Page 4 of Pleasured by the Panther (The Monstrum Kindred)

MIRANDA

They found Hanna where Miranda had left her—standing stiff and small in the aisle, twisting her purse strap in both hands like it was the only thing keeping her grounded.

The crowd around them had thinned as the next few names had been called—the murmur of voices faded to a hush punctuated by the occasional scrape of chair legs and the priestess’s voice on the mic.

The ballroom lights were too bright and too cold, flattening everyone’s features. Miranda wished she could turn them down and put a warm lamp in the corner and make tea to comfort her daughter. Failing that, she put on her most reassuring smile.

But Hanna was already talking.

“Mom, I don’t want you to do this for me,” she blurted. “ I know what you’re going to have to do up there in the Mother Ship — I don’t want that! I can go. I’ll just… it’s only a month, right? Bradley will understand.”

“No, honey, that’s not necessary,” Miranda said quickly. “ I’ve got this covered. And guess what— I’ll only be gone for a day and a night, so I’ll be there for the wedding tomorrow.”

“ Only a day and a night?” Hanna asked, her eyebrows lifting hopefully.

“That’s all,” Mirada reassured her. “ So you see, it’s not so bad. You’ll barely have time to miss me.”

Hanna’s gaze flicked from her mother’s face to the towering panther Monstrum at Miranda’s side and back again. Her eyes narrowed suspiciously.

“But Mom , you know what we’ve both heard about what happens when women go up to the Kindred or the Monstrum Mother Ship !” Hanna’s fingers tightened on her arms. “ What if they—what if he—” She glanced up at Korrath and flushed. “ What if something happens?”

“Something is happening,” Miranda said gently. “ I’m preventing my daughter from having a panic attack and missing her own wedding, for one.” She cupped Hanna’s cheek, made her meet her eyes. “ Listen to me. I’ll be back before you know it. I’m only going for a quick… tour.”

She heard how unrealistic that sounded, but forged ahead anyway.

“This—er—gentleman, er, Monstrum , er…” She looked up, suddenly aware she hadn’t introduced them because she still didn’t know the huge Panther Monstrum’s name.

“Korrath,” he supplied in a velvety rumble, inclining his head politely to Hanna . “ But you may call me Korr , if you wish.”

“Korrath,” Miranda repeated, grateful for the save. “ Is just going to show me around the Monstrum Mother Ship . That’s all.”

Hanna’s brows drew together.

“Mom, we’ve both heard what happens when women go up there.” She lowered her voice. “ They don’t come back. Not because it’s bad but because it’s… it’s… you know.” She went red to the roots of her dark brown hair.

Miranda smoothed her daughter’s hair back behind her ear, the familiar, automatic gesture steadying them both.

“I’ll be fine ,” she said firmly. “ Don’t you worry about me—nothing’s going to stop me from getting back to you. And you are going to go home and finalize the seating chart with Aunt Susan . She’s been helping me with the last-minute stuff—she can fill in for me until I get back.”

“Aunt Susan ?” Hanna sniffed, wobbling between relief and protest. “ She thinks the napkins should be ivory . We already decided on white.”

“Then you can lovingly tell her she’s wrong and that the bride gets the last word,” Miranda said, trying to smile. “ See ? You don’t need me for that.”

Hanna let out a breath that was almost a laugh and then caught on a sob. “ Are you sure?” she asked, small again. “ I’ll never forgive myself if something happens to you!”

“I’m sure.” Miranda gave her one more squeeze. “ And nothing’s going to happen. I’ll see you tomorrow afternoon for the wedding. And you are going to take it easy and eat something and maybe take a bath that actually involves bubbles instead of just scrolling on your phone.”

Hanna put a hand on her hip.

“Don’t be bossy, Mom .”

“I’m being motherly ,” Miranda corrected. “ Because I love you.”

“I love you too,” Hanna whispered, and then she was hugging Miranda again, harder, like she could keep her mother there by sheer force of will.

Miranda hugged her back, breathing in the familiar scent of Hanna’s shampoo, the one she’d been buying since high school. She felt Korrath’s presence beside them—not crowding, not impatient, simply there .

At last Hanna let go, wiping her eyes with the edge of her cardigan sleeve. She darted another look up at Korrath , wary but hopeful.

“You’ll bring her back? In time for my wedding?” she asked him.

Korrath inclined his head.

“She will return before your Joining ceremony,” he said. “ You have my word as a Monstrum Warrior .”

There was something in the way he said it—simple and quiet—that made Miranda’s shoulders drop half an inch. Hanna must have felt it too, because she nodded, reluctant but resigned.

“All right,” she said, and then, to Miranda , “ Call me if you can? Just to check in?”

“I will,” Miranda promised. “ Now go find Aunt Susan before she orders ivory everything.”

That pulled a real laugh out of her daughter at last.

“Okay.” She squeezed Miranda’s hand one more time, then took a step back, then another, like she was practicing letting go. “ Be safe, Mom .”

“I will,” Miranda said again, and meant it more than she had five minutes ago.

She turned back to the huge Panther Monstrum .

“Shall we go?” he murmured, looking down at her and offering his arm. “ Our time together is short.”

The old-fashioned, courtly gesture surprised Miranda . Since there didn’t seem to be anything else to do, she slipped her hand back into the crook of Korrath’s elbow.

The heat of him was startling and the short, dense fur that covered him from head to toe felt silky to her touch. As they started toward the side exit of the ballroom, Miranda glanced back.

Hanna still stood there, clutching her purse and watching, her face a mixture of worry and hope. Miranda lifted her chin and tried to send confidence across the space between them.

“I need to go now,” she said quietly, half to Korrath , half to herself.

“Come,” he murmured, and the word wasn’t a command so much as an invitation.

Miranda let him lead her away, the hum of the Monstrum Mother Ship —impossible and yet all too real—already thrumming at the edges of her awareness.