A slightly longer post today. Lowell and Purr’s story is gaining momentum!
With each passing day Lowell was getting more and more frustrated. He’d been with the pack for more than two weeks now and Purr wasn’t getting any better. True, the tiger let Lowell close to him and he stopped needing sedatives. But there was still no humanity in the animal’s eyes. Lowell spent every moment of every day with Purr. He fed the tiger and spoke to him. He reminded his lover of all they’ve been through, telling him stories of their time together. It wasn’t working.
The tiger was content for Lowell to sit with him, to pet him, but he didn’t show any signs of understanding Lowell, either. Slowly doubts started creeping in. What if Purr never got better? What if he stayed an animal forever? Without even realising he was doing it Lowell started planning for a life if this happened. Of course he wouldn’t leave Purr, that was out of question. So they’d have to find a place where Purr could roam. Somewhere away from civilization because the tiger didn’t react well to anyone except Lowell. Every time someone got close to them Purr became aggressive, situating himself between Lowell and a perceived threat. The pack members quickly learned to stay away from the enclosure.
Lowell slept in the room that Purr had been in before he turned into a tiger. He had to admit that the room seemed pretty comfy, even if it had been wrecked by an out of control tiger. The pack members who lived in the Pack Leader’s house were also pretty friendly. The didn’t go out of their way to get to know Lowell, but they were nice to him whenever they met.
Lowell himself wasn’t trying to make new friends. He wasn’t even sure he knew how to do it, anymore. Ever since his exile to the mansion Lowell had lost touch with his former friends. And after meeting Purr he felt he didn’t need anyone else. Now his social skills seemed to be seriously lacking and he was too focused on helping his tiger to do anything about it.
Lowell stopped sharing his thoughts with the tiger at his feet and looked up. Someone was running towards the enclosure. As the man came closer Lowell recognized him as one of the younger guards, Fabian. Lowell frowned as the young man came closer and closer to them. By now all the guards knew it wasn’t the best idea to get close to Purr’s enclosure, so why wasn’t Fabian stopping?
Purr tensed, the tiger’s powerful muscles coiling as if readying for attack, and he snarled. The young guard’s steps faltered but he didn’t fully stop. Just as Fabian reached the chain-link fence Purr jumped to his four paws and situated himself between Lowell and the newcomer. Lowell sighed and shook his head.
“Fabian, you know better than come here when I’m with Purr,” he stated, standing up. He kept behind Purr, not wanting to agitate his furry lover even further.
“I know and I’m sorry Lowell, but I’ve got an important message for you. There’s police here to see you,” the guard blurted out.
“Police?” Lowell felt all blood drain from his face. “How did they find me?” he said in a near whisper, more to himself than Fabian.
“I don’t know, but they’re here to arrest you. Alpha Marek tried to convince them it’s a mistake, but they wouldn’t listen. So he stalled them giving me time to notify you.”
“Shit!” Lowell exclaimed and noticed that Purr started backing him into a corner behind him. The tiger was obviously sensing his distress. “This is a disaster.” Lowell shook his head. He knew there was no use running away. Once the police figured out he was alive, they wouldn’t stop looking for him. And Lowell couldn’t leave Purr. Dragging a full-grown tiger with him everywhere was out of question as well. “There’s no other way,” he spoke softly to himself, petting his tiger’s fur absentmindedly. He had to give himself up and count the police would listen to him and believe the truth. “Fabian,” Lowell spoke in an even voice, “if you could please back away. I need Purr calm so that I can leave the enclosure. He won’t let me out otherwise.” Fabian nodded his understanding and did as asked. Lowell watched his tiger relax as the man left their proximity. Crouching before Purr Lowell hugged his furry lover.
“I’m sorry Purr,” he whispered softly into one fuzzy ear. “I have to leave you. Hopefully the police will listen to what I’ve got to say and they’ll let me come back to you. I wish we had more time. I wish I could have made you turn back to normal. But I believe in you. I know you’re in there somewhere. One of this days you’ll come back to me, and we’ll have this life together we’ve always dreamed of. So, hang in there Purr, my love. Don’t give up.” Lowell felt tears prickling his eyes as he stood up and walked to the gate slowly. Purr was still sitting in the corner, watching him. There was still no humanity in the tiger’s eyes and Lowell felt his heart squeeze painfully. Who knew how their separation was going to affect the shifter? Lowell prayed it wouldn’t undo whatever progress they might have made.
Lowell stepped through the gate and closed it behind him. Purr stood up and padded to the gate, their ritual familiar now. Purr knew Lowell was always coming back to him and the tiger never protested Lowell leaving the enclosure. Lowell stood before the gate clutching the chain-links in his fingers. He didn’t want to go. Didn’t want to leave his lover, vulnerable like Purr was. Soon, he heard voices and footsteps from where the mansion was. Lowell shot a look over his shoulder and recognized the alpha with two other men coming toward him. Lowell turned back and locked his gaze with Purr. His whole being hurt at the thought of being separated from Purr, but there was nothing he could do to prevent it. The steps came closer and a voice spoke from behind him.
