Page 65 of Monster's Melody

Kitties.

I snorted.“Okay, okay.I’ll just have to get my kitty fix from Shadow and Miki-Leopard.

Not.

Kitty.

Fix.

Hissies.

Fix.

I opened my mouth to reply, but they apparently weren’t done.

Kissies.

For.

Hissies.

Not.

Kitties.

“Yes, that’s true,” I soothed as I dropped kisses on each very agitated head.“All my kisses are for you darlings.I love each of you very much.”

“Total suck-ups,” Vorzak grumbled at my side.“Always stealing my mate.”

I turned and stared at him.“Are you serious right now?The Hissies are part of you.Theyareyou.You cannot possibly be jealous of them.”

He scowled.“I can when you give them more kisses than me.”

At that, I burst into laughter.Seriously, this man was as ridiculous as his snakes.

Of course, that didn’t stop me from climbing onto his lap so I could deliver as many kisses to him as I’d given The Hissies.

Obviously, his kisses were of a much longer duration and significantly hotter.

After that completely entertaining breakfast, I headed off to my next final in an excellent mood.

That mood stayed with me through my Culinary Arts final, which was super fun because it combined two of my loves—cooking and eating.Plus, bonus!I aced it.

Amazing as it seemed, I actually returned to the cafeteria for lunch in an even better mood than when I left it several hours before.

Mikaela and Kasi, however, were not in good moods at all.In fact, they seemed downright depressed.

“What’s the matter?Did your finals go that poorly?”I dropped into a chair across from them and stared.

Shadow was right under Kasi’s chin, nudging her and rubbing against her, almost as if she could sense Kasi’s emotions.I hadn’t told anyone I thought I’d been dreaming of her parents, but maybe she’d been having her own dreams.

“Jahrdran passed all his classes,” she said glumly.

“Elliot did too,” Mikaela said.She had her head down on the table and was looking more miserable than I’d ever seen her.

“Okay, that’s good news, though, right?I mean, I was kind of worried they’d throw away months of work just to stick around another year.”

Kasi and Mikaela both lifted their heads and glared at me.