Page 73 of Feral

Liam’s eyes lit up and he nodded.

“Yes, the very same! Do you know it?”

“I’ve always wanted to go there! How did you secure a spot on the team? I’ve applied every single year and never gotten very far.”

“Oh, it took quite a lot of convincin’ but I have a connection with someone at the Cairo University in the cultural preservation department.”

“Oh, thatislucky.”

I couldn’t help grinning as the two of them chattered on about the dig site and the artifacts that had already been found.

I need to get her out of this house before I drag her into my room and do every base thing I’ve been thinking of since the moment I sank my teeth into her.

“Ya ready to go?” I asked. “I believe I promised ya a book store.”

“Yes, though you may regret it,” she chuckled.

Standing here in the home that I grew up in, the smell of Gran’s cooking hanging in the air, my brothers playfully arguing in the next room, I could almost see a future for us. Daphne had fit in surprisingly well with my brothers, in spite of the tension of having Ruben and Lizzie here. It was the most natural thing in the world to slip my arm around her and pull her close. She threaded her fingers through the fur on my shoulder and laid her head on my chest. I closed my eyes, tail wagging happily, and just for a moment, I let myself sink into how complete I felt.

Daphne showed no fear of my size, though I was so much bigger than her, nor did she seem to mind how much different I was physically from her. In fact, it seemed as if she preferred my true form to my glamour, though I had no proof of that and it was probably just wishful thinking.

“This is nice,” she whispered against me.

“Aye, it is.”

Lowell chose that moment to come back into the dining room, half a piece of bread shoved into his mouth.

“Och, get a room.”

Daphne turned her face into my chest and laughed.

“Well, I guess we should go then,” I growled.

“Yes, I have books to buy.”

We walked out to the garage, the large doors still open to the outside. I could hear voices from the gravel driveway to my left and it made the fur on my neck stand on end.

“Oh, shoot,” Daphne said. “I left my tote inside, I’ll be right back.”

I nodded.

“When ya get back, wait for me in the car. I’ve got to talk to Ruben.”

“Fraser, be careful, he might have the artifact.”

I glanced down at her and gave the tip of Daphne’s nose a quick nip, which brought that adorable flush to her cheeks that I was starting to love so much.

“Don’t worry, I just wanna talk.”

“Alright.”

When Daphne had gone inside, I walked to the edge of the garage doorway where I was just able to see Ruben and his sister talking.

“I’m goin’ back to Dublin,” Lizzie said. “Comin’ here was a mistake.”

“It will all work out, I promise,” said Ruben.

“That’s what ya said before, and the only thing that’s changed is that everythin’s worse!”

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