When I looked at Merric again, he was smirking.
“Why did you really want to come out here?” I asked coolly, hand curled at my hip.
“What’s been here?” the fox asked, his entire manner having done a one-eighty. Now he strode to the privacy fence, running his fingers over the wood.
“Excuse me?”
He looked back at me, eyes narrowed impatiently. One tail flicked in my direction. “It wasn’t a difficult question, George.”
“Nothing? Av and I come out here to take care of the herbs–“
“No. That’s not what I mean. What else?”
“The neighbor’s cat?” My voice rose slightly.
Merric very visibly rolled his eyes, dissatisfied. “Don’t play coy with me,” he warned. Then very suddenly, he grinned, the look lighting up his pale face. “Or do. If you want to play with a fox, then by all means.” He swept his arms wide in a welcoming gesture. “Though you might not be quite at my level.”
He was both infuriating and terrifying at the same time.
I let out a breath, held his gaze, but didn’t answer.
He walked around the yard a second longer, rubbing his hand over another part of the fence as if wiping something off. I had no idea what he was doing, but when he returned to where I still stood on the deck, he was back to his perfect façade; eyes muddy brown once more.
“We can go back in now. Thanks so much for letting me look around, George.” His tone, too, was the Merric I had believed him to be, but the look in his eyes was goading.
I didn’t speak, but I opened the door once more to let us back in.
“How many kinds of herbs are you growing?” Merric asked loudly, his voice marveling. “Eleven? Twelve?”
Aveline was sitting in the recliner and smirked. “Fourteen,” she informed him kindly.
“That’s so impressive. My aunt has an herb garden-“ he launched into what I figured was absolutely a lie and Aveline nodded along.
The doorbell rang and I thanked the Goddess that Yuna was a few minutes early. Now we could leave and maybe while we watched the movie, Merric would be quiet.
“I got it,” I told my cousin before she could get up, and breezed to the door to open it. “Hey Yun-“ I stopped speaking, the person standing on the front steps was certainly not Yuna.
It was Indra.
I couldn’t help it. I stepped forward and hugged him, relief flooding my body. I’d texted him after last night’s debacle, though I hadn’t told him what happened. I’d just made sure that he really was safe with the others.
Indra stiffened slightly, then returned the hug with a soft chuckle. “This is a surprise. But I like it,” he murmured in my ear. “Maybe I should come over unannounced more often.”
I pulled back, feeling embarrassed. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to do that.”
“Don’t be sorry.”
Then it hit me. Indra was here. I had very purposefully not told them about Merric whatsoever, and now the ‘two tailed fox was in my living room, in plain view and waving his tails about happily.
Shit.
“You’re in a good mood,” Cian walked up my front steps with Akiva beside him, all three of them dressed nicely in dark v-neck t-shirts and fitted jeans. “I thought you might be a little angry at us for coming over unannounced.”
“Oh.” I blocked the doorway, the movement sudden and very obvious.
Akiva’s eyes narrowed and he immediately tried to peer past me.
“What are you guys doing here?” I tried very hard to look casual, and took up as much of the open space as I could while leaning on the frame.
Cian blinked, suspicion crossing his features as well. “We came to invite you out,” he told me slowly. “But now I wonder what you’re doing in there that you don’t want us to see. You’re certainly dressed nicely.” It was a good thing the door sat higher than the porch, otherwise he would have easily been able to look right past me and at Merric.
An uber pulled up, the back door opening to let Yuna step out.
She was just as gorgeous as the last two times I’d seen her, and now the cecaelia wore ripped skinny jeans, combat boots, and a black cropped shirt.
The look on her face held suspicion, confusion, and impatience.
As I watched, she marched right up the stairs, pushed her way past Cian, and turned to glare at Indra with flared nostrils.
“This is the hellhound we almost died for last night?” she asked, teal gaze switching to look accusingly at me.
“What?” Indra’s brows furrowed. “Last night?”
The cecaelia turned from me slowly, looking him over again. “You didn’t tell them.” It wasn’t a question.
Before anyone could speak, I laughed, the sound high pitched and nervous. “Nothing happened last night,” I lied. “This is Yuna. She’s my friend–“
“By the Drowned God you had better play on both teams,” the cecaelia continued, looking between me and the growing crowd.
“Uhhh,” I answered in a small voice, unsure of how to handle the supernatural traffic jam at my door. Nothing could make this moment worse, I was sure.
“Hey Yuna!” Merric appeared over my shoulder, waving to the cecaelia.
No. I was wrong. Merric would definitely make it worse.
Cian’s brows rose slowly, and he met Merric’s gaze. “I feel like I missed something,” he said finally. “Maybe a lot of somethings.” He smiled at me. “Maybe you could let us in? All of us?”
For half a second, I considered the viability of closing and locking my front door.
Then suddenly the door was pulled out of my grip by my favorite cousin and she pushed me to the side. “Come in. I’m actually really excited to see George talk her way out of this.”
“There’s nothing to talk my way out of,” I hissed, standing back as all five preternaturals filed into our living
