Page 45 of Moon Tamed

How horrible, to be expected to read books in front of a cozy fireplace. “As restaurants tend to get cranky when people read while eating their fancy dinners, I vote we eat where reading is encouraged and rewarded.”

“Eating in it is. I’ll have to go to the grocery store for some ingredients, but I’m sure you won’t mind some reading in front of the fire while I’m out.”

“You’re confident, Mr. Stephans.”

Calden laughed. “About ten minutes ago, your father warned me we might lose you to the fireplace in your home. I don’t think he has realized he’s at higher risk of losing you to the fireplace in my home. My home has hot beverage delivery and guaranteed reading time.”

“I’ll make sure to notify my parents that I am not displeased to become a book-reading victim of a cozy fireplace. Where are they at?”

“They’re waiting in the lobby.”

I shook my head and began the evening routine of catching cats, cleaning the litter pan, and otherwise protecting my office from the various wildlife occupying the floor during the night. The cheetahs would break my back given a week, as they were putting on pounds at an alarming rate. “They’re going to claim my babies soon, aren’t they?”

“Their habitat should be ready soon, so yes. They’ll have a nice cozy place to sleep here, and anyone who wants training in how to handle them will be able to learn. On Earth, they’re given emotional support dogs, as cheetahs often don’t have sufficient company. As such, we’re getting some of the unexpected puppies scheduled to be born sooner than later. Some of our rescues came with extras.”

I bet. “Why is this faction called the Hunters, anyway? Unless you’re hunting things to pet, which I could believe. The Society of Pet Tamers might have been a better name—and it might have lured many more to your doors.”

“We’d be overrun with members if we advertised we’re not capable of restraint when it comes to the acquisition of pets. We do hunt, though.”

“Each other,” I muttered.

Calden snickered. “You’re not wrong. We do actual hunts, especially of dangerous wildlife, escaped animals, and so on. Not necessarily killing them. We do live captures as well. Most of us hunt money more than living things, but we also hunt. My father bans sport hunting in the faction as a general rule as well. If we aren’t going to use everything we realistically can, we shouldn’t kill it. The trophies in the lobby are from dangerous kills, and everything else was used as much as possible.”

“Which makes a great deal of sense.”

“The overabundance of rabbits will become an issue, though. Most people have been too sick to hunt.”

I wrinkled my nose at the thought of so many rabbits destroying the foliage outside of the city. “We’re going hunting in a few weeks though, right?”

“We’ll be going as soon as the cordon lifts and Dad’s certain things won’t go to hell in a handbasket. I’d call it a week after we’re set loose from quarantine, two at most. Don’t be surprised if my father shows up one day early in the morning and drags us out of bed by our ears because he wants to get out of the city immediately.”

That would create some complications if he kept luring me to his home. “I need to buy my camping gear.”

“Contact your servant of a brother and make an arrangement sooner than later. I want to go camping, too.”

I snickered at that, grabbed the kittens, and shoved their carrier’s strap over my shoulder. “I’ll meet you downstairs, where I’ll probably need at least thirty minutes to convince my parents I’m fine.”

“That sounds good.”

We parted ways, and I hurried to the lobby. Sure enough, my parents were chatting with several Hunters I hadn’t met before, two older men and a woman roughly my age. The woman’s expression irritated me, as she looked down her nose at my mother.

While pretty, she had a long way to go to be pretty enough for anyone to put up with that level of haughtiness, especially when my parents had excelled at their work and had reached rather lofty professional goals as artisans.

As I’d never seen the dark-haired woman before, I assumed she hadn’t reached the upper echelons of the Hunters, as those at the top tended to show up on the news while accompanying the Stephans men.

I strolled up, and before I could say a word, the woman said, “Not right now, girl. We’re busy having an important conversation.”

I raised a brow and replied, “Not anymore you’re not. Ready to go?” I asked my parents.

The woman’s mouth dropped open.

My father smirked while my mother raised a brow, and she said, “I can handle one little paper pusher without help.”

As I tended to push papers right along with their patience, I knew they could handle the woman. However, after a long day of fighting with papers on the brink of defeating me, I lacked the patience required to deal with someone without a damned good reason to be copping an attitude with me or my parents. “I’m sure you could, but you won’t, as you’re never going to be too busy with a snoot to pay attention to me.”

“Excuse me?” the woman blurted. “What did you just say?”

“You’re a snoot,” I informed her, looking the woman in the eyes. “I don’t know or care who you are, and as you couldn’t be bothered to be polite to begin with, I see no reason to be polite back. You just assumed I didn’t belong here, but as you’re talking to my parents, why don’t you just go see yourself elsewhere for a while?”

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