“Lowell Hayes?”
“Yes, It’s me,” Lowell answered quietly.
“Lowell Hayes you’re under arrest on suspicion of kidnapping and unlawful imprisonment of Patrick Peters,” the man was saying as he came to Lowell. Without a word Lowell put his hands behind his back and let the man handcuff him. Lowell never looked away from Purr. The tiger narrowed his eyes and a low growl escaped him. It was obvious the shifter knew something was wrong.
“I’m telling you, you’re making a huge mistake, officer.” Lowell became distinctly aware of the Alpha saying. “Like I said, Patrick is in a feral state right now and Lowell Hayes is essential to bringing him back to normal. He might be Patrick’s only chance at recovering.”
“I’m not arguing it Alpha,” the officer was saying, “but it is not our call to make. We were sent to arrest him and we’ll do just that. Everything else will be resolved during the investigation and trial. I’m sure the judge will take the circumstances under consideration.”
“But I just told you separating them now might have horrible effect on Patrick, causing him to retract even further into his animal!” The alpha’s voice had a growl to it that betrayed his annoyance. Lowell couldn’t concentrate on it though. As the officer pulled him back from the fence Purr seemed to sense something was wrong. The big tiger snarled and threw his whole body against the gate, trying to get out.
“Shit, I told you!” the Alpha shouted. “He’s going back to harming himself! Fabian, run to the house, we might need to shoot him with a sedative again!”
Lowell heard the young guard’s confirmation, as he run off. As the police officer led him away from the enclosure, Lowell kept looking back, his heart bleeding for his lover who kept throwing himself against the fence. Lowell could feel tears trail down his face as he whispered.
“I’m sorry Purr. I love you.”
* * * *
I’m sorry Purr. I love you.
His Master’s words reached him, piercing through the veil surrounding Purr’s mind. He shook his head trying to get rid of the horrible fog. His Master was here! Purr threw his body against the steel fence trying to get to his Master. The fence didn’t budge. Purr snarled. The bloody gate was in his way! It prevented him from reaching Master! He had to get to him! He had to protect Master! Purr shook his head again and looked around. Wait, what? What’s going on? The world seemed different, wrong somehow, but Purr couldn’t figure out the reason. He was behind a chain-link fence in what seemed like a cage or enclosure of sorts. He remembered those from his time in the circus. That’s where they kept the animals. But that couldn’t be right. He wasn’t in a circus anymore, was he? He had been with his Master for years now.
Master! Purr looked up and saw his Master being led away by some strange men. There was also another man, one that looked familiar. Alpha, his mind supplied. That was the alpha who told him his Master was dead. The same alpha who kept Purr from going after Master and saving him from Master’s evil father! Purr felt rage overwhelm him. They were taking Master away from him again! Purr backed up as far as he could go. Then he started running. The fence was tall, but Purr was determined. He wasn’t going to let them take his Master from him again. Purr’s paws swallowed the ground as he gained in speed. And then, with a loud roar he leaped.
Purr soared over the fence and landed on the other side of it gracefully. Not missing a step, he run after the men kidnapping his Master. The three men turned and two of them shrieked. The Alpha only swore but looked slightly panicked as well. Purr felt satisfaction and a need to grin. Good! You shouldn’t have taken my Master from me. Stupid Alpha! The two shrieking men were frozen in fear as Purr advanced on them. The Alpha though seemed to gather his composure once again. Ripping off his shirt and undoing the button of his jeans the man initiated his shift. Just as quickly there was a big grey wolf standing in Purr’s way. Oh, hell no! You’re not blocking me from reaching my Master! Purr slowed down as he reached the wolf and the three men behind him. Purr quickly made sure that his Master was unharmed. Lowell looked fine if a little sad. Well, Purr could deal with cheering his Master up later. Right now, he had an annoying wolf to take care of! Purr showed off his teeth in a show of aggression and started circling the wolf. The alpha jumped at him, trying to nip him, but Purr’s quick reflexes made the wolf’s teeth close on air. The alpha renewed his attack again and again. The wolf didn’t seem to want to seriously hurt him. He was trying to coral Purr back to that cage he came out of. Purr gave a little snort. Not going to happen! He avoided the wolf’s nips and batted his paw at the wolf. He wasn’t trying to seriously hurt the wolf, he kept his claws hidden, but he wasn’t going away either. Some sixth sense alerted Purr to the danger behind him and he leapt up, twisting his body out of the way. Purr watched a small, feathered dart sail past him and hit the wolf. He smiled inwardly as the wolf alpha staggered then fell down. There, that’s better, one annoyance out of the way. Purr turned around and looked at the wolf who shot the dart. The man was young, and, by the looks of him, he was terrified. Purr barred his teeth at him and snarled. The wolf shook so hard he nearly dropped his rifle. Purr smirked showing of his teeth and stalked the wolf. The pup shook as he backed away.
“Purr, leave Fabian alone. He won’t shoot you, will you Fabian?” His Master’s voice reached Purr as he stalked his prey. Purr’s ear swivelled back and he paused, his eyes never leaving the wolf.
