“Three bovines? No. We don’t have enough space even in the Council Chambers’ freezers for that much meat and we will not be hunting simply for hunting’s sake. We bring home and eat what we hunt or I will remove the offer from the table.”
The cat looked at him with adoration. She liked that statement. Interesting. But then, predators were careful to protect their meat and food sources. Historically, vampires knew that problem quite well. His kind had decimated hunting ranges before, leaving human carcasses and no food sources for miles around.
The cat tapped his neck three times, insistent, pushing. As cats are wont to do.
“No. Butchering, grinding the meat, and shipping three massive longhorns or bison would be problematic. Two bovines. From the back of a Hummer. An all-night hunt with me, and then if you have not brought down two prey, an all-day hunt guided by Eli and Alex. That is my offer.”
“Hey! I’m not spending all day in the hot sun in a Hummer for your hunt,” Alex said.
Beast growled low, the vibration moving through Ed and the air in clear threat.
Eli chuckled. “I’m in. I’d like to bring down a meat animal or two, if we can find something interesting. I understand that some ranches in Texas cater to hunters. Maybe red stag or scimitar-horned oryx. Something with tasty steaks, that isn’t on the endangered list, and is edible.”
“What if Beast misses and doesn’t get a cow?” Alex asked, taunting, laughing, watching them beneath his springy curls. He might be technically an adult but he was still annoyingly childishly human at times. “I mean, do you have to keep hunting to find another wild cow? She might miss and then we’d be back to your car.”
The cat turned her head to Alex and snarled.
“Sorry,” Alex said quickly. “Right. You don’t miss. My bad.”
The cat tapped twice with her right paw, agreeing to the hunt, or that was Ed’s interpretation.
“I think you got a deal, my man,” Eli said.
She removed her claws, paws, and forelegs from Ed’s neck and dropped slowly to the floor. She stretched, one of those positions used in yoga by humans, downward dog, or in this case downward cat. Casually, thePuma concolorstrolled to Alex’s table-desk where his various tablets, laptops, and paraphernalia were piled. Fast as a vampire, she struck. Knocked a stack of tablets to the floor with a clatter of breaking plastic.
“Hey! What’s that for?” Alex demanded as she dropped her paw and strolled back to the kitchen. Her tail swished in satisfaction.
“I believe it was in response to impugning her valor and her skill as a hunter,” Edmund said.
“Not the smartest thing you ever said, bro,” Eli agreed.
“Dang cat,” Alex grumbled under his breath as he dropped to the floor in a squat and picked through the broken electronics. But Ed heard the irritation and so did the cat. She looked entirely too pleased with herself.
“Alex, would you be so kind as to search your databases for a ranch I might lease or rent for two days? No other guests on the premises. One vampire-worthy guesthouse. One with wild longhorn cattle, bison, or wildebeest, and whatever Eli desires to hunt?”
Alex looked up from his position on the floor and grimaced. “And I guess you want me to make the reservations and find you a Hummer she can jump out of to hunt? And then make sure the Lear is ready to fly and get you a pilot and a flight crew? What am I? Your personal tour reservations staff?”
“No,” Edmund said, hiding his amusement. “You pointed out that the cat creature is the Dark Queen. You are the business partner to the Dark Queen. And she wants to go hunting.”
Alex muttered again, cursing under his breath. Edmund smiled, the motion barely there, and pulled his cell phone to finalize shipping his Maserati to France. He had just successfully negotiated a contract with a predator who could kill a vampire. How much harder could it be to negotiate with the warring Masters of the Cities of Europe as their Emperor?
Then he looked down. His handmade shirt and bespoke pants were covered in cougar fur.
Scowling, Ed rose, crossed the room without looking at the cat, and climbed the stairs to his rooms to shower and dress in clean clothing. He stank of cat.
Beast
Beast breathed out. Chuffed. Had left much hair and scent on Edmund. Had claimed Edmund. Watched as Ed walked upstairs. Loved Ed. Loved Ed more-than-five. Wanted Ed as mate. Ed and Bruiser and Grégoire. But Jane would have only Bruiser. Humans were strange. But... Beast thought hard thoughts, while lapping water from good china bowl. Hard thoughts said Jane was skinwalker too. Skinwalkers were strange like humans.
Beast did not have three mates, but Beast was happy. Had hunted and played with Ed-not-mate like prey. Was best kind of love. Had gotten two prey-meat-animals instead of one. Had gotten fancy war-car for hunt.Beast had played with Ed like mouser-cat with toy on floor. Beast had won. Was glad.
Janecouldbe mad that Beast got better bargain. Beast did not care. Beast was best hunter and would hunt cows with trees on head.
—
Beast looked up steps, up to Learjet-machine, one-two-three and more-than-five steps. Could see air between steps. Human male was at door to Lear, high above.
Beast did not want to fly. Wanted to be on ground with paws in Texas dirt. But had to fly to put paws in Texas dirt. If had to fly, then Learjet-machine was best, not Jane helo with noise and stupid wings on top. Learjet-machine was better than Jane helo. Lear had leather everywhere, skins of prey to sit on.
