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worthy of that sort of trust and responsibility.
 Yes.
He squeezed her hand, clearly pleased with her answer.  Ahhh, Mando! Come and meet Kendra,
Max s wife.
The famous baby de La Vega, Armando was an artist who traveled all over the world. She knew he
and Galen were very close. Renee adored him and had nothing but positives to say about him.
 Talked to Max on the phone three weeks ago and he raved about you the whole time.
 Raved? Max?
 Well, raved for Max. So more words than his usual one and two syllable grunts. Armando took
her hands and rubbed his face along hers. Pausing.
 Double congratulations are in order, I see. I didn t know you d taken the change. Welcome to the
jamboree.
 It just sort of happened. We weren t expecting it.
Armando s brows rose.  Really? Darling what have you and my brother been doing that the change
was a surprise?
She laughed, blushing from the tips of her toes upward.  No. God. I didn t mean it that way. I just
meant he didn t do it the regular way. His bite didn t even break the skin.
 Really now? Wow, I want to hear more of this story. But as I can see everyone getting impatient
that they haven t been formally introduced, I ll let you fill in the rest later.
 How did you know? That I d taken on a cat?
Cesar interrupted then.  They ll be able to scent your cat. Lean in to Mando s neck. Take a deep
breath.
Kendra did so and realized he smelled like Max. Not exactly the same, but elements, the warmth of
bark, the scent of leaves, fur.
 Eh?
 I see. He smells sort of like Max. May I? She indicated Cesar s neck. He tipped his head a bit and
all speaking around where they stood stopped immediately. If she asked him what was happening, it
would make her look weak. She knew that. He d given her his neck, a huge honor.
She breathed in and realized there were elements of his scent that also mirrored Max, but some were
sharper, stronger.
 Do you scent the difference? he asked when she stood back.
 I do. Thank you for that.
 It s my job to teach the newly changed. My job to help you understand us. Your sister opened
doors for you, you know that. You and she are so good for my boys. Immi and I know you will lead
at Max s side with strength and courage.
He said it loud enough that all those straining to hear got an earful. His enthusiastic approval of her
as a match for Max, and as an alpha to succeed him and his wife when the time came.
Max came down the steps into the backyard and after embracing Armando, he turned to his father.
 Gracias, Papi. Max hugged his father and then put an arm around Kendra.  We need to make the
rounds. Introduce you to everyone. He was happy, she felt it humming between them, the heat of
it, the warmth of belonging.
His father waved a hand at him.  That s what I was doing, boy. It s not the first time I ve done this.
Max dipped his head, but kept his arm around Kendra. The two of them, on the outside, seemed
very different. Scratch the surface and they were the same man, just in different packages.
The more she got to know Max s family, the more she liked them. Well she gave Beth the side eye
 most of them anyway.
 Of course. Thank you.
Imogene came out, making sure everyone saw her head straight to Kendra to embrace her. Max had
coached her for part of the afternoon, so she knew to rub her cheek along her mother-in-law s as a
sign of obedience and respect.
So much was going on and she had to bite her tongue. She wanted to whisper stuff to Max, but
since they all had great hearing, she couldn t risk telling him she thought things were going pretty
good.
Across the back deck, she caught sight of Renee, Galen and Jack arriving. Renee had a big bouquet
of flowers. Touched, Kendra blew her sister a kiss and mouthed a thank-you. It strengthened her,
knowing her sister had arrived and had her back. Safe and way less alone.
One by one she met all seven of Max s siblings. According to the ritual Max had described, his par-
ents would introduce her formally to the family and any other elders or cats of very high rank, and
then they d introduce her to the jamboree at large.
How much she was accepted and her relative place in a jamboree would be determined by how Ce-
sar and Imogene handled the introductions. The more effusive they were, the better it would be for
Kendra. So far they d both held her hand and had taken her arm or caressed her shoulder.
Renee hadn t gotten this much support when she d come around with Galen. For a long time Imo-
gene hadn t liked Renee, but a few years back, the two women had a showdown, and Imogene had
announced she d been wrong about Renee and was fully supportive of her place with Galen.
Kendra was really glad she didn t have to endure that sort of cold shoulder. It was just another ex-
ample of how amazing her sister was, how strong. She d won over nearly everyone through years of
relentless politics and wary extensions of trust and affection.
When they got around to Galen, Kendra gave a big hug to Renee, who beamed at her sister proudly
as she stood at Galen s side. Galen gave Max his throat before they embraced.
As they turned to head toward Carlos, Kendra paused, cocking her head and listening.
 There s something wrong. Max spoke before Kendra had figured it out.
Gibson streaked past on full alert. He hadn t changed forms yet and still brought the hair on the
back of her neck to standing.
Rosemary, who d been in the crowd, rushed forward, but guards blocked her out. Kendra turned.
 Let her in.
 No one gets near the alpha couple or the next-in-line.
 I m the next-in-line too and she s my aunt. Let her through or let me to her.
Max was at her back.  We need to get you out of here, he said into her ear.
 No. Anxiety crept into her belly and she realized it was her cat. Her cat wanted to seek shelter and
watch. But she knew one of the thieves was nearby. The magic in the air was amateurish, nothing
natural lived in it at all. It was as if its user had bought it in a box like macaroni and cheese.
She moved toward her aunt.  What s going on?
 Let her through. They re trying to help, Max called out and the wall of guards let her pass, Renee
on her heels.
 This guy is a joke. Rosemary looked around, shaking her head.  That s some D-List magic. Noth-
ing of him at all in it. Even if he could lure any of us out, he s too weak to do anything with us.
Gibson shielded Max, who moved him over to shield Kendra. She rolled her eyes at them both.
 What if he s pretending to be an amateur? To lure you out and then he s all BAM super witch or
something? Galen looked from Renee to Rosemary.
 That was my question too. Though of course I couldn t lend it the poetry you do. Gibson bowed
his head to his brother and Galen scratched his nose with his middle finger, flipping his brother off
on the sly.
Rosemary thought it over for a moment.  No. Not unless he was uproariously good. And if he was,
he d be in here. Any witch with that kind of power doesn t need to bother with luring. He d come in
and take.
 Let s go grab him. Kendra turned to Gibson.  Come with me, or send another guard. I only need
to be there because he might try something on you. I can stop him easily. Then you can grab him
and bring him here.
 And we can take him to the dungeon and beat the truth out of him. Gibson said it with a straight
face, but Kendra heard the joking tones.  Kendra, in another situation I might agree with you. But
what if some of these more skilled witches are using him as bait to get you out there and then [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]