He groaned.“Fine. I will get her something spectacular. A diamond necklace, perhaps.”He stopped pacing again andnarrowed his eyes at me.“Surely you have one you can spare, Valkyrie.”
I nearly choked on my wine. “Absolutely not.”
“Fine,”he huffed, continuing his pacing once again.“Then how about a diamond-studded collar? Or perhaps a diamond-studded hairbow? That is something a girl cat would like, right?”
I thought about the long-haired, feral calico. I didn’t think for one minute a diamond necklace would be up her alley. “I’m not buying Nyxie a diamond-studded collarora diamond-studded hairbow.”
He flopped dramatically onto the kitchen rug.“Then I am doomed. I have no doubt she will leave me for the next mangy animal living in the forest.”
“You’re being a tad bit dramatic, don’t you think?”
“I am being realistic, Valkyrie,”he hissed, unsheathing his claws.“I am doomed to be alone...forever.”
I rolled my eyes and reached for the small velvet pouch on the counter. “I actually got something for you.”
He sat up, his ears twitching.“For me?”
“For you togiveto Nyxie.”
I shook the pouch and emptied the contents into my palm. Savage slowly sashayed over to me to examine the charm in my hand. It was silver and shaped like a cat’s claw.
“It’s a protection charm,” I said. “It’ll guard her from harm in the forest.”
He sniffed it...then inspected it from every angle.”It is…acceptable.”
I snorted. “Acceptable?”
“Fine.”He rolled his beady cat eyes.“It’s perfect, Valkyrie.”
I laughed. “You can give it to her tomorrow night. On your cat date.”
He sat down and groomed his back paw. I could tell by the way he kept giving me the side-eye that he wasn’t done talking. It wasn’t long before he lowered his paw.“And maybe you can make us tuna cakes?”
I shook my head and took another sip of my red wine. “Fine. And I’ll make you guys tuna cakes.”
He nodded once and stood, sashaying out of the kitchen, his tail swishing back and forth.“Good. This is why I keep you around, Valkyrie.”
I bit back a snarky reply of my own and went back to preparing the charcuterie board. Movement in my backyard caught my eye, and I walked to the sliding-glass door.Through the window, I saw one of my besties, Crystal Nobel, swoop low and land lightly in the backyard. Five gift bags dangled from her mouth, and I couldn’t help but smile at the picture she made.
Crystal was a winged-horse shifter and yogi instructor at Supernatural Sport Resort. We’d become fast friends when I moved to Mystic Cove a year ago. Rota once told me Valkyries rode winged horses into battle, carrying fallen warriors to Valhalla. Every time I saw Crystal in flight, I believed it. Nothing gave me more joy than nights when we’d fly through the air...me on her back. But now that we were both in committed relationships, those nights were few and far between.
She shifted into human form beside the patio table, andI opened the door and motioned her inside. “Hey, Crystal. I’ve got red wine ready to go.”
“I need it.” She stepped inside and stomped the light sprinkle of snow off her feet. “The heat in my cabin is on the fritz. I’ve spent the last hour trying to get it working.”
She closed the sliding door behind her, and I handed her a wineglass.”Don’t they have maintenance for that?”
Crystal snorted. “All the good that did. They said they couldn’t figure out what was wrong.”
“Did you fix it?”
She lifted one shoulder. “Temporarily. Maybe.”
“If not, you can stay here until it’s sorted.”
One of the perks of working at the resort was employees received a cabin to live in. But from the sound of it, upkeep wasn’t always top priority.
“Thank you, Kara,” Crystal said. “But I should be okay. Besides, Cade said he’d stop by and see if he can’t get it working as well.”
