“How about a pouch for a book so when you’re taking your new pillow somewhere with you, you can put the book inside. And use it as an unconventional weapon. And when you’re not using it for carrying a book, it’s good for ice or heat packs.”
“Sold,” I announced. “Go sew me a pillow with a fancy pouch. Dad, show him the sewing machine, and as punishment for making him sew a pillow at midnight, you must provide me with some ice cream. And since Sebastian will be busy sewing, none of you cats will touch a hair on his head.”
Sebastian chuckled. “Had I known there was going to be a sewing test, I would have gotten supplies while we were at the store. You don’t have to defend me from your family, Harri.”
“Come on, Sebastian. You’re basically the only lycanthrope male on the planet I have any interest in defending. My brothers? I just make some popcorn when they get into fights. Give me my moment in the sun. Or beneath the moon, as apparently, the sun has gone to bed.”
The lion chuckled. “Okay. If doing that makes you happy, you can defend my fragile male ego while I introduce myself to the sewing machine and make you a pillow.”
In normal households, I bet the lion would have been mocked to a near-death state. My family eyed the interloping male with interest. I joined eyeing the interloping male with an equal blend of scholarly interest and a healthy dose of lust. Most male lycanthropes would fight to the death before even thinking about being defended by a female. Of any species. At least all the male lycanthropes I knew, in and out of my family.
At the rate the lion kept talking, I’d end up dragging him into the spa through any means necessary, where I’d use him to educate myself on how best to have my way with a man.
Then, because life couldn’t go my way for once, my uncle joined my father, caught sight of Sebastian, and stammered something before recovering enough to ask, “Sebastian? You’re her manly lycanthrope?”
If I went to the kitchen to fetch popcorn, I’d miss the fireworks, so I stayed put and prepared myself to defend the precious sewing machine from two male lycanthropes duking it out.
“You know each other?” my father asked.
“Mr. Sumners works with Interpol, although he also works with the CDC. He’s a liaison, but the part about him working with Interpol is important.”
Of all the things my uncle could say, he fixated on Sebastian’s liaison status with Interpol? Was he unaware of Sebastian’s other work with the CDC, FBI, and basically every law enforcement agency worth notice? Then again, Interpol made a good cover for the lion.
The only drugs my family appreciated were catnip, pixie dust, and alcohol, and we used them in legal fashions. Usually.
I wouldn’t tell the lion about the illegal fashions cats might mix catnip and pixie dust when at home, and at absolute worst, it counted as a minor misdemeanor. Could anyone really blame a clan of lynxes from indulging in catnip and pixie dust at the same time?
We purred, as once we mixed catnip and pixie dust, we rarely could do anything other than purr.
Sebastian grinned and held his hand out to my uncle, who played nice. “Hopefully, that counts as a good thing today.”
“Only if you aren’t stealing my thunder. Again. It’s bad enough when Interpol comes knocking because one of my hunters has a case that is found to be linked with your work. But to run off with my niece?”
“Proud lions deserve only the best.”
Had I hit Sebastian in the head sometime after coaxing a few roars at him? Had he hit his head while roaring? I considered him through narrowed eyes. “The best at what, precisely?”
“Testing my patience,” he replied.
As that was true, I shrugged. “Right. You’re a masochist. I keep forgetting that. It’s not my fault you have a spectacular roar. Dad, tell him roars are a mandatory part of maintaining my good health.”
My dad turned and bellowed, “Betty? Are you really sure this girl is actually ours?”
Sebastian picked up the precious sewing machine and took several steps back. Then, with a thoughtful expression, he abandoned the porch entirely and headed for the relative safety of the parked cars and trucks littering the front lawn. My uncle grabbed the Singer’s stand and likewise got out of the way. As I valued my life, I hopped off the porch and backed away until I was out of range of my brothers.
It took five long seconds for my brothers to comprehend what my father had said, and with ear-piercing yowls, they converged on him. Some transformed. Others went for my father’s throat with their bare hands. My twin brothers sprouted ears, which turned back while they battled to join the fray.
“I see some of your brothers have preliminary hybridism,” Sebastian said with interest. “Do I want to know which litter they’re from?”
“Those two idiots are Hugh and Harvey, and they’re about to get their asses handed to them by my daddy.” Even with all of my brothers ganging up on him, my father would emerge the victor, and if my mother wasn’t already pregnant with the next litter, she would be at high risk of pregnancy afterwards.
Lynxes. I heaved a sigh and bowed my head. “We should have just taken the Singer to my place.”
“But then it wouldn’t be guarded by a dedicated clan of lynxes,” the lion replied. “I’m sure they’ll come to their senses eventually. Cats always come to their senses eventually. We might be here a while, though. Judging from their names, Hugh and Harvey must be from your litter.”
“The excess exposure to estrogen in the womb must have done them in.”
Sebastian headed for my father’s truck and put the sewing machine back inside the cab in its box. “You may as well put the stand in the bed, Henry. It should be safe enough there until they settle down. While I had been expecting a fight, honestly, I’d expected them to be fighting with me. If they want to fight with each other while I watch, I’m quite all right with this. I never thought meeting her family would be this entertaining, though. Had I known how entertaining this would be, I would have pushed sooner. I’m getting one hell of a woman and good entertainment out of this deal.”
“There are medications for your delusions,” I informed Sebastian. “However, I’m delaying any treatments until it’s too late for you to get away.”
The lion’s throaty chuckle intrigued me.
“You sew, Sebastian. That’s basically the holy grail for this lot,” my uncle replied, and he adjusted his hold on the stand so he could press the button to lower the tailgate. “Harri is the least creative in our clan. She likes to crochet, and she is damned good at making quilts, but that’s as far as she goes with arts and crafts. Most of the family sews, because with this many boys in one family, fixing clothes is mandatory. She’s always been very careful with her clothes, so while she can do a mean stitch, she learned because her brothers often needed help to fix their clothing. And then we have the woodcarvers, the painters, and the carpenters, several plumbers, a lawyer, and everything else under the sun around here, so we often barter for fabric and other sewing supplies. My brother’s kids keep him close to bankrupt as it is. Lynx kittens cost a lot to feed. Some kittens are more troublesome than others, and while this one is self-sufficient, she has given even her brothers gray hairs. The other branches of the clan pitch in to help with the bills, as there is nothing my brother loves more than newborn kittens. Betty? She gets cranky when the kittens are over two and there aren’t more kittens on the way.”