---Scottie's POV---

A door slammed shut in the distance, the sound reaching my ear as it twitched at the harsh sound before I sighed. Unwilling to open my eyes, I sleepily nuzzled the warmth around me and started to purr softly when a hesitant finger slowly rubbed over my head. I leaned against the touch, reveling in the way tiny fingers brushed through my fur and settled to scratch behind my ear, making me purr even louder.

Hmmmm...that feels nice.

Opening my eyes, I came face to face with a pair of hazel eyes, which were staring at me with unadulterated happiness that made the boy nearly bounce on the spot. He was grinning wildly as he petted me, standing beside the bed with ruffled hairs, a shirt dangling from one shoulder and a pair of sweats that revealed his bare feet.

Since I couldn't move away and the kid wasn't giving the idea that he was going to pick me up, I simply turned my head to the right and laid it down on the warm surface beneath it. Come to think of it, nearly my whole body was flooded with warmth.

When I felt movement underneath me, some of the sleepy haze disappeared and allowed me to remember that I had woken up before, splayed on a certain man's chest. No doubt he was still lying in bed with me.

Oh well, I'm not going to try and move away...comfy...

"Mhrrrr..."

"Hehehe, do you like that?" The kid chirped as he rubbed over my scruff down to my shoulders before he scratched at my ear. If only I could answer him and tell him how good it felt. He smiled and sat down beside the bed, glancing at something next to me before he giggled softly.

"Ezra is still sleeping, so we need to keep quiet." He whispered and sat back for a moment, shivering and pulling his shirt right. "Ezra said I could name you today but I don't wanna wake him up yet, he can be so grumpy in the morning."

Really? I hadn't noticed that before...maybe the kid meant it in how Ezra woke up. I can imagine that he doesn't like waking up to a kid jumping on his stomach. I lifted my head and looked behind me to locate the man, twitching my nose in surprise when it bumped against his own nose.

He was still sleeping, breathing deeply through his half-opened lips but that didn't surprise me. It was the way I was laying across his throat with my head previously tucked on one of his pecs. Thank god cats don't blush because I would be a shining beacon of awkwardness right now.

I stretched my front paws, flexing the nails into the bed before I tried to move my hind legs. A sharp pain shot through my back, freezing me on the spot as I squinted my eyes shut in pain. It soon dulled to a less painful throb, reminding me not to try and move again.

"James? Spots? Stripes? How about Tigger?"

A slight shift of Ezra underneath me made me twitch before I heard his voice rumble through the room. "Jeremy, what are you doing?" The child smiled sheepishly and sat back on his heels, twiddling with his thumbs.

"Trying to figure out a name for the cat? I was just throwing out some names and see if it would react on any of them. Maybe it already has a name and it'll grow confused if we give it another name, well, I would grow confused being called Jeremy all my life and suddenly getting a new name. What if I don't like my new name? What if-"

"Jeremy!"

"What?" the boy blinked and tilted his head before his lips pulled together in a small o. A sheepish smile slid on his lips as he muttered an apology, eyes flitting back to me. I huffed slightly and closed my eyes in the hopes of snoozing back to sleep before a hand crept underneath my chest and gingerly lifted me up.

"Mew!"

Cool air blew against my belly, making me meow even louder in protest and trying to flail out of Ezra's hands but he simply sat up in bed and held me against his chest with one arm. Golden eyes twinkled with amusement when he looked down at me, rubbing one of his huge hands against my cheek.

"Look at you! What a beauty you are...Man, those eyes are stunning." He said with awe, rubbing his thumb against my jaw as I blinked in shock. He smiled, baring his teeth in a toothy grin before he yawned slightly, leaning back against his pillows. His brown hair spiked in every direction before he ruffled through it as he stood up and proceeded to carry my stunned form to the kitchen.

