Five minutes later, I'm sitting on the couch watching Lily roll around the floor with the mysterious white cat and I'm not only praying it doesn't have fleas, but also wondering how the hell I'm going to explain to Asher we've sohow acquired a new cat when I wasn't supposed to leave the camper.
This is bad.
An absurd level of panic keeps rising in my chest, even as I try to convince myself it's fine.
"We're keeping it, right?" Finn asks, his arm around Bailey as he watches his sister play with the cat.
I shift uneasily. "I don't think the cat wants to stay with us." Better to bla the strange feline than my fear over Asher's temper.
Even as the words leave my mouth, the white cat stretches languidly across Lily's belly, looking for all the world like a giant, furry limp noodle. Its eyes close to contented slits as her small fingers trace patterns through its suspiciously pristine fur.
Shouldn't a cat out in the wild like this be—I don't know… dirtier? Especially when it's white.
"It looks like it wants to stay with us," Finn points out, eyebrows raised like I'm the one not seeing reason here.
"Oh, please?" Lily begs, soft and pleading. She cradles the cat against her chest even though it's longer than her torso, and the cat purrs louder.
I rub at my closed eyes with a groan. Asher's going to be so mad when he gets back, and he should be back any minute. Not just mad—furious.
I was supposed to be inside with the doors locked, not chasing mysterious animals across open fields. And I'm pretty sure I definitely wasn't supposed to bring one of those animals back inside.
Especially a cat.
A disgruntled huff cos from under the dinette. Fenris sulks in the shadows. His storm-gray eyes track the cat's every movent, ears pinned back against his skull. After I told him to leave the cat alone, he retreated to pout like an overgrown puppy.
anwhile, Bailey's practically vibrating beside Finn, her golden body trembling with the effort of restraint. She whines every so often, desperate to get to the cat but not being allowed to.
I've got her leash wrapped around my wrist, just in case. Cats and dogs aren't supposed to mix. Probably not with wolves, either.
"We can't keep it," I say, trying to sound firm even as Lily's face falls. "It probably belongs to soone, and we're not exactly in a position to adopt pets right now."
"It doesn't have a collar," Maddox points out. Isn't he supposed to be my most helpful kid? And now he's working against , too. "And it ca right to you, didn't it?"
"That doesn't an anything," I counter. "Cats can co to anyone if they're friendly enough."
And if this particular cat is the sa one I saw before… what are the odds?
I an, we're in the sa general area, but it shouldn't be possible…
Pip jerks upright in Maddox's lap out of nowhere, and turns around to blink as she looks around the room. Her eyes are still glazed from sleep, but she pushes his hands away when he tries to pull her against him.
Then she sees the cat and squeals. All semblance of sleepiness fades as she dives off her brother's lap.
He catches her before she falls head-first onto the floor, setting her upright. "Be careful. We have to be gentle, okay?"
She babbles sothing nonsensical as she toddler-stomps her way across the floor, squatting next to Lily and the cat. Little whiskers sprout on her face, and she ows.
The cat just turns its head and gently bumps its nose against Pip's outreached fingers.
"See?" Lily says triumphantly. "Cat likes us. What are we gonna na her?"
"Who says it's a girl? Maybe it's a boy."
Fenris growls from his hiding spot. The cat ignores him. Yet another animal showing no fear of a wolf, which is just… alarm bells, okay.
Maybe it and Bailey are related.
"We don't have cat food. Or a litter box. Or a kennel for the drive. We can't keep this cat. It would be irresponsible of us."
Then there's the sound I've been waiting for with dread: an engine.
My heart rate goes ballistic, and I clench my fists in my lap. He's going to be so angry, and I'm still not sure how I'm going to explain this. Bailey was barking, Pip was sleeping, I brought Fenris with —it seed like a reasonable risk in the mont.
"Asher's back," I announce, trying to quell the rising tide of panic in my belly.
"Should we put it outside, then?" Maddox asks, coming behind Pip and leaning down to scratch at the cat's belly.
Lily makes a distressed sound, clutching the cat closer. "No! Violet, please no!"
The cat doesn't struggle in Lily's tightening grip, just lets her squeeze it like it's a stuffed pillow.
"I'll handle it," I say, rising from the couch and handing Bailey's leash to Maddox. My legs feel shaky beneath . Or maybe the camper's swaying.
"What are you going to tell him?" he asks, his dark eyes concerned. I guess he's worried, too.
I run a hand through my hair, wincing as my fingers catch in a few tangles. "The truth, I guess. What else can I do?"
"Lie?" Finn suggests helpfully, earning a sharp look from Lily.
"Don't be stupid," she snaps. "Alpha wolves can sll lies."
The camper rocks as soone steps on the stairs, and all of us freeze.
I move to stand between the door and Lily, as if my body can sohow hide the evidence of my disobedience.
The door swings open, and Asher fills the fra, his broad shoulders blocking the light from outside as he looms in nacing Lycan fashion. His gray eyes imdiately lock onto mine. "I leave you for thirty minutes and you bring ho another pet?"
What the hell? Did he sll it as soon as he walked in?
Fenris huffs, and I freeze. Of course. Asher already knows. His wolf was here the entire ti, and probably told him everything.
I'm so screwed.
Squeezing my hands together, I suck in a deep breath. "The kids want to keep it."
"Of course they do." He tosses the keys onto the dinette and closes the door behind him. Then he steps forward, grabs my wrist, and drags to Echo's bedroom as energy surges imdiately at the contact.
"Wait, why are you—"
"We need to talk," he snaps.
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