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Dirty Laundry

Chapter Twelve

By Roofles

Logan already had his bags packed within the hour.

After a quick shower, he retreated from the home he never used and ended up stashing his things in the back of his Impala for the time being. What little things he owned. It made him pause, if only for a minute looking at what little he had to his name. What was his. What he owned. What kind of life he had…

Logan wasn’t like the others; he had no ties to keep him in one place. Not anymore.

Canines tended to really set roots in an area, to carve out a piece of land as their own. Back in the day it was called a “territory” though this was more akin to wolves than dogs. Over the centuries such terminology changed but the instincts were still there. However, this was true about other species as well from beavers to large cats and even bears.

It was just most commonly seen and practiced by canines.

Logan wasn’t a canine though unlike those back at the dog house. A simple bag of clothes, a few of his smaller trinkets and nicknacks as well as the things he needed for the job… left plenty of room left in the back of his car. Logan didn’t need anything else. And even looking at what he had… he knew he could’ve left half of it behind but decided against it as he put the small teddy bear back in the box.

It had belonged to his brother…

Logan had to cancel his plans with Clem, and the others, for the time being as he kept one eye over his shoulder to make sure he wasn’t being followed as he got into the car and quickly took off. A simple text would be enough.

“A text message was distant, impersonal… no matter what people say. A text message is, in itself, a wall to keep from others…” Logan thought about it as he sent the simple text message to the boxer, his fellow officer, letting him know he planned to “go dark” for the foreseeable future.

For the good of everyone else, Logan wouldn’t mind suffering. He was used to that by now. In a way, it was his way of coping with loss. Distance, such as a text message, separated two souls from each other and made it easier… when one of them was gone.

Clem ended up calling him the next second, catching the human off guard. Something that’d been happening way too often as of late and was something Logan needed to focus on remedying sooner rather than later.

The two had worked together for several years but it seemed only in the past couple of weeks had they grown close enough to actually call and check in on the other. That distance, that rift Logan had created between himself and others seemed to be growing smaller by the day…

Logan quickly answered the phone, explaining the situation as best he could, while leaving out any incriminating details out of habit. Not wanting the boxer, or the other dogs, to get involved in his affairs. Logan would handle this. He’d been on the same case since his childhood. A single case that gave him reason to get up every morning and keep doing his best, despite himself in the end.

“So, I’ll be going dark for a while…” Logan just wrapped up with, thinking nothing of it.

“No.” Clem didn’t even hesitate to interrupt after listening to everything Logan had explained. The boxer having the courtesy at least to let the human finish his rambling, prepared speech before outright flatly denying him it.

“What do you mean no?” Logan just asked, using speakerphone as he drove away from his apartment complex. He’d keep it for the time being. It would be a good address to use and never sleep at; hopefully, it would keep his ex distracted enough while he tried to figure out what next to do.

Or try to catch the feline red-handed, in the act… this time.

“Look. You can’t just go dark on us. Not anymore, Logan.” Clem laid out for the human who seemed to miss the issue altogether.

“It’s not like it’s the first time.” Logan rolled his eyes, feeling as if he were being scolded by his mother now. He couldn’t deny how good it was though, to hear a friend’s voice after what had happened.

Logan was shooken up. For more reasons than one. Finding those flowers at his door from his ex… was beyond frightening. It left him on edge and he was still breathing heavily, sweating as he drove away from his apartment. Feeling as if eyes were on him the whole time.

Eyes of a hungry predator… lurking in his shadow, stalking him in his wake… hunting him.

“Yeah, that was before you got Alan all friendy dandy with you.” Clem growled back just spouting words at this point. “And what am I supposed to tell that wolf if you don’t go and show up?” There was another growl on the other end and Clem quickly retreated from the room, away from Domino who’d been listening in.

The boxer must’ve been forced to handle the situation back at home in Logan’s absence. Playing peacekeeper between the wolves and dogs while they regrouped, licked their wounds, and figured out what to do next. Something Logan had been doing for the past week, recovering from the nightclub raid.

Or had been planning toom anyways.

His injuries were minor and Logan was already fully recovered to get back to work. He’d stuck around longer than he’d normally would’ve to placate the others. Something he was used to doing. To do what he could to put others at ease while bearing the weight of it all on his shoulders. It was better that way…

Or so he liked to think. Not wanting to admit, in that same way, he was creating walls between himself and others. Never daring to let anyone in, not again…

“Just tell Dom I’m working.” Logan rolled his eyes on the matter still not seeing the issue here with it.

“Tell your boyfriend that! I’m not your messenger boy!” Clem snapped back, shutting the back door and getting away from the others in the living room.

Most the wolves had moved out and stationed themselves along the block that Reese had bought over the years. It was a rundown community as it was and over the years, the neighbors had moved out seeing the large hulking black furred seven-foot tall wolf coming and going as he pleased. Just another day in the city…

It left all the places on the block open and Reese had contacted a few people he knew to outright buy the places for future renovations. Usually one would buy a crummy, rundown house in order to flip it and sell it for a decent buck. Reese on the other hand planned to build his own community of misfit, misplaced canines like himself.

Be it out of instinct or otherwise, Reese goal was the same ever since he moved back to the city. To make a place for himself. A place where he could belong and in turn, those like him. Able to feel safe and at peace; if only in peace of mind. Something Reese had never once been granted or gifted even being the old Alpha’s son.

Something Clem was very familiar with seeing as how Reese ended up showing up at his door one early morning after not seeing him for roughly ten years; the wolf still in his uniform with a bag in hand and little else to his name. Other than what he saved while he was in the services.

“We’re not dating!” Logan wanted to shout back but ended up just laughing. Something about getting the boxer all worked up and bothered did amuse the human. Clem always came off as such a strong, hard-working, bullheaded dog that it was amusing to see when his own mask faltered and slipped away.

“Well, you better tell HIM that because I don’t think he got the memo.” Clem rolled his eyes as he looked around the backyard. He was just glad the other wolves had vacated the premises allowing the dogs to go back to some semblance of normality.

Other than Hart, Alph and Domino all the other wolves had garrisoned themselves in the empty, neighboring houses to keep an eye out for anyone from The Pride showing up.

“I’ll deal with that later.” Logan just said in a whiny voice making the canine growl again on the other ine; at this point, Logan was just teasing Clem while ignoring his own problems. “It won’t be much of a problem if I end up dead anyways.” The human just shrugged it off.

“Dude!” Clem yipped loudly. “Don’t go talking like that! I have to put up with enough shit as it is! I don’t want to have a sulking Alan or a moody Dom on my hands if you go and off yourself!” The boxer growled, though there was a shift of his tone and Logan knew Clem worried for the human.

Something Logan had hoped to keep from others… having people care about him, like this. It was a first in a long, long time to realize, to see that someone would give two fucks if… Logan didn’t show up in the morning after last call.

“I’m not about to off myself, for fuck sake!” Logan smiled though.

Talking like this, having someone to be able to talk to… it was nice, for a change. Rather than having to constantly be on edge, watch what he said, where he stepped, and how he even freaking smelled! It got old fast and Logan was becoming rather jaded to most things in his life. Then he bumped into Clem again and here the two were, talking as if they’d been friends all their life.

