Page 32 of Emerald Moon
“Just goes to show how prepared you are!”
Jo checked on Dolly in the backseat again.
“It’s good to worry some.It shows you care.But too much will rob you of your joy.Can you tell me something you’re happy about?”
They didn’t even need to give it any thought.“Everything!I wanted a cat so much growing up, but we were never allowed to get one.And when I moved out, I was in classes or working so much that I didn’t think it was fair to make an animal be alone for all that time.Then I moved in with the pack and thought it was maybe too weird for a bunch of werewolves to have a cat, so I gave up on it until Dolly came around the bakery.”
“Aren’t you glad you didn’t give up?”
“Yeah, super happy I got the nerve to ask Alpha Parisa.”
“And it just goes to show you, there’s never a perfect time.There’s just the time we’re given,” she said.“Sometimes you have to jump in and get what you want.”
As they chatted for the rest of the ride home, Jo kept checking on Dolly, but they also tried to remember to stay present and remember the happy parts of the day.Dolly had a new home — with them, with all of them.
They parked the car out front and walked up the stone steps to the pack house door.Diah was waiting on the other side and flung it open.“Is that her?Is our new baby home?”
“She’s heavy.She’s nervous.But she’s home.”Jo gently placed her carrier on the floor so they could take off their shoes.“Feel that, Dolly?”They asked, kneeling by her carrier.“That’s air conditioning.It lets you get all the good parts of sunshine through the windows without melting outside.I think you’ll like that part of living here.”
The door to Alpha Parisa’s office opened, and she stepped out with a smile.“Welcome home,eshgham.And Jo and Dolly, of course.It’s a big day.”
“I know!Isn’t it wonderful?We have a pet now!”Diah bounced on the balls of her feet.
“It was a unanimous decision.Clearly this is something the pack wanted, but I never thought to bring it up,” Parisa said.
“It’s okay,” Jo said.“We were just waiting for the right cat to come along.”They picked up the carrier.“And now that she’s here, I’m going to get her settled in my room.”
“Can I come visit in a little while?”Diah asked.
“Of course,” Jo replied.“You’re her family, too.”
They carefully hauled the heavy carrier up the stairs and into their shared room.Wil was working at the bakery, so Jo had the place to themselves — well, the two of them did.
Yesterday, Wil and Jo had gone to the pet store to get the essentials.The rest was all in Seraphine’s car and would be brought up a little later.Jo had even deep cleaned their side of the room so that Dolly wouldn’t get lost in a pile of laundry.
They opened the carrier and held out a tube of salmon goop.Unlike the way she usually ran for it, Dolly slowly emerged from the carrier, cautious of everything, before carefully licking the treat.After the treat was empty, Jo sat on the edge of the bed with the intention of giving Dolly a chance to explore everything she wanted to on her own.
The cat kept tapping her paw on the floor before stepping, like she was testing every inch of her new environment.It took a few minutes, but eventually she started walking more confidently and sniffing everything.
Jo’s heart felt like it was going to burst.It’d been a while since they’d felt this happy.
Sliding from the edge of the bed to the floor, Jo sat next to Dolly’s new bed and reached for more treats to put in their hand.Dolly raced over at the sound, and they felt comforted knowing that she was getting a little back to normal.“Welcome to your new room.Wil’s going to be here in a bit, so you can see her again, too.Do you like it here?It’s different from outside.”
Jo paused as Dolly bumped her little head against their leg.“I wonder what your life was like before we met.Were you someone else’s cat or were you born outside?You’re so friendly around people.Makes me think you lived somewhere before, but I don’t know.”
The cat bumped her head against their leg again and settled down next to Jo, curling up beside their outstretched legs.
“Wherever you were before we met, I’m glad you’re here now.”
Jo sent yet another picture of Dolly to Krista.They’d been sending pictures for half an hour at least, and Krista kept asking for more.The object of all these cat photos was stretched out across Jo’s lap like she was flying through the sky, legs stretched out long.Jo was getting sore from the position Dolly had trapped them in on their bed, but they weren’t about to disturb a sleeping cat.So, they took yet another sleeping cat photo and sent it to Krista.
Wil was home, too.About an hour ago, she’d carefully opened the door and made sure everything was good before squeezing in.Recognizing her, Dolly had trotted over to her for pets and some playtime until Dolly’s pounces and swats grew lazier and lazier and it was clear she’d had a big day and needed some rest.
Along with Krista’s endless exclamation points, another incoming message popped up on Jo’s screen.It was Cass.
Thank you for all the cat pictures.She is very adorable.I’m glad you worked up the courage to ask your Alpha.She seems very happy, and I imagine you are, too.
Super happy!
