To Love A Stray Ch 11 Pt 02

Hallo Lit readers

Here is the long awaited part 2.

I have brought Enter the Cat up to where TLAS ch 11 started.

For fans of this story if you haven't read Enter the Cat you should have a look at it.

Please comment and vote. I look forward to ALL comments.

Mygypsy

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I swallow hard and refuse to let my fear show on my face as Unca loads the last of his equipment into his vehicle. I glance at Timny who will travel back with him to retrieve Wade's car and then quickly look back at Unca.

"I'll be hearing from you soon." Unca tells me and brushes a kiss on my cheek. He smiles as he looks at Jazzy where she is sitting in a chair wrapped in a blanket waiting to say goodbye to him. She is in human form and there is a healthy blush to her cheeks as she grins at the man who undoubtedly saved her life.

"Thank you Unca Dunka," she says softly, and the rather gruff old man smiles down at her.

"No, thank you sweet child." he tells her gently. "For allowing me to see there is still magic in this world."

I watch as he climbs into his vehicle and I wave goodbye as it slowly pulls away.

"Mitchell take Jazzy inside. Now!" Wade orders firmly and I know with a sinking feeling that my freedom is about to end. I sense rather than hear the movement either side of me behind me and I fight the urge to look behind me or flee. After all I did give my promise I would do as I am told.

"I'm to go inside and to the secure room?" I ask without looking away from the disappearing vehicle.

"Yes." Wade answers firmly. I wait until the vehicle is nearly out of sight before heading inside and making my way to the room where I had spent my last heat. I turn to face the door nervously and I don't have long before Wade is in the doorway.

"You will remain in here until I am certain you will not try to run off again." Wade tells me forcefully as he catches hold of one of my arms and forces me to walk to the cage. He abruptly pushes me into it and shuts the door, locking it.

"I need to see Doc about birth control!" I state.

"I have decided you will not be given that option. When you are ready I will send Edwin in here and he shall breed you, willing or not. You will settle down and produce the next generation of werecats." Wade orders.

"You do not have that right!" I yell angrily, "It is my right to choose! My right to choose who and if I risk pregnancy!"

"You lost that right when you brought a human here and pointed a gun at us. You are not human and it is time you stopped running away whenever it suits you. You put the entire clan at risk when you informed your uncle of our existence. Now you pay!" Wade snaps angrily.

It starts to sink in that he means what he is saying and is not making empty threats.

"Micah, I want it to be Micah." I say struggling to stay calm.

"Do you think that I am not aware of the fact Micah is very lenient with you and does not make you follow his orders? That you continue to defy him nearly every day? No it will be Edwin. I cannot trust Micah not to cave in to the pleas I am sure you would bombard him with, and use birth control so he does not breed you, hoping to win favour with you. Edwin will do as I command." Wade tells me coldly. "Maybe having a kitt of your own will make you consider your actions more carefully - stop you acting foolishly and making dangerous choices."

"Wade please, please don't do this." I beg as I clasp the bars of the door in my hands. "I did it to try to save Jazzy, I didn't mean to defy you or challenge your authority."

"Enough! The subject is not open to discussion." Wade snaps tightly.

"What are you going to do? Keep me locked up until I am too heavily pregnant to try to run?" I demand as my mounting fear starts to turn to fury.

I look past Wade to see Edwin standing behind him, grinning in anticipation and I shriek my rage as I look around for something to throw at him. Wade slams the room door and I hear the key turn in the lock and another shriek of rage rises in my throat.

I begin to pace the cage looking out at the room beyond, studying it carefully. There is a new small 'cat flap' installed in the bottom of the cage door and I presume it is to pass my meals through. A bucket sits in a corner with a lid on it and I recognise my toilet facility from last time. I scan each wall closely, memorising everything even the pattern on the wallpaper as I pace. Apart from the table and a lounge in the outer room and the bed within the cage, all furnishings have been stripped from the room. The only sound other than my pacing is the faint hum of an air conditioner somewhere at the end of one of the vents on the internal wall. I growl low and angry as I continue to pace. Already I have a set pattern to my steps as I move around the cage.

Not long before dusk the room door is unlocked and Marissa comes in with a tray while Wade stands just inside the doorway watching. I go to the far side of the cage and turn my back on them rather than look at them in my anger. I want to scream and yell but I refuse to give Wade the satisfaction of seeing how scared he has me.

