Free i f2cd308009a8236d by Guinevere Page B

wasn’t about to kill him, or allow him to be killed. “My
    cat likes him.”
    “As long as you’re sure you know what you’re doing.” I smiled. I had been expecting
    them to put up more of a fight.
    “So what is she like?” Marcus interrupted impatiently.
    I hesitated for a few seconds, wondering how honest my reply should be. I decided to
    throw caution to the winds. My brothers would know eventually anyway.
    I groaned slightly, wondering how to describe in words the fixation that was beginning
    to grip me. They understood anyway.
    “Hah!” barked Fergus. “That bad, is it. She would be hard to resist, though, wouldn’t
    she. It’s like we’re a bunch of tigers running with wolves. We like their company to a
    degree…”
    “And occasionally we’ll eat one…” Marcus and his tasteless jokes.
    “But they’re just not the same as we are. And now Angus has met a female tiger.
    Yummy!”
    “The hormones must be whipping through your system like a tornado. And maybe
    through hers too. I wonder if that’s what triggered her switch to iron metabolism?
    Hmmm…” Marcus sounded intrigued again. “I’m going to need a blood sample from you,
    brother. And one from your tigress, if you can manage it.” I had long ago become used to
    being a guinea pig for Marcus. He would get his blood, of course. I owed him that much, and
    more.
    “I wonder if we should pay you guys a visit.” Fergus sounded thoughtful.
    A twinge of jealousy shot through me, but I suppressed it. “I think you should. Marcus
    can do his blood tests, and Rebecca can meet the family, poor girl.”
    Fergus sounded pleased. “I’ll start organising. We’ll stay in a hotel, obviously. Your
    house is too small for all of us.”
    “I’ve got things I need to finish up here,” Marcus said gruffly. He didn’t like to be
    rushed.
    Fergus sighed exaggeratedly. “Forty-eight hours, then, brother.” Click, and they were
    gone.

CHAPTER 5
Rebecca
    It was still dark outside when the alarm went off in the morning, ripping me away from
    the ghostly memories of some strangely gratifying dream. I swung my legs over the side of
    the bed, struggling to wake up. I knew that if I lay my head down for just one more minute, I
    would wake up hours later, late for school and in loads of trouble. It had happened before.
    Often.
    I blinked owlishly as light flooded my room. Mark stood in my doorway, grinning, his
    finger still on the switch. I lunged at him, and almost caught him, but he slipped away
    downstairs, laughing triumphantly. I sat back down on the bed as memories of yesterday
    unexpectedly poured into my head. I looked around at my bedroom, surprised at how
    normal everything felt. I was still worried about getting to school on time, for goodness
    sake. The ordinariness was comforting. I can do this, I thought.
    I had a quick shower and dressed in a clean uniform, strapping the ungainly knee brace
    around my leg almost as an afterthought. It was all about keeping up appearances. I tied my
    still wet hair back in a rudimentary plait, brushed my teeth, and hobbled downstairs, crutch
    free. Much better.
    Mum had left for work while I was showering, and Mark had finished his breakfast, and
    was sitting in the corner of the sitting room at the computer, clearly deeply immersed in
    what he was reading. Joe had left soon after Mum. He had never been an early riser before,
    but now he was seeing some girl, and he liked to be at her house early to walk with her to
    college. Love in action – changing the habits of a lifetime.
    “Time to go, Sis. I’ll walk with you today.” Mark stood near the door suddenly, bag
    slung over his shoulder.
    “You don’t need to do that, Mark. My knee is fine now. And what about Harry?”
    “I’ll send him a text. I know your knee is fine. I’m more worried about you trying to rip
    people’s throats out and suchlike. What will the neighbours say?” He burst out laughing
    again. I glared balefully at him. “No,