a handsome red tabby with brown eyes and short brown hair. They worked well together but despite that, Drake had not been that forthcoming about himself.
Sabrens were notoriously reticent but Shaw didn't let that stop him. He figured the only way to become more familiar with these powerful creatures was to find out everything he could about them.
Sighing in defeat, Drake knew Shaw wouldn't let it drop and would badger him until he gave in.
"Actually, he didn't. He shocked me by being very understanding and truly wanting to help me." Drake said, still surprised by his little 'talk' with the second in command.
"Come on! You're pulling my tail! The 'peacock' actually cared?" Shaw said in open disbelief.
"Yes he was and he said Commander Feral had felt the same way as me about mating and that it had made him very ill. Steele said he wanted me to speak with the Commander for a first person perspective about being mated and possibly get some counseling help from the Commander's own therapist. He truly wanted to help me," Drake told his skeptical partner, surprise still lingering in his own voice.
"Wow! Now that is something new," his partner said in amazement then fell silent for quite a bit as he turned down the block into the area they normally patrolled.
As they began to keep their eyes peeled for trouble, Shaw mulled over the subject of mating. He hadn't been aware that Drake wasn't wearing a medallion, he'd just assumed he was. The fact Drake didn't and felt conflicted about mating was not good news to Shaw. It meant his partner could harbor an inordinate amount of energy in his body that would make it dangerous to be around him.
Shaking his head, he finally said, "You should have told me you weren't wearing a medallion, Tommy. Because I'm your partner, I have a right to know what danger I'm in just being with you and a choice of continuing on as your partner."
Sucking in his breathe in shock, Drake whipped around to stare at Shaw. "I would never endanger those I'm sworn to protect and certainly not my friends or partner, Jake!" He hissed angrily.
"By not mating or wearing a medallion to find a mate, Tommy, that's exactly what you're doing!" Shaw said firmly, not giving ground.
Drake snapped his mouth shut in angry shock. He turned back to stare out his window to try and contain his anger and sorrow. To have his partner be afraid of him, hurt him deeply. Shaw just didn't understand.
When Drake failed to say anything more and went mute, Shaw sighed inwardly. He knew when partner got like this it was no good trying to get more from him and, in fact, could be considered hazardous to one' health. A sulking Sabren was a deadly Sabren. He would not push his partner any more tonight. His final thought was a prayer that Steele wasn't just blowing smoke and really did intend to help Drake.
Drake remained politely distant from his partner the rest of the shift. When he went home that night, he was angry and upset. He decided to work out at his favorite gym after going home to change and grab a bite to eat.
Walking into the busy gym an hour later, he chose to use the running track first. After putting in a good hour of running, he went to the weight room. It was only half full of well-built toms pumping iron. He admired the view through the mirrors as he began his workout routine. As he finished the last set in his workout, his eyes caught sight of a certain tom working out just across from him.
The tom was lean, tall, blue-black long-furred, red and brown streaked hair and gold eyes. The tom glanced up from his machine to lock eyes with Drake for a moment before looking away again.
Drake felt a jolt of attraction and something more that tightened his body. He'd never felt anything like it before. Fear chased up his spine as he quickly decided to end his workout and left the room without looking back. The male could be his mate and he didn't want to hang around and find out for certain.
Taking a quick shower, his heart hammering hard in his chest, he barely let his fur dry before throwing on his clothes and leaving. Stepping outside, he felt the energy in his body flare within him. Gritting his teeth, he changed direction from getting into his car and leaving for home, to heading for a local hangout nearby.
Taking a seat at the bar, he ordered a beer and looked around. It was only half filled with couples here and there with a sprinkling of singles. Taking deep breaths, he forced himself to calm down. When he was finally relaxed and easy again only then did he release a light odor of pheromones to permeate the air around him.
He waited patiently. Sometimes he was lucky in minutes sometimes he had to wait an hour before a male took the bait. This time it was thirty minutes and it was a male who had only just arrived with a small group of other males.
The dark male's nose twitched in Drake's vicinity looking vaguely puzzled. He turned away, sitting down in a booth not far away and began drinking and talking to his friends. Every now and then he would glance at Drake. Finally, the male said farewell to his friends. Walking toward the door, he paused beside Drake.
When he cleared his throat to gain attention, only then did Drake look at him. He had been aware of the male's interest but had learned early that waiting for a kat to make up their mind to approach a Sabren was a safer way to get a cooperative sex partner then coming on strong and possibly scaring them away.
"Looking for company?" The dark male asked casually.
"Yes. You offering?" Drake returned easily.
The male looked Drake over again then nodded.
"You do know what I am, correct?" Drake asked as he did of all his sex partners.
The male let a smile of anticipation spread across his face as he answered, "Hell yes! Sabren's make some kick ass sex partners."
