Page 71 of Double Cut
“Yas’kihn?”
“Cousin.”
“Why are you here?”
“You must return home now that you are no longer mated.”
Masey glanced at Evangeline who returned her gaze with encouragement and a smile. Then Masey’s lips split, revealing her short, pointed teeth and tiny fangs. “No.”
The general superior reared back. “You deny me?”
“I don’t want to go. I like living here with Lady Evangeline.” She glanced at her friend who grinned at her and nodded in approval.
Evangeline raised her coffee cup and emptied it. She set it down and said, “Masey stays. You may leave. Now.”
Horas and Sarus goggled at her for having the effrontery to dismiss the general superior. Their commander-in-chief bared his teeth, but did not attack. After a second he nodded at her, a gesture of grudging respect.
“You are fierce, little female.”
“Yeah, we respond better to kindness than to bullying.”
The general superior looked at Horas and Sarus, then Masey. “Cousin, I will not force your departure. You are well protected here.”
Masey smiled and her shoulders sagged with relief. “I amhappyhere.”
He exhaled a gusty sigh and returned his attention to Evangeline. “Little flame, should you find yourself without a mate, come to me.”
“That won’t happen,” she promised and held out her hands. Sarus took one and Horas the other. Thus presenting a united front, she added, “I love them and they love me.”
Standing just inside the doorway, Masey smiled and thought of the handsome and kind shopkeeper in town who always offered her a taste of the most delectable, exotic treats. He never spoke harshly. She knew because she’d asked his employees. No, she would not be leaving her dear friend’s castle with her frightening cousin, but she might just be leaving, perhaps in another half-year and with a kitten, as the mate of a kindly, soft-spoken merchant.
