Attenburgh. The place where K7 is being held. The only one of my sibling who still needs saving. We know that for sure now. We've gone through most of the documents from the lab detailing Project Indigo. Only nine of us survived longer than past the first year. Of those nine, six of us are still alive.
"Is it a nice town?" I ask innocently.
"Oh yes. I lived there myself for a few years after I finished my studies. It's where I met my husband, actually." Her smile wavers but she continues. "It's much richer than here. Lots of very pretty houses. Pretty people. Not so pretty secrets. If you love gossiping, Attenburgh is the place to be. Every year, the siren high society meets there for their annual charity ball. Not that any of the money raised actually goes to charity, but whoever came up with the name thought it sounded nice. Much better than 'ball where everyone gets drunk and behaves badly'. I never much liked those events, but the town is lovely. Three rivers surround it, separating the richer areas from the slums outside."
"So I guess the house prices are high?"
She laughs. "Thinking of entering the property market?"
"Something like that."
"Well, yes, they are. You'd probably get a small flat there when you'd get an entire house here for the same price. You're in luck though. Guess where my daughter is working?"
I shrug. I don't know anything about her daughters. "A morgue?"
"An estate agent. I'll give Gryphon her address. I'm sure she can help you find somewhere that isn't too expensive."
I nod my thanks and nibble on a sausage while thinking it over. I'd planned to go to Attenburgh for K7 anyway, but now that I know that lots of sirens live there... I'm sure they'll have a connection to the Fangs. Or to the Pack. Either or, they're bad news.
Going there is a bad idea.
Which is exactly why I'm going to do it.
Epilogue
Four very fat horses are attached to the wagon, ready to pull it to our new home.
They lazily munch on hay while they wait for us to say our goodbyes.
Ryker is surrounded by dozens of cats. About half of his family has decided to stay here. He's leaving them in the capable paws of Storm. I'm sad she's staying, but she's the purrfect leader for his clan.
The other cats are already in or on the wagon. Little Pumpkin, Ryker's son, is on one of the horses. I'm surprised it hasn't thrown him off yet, but he's the kind of kitten who makes friends with everyone, including horses.
We said goodbye to Little Kat and Aunt Rose yesterday, so now it's just the twins who're here with us. It took me hours upon hours to convince them not to come with us. They're staying with Rose for the next six months. That's the most I've been able to bargain. After that, they'll be allowed to reconsider whether they want to come join me or stay here.
Rose has promised to find them a tutor. I have no idea if they've ever had any schooling, so they might have to start at scratch. Not that I'm educated or anything, but dealing with M.E.O.W. business has made me realise how important it is to know your way around numbers. Not that I'm grooming them to become my assistants and look after the admin side of things. Not at all. Liar.
They stand side by side, their hands clasped. I hate having to leave them, but it's best for them.
Even though they behave like grown ups, they are still children. I can't look after them by myself, especially not while searching for our remaining sister.
I clear my throat, completely at a loss to as what to say. I don't do goodbyes. I run and never look back. This is a first. Well, a second if you count yesterday when I had to say goodbye to Little Kat and Aunt Rose. At least Little Kat is too young to understand the concept of time. For her, if I see her again in half a year's time, it might feel like we only just met yesterday. That's what I hope, anyway.
"Look after yourselves," I say helplessly. "Don't get in trouble. Try not to kill anyone. If you do, hide the body. Acid works well for that. And if you get poisoned, give me a call and I'll put Bethany on the case. I'll send Aunt Rose my number and address as soon as we've found a house. And if you get stabbed-"
Gryphon puts an arm around my shoulders. I'm so flustered that I didn't even hear him approach.
"What she means to say is that you should take care and be good. And that we'll miss you. Right, Kat?"
I nod. "Exactly that. I meant the thing about the acid, though."
Ivy laughs. "Thanks. We'll call you if we have any bodies to hide."
"You bet." Four grins. "And don't get into trouble either now that you don't have Ivy to lick you."
Gross.
I give them a quick hug before hurrying to the wagon. I don't want them to see me this unsure of myself. I hate social interaction. I might just shift and curl up on the roof of the wagon for a bit, pretending to be a cat who doesn't have to deal with people.
Just before I enter the wagon, Four calls me from afar. “Hey, Kat! What does M.E.O.W. really stand for?”
