“Hitched! I did not get married, Toby. Only old people get married.”
“Pfft! Look pretty old to me!”
“Urgh, if you weren’t injured, I’d kick your butt with my new ‘badass’ skills!’”
Toby shook his head, trying not to laugh. “Dark Shadow though! I can’t believe you’ve mated a Dark Shadow wolf.”
“Don’t forget he’s the alpha’s son. That’s the best part. I bet Jackson’s wishing he’d left me where I was.”
“I’m not. It’s about time something interesting happened around here. This place was dull without you.”
“Thanks, Toby, I’m pleased to be back.”
“You mean that or you just humoring me?”
Turning her head, she found Toby staring at her intently. “I mean it, Toby. Things aren’t great, but I know this is where I belong. I’m a shifter now, a mated one!”
“So where is he? Cage seems to think he is a douche.”
Katalina burst out laughing. “He’ll be back soon I think. I can’t believe Cage said that?”
Toby laughed and gasped, his face scrunching up. “Stop making me laugh!”
“But douche? I can think of many things Cage would call him, but not that.”
“Well, he didn’t say douche exactly, but it’s what he meant.”
They were both laughing when Bass walked in. “I hope you’re not talking about me?”
Katalina smiled wickedly. “Depends, are you a douche?”
“A douche? Is that even a word?” Bass asked.
Katalina nearly choked for laughing.
Toby reached over to grab his phone. “According to the urban dictionary, douche or douchebag, means, ‘someone who has surpassed the levels of jerk and asshole; however, not yet reached fucker or motherfucker’.’”
Toby’s mother chose that moment to walk in, a plate of food in her hand. “Toby!” she gasped, looking outraged.
Katalina bit her lip to keep from laughing. “Right, I best be off.”
“Already?” Toby whined, the look on his face saying, ‘don’t leave me alone with my fussing mother’.
“Sorry, Toby, I’ve lots of important ‘badass’ things to do.” She lifted his legs gently, getting up.
Once out of the room, Bass blocked her path, a questioning look on his face. “Badass?”
“A joke. So you weren’t gone very long. Did everything go okay?”
“I left them on the border of Dark Shadow land. Someone will find them soon, but it’s not patrolled regularly. I’m not ready to face my father yet.”
“Okay,” she answered, not sure she’d ever be ready to face his father. “Come on. Let’s raid the kitchen. I’m starving.”
He stopped her as she was about to push the door. “Hey, Kat, about before.”
Katalina stopped his words with a kiss. “Leave it for tonight. I just want to forget about everything until tomorrow.”
Chapter 28
Sitting at the table when Jackson came in, Katalina rubbed her arms as a cold gust blew in. The night had grown dark and there was a chill in the air that even Katalina felt.
“It’s pretty nippy out there. I reckon we’ll have another dumping of snow before winters out.”
Cage walked into the kitchen. He ignored Katalina and Bass as he walked past. “All quiet out there?” he asked Jackson.
“Yep, you shouldn’t have any bother. Tate’s just arrived from out of town. He’s a bit inexperienced, but four eyes are better than two.”
Cage gave a thoughtful nod as he went out into the cold night.
“What you got there then?” Jackson asked Katalina, looking at her plate.
“Sandwich,” she replied slowly as if he were dumb.
“Looks good.” His hand snatched out, a blur of speed. Katalina looked down at her plate, the last half of her sandwich was gone.
“Hey!”
“What? I’m hungry. Been out there the last hour making sure you’re safe. Least you can do is feed me.” He smiled at her. It was the first time she’d seen an emotion on his face other than anger or irritation.
She almost laughed, but stopped the urge before it happened. No way was she just going to start playing happy family with him. He’d have to work harder than a smile and stealing her food.
“Well, enjoy it.” Her chair scraped back loudly. “We're going to bed.” She gave Bass no other option. Pulling his hand, she dragged him to his feet. He quickly reached out for the last of his food to take with him.
“Bed?” Jackson spluttered.
“Yeah, you know, the place you go to sleep,” she said sarcastically.