“With how reckless you can be, you might as well be trying too!” Clem just grumbled on the other end. There was a moment’s pause while both dwelled on the grim topic. “What’s your next move…?” The canine asked, itching for a cigeratte. Something the other canines hated but something Clem had grown accustomed too dealing with all the drama surrounding him.

Logan took a moment. He’d normally never tell anyone his plans. Usually… he had no one to tell.

“If Mikhail is back in town… I need to distance myself from the dogs. I don’t want them getting caught in the crossfire. If Domino sniffs out what’s going on, he’s going to end up doing something stupid on top of that…” Logan grimaced at the thought. “He’s injured… he needs to focus on recovering. Not… not this. Not me… right now.”

“What’s the goal in all this?” Clem just asked, resting back against the side of the house now as he looked up at the cloudy sky above.

“Hopefully to prevent a war from breaking out between The Pride and The Pack…” Logan let slip before frowning. Clem grumbled, knowing what Logan meant. Reese had inadvertently started up The Pack again; something Logan not only had a hand in helping out with but also had somewhat planned ahead of time.

Logan had an idea of pitting the two factions against each other and then let the police pick up the pieces after. It would be a lot less civilian lives at risk and, in a way, hoped the two would implode on each other.

It was easy to use one's instincts against them after all. If you knew the right buttons to push that is. And Logan did. He was becoming increasingly aware of the fire he was playing with though as he did so. Trying not to get burned. Hoping he could keep it contained before it consumed him and the city he lived in…

“Right…” Clem just frowned.

The boxer had no love for the police or the city itself, in the end. Clem was a good dog though and he didn’t want to see everything burn down either. His own goals aligned with Logan’s, for the time being. Wanting to protect his family, his friends and make sure others don’t go sniffing around Reese’s trail. Covering for the wolf even nowadays on everything.

“I’m going to meet up with my old contact. Figure out what’s going on, on their end… then I’ll let you know.” Logan promised at the end and only at that did Clem ease up.

“Just don’t go doing anything stupid, okay?” Clem asked in a soft voice. He took a moment, chewing it over before adding on. “You have a place to come too… if you ever need it, Logan. A home, here. I know it’s not… great or perfect. It’s a rundown mess!” The boxer barked out a growl getting worked up.

Clenching a fist, Clem took a moment before continuing.

“Just… you have people who care… they… we care if you end up not coming home… okay?” Clem grumbled out, blushing underneath his fur and looking off to the side as if the human was there with him now, getting embarrassed.

The human wasn’t sure how to respond to that.

“I…” Logan wasn’t sure what kind of face he made, hearing that. He wasn’t sure if it was like stone, emotionless and cold. Or if his mask had been slipped on or if maybe… “Sure.” Logan lied. “I’ll be safe, I promise.” He continued forcing that fake smile on his face. “Make sure to tell the others that as well! I’ll see them for Thanksgiving, right?” Logan just kept it up, laughing at the end.

It was a hollow sound that rung in his ears and made him feel… nothing, inside.

Unsure, at this point, if he were lying to the boxer to ease his worries… or if he were simply, lying to himself.

“Keep in touch.” Clem just finished up with as the boxer finally let him go, hanging up. Logan’s phone call ended as he just stared blankly forward.

Logan had pulled up outside of a restaurant he didn’t recognize. Downtown, near the docks, was a string of foreign restaurants that were owned by questionable means, at best. A small strip of buildings that ran, slightly slanted, down the hillside towards the ocean side where the docks were. It was the best, if only, real means to get there and these restaurants and shops took advantage of the traffic.

The brick building was brown, water-worn and had the same slight slant to it as all the other buildings did. It was as if they were about to run off the hillside and into the waters below. They were built on thick concrete “steps” that “walked” up towards the city above. Stepping stones just like those who first came here, built here and made this place a home…

Otters, beavers and the water mammals of the West Coast had constructed large docks and harbors where they not only built their homes but worked at as fishers and underwater welders. With a mix of sharks, orcas, dolphins, and other water species they created their own little hub and community out over the water.

Most worked as fishermen. It was where their families started off as, after all. Nowadays those same families had expanded into the trade market and were the vanguard in both the first line of defense, from the seas, as well as any ships coming and going from port. They worked with or for the Coast Guard, patrolling the beaches and waterfronts for illegal trafficking.

Logan only knew this due to the attacks on the docks last year, looking into the matter out of curiosity. Money was all it took to bribe enough of the guard to overlook certain cargo ships, carriers, and container ships coming into the ports to drop off goods. The entire group had been hauled in and questioned; little came of it. It was just a media spectacle to make it seem as if the state and government was doing something about the “lapse in judgment” as they called it.

Still, this place was nice Logan had to admit. Despite all the going ons in recent years. From the expansion out into the ocean, the storm that hit a couple years ago and to the attack on the warehouse district just north of his location.

These people… did what they could, to survive. To make a home for themselves. Against all odds, something Logan wasn’t expecting as he got out of the car looking up and then down the block at the various stores before focusing on the place Sloan had wanted to meet him at.

A small two-story brown brick building sat there underneath the afternoon sun. The brown brick was a remnant from older designs; beavers tending to use mud with their construction creating a very “brown” setting. Cute two-person tables were out front of the restaurant that simply read Casa Bistro; Home small Restaurant. The name was a little… too, simple. Logan doubted it would’ve last in the bustling city, despite the cute appearance as he walked across the street before heading inside.

There wasn’t much foot traffic during the winter months in this area. Other than those who lived or worked in the area. They’d pick up for the holidays, for sure, but Thanksgiving wasn’t one of them.

Logan didn’t want to say it… but this place was clearly a front for something and Logan needed to figure out what that might be. After all, Sloan was the one who set up this lunch date here of all places. A cute, quiet restaurant on the shorefront… next to, or rather near the warehouse district that The Pride had been running to smuggle drugs into the city.

Flower pots hung from the windows inside. Dark maroon curtains hung from either side, neatly bundled up with golden string that seemed to shine in the dim lighting of the place. There was a nice carpet and an even nicer rug laid out like a red carpet leading further inside the small, quaint establishment.

Logan was on edge, for more than one reason. He kept looking over his shoulder as he walked over to the dark brown wooden podium set up to the side. It seemed out of place as if there needed to be someone there checking the guest list. No one was here and Logan feared he had gotten the wrong place as he rang the bell on top of it for service.

“One moment, one moment don’t you dare go!” A woman’s voice called from the back room catching his attention. There was a clattering of pots and pans being tossed aside as a rather rotund-looking lioness came out to greet him.

Her hair was spun up in a bun and she was wearing an ugly yellow flower pattern dress with a matching apron as if it had been sown on the front of it; it reminded Logan of something his grandmother would wear. Her face was chubby and for a lioness, she was on the shorter side. Her smile brightened the otherwise dimly lit, if well furnished, place as she greeted him kindly.

“Just you today, sweetie?” She asked cupping her hands together with that heartwarming smile that only a mother could possibly possess.