Wade has to be bluffing; there is no way he could really be going to do as he threatened. He is just trying to scare me, make me more reluctant about defying or disobeying him in the future. I listen as Marissa approaches the cage but I refuse to turn and look at either of them. I wait until I hear them both leave the room before starting to pace once again.

It is dark before I stop pacing and I sit on the floor glaring at the tray of food that has been pushed through the flap of the cage door. Finally I get up and approach the tray. I knock the lid off the dish on it and stare at the mixed grill someone has prepared. There is even extra bacon and I pick the dish up to eat hungrily. It will do me no good to become too weak to fight when the time comes. I dismiss the cup of coffee and reach for the can of coke, opening it and drinking the liquid thirstily.

I listen to the noises in the house slowly coming to a cease. In my distress I imagine I can hear the faint sounds of soft breathing before I move to begin systematically testing each individual frame of the jail like bars. Finding no weaknesses I retreat to the bed and lay down to try to sleep. The faint sound of the room door being unlocked brings me off the bed to stand facing the door of the outer room. I watch as it opens and I snarl when Edwin comes into the room.

"Hey Rosy, I thought we could talk some." he tells me with a smile.

"Get out!" I growl at him.

"Look we both know what will happen when I come into that cage with you..." Edwin starts.

"You like your females unwilling do you? Because let me tell you I would never choose you, I don't want you. You are not an option." I snarl at him, livid.

"Don't be like that Rosy. You'll want me when the time comes." Edwin tells me softly.

"Correction! My heat will want a male, any male! I will never want you!" I say in a cold calm voice.

"You will, just wait and ..." Edwin tries to tell me.

"Get out!" I yell at him and he takes an involuntary step backwards. "Get out! Get out! GET OUT! GET OUT!" I scream as I grab the cage bars and pull at them ineffectively in my rage.

I continue to scream abuse at him barely aware of when the room door opens and Wade comes in to grab Edwin and drag him from the room, shutting the door and locking it behind him.

I am in such a rage I continue to yell and shout abuse at Edwin even though he is no longer where I can see him. Slowly I settle down enough to return to pacing the cage with a low snarl rumbling in my throat. My inner cat does not like being in a cage and even though I want to change forms I am unable to due to my extreme agitation.

It is the small hours of the morning before I curl up on the bed to sleep. I wake to the faint aroma of cooking food and sit up on the bed to watch the room door patiently. It is nearly an hour later before I hear light footsteps approaching the door and I straighten up in anticipation. I hear the sound of the door being unlocked before it swings open and Marissa walks into the room carrying a tray.

"Good morning Rosy," Marissa says brightly.

"Marissa can you ask Doc to come and see me please?" I ask softly.

"I am sorry Rosy but I will not defy my husband." Marissa says apologetically.

"Marissa, you told me I have the right to choose. Please don't let them take that right away from me. How would you feel if it was Jazzy in here facing what I am going to face?" I ask desperately as it finally sinks in that Wade had not been trying to scare me into submission.

"Jazzy is a good girl, she would have no intention of threatening her Alpha or any tomcat with a gun or exposing our existence to a human." Marissa tells me with a frown.

"Don't you see? I had no other choice if I was to help Jazzy. No one would listen to me!" I implore her.

"Take your food and eat." Marissa says as she pushes the tray through to me.

"I was in a situation much the same as this when Sam, Mitchell, Dwayne and Alex first found me. I was locked in a zoo animal cage and the strays that had me would come into the cage and take me against my will, force me to do what they wanted. How is this any different other than the ones about to do it to me now claim to care about me?" I ask frantically.

"That is it! No more!" Wade yells and strides into the room. He wraps a gentle arm around Marissa who is very distressed and guides her from the room, locking the door behind her. I move to the far side of the bed and sit down on the floor shattered. I can't eat or drink in my state of apprehension and rest my elbows on my knees as I hang my head miserably. The house is quiet outside the room and eventually I lie down on my side and curl up into a ball of misery.

