Page 16 of The Omega's Bloodline: Part One

“There’s others about the same distance, but Toronto and Montreal require a passport. What about Boston?”

“Throw in a side trip to Salem for me to be a nerd and I’m all over a trip to Boston.”

“Anything for my sugar mama.” He flashed me a grin and set the food down on the table, grabbing a bowl of grated cheese from the fridge along with a tub of sour cream and a container of salsa.

I stuffed my face on the fajitas while Caden told me about his last trip to Boston nearly a half century ago. Seth joined us halfway through the meal and stole a piece of chicken off the plate before Caden could push him off the table. Seth climbed onto my lap and looked at me with big saucer eyes until I gave him some bits of cheese and a lick of the sour cream from my finger.

I lived in Boston last year. A chill old lady fed me for a few months.Seth turned a circle in my lap to find the best angle to lie down.I should see if she’s still there.

“So, I didn’t want to pry, but it kinda seems like you two led super separate lives before you ended up with me here.”

Seth froze.That’s…mostly my fault. Caden doesn’t like me as much when I’m in people form.

My gaze flicked from Seth to Caden. “Why?”

I made some bad choices. Sometimes I think the only way I’ll stay out of trouble is if I live as a cat forever.

“Seth knows exactly what he did and I’m not obligated to forgive it.” Caden leaned toward me. “I check in on him every few years, make sure he’s alive and doing okay. It’s easier in cat form. The whole walnut brain thing doesn’t leave as much room for grudges.”

“What does that mean going forward? You’ve been pretty chill while you’re with me.”

That’s because I haven’t made it out of this form yet. It’s hard to get mad at me when I’m this cute.

I laughed and squished his face between my palms. “Who could ever be mad at this little face?”

Caden sighed. “That’s true too. It’s way easier to get mad about shit when you can see the face that did it.”

I’ll go once I’ve regained my shifting ability.

That thought made my stomach clench. I didn’t want him going anywhere. My fingers curled around him, burying in his fur. Maybe I’d feel differently when he was more than a magic cat. I’d certainly shifted gears when Caden had gotten a human form. But right now Seth was mine and it felt wrong to think about letting him go. I didn’t wanteitherof them leaving, but Caden seemed perfectly content to stick around so I wasn’t worried about him.

“You’d come and visit, though, right?”

Seth fidgeted in my lap.I can, if you want me to.

“Idowant you to.”

Caden didn’t look like he loved the idea of Seth popping up, but he didn’t say anything about it. That was a good thing too because if he told me I wasn’t allowed to see Seth I was perfectly willing to hang him out to dry no matter how many orgasms and nice meals he’d made me. I didn’t jive with bullshit rules like that, especially when no one was telling me why they were in place.

“You’re always welcome as long as you don’t cause trouble.” I patted his head. “So don’t start pushing my water glasses off the table or anything.”

Seth let out a coughing snort.I’ll try to restrain myself.

“I can be peaceful,” Caden insisted. “It’s not anything you need to worry about, just a past issue that makes it difficult to trust him or forgive him.”

“One day you two are going to have to tell me what the fuck is up with your history, but I get that I haven’t been around long enough for you to be comfortable giving me the details.”

I was dying to know. Seth seemed like such a sweetheart. A deep, dark, family-shattering secret didn’t fit with my vision of him. It wasn’t dangerous, whatever it was; otherwise I was pretty sure Caden would have told me to kick Seth out. I sighed. I could be patient even if I hated it.

We left the next afternoon after I finished work; took the kittens to my neighbor, who graciously agreed to watch them for the weekend; and made the roughly five-hour trip from my home in Syracuse to Salem, stopping briefly in Albany for some drive-thru dinner. The sun had already set by the time we arrived at our little seaside hotel.

Seth trotted next to me as we walked down to the waterfront. Caden held my hand and I warmed at the casual affection. He looked so beautiful in the glow of the streetlights. The way he looked at me, his gaze on fire, made me feel like I was a goddess, and I itched to sneak back to the hotel so he could worship me.

He tugged me closer when we stopped to watch the ocean, pulling me in until I was pressed against him and standing on my toes to meet his mouth with mine. It was unfair how delicious he was. I curled my fingers in the collar of his shirt and let him devour me until my knees were wobbly.

Seth swirled against my legs, drawing me back to reality.

“Yes?” I looked down at him.

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