Page 54 of Beasts of Mine

Hearing it from a distance yesterday had been funny. Hearing her casually call our Head Alpha Cat directly to his face was considerably better.

Malek's ears twitched.

I can count, Malek told Evie, delivering the dry response without so much as lifting his head.

Evie narrowed her eyes at him.

“You know them. You absolutely know them,” Evie accused Malek, pointing first toward me and then Luca while she looked between all three of us.

Yes, Malek told Evie, remaining infuriatingly unhelpful while his gaze slid briefly toward me. I probably should have waited for some kind of introduction, but then I noticed her bag. Dozens of scents came from it—leather, plastic, metal, cloth, food, something citrus, several different chemicals, and at least three things I couldn't identify. Naturally, I walked toward it.

Malek made a low warning sound behind me.

I ignored him.

What's in this? I asked Evie, lowering my muzzle toward one of the loose straps while trying to determine what she had stuffed into the outer compartment.

Evie moved faster than I expected.

“Excuse you. Personal belongings,” Evie told me, dropping into a crouch and dragging the bag out of reach before my nose reached the zipper. I followed it anyway. There was definitely food inside, possibly dried fruit, and something wrapped in plastic that smelled far more interesting than whatever equipment she was apparently protecting with her life.

There are a lot of smells in there, I told Evie, stretching my neck toward the bag as she pulled it behind one bent knee.

“There are also several thousand dollars' worth of things in there, so back up,” Evie told me, planting her palm firmly against my muzzle when I tried to follow the bag again. I stopped, partly because I hadn't expected her to touch me and partly because standing that close made everything about her clearer. The blockers were strong, but the warmth beneath them wasn't difficult to find. I liked her scent. That wasn't particularly surprising.

What interested me more was the woman currently pressing her hand against the face of a leopard she'd met less than a minute ago.

Evie stared directly into my eyes.

No trembling.

No attempt to retreat.

Just irritation.

I leaned forward a fraction. Her eyes narrowed as the pressure against her palm increased, and then she pulled her hand away.

“You are already annoying,” Evie informed me, wiping her palm along the side of her shorts while I sat neatly in front of her.

I liked her.

Bossy, I told Evie, tipping my ears forward as she gave me the sort of look that suggested she'd already formed several opinions about me.

Then I turned toward Malek.

I like her, I told Malek quietly, deciding after nearly a week of his secrecy that he deserved an immediate answer. Malek's eyes narrowed. That improved the entire experience.

Evie looked between us.

“What did he say?” Evie asked Malek, pointing toward me as suspicion creased the space between her eyebrows.

Malek looked at me.

I looked back.

That you're bossy, Malek told Evie, choosing only the least interesting half of my statement while his tail moved once through the leaves.

“I heard that part. There was more,” Evie told Malek, folding her arms and waiting with the stubborn patience of someone who had no intention of letting the subject disappear.