being so wonderful.” I was about to straddle his lap to kiss him when his phone rang again. While he answered, I headed in the kitchen to make some coffee. I had just finished making a peppermint mocha when he appeared at the kitchen door.
“Hey, love, I have to leave.” The look on his face was strained.
“What’s wrong? Did something happen?”
He nodded. “I just got a call from my parents. My sister was hit by a truck when she was out running on the side of the road. She was in her alt-form. They live up near Mount Rainier. She’s in the hospital and they’re going to have to operate.”
My heart skipped a beat. “Oh no! How…what are the injuries?”
“Broken rib, broken leg, punctured lung, shattered pelvis. I need to get on the road. I’d fly but it would take longer than it would to drive, I think.” His voice was shaky.
“Can you drive? Do you need someone with you?”
He shook his head. “No, I can drive—hell, I drove through the fires to get out of my neighborhood down in SoCal. But I have to pack and get on the road.” He paused. “I’m sorry about the rest of the carnival—we were—”
“Stop. You need to go. Call me and let me know what’s happening.” I hadn’t even known he had a sister. Or that his family lived up here in Washington.
“I will. Thank you.” He gave me a quick kiss before rushing out the door.
I carried my mocha into the living room, waiting for Ari and Meagan to show up. Killian screeched out of his driveway about ten minutes after he left my house, which told me that he really was in a hurry.
The kittens were wreaking havoc on the cat tower—not the Yule tree, thankfully—when the doorbell rang, announcing Ari and Meagan.
Meagan, or Mean Meg as we called her in high school, was absolutely stunning. She was still the tall, leggy, blonde she had been in high school, even though we were in our forties. Though as a shifter, she lived longer and took longer to age. She had perfect bowed lips, her long lashes fluttered over her hazel eyes, and like Ari, she hadn’t put on a pound since high school. But instead of the perpetual pout I remembered, now she brandished a wide smile.
“Meagan, you remember January,” Ari said as she introduced us.
“I do,” Meagan said. “I hope you won’t hold my teenaged self against me,” she added, laughing. “I know I was a bitch to you back then, and I want to apologize.”
That took me aback. A lot of people would try to gloss over their shortcomings and pass it off as water under the bridge, but that she led with an apology boded well.
“Thank you. Yeah, you were pretty…acerbic. But we’re both older and hopefully wiser,” I said. “Would you like a mocha, some hot cocoa? Anything?”
“No,” Ari said. “We just finished hot cocoa and caramel corn, thanks to the winter carnival—oh! You said babies and you meant it!” She knelt as Xi raced out from beneath the Yule tree, knocking an ornament off in her rush. Klaus came bounding along behind her and they fell into a tussle, wrestling their way across the floor.
I was grinning like an idiot. “Yes! We found them this morning at the carnival. Killian checked them out for me, and they’re both in good health. He places them at about six weeks old. It’s handy having a boyfriend who’s a vet.”
“Speaking of Killian, where is he?” Ari asked, scooping up the tux kitten. “You are just the fuzziest, cutest little…boy? Girl?”
“Boy. I named him Klaus, and the tortie is Xi. She’s my familiar, Ari.”
Ari jerked her head up. “Really? It’s rare to find one that hasn’t been specifically bred. What about Klaus?”
“He’s just a gorgeous little boy in fancy duds.”
“Well, they’re both lovely. Where did you say Killian was?”
“I didn’t.” I sighed. “He got a call about half an hour ago. His sister, who lives with his parents near Mount Rainier, was hit by a car while in her wolf form. She’s in serious condition with multiple broken bones and a punctured lung. He’s on his way there.” I turned to Meagan. “I’m sorry, I’m not meaning to leave you out of the conversation. Please, sit down.”
Ari sat on the floor so she could play with the kittens, while Meagan took the sofa. I started to sit in the rocking chair when it suddenly occurred to me that the