It's A Hoot (mxm)

Chapter 22

Caledon's face twisted into an ugly sneer. "It's none of your fucking business what I want. We had a deal and if you want me to trust you, you better damn well hold your end up, am I fucking clear?"

"Calm down, son, and think about this rationally. Don't you think we need to know who it is we're helping you get back in order to do it?" Pops replied, unfazed by the outburst.

Caledon cursed and turned on his heel. He started to pace, scrubbing at his scalp. "He's just valuable to me, okay?" He took a deep breath in and stopped with his back to them. "He's just a stupid-" his hissed out in frustration- "cat shifter that cooks and cleans for me. They're going to turn him into mince meat if I don't do anything and I have a damned conscience, happy now?" He snapped his head around to glare at them as if they had him at gunpoint.

Toren was, admittedly, surprised that his cousin seemed to care for someone other than himself. He was so hot and cold, it was hard to figure him out. He was throwing him for a loop.
One minute he was a callus, calculating mastermind, and the next he was a caring friend. What was real and what was fake? He couldn't put aside the possibility that Caledon was an excellent actor and only showed what he wanted them to see. Even glimpses of vulnerability to make him appear more trustworthy.

Pops grunted and tilted his head, just as Toren caught the distant sound of an engine.

"Landon's home. Let's take this inside where it's more comfortable." He turned to head out of the barn, but Caledon didn't move.

"Hold on, you can't just go around telling people all of this now," Caledon spat. "How am I supposed to not end up connected, hm?"

"We're not going to do that, but we might need to bring in a few more trusted people to do this." Toren stated out flatly. As much as he himself hated the idea of getting others involved, he had a feeling that whatever Caledon needed done was going to take someone who knew what they were doing.

Caledon relented and the three of them trekked back to the house. Landon's pickup was parked next to Pops' and the boys were jumping around him excitedly while Taz was shifted into a human and running his mouth off. He kept glancing over at the barn and Toren knew he was explaining the situation.

Taz spotted them first and bolted over, latching onto Toren and wedging himself between him and Caledon, sending the man a snarl.

"You okay?" He asked, his eyes going big and soft.

Toren smiled at his protective nature and pat the top of his head. He wasn't exactly comfortable being constantly touched and clung to, but he knew it was in a wolf's nature to do so. "I'm good. A little space though, okay?"

Taz immediately released him and gave him a sheepish grin.

"We're playing nice to Caledon, for now," Pops said, stuffing his hands in his pockets.

Onry hid behind Landon and murmured, "I don't like him... He smells funny."

Landon eyed them all and gave Toren a smile, but he seemed to be thinking everything over. It made Toren wonder what exactly Taz had said.

So much, he was starting to feel drained. Maybe it was too much, but it wasn't going to stop or slow down until it was over, no matter what he did. He sighed, his shoulders slumping forward.

"Hey," Landon said, rubbing the back of his head. The very definition of awkward was in that greeting. Toren couldn't imagine how odd all of this was for him. For everyone.

Landon was dressed casually, a blue flannel over his T-shirt. He'd come from his evening classes. He had his book bag slung over his shoulder and he smelled strongly of other people. He was a very social guy, Toren could imagine him being friendly with everyone.