The Curious Case of Cat and Cupid [manxman]

Chapter Seven

Tuesday, February 14th

"—shut up! I think he's waking up."

"That's not grounds to shut up, you know. It'll probably help him to know who's here. You know he's a little paranoid."

"A little?"

"Jude?"

That voice. I opened my eyes, grimacing at the harsh light. Blinking roughly against it, I looked over and saw Cooper sitting at my side. Next to him stood Nina, one hand on my bed and the other on the back of Cooper's chair. Looking to the other side, I saw Scott perched on the edge of the bed with his arms crossed. His brows were drawn, and his mouth was pursed in a thin line.

"Jude?"

At the repetition, I looked back over at Cooper. While I was looking, I noticed the wall and curtain. I was in my bedroom. "What happened?" My voice sounded scratchy and raw.

"You were attacked by the banshee," Cooper said.

Oh right. I closed my eyes and settled back against the pillow. Horrendous images of the banshee appeared in my mind. I felt the floor smack hard against my knees as I dropped. I could still feel the hot blood on my fingers, the fear pumping through my veins—

"Shh," Cooper soothed, rubbing his thumb over my knuckles. Had he been holding my hand the whole time? "You're safe. I arrived just in time to use one of the protection potions you gave me to stun her. Once she was gone, I called Nina and Scott. We're also past the February fourteenth deadline, so we shouldn't be hearing from her again."

I nodded. "Okay." Opening my eyes, the feeling that preceded the banshee attack suddenly struck me again—the loneliness. "How is your soulmate? You didn't just leave him, did you?"

Cooper smiled and reached over, brushing my hair back from my forehead. "I did, but I came back for him. Right now, he's in rough shape, but I think he's gonna be just fine."

"What happened to him? I can take a look at him if you want, unless it's more of Nina's expertise."

"Well, he ended up being attacked by a banshee, because I was being incredibly stupid and spending my time with a perfectly nice man who was, in fact, not my soulmate."

I frowned. "Maybe it's the near-death experience that made me lose a couple of brain cells, but I'm not following."

Cooper tightened his grip on my hand, not enough to hurt, but to make it abundantly clear that he wasn't just doing it for comfort. He was holding onto me. "You're my soulmate," he said. "The other guy, Riley, he was nice, but even when I was with him, I couldn't stop thinking of you. None of those guys were ever as good as you. And then I came back here to talk to you about it, saw the banshee, and I just knew." He shrugged, smile still in place even though his eyes looked a bit more damp than they had only a moment ago. "I'm sorry it took so long for me to see it."

Holy shit... I was—How on earth had—? I was a cupid agent's soulmate. I was Cooper's soulmate.

I grinned as the lonely feeling dissipated. The giddiness only love and anticipation could incite replaced the loneliness immediately. "I didn't see it either. The only person who did was Scott."

"Bullshit," Nina snorted.

"And Nina," I said, correcting myself as I glanced at her. "I'm just glad you're still here and safe."

Cooper laughed breathlessly. "Not as glad as I am that I got here when I did." The unspoken knowledge of exactly what would have occurred if he'd been even a second too late hung thick in the air around us.

"Well," I said, letting out a deep breath I hadn't realized I'd been holding. "We're soulmates... Now what?"

"How about we start with strawberry shortcake and a quiet day right here until you heal up?"

"That sounds wonderful."

Bringing my hand up to his lips, he brushed a soft kiss on my knuckles. "Happy Valentine's Day, Jude."

"Happy Valentine's Day, Coop."

And so the curious case of cat and cupid was drawn to a close as Cooper and I went on to settle in, grow close, and live happily ever after. Running the shop, bringing soulmates together, and solving even more cases for the Cupid Council and law enforcement by day, while wrapping up in one another by night. I couldn't imagine my life being any other way. When I took the case, I would've never imagined that the little black cat at my door was not only a cupid, but my soulmate, best friend, and partner.

~*~The End~*~

A/N: Thank you guys so much for reading this story! I hope you enjoyed <3 If you enjoyed and would like to purchase my upcoming paperback version of this book (and a couple other short stories), make sure you follow me or add this book to your library so you get the update for when the paperback book comes out!