It is lunchtime before I stir to eat my cold breakfast and time passes without any sounds from the other parts of the house. It is just on dark when I hear someone come into the house. Within a few minutes the outer door is unlocked and Wade stands in the doorway while Marissa brings my tray to the cage. I can't help noticing she looks as pale and strained as she did when Jazzy was sick, I feel remorse for causing her distress. After all I know she is not to blame for my predicament.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The storm clouds sit low on the horizon; the air is heavy and oppressive, promising an electrical storm. I look away from the encroaching storm and look back towards the main house. I stand looking towards the house for several minutes before returning to the lounge room and sitting on the lounge.

Hopefully today will be the day Rosy asks Marissa to pass on an invitation to a tom. I have little doubt it will be me, or maybe Steven. But definitely it will not be Edwin. It can't be!

The afternoon Don Caruthers had left Wade had escorted Rosy to the secure room. I have no doubt he has locked her in to prevent her leaving before she was punished for stealing his car, and more seriously for pointing a loaded gun at us.

It had been late when we had heard Rosy screaming abuse at Edwin and then Wade ordering him away from the room forcefully. Sam and Mitchell had wanted to go to the house and drag Edwin outside to give him a beating. I had been thankful for Baxter's steadying influence, I don't think I would have had the drive to prevent them doing it.

Jazzy is recovering; she is at Stephan's and Aunt Abigail's until Rosy's heat is over. Wade had decided it best for Jazzy to be away from Rosy for the moment and Doc had agreed although he had seemed reluctant. Stephan had sent his best warriors to collect Jazzy and take her to his compound by light plane.

"Hey! What are you doing?" Donovan asks brightly as he pauses beside us in the lounge room.

"Waiting." Steven tells him with a grin.

"Well I'm gonna go see if Marissa has any more of those biscuits. And I might go talk to Rosy through the doors again. She didn't answer me yesterday." Donovan informs us.

I send a dark scowl his way but make no move to get up and give him the cuff across the ear he deserves.

"Donovan, leave your brother and Steven alone. Just because you got to talk to Rosy and they aren't allowed in the house there is no need to tease them." Baxter scolds firmly.

Donovan whines but moves away leaving us be. I hear the screen door slam behind him and then there is silence in the quarters. I know Sam and Mitchell are somewhere nearby worrying over what punishment Rosy will receive. I haven't told them but I intend to try to reason with Wade, try to get him to keep the severity of her punishment down.

I get to my feet and pace to the window by the TV restlessly; I rest one hand against the side of the window frame as I look out at the darkening sky.

"I don't like the look of that sky." Malcolm says as he pauses in the door from the hallway.

I hear others behind him and the screen door slams making me turn to face the room in irritation. I watch as Malcolm walks into the room followed by others and realise everyone is here for lunch.

"Nothing doing yet?" Mikkarl asks quietly as he glances between Steven and me.

"Not yet." Steven confirms.

"Who wants hamburgers?" Mikkarl asks as he heads for the kitchen. "Some of you set out the salad makings. One of us might need a good feed."

Lunch is a hurried affair and I am only half way through my second burger when Donovan comes running into the quarters. His face is pale and he looks like he is about to be sick as he glances around wildly, faint whimpers of distress coming from him.

"Has something happened to Jazzy?" Mitchell demands as Donovan looks around frantically.

"No, no!" Donovan is crying as he shakes his head. "It's horrible, can't you hear her?"

There is silence and I make out a faint noise, possibly someone yelling, the sound carrying in the thick air before the storm.

"She wasn't asking for him, she didn't want him. But Wade sent Edwin into the room, into the cage ..."

I don't hear any more over my own roar of pain and rage as I head for the front door. I am just outside the screen door about to run for the main house when I am tackled from behind. Even as I yell and fight against the hands restraining me I can hear Rosy screaming at Edwin above the noise.

"...I don't want you! Not you! I don't want it to be you! Go away! Just go away! No! Stop it! Stop it! Don't ... leave me ...no ... don't want you, didn't ask for you ..."

Her screams gradually die down until they can't be heard and I squeeze my eyes shut tight as I allow myself to go limp and my forehead to rest against the ground beneath me. Her silence means her inner cat has taken control, accepting the tom with her.

"The worst of it's over for her." Baxter says gently near the back of my head. "It sounds like her cat has accepted it. It's no use Micah."

I am lifted to my feet and I try to shrug off the strong grip on either arm but find I am fighting an impossible battle as I am slammed up against the wall of the quarters and held there.