"Who's up for some breakfast?" he asked as he softly sat me down on the counter and opened the pantry, producing several pans as Jeremy skipped into the room, shouting, "I do, I do!" He fluttered all around Ezra, who was grabbing plates for two, a pair of cups and cutlery before he gave it to a bouncing Jeremy.

I observed everything from my spot, scanning the pristine kitchen as the scents of bacon and eggs tickled my nose, along with fresh bread and a nice, homey smell that made me want to purr. Fumbling on two paws, I managed to lie down without making a fool of myself and watched these two as they joked and teased each other.

It brought back memories of how Devon was the one to cook, since I always managed to reduce any quality of food into a pile of smoldering, inedible rubble, even if I was following a recipe. I had once tried to surprise him with scrambled eggs but managed to set them on fire. Jumping back from the flames, I managed to knock down a bottle of olive oil right onto the stove.

Let's just say we got a surprise visit from the fire department and I was banned from coming near the stove ever again. Devon secretly loved it though, or that was what he told me. He had a good time staring at the firefighters and had instantly found his future dream job.

Despite the heavenly scents drifting through the kitchen, I wasn't hungry; I felt rather woozy and would sometimes tilt towards one side before I managed to push myself upright again. Even my eyes seemed to lose track as my surroundings sometimes blurred in and out of focus.

"Hmm, seems like the sedatives are still doing their job huh?" A hand rubbed over my back before picking me up and settling me down into Ezra's lap. Why he insisted on placing me on his lap while I could've been fine on the spare seat, I didn't know but it wasn't like I could protest.

So, I made myself comfortable and started to doze off again as they chatted above my head and started to eat, the scraping of the cutlery only broken as Jeremy listed off yet another name. Sheesh, doesn't this kid take a break?

"What about Tom? Or Mickey? Eric? Oops." The fork clattered on the floor before Jeremy jumped after it, accompanied by an exasperated sigh from Ezra as the boy settled back on his seat. "Look Jer, why don't you finish your breakfast and then we'll go to Miranda. I'm sure she'll give you some good names for the cat and we'll ask Max to see how he's doing, 'kay?"

"M'kay." Jeremy sighed before he jumped off his seat and walked to the sink to wash his hands. "Do you think she made new cookies? I want some of those Scotties." I had nearly fallen asleep on Ezra's lap but as soon as I heard that name I jumped up.

The plates rattled on the table and I hissed in pain, drooping off of Ezra's lap to land on the tiled floor with a thud. Nnnnnn....I forgot that I was lying on Ezra's lap and that positioned me just under the table...Owwwwww.

"Whoa, what the- hey bud, you okay?"

What do you think?

"Mew."

Ezra picked me off the tiles and placed me on the counter, flicking a light underneath it to inspect my head closely. Jeremy was a bit confused, tilting his head slightly. "What happened?" I squinted against the light and meowed warningly as Ezra's fingers gently brushed over the growing bump on my head. He soothingly rubbed behind my ears as he answered Jeremy's question.

"I don't know kid, one moment he was nearly falling off my lap, asleep. The next he acted as if someone had lit his tail on fire." I blinked and meowed softly, shuffling with my paws before I turned my head to look at the youngster, who was now starting to hop on his feet again. I turned my head back to Ezra, wondering what was going on before I heard Jeremy giggle.

"Scottie?"

My head swished around, instantly looking up at the sound of my name before the kid cheered and ran over to yank me off of the counter, swinging me around as he cheered that he found my name. What the hell was he thinking? I yowled as the motion jarred my back and Ezra was quick to free me from Jeremy's exited yet innocent celebration before scolding him for his thoughtless actions.

"I'm sorry Ezra."

"Look, I know you didn't mean any harm to him and I know you're happy to possibly have guessed his name but Jeremy, this cat has just been under surgery. You can't just swing him around and expect the poor thing to be okay with it. He's a pet, not a toy, show him respect. Okay?"

He nodded before surprising me by reaching forwards and pressing a kiss on my head. "Sorry Scottie. I won't do it again, kay?" His hazel eyes shimmered with tears, making me feel bad for the kid. He reminded me of Devon when he was younger.

