Page 89 of Tail, Dark and Handsome: Celestial Mates
Kalini tilted her head to one side. “Ah, my mistake. That is what Clarity said. Tea? We brought a thermos.”
Merit set down his burden and spread out another blanket. Felicity amused herself with a set of colorful dolls, yawning and smashing her dolls together. A Tal-human hybrid, her striations were faint and her hair curled sweetly around her face.
“First time?” Kalini asked, handing Mari a disposable cup filled with steaming tea. She sipped, not caring whether the brew tasted of lawn clippings or dirt, so long as it was hot.
“This is nice. Thank you. And yes. I feel underprepared compared to everyone else,” Mari said. All around, the families brought baskets of snacks and hot beverages, blankets and wraps, and everything needed to keep warm and snuggly on a blustery day.
“Well, you definitely need to invest in a blanket with a waterproof lining.”
“Or a chair,” Mari said, nodding to the people set up just behind them.
“We’ll be here for hours and no one wants a soggy bottom. Isn’t that right, Felicity?” The toddler laughed and handed her mother one of the well-loved dolls.
The first group of runners approached the finish line, stirring excitement in the crowd. Marigold stood to cheer but did not spot Zero’s team. “How long do these things usually last?” she asked.
“It’s a short course today,” Kalini said, “but the teams go in waves. We’ll be a while yet.”
Winter returned, carrying a large blanket with the school emblem. “I went to speak with Zero before his race. They have the team selling trinkets. They are unusually skilled at extortion,” he grumbled.
“Don’t care. Cold. Give that to me,” Mari said, then made quick introductions. Winter sat behind her and arranged the blanket to cover them both in a cocoon of warmth. With a pleased sigh, she leaned back against him.
Half-asleep, she felt Winter tense. “What?”
“I believe we are being photographed,” he said, leaning down to murmur in in her ear.
“Leave it,” she said, cutting off his inevitable tirade about family time and privacy. “This is fine. Family-friendly, right? This is what your PR department wants.Man snuggles fiancée.And if you don’t blow a gasket, the image is rather tame. It’ll be published if it’s a slow news day.”
He went still as he processed the idea. “That is acceptable.”
When the sun finally parted the clouds and the air warmed, Zero finished his first race, liberally splattered in mud and looking pleased with himself.
“You’ve leaves in your hair,” Winter said, plucking foliage from his son’s hair.
Clarity trotted up, skin glowing from exercise, fresh air, and not a drop of mud to sully her uniform. “You did good,” she said, thumping Zero on his back. He grinned wide enough to display his fangs. He realized too late, covered his mouth abashedly, but not before Clarity laughed, tail twitching.
“Good day?” she asked, handing Zero a towel and packet of wipes to remove the worst of the mud.
“Yeah. It’s good.”
Winter leaned, speaking low so only she could hear. “The best day.”
Chapter 20
Rebel Cayne missing after tragic accident. Once a noteworthy pop star, Rebel Cayne was reported to have argued with her mate, Winter, before being forcibly removed from a party.
-Corra News Network
Marigold
The familiar sensation of being watched crawled along the back of her neck. Rain spattering, Mari held her bag over her head and rushed into the garage. She blinked in the sudden darkness. Awareness rang inside her like an alarm.
She wasn’t alone.
“Hello?”
A mew answered from the rafters.
One of the wuaps, the feline-like creatures with colorful tail feathers that roamed the property, jumped down. Marigold relaxed. The animal rustled its tail, fanning out the feathers, then darted away.
