When she finally put her fork down, she was as full as she had ever been. Which was saying something for a mermaid.
“That was amazing.” She shook her head as she looked at the two women who’d prepared the meal. “I don’t know if you two normally cook like that, but you really outdid yourself.”
Connie looked pleased. “We like to cook like that, but we don’t often get the chance.”
Sarah Jane snorted. “Especially since Ethan set Connie up with a meal delivery service.”
“Fixing those still qualifies as cooking,” Connie said as she looked at her friend.
“It is,” Sarah Jane agreed. “But everything is already prepped. You just stir it together and add heat. Pfft. Where’s the challenge in that?”
Connie looked at her son. “I love the meal delivery service. The food is delicious.”
Undrea put her hands flat on the table. “I didn’t mean to start anything.”
Connie patted her hand. “You didn’t. I’m very glad you enjoyed the dinner.”
“I really did. And now I’m going to do the cleanup. You two can go out to the living room and relax, and when I’m done, maybe we can all watch a movie.” Undrea felt like it was going to be a long night. She wanted the distraction of a movie. Or something. At least for her guests.
She wasn’t sure anything could distract her.
“That’s very kind of you,” Connie said. “Ethan will help you clean up.”
He laughed. “I absolutely will.” He got up and started collecting plates.
The doorbell rang, and everyone went silent, looking at each other as if hoping someone knew who’d come to Undrea’s house.
She smiled reassuringly, although she couldn’t imagine who it would be either. But then, she doubted Nina would ring the bell. “I’ll get it. Everyone just stay in the kitchen and out of sight.”
As they nodded at her, Undrea went out to the foyer and peeked through the spyhole. It was Mattie.
She exhaled and opened the door. “Hey. Please tell me you have good news.”
Mattie grinned. “I do. Nina has been banished. She is gone. I mean, literally. A hole opened up in the floor and down she went. The banishing spell worked like a charm.”
“Wow.” The tension left Undrea’s body. “That is fantastic. Does that mean Ethan can go back to his house?”
“Yes, but Corette thinks the house should be smudged before he returns. None of us knows much about this kind of succubus, so she and Pandora are going to go over in the morning and just make sure there’s no residual succubus energy left. If he’s cool with that.”
“I am,” Ethan called out from the kitchen.
Undrea and Mattie both laughed. Then Mattie shouted back. “Can we have your house keys then? It’s easier to get in that way.”
“Sure,” he yelled back. A minute later, he tossed them to Undrea. “Here you go.”
She caught them and handed them over to Mattie.
“Thanks. Corette or Pandora will text you when they’re done.”
“Thanks.” Undrea glanced past her friend. “Are Hank and Titus still out there?”
“They are. Even though Nina’s been handled, Hank thought one night of protection was still a good idea. He’s the sheriff, so none of us argued. Tomorrow, everything can go back to normal.” Mattie grinned. “Whatever that means.”
“Right.” Undrea hugged Mattie. “Thank you. I know I need to thank Corette and Pandora too, but I want you to know how much I appreciate everything you’ve done.”
Mattie hugged her back. “You’re welcome. I think Corette would be happy if you just got your wedding dress from her.”
“Hush!” But Undrea snorted as she let Mattie go. “He’s right upstairs. He’s going to think I have designs on him.”
“Don’t you?” Mattie’s grin was wide and mischievous. “By the way, you still owe me a night at Insomnia.”
“I’m aware. And I promise to make it up to you.”
“I know you will.” Mattie gave her a wave. “See you later. Have a good night.”
“You too.” Undrea closed the door and went back to the kitchen. Most of the cleaning up had already been done. She pitched in, explaining what Mattie had told her as she helped. The good news seemed to motivate everyone, and they finished a few minutes later.
Ethan fed Bowie while Undrea searched a movie to watch. She found an old Doris Day/Rock Hudson picture that Connie and Sarah Jane both said was a must-watch.
They settled in to watch. The movie was great, but maybe it was the day’s activity, or maybe it was the heavy meal, but at some point, they all fell asleep.
Ethan woke to a cat crying loud enough to be heard over the television, which was now showing a black and white movie he didn’t recognize. His mom and Sarah Jane were passed out on the couch, and Undrea was in her chair, also asleep.
The fish tank lights were still on, and Bowie was curled up on the floor in front of it, watching. Or he had been. He was sleeping like the rest of them.
Ethan was on the floor with him, leaning back against the couch. He’d sat there to be close to his mom. He yawned. Maybe he’d only imagined the sound. Or maybe it had come from the movie. It certainly wasn’t Bowie.
He got up and stretched, yawning again as he went into the kitchen to turn the lights off. The packets of microwave popcorn were still on the counter. They’d talked about making some, but they’d all fallen asleep before that had happened. All the excitement had worn them out.
As he came back out to the living room, he heard the crying sound again. Definitely a cat, maybe a young one. The sound was plaintive and desperate. And not coming from the television.
There were supposed to be wolf shifters patrolling around Undrea’s house. Creatures he knew nothing about. They wouldn’t hurt such an animal, would they? He hoped not. But he wasn’t sure. They were wolves, after all.
He went to the front door to look out the peephole, but it was too dark to see anything. The threat of Nina was gone. There was no reason not to take a quick glance outside. Especially since the werewolves were keeping guard.
He unlocked the door, opened it a crack, and listened again.
The cry came again, a little weaker this time. It seemed close too. He couldn’t help himself, but the sound of an animal in need wasn’t something he could ignore.
He slipped outside, pausing a second to let his eyes adjust a little. If there were wolves on patrol, he certainly didn’t see them. But maybe that was the point.
He listened, homing in on the cry as it broke the silence once more. Seemed like it was coming from the right side of the yard. Undrea’s yard wrapped from front to back around the left side of the house, but part of the front yard was her koi pond.
The farthest side of the pond had a seating area with a bench. Behind it was a lot of shrubs and some willows. It was a beautiful spot, one that he’d thought about duplicating at his house.
The kitten, because he was pretty sure that’s what it was, sounded like it could be in the clump of shrubs. It was spring. Wasn’t that kitten season? Maybe a mama cat had abandoned one of her babies? Or it had wandered off? He knew enough about cats to know that kittens didn’t have a good chance of survival all alone.