Drake smiled back in relief as he paid his bill and walked out with his temporary bed partner.
Some hours later, he was tired but sated when he returned to his small but comfortable apartment. The male had turned out to be very good and totally at ease with a Sabren. Saving himself another hunt, Drake asked the male if he wanted to be exclusive for a while and was pleased when the male agreed. They traded phone numbers then parted for the night.
More at ease with himself, he prepared for bed. Sleep became a problem when his dreams were invaded by images of the mysterious male from the gym. He moaned with desire and need, reaching out desperately for the one his soul cried out for but his frightened mind refused to accept. He awoke in the dark of his room, sweating and aroused. He moaned in anguish and went to shower the dream away.
In a hidden home outside of town...
Feral was frantically mating with Chance. He couldn't think nor get over how urgent his body felt.
'Gods! I'm about to scream. My body feels sooo hot and everything is more than it should be...scent, taste, touch...it's enough to drive me round the bend...' he thought as he bite and fought with his mate as they made love over and over again for the next few hours.
By dinner time, Chance was exhausted and sore and Uly had fallen asleep, laying on his stomach and sprawled over half the bed. Forcing himself to his feet, Chance went to the bathroom and took a nice, long, hot shower.
Feeling more refreshed thought no less tired, he headed for the kitchen and poked through the fridge and cupboards for something to make for dinner. He wasn't really that good at it, Uly was actually the better cook, but he was able to put together an acceptable meal. A half hour later, he carried a tray with sandwiches, cold steak, steamed green beans, chicken salad, and two tall glasses of cold milk to the bedroom.
He was mindful of the lessons he'd learned about Sabrens so knew Ulysses would require more calories than normal during this period so he loaded up on the protein. Setting the tray down on the dresser, he went to the bed and shook his mate awake. Feral groaned and tried to move away, curling up and trying to snuggle into the bed more.
Sighing and a little amused, Chance reached down and pinched his mate's ear...hard.
"Yowl!" Ulysses cried out, jerking upward suddenly and rubbing his stinging ear. He blinked balefully at his mate.
"I made dinner. So if you're hungry, you'd better eat it now because I'm not making it for you later," the tabby said bluntly, turning away to retrieve the tray and bringing it back to the bed. "Make room!"
Grumbling, Feral shifted to his side of the bed. "Couldn't you have used a different method to tell me that?" Uly groused, though his eyes stared at the tray hungrily.
Chance just snorted as he placed the tray between them as he folded himself onto the bed again. "As if you were listening!" He scoffed good-naturedly then reached for a sandwich and milk.
Feral didn't respond to that as he reached for a sandwich himself and took a huge bite. "Hmmm, this is good, thanks. Kat's Alive! I can't believe how hungry I'm am," he commented between bites.
"Yeah, I know! It's normal for you when you're in heat. The only thing I hadn't been told was just how intense it was going to be for you," Chance said ruefully. "Professor Rendar failed to tell me that."
Feral sighed then took a deep drink of his milk before commenting. "Something else I don't know about myself," he grumbled unhappily.
"Aww, don't beat yourself up about it, love," Chance said quickly, reaching out to give his mate a gentle caress. "It's not your fault your mother was screwed up. I still get angry about what you finally revealed about your kittenhood. Your mother was a real piece of work. It's no wonder you felt the same way about mating when he felt exactly the same way about mating your father. I know I should be sympathetic when your father died suddenly but I can't forgive him failing to seek help. Instead, he began neglecting you in his anger and grief until he abandoned you altogether leaving you to be cared for by non-Sabren relatives who had no clue how to take care of your needs or training," Chance growled unhappily, taking an angry bite of his sandwich and washing it down with his milk.
"Hell, you're lucky to have survived your kittenhood alive at all. As it was, you managed to overcome that to become a strong willed and extremely messed up Sabren. Lucky me, I got to try and undo all that happened to you!" He finished, shaking his head. When he'd heard about how horrible Uly's life had been he felt sick. He couldn't believe no one had guessed what was going on in the first place. He was really glad Sabren's were out of the closet and some of this could be prevented finally.
Feral sighed and blushed a bit. His past was nothing he was proud of and even though Hartstone had tried to convince him that what had happened to him was not his fault but that of the adult responsible for his care, he still thought it was something he'd done to make his mother so unhappy. It was irrational, he knew that now, but it was hard to let go of something he'd believed in for so long.
"I know and I'm truly grateful that Ms. Briggs forced the issue. If left to my own devices, I would have just blown up eventually," he admitted reaching for the chicken salad.
"And hopefully, you'll believe you were not at fault for any of it soon," Chance said gently. Feral smiled wanly at him. His mate knew him far too well. They finished their meal in companionable silence.