Page 72 of Cats Never Fly

Inodded.Carterwas the one with the nice assI’dseen when we’d first come in, butLeviandParkerwere the ones who caught my attention.Iwasn’t even a succubus, andIfound the sexual tension pouring off them scrumptious.Ihad a whole set dedicated to helping people take those last few steps to admitting their love for one another.Imight not have had many relationships myself, butIwas a sucker for watching other people fall in love.Hmm…Whatwould it take to get these two over that hurdle?IfIwas on stage watching this unfold,I’dgo with my version ofAliciaKeys’ “Fallin’” and follow it up withJamesBlunt’s“You’reBeautiful” and then adapt what came next based on what they did.

“So, what’ll it be?”Jeremyasked. “Whatare we playing?”

“WhataboutWitsandWagers?”Ashasked. “IthinkPawscould play that one.”

Pawssniffed the box, then lifted his head quickly as if embarrassed at having done that. “Speakingof wagers, where isHayden?” the cat asked, as if determined to turn everyone’s attention away from him.

“Hasn’the been in?”Vanasked.

“Nottoday.”Jakeshook his head. “Hehasn’t been in much at all lately.”

“Hetold me…”Van’sforehead furrowed. “Nevermind.”

“Findingout about whatRobbiewas doing seems tohave hit him hard,”Mercersaid.Oakwrapped his arms aroundMercerand held him tight as soon as he saidHayden’sbrother’s name.Iwondered whatRobbiehad done to them, because there was obviously some trauma there. “Robbiewas always a little asshole, andIfor one am happy his pack of delinquents in the hills is gone.Inever liked the guy, but evenInever would have expected him to have people caged on his property.Itmust have been a real shock forHayden.”

“Whatwager is he talking about?”IaskedSimon.

“Thereis a bet going on right now about how long it’ll take him to accept he’s the alpha.Ifyou want to put your name down for a date, check withPaws.He’ssort of in charge of it.”

WillowLakewas a strange place.

Ilaughed more thanI’dthoughtIwould as we played.Simoneven started to relax about half an hour in, and that made everything so much better.Iwas invited to their weekly community potluck onSunday, which was being held in the parking lot until renovations to the inn were further along.Everyone—includingSimon—warned me to steer clear of his mama’s mystery casserole.Iwas half-tempted to try it at the next gathering because it seemed like a rite of passage.

Awhile later,Iwent to the bar to order a round of drinks.I’dalways found that free drinks went over well when you were making new friends.Assoon asIreached the counter, the two people whoIhad spotted peering out of the kitchen earlier rushed toward me.Ihadn’t looked too closely at them before, butIsaw now that they weretwo young men.Sincethey were in the pub, presumably they were old enough to drink, but they couldn’t have been much older than that.Theywere both supes.

Thetaller one was dragging the shorter one toward me.Theyobviously had something on their minds.Thisshould be interesting.

“Hi,” the taller one said as he pushed his long, dark hair back to reveal his smooth, golden-brown skin.Thisclose, he looked even younger thanI’dfirst thought.Hewas a kelpie.Hewas a long way from the ocean.Howhad he ended up here? “I’mBrodie.ThisisDakota.”

Dakotahad earth magic of some kind; he had the energy of a druid or a green man.Histight black curls bounced around his face as he nodded at me.Perhapsit was the roundness of his brown cheeks, butDakotaappeared even younger than his friend.

“HowcanIhelp you?”

“Whatwas it like?”Brodieblurted out the question like it’d been all he could think about the whole night.

Iraised my eyebrows. “Whatwas what like?”

Dakotaleaned forward, although he kept a healthy distance between us, like he was scared to get too close. “Theysaid you’d been in a cage.Thatyou escaped from the trafficking ring,” he whispered.

Inodded. “Yes.That’strue.”

“Whatwas it like?”Brodieasked again.

“Whydo you want to know?”Iglanced down the bar to whereAlicethe bartender was filling pints.Shewas listening to the conversation but didn’t seem alarmed or surprised by it.

“Wewere supposed to be sent there,”Dakotasaid in another whisper.Ashe spoke, his face took on a green-ish tinge, and dark green vines wove through his dark hair.

Oh.Thesewere the ones found onRobbie’sproperty.I’dheard a bit about them fromVanwhen we’d driven toAspenBay.Ihadn’t realized they were working forJakenow, althoughIremembered something about them living withGage’steam as part of a sanctuary they were starting.

Theirfaces were so young.Soinnocent.Soscared.Thesetwo may have been safe here, but what they’d been through obviously still haunted them.Theyreminded me ofMorgan, even thoughIwas sure the unicorn was older than they were.

“Youwere lucky to have missed all that,”Isaid. “Butwe’re going to find everyone.”

“Butwhat was it like?”Brodieasked for the third time. “Ican’t stop thinking about it, imagining what it would be like.Ijust…Ineed to know.”

Hefeared the unknown.Icould understand that.Whateverhad happened to him must have been terrible, but he knew those cages had been a gateway to something worse.Inthe mirror behind the bar,Icould seeVanandGageapproaching us.Simonwas right behind them.Thebar had gotten quiet.Thelaughter from the game tables had died down.Thechatter by the pool table was gone.Everyonewas listening.

Simoncame right up and wrapped his arms around me.Iwas surprised.Ihadn’t expected my kitty cat to be much for public displays of affection, but his touch was exactly whatIneeded.Idoubted these two were asking to bemalicious, but this was certainly not a comfortable topic for me.