“Uh…” Logan was slightly taken aback as he looked around the room. There weren’t cameras. There were no guards stationed and, for all intent and purposes, this place seemed… genuine. And Logan began to lower his guard despite himself in the warm, welcoming atmosphere. “I’m meeting someone…” He started with but could barely finish as another voice joined them.

It was heavy and Logan instantly recognized it. It made his heart swell and the human stood a couple of inches taller hearing it.

“Mamma,” Sloan spoke up, coming from around from the back. Logan jaw dropped slightly as he saw the lion wearing a pair of oversized rubber gloves that were still dripping wet from dishwater. “He’s the gentlemen I told you about,” Sloan added looking up at Logan.

Logan just smiled back, fixing his crooked mask that had nearly slipped off. He was getting careless these days. It wasn’t like him to be so… open, with others. Genuine. You can’t be hurt when you weren’t…

“Sir, there you are.” Logan tried to start up, going back into assistant mode unsure how else to handle this… situation. Only for Sloan’s mother to cut him off this time.

“Him?” She asked loudly turning on the lion who simply shrugged his heavy, broad shoulders. It was the first time Logan had seen Sloan back down to anyone before, let alone without wearing a suit of all things. “I thought you said he was good looking…” She hissed at him, under her voice.

Logan clearly heard her but tried to ignore it despite the laugh that escaped him.

“Mamma!” Sloan growled back though with far less force than Logan was used to seeing him using. “This is my associate, from work.” The lion offered, gesturing at Logan now with a rubber gloved hand. Logan had to resist teasing the lion for it as he just offered that same dumb smile he used at work.

“Don’t you growl at your mother.” She just warned the much larger lion and threatened him with a rather large wooden spoon that seemed to have materialized in her hands. Even Logan took a step back at that.

“Mamma,” Sloan just pleaded at this point. “We have a guest… a customer!” He offered instead. Seeing as how empty this place was, it was a first for sure.

Taking a moment to eye up her son, Mother Sloan turned back towards Logan and tucked the spoon back into her apron.

“Such a charming boy!” She said with an air that even Sloan rolled his eyes at and Logan had to stop doing the same, for fear of being wacked upside the head. He did not put it past her to do so. “Very nicely dressed up,” she added talking about the outfit Logan had picked for their sort of lunch date. “Human, huh?” She added looking back her son judgingly.

“Per favore, mamma!” Sloan just pleaded now with begging eyes, his claws extended as he tried to reason with his mother to shut up in front of Logan. His accent wasn’t as strong as his mother's but it was clear, when he was around her, it slipped out. “I’ma begging you!”

“He is very lovely.” She just finished up with, turning up her nose and looking away.

“He’s hungry.” Sloan finally pulled out his trump card and that seemed to change her tune instantly.

“Why didn’t you say so!” And before Logan knew exactly what was happening, Mother Sloan was ushering the two towards a side window seat and practically pushing both of them into their chairs. “Can’t be having that, no no. That is not happening under my household!” And she was off towards the kitchen.

Sloan just chuckled, rubbing the back of his head as he looked up and at the human across from him.

“Sorry about her… she gets that way. Always.” Sloan offered as he took off the rubber gloves and tossed them on the table behind him; not that anyone was here to use the spot.

“I didn’t place an order yet…” Logan just said with a bit of a frown.

“You don’t.” Sloan smiled softened as Logan looked over at the large lion. Tucked underneath the overhanging light, shoved into a wooden chair a size too small at a table built for a human in mind, not a lion… left his former boss looking rather, pitiful.

Losing the suit didn’t help the feline’s favor. The large lion just looked like an average joe on his day off. The silk shirt had to have cost him a small fortune, Logan had to admit. Though, it clung to the lion’s frame outlining his chest and shoulders nicely and looked as if it were about to rip around his arms sa if it were a size too small.

“I don’t… what?” Logan asked a bit confused as he tried to give the lion some space. Sharing their legs underneath the table was rather difficult due to their different heights and sizes.

“Well, at home you don’t order food, right?” Sloan just explained softly, speaking slowly as he looked at the human across from him. Logan just gave a short nod to that. “You have your mother do it all.” Sloan rolled his wrist. “In other words…”

“She picks and chooses your food for you?” Logan just finished the thought. The human had to resist laughing at that. The frown on his face said it all though.

“Just as a mother would. You don’t get to pick your meals, it’s all done for you… and trust me,” Sloan chuckled softly, his tail flicking at the end. “And trust me, you want to finish your plate. Even if you don’t like it,” he whispered, leaning forward and cupping a hand over the side of his muzzle as if afraid his mother could hear them.

Logan was once more taken aback, having to take a second before laughing along with the seemingly playful joke. This was so unlike Sloan. He’d always seen the lion as a take no shit kind of person, a strong leader, someone always above him… seeing him now, it was like Sloan had become younger. Lighter. As if some great burden or weight had been stripped off the lion’s shoulders.

Sloan was even smiling. It was a soft thing that was warm and put Logan’s heart at ease; the human was unaware he’d been worrying for the lion until he’d met up with him again. Still, Logan could feel the tension in his own shoulders that wouldn’t go away after his surprise this morning…

Sloan’s tail brushed against Logan’s leg and the human had to stop himself from jumping at the sudden intrusion into his personal space.

“It doesn’t seem to be a practical business method…” Logan noted looking around the empty restaurant.

“Oh, it’s not. It’s doing terrible!” Sloan just smiled toothily, resting back in the chair. “We cover for her though. Family, I mean. She loves what she does and,” Sloan looked up towards the ceiling. “She lives on the second floor. This really is her home.”

“Hence the name.” Logan nodded. “You’re a good son…” Logan added, never once really thinking about Sloan’s family as… family. Thinking of them more as a group, a gang, someone the police officer needed to profile, mark and take in.

Not as the living breathing… people, they were.

Sloan just smiled in reply. A simple, content smile that lingered on his face as the lion looked out the window towards the streets. The rain was light today but the cold chill in the air had forced Logan to wear one of his heavier jackets. And here Sloan was, not even wearing one.

The front of his shirt was cut in a V shape allowing his mane to stick out the front and sides. Allowing Sloan’s fur to breathe. It was a common style for those with thicker fluffs of fur.

“You look good,” Logan noted. The lion turned his eyes back towards him, still with his muzzle facing towards the window. “It’s the first time I’ve seen you out of a suit… sir.”

“You can relax, Logan. We’re not at work. Hell, I’m not even your boss anymore, right?” Sloan offered back. The lion reached forward, and for a second Logan thought he was going to take his hand. Instead, the feline just grabbed a few sugar packets in the container as soon enough two mugs of steaming coffee were placed on the table in front of them.

“You two just sit here and let me handle it all,” Mother Sloan just said reaching forward and practically pinching her son’s cheek and doing the same to Logan before retreating into the back quickly. Logan could hear a string of cursing, most likely something burning in the back due to the smell.

Logan took his mug in hand, looking down at the black coffee. He wasn’t sure how the lioness managed to carry the coffee pot with her as well, maybe with her tail? It was a large metal tin with a black handle and a wide base.

Sloan offered the half and half and Logan declined.

“I like it black and bitter.” Logan just smiled back.

