INTRODUCTION
THIS WOLF IS CRAVING HONEY.
Honey's seen a lot of weird things since she opened her own veterinary clinic. A big Viking dude with a kitten tangled in his beard isn't the oddest, but she doesn't date clients, not even handsome and insistent ones. Then again, given her lack of options, maybe it's time she broke her own rule.
Ulric’s been waiting a long time to find “the one.” When he finally does encounter Dr. Honey Iris, it should have been his happily ever after.
Wrong.
She betrays him in the worst way possible.
Or has she?
By the time Ulric realizes he might have made a huge mistake, it's already too late. Can he make things right before he loses Honey forever?
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Kodiak Point
Feral Pack
Bitten Point
Dragon Point
Their Furever Mates
Pack
Freakn' Shifters
1
Losing her just about killed him. Ulric's apartment just wasn't the same. His bed felt so empty. His days unfulfilled since her departure. No more meaning left.
He’d not had much of a choice. He had to let her go. Brandy—a good friend of his and the owner of Princess Froufrou—had returned home and expected her cat back.
The horror. Ulric had gotten quite close to the regal feline. She kept him on his toes with her demands. Took so much from him—including a few pints of blood—but when she allowed him to pet her sleek fur, and even better purred, it was worth it.
What would he do without his precious queen?
With work done for the day, he sauntered slowly back to his empty apartment. There would be no need to de-lint his pillow, couch, or the black jeans he’d kept hiding and finding covered in hair. There would be no impatient meowing as he opened a can of food, no need for a bandage for the scratch because he fed her too slowly.
Such sadness. Maybe he should pay Brandy a visit. See if Princess Froufrou still even remembered him.
As he passed a storefront—Muddy Mutts Pet Supplies and Grooming—his gaze snagged on an oversized cage inside. As if drawn by some special force, he opened the door, an oversized boy entering a pet shop for the very first time.
As a Lycan, who went furry on the full moon, it felt shameful to be in such a place. A wolf didn’t have need of anti-dandruff shampoo, flea and tick treatment, or a muzzle. He almost turned and ran. And then he saw it.
A teeny, tiny furball sitting at the bars of the cage, staring at him.
He stared right back. His heart stopped.
The striped kitten, barely the size of his fist, yawned and laid down. Lonely and dejected in its prison.
I’ll save you!
A sign zip tied to the cage caught his attention. Kittens for sale. With the s crossed out. Only one left. If fate had a feeling, it hit him then and there.
He approached the bars and looked at it closer. It pretended to sleep. Probably not wanting to get its hopes up.
He lifted a hand as someone cleared their throat. “Please don't put your fingers in the cage.”
“Why?” he asked, turning his head as the tip of a digit poked through the bars into fur.
Tiny needles pierced the end of his finger. His mouth rounded as the kitten chomped while growling.
“That's why,” was the dry reply. “It's not very friendly.”
“Can you blame the little thing? It's locked in a prison.”
“Buy it and you can set it free,” was the sarcastic drawl from the woman.
“How much?” he asked. Which led to some negotiating, a list of required items, and a dent on his credit card of more than twelve hundred dollars. He also needed to call Dorian for a ride back to his place since he couldn't carry everything by himself.
“Why would you buy a cat?” Dorian asked, eyeing Ulric in the passenger seat of his car, a very posh and expensive travel carrier on his lap.
The little kitten didn't appear impressed at being locked away again, but as Jenny—according to her name tag—had claimed, without one he'd lose the cat before he went a block. Knowing Brandy did the same for Princess Froufrou, he agreed.
But the kitten wanted blood.
“Finding this cat was fate,” Ulric replied to his friend. He then leaned close to one of the mesh windows on the carrier to whisper, “Soon we'll be home and I'll feed you all kinds of yummy stuff.” Claws managed to explode from the tiny holes and almost caught his lip.
“You know, I realized you were lonely, but a cat, of all things…” Dorian shook his head. “Does this mean you’re going to become the cat man?”
“I read that it’s good to have pets as you get older. You should think of getting something.”
Dorian snorted. “Unlike you, I'm not lonely.”
“Because you're always on your computer. Virtual reality isn't the same as in-person contact.”
“Says you. I find it works great for me. So does the kitten mean you've given up on your quest to find the perfect lady?”
“Nope. I have lots of love to give.” Now if only he could find someone to give it to!
“I'm assuming it’s a girl given all your shit is pink.”
“Yup. I’m going to call her Queen Fuzzbottom.”
That had Dorian choking. “You’re kidding, right?”
“Queen Fluff?”
“Why not wait a few days, get to know the creature, and then figure it out based on its personality? Given its antics thus far, I’m gonna throw Savage into the ring.”
“More like Feisty,” Ulric crooned as the bag rocked on his lap.
The moment he got home and let the kitten loose it bolted. And Ulric chased. The cat went under the couch, ‘round the table in the kitchen, whipped up the curtain left behind by the previous tenants, jumped to the top of a bookcase, and then put itself in pounce position, hissing.
Ulric could have snagged it, but he remembered what it took to tame Princess Froufrou when she got in a mood.
“Is the baby hungry?” he murmured as he unpacked his many purchases, the cans of wet food being his goal.
The carved wooden dish went on a feeding mat on the floor. He cracked open the can, and as he bent down to dump it, something small with sharp claws landed on his back and used him to climb down to the floor. The kitten went at it aggressively, obviously starving. A good thing he'd saved her from the store!
He went to stroke her, only to leave his hand hovering as she whipped her head around and growled, showing some teeth.
Maybe he'd wait until she was done.
As she chewed, he set up the kitty litter box. He had experience with the noxiousness that happened in it. But he didn't hold it against Princess Froufrou, given he did worse sometimes in his own bathroom.
He’d bought a covered model with the most odor-trapping granules and a carpet to catch stray gravel. Jenny had mentioned he could order a robotic version that actually removed the poop and pee for him, but he'd be shelling out another grand for it.
The setup was finished just in time as his satisfied kitten sauntered over, belly swaying. It hopped into the box and proceeded to create the most awful smell, followed by vigorous kicking and digging in the litter. Sand flew out the opening, shooting over the carpet to hit his parquet floor, skittering as it spread.