Page 91 of Wedding the Werepanther

I grin. “Maybe we should bring extra clothes, just in case.”

She laughs, her eyes crinkling with joy, and the sound makes me kiss her again.

Then the werekittens burst into the room and start bouncing on the bed. “We’re dressed!” “We’re ready to go!” “Donuts, donuts, donuts.”

“I might have told them about the bakery,” I explain.

Kayla smiles at me over their heads. “Are we really ready for the Sugarpocalypse, part two?”

“We’ll picnic on the town green and let them run off the extra energy.”

Half an hour later, we walk the shadow roads to downtown Ferndale Falls and step out into the real world in the middle of a stand of rhododendrons on the town green.

The kits gape at all of the cute little shops and the mix of human and fae pedestrians filling the sidewalks. Orcs and unicorns have visited the pack den in Alarria, but many other types of fae are new to them. They ask an endless barrage of questions, and Dewdrop answers each one he can, eager to be helpful. Soon, they get so excited that all four of them talk over each other until you can’t tell what anyone’s saying.

Kayla leans close and whispers, “They haven’t even had sugar yet.”

A chuckle bursts from me.

“It’s good that we visited your house first instead of coming straight here from Faerie,” Mother says, looking around with avid eyes. “I think it was good for us to get used to buildings and clothes and whatnot before coming into town.”

“Yeah, this is alotbusier than Moon Blade Village,” Mist says. “And there are so many colors.”

As I herd everyone across the green toward the bakery, Jared whizzes by on his racing bicycle, hunched over the front, lycra-clad thighs pumping as he zips along.

The werekittens shriek with joy and sprint after him, their fae shifter speed so great that people stop and point with loud exclamations of surprise.

Calling up my power, I dash forward, running half in the real world, half on the shadow roads. It’s tricky magic, balancing on a knife’s edge in the liminal space between. Not every cat sith can do it, but it allows each of my strides to cross yards instead of feet, and I swoop down upon the kits after only a few seconds.

“Uncle Shadow, why’d you stop us?” Dawn protests.

“You were calling way too much attention to yourselves.” I rearrange my hold on them as they try to squirm away.

“There’s a protection spell on the town,” Wisp says. “Kayla told us!”

Slate adds, “Yeah, it’s why they see us as human kids.”

“You’re supposed to be practicing blending in,” I say. “Toddlers running faster than an adult human athlete isnotblending in.”

We meet the women in front of Cake My Day, and Kayla holds open the door so that the most delicious combination of smells wafts outward.

Thatgets their attention. The kits strain to get down, and this time I let them. They dash through the bakery and right past the line of waiting people to plaster themselves to the front of the sweets display case, leaving nose- and fingerprints all over the glass.

“Sorry about that,” I call out, but everyone smiles and laughs.

The werekittens come back and gather around Kayla, all piping voices and pointing fingers, asking her about every treat.

She crouches down to talk with them, patiently explaining the different kinds of donuts and pastries. When we get to the front, she helps each kit order exactly what they want, giving them the kinds of choices she never had. It might bea small thing, but it speaks volumes about her kindness and thoughtfulness.

Armed with a large box of pastries and meat pies, we return to the green and find a clear spot on the grass for our picnic. Pepperpot prepared a small box of fruit for Dewdrop, and he dives in, chirping happily. After making sure the werekittens each eat a meat pie, we let them try the sweets.

Kayla cuts up the donuts and pastries so everyone can try lots of flavors. My mother shows a distinct partiality for the cherry cheese Danishes, while Mist prefers cinnamon rolls. The kits like both the jelly and the chocolate donuts, which means they have to sample both types multiple times before declaring a tie.

Kayla watches avidly as their movements speed up, their words coming so quickly they tumble over each other. As they reach a fever pitch, she counts down on her fingers: “Brace for the Sugarpocalypse in three, two, one…”

Wisp leaps to her feet, bounding forward at a speed that makes everyone around us gasp. The other two take off after her, and Dewdrop launches into the air with an excited chirp.

Now that they’re buzzing on a sugar high, I won’t be able to corral them as easily as before. I also don’t want to stop their play—I want them to remember their visit and the benefits of shifting with joy. I pull out my phone and call Severin. “Can you put an extra layer of protection spell on the green for the next hour?”