Cattitude Read Online Free PDF Page A

new body made her land with a stagger. Then she
followed her feline instincts and sprang forward.
    “What the hell—” Max shouted.
    Belle lurched. Her human legs didn’t want to
obey her. She tried to force them to move faster, but it was like
wading through snow. Crouching to avoid low tree branches, she
darted into the trees at a fraction of her normal speed.
    This was her environment. As fast as Max was,
he wouldn’t catch her unless she let him, even with his clumsy
limbs.
    “Get back here,” he called. “I’m trying to
help you.”
    “She looks pretty damn healthy to me.” The
amusement in Ted’s voice carried to Belle. “If she wants to go, let
her.”
    “I’m not leaving until I find her,” Max
said.
    Crashing noises came from the trees near the
road. Max. She put her hand over her mouth, to stop a cry from
coming out. She’d never thought she’d run from him. Never thought
he’d be the one that made her heart thump in fear.
    Her human feet made noises too. She glanced
down at them. They were covered with soft-soled tie shoes like the
ones Max and Ted wore. Maybe if she walked on the balls of her
feet, she wouldn’t crunch with every step. She’d be quiet...like a
cat.
    For two steps she tried, but walking this way
was slower than stalking an ant. The crashing noises moved to her
left. Close, too close. Belle spied a tree with low branches,
grabbed the closest branch and pulled herself up. Her arms ached,
as if they didn’t want to do this. She set her mouth and commanded
them to obey.
    This human body was so clumsy. No stretch, no
agility, no energy.
    Belle hated it. Where was her cat body? She
wanted it back.
    Max smashed through the woods, leaves
crunching beneath his shoes, branches cracking. Belle changed her
opinion that dogs were the clumsiest creatures. Her muscles
straining, she pulled up to another branch, then another.
    None of the branches had leaves. If he looked
up...
    Biting back gasping breaths, Belle hung on.
Max walked below her, looking at the ground, as if for tracks.
Stopping, he glanced around.
    “Where are you?” he shouted.
    Belle clasped the branch, its bark rough on
her soft human hands. She couldn’t go to the hospital. She had to
stay here, find her cat body and claim it back.
    Don’t look up. Don’t look up. Don’t
look—
    She stopped her silent commands. The last
time she wanted something so fervently was when Caroline flung her
into the path of the car. Her frantic plea had worked, but look
what happened. If it worked this time, she might change into a
bird.
    Belle shuddered. Being a bird would be worse
than being a human. Cats ate birds.
    Max raised his head—a movement that made
Belle swallow a whimper—and he called out, “If you come right now,
I’ll help you. I won’t let anyone hurt you. You have my word on
it.” He cocked his head, listening and waiting.
    Belle clung to the branch, afraid to breathe.
Her hands were growing colder by the second. She wanted to drop
into his arms and let him take care of her. But she was a cat, not
a puny human who let Max do everything for her like his mother,
sister, and sometimes Ted. Sure, she let Max feed and water her,
but look what she did in return. He didn’t see any mice in his
house, did he?
    She didn’t need Max to fix this. She’d fix it
herself.
    He turned, dried leaves crunching underneath
his heavy feet. In a moment, he disappeared from her view but not
her hearing. The smashing sounds moved toward the road, and she bit
her lower lip, swallowing the urge to call out to him. Moments
passed, and her hands grew numb. Two birds landed on the branch
above her. A squirrel scampered down the tree next to her.
    Her muscles tightened and she stopped her
breath, her eyes narrowing in on her prey, her body in hunting
mode. A lesser animal would’ve given into the urge to leap at it.
But she was trapped inside this awkward human frame. Exhaling, she
forced her muscles to relax slightly and adjusted her grip