Page 19 of Bear for the Holidays

There had been no progress that Deanna could see, but Your Highness was pacing in tight circles, making a series of grunting noises that ramped up to another siren-scream.

“Oh hey, baby, baby, what’s the matter?” Deanna murmured, but when she went to sit next to the drawer and stick her hand inside, the cat uttered a nearly human sigh and pillowed her head on Deanna’s fingers. She was soothed inside of a minute, a rusty purring starting up, and nonplussed, Deanna sat by, wondering if this was what she would be doing for the rest of the day.

Fortunately, a short while later, the cat had had enough, giving her a little kick to send her on her way.

“Ah, all right, dismissed for the moment, I get it. Thank you, Your Highness.”

There was nothing as regal as the way the white cat ignored her, and Deanna headed out to see how Nik was faring. She had the feeling his problems wouldn’t have been as easy to solve as hers.

She came out just as he was taping some cardboard over the broken window pane in the kitchen. It was only a single small broken pane, not the window, but she could already feel the seep of cold air into the cabin, a pervasive damp chill.

“Oh, dear,” she said, and he nodded.

“So looks like we have a bat-winged cat on our hands. I saw a cat, and there are footprints on the sill, but none leading there and none leading away. So. Bat-winged cat.”

They were becoming a problem on the mountain, a species of bat-winged cats that had appeared from who knew where and were proving hard to control. The local shifter population had been trapping, spaying and rehoming the cats, and so far, the local human population hadn’t caught on. Cass and Pearl actually had three; Peach, William, and a sooty little three-legged kitten named Tripod. They were as cute as anything, but even Deanna, who wanted one rather badly, could see where they would be absolutely horrifying for an unprepared natural world.

“It looks like a big one if it can break the window like that.”

“It was mostly luck. That pane was cracked and loose anyway, but it definitely took some effort to break it like he did. I swept up the glass, and the taped cardboard isn’t great, but it’ll hold for the time being. After this, I’d better get my boots on.”

“Your boots?”

He nodded at the snow piling up outside.

“If that thing hasn’t gone looking for shelter yet, he’s going to be in a world of hurt if he’s out in this. And I think I might know why he wants in.”

He glanced towards the bedroom, and Deanna stared.

“That’s his mate?”

“Normal male cats don’t stick around after mating, but Ard who runs the big rescue off of Route 5 says these guys aren’t normal. They’re protective, and they want to raise their families.”

“Oh, and I took his mate,” Deanna said faintly. It would have been a horrible prospect before, but now it made her slightly ill.

Nik put the tape aside to come and give her a gentle kiss on the forehead.

“No, you rescued his mate from the side of the road. Now we just have to convince him that it’s best to come inside and be with the nice people rather than freezing in the woods or being seen by someone on the road.”

“I’ll come with you,” she offered, but he was already shaking his head.

“I’m going to set some traps, and check some of the likely places. These guys are pretty tame, so if I’m alone, he might be okay just letting me haul him in. Two people, and that’s going to get iffier.”

Deanna knew she must have looked faintly mutinous at that, because Nik nodded towards the bedroom.

“You’ve got that one to look after. If something goes wrong with her, you can get on the phone to Pearl.”

She nodded reluctantly.

“Is there anything I can do here in the meantime? It sounds like you got the worse job.”

As if on cue, another siren-howl ripped through the air, Your Highness reminding everyone that she waspregnantanduncomfortableanddissatisfied with her circumstances.

“No, I don’t think I did,” Nik said wryly. “Maybe stoke the fire and get some food heated up? Ma’s stew benefits from a long slow heat, and it’ll help warm this place up as well. You should make anything else you want from the pantry. Wouldn’t mind something hot when I got back in.”

“Okay. Be careful out there, all right?”

He grinned suddenly, and she stared at how handsome it made him.

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