Gypsy Moon

Chapter Thirty-two: Aiden

. . . . . . (early July)

The forest was deafening after sitting with the cougar. I could feel his creepy aura fade as I put some distance between us. I had gotten so used to it that the relief I felt when it faded seemed unfair.

/:Pretty hard to make friends if being near you creeps people out.:/

/:And animals.:/

I contacted the border patrols and informed them of the werecat's proximity, stressing the oddity of his aura and leaving explicit instructions that should he be encountered, he would be shown as little aggression as possible. I didn't need someone reacting to his aura on instinct and attacking the guy.

I passed the same information to Derek to spread to our parents as I neared the packhouse and scanned the building. As expected, Mir was stretched out on the ledge of the cupola in the sun, and I barked at her to get her attention. She lifted her head and gazed down at me. My tail was wagging fast enough for the long hairs to whistle softly.

/:Anything that has you that excited needs to be rescheduled for later. I have almost made it a full week without anyone yelling or shrieking.:/

/:But it's a GOOD surprise.:/

/:Lies. Surprises by definition are a disturbance of the peace.:/

/:You'll like it...:/

/:I'll like it just as much in two hours when I'm done napping.:/

/:Lazy cat.:/

/:Yappy little ankle biter.:/

/:Oooo, low blow, girl.:/

I grinned up at her as she pointedly rolled over to face away from me. I huffed softly in laughter and trotted around to the back of the packhouse. I went to the pool house to shift back, grabbing a pair of basketball shorts and a plain t-shirt from the shelves near the door and jogged into the packhouse.

I stopped and took a deep breath, Sinah's sugary scent was nearby, and I followed it into the dining room. She, Lilian, and Kyle were at a table together, working on a plate of nachos and looking at something Lilian had. I swung a chair around and straddled it next to Sinah, kissing her as I sat.

"For the record, the next time you tell me to 'come find you', I would like to find you in our bedroom." She laughed at me.

"Sorry to get your hopes up."

"Wasn't the only thing you got up." Lilian slapped the table and shook her finger at me.

"Don't you dare ruin my nacho time with your dirty talk." Kyle chuckled and tossed me a salute.

"Better than 'we need to talk' followed with no explanation." He laughed when I winced.

"Ooo, yeah, that one's bad." I grabbed a chip. "So, what are we looking at?" Lilian grinned.

"Real estate." I stood up.

"I'm going back outside."

"Oh, come on," Lilian laughed and grabbed the back of my shirt before I could get away. "Just look for a minute, I promise I will do all the actual work and all you will have to do is sign the papers, Princess." I gave a hugely exaggerated sigh as I sat back down.

"Fine, but you promised and now I'm exempt from the actual work part." I grinned and put a chip loaded with meat and peppers on it in my mouth. "Where are we looking?" Sinah smiled at me.

"I asked for somewhere within visiting distance of the ocean, specifically for beach-going purposes." I thought of her in a bikini and growled.

"I concur with the beach idea, the hotter the better."

"I voted for the beach as well," Kyle laughed. "But I also pointed out that all of us grew up in or near the woods, and I, for one, would miss the trees." Lilian shook her finger again.

"Except Bryce, he grew up in cold desert mountains." I raised an eyebrow at her, and she grinned. "He mentioned the mountains, WebMaps and WhatTheWebby told me the rest." Kyle nodded and pointed to a spot on the map currently displayed on Lilian's tablet.

"Anyway, so I suggested somewhere around here, near Sacramento, and then Lilian found a listing for acreage off I-80 a bit, about halfway to Reno-"

"Buy it." I stood and picked Sinah up and she squealed as I tossed her over my shoulder. "I'm confiscating this now."

"But-" I started to jog away from Lilian's protest.

"Let me know when Mir wakes up!"

. . . . . .