“I see,” Sloan noted friendly enough as he placed them back. “This might be the first time I got you coffee,” the lion noted though didn’t say the time he had brought coffee into the office for them was the time Logan had left…

“There’s a first for everything.” Logan offered back with a far more relaxed smile placing a hand on the table and looking out the window as if trying to see what Sloan was looking at. The window faced towards the docks.

Several of the buildings were still being rebuilt. The clean up after the fire had taken months to handle and several of the buildings were left condemned due to the smoke damage. Only in recent months were people allowed back down near them.

Sloan rested his own hand on top of Logan’s drawing his attention back to the predator sitting in front of him. It was hard to see Sloan as such, even if Logan knew better. Seeing the feline now, like this. In his own home environment, away from the stress and pressure of work and society and life… Sloan looked content, happy and at ease.

There really was a first for everything…

“You seem… tense,” Sloan asked, staring at the human with those cat like eyes. “I’m not mad, if that’s what you’re worried about. About you… leaving.” Sloan brought up, steering the conversation back towards why Logan had left in the first place.

In a way, Sloan needed to know. To know it wasn’t just him… that it was more to that. Sloan wasn’t sure if he was seeking closure on this or if seeking something else from the human. And was hoping this meet up could answer some of those internal questions.

Logan took a moment. “No. It’s not that.” Logan admitted with a half-truth. “Did… did something happen, to you? You seem… different?” Logan asked, getting concerned.

Sloan took a moment on that. A glint passed over his eyes, the pupils seeming to retract in catlike fashion before easing up once more.

“I could say the same about you, Logan.” Sloan just said withdrawing his hand and placing both in front of him on the table looking at the human. This felt far more like the lion. Chest out, shoulders back, chin tipped up just enough that the lion was looking down on him.

Logan took a second on that, taking a drink of coffee to cover while he thought it over.

“This is really good.” Logan noted as he set the cup back down before looking up at the lion. “My ex is back in town.” Logan admitted, planning to use an unfavorable situation to his advantage. Sloan’s tail flicked at that. “It brought up a lot of bad… memories.” Logan just left it open-ended and let Sloan fill in the blanks.

Logan knew letting others fill in those blanks would leave his own secrets safe and hidden still. Not admitting them, not saying them aloud let him keep them tucked away and buried inside. Something to dwell over late in the night when his insomnia hit instead of ruining a perfectly good cup of coffee, like this.

Ex, break up, scars… it wasn’t hard to connect and Sloan got it soon enough while never able to fully hit the nail on the head. Logan purposefully dodging the issue at hand while giving just enough to sate the feline’s curiosity.

“I see…” The lion said, rubbing his chin as he looked to the side lost in thought.

“I was a bit irrational, the other week… when I quit. After finding out about it,” Logan lied. Stretching the truth once more to his favor. “It was why I quit.” Logan didn’t even realize his hand was shaking until the lion placed his own over it, settling the trembling down.

The human looked down at it. At the large lion’s paw placed over his own hand. Logan hadn’t even noticed he was shaking, that what had happened this morning had gotten him shaken as much as it had… and then there was the feline in front of him.

Another cat. Another large predator, placing a hand on his own. For a split second… Logan saw orange instead of the tawny gold the lion sported as his natural fur color. It made Logan’s breath catch in his throat before relaxing, once more, and easing up as he looked up into Sloan’s face.

“It must’ve been very… challenging, for you. To have to deal with that, again. To get you this worked up.” Sloan noted and Logan was the one to look away. The human, unable to admit the full truth. Even now, before the lion, Logan felt… guarded.

Guarded against the predators and his nails, threatening to dig into his skin as Sloan rubbed his large, paw-padded finger’s over Logan’s bare… naked… exposed hand.

“Am I?” Logan took a second, trying to regain his thoughts and emotions. To pull them back in, shove them back into the chest and lock it before they could spill out for the world to see.

“It took me by surprise,” Sloan admitted not removing his hand from the human. “When you quit. After what you… showed me.” The lion took a moment to lap at his coffee. “I was frustrated, confused, lost…” Sloan smiled though at the end as he looked up at the human. “Until I realized what it was I wanted. What I needed…”

Logan wasn’t sure what the tone of his voice meant and that, in itself, concerned the human as the lion pulled back his hand just in time for his nails to spring out and claw the table in front of his fingers. Logan didn’t let it show that he noticed as he took another sip of his coffee; withdrawing his hand quickly to grab the mug of coffee, to hide the fact he had… retreated, from the lion’s grasp.

“I assume this ex of yours, is the one who gave you those… scratches?” Sloan needed some clarification and Logan just nodded once. “Is he the dangerous type?”

There was a moments pause and Logan wasn’t sure how to fully answer that. Knowing Mikhail as he had though, he knew the correct answer to say. Saying it… more for his own good, than for Sloan’s. To reaffirm what Logan already knew about predators and just how dangerous and violent they could be.

“Unbelievably so, yes.” Logan admitted as he looked down at his hand. The very one Sloan had been holding… how easy it would’ve been for Sloan to dig his nails into the back of it, drag them down and make Logan bleed for leaving him.

The lion hadn’t. Sloan hadn’t hurt him, no… He only wished a certain tiger hadn’t as well…

“I’m not sure how he found out where I live, to be honest. I try to keep… on the down low, about that kind of thing.” Logan explained and Sloan just listened politely; something the lion had sort of figured out by now.

Logan had several accounts online with different social media sites. Each one of them was bare-bones and didn’t explain anything incriminating or specific, such as an address or where he lived. The state had been filled in but not the city. It wasn’t like Sloan had been checking in on his assistant or anything… practically cyber stalking him at one point.

“Are you this worried?” Sloan took a moment. “Is he… that dangerous?”

Logan wasn’t sure how to answer that. The tone the lion had used was… off. It was hard to gauge what Sloan had meant by it. Seeing as how the lion before him was pushing seven feet and was wide as a doorway… it was hard to see someone like Sloan worry about someone else like this.

Logan could only assume the lion was just worried… as a predator would be when another enters his territory. Threatening the balance.

The human could only nod in answer without lifting his head up, keeping it down looking into the steaming cup of coffee in front of him

“Well, how about this…” Sloan took his napkin and politely patted it on his lips before placing it back down. “Until we figure this out, why don’t you stay with me. At my new place.” The lion said. It hadn’t been an offer, Logan noted but didn’t say anything about it.

The lion was… off, though Logan couldn’t put his finger on it. It had only been a couple weeks, at most, since he saw Sloan and here he was now… almost another person altogether.

Sloan was relaxed, which in itself was noteworthy. He wasn’t wearing one of his suits, another tell-tale sign. Not only that, Sloan had brought Logan here of all places; a place his family-owned. One thing after another… and it only left more questions than answers in the end.

“New place?” Logan asked, uncertain why Sloan needed something… new. His last place was extremely nice and spacious. Logan couldn’t figure out what else Sloan had needed from it.

“It’s very safe and secure.” Sloan just chuckled lightly his eyes seeming to glow in the dimly lit restaurant as he watched the human before him. Logan felt a tingle of fear run down his spine as if he was what was on the menu instead of whatever Mother Sloan was bringing them. “You can stay with me, until we figure this all out. How does that sound?”

