Underworld Bride Trials 1 Playboy King - Meg Xuemei X. Page 0,58

was universal knowledge.

“She’s my cat,” I said. “Be careful with her. She’s territorial.”

As if on cue, the Hell Cat thrust her front paw at the wolves. “Bitches!” Her pure white hair bristled and went wild. Her golden eyes turned to slits yet glowed eerily. For a moment, I was mesmerized by the savage creature, as were the wolves, until the demon cat hissed again. “You don’t come to my turf and piss and sniff around without grave consequences! Come again and you’ll get fucked sideways until kingdom come.”

Well, that had undone all of my diplomatic efforts with the shifters.

The wolves ceased to snarl but stared at the Hell Cat, once again dumbfounded at the cat’s curses and hisses.

“Whatcha looking at, pussy wolves?” The cat snarled like a fiend. “Fuck off!”

Raina snapped her head toward me, waiting for an explanation. I pulled my lips back and smiled at her.

“We’ve seen what we came to see,” Raina said. “And that’s enough.”

She shifted back to her red wolf form, not wanting to deal with the Hell Cat anymore, and led the pack away from the ruin. Two wolves howled, and in an instant, they were gone.

I could imagine how a foul-mouthed, glowing-eyed cat wearing a green hat and a red scarf would freak out just about anyone.

“They have no right to stress me out,” Snow White grumbled as she uncloaked the dome and then cloaked it again after we entered.

As soon as we stepped inside, I rushed to slouch on a loveseat by the hearth before the cat could take the spot. She cut me an irritated look but settled for sprawling on a puffy chair across from the wood coffee table between us.

“How did it go, Snow White?” I asked eagerly despite my exhaustion.

The cat pulled the crystal from her neck, more nimble than any other cat, and tossed it at me. I learned forward from my loveseat and caught it in the air.

“And what’s with the scarf and hat?” I asked. “Did you also go shopping?”

I tried not to say stealing.

“They’re payment from your pals,” she said. “Dux paid with the hat and Fayette offered the scarf as a bargain in order to receive the crystal. Next time, they shall pay more.” She eyed me. “I did an excellent job, didn’t I?”

“Huh,” I said in a noncommittal way. Who knew what the cat’s next demand would be. It was better to fend her off now. “Let me make sure you have their message first.”

“They recorded it!” the cat said in outrage. “They didn’t want me to listen and thus they spoke in a coded language.”

“They aren’t the trusting kind,” I agreed. “But there’s probably a good reason for that.”

“When do you want me to go back to the surface again?”

“You had fun there?”

“Fayette also got me ice cream, the peach kind with extra cream,” said the cat with a nostalgic smile.

I’d be damned.

“I thought you went after some mouse or squirrel, so you got delayed,” I said.

Snow White glared at me. “I’m not a savage.”

“No, you’re not. You’re the best messenger girl and spy, Snow White.”

The Hell Cat purred.

“And an uncompromised stalker,” I added.

“When I see Fayette again, I want her leather gloves for my hands,” she said with a musing expression, almost like a philosopher.

“You have paws.” I pointed out. “Are you sure gloves are what you want?”

“You’re rude, Tess, for a fugitive queen.” She glared at me. “I’ll have two hands soon! I’m so getting the gloves.”

“How are you getting hands?” I asked.

“No way am I going to reveal my trade secrets, not even to you,” she said. “But I made a bargain.”

“Just don’t make a pact with the devil,” I joked as I pressed the crystal with my thumbprint, ready to review my team’s message. “Nothing good comes from it.”

Snow White’s eyes glowed amber as if I’d hit a nerve, and then she arched her back, jumped off the chair, and tumbled down the stairs.

She missed a step or two with her short legs and rolled down the stairs all the way, falling at the bottom with a soft thud and an indignant meow. I turned her direction but decided to mind my own business instead of asking if she was all right. I’d accepted that the Hell Cat was damn tough.

Fayette and Dux’s holographic images streamed in front of me as they debriefed me in the ancient Ice Fae tongue. They were overjoyed at the news of me surviving the first trial. They also shared what little