Page 176 of Echoes of the Banshee

Thea rolls her eyes.

“Thanks, I think.”

She sinks down on the floor. I look around the room, trying to find something to keep us entertained and notice a pile of games.

“Dylan, grab a board game,” I tell him. “Let’s do something while we wait for the food.”

Dylan spends a few minutes rummaging through the pile and offering games.

“Scrabble,” Thea calls out.

Benson raises an eyebrow. “Seriously?”

“I like it,” I reply with a shrug. “It’s a classic.”

Benson looks between Thea and me, a challenge lighting up in his eyes.

“So, are we playing to win or just for fun?”

“I’m in it to win it,” I reply immediately, sinking down next to Thea. “You?”

“Same,” Thea says, her smile a little too sharp. “You better be ready.”

Benson laughs, then leans in to whisper in my ear. “She’s going to destroy us, isn’t she?”

“A hundred percent,” I tell him. “All together, I doubt we can beat her.”

As we start playing, the game takes on a competitive edge. We all banter back and forth. My ‘APPLE’, Benson’s ‘HORSE’, and then Dylan’s ‘PIE’ are completely obliterated by Thea when she changes Benson’s word to ‘HORSEPOWER’ while landing a double word! We’re so screwed. She’s way ahead, more than double anyone else’s points, when she suddenly gets a wicked smile on her face.

“Zair, remember when you told me to remind you never to play Scrabble with me?” she asks, her tone as innocent as ever. Then she places ‘VEXING’ on the board and watches me, waiting for my reaction.

“You’ve got to be kidding me!” I laugh as I realize why she’s so triumphant. “Did you seriously remember that in case we ever played Scrabble?”

“Yup,” she says, still grinning.

The game continues in the same rhythm until Ollin returns with a woman, who he introduces as his sister Cat, and a whole lot of food.

Thea attempts to wake up Mavrik but he waves her off. She sits down and falls into conversation with Cat.

“I’m sorry, I have to ask,” Thea says. “I always thought Ollin was a cat shifter, are you a cat shifter named Cat?” Thea grimaces but Cat just laughs.

“My real name is Ehecatl. Since most Americans can’t say it, someone shortened it to Cat and it stuck. But yes, we’re cat shifters,” she explains.

“That’s a cool name. What does it mean?” Thea asks her with enthusiasm. I don’t think there’s anything Thea loves more than learning, except maybe a perfectly sharpened pencil to write it down.

We all gorge ourselves on some of the best molé I have ever eaten and talk about everything: except what happened. When the sun sets Ollin and Cat say goodbye and we all look around, realizing there aren’t nearly enough sleeping places.

One bed, one couch, and four people.

“I call the couch!” Dylan declares, his huge werewolf body taking over the couch as he shoves me off. His head lands with a thud in Thea’s lap, and I watch as she sighs in resignation.

“You’re a damn wolf!” Thea argues, pushing against his chest. “Shift and sleep on the floor.”

“Never,” he yawns.

Thea sighs, standing up and stretching her arms over her head. As she does, her shirt rides up, exposing more of her thighs. I should avert my eyes, but I don’t. My heart hammering in my chest.

“I’m fine sharing the bed. I slept with B the last two nights anyway, and since Zair’s had access to my magic, I don’t think we could be more intimate.”