Free Cade by Mason Sabre

enough.
    “Someone with no fucking sense,” said Stephen. “Are you two going to stay here petting him, or should we get him inside before he shifts on us and tries to rip us to crap?”
    “We need to put food down for him,” Cade said, lifting the small wolf in his arms. “I’ll carry him up.” He glanced at Stephen. “There’s rabbit in the freezer. Maybe you can throw a couple in the microwave to defrost them. We can leave them out for him.”
    The look of horror on Stephen’s face was almost comical. “What the hell did the boy ever do to you?”
    “We can't all have fresh meat,” Cade ground out. “I keep some there for when I need it.”
    “I’d rather starve that eat radioactive bunny.”
    “Well, it’s a good job I wasn’t inviting you to dinner then, isn’t it?”
    “I’ll go and hunt something,” Gemma said, earning herself two very male, angry scowls.
    “No,” growled Cade and Stephen in unison.
    “I’m very capable,” she huffed, hands on hips. “You two can sit and get into a bitch fight about it, but we really should be putting something live in the room with him for when he wakes. He needs the feel of the hunt—even if it is just in the confines of a small room.”
    “You’re not going out hunting,” said Stephen. “Can you imagine the shit I’d get off dad if his precious tabby cat got her ass caught by the Humans tonight?” He deepened his voice, squared his shoulders and spoke in a voice mimicking their father.  “Think about your responsibilities, Gemma. To this family and this pack. What will the Council say if we have to get you back from the Humans ?”
    “I’m so glad that your concern is for my welfare and not the shit you might get off dad,” she drawled sardonically.
    “I have to have priorities,” he said with a grin. He glanced at Cade and gestured to the wolf . “I’ll go get his dinner. If we’re going to introduce him to this life, let’s do it properly. I can grab him something live and the boy can learn to kill like a proper hunter.” He smacked his hand against his chest and saluted with a growl.
    Stephen didn’t give them a chance to argue. He had turned and disappeared down the path they had come from before they could say a word. He wasn’t going to shift again, but then most weres could catch small animals quite easily with their hands. They still held their abilities in watered down forms. Stephen could still slink like his tiger with ease. He could still stalk and hunt prey before it even knew he was there.
    “Unlock the door, Gem,” he finally said. “I’ll take him to the back room.”
    He laid him on the small single bed in the corner, not wanting to put him on the floor. It was, at the moment, just a mattress and a frame. Cade didn’t bother to make it up if there were no guests—not that he had any that often. Mostly it was Stephen or Gemma who stayed over. They would often shift together and go running and hunting in the woods. Then they would spend nights sitting outside drinking beer, talking and laughing. Sometimes Cade’s older brother, Aaron, joined them, but that was a rare occasion. He had met his potential now and would soon be mated and down with kids, tied down with all his beta stuff. Danny and Evie came along for the runs at times, too, but they also didn’t tend to stay over.
    Cade liked having the house to himself, though. He liked the solace and the chance to read or work on his house. Most of it was nothing but bare walls and bare floorboards, but he was still in the process of fixing things up. There were times he got so lost working on it that hours went by without him realising. The back room wasn’t one that he had done anything with yet. It just held the small bed, a chair, and a curtainless window. It wasn’t exactly inviting, but it served its purpose when needed.
    Cade’s own bedroom was just next to it and not any better really. Not decorated in any way, the only furniture in it was a bed, a