The Woods ✔

A Waiting Game

The evening with Robin's family left Caden with a ton of questions. He didn't understand the dynamics of this pride and it seemed to be strange that Ajax was the alpha male and at the same time the most willingly anti-social person Caden had ever met. Wasn't an alpha supposed to be the center of a pride, interacting with all the members?

And why would his parents expect him to choose a partner and reproduce? It was his choice, wasn't it? If he didn't like this lioness they shouldn't force him to be around her all the time. Though perhaps they were just worried about the future of the pride although Ajax wasn't that old yet, he still had a lot of time to take care of the future generation.

Choosing a partner wasn't easy and not at all like in the books. Nobody saw their magical other half somewhere in the street and there wasn't a voice screaming mate upon scenting them from an insanely far distance. There was some sort of instant attraction but it was based on instincts to find the partner with the most compatible genes.

And most importantly there wasn't some kinky biting in the bedroom.

So if Ajax didn't feel attracted to this lioness there was nothing to do about it.

Furthermore finding out that Kaliska held him prisoner without a reason hurt and upset him. What was her problem? He tried talking to her but she would ignore his reasoning and send him off to do some stupid chores. For Robin's sake only did he try to keep this predicament as peaceful as possible however his patience was running low.

He hadn't felt the soft ground under his paws for an eternity and it made him incredible moody. There had to be a balance between the human and the animal part of a shifter and right now he felt as if he hardly could walk straight without crashing into the nearest wall. He had to shift soon if he wanted to stay sane. Moreover, as generous and friendly as it was of Kaliska and Robin to let him sleep on their sofa, his back was killing him because of the odd positions he would engage in while sleeping.

Like the night before he now tossed and turned on the sofa, too, and couldn't seem to get any rest. It was a miracle how Kaliska was able to stand his constantly bad mood, a result of his imprisonment and unhealthy sleeping habits.

Caden groaned annoyed and shoved his face into the pillow, successfully muffling the sound. The living room was dark aside from the milky moon light which streamed in through the big window and painted strange shapes on the walls. He was tired but couldn't shut up his hyperactive thoughts.

Bleary-eyed he rolled out of his make-shift bed and stretched out on the carpet. He snatched the pillow and blanket off of the seat cushions and wrapped himself up before burying his head once more in the pillow. At least his feet didn't dangle off of the edge anymore.

He waited for Kaliska to somehow lose interest in him so he could get the fuck out of here. Maybe Ajax was right and all of this was just an annoying waiting game he had to win.

He yawned and rubbed at his eyes. Damn, he really wanted to sleep now. By now his limbs felt heavy and his thoughts were a jumbled mess. Stupid lions.

"Can't sleep?"

Had Caden been still on the sofa he would have fallen to the ground for sure. Here on the carpet he just hit his head on the leg of the table, got his own legs entangled in the blanket and probably had a heart attack.

He groaned and cupped the back of his head while squinting up at Kaliska. What the hell was she doing here in the middle of the night? Shouldn't she sleep?

"I'll fix myself some warm milk. Do you want to have a mug, too?" she asked gently and he nodded, still perplexed by her sudden appearance. She had to be some sort of ninja to walk down the stairs without causing a single sound.

Groggily he freed his legs out of the blanket and yawned again to get rid of the fatigue before following her into the kitchen where she messed around with a pot and a carton of milk. Kaliska wore short pants - they looked like boxers that originally belonged to Robin - a t-shirt and a knitted vest. Caden realized then how young she actually was and how mature she acted nevertheless.

"Here you go." She offered him the mug and he cautiously took it, not wanting to spill anything or burn his fingers.

"Thanks," he muttered and again followed her like a lost puppy back into the living room. Luckily she didn't comment on his new sleeping berth and simply sipped her milk silently.

Caden enjoyed the warm beverage a lot and it seemed to calm him down a bit although he didn't trust Kaliska to not have any ulterior motive.

"Did you have a bad dream?" she inquired and he shook his head whereupon she hummed quietly.

"Just not able to sleep," he muttered after licking the warm milk off his lips. It reminded him of Michael and the rare times when he had wanted a mother as a kid and his foster father needed to console him.

"Robin is snoring," Kaliska explained her reason for wandering through the house and Caden chuckled amused. He couldn't imagine that Robin could snore so loud to chase her away.

"Like a kitten?" Caden asked but Kaliska raised her eyebrows.

"Like a damn bear with a cold," she corrected dryly though there was a loving smile on her face. Caden wondered for a moment if he would ever find this person whose snores he loved.

"You're a vet, aren't you?"

"Yes, I am. Why do you ask?" she wanted to know and he shrugged.

"Curiosity, I think." He drank some more of his warm beverage, the soothing effects kicking in full force now. "Do you like it? Working with animals?"

"I love it, to be honest. There's just something about helping them that makes me happy. After all they can't do it themselves so I'm glad every time I can heal them."

There was a spark in Kaliska's eyes Caden had only seen on her before when she had looked at Robin. It was not exactly the same but it obviously had a pretty similar meaning.

"Furthermore it comes in handy when members of the pride get into a physical fight," she tacked on nonchalantly. "It's hard to explain to a normal doctor why you look like you got mauled by a lion. So whenever there's blood they come to me to get stitched up."

"Does it happen often?" No way was he staying here any longer if there were rabid lions on the loose.

"No, Ajax usually makes sure they behave but sometimes, especially during mating season, they can get pretty wild," she replied and he dared to relax again. The mating season wouldn't start until spring so he still had about half a year left to escape those hormone-driven cats.

Kaliska rose from her seat and walked over to him. "Are you finished?" She indicated at his mug and he gave it to her with a nod. She carried both cups back into the kitchen before returning to the living room.

"I'll go back to bed," she commented with a friendly smile.

"Good night," he muttered sleepily and picked up his pillow and blanket. The sofa wasn't that bad after all.

He wiggled around till he was comfortable and yawned contently. There was this tired heaviness weighing his body down and he welcomed it happily.

"Good night, honey."

Kaliska switched off the lights when she exited the room and he blinked a couple of times in the sudden darkness before finally winning the waiting game with sleep.