The Feline Gaze

I’ll count this moment as a win in my book.

“I’m going to go now,” I say. I give her a quick hug, kiss her on the cheek, and leave my office. As I walk down the hall, I keep my head down. What the hell is going on around here, anyway? What’s with the growing animosity towards other kinds of shifters? We already have so many of our own problems. Why add more by fighting amongst ourselves? In my mind, all shifters are on the same team. We’re all working toward the same goal: a world where shifters can be free.

Apparently, that’s not actually the case.

I scurry down the hall to Alastair’s office and as I do, I walk past a man with a familiar scent. I pause, turning t

o glance at Matthew as he scurries by. He’s tall and lean and looks exactly the same – if not better – than he did the other day.

What the hell?

What is he doing here?

He’s obviously not looking for me because he didn’t even stop when he saw me.

Doesn’t he scent me?

Doesn’t notice that I’m here?

Perhaps more importantly, why is he even at Alastair’s in the first place? Obviously, they were having some sort of meeting. I wasn’t informed, which isn’t unusual in and of itself, but when Alastair has meetings with important people, it’s pretty much always on the calendar. His schedule for this morning is totally and completely blank, which means that Matthew’s visit was something personal that Alastair didn’t want on the schedule.

But why not?

What could have been so bad that it had to be a secret?

And why wouldn’t my boss tell me?

I push open the door to Alastair’s office and walk inside.

“I told you that I’m done talking,” he says without turning around.

“Really? Because in my book, we’re just getting started.”

“Oh, Cassidy,” he whirls around. “I thought you were someone else.”

“Yes, I noticed.” I raise an eyebrow, letting him silently know that I saw Matthew in here and that I want answers. More than anything else, I want answers. Also, Alastair knows me well enough to know that I’m quite tenacious when I want to be. I’m not the kind of girl who’s going to back down. Nope. Once I get my sights set on something, I stay focused on it. I’m like a tiger with a bone, I suppose.

He pales.

“I can explain.”

Apparently, his meeting with Matthew was something he really doesn’t want anyone to know about: even me. I have no idea who Matthew is to Alastair or why their meeting is so hush-hush, but I know my boss well enough to know that I need to act like I do know. That’s going to be the fastest way to get information from him right now.

“Please,” I say, motioning toward his desk.

He sits, sighs, and drops his head in his hands. It’s not often that I see my cousin looking so utterly forlorn. What the hell? What’s got him so down in the dumps?

“Why don’t you start from the beginning?”

“The beginning started a long time ago,” he says.

“Okay.”

“We were friends. Not just friends, Cass. We were best friends.”

“I know what that’s like.”

“Not like this,” he says. “I never liked Matthew as more than a friend. Don’t get me wrong. It’s just that our relationship was very close. We were like brothers in every sense of the word.”