Page 198 of The Queen’s Shadow

“Alley Cat was a little stuffed plushie that Rycon was obsessed with.” Rhyalla explained, her eyes shining with mirth. Kasha glanced at me, her mouth dropping open.

“You had a stuffie?” She asked, giggling. I tried to scowl but couldn’t manage to keep the corner of my mouth from hooking up.

“Hey, he was a badass, okay? Kicked all the other stuffies’ asses.”

“Do you still have him?” Kasha asked, her eyes lighting up.

“No.” I replied.

“He’s lying!” Rhyalla gasped, leaping to her feet. Koda let out another booming laugh and hit the table again raucously.

“He still has Alley Cat! Where did you stash him, Little Cub? We must introduce him to Kasha!”

I shot them both a smirk and shook my head, getting up to put some hot water on. Kasha had turned down the Cachaça in favor of tea, and I had noticed she had drained her cup a little while ago.

“If I tell you, I’ll have to kill you.” I replied mildly, stoking the coals in the wood burning stove to get the water heated again.

“Tell you what, Little Sprite,” Koda whispered to Kasha conspiratorially, “When Aiden gets here, we’ll recruit him. He’ll help us sniff out old Alley Cat.”

“You really think he would help?” Kasha asked, her voice filled with mock seriousness, acting as if they were Sherlock and Watson, hot on the trail of a missing person.

I kept my back to them, so they wouldn’t see my shit eating grin. I couldn’t believe how much Koda had brought her back to her old self in such a short period of time. I was so glad I had pushed her to come out and say hi.

“Of course. Aiden has the nose of a bloodhound. He’ll sniff out the rascal.”

I refilled Kasha’s tea ball and mug before sliding back into my seat next to her. Putting her cup on the table, I casually draped my other arm across the back of her chair, holding my breath as I did so.

Would she pull away?

She didn’t even seem to notice, she just beamed at Koda, nodding. “We’ll hunt down Alley Cat before we leave. Mark my words.” She turned to me, her massive brandy eyes sparkling with mischief, and my heart skipped a beat. I smiled at her lazily, doing everything in my power to hide the eruption of butterflies her smile had unleashed in my gut.

“Fat chance. I’ve been hiding shit from Aiden since we were cubs. You’ll never find him.” I purred, and Kasha scrunched her nose up at me, taking a sip of her fresh tea.

“We’ll see about that. I bet I’ll figure out your hiding spot. I’ve always been good at hide and seek.” She smirked and I chuckled softly, holding her gaze. For a moment, it felt like it was just the two of us, and she searched my face, her smile slipping slightly. The tips of her blue hair brushed against my hand where it rested on the back of her chair. I pinched a lock with my fingers and gave it a gentle tug.

“You can’t hide from me, Kasha.” I said softly, rolling the lock of hair between my fingers. “I’ll always find you.”

Neither of us were smiling anymore. She was looking at me like she had never really seen me before, and her mouth parted slightly. My eyes dropped to her soft lips and I breathed in her catnip scent, my heart slamming against my ribcage.

I didn’t know how she always did this to me. How she always made me feel like I couldn’t fucking breathe.

Suddenly, Koda cleared his throat. He smacked the table again, causing us both to jump and look away from each other.

“Well, I think it’s time I head to bed. Rhyalla! Where can this old bear rest his weary paws?” He bellowed, and Rhyalla hiccoughed as she got to her feet, looping her arm through his.

“I’ll show you,” she said, though she seemed a little unsteady on her feet.

Shifters had such fast metabolisms; it was difficult for us to drink to excess. However, Rhyalla had been trying to keep up with Koda, who was three times her size. It looked like she had overdone it. It wouldn’t last long, but for the time being I didn’t want her getting lost in the dark.

I got to my feet. “I’ll come for the walk and drop you off at home, Rhyalla.” I said.

“Yay! Walking party! Kasha, are you coming to the walking party?” Rhyalla slurred and I chuckled, glancing back at Kasha. I shook my head at her and held up two fingers, indicating I would be back in a few minutes, and she didn’t need to come. She smirked, clearly amused that Rhyalla was tipsy and nodded at me, giving me a subtle gesture to go on ahead.

I dropped out of the tree, landing lightly on my feet and holding my arms out to catch Rhyalla, knowing she would launch herself out of the tree too, despite being too drunk to stick the landing.

“Whooo!” She squealed as she fell through the air, before landing like a sack of potatoes in my arms. “Thanks, big brother, you’re a good catcher!” She smirked and I put her down, watching as she all but skipped off in the direction of the guest houses. Rhyalla was a fun drunk. I hadn’t seen her like this in… actually, I wasn’t sure I had ever seen her drunk before.

Koda meandered up beside me, cuffing me on the shoulder. He tempered the force this time. He was already adapting to spending time with us panthers instead of his bears, and I was spared the whiplash I normally suffered from his casual back slaps.