Free The Wolf and the Bobcat: by E A Price

neck; they knew he was there . “Aww, come on, you guys. People eat in here.”
    Kristy Shaw smiled indulgently at her son, as she pulled out a pint of ice-cream from the fridge. “Hey, honey, what brings you by so late?”
    It was 11pm, but Kristy couldn’t remember a time before tonight when she wasn’t in bed by 10.30. She was usually exhausted.
    “I was on my way home, thought I’d drop by and pick up a casserole grandma made for me.”
    Casey lived in a small cabin, not too far from his parents’ house. It gave him a little freedom but also meant he was close-by for babysitting, and so he could pop in whenever he wanted. He actually got a little homesick more often than he cared to admit.
    When Casey moved out, his grandma, Jeannette, moved into his room. In true grandma fashion, she was convinced he wasn’t eating properly. It was true he wasn’t, he lived on pizza, cake and beer .
    “You don’t mind me dropping in, do you?”
    Kristy ran over to him and gave him a hug. “Of course not, honey. This is your home; you’re welcome here anytime. You know, if you’re not happy living alone, you can always move back here, we have plenty of room.”
    Casey knew that wasn’t true, but didn’t like to say so, her bottom lip was already wobbling. His mom cried the day he moved out, and would love for him to come home. She missed him and wasted no opportunity to tell him. Kristy had always lived with her family, and didn’t like the idea of her baby being on his own.
    James Shaw gave his mate a disapproving pout, as he ladled some ice-cream into a bowl. “Kristy, leave the boy alone.”
    She turned and stuck her tongue out at him; he in turn blew her a kiss. Casey rolled his eyes. His parents had always been crazy about one another, something that hadn’t diminished with age .
    Casey put his hands on her shoulders. “How are you feeling, Mom?”
    Kristy grinned. “Great, honey. I’m just hungry all the time. Speaking of…”
    She eagerly grabbed the bowl and started wolfing down her ice-cream.
    “Yikes, Mom, don’t forget to breathe.”
    Kristy swallowed and let out a monstrous yawn.
    “Baby, go on up to bed, I’ll be up in a minute.” James gently led his mate to the stairs and patted her rump, which she wiggled in response. Casey pretended not to notice.
    Kristy pecked her son on the cheek. “Will we see you tomorrow night, at the pack gathering? It’s a full moon.”
    “Sure, you won’t be hunting will you?”
    “No, can’t because of the baby, but grandma will. See you then, honey.”
    “Night, Mom.”
    James looked his son up and down. “You want a drink? I’ll grudgingly let you have a beer.”
    He didn’t exactly approve of his son drinking while he was still underage, but he knew Casey did drink. James had when he was underage too; it was just different when it came to his own son.
    “Nah, I’m kind of tired.”
    James’ eyebrows shot up his head. He’d never known his son to say no to beer . “You okay?”
    Casey shrugged. “Yeah, I guess.”
    James chuckled. “You guess? You sure you don’t want a beer?”
    “I, umm, I think I’ve found my true mate.” Casey looked at his dad sheepishly.
    His dad blinked. “Wow… that’s wonderful Casey; I’m so happy.” He gave his son a quick, back-slapping hug.
    “Yeah…”
    “You don’t sound so sure. Is there a problem with her?”
    Casey’s wolf roared. “No! No, she’s perfect.”
    His dad chuckled at his tetchy son. “Then, what’s wrong? You don’t seem as happy as you should be. I mean I know you’re young, and the idea of settling down, and mating is kind of daunting…”
    “It’s not that, I just… I’m not sure who she is.”
    James’ eyes narrowed to slits, and Casey held his breath. He was 20, and he still got the same tingles he always did when his dad was about to berate him.
    His dad pulled out two chairs from the table, and motioned for Casey to sit. “To save me from guessing about what’s going