I meowed softly and reached out, playfully swatting my paw against his cheek, feeling relieved when a wobbly smile spread on his lips before he giggled and caught my paw. "Let's get him checked out now, shall we?" Ezra said, shooing the kid towards his room before he looked down at me with a thoughtful glance in his eyes before he shook his head with a mutter and walked us both towards the front door.

---Ezra's POV---

Jeremy was dashing back and forth, expelling some of his energy while we walked back to the packhouse. Normally I would've shifted and ran there but I had a feeling that if I did, the cat would freak out and wound itself in an attempt to get away from me.

I was still a bit stumped though, the way the cat had reacted this morning... Even if Scottie was his name, a cat doesn't react to his name like a dog would, popping his head up and looking at its owner. A normal cat would either ignore its owner, acting like it didn't even hear him or maybe grace them with a sideways glance, dismissing them instantly.

A normal cat would do that.

Scottie on the other hand had vaulted up as soon as his name was mentioned. Jeremy wasn't even throwing names out there; he was referring to the cookies Miranda always made. It was an inside joke with the pack, where she made 'dog-biscuits'. Newly shifted wolves would take issues with that, thinking she meant actual biscuits made for dogs while in fact, it were merely cookies shaped in dog forms.

Jeremy's favorites were the chocolate dipped cookies in the form of a Scottish terrier, or Scottie for short. It was a rare delicacy, since he wasn't allowed to have too much chocolate. Not after the day he popped two dozen of those cookies in his mouth and proceeded to stay hyperactive throughout the night and most of the following day. His sugar rush had come to an end and ended in an horrible crash, resulting in an easily annoyed, grumpy Jeremy, who grew even grumpier and meaner because his whole sleeping schedule was messed up.

"Ezra."

I looked up and smiled as Luke came to a stop a few steps away from us, looking at Scottie in my arms. His face quickly turned from happy-go-lucky to equal parts sad and embarrassed. It seemed like Scottie remembered his Luke as well.

That is, if his claws digging into my skin was anything to go by.

"Mrrrrooow."

"Nnn..." I winched slightly as I pried his claws off of my arm and rubbed his fur back down. Scottie didn't take his eyes of Luke, he even grew more skittish when two other wolves ran out of the forest, tails wagging and sniffing curiously.

I rolled my eyes slightly before letting out a rumble, allowing my eyes to shift slightly. Didn't these guys understand that cat and canine behavior was worlds apart? No wonder the cat needed to stay with me.

"Guys, give Scottie some room to breath."

"Scottie?" Luke furrowed his brows curiously as Jeremy skipped forwards and hugged the confused wolf. Luke grinned slightly and ruffled Jer's blond curls slightly, "Uhuh, that's his name. I found it out."

"You did huh? Little rascal. Look at you." Luke picked Jeremy up and swung him in a circle, making the kid cheer loudly before he sat firmly in Luke's neck. "Let's go to mom and tell her what a smart kid you are."

I was ready to stop them but Jeremy had already grabbed a firm hold of Luke's hair before he shifted, leaving me in the woods with Scottie to walk to the house myself. "You know, I figure you don't know much about us shifters, you'll learn in time to trust us." I sighed, starting down the rather long trek down the woods.

Scottie looked up at me with a low meow, yet again stunning me as his eyes fixed on mine. One bright blue and one a stunning green stared up at me before I smiled and rubbed his head with a soft chuckle.

"And now I'm here by myself, talking to a cat. I'm going crazy." I said, dragging out the last word and earned myself a snort from the cat. If I didn't know better, it seemed as if it understood me perfectly and was actually laughing at me.

I quickened my pace and headed towards the pack house. "Let's get Max to look you over again. You're too damn smart for your own good." I grumbled to myself. After what happened to the cat, I wanted to know for sure that there was nothing wrong with it.