The lion finally asked… offering a hand and tilting it upwards as if expecting Logan to place his own inside his. The claws were retracted and the bright pink paw pads were clear from the light seeping through the window. For all intent and purposes, the lion was being friendly, harmless with him…

And that was why Logan was worried as he accepted the offer, for all the wrong reasons.

Sloan always had this… air about him. It put Logan on edge, made him work hard, and make sure his mask never slipped in front of the predator. Here and now, before him, Logan wasn’t sure what to think or make of it. Sloan might as well have been a completely different lion. And it was making it hard for Logan to do his job.

Predators, naturally, had this air of confidence about them. Walking around as if they were the talk of the town, which they usually were just for all the wrong reasons. They could be sly, cunning or outright dangerous… and Sloan, right now, was all the above and so much more.

“How’s work?” Sloan was the one to ask, drawing is attention away from the threat this feline posed.

“Still looking.” Logan just smiled back, not letting his nerves show as those fingers curled around his entire hand and held him securely as Sloan rested the bulky hand back down on the table. It felt like a weight. Chains, binding the human as he played with fire. “Not everyone is looking for a fresh intern with little experience. Or at least not the experience I have!”

Logan laughed. It was fake, forced and was the kind of laugh one had in the office to fit in. Over the years Logan had mastered the art of the fake office laugh; he never felt it inside though.

“Oh?” Sloan thought that over, his tail swaying lightly behind him. “I could offer a great recommendation.” The lion smiled back, friendly enough. Logan could pick up that Sloan had wanted to say, offer more but was holding back… this time.

The predator before him was being cautious, that was what this was. Did Sloan suspect something of Logan? Or was the lion simply trying a different tactic in order to win him over. Win him over for what? Logan wasn’t sure, yet.

There wasn’t that sexual lust in the air. Sloan was looking at him differently as he rubbed a tawny gold furred finger over Logan’s hand now, looking at him with those bright blue eyes. The light from the window highlighted the lion’s mane and it was then, Logan noticed it.

“You cut your hair!” Logan said louder than he meant, getting caught off guard.

Sloan chuckled at that, finally releasing him and running a hand through his mane.

“I thought I needed a new… look.” Sloan flicked his fingers through the short mane. “What do you think?” The older lion asked. It was one reason why Sloan looked younger than he was. He had… stylized his mane.

Logan kept the frown from meeting his face; hoping Sloan wasn’t going through some mid-life crisis.

“Honestly… it looks really good on you, sir.” Logan chuckled lightly blushing as he smiled at his former boss. “You look far younger, that’s for sure.”

Sloan snorted at that. “And here I thought you were into the daddy type.”

Logan placed a hand on top of the lion’s and felt the warm fur on the back of it, staring down at it.

“Who says I don’t?” Logan teased playfully, returning to how he was like back in the office. Something that made the lion purr; a deep rumbling sound that growled out his throat.

Logan felt the feline’s tail brush against his leg and finally begun to see the playfully side he’d grown to know and even love seeing from the lion. Sloan was a lot less stressed and there was some sort of weight off his shoulders as the two enjoyed their afternoon together. Teasing and talking to one another, tip toeing that fine line while never fully crossing it.

Sloan matching Logan’s teasing with his own as the two just enjoyed the other company for a change instead of having any ulterior motives behind the intentions behind them.

Soon enough to be interrupted by Mother Sloan showing up with two massive-sized bowls of tortellini soup. Something that was a classic home recipe; a Sicilian chicken tortellini soup with very rich mushroom sauce that was slightly overpowering both in texture and flavor.

According to Sloan, mushrooms were one of the few things they could stomach if they were soaked in enough “juices.” Logan chuckled at the way he said the word and felt the air between the two, the tension that had been there from the start… begin to dissipate and fade away.

“Very rich.” Logan tried not to cringe tasting the soup; only after making sure Mother Sloan knew how delicious it was before leaving the two alone.

“Yes, she has a way of really putting that kick into her food.” Sloan chuckled as he placed a rather large napkin over his lap and then tucked another one into the top of his shirt, creating a very large bib of sorts. “Try growing up with this!”

Sloan was being friendly, his voice was soft and there was a far more playful tone to it as he ate. Logan wasn’t paying attention to that. He was noting how Sloan, a predator, was eating in front of the human without even trying to hide the fact he was.

It wasn’t a law but it was expected. Something that was not only customary but in certain circles required of them to do. It was like social standards and cues like wearing a shirt and shoes into a restaurant. Some places would even kick a predator out if they tried and here Sloan was eating without… shame.

Jaws splitting, drool trickling from his lips as the fanged muzzled closed around the oversized spoon the lion needed to use for his meal. He chewed slightly with open maw as his fangs ripped the tortellini’s to shreds. A deep, content rumbling groan escaping the lion as he savored the meal with a deep gulping swallow that left drool trickling from the corner of his muzzle.

It was a disturbing sight for the human who made sure not to let it show that it was.

“Just like when I was a kitten.” Sloan said wiping his muzzle off and talking with food still in his mouth. Something Logan knew was due to his biology more so than out of Sloan not caring. In a way, the lion didn’t though.

Sloan had always took great pride in his appearance and even when Logan brought him lunch, the lion had refused to partake and savor it fully in front of the human. As if to be polite; while the two knew fully well why the feline didn’t.

“How’s work going…?” Logan dared to ask and only at that, did the lion stop.

The predator muzzle was tilted down towards the soup before those bright blue eyes glanced up at him. Logan held his breath as Sloan seemed to mull over those words. The lion sitting back up, taking his drink and lapping at it before finally giving him an answer.

“I decided it was best if I stepped down, from my position at Inc. Co.” Sloan placed both hands together on the table looking over at Logan. “Family came to me asking if I was interested in a… position, and I took it.” The lion simply explained giving little specifics. “It’s been a nice change from the… office, I was put in.”

“I see…” Logan took a second before offering that award winning, fake, smile. “You seem to be very happy with it. I’m glad for you, Sloan.” The human finally said his name and the lion’s ears splayed out.

Sloan mumbled a bit at that, not meeting Logan’s eyes as the feline’s tail flicked several times back and forth.

“Once you quit, I figured it was time that I too look into another position. A new place. It was what fell on my lap first.” Sloan shrugged it off. Logan on the other hand, could feel the weight sinking back into the pit in his stomach.

Logan had up and left Sloan for his own personal reasons, and the fact his job there was done… and because of that, did he inadvertently guide Sloan back towards his family. His family who…

“How are you dealing with… how are you doing, after your brother...?” Logan corrected himself and asked, recalling the very last conversation the two of them had before Logan had abruptly left the lion to sulk in his own misery.

“Jeron?” Sloan took a second. “Right… in the office, I told you about that and you…”

“Left.” Logan admitted, feeling the guilt building up. Sloan had opened up to him and the human had left him hanging in more ways than one. “Right…” Logan faltered, unable to keep up the act with the overbearing guilt weighing him down.

Him leaving hadn’t just been something selfish, it was a way of saying he didn’t need Sloan. That he could keep going on without having to worry about him… a way for him to try and prevent another Domino situation from forming. It had been brutal and quick. Cruel and, in a way, careless…

And here Logan was now, anyways. Ripping off the band aide only to put it back on again.

