“No. He caught it. Then he looked offended that I’d tried to hurt him. LikeIwas the unreasonable one.”
“Being single is also overrated,” Krystin sighed, steering us back. “So much loneliness and bad dating apps. I swiped through fortyguys last night and not a single one could write a complete sentence. One guy’s entire bio was ‘I like stuff.’”
“Stuff,” Bella repeated. “Just... stuff.”
“STUFF. What stuff? Food stuff? Murder stuff? Stuff is not a personality!”
“We should find you a nice werewolf,” Bella suggested.
“Hard pass.” Krystin held up her hand. “I’ve seen what you deal with. The growling, the possessiveness, the ‘I must protect you from baristas’ energy. I’ll stick with Netflix and emotional unavailability.”
“You’ll find someone, though. I’m sure of it.” I added.
“At this rate, I’ll be single forever and get eaten by my cats.”
“You don’t have cats.”
“I’ll get them specifically for that purpose. I’ll adopt like six of them. They’ll feast on my corpse. It’ll be poetic, my last act of kindness.”
“That’s not poetic, that’s morbid.”
“Same thing.”
Daphne shifted on the couch, picking at the hem of her sleeve. “Are we talking about the banquet? Because I’m terrified.”
Right. Daphne would be there too, representing Noctherion with her mate.
“You’ll be fine,” I assured her. “We’ll figure it out together.”
“Easy for you to say. You’ve been Queen longer.”
“Not by much.” I leaned forward. “I panic every time someone bows.”
“Right?!” Her eyes went wide. “I keep wanting to tell them to stop! I’m like, please, you’re making this weird, just stand up!”
“And the forks,” I groaned. “Do you know how many forks there are?”
“Seven,” Daphne said, holding up her fingers. “Sevendifferent forks.”
Krystin looked horrified. “What do you need seven forks for?!”
“No one knows,” I told her. “I’ve asked multiple people. They all just stare at me like I’ve insulted their ancestors.”
“It’s a conspiracy,” Daphne agreed. “A fork-based conspiracy designed to make us feel stupid.”
“I will never complain about my life again,” Krystin said. “At least I only need one fork.”
“Want to come?” I asked her and Bella. “Both of you? To the banquet?”
Bella shook her head immediately. “To a banquet with werewolf royals? Hard pass.”
“Yeah, that sounds like my personal nightmare,” Krystin agreed. “Too many wolves, too many forks, not enough alcohol.”
“There will be so much alcohol.”
“Will there be wolves judging my fork usage?”
“Probably.”
