“Kuya?”
He hopped off the chair and rushed from the kitchen.
“Hey! Come back.” I chased after him and stopped in the main dining room. He squatted in a chair at a far table, staring at me with his ears skyward. When I inched forward, he wiggled a bit, preparing to take off again. “Now’s not the time to play, Kuya. What’s going on? Does Prince Sawyer know you’re here?”
“Prince Sawyer doesn’t care about Kuya anymore.” He jumped from the chair and landed on the balls of his bare feet. “So Kuya ran away.”
“I know that’s not true,” I said. “He loves you.”
“Then why is he with her?”
Her.
“Lady Alina?” I asked.
Kuya bared his teeth, a slight hiss passing between them. Tears glistened in his eyes. “Kuya saw her arrive in a carriage this morning. She was shown to a room in the castle. When Kuya went to find Prince Sawyer, he was on his way to meet her for breakfast. She is stealing Kuya’s prince, and Kuya wants to bite her! But Kuya can’t.”
The heartache in his voice stabbed at my chest.
“I bet he’s worried sick about you. Come on.” I walked closer and held out my hand to him. “I’m gonna take you home.”
“No!” He batted at my fingers. “Kuya will live here with Evan now.” He then shot off toward the reading parlor.
“Stop running away from me dammit.”
Lake stepped in his path and grabbed his shoulders to keep him in place. Probably the only person in the kingdom who could catch him.
“Release Kuya at once!” Kuya thrashed around, biting and scratching at him. “Mean wolf!”
I reached them and exchanged a grateful look with Lake. He nodded once before releasing Kuya and taking several steps back. I then put my arms around Kuya. Instantly, my friend stopped thrashing around.
A strangled little sound tore from Kuya’s throat before he turned to me and pushed his face against my neck. “Evan,” he whimpered as tears wet my shirt. “Kuya’s heart is sad.”
“I know, and I’m so damn sorry.” I petted the back of his hair and let him cry for as long as he needed to. The situation was complicated as hell. Sawyer didn’t want to marry Alina any more than Kuya wanted him to, but there wasn’t much either of them could do about it.
“Mister Kuya?” Miles said a while later. “You can have more cake if you want. I sliced strawberries for you as well.”
Kuya’s ears twitched. “Strawberry?” His voice was muffled against my neck. “Kuya likes strawberries.”
“I’ll give you as many as you like.” Miles held out his hand, a warm smile on his face. Kuya hesitated before grabbing it. The two then returned to the kitchen.
I went over to Lake, wrapping my arms around him. “Thanks for your help.”
“Anytime,” he said, petting my hair in much the same way I had petted Kuya’s. Soothing and making me feel loved at the same time.
“I’ll let him stay for a while, then take him back this afternoon.”
The café opened within the hour, and as customers began filling the dining room, Kuya was back to his usual cheerful and mischievous self. He fluttered around the kitchen and watched Miles and I prepare orders and make more batches of sweets, stealing cupcakes and anything he could get his cute hands on in the process.
Each time Alice walked in after taking a customer’s order, Kuya dashed over and snatched the order slip from her hand. One time, he’d tried to eat it. The world’s most adorable menace. But at least he wasn’t sad any more. That’s all that mattered.
Around lunchtime, I made grilled chicken sandwiches for Lake and my staff, using croissants for the bread and loading it with tomato, lettuce, and melted cheese. Kuya had stuffed himself with too many sweets and didn’t want to eat. I then packed several sandwiches into a basket, along with an assortment of muffins, before approaching Lake.
“I’m going to take him back to the castle now,” I said. “Will you stay here and keep an eye on things?”
Lake’s gaze narrowed. “Is this your way of telling me not to follow you?”
“No.” A short pause. “Maybe.” I sighed before slumping forward and shoving my face against his chest, mumbling, “I just want you to be safe.”