“I’m…” Logan wanted to apologize and found his voice catching in his throat as he turned away from the lion watching him closely.

“Right…” Sloan just said looking out the window with him, noting how Logan never said the words and wondered if the human ever would… if Logan even felt sorry for what he’d done to the lion after the weeks they had been together.

The two sat there what felt like hours as they mulled over their own thoughts and feelings. It was Sloan who broke the silence first after pouring himself another glass of coffee; coffee that was more cream than coffee as the feline added over half the packets of half and half into it.

“I’m sorry.” Sloan began getting a look from the human as the lion stirred his drink carefully. Those were his words. Logan should’ve been the one saying them and still… Logan couldn’t, not to Sloan. Not to anyone, not fully.... “If I did something… to push you away.” The lion stirred his drink, looking down at it. The black coffee lightening up in color with the cream added. It was how Sloan felt.

Logan mixing into his life brightened it. Eased the dark colors of the day into something far more appealing, palpable for the sulking predator to savor and enjoy. Losing it had been harder than Sloan would ever want or be willing to admit. It was why he had kept going to his job in the first place. Why, in the end, he had quit it.

Pride.

Because of this human, sitting across from him.

A mix between the two, just like the cream in the coffee… mixing into something far more pleasant. Something Sloan could stomach and enjoy…

And why it had allowed Sloan to finally look himself in the mirror and rip off that tie that felt like a noose around his neck. It, he, Logan… had allowed him to cut his mane shorter. To stylize it and do something that he wanted to do. Not giving a shit what anyone else had to say for a change. To give in to his baser instincts and partake in the forbidden fruit that had always been tauntingly before him from behind the bars of that cage.

And still, even now, Sloan was wanting some… acknowledgement, acceptance… from this human and it was why he’d invited him out this afternoon to partake in a simple meal together.

“You…” Logan took a moment. “It wasn’t like that… I just, with my ex showing back up!” Logan began, faltering as he spoke. Mixing truth and lies together as if that was why the human had left the lion. “It was a whole… thing. It wasn’t just one thing, in the end.” He admitted. Trying his best not to lie and finding himself still doing it.

Logan looked down into the black coffee in his hands, at his own reflection. Wondering if that face looking back at him, was really him… or someone else. Where did the lie stop and Logan begin…?

“But, that still includes me in there. Somewhere.” Sloan just said in reply, sitting up once more. “In a way, it was an eye opener though. I won’t lie.” The lion frowned. Logan wished he had used different vernacular for it however. “It gave me a chance to really look at myself and…”

Sloan claws extended on his finger before they relaxed once more. And he smiled. It unnerved the human before him though Logan didn’t let it show. Sloan smile seemed… forced. Forced just as he was. Forced to try and be… happy.

“It gave me a chance to think about who I wanted to be tomorrow, from today.” Sloan said lightly offering a toothy smile. “What did I want to see when I looked in the mirror.”

“That’s why you stylized your mane!” Logan offered and the two chuckled lightly.

“Something like that…” Sloan took a moment. The two of them did. Thinking about the implications.

Logan wondering something himself at this point.

“And… who was that? Who did you end up seeing?” Logan dared to ask, offering that fake smile once more to hide his fear behind the mask he wore. “Are you Mr. Kincaid, lawyer and businessman?” The human offered up with one hand. “Or are you Sloan the friendly lion who invited me out to his mother’s place, of all things.” Logan did chuckle lightly at that. Not his idea of a first date but, Sloan was anything but normal. “Or…?” Logan offered with another hand but faltered slightly, watching Sloan closely and reading every expression that passed over the lion’s face.

The most subtle of things could be the tell he needed to confirm or deny what he feared most coming true… that Sloan was just another predator… like they all were, in the end.

Logan left it open ended at the end as he took a sip of his coffee. It had grown cold, not that he minded. It was the bitter flavor that woke him up that he needed. He was getting too lax around these predators. He needed to fix that before it costs him.

“A little of both? A little of neither?” Sloan just lapped at his drink, matching Logan’s pace. “This is good. I’ll have to get the recipe…”

“Too bad,” Logan chuckled then getting a look from the feline. “If I was still your assistant, I could make you that coffee instead of buying it.” The human casually said, seemingly with no attentions behind it other than to keep the conversation going. The lion unaware the human had cast the bait and taken hold of it just as quickly.

Logan hadn’t gotten an answer. Sloan was still on the fence of who… and what he was. Logan feared if he didn’t step in soon, the lion would be lost in the world they all had created for the predators. That he too, would become an ex that Logan would have to keep one eye out for in the future…

“Well…” Sloan began, folding his hands once more. “Seeing as how you are still unemployed,” the lion looked out the window now as he spoke. His shoulders were back, head held up high and Logan could see the man he had first met once more.

With the ray of sunlight cast over the lion’s face, Logan was left speechless. Sloan always did look… magnificently handsome, in the right light.

“Do you know someone whose hiring?” Logan asked, seemingly stupid and unaware of what Sloan was getting at. “I really need a job.” He chuckled lightly, putting on those fake dumb airs again. “I already burned through my savings.” Logan rambled. It worked well, making him seem like the ditsy dumb assistant that wouldn’t catch on to what was really going on underneath the scenes.

The lion’s tail flicked as those bright eyes centered in on him again.

“There has been an… opening, in my new office.” Sloan smiled, giving Logan a rather toothy grin. Logan didn’t want to know what happened to the person holding the position previously. “And I’m looking for an-,”

Logan was already standing up. Knocking the chair over, he reached out and took one of the lion’s big hands with both his own catching Sloan off guard.

“Please! I’ll do it! Any price, I don’t care. As long as I can be under you again!” Logan was panting at the end, begging the lion for a position and seemingly using the right words at the look Sloan had given him.

The lion’s ears splayed out, tail curling in as his jaw tightened. The look of surprise being swept away by embarrassment and in the end to be replaced by the lustful boss Logan had known these past several months.

“Well,” Sloan just began calmly. “The position is still open…”

“I have my resume out in my car! With all my stuff…” Logan said, letting go of the lion and looking away bashfully over his presumptuous expectations. It wasn’t like Sloan would just hire him on the spot… nor was it like Logan tipping his hand towards the lion, showing him how… weak… vulnerable… helpless, he was in front of the predator.

Bait. Juicy red meat that was sitting in front of him. Offering itself to the hungry lion that could feel his nails extending at the prospect of what that entailed.

“No need for that,” Sloan put up a hand to slow Logan down. He chuckled lightly. A gruff, deep sound that rumbled from his lips like a purr. “I’m very… familiar, with your work.”

“Ah!” Logan began though, still as worked up and hyper as he’d been previously. Playing it up just a tad more too really sell it. “I didn’t mean to imply that was why I came to see you today! I just wanted to see you… I mean…” The flustered human took a seat, blushing brightly and looking away gripping his hands in his lap.

Juicy red bait dangling there in front of the hungry, worked up lion… Logan should’ve been a used car salesmen. He’d had made a fortune.