“I won’t,” the wolf said and Purr realised he was answering his Master’s question. The wolf seemed sincere, but he still held onto the rifle and Purr was no dummy. He wasn’t turning around until that rifle was far out of the wolf’s reach.
“Fabian, drop the gun. I think Purr feels threatened by it,” Lowell said and Purr felt proud of his Master’s intelligence. The wolf dropped the rifle and stepped away from it. Purr waited a bit longer before the wolf was way out of reach and he quickly jumped and took the gun in his mouth. He wasn’t leaving the weapon where anyone could get to it. Luckily for him the rifle had a strap attached to it and Purr put his head through the loop, the gun now hanging on his neck. Turning back to the humans and his Master, Purr stalked closer. The two strange humans were sitting on the ground, obviously in shock. Purr’s Master stood straight though. He wasn’t easily scared, Purr knew. His Master was a brave man. Purr padded to where his Master stood and rubbed his head against the man’s thigh. Mmm, his Master smelled so good!
“Purr, can you understand me, my love?” Master asked and Purr sat down on his haunches and looked at Master quizzically. What did the Master mean, could he understand? He tilted his head as if to ask: What do you mean?
“Purr, do you realize what happened? Do you know who you are? Who I am?” This time Purr snorted. Silly Master! Of course Purr knew who they were. They’ve spent years together, how could he not know who they were.
“Purr,” Master said kneeling before him, “look at yourself. You’re a tiger now, my love. Do you realise that?”
What did master mean? Of course he was a tiger! Purr had always been a tiger. He was a shifter after all, that’s how they’d met. Because Purr was a tiger and had been left for dead by people from the circus. He was a tiger... Holy shit! Purr looked down at his furry body and took stock of it for the first time. Holy shit, I’m a tiger! Purr looked up at his Master, his eyes growing huge and his jaw going slack. His Master chuckled, even though Purr could see there were tears in his eyes.
“There you are love!” Master said. “You understand now? Can you change back?” Purr took a minute to think about it, then shook his head. He had no idea how to change back. How could he if he had no clue how he had changed into a tiger in the first place? Lowell frowned but then smiled. “Doesn’t matter, love. We can figure this out. The important thing is that you’re sentient now,” Master said and Purr wondered briefly what that meant. He didn’t have time to worry though, because the humans seemed to recover from their shock.
The two men got back on their feet and reached for their weapons. Immediately Purr stepped in front of his Master. He wasn’t going to let anything happen to Lowell! Suddenly they were all surrounded by a bunch of snarling wolves. Purr had his attention split. He had to protect his Master from the humans and the wolves now.
One of the wolves turned into his human form and Purr recognized the rude man who had insulted his Master before. Purr barred his teeth in a warning and let out a snarl. That wolf had been mean before and he hated Purr’s Master! Purr angled his body so that it was between humans and the mean wolf and Lowell.
“What have you done to the Alpha?” the mean wolf asked with a growl. One of the humans answered.
“We didn’t do anything. The tiger jumped out of the enclosure and chased us. Your alpha turned into a wolf and fought him...” the man paused.
“Then how comes he has no injuries yet is unconscious?” The mean wolf snarled at the humans and Purr felt satisfaction. Go ahead, fight each other, stupid wolves and stupid humans!
“The officer is actually right, Beta. Although I don’t think they were actually fighting, I think it was more of a small scuffle. But anyway, Alpha Marek is unconscious because Fabian accidentally shot him with a dart,” Lowell said.
“Is that true?” the mean wolf asked turning around to the young wolf in human form who just now run to them.
“Yes, Beta Robert. I was trying to shoot Patrick, to stop him from killing everyone, but he jumped out of the way and the dart hit Alpha Marek,” the young wolf explained.
“Shit, what a mess.” The Beta pinched the bridge of his nose. Then he looked up straight at Purr and his eyebrows crawled up his forehead. “Is that the rifle on Patrick’s neck?”
“Yes, Beta,” Purr’s Master answered. Suddenly a huge smile bloomed on Lowell’s face and tears of joy run down his face. “Purr is cognizant again. I think me being taken away shocked him out of his feral state.”
“Well, why isn’t he changing back then?” the beta asked.
“I don’t think he knows how to. Remember, he has never been able to shift before.”
“Oh.” The beta wolf scowled but said nothing more. Instead he turned to the two humans. “Could you please put away your weapons, officers? They’re unnecessary right now and they agitate Patrick, who is new to shifting and not in full control of himself right now.”
“What if he attacks us, though?” one of the officers braved a question.
“You’re not going to attack the officers, are you Purr?” His Master crooned and before he realized what he was doing Purr shook his head, no. Sneaky Master. “See, he said he won’t attack you. Now can we please all calm down and at least try and reach a compromise?” After another moment of hesitation, the policemen put away their weapons and everybody visibly relaxed.
“Lovely,” the beta said. “Now why don’t we go back into the mansion and discuss things like civilized beings. Fabian, Trent, you can carry the alpha. He’ll be one cranky wolf when he wakes up.”
