The Men of Otherworld: Collection One (9 page)

BOOK: The Men of Otherworld: Collection One

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Delilah yowled, loudly, and seconds later, her golden fur shimmered as she shifted back into human form. The next moment, she had practically fallen off the exam table, which was made for regular size cats, not six-foot tall women.

“Welcome back.” Dr. Burberry laughed. “I thought that might make a difference.”

Shade stared at Delilah. He didn’t know whether to hug her or scold her. “You
weren’t
stuck?”

She blushed. “Um…no. I was…oh never mind.”

The veterinarian motioned for her to raise her shirt. “This salve will work on you regardless if you’re in cat form or Fae.” As he slathered on the medication, the bright red slashes on her side began to fade. “There. Next time, run away. Tangling with gremlins isn’t a good idea for a kitty-cat. Next time, it could be worse.”

As Shade led a very penitent Delilah out of the room, he contemplated just how much good it would do to tell her just how pissed he was. But he brushed it away. Might as well just chalk it up to a bad Friday night. And the fact was, she’d alerted him to the gremlin who had somehow managed to get through the wards.

As they headed back to the car, she reached out and took his hand.

“Forgive me? I guess…when I shifted form, I realized that I was angry. You never really
asked
me if I wanted to stay home. You
told
me we needed to. I wanted to go with the rest of our family and you didn’t listen to me at all.”

Shade bit his lip. He had known how devoted to her family she was when he met her. He just had to accept it as one of her traits.

“Yeah, I did ride over your wishes. I guess I wanted to feel like I was special in your life. Like you wanted to be with me—without needing anybody else around.”

Delilah whirled around, her eyes blazing. “I love you, Shade.
Always know that.
Along with my sisters, you’re the most important thing in the world to me. But face it, we’re a package deal—all of us.”

She paused, then, glancing up at the sky. The clouds were socked in, and a chill wind gusted by. “But…you know what? A weekend at home without the others might be nice. Maybe we can go out to breakfast tomorrow, and then drive out to Snoqualmie and hike around the Falls?”

Shade smiled softly. She was offering an olive branch, and so could he. “All right. Then, why don’t we plan out a big dinner for Sunday night, for when the others come back? Sunday, we can see an early movie, go shopping for groceries, and then spend the afternoon cooking. When your sisters get back, we’ll have a party.”

Delilah squeezed his hand and he wrapped his arm around her shoulder. “I’d like that. A lot. It’s going to be the
purr-fect
weekend,” she added, as she snuggled into his embrace.

Biography:

New York Times
,
Publishers Weekly
, and
USA Today
bestselling author Yasmine Galenorn writes urban fantasy and paranormal romance for Berkley: the Otherworld Series, and the upcoming Fly By Night Series and Whisper Hollow Series. In the past, she wrote the Indigo Court Series, the Chintz ‘n China Series, the Bath and Body Series (under the name India Ink). She also wrote eight nonfiction metaphysical books. She is the 2011 Career Achievement Award Winner in Urban Fantasy, given by RT Magazine.

Yasmine has been in the Craft since 1980, is a shamanic witch, and describes her life as a blend of teacups and tattoos. She lives in Kirkland WA with her husband Samwise and their cats. Yasmine can be reached via her website at
www.galenorn.com
.

Books by Yasmine Galenorn:

Whisper Hollow Series (in order):

Autumn Thorns (Oct 2015)

Dreaming Death (Oct 2016)

Fly By Night Series (in order):

Flight from Death
(June 2015)

Flight from Mayhem (June 2016)

Otherworld Series (in order):

From Berkley and Berkley Jove

Witchling

Changeling

Darkling