Page 10 of Kitty Cat

“Is that a Bengal?” he asked Ian.

Cat shifters knew most breed of wild cats out there, but they didn’t usually have a keen interest in domestic cats; Ian, however, was the annoying know it all of their group, and as such, he’d probably know.

The guy shook his head. “Definitely not, no. He’s spotted, not marble. The markings make him look a little like a Savannah,” he said, “He’s bigger than a Bengal, but he’s light, too. Honestly, I’m not sure. See the ears, the nose? He looks like a margay if you just concentrate on the face. I’d say, it’s a mix. Beautiful, though.”

Everyone stared at the pretty thing who was seemingly ignoring them from his perchoire, making a show of cleaning his claws, and Daunte laughed, correcting Ian.

“She. That’s a she.”

“Was she also there when you last visited?” Christine asked.

He wasn’t the only one fishing for pieces of information.

“Oh yeah. That gal isn’t leaving anytime soon.”

“Do you know what breed she is, then?”

“Half savannah, a bit of panther, and something else. Not sure what.”

“Aisling bought her, then?”

Daunte tensed. “Can we agree not to ask about Ace again? Please.”

“You can’t blame us,” Ola told him. “We’re in her house, it’s nice, and we’re discovering things we aren’t used to. You’re basically asking us to ignore all that- that’s against our nature.”

“No, I’m asking you to respect our host’s privacy, and I’m asking you to stop hounding me.”

On this note, Daunte got up, stretching.

“Right, I’m going to take a bath now so I can crash right after patrolling the perimeter later. We have a long day tomorrow.”

He was avoiding the pride; everyone knew it. Rygan felt guilty that their curiosity had made the Beta feel like he couldn’t chill with the rest of them. Just not guilty enough to stop fishing.

He stopped the man from leaving, though, calling him back.

“Daunte?”

The Beta didn’t ignore him, but he didn’t turn his heels either.

“Thank you. We’re not showing it right now, but we’re all grateful to you, and your friend Ace. You’re saving our skin. We know it.” But because he was nothing if not sincere, he added, “However, I’m not done hounding you.”

Luck

Rygan and Coveneysat down behind the hacker’s laptop and researched rental properties in Lakesides, Oregon, expecting a big fat nothing. Their requirements were rarely met - to be comfortable, the pride needed a ten bedroom, minimum, and they also preferred homes that were fenced in. A decent territory to run around wouldn’t hurt either.

As per usual, there was zero results matching their exact criteria, but before Coveney clicked away to broaden their search, Rygan stopped him, “Wait a second, what’s that?”

He pointed towards an ad underneath their non-existent search results.

The main picture showed a modern home - one of those weirdly shaped buildings that seem to have been made of wooden square boxes, with large windows; Coveney clicked on it and they scrolled through pictures of elegant stairs without banisters, antique chandeliers fitted around modern lighting, plush rugs and marble countertops. The house was made to impress; the kind of things an actor might have bought.

“Fifteen rooms. There’s a large garden and fences all around. It says it’s just outside of town.”

Clicking on the map to locate the property, Rygan felt a smile playing on his lip.

Oh dear. The pretty kitty wasn’t going to like that; not one bit.

“It’s just outside the forest, right?”

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