h4Chapter 174: Grace: White Cat (II)/h4

Five minutester, I’m sitting on the couch watching Sara roll around the floor with the mysterious white cat and I’m not only praying it doesn’t have fleas, but also wondering how the hell I’m going to exin to Caine we’ve somehow acquired a new cat when I wasn’t supposed to leave the camper.

This is bad.

An absurd level of panic keeps rising in my chest, even as I try to convince myself it’s fine.

"We’re keeping it, right?" Jer asks, his arm around Sadie as he watches his sister y with the cat.

I shift uneasily. "I don’t think the cat wants to stay with us." Better to me the strange feline than my fear over Caine’s temper.

Even as the words leave my mouth, the white cat stretchesnguidly across Sara’s belly, looking for all the world like a giant, furry limp noodle. Its eyes close to contented slits as her small fingers trace patterns through its suspiciously pristine fur.

Shouldn’t a cat out in the wild like this be—I don’t know... dirtier? Especially when it’s white.

"It ilooks/i like it wants to stay with us," Jer points out, eyebrows raised like I’m the one not seeing reason here.

"Oh, please?" Sara begs, soft and pleading. She cradles the cat against her chest even though it’s longer than her torso, and the cat purrs louder.

I rub at my closed eyes with a groan. Caine’s going to be so mad when he gets back, and he should be back any minute. Not just mad—furious.

I was supposed to be inside with the doors locked, not chasing mysterious animals across open fields. And I’m pretty sure I definitely wasn’t supposed to bring one of those animals back inside.

Especially a cat.

A disgruntled huffes from under the dte. Fenris sulks in the shadows. His storm-gray eyes track the cat’s every movement, ears pinned back against his skull. After I told him to leave the cat alone, he retreated to pout like an overgrown puppy.

Meanwhile, Sadie’s practically vibrating beside Jer, her golden body trembling with the effort of restraint. She whines every so often, desperate to get to the cat but not being allowed to.

I’ve got her leash wrapped around my wrist, just in case. Cats and dogs aren’t supposed to mix. Probably not with wolves, either.

"We can’t keep it," I say, trying to sound firm even as Sara’s face falls. "It probably belongs to someone, and we’re not exactly in a position to adopt pets right now."

"It doesn’t have a cor," Ron points out. Isn’t he supposed to be my most helpful kid? And now he’s working against me, too. "And it came right to you, didn’t it?"

"That doesn’t mean anything," I counter. "Cats cane to anyone if they’re friendly enough."

And if this particr cat is the same one I saw before... what are the odds?

I mean, we’re in the same general area, but it shouldn’t be possible...

Bun jerks upright in Ron’sp out of nowhere, and turns around to blink as she looks around the room. Her eyes are still zed from sleep, but she pushes his hands away when he tries to pull her against him.

Then she sees the cat and squeals. All semnce of sleepiness fades as she dives off her brother’sp.

He catches her before she falls head-first onto the floor, setting her upright. "Be careful. We have to be gentle, okay?"

She babbles something nonsensical as she toddler-stomps her way across the floor, squatting next to Sara and the cat. Little whiskers sprout on her face, and she meows.

The cat just turns its head and gently bumps its nose against Bun’s outreached fingers.

"See?" Sara says triumphantly. "Cat likes us. What are we gonna name her?"

"Who says it’s a girl? Maybe it’s a boy."

Fenris growls from his hiding spot. The cat ignores him. Yet another animal showing no fear of a wolf, which is just... rm bells, okay.

Maybe it and Sadie are rted.

"We don’t have cat food. Or a litter box. Or a kennel for the drive. We can’t keep this cat. It would be irresponsible of us."

Then there’s the sound I’ve been waiting for with dread: an engine.

My heart rate goes ballistic, and I clench my fists in myp. He’s going to be so angry, and I’m still not sure how I’m going to exin this. Sadie was barking, Bun was sleeping, I brought Fenris with me—it seemed like a reasonable risk in the moment.

"Caine’s back," I announce, trying to quell the rising tide of panic in my belly.

"Should we put it outside, then?" Ron asks,ing behind Bun and leaning down to scratch at the cat’s belly.

Sara makes a distressed sound, clutching the cat closer. "No! Grace, please no!"

The cat doesn’t struggle in Sara’s tightening grip, just lets her squeeze it like it’s a stuffed pillow.

"I’ll handle it," I say, rising from the couch and handing Sadie’s leash to Ron. My legs feel shaky beneath me. Or maybe the camper’s swaying.

"What are you going to tell him?" he asks, his dark eyes concerned. I guess he’s worried, too.

I run a hand through my hair, wincing as my fingers catch in a few tangles. "The truth, I guess. What else can I do?"

"Lie?" Jer suggests helpfully, earning a sharp look from Sara.

"Don’t be stupid," she snaps. "Alpha wolves can smell lies."

The camper rocks as someone steps on the stairs, and all of us freeze.

I move to stand between the door and Sara, as if my body can somehow hide the evidence of my disobedience.

The door swings open, and Caine fills the frame, his broad shoulders blocking the light from outside as he looms in menacing Lycan fashion. His gray eyes immediately lock onto mine. "I leave you for thirty minutes and you bring home another pet?"

What the hell? Did he smell it as soon as he walked in?

Fenris huffs, and I freeze. Of course. Caine already knows. His wolf was here the entire time, and probably told him ieverything/i.

I’m so screwed.

Squeezing my hands together, I suck in a deep breath. "The kids want to keep it."

"Of course they do." He tosses the keys onto the dte and closes the door behind him. Then he steps forward, grabs my wrist, and drags me to Lyre’s bedroom as energy surges immediately at the contact.

"Wait, why are you—"

"We need to talk," he snaps.