Page 149 of No Need to Run

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“Mr. Pickles. Don’t be grumpy,” Ivy scolds.

I shrug. “Well, it is his house.”

“That doesn’t mean he needs to be a bully.”

His tail flicks once.

I crouch slowly, opening the carrier just enough for Luna to peek out.

She blinks, then hisses.

Mr. Pickles does not hiss back.

He steps closer, slow and deliberate. He looks… curious.

Drew moves beside me.

“This feels like a bad idea,” he mutters.

“It’s fine,” I say calmly.

Mr. Pickles lowers his head slightly, sniffing.

Luna puffs up. She looks so tiny and ridiculous.

I reach in and scoop her up gently.

“It’s okay,” I murmur, smoothing my hand down her back.

She settles almost immediately.

Mr. Pickles watches.

But he’s not impressed, either.

We’ll get there.

Everything does.

I look at Drew.

Eventually.

“I’m obsessed,” Ivy says, still crouched beside me. “She’s so tiny.”

“She tried to attack me,” Drew says.

“She was defending herself,” I reply.

“From what?”

“You.”

Ivy snorts.

Sebastian laughs quietly from across the room.

I glance up.

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