Page 44 of Star-Crossed
“You don’t have to worry about Raven’s bag—it’s just his goon-goons,” he said.
She blinked at him once. Twice.
“Excuse me?”
“Drums!” Raven called, extracting a little set of hand drums from the bag.
Oh. Good. She washopingfor a cacophony of Bohemians to fuck up Larry’s labor.
“I’m so sorry, but we’ll have to cancel tonight.” She put on her most apologetic smile. “Larry’s going to give birth and it’s too chaotic. We can reschedule for next month if you’d like.”
A woman with dreadlocks frowned. “But sister, the full moon’s energy is most potent tonight. We must hold the ritual now. We will dance and chant for Liz’s companion Larry and her newborns!”
If Lyra wasn’t so irritated, she’d be charmed. Still, she had enough sanity left to attempt handling this diplomatically.
“I understand, but—”
“I’m a regular at these rituals,” Cy continued, “and I’d be happy to lead tonight’s ceremony so you can tend to your cat.” His gaze was shuttered, revealing nothing of his thoughts. “That way, everyone gets what they need.”
Those in attendance relaxed into their cushions as if he’d settled all questions, which served to just piss her off.
Lyra stared at Cy in dismay. She didn’t want him here, didn’t want to be indebted to him. Didn’t want uninvited people and their fucky moon water energizing messing with Larry’s evening, but they were paying customers, and he knew it.
Ugh. She was out of options.
“Fine,” she said stiffly. “Just make sure you lock up when you’re finished.” Because Liz had handed some fluffy shirt-wearing asshat a key to her shop without telling anybody, and now that was something else Lyra had to worry about.
Some guy named Raven who could just let himself in whenever the fuck…
Without waiting for Cy’s reply, she turned on her heel and headed upstairs to Larry’s room. The sounds of chanting and drumbeats followed her, a mocking reminder of the pulse that thrummed in her lady bits whenever that man was within a hundred yards of her.
She found Larry curled up in the corner of her box, meowing piteously.
“That’s my good girl. You’re going to be just fine.” Heart squeezing, Lyra checked under Larry and saw with relief that a kitten was already halfway out. “I know it’s hard. Everything is so hard right now. But we’ll do this, okay? I’ll be right here. But I won’t bother you… I’ll just…let you do your thing.”
Larry meowed again, softer this time, and pushed her head into Lyra’s hands. Lyra smiled, heart melting at this display of trust. She’d never been one for emotional attachment, but Larry had crept under her defenses when she wasn’t looking. Now here they were, sharing this profound experience together.
“We’re a team, you and me,” Lyra whispered, gently encouraged when the first kitten began to squirm.
She lurked anxiously through the birth, coaxing each new life into the world with soft words and soft light. Larry hardly made a sound, producing three slimy bodies in an hour, licking them clean as she worked on delivering the next.
After the fourth kitten, Larry let out a distressed meow and began panting like a well-exercised dog. She stood, abandoning the squirmy newborns, and paced her box, attempting to get comfortable. Unable to do so, she repeated the behavior a couple of times.
Lyra’s heart stuttered—something was wrong. Larry lay down and strained for several minutes without progress.
Lyra’s mind raced as she tried to think of what to do. She needed help.
Gritting her teeth, she made her way to the door of the room, listening to the sounds of the drum circle and chanting that still echoed up the stairs. Taking a deep breath, she headed down, steeling herself for what she was about to do.
“That’s it,” she said, plunging into the center of the circle. “Everyone out!”
“But we’re not done charging our moon water on the patio,” Raven reminded her as if she’d lost her mind.
He’d not have done it if he’d known how close she was to losing her shit for real.
Lyra whirled to hand Raven his own ass when Cy’s hand landed on her shoulder. “What’s wrong? What do you need?”
The question brought detestable tears to her eyes.
