Brooks stared, not sure what was crazier—the fact that Tuffie and the cat seemed to be BFFs, or the name Connor had given her.
“You named the cat…Cat?” he asked incredulously. “That’s the best you could come up with?”
Connor snorted. “I didn’t name her. She named herself that. And it’s not Cat with aC. It’s Kat with aK.”
Brooks lifted a brow. “You’re saying that furry little critter told you her name?”
“Not exactly.” Connor shrugged. “We were hanging out at my place last night when I realized she didn’t have a name. So we worked through a long list of possible names until we got to the one she liked.”
“You’re shitting me, right?”
Connor shook his head. “No way. Kat’s easy to read. When I suggested a name she didn’t like, she had no problem letting me know.”
“Oh yeah?” Brooks said. “How does she do that?”
“Watch and learn, brother.” Reaching out, Connor gently caressed the cat under her chin. “Is your name Whiskers?”
The cat stopped purring and immediately swatted his hand away with a seriously unhappy look on her face.
Connor sat back. “See? She obviously hates that name. She reacted the same way any time I called her anything other than Kat…with aK.”
The moment he said her name, the cat stepped forward and rubbed her head against his hand again.
Brooks was still trying to come up with something rational to say about how bizarre the whole thing was when Gage opened the door to his office and stuck his head out. “Brooks, we need to talk.”
Out of the corner of his eye, Brooks saw Zane look at him. He ignored his packmate as he headed for Gage’s office. His boss had obviously noticed something was going on with him this morning and finally decided to find out what it was.
Brooks was so not looking forward to this.
Mike was sitting in one of the chairs in front of Gage’s desk while Xander leaned against the wall. Both squad leaders regarded Brooks thoughtfully as Gage took a seat behind his desk.
“Sit,” Gage ordered.
Brooks dropped into the empty chair beside Mike, bracing himself for the ass chewing that was almost certainly coming his way.
“What the hell is going on with you?” Gage demanded. “You’ve always been one of my most dependable officers, the guy I ask to take over when Xander or Mike are out of pocket. I know you just met the woman who’s probablyThe Onefor you, but that doesn’t explain why you stumbled in to work three hours late this morning.”
Mike and Xander looked interested in that answer, too.
Brooks opened his mouth to reply, but Gage cut him off, his dark eyes swirling with gold—a sure sign he was on his way to getting pissed.
“It also doesn’t explain why Zane had to fill us in on the status of your gang task force operation,” Gage continued. “And it sure as hell doesn’t explain the call I got from a friend over in the Northeast Division asking why someone saw one of my officers standing outside his house buck-ass naked this morning.”
Shit.Brooks hadn’t thought about anyone seeing him when he ran after Selena. He hadn’t been thinking about much of anything except her. Even now, his gums and fingertips tingled as his wolf half tried to come out.
“Selena shifted last night and clawed me up pretty good,” he explained as calmly as he could. “When she woke up this morning and saw what she had done, she completely lost it. I tried to tell her what she is—what I am—and she threw me across the room. Then she grabbed the keys to my truck and took off. I started to follow her but figured I’d only scare her even more.” He shook his head. “I’ve been calling and texting since, but she isn’t answering.”
Gage exchanged doubtful looks with Mike and Xander.
“You’re telling us that a woman who can’t be more than 115 pounds soaking wet threw you across a room?” Mike looked at him in disbelief. “I’m having a hard time buying that, especially considering she just started turning into a werewolf four days ago.”
Brooks ran his hand over his hair, frustration making his inner wolf even more restless. “I know it sounds crazy, but I’m telling you, she has claws and fangs an inch long and is as strong as one of us.”
“That’s not possible,” Mike insisted.
“No shit.” Brooks shook his head. “I don’t know. Maybe the blue eyes have something to do with it.”
Mike did a double take. “Blue eyes?”
