Page 65 of Moon Tamed

“Vaccinations are done in the nearest city-states, and there will be some limited travel restrictions, but the basic quarantine lifts next week,” Calden’s father informed us. “As such, we have a lot of work to get done. I have a tentative schedule drawn up with your participation, Coraline. Calden, I want you to sanity check it. I suspect Coraline will attempt to do too much, especially during her first hunt. I’ve also arranged for the basic DNA test and the waiver. Neither of her parents or her brother have the faulty gene, so I am not expecting a problem, but the rules are the rules.”

“Ah, you want her to go into the office for the blood test.”

“I do. We’ll have the results an hour after the draw.”

After what had happened to Calden’s mother, I couldn’t justify pushing off the test.

Trauma didn’t mystically fade overnight, and not without help.

“I’m going to need a shower, a change of clothes, and something for this headache,” I replied, heaving a sigh. “And we should care for the bunnies.”

“I’ll take care of the bunnies,” Calden’s father announced. “I’ll even make tea so you two can get functional. I’m sure Calden has something here you can wear, just shower upstairs. That might save a few minutes.”

Calden snorted. “I don’t think she’d appreciate wearing my sweats, Dad.”

“Well, she certainly won’t appreciate smelling like she took a bath in wine.”

I emerged from the blanket, got up, and went on a hunt for my purse, and once I found it, I gave Calden’s father the keys. “You can pick my clothes. I’m sure you can figure out where things are at.”

He sighed. “I’m going to ask your parents why they thought having two children was a good idea. I can barely handle the one I have, yet they went in for two.”

“Lapse of common sense,” I replied.

“That’s probably the right answer. Try to make yourselves somewhat presentable while I’m gone.” Heaving a sigh, Calden’s father left with my keys.

“I’m not sure I really feel like mistakes were made,” I admitted. “Beyond not drinking enough water after the wine.”

“Or any water after the wine.”

“How many kittens do you think he had when we didn’t show up for work?”

“At least twenty or thirty, possibly even forty. I haven’t done something like that since my early twenties.”

I bowed my head and laughed. “I’ve never done something like that.”

“We’ll just have to tell my father you were enjoying a single night of freedom before joining the Hunters and having your first job as a member of a faction. You were celebrating, and it’s his fault he didn’t think you needed a chance to celebrate. Go take a shower, and I’ll get some tea started and take care of the bunnies. They definitely made a mess, and they won’t be happy if I leave it like that.”

“I’ll help when I’m finished,” I promised, sniffing at my arm. “I definitely smell like I’ve gone on some form of bar dive.”

“I’ll go shower after the bunnies are taken care of, as I’m not a big fan of smelling like day old wine.”

“On that we’re agreed. Obviously, the solution to this problem is to make sure we drink a lot of water and shower first thing after any drinking,” I announced.

“Or maybe we stick to the hot chocolate and reading plan. That plan is a lot safer for our heads.” Calden wrinkled his nose and headed off to attend to his bunnies, leaving me to navigate through the house to the upstairs guest bathroom, which I claimed as my domain.

Thanks to the hangover, I stayed in the shower longer than normal. The heat did little for the headache, and I decided Calden had the right idea.

Hot chocolate and reading would never betray us. Wine? Champagne?

Treacherous, delicious temptations. However treacherous, delicious, and tempting, I’d managed through an entire drunken evening without doing anything more sinister than asking Calden to remove his shirt. The view would haunt me, especially when I thought about how certain outside parties wanted me to pursue the man. The way I figured it, if Calden wanted to be pursued, he would ask.

Until then, I would pursue something better than just a date.

Hot chocolate and reading topped the list but having someone sensible to talk to came a close second.

We’d occupied the same space for more than a few hours without me wanting to make an escape plan, a rarity in the past few years. Ten years ago, had someone told me I would crave someone to talk to rather than date, I would have laughed before heading out to find a new partner, one that wouldn’t annoy me after ten minutes.

After dressing in one of Calden’s bathrobes, I wandered downstairs to discover father and son engaging in a glaring contest in the kitchen. The subject of the battle appeared to be two tea pots and a steaming kettle along with a variety of teas. Ignoring the posturing men, I investigated the selection, selected a spiced black tea, and took over ownership of a blue tea pot, plunking two of the tea bags in and adding hot water.

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