“Easy, Logan. I know that. I know…” Sloan just motioned and Logan finally looked back at him. He did, scooting as close as he could to the table before reaching over towards the lion.

“Thank you, sir!” Logan just smiled warmly, though he didn’t feel it. “You don’t know what this means to me! I’ve been on the ropes for the past week as it is! I didn’t think I could pay this month rent. And… and… I might’ve ended up with my parents again.” He laughed, a giggling sound that was far more girly than Logan actually was. “Then there was my ex… and now here! With you, it’s like… you’re my hero, coming to my rescue.” Logan gave a smile that even he was impressed with. “Thanks for not letting me move back in with my parents!”

“Yes, that would be… unfortunate.” Sloan teased looking down at the bowls and pushed them aside, having come back to his own home for this meal. This conversation and this reunion between boss and assistant. “Well, then it is official! You’ll be… under me, again.” The lion’s tail flicked.

“I’m looking forward to it, sir.” Logan just smiled back. “When do I sign the papers and…?”

“You can begin tomorrow.” Sloan just smiled waving such matters off. “It’s a sort of… under the table, position.” The lion chuffed unable to help himself. Logan giggled at that and Sloan could feel the weight of this conversation easing up, worried Logan would have refused. “No official paperwork. NO paperwork in fact!”

“Oh? What will I be doing, then, sir?” Logan just smiled back. “I’ll be glad to be working with you again.”

“I’ll tell you everything tomorrow. Today, however, it seems you need to be moving in.” The lion held up a hand before Logan could interject, even though he had no plan too. “It is a side apartment I rent for when I have to work over the weekend. You can, safely, stay there. I won’t even be there, most the time.”

“What if… I want you to be?” Logan might be pushing it too far. Teasing the lion like this. He figured, or assumed, Sloan hadn’t gotten any since the two of them… split. Logan had been with Domino several times since and had no aching need as the lion might have.

Logan never let his own libido take control. It was too dangerous to blindly, dumbly go hooking up with people; especially those Logan tended to chase.

There was a low deep growl from the other side of the table and Logan was keenly aware of the lion’s nails scratching and digging into the table and through the cloth, unrestrained.

“I might be able to work around my schedule, tonight…” Sloan got up, glancing down at the table as Logan joined him.

The lion took a moment, looking down at the table the two had been sitting at. At the nice table cloth over it, of the empty bowls of soup and out the window. The little sun they were getting was quickly being covered by dark gray clouds.

Sloan dragged a hand over the table, touching the claw marks and wondering… if everything would be ruined by him… and if he shouldn’t just enjoy things, while they lasted. That, just like this table, Sloan had damaged, hurt and scarred things on accident.

And how long a human and lion could be together before one of the two got hurt, again…

A bitter, somber thought as Logan touched his hand.

“Sir?” The human asked as the lion looked over and down at him. “It’s going to rain, soon.”

“Good thing I brought an umbrella then.” The lion smiled softly then as he turned his hand around, motioning for Logan to go ahead of him as the two vacated the small bistro and headed outside.

Logan was stopped at the door, Sloan giving him an umbrella and a small slip of paper.

“The address.” Sloan explained at the look he got. “Just tell the doorman I sent you. They’ll let you in… I’ll meet you there shortly, I forgot I have to say goodbye to mamma.” The lion just smiled back. “She’ll want me to do a few things before I go.” Sloan explained making sure Logan wasn’t about to wait up for him.

“Sure.” Logan took the paper, memorizing the address and planning to look it up online, to do some snooping while the lion was away. “Thank you, again, sir. For this. For everything!” Logan just smiled back at him now. Getting on his tip toes, he offered the lion a peck of a kiss on the cheek. “The biggest mistake of my life… was not finding you sooner,” the human offered with a wave as he headed over to his car, under the protection of the umbrella, and got in.

Even wearing a heavy coat and shirt, Sloan could practically see the scars on the human back as he walked away from him once again…

“It would’ve been nice, if you had…” Sloan replied with a wave, watching him go.

The lion adjusted his shirt, dusting off his shoulders before walking back inside with his head held up high. He grabbed one of the jackets hanging up and slipped it on, buttoning up the front before heading towards the back of the bistro. Past the kitchen, to a side door and into the basement ignoring his foster mother in the kitchen.

Lion’s grew up with numerous mothers and only one father. It was customary in the day for one male lion to take several females under his wing to sire and raise children with. Over the years and in the newer generations such things changed but in the older generations, such things were still traditional. And though Sloan wasn’t related to his mother by blood, the lion preferred her over his own mother…

Such was life for someone like Sloan. Kicked out of the family due to being the eldest son, threatening his father’s position. Only to be dragged back in when the shit hit the fan. Having the clean up after others, again. And again. And again.

His jaw clenched, anger boiling up inside as he looked down into the dank, dark basement below.

On heavy steps, the wooden steps rattled underneath the lion’s weight as he proceeded down into the dark depths. Always having to clean up others messes. It was just one thing after another and Sloan was sick of it. He rather have others clean up after him for once!

His tail flicked as he stood there at the bottom step, breathing heavily and taking that rare moment to collect and compose himself.

The thought of Logan’s hand touching his own warmed his heart as the lion adjusted his suit once more before finishing things up.

With a single pull of a chain string, Sloan turned the only light on in the cement floor basement. The pipes were leaking and the air was stale as the lion cracked his neck to one side then the other, rolling his heavy shoulders before proceeding over towards the side.

The basement had been used as a sort of pantry, storage for the restaurant over the years. Or at least that was the idea of it. The nearby shelves were full of unmarked boxes of produce and there were countless can foods set up across and up one wall forming a makeshift pyramid. The nearby metal door was far newer than the rest of the basement, however. It was a walk in freezer and the lion was already undoing the padlock on the front of it with a key he’d stashed in his pocket.

The metal scrapped against the cement floor, clearly having been installed into the place long after it had been built.

Freezing cold air hit Sloan in the face and the lion just closed his eyes until it eased up. The smell made his nose wrinkle. It was where all the frozen goods, of course, was kept. Also where the rats were…

In the middle of the room was a single metal chair. Typed up and bound with their hands behind their back was a fat black rat. His hairless pink tail laid motionless on the freezing floor. One of his eyes had been blackened, though it was hard to see through their dark fur. It was swollen shut and the blood trickling down their chin was frozen as Vinnie Westco, ace reporter (or paparazzi depending on who you ask), was dragging out underneath the light bulb.

“A vermin of the media,” or so Sloan had been told. A known reporter within the city that liked to snoop into places he didn’t belong.

The lion threw the chair with such force it toppled to the side due to the fat rat weight into the middle of the basement. They winced, bound and gagged they could only whimper with frost covered whiskers as Sloan walked over. With a single foot, he tipped the chair back up. Keeping it there, between the rats legs, the lion bent down to get up in their face.

“Vinnie, Vinnie, Vinnie…” Sloan breath might as well have been scolding hot compared to the freezer he’d been locked in for the past half hour. It was only thanks to his weight, and fur, that the rat hadn’t frozen to death given the time.

Vinnie Westco hairless tail was blue in color and the end of it could snap off at end second. The rat was shaking but this time, not from the cold as he turned his muzzled face away from the lion. Bound, gagged and beat up… the rat could only whimper in front of the lion.

