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Kira is fiddling with the zipper on her suitcase. Should she have made a sign? It would have been easier. Or maybe she should have asked Derek for a picture. Although Stiles had said that she would see the broody family resemblance the moment she laid eyes on Cora.
Her flight had been scheduled to land only a half-hour before Cora’s, so she’d offered to share a cab with the woman. It had made sense at the time. They could split the fare and neither of them would be alone on the drive from the airport to Beacon Hills.
They’ve all finished college, except for Lydia who will be going for her PhD, and they are having a party at the lake house. Derek had said that Cora had just finished as well and Stiles used his powers of persuasion to convince the other Hale to come celebrate with them.
Lydia had roped everyone into helping set things up, and with them being the last to arrive, nobody would be able to pick them up. So now she is waiting by Cora’s gate, hoping that she’ll recognize the woman and won’t have to resort to shouting her name.
The doors open and people start spilling out. Right at the front is dark-haired woman with a face that seemed shaped by a sculptor, pulling a giant suitcase like it weighs nothing. She’s scanning the crowd, not with a searching look, but one that can only be described as slightly angry.
Well, Stiles wasn’t wrong.
Kira walks up to the her. ‘Cora?’ she asks.
‘You must be Kira.’ The angry look fades into an appraising one. Cora scans her up and down, nods in apparent approval and then turns towards the exit. ‘You coming?’
‘Yes.’ Kira quickly follows her. ‘So, I heard it’s been a long time since you’ve been here.’
Cora turns her head, raising an eyebrow, but keeps walking. ‘The last time I arrived here, I got kidnapped by a pack of deranged Alphas trying to rope Scott into joining their little gang and who made my brother kill one of his Betas.’
‘Yeah, I heard about that,’ Kira nods. ‘Well it can’t be much worse than my first few months. I accidentally helped a demon possess Stiles and that demon nearly killed half the pack.’
Cora stop and turns. She looks at her with an amused smile.
‘What?’
‘When I heard you were a kitsune I kind of expected you to be the sneaky one. Aren’t you guys supposed to be like super intelligent and almost unbeatable in battle?’
‘I didn’t even know at that time. Plus, I’m only twenty-two, not nine hundred like my mom. I’m still learning.’
‘Your mother is nine hundred years old?’
‘Yeah, we age well.’
That makes Cora huff out a laugh. ‘I like you.’
Kira is so distracted by the other woman’s smile, that she trips over her suitcase when they start walking again. She blushes when Cora catches her and smiles at her clumsiness.
~
Cora is a lot nicer than Kira had been let to believe. From the stories she’d expected her to be a lot scarier. She’s a bit more aggressive than her brother, and speaks even less, preferring the eyebrow-language of the Hales. Even so, by the time they arrive at the lake house, Kira’s pretty sure they’re becoming friends.
Lydia has really outdone herself. There is enough food to feed fifty people, so it should just be enough for the pack and their friends. She has normal alcoholic beverages for the humans and several that are laced with wolfsbane for anyone who needs a little extra to get drunk.
Around midnight, the party is starting to wind down a bit. Most of the food is gone and all the couples are moving their make out sessions to the bedrooms or the woods.
Kira is sitting on the pier by the boathouse. It’s a nice night and she can see the stars.
‘Hey,’ Cora says, sitting down. She hands Kira a bottle of wine.
‘I thought all the wolfsbane booze was gone?’
‘It is, but I like wine, even if I can’t get drunk of it.’
‘Oh.’ She takes the bottle and takes a sip. Unlike the werewolves, she can get drunk from normal alcohol. It just takes a few more drinks. And despite the fact that she’s had quite a few since they’ve arrived, she’s nowhere near drunk yet. So she really doesn’t have any excuse when she asks, ‘You want to go out on the lake?’
‘It’s the middle of the night,’ Cora counters, taking back the bottle.
‘It’s not like the darkness is a problem for either of us.’
‘True. Let’s go.’ Cora stands up and holds out her hand so she can help her up.
Kira expects her to let go of her hand, but instead Cora holds on and drags her to the nearest row boat.
Two minutes later, the boat is in the water and Cora is rowing them to the middle of the lake, while Kira holds on to the bottle with one hand, and the side of the boat with the other. When Cora is satisfied with their position, she pulls in the peddles and moves to sit on the floor. She pats the little bit of free space next to her, accepting the bottle of wine so can Kira move to sit there. She’s almost safe when she stumbles and nearly falls overboard.
Cora snorts and quickly pulls her to safety, rocking the boat so much Kira clings to the sides in fear.
‘I still can’t believe you’re the badass warrior Stiles always talks about.’
‘Don’t make me zap you,’ Kira grits out.
‘You wouldn’t.’
She doesn’t answer, but simply raises her eyebrows.
Cora nods in approval. ‘If this were a romantic movie, I’d be pointing out the constellations to you,’ she says.
‘If this were a romantic movie, you wouldn’t have been laughing when I nearly fell out.’
‘If this were a romantic movie, I would’ve pulled you on top of me instead of next to me.’
‘I’m really starting to wish we were in a romantic movie,’ Kira says, licking her lips a little nervously. It’s been a while since she’s kissed anyone, let alone dated someone.
Cora’s eyes flick to her lips. They stay there when she says, ‘I aim to please.’
Kira nods and moves forward. Cora’s lips are warm and she tastes like wine. She presses a little closer and moves her hands to Cora’s shoulder to steady herself. Cora drops the bottle and takes hold of her hips to guide her into her lap.
The movement makes the boat rock dangerously and Kira freezes.
‘We should probably do this on a more stable surface,’ she mumbles against Cora’s lips.
‘You don’t like getting wet?’ Kira can feel the smirk on Cora’s lips.
‘Not while I’m still wearing clothes, no.’
‘Let’s get inside, and out of these clothes then.’
Kira moves back slowly and shuffles to sit on the little bench across from Cora again. Cora sits up gracefully and effortlessly, without rocking the boat.
‘You want to help me row?’
Kira shakes her head. ‘I’m good here, watching you do all the hard work,’ she says, gripping the sides of the boat tightly.
They’re back at the boathouse in what is probably record time. Cora gets out first and holds out her hand to help her up, but Kira jumps out of the boat on her own.
‘Hey!’ Cora frowns at the sudden loss of clumsiness.
‘I’m a kitsune, remember,’ Kira grins. ‘We’re tricksters.’
She starts running to the house, knowing that the wolf will not resist the chase.