I grin. “Haven’t you figured that out yet?”
M.E.O.W.
Murder eases our worries.
Meow! The story continues in Lick, the fifth book in the series. To get updates about the Catnip Assassins and other books, subscribe to my newsletter.
Kat would also like to encourage you to leave a review. Don’t tempt her to sharpen her knives. She’s scary that way.
Author’s Note
Dear readers,
I can’t believe that I’ve just completed Kat’s fourth book. Originally, I’d only planned there to be three (well, it was supposed to be a standalone at the very beginning, but as soon as I got to know Kat, I realised that wouldn’t be possible), but now there will be seven in total. That’s right, three more Catnip books!
You can blame Debbie Cassidy for that, my friend and co-author. I was starting to talk about doing a fifth book for Kat because there’s still so much story to tell, and she basically told me to make it into a new three-book story arch. So if you were hoping for this to be the last book (I hope you weren’t), then blame her.
Now that the Pack is destroyed (finally!), Kat and her family will start a new life in a new town, but of course that doesn’t mean that everything will be easy… far from it. There will be more assassinations, pawsome spies and even a diamond heist.
It’s strange how Kat has become such an important part of my life. I’ve been writing books about her for over nine months now. I’m currently drinking from a M.E.O.W. mug. I have two t-shirts featuring Kat and M.E.O.W. (all available at my Redbubble shop). And there’s even a Kat chibi magnet on my fridge. If I’m not careful, I’m going to dress as Kat at my next book signing….
I hope you will continue following Kat’s journey, despite the body count. I apologise to all vegetarians and vegans who found her blood frenzies a little overpowering (sorry, Renée!). And yes, I admit I had to cry a little when writing chapter 20. I would have liked to write something more positive but Kat had other plans.
Anyway, time to start writing Lick…
Lots of furry hugs,
Skye
Also By
Find all of Skye’s books on her website, skyemackinnon.com, where you can also order signed paperbacks. Many of her books are also available as audiobooks.
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Catnip Assassins (urban fantasy reverse harem)
Meow
Scratch
Purrr
Hisss
Lick
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Daughter of Winter Series (Paranormal reverse harem)
Winter Princess
Winter Heiress
Winter Queen
Winter Goddess
>> Box set
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Mother of Gods (prequel)
Demon’s Revenge (spin-off)
Samhain Goddess (spin-off in an anthology)
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From the Deeps
Into the Mists
Beneath the Earth
Within the Flames
Above the Waves
Under the Ice
Rule the Dark
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Prequel: Beyond the Loch
Spin-off: Through the Storms
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Claiming Her Bears (Post-apocalyptic bear shifter RH)
Rescued by Bears
Protected by Bears
Craved by Bears
>> Box set
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The Mars Diaries (Sci-fi RH linked to the Drowning series)
Alone
Hidden
Found
>> Box Set
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Between Rebels (sci-fi RH set in the Planet Athion shared world)
Stolen By Them
Guarded By Them
Seduced By Them
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Defiance (contemporary dark RH)
Abandoned Heart
Broken Princess
Stolen Soul
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Infernal Descent (paranormal RH based on Dante’s Inferno, co-written with Bea Paige)
Hell’s Calling
Hell’s Weeping
Hell’s Burning
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Academy of Time (time travel academy standalones)
Norsemen Academy
Pandora’s Academy
Highlander Academy
Druid Academy
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Standalones
Song of Souls – fairy tale retelling
Their Hybrid – steampunk RH
Highland Butterflies – lesbian romance
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Anthologies and Box Sets
Hungry for More – charity cookbook
Kilts and Kisses – a Skye MacKinnon starter library
About the Author
Skye MacKinnon is a USA Today & International Bestselling Author whose books are filled with strong heroines who don't have to choose.
She embraces her Scottishness with fantastical Scottish settings and a dash of mythology, no matter if she's writing about Celtic gods, cat shifters, or the streets of Edinburgh.
When she's not typing away at her favourite cafe, Skye loves dried mango, as much exotic tea as she can squeeze into her cupboards, and being covered in pet hair by her two bunnies, Emma and Darwin.
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Support her on Patreon and get exclusive benefits:
patreon.com/skyemackinnon
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Subscribe to her newsletter:
skyemackinnon.com/newsletter