“You’re lucky my date went so well…” Sloan began taking a pair of gloves from the side and snapping them on. Bound, gagged and blindfolded Sloan knew Westco wouldn’t be able to see what he was doing. The sound of him getting ready however…

That was the funny thing about vermin… deprive them of a couple of their senses and use their others against them. The sound of the gloves snapping, the metal door screeching shut or the thunk of a hammer against the wall could work wonders.

The rat struggled with such force the chair jumped up a half inch off the ground. They mumbled and pleaded, begged around the nasty used rag in their mouth as they tried to say something. Sloan had used a waxy film on the rag, making it much harder to chew threw knowing a… rat, like Westco, otherwise could’ve.

“And I’m in a very good mood.” Sloan tail flicked to one side as he looked over the equipment laid out on the nearby table. Picking up a meat tenderizer, he looked it over feeling the rough bumps on the end of it with his finger.

Taking the crude instrument, Sloan brushed the bumpy end of it against the rat’s face. They squirmed violently at that, pleading and begging so hard drool trickled down their frozen lips. The rat was breathing heavier and heavier and it was hard to say if he wasn’t about to have a heart attack or not.

Sloan lifted up the tenderizer above his head, nearly hitting the light… and found himself stopping. Looking down at the pitiful, bound creature before him. This rat was snooping around their place. His mothers place! Trying to find out something or other about The Pride and his family.

Sloan knew he didn’t have a real legal case against the reporter and it would’ve been pointless to take him to the court of law. A rat like him would’ve, ironically, weaseled his way out of that situation by the night. Not even a single full day behind bars before he’d be out on the streets.

The legal system always failed predators like Sloan. That was why so many took the law into their own hands… who else, after all, would be on their side?

That was why Sloan had brought him down here. Punishing him for snooping, to let off some steam from the shit he had to deal with on a daily situation and… and…

Where did Sloan go from here?

He was having such a pleasant afternoon with Logan. Logan had not only agreed to meet up with him but had also shown up! He was back in his life…. As an assistant. For what? Sloan was still trying to figure that out. The family was accepting a lot of outside help these days due to their loss in numbers and Sloan was sure he’d find some sort of position or other for the human.

His toes curled at the idea and he had to stop himself from purring as the weight of his arm fell down to his side. Looking at this rat… He couldn’t do this. Sloan blamed it on the fact he didn’t want to ruin his nice jacket with the rat’s blood. Not on the fact he was planning to meet up with Logan after this.

Not wanting to admit the human had such an effect on him.

It would be a rather awkward reunion to need to shower the blood off before they could retire to the bedroom. If they even made it that far…

Sloan gritted his teeth, forcing the purr back down before it could slip out.

Still, Sloan took a pot shot at the bound, tied up reporter. Vinnie grunted as the lion’s fist connected with his fat gut. Sloan letting out a breath and couldn’t deny how damn good it was to work some of these tensions out. The rat did make a perfect punching bag.

He’d let out some of his frustrations before letting them go. Dumping them in some back alley or other. Where rats like him belonged… Sloan knew the legal system was unfavorable, both ways, for someone like him and Vinnie. Without video evidence, the rat couldn’t do shit about what happened to him. And Sloan knew the rat would scurry away rather than risk exposing himself further.

If he did, Sloan wasn’t sure he could hold himself back as he’d been doing…

Before the lion could undo the rat’s bindings, he got a phone call and step aside to take it.

“What? Little busy.” Sloan wished he had kept it off.

“You done with your little date night?” Enzo asked from the other line. Lorenzo was Sloan’s half brother, just like Jeron had been. The three of them had grown up together. Each were from a different lioness but all from the same father.

It was natural, and normal for lions and the three brothers thought nothing of it. After the attack on the docks however, things had changed. Enzo had changed… Jeron ended up losing his life and now Sloan was pulled back into this mess.

Sloan just cursed, grumbling knowing that his step mother in the kitchen above most likely ratted him out to his brother. It wasn’t like she wasn’t aware what the family did. After all, it was thanks to them that she had her restaurant… and that Sloan had been able to afford college, let alone pass.

How else could a lion like him make a name for himself in this world that always seemed to have it out for those like him…

“Close enough…” Sloan said, keeping his voice down. “What do you want?”

“Well, I heard you had a little rat problem…” Enzo laughed from the other line and Sloan knew he was high again with the way his voice broke in and out, giggling a fit out of such a simple thing like a rat snooping around.

“Why? You want him?” Sloan looked over at the rodent with a frown. He knew what kind of person his brother had become and even he worried about the rat if the younger lion got a hold of him.

Sloan had made it his job to watch out for his two younger, half, brothers… and felt as if he failed with Jeron’s death. The Pack would pay for that…

“Nah, nah, nah.” Enzo waved it off as if Sloan could see the gesture. “I don’t want some stinky fat rat smelling up the trunk of my car! I just got her! Nice and brand new, shiny and sleek. Leather seats and-,”

“I’ve seen your car, Enzo.” Sloan rolled his eyes, tail flicking. “What do you want then?”

“Boss man wants to see us. You can have your little date after.” The lion snickered from the other end of the phone sounding like a hyena instead of a proud lion. Sloan could only guess what kind of stuff he’d been snorting lately.

“Fine.” Sloan just grumbled, wishing their father would have the balls to call him directly instead of pulling this shady shit. “I’ll be there in fifteen.” And with that hung up.

The lion turned on the reporter, crouching down in front of him and brushed a clawed finger over his whiskered face. The rat jerked his face away from him much to the lion’s amusement, playing with the rodent like this.

“Looooooks like it’s your lucky day, Vinnie boy.” Sloan just said standing back up. Walking around the rodent, he grabbed the back of the chair and began dragging him towards the stairs. “You get to go Scott free!” The lion chuffed. “Or at least, for a little swim…”

The rat mumbled and struggled against the bindings as the lion easily dragged him up the stairs and out the side door of the restaurant, through the kitchen to give his mother a kiss on the cheek, and into the dirty alleyway where his car was parked.

Popping the trunk, Sloan stuffed the struggling fat rat into it without another word; taking a sickening delight in the power he held over the rodent. A cat playing with a mouse… before slamming the trunk down, planning on dumping the rat into the ocean and letting Mother Nature have her final say with it before heading out to see his father.

Sloan would cut the rat’s bindings, at least. It was the polite thing to do before dumping him like the used piece of trash he was into the ocean. The rat would survive, most likely. Rat’s always did unless you put them down but Sloan… didn’t mind that.

Vinnie Westco was a good release. A pleasure the lion had been denied all his life. Able to pick on, tease, play with the other smaller, weaker species out there… to put his foot down and show that he was the king around here.

Some may call him a bully but the lion saw it differently. Just the strong handling the weak. Putting them in their place. It was natural… it was nature… it was how things were and should be…

A king above the rest… one that would have to replace the current ruler on the throne if his father didn’t didn’t change things for the better. For Sloan, for Enzo, for the lion’s… for predators… for everyone of them that had suffered and been denied all their lives because of their heritage…

Sooner rather than later…

Or Sloan would have to do it himself.