Page 72 of Brandon’s Mate

“If you did it I am,” she said.

“I told you I didn’t.”

Brandon came in from the bedroom, rubbing sleep out of his eyes. “Do you have to screech at the top of your—” He stopped as he registered the state of the snacks. “What the hell?” he said, looking around. “Rabid squirrels?”

“Very funny,” Kitty said. “This is not fucking acceptable.” She looked at Brandon, who was trying to hide a grin. “And you can stop laughing. I still have a knife in my hand, and I’m not afraid to use it.”

“It was that Yeti-looking guy,” Remy said.

Kitty said, “Sasquatch?” at the same time Brandon said, “The Hermit?”

Remy looked from one to the other. “I guess. He said he’d definitely decided not to kill Brandon.”

Well, that was good. But she was still pissed.

Brandon said to Remy, “And you thought that meant he was a friend?”

“And that he could decimate my snack cakes?”

Remy rolled his eyes. “Like I was going to fight a giant Yeti over squished Funny Bones? No.”

Colt wandered in sleepily and picked up a flattened package of Funny Bones. “These should be called Boners. That really would be funny.”

Kitty snatched them back. “Get your hands off my Boners.”

“They’re squished,” Colt said. “Which means they’re garbage. And garbage is fair game.”

Kitty growled.

Brandon said, “You think the Hermit came in here to steal fake cupcakes? Why would he even do that?”

“Actually, I might have said I would give him some if he stopped by,” Kitty said. “Damn.”

“He wasn’t stealing,” Remy said. “He was trading. He left a rock on the windowsill.”

Kitty put down the knife and went over to the windowsill. It wasn’t just a rock—it was a small stone sculpture of a wolf, about four inches long. There wasn’t a lot of detail, but somehow it was full of personality—graceful lines, with a hint of playfulness.

It was beautiful.

All Kitty’s anger drained out of her. “Wow,” she said, picking it up and turning it around to look at it from all angles. “Did he make this?”

They all looked at Remy, who shrugged. “Like I know? Brandon’s the one who’s in Fight Club with him.”

Colt frowned at him. “The first rule of Fight Club is, you never talk about Fight Club.” Remy gave him the finger.

Brandon ran his hand through his hair and turned to Kitty. “So, maybe you should stop feeding the strays?” he suggested. “Because look what happens.”

“What happens is I get presents,” Kitty said, admiring her wolf. “Plus you have to buy me more snack cakes. Double win.” Brandon sighed.

Remy said, “If y’all are done talking about junk food, I found out who the panther boss is. A guy named Austin Raines.”

Kitty saw Brandon’s face crease into a frown. “Why does that sound familiar?”

Remy said, “Because he’s the son of Alton Raines. Former alpha of the Broken Hill panther clan?”

Everyone immediately forgot about the snack cakes. Even Kitty.

“Get the hell out,” Brandon said. “That’s crazy.”