Whiskers

Why Not

"There's a storm coming, bro. You might want to hide." Jared said, making Jamie fidget as he started tugging his bloody shirt over his head. 

He'd gotten grazed a few times, but the stab wound on his shoulder was definitely the most painful injury he'd managed to get. It thankfully wasn't too deep, but just the idea of Palace grabbing him there, on purpose or by accident, made his stomach churn uneasily. 

Maybe I should go hide somewhere. He thought at the same time he heard the sliding door to the backyard slam open, likely hitting the opposite wall hard enough to jerk it off its tracks. 

Palace needed less than a second to zero in on where Jamie stood near the entrance to the kitchen, his shirt clutched in his slightly shaking hands as he began to quickly back up into the room. Before he knew it his waist was pressed against the edge of the counter and Palace was in his face, teeth bared and eyes already dilated. His wolf was just barely restrained. 

"Palace, I'm okay. It's nothing that won't heal after a few days of rest." He stuttered, keeping his eyes down so that he didn't infuriate the wolf even further. 

I told Knight to tell you all not to come! Did he not give that message to you? He growled in his mind, making Jamie purse his lips nervously. 

"He did." He whispered, eliciting an audible growl from Palace, who was now gripping the counter tightly on either side of him. 

Instead of cowering more, Jamie let his own animal rise enough to let a growl slip from his own lips. He knew that Palace could easily kill him, lion or not, but he also knew that beneath all of the bravado and aggressive was a decent person. And a decent wolf. 

The response he gave made Palace pause, the blacks of his eyes receding slightly as he tried to figure out the turn in the situation. Jamie could feel his wolf pacing frantically at the edge of his mind and reached out to it. He wasn't surprised when it lashed out, but he refused to let it continue circling, because it was only spurring Palace on. 

Calm down. I'm sorry I didn't listen, but I needed to make sure that you would be alright. He told it, earning another grumble from it as it continued to march around his thoughts. 

Please try to relax a little, Palace is hurt, too, and I won't be able to help either of us if you push him too much. It didn't seem like it wanted to listen, but when Jamie reached up and took Palace's face in his hands, the wolf halted abruptly. 

"Please, just calm down a little." He said before leaning in and pressing a soft kiss to Palace's lips, then leaning back after a few seconds. 

The look on Palace's face actually drew a small smile to Jamie's. The poor guy looked like he couldn't process what had happened after being so angry. Not wanting to waste the opportunity, Jamie began to carefully slip out from where Palace was practically pinning him against the kitchen counter, but when he nudged at his right arm, hoping that he'd just let him go, Palace strengthened his grip until Jamie was left scowling up at him. 

His frustration was wiped away in a heartbeat, however, when Palace leaned over and covered his down-turned lips with his own rough ones. Jamie was just considering opening his mouth to Palace's persistently prodding tongue when there was suddenly a much larger tongue slobbering across his face. 

"Hello to you, too." He said as he reached up and swiped his arm across his face, only succeeding in smearing the saliva more.

"Thanks for that." He told Palace's wolf as he watched the overly-excited monstrosity hop around ecstatically, flapping its wings to get a little higher off the ground, while at the same time off-balancing himself without really thinking.