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“Oops.” I rolled my eyes. Back home, there had been servants to take care of the mess. Although when Mother was still alive, we’d been assigned chores so we’d learn how to fend for ourselves. Mother had never objected to the outside help, but she objected to lazy layabouts, as she called the idle rich. “You’d think I’d learn, but I don’t need it every day . . .”
She shook her finger at me. “Yes, but we’ve had this talk before. I suggest you get your butt in gear and sift it today, or she’s going to dump the whole thing outside and just leave you adrift next time you transform. Back to the territorial issue—you may befriend other cats outside, but the house is your territory. Just like Chase is your territory. Erika’s an intruder, and you don’t like her horning in on your domain one bit. Hell, I’m surprised you haven’t marked him.”
I blinked. Territory? Now there was a word I understood. “Is that why I feel like I’m running a double standard? Because I slept with Zach and I expected Chase to understand. Well, I didn’t expect him to understand, I just wanted him to. But for me . . .”
“You’re queen of the pride. You have to approve the other members of the harem if your mate brings somebody new home. Chase deprived you of that right. And don’t forget, he lied to you. I knew better than to trust Johnson—right from the beginning when he was trying to get under my skirts.” She narrowed her eyes. “You want Menolly and me to have a little talk with him?”
I jumped. If Menolly summoned Chase in for a little talk, he’d come away skinned and boiled. That I knew for sure. Menolly was still overprotective of me. Camille had eased up on the Delilah’s-a-naïve-little-girl attitude ever since I’d bitched both of them out about it a few months back. She’d backed off and was letting me fight my own battles when it came to love and life. Right now, I wasn’t certain I liked it any better than I’d liked being coddled. There was something to be said for having the hard knocks in life cushioned.
“No! I mean, not yet. Let me think for a while. Menolly said she didn’t think my relationship with Chase would work out, and I wondered why at the time. I doubt she would have predicted this.” In fact, I was pretty sure she thought I’d be the one unhappy to keep the relationship on an exclusive level.
Camille let out a sigh and leaned back. She closed her eyes. “Damn, my hand still hurts. Those hellhounds are a bitch. But at least we know what we’re in for, should we run up against one in the future.”
She squinted at me. “Listen, Kitten. Don’t let Chase throw you. You’re beautiful, you’re passionate, you possess every quality a man could hope for. He’s either a jerk, or he screwed up big time because he thought with his cock first, instead of his heart. We both know the blood runs south with men whenever they see a pretty face and a winsome body. Either scenario could be the case—but you have to decide which one to accept.”
“I guess,” I said, thinking it over. “Do you think we should just take a break, put some breathing space between us to think?”
“Well, we have to work with him, so you two are going to have to remain civil.” She grinned. “If you really want my opinion, I think you should spend some time with someone more our speed, if you get my drift. Maybe you’ll find that dating an FBH isn’t going to work for you. Or maybe you’ll realize you really do love Chase, and then you’ll have to find a way to confront what happened today. Come what may, you owe it to both of you to give both sides of your heritage a chance. You have one very willing and gorgeous man waiting in the wings, you know.”
She was talking about Zachary. Zachary Lyonnesse, who had made it abundantly clear he still wanted me. My stomach lurched. Should I chance creating more of a rift between Chase and myself? Or was it already there, done damage? Would I get along with Zachary better? Would we connect on a level Chase and I never could—on a Were level, even though his Pride didn’t consider me a real Were because of my heritage? I headed toward the kitchen.
“Where are you going?” Camille readjusted the blanket and sleepily closed her eyes.
“To make a phone call,” I said. She was right. It was time to explore other options.
CHAPTER 9
Zachary sounded surprised to hear my voice, but when I asked him if he wanted to get together for dinner on Sunday, he jumped right on board.
“What about Chase? Won’t he object?” he asked.
I stared at the receiver, wondering just how to answer. “Chase and I aren’t playing footsie right now.” I hadn’t intended on telling Zach anything about what happened, but before I knew it, the whole sordid scene spilled out.
Zach let out a low whistle. “He screwed up big time. Tell me, what bothers you most?”
Even Camille hadn’t asked me that. I thought for a while. “The lies, I guess. The subterfuge. The sneaking around. I can’t stand sneaks. They piss me off and always have. When I was little, K’sander—a child in my school before my mother yanked me out and taught me at home—befriended me, then he stabbed me in the back. He found out I was afraid of water, told the other children about it, and they tossed me into the pond out back of the Y’Elestrial palace.”
“Holy crap, why did they do that? Kids can be such little shits,” Zach said, growling a little.
“We were always tormented because we were half-human. Trust me, while our parents loved us, we didn’t have many outside friends. The three of us grew up unusually close for sisters, and we’ve stayed that way. Anyway, I couldn’t swim, and I almost drowned.”
I closed my eyes, remembering that afternoon. I hadn’t liked water before, and since then, I hated getting wet. A daily shower—or on rare occasions, a bath—was the limit to any liquid frolicking I might do. Rain was okay, but I still didn’t like it much.
“What happened?” Zach asked. “How did you get out?”
“Camille saved me. You have to understand, even before Mother died, Camille always looked after us. She followed me home after school to make certain I was okay. K’sander swore up and down that he had nothing to do with it, but the truth came out. His parents didn’t even punish him. The fact that he’d lied hurt worse than the kids dumping me in the pond.”
“Honey, you deserve so much better than that. I’ll pick you up at seven on Sunday. We’ll go out to the Keg Steakhouse. Afterward, how about a walk through the woods at your place?”
“You’re on,” I said, hanging up. Inside, I was a mass of knots. I’d just made a date with Zachary. If Chase found out—but then again, Chase had no place to talk. I ruthlessly kicked him out of my thoughts. I was going to enjoy my evening with Zachary, and Chase could fuck Erika all he wanted if he needed company. Apparently, she served him on a moment’s notice far better than I did.
By the time Iris arrived home, Menolly was awake and puttering around the kitchen, fixing Maggie’s dinner. They both listened silently as Camille and I ran down our encounter with the venidemons, the hellhound, and the shade, and Camille’s resulting wound.
“Shit, you really got roughed up,” Menolly said, examining Camille’s hand. “I wish I could have been there. I’d have sent that hellhound back to hell in a handbasket. You sure you’re going to be okay?”
She poured the warmed cream, sugar, sage, and cinnamon into a bowl and set it down on the floor for Maggie, then prepared the ground meat with which we were supplementing her diet. The Care and Feeding of Woodland Gargoyles had made it clear that it was time to introduce Maggie to solid food.
“For the hundredth time, I’m going to be fine,” Camille said. She pointed to the raw slice of meat Menolly was mincing. “How’s she liking the lamb?”
