The Traitor Panther

Chapter Seventeen-Cleo's POV

"Are we almost there?" I ask for what seems like the thousandth time. This was taking longer than I thought it would. I was getting extremely antsy sitting in this damn car.

Not to mention I had to pee really bad, but Nate had said no more stopping. He said he wanted to get the drive over so he could relax. He did seem a lot less tense when we had been in the room alone versus when we were in the car.

"We're here." Nate says finally in a grumbly voice. I think I was starting to annoy him. I looked out the windows eagerly, trying to figure out where "here" was.

It looked like a normal neighborhood.

I looked at the buildings as we slowly crawled past them. Duplexes squished together with cars in their driveways, a gas station, and then a large building with about four floors that I guessed was an apartment complex. That's where we were pulling in right now.

It was smaller than the building I used to live in, probably half the size. But still nothing to stick your nose up at. It had more of a warm and comfortable vibe to it. Dark red brick with rich green vines growing up the sides of the building. Colorful, fresh looking flowers lining the sidewalk that led to the main complex entrance.

"This is where your pack lives?" I say still examining the building in awe. "It's very cute."

"Yeah... My Alpha found it a while ago and has been slowly getting rid of the humans one by one. Now it's all panthers from our pack living in this building. It may be in the middle of town but it's very private. "I nod, moving to step out of the car. I wanted to see inside.

"How many panthers live here?" I ask as Nate grabs my bag out of the backseat and locks the car doors behind us. He shoulders my stuff and uses his free hand to grab mine and intertwine our fingers. I tense a little at first out of habit but relax when I realize we're alone.

Alone.

In his pack.

I hadn't even thought about it before, but I was getting kind of itchy about this whole thing.

I mean, Nate's my mate and I know he's my mate and I know for sure I at least like him. But what if I find something out about him on this trip that I don't like? What if he misses the toilet when he pees and doesn't clean it up? Ick. That would be awful. I shake my head a little at my petty thoughts. I was here because I not only wanted to find out more about my kind, but about my mate. I wanted a strong bond with him like I had with Ike. We had definitely grown closer since last night... but something still felt like it wasn't quite clicking right. I felt like I had one more hurdle to get over before I could start getting to know the real Nate. I was grateful for what he had told me, because I could tell how much it hurt him to even think about Amara, but that was only one chapter of his life. I wanted to read and reread his entire bible. Honestly, I feel a little guilty. We had been as intimate with another person you can pretty much be, and I was still questioning our bond.

I watched as Nate typed a few numbers into a keypad and held open the door for me. I guess this place was private. Even with Ike's pack being out of the way, you could still wander onto it by accident. I was proof of that. I don't see why someone was going to wander into a random apartment building unless they had the wrong building, and to be honest the keypad kind of stops humans from stumbling upon a panther pack all together. I had to say I think I preferred this lifestyle to a permanent camping trip.

We walked through an empty lobby towards the elevators, Nate walking slightly ahead of me. It looked like a normal place. Cream colored walls with mass produced art scattered here and there, a large wall dedicated to mailboxes for each tenant, and a set of elevators towards the back of the lobby.

"Is the mailman a panther, too?" I ask as I eye the mailboxes. I wonder if Nate ever got anything.

"Those are just for show. We don't use them." He says pushing the button for the elevator and staring straight ahead.

I nod, eyeing him for a second longer before looking away again to the front door. By the way the sun was beginning to lose its strength, I'd say it was around five o'clock. 

"Come on." I snapped back to Nate who was standing in the elevator holding the doors open for me. I stepped in, mumbling an apology. Why did he seem so cranky? Was it with me? I wasn't used to my mate acting like this. Ike was always so sweet and doting when it came to me. Especially after we spent the night together. Keep your mates separate. They are two different people.

"Are you okay?" I ask once the elevator doors slide shut and I'm left to drown in the thick tension between Nate and me.

His eyes drift down to me, staring at me. What a gaze he had. So patronizing and mean, and yet I craved it.

"I just want to rest." I nod, keeping my mouth shut after that. I would just have to believe him. I was tired too, I guess. But not tired enough to be cranky towards my new mate.

We stopped on the third floor, Nate exiting the elevator ahead of me and taking off down a long hallway to the left. We stop at a door at the very end with the numbers "35" in gold metal letters hanging on the front of it.

"Home sweet home." He grumbles as he pushes open the apparently unlocked door. He must have lots of trust in his neighbors. I guess they were his packmates though, weren't they?

I step past him and into his apartment, taking it in as he softly shuts the door behind us and sets my bag on the floor.

It's... sad here.

The air is cold and still, the room is dark and quiet. Nate walks from behind me and clicks on the only lamp in the room that rests in the far corner of his living room. His living room has nothing in it but a cheap looking couch pushed against the far wall. Not even a TV occupies this empty space.

The kitchen isn't much better; a fridge and stove with white countertops, and a plain black table with a single stool accompanying it. No microwave, no other appliances or other signs that he ever even uses this kitchen to cook in. I think of Ike's kitchen, with a coffee pot, an organizer for all his different coffees and teas, plants hanging in front of the window, towels laying on the counter after being used to clean up a meal. His home looked lived in, even when I first entered it.

Nate's home didn't even meet the bare minimum criteria to be qualified as a home.

"Yeah... I'm sorry. It's not as nice as your wolf's place." My eyes drift up to him and I feel my heart skip a beat at his face. He looks... embarrassed. Crestfallen.

Lonely.