“I can feel all his bones.” I sit cross-legged, and he chirps before curling into my lap, purring loudly.
Stella frowns. “A stray then. He’s so friendly that I doubt he’s feral. I’ll have to take him to the shelter. Mom is allergic to cats.”
I suck in a breath at the thought of taking the cat anywhere, let alone to a shelter with cages. I glance around the bright estate. It’s probably a paradise in his eyes.
“He can stay here,” I say.
Stella freezes. “Are you sure?”
I quirk my lips as the answer comes to me. The rightness of it is a sigh of relief on my senses. “He’ll be my cat.”
I run my fingers through greasy fur and am rewarded with a louder purr. “I’ve always wanted a pet.”
Stella opens her mouth before closing it. Probably to ask why I didn’t have a pet if I’ve always wanted one.
I’ve never deserved one. But this guy just literally fell into my life, and I’m not going to say no to him.
“He did choose you,” Stella says as if echoing my thoughts.
He closes his eyes in pleasure, looking too thin but majestic at the same time. “I’ll name him Griffin.”
Ben’s voice comes from the house and gets louder the closer he gets. “Katarina, I’m just checking if your guest is going to stay for dinner—what the fuck is that?”
I turn my head, and Ben’s face is contorted in horror.
“It’s a cat,” Stella says, her tone flat.
“I can see that. What if it’s someone who spelled themselves to spy on you?” Ben asks.
I frown and look at Griffin. Is that even possible?
Stella guffaws. “Give me a little credit, Barnes. I would have sensed that type of spell. It’s a damn cat.”
Ben breathes in through his nostrils before responding. “That may be, but I’m not sure Kalos wants a damn cat wandering the house.”
Anger sparks at that.
Stella is already snapping in response. “Too bad. You are now a beneficiary of the Cat Distribution System.”
Before they start fighting about whatever that is, I insert myself. “Kalos isn’t the only person who lives here. I’ve done everything he’s asked of me without complaining. This is my home too, and I want to keep Griffin.”
Ben and Stella blink at me, but he recovers, his lip twitching. “Well, if that’s the law of the land, who am I to argue?” He looks down. “I assume we’re going to need to go on a supply run for… Griffin.”
15
KALOS
I LET OUT the breath I’m holding the moment I lose sight of Katarina and her friend from my place at the window. No doubt they mean to relax in the shade of the trees after doing their yoga. I never know if catching glimpses of the woman living under my roof is better for my beast or worse.
Each stolen sight yanks at him, but the days when I don’t see her, he whines and scrapes at my self-control.
I expected her to tell me to leave the first time I’d joined her in bed, the scent of her tears still in the air, but she softened for me. She allowed me to contribute to the child inside of her the only way I’m able to.
I consider the routine of cradling her body in mine and feeding her the heat energy she needs the same as adding fire to a dragon egg. It’s a sacred duty. One I’ve done twice in my life and never expected to again.
It’s the only way I can explain away the peace the act gives me. The way I look forward to joining her bed every night and count down the hours until I can be there again. My dragon rages at me that it’s because of her, but that’s only a trick of my biology.
“Kalos,” Sophia says from behind me.
“I’m listening,” I lie.
“Sure doesn’t seem like it,” she mutters.
“Perhaps it would do with repeating,” her bonded mate Mace says. “It is a beautiful day outside, and he no doubt became distracted.”
That has the hair on the back of my neck rising. I turn from the window and glare at Mace, who winks back at me. He’s sprawled on the couch while Sophia sits at the edge of my desk, tossing up a glass paperweight before catching it. I narrow my eyes at her, and she drops the object back on the mahogany desk, sighing.
My eye twitches at the loud sound of the glass hitting the wood before I return my gaze to Mace.
The demon has a penchant for secrets. One that I’ve exploited from time to time, but that I’ve never been on the other side of. Can he hear Katarina laughing with her friend like I can? Dragons have better hearing. Either way, he knows something is up.
Could it be that he really can sense secrets?
Sophia arches a brow at Mace. “Behave,” she says as if she wasn’t just the one throwing around a one-of-a-kind artwork.
Wonderful. They both know something is awry. I trust them enough not to fire them in the literal sense for knowing that there’s an unknown woman residing with me. They work for me as independent contractors, and even though our relationship started contentiously, they are the loyal sort with similar ideals, but every person who knows about Katarina increases her risk.
Sophia looks at me expectantly. “The witches are not being patient. They want the figurine in trusted hands and don’t consider the Leonids as being that.”
Ah, yes, what this meeting is actually about.
I sigh. “I need more time. I will not give in to the Leonids’ demands in exchange for the figurine. Their price is too steep.”
I’d thought that being patient and waiting the shifters out would cause them to give another price I’d be willing to pay, but they are sticking to their original demand.
“What are they requesting for the figurine?” Mace asks. “Just curious of course.”
I roll my eyes and tell him anyway. I need him and Sophia in the know for their next assignment. “They want the northern fae gate. They say they are getting into imports and exports.”
“Imports and exports, of course that’s what they are after.” Mace snarls.
He has a potent hatred for trafficking and has worked hard to stomp out every ring to crop up this side of the gates. The location of the northern gate is very remote. Ideal for that use case, and I have no reason to believe they’d use it for anything else.
The gate stands unused and sealed by the magic that gives me ownership. If it were closer to civilization it could be useful to me, but I have other gates that are much better situated for actual imports and exports of goods. As it is, the presence of the northern gate is a nuisance. An indestructible nuisance crafted with forgotten magic.
“Exactly,” I say. “I need you two to get me all the information you can about the Leonids. Specifically, anything that will give me leverage to demand new terms.”
“I don’t know why you don’t just destroy them,” Sophia says. She’s a harpy. Being bloodthirsty goes hand in hand with her kind. “You’re a big, fiery baddy, aren’t you?”