"Calm down boyo, calm down." Baxter orders. "Let's go inside and I am going to have a talk to the lot of you."

I am forcibly walked inside and someone turns the TV on while I am sat in the middle of the lounge, Steven on one side and Dwayne on the other.

"Justin keep a look out at the hallway door, we don't want Wade walking in on this." Baxter says firmly and stands in front of me. "I have been friends with Wade ever since I first met him when he came over from America to represent his family in an international werecat meeting. Not once until today have I ever doubted his decisions, let alone outright disagreed with anything he has done. You go over there now, drag Edwin out of that cage, give him the hiding he deserves, and Wade will kick you out of the clan. How will you help Rosy then?"

I glare at his boots. I don't want to look at him. I don't want to see he supports Wade's decision and I don't want his pity. I feel Steven hook an arm over my shoulders as he pulls me against his side, his head tips towards mine and I begin to realise I am not the only one suffering.

I look around the room. Mitchell is sitting beneath the window openly crying while Sam paces back and forth in front of him, pounding his fist into an open hand over and over again. Donovan is collapsed in a chair sobbing noisily; Chris and Timny crouched beside him talking to him in low voices.

No one is unaffected. Mikkarl is trying to calm Pete who is here, not having left after arriving to find Jazzy deathly sick. Even Malcolm who is usually emotionless is visibly upset. I look up to find Baxter watching me closely, his eyes moist and deeply troubled.

"I will not let Edwin move back here and have Rosy!" I snarl.

"Well you got some planning to do." Baxter says bluntly. "Donovan. Do you know if Doc saw Rosy when she was first locked in the room?"

"No I don't ..." Donovan stops mid sniffle as the significance hits him; he looks at Baxter for a moment. "Rosy was begging Wade that since she had to have a baby she wanted to pick the father."

"The bastard!" Mitchell shouts in anger and pain as he gets to his feet. "He's got no right to decide that."

"You can bet it's what he has decided for her punishment." Baxter says flatly. "Force her to become a nice settled little mother. Stop her from thinking beyond herself and her own kitt."

"We need to get Wade to let Rosy out of that room ASAP. A lot of her nightmares are about being locked in a cage. It's one of the few things she does remember when she wakes up from one." Sam says tightly.

"Rosy comes back here as soon as I can make Wade let her out of that room and cage." I say tightly.

"How are you going to stop her running away or hurting herself?" Pete asks worriedly.

"We'll all help look after her." Malcolm says. "Shower her with attention and affection. Heck we do it to Jazzy all the time, isn't it about time Rosy realised it's how we treat she-kitts."

"We don't leave her by herself." Chris puts in.

I listen to the ideas coming from the warriors and realise that Rosy has won all of their hearts in one way or another. Hope begins to grow as I realise no one else wants Edwin back here, not even his one-time best friend and former work partner Malcolm.

"When Rosy comes out of the cage I'll challenge Edwin for the right to be with Rosy. It's not the first time something like that has happened and there is no way I am allowing Edwin to take Rosy away from here. This place is her home now." I say with conviction.

"What if Rosy doesn't want you?" Sam asks tightly.

"I think Micah will respect your sister's wishes a lot more than Edwin would." Baxter says mildly before I can reply.

Sam glances at Baxter then back at me before looking away once again. Mitchell who is still standing just behind his brother gives me a hard glare but I don't look away.

"You aren't going to hurt Rosy are you?" Donovan demands as he stares at me.

"Rosy will need help and protection if what we think is happening is true. If that is all she wants from me, then I have to accept that's the way it is." I tell him levelly.

"Whatever is decided it is not going to be easy." Baxter says firmly. "That poor little she-kitt is going to be a mess, forced to accept Edwin. Then there is going to be a lot of worry for the safety of both herself and any kitt that may result."

He holds up his hand as Sam, Donovan and Pete go to speak.

"Firstly we can only guess at why Wade sent Edwin into the cage. Donovan did you hear anything either of them said before you came over here?" Baxter asks.

"Not really." Donovan says and hesitates a moment. "I was in the pantry getting some of the chocolate chip biscuits Marissa made when Wade and Marissa came into the kitchen. Marissa was begging Wade not to do it, that it wasn't right."