
Introduction
Adopted by the king himself, Lurina navigates her new feline form with trepidation, all while grappling with the revelation that, for one precious hour each night, she reverts to her human self. But as she learns to embrace her dual nature, she stumbles upon a dark conspiracy brewing within the palace walls.
With the kingdom's fate hanging in the balance, Lurina strikes an unlikely alliance with King Augustus, using her unique abilities to uncover the truth behind the nefarious plot. Together, they unravel a web of deceit, facing danger at every turn and forging a bond that transcends the boundaries of species.
As tensions rise and loyalties are tested, Lurina must tread carefully to protect her newfound home and the ones she holds dear. But when her human form is exposed at the most inopportune moment, she must confront her greatest challenge yet: embracing her true self in a world where secrets reign supreme.
"Whiskers and Secrets" is a captivating tale of friendship, intrigue, and self-discovery, where one brave maid-turned-cat must unravel the mysteries of her past to secure a future for herself and those she loves. Join Lurina on her extraordinary journey through palace intrigue and feline whimsy in this enchanting fantasy adventure.
Chapter 1
"Lurina!"
I turn toward Dinah’s voice and she gives me what I imagine is meant to be a disapproving look, but it's Dinah, so it comes across as fondness. "The goblets?" she prompts.
"Oh." I look down at my tray. Sure enough, the goblets are missing. "I'm sorry."
"Stop apologizing."
"Sorry."
At least that gets a laugh. "Where’s your head today?"
"I don't know." If anyone could catch me in a lie, it's Dinah, and this one isn't difficult to spot. In the past two years I've spent working as a maid in King Augustus' palace, I've never been so careless as to forget a single salad fork, dinner fork, dessert fork, or emergency extra fork. There's only one kind of goblet, and that's where the wine goes. From what I hear, wine's important.
Besides, Dinah is probably the only one here who knows that tomorrow is my birthday—and if not, she's certainly the only one who cares. To the others, I'm just one in an anonymous army, but Dinah's known me my whole life. She might as well be my grandmother, since I have no family of my own. She squeezes my hand and whispers, "Get through today and we'll celebrate you properly."
I have to smile at that. Have to, because she's trying. Dinah's a wizard in the kitchen, so I have no doubt that whatever birthday surprise she has in store for me will be delicious. But I suspect I'm now at an age where desserts alone can't satisfy me. There's something more that I want. The only trouble is, I don't know just what that is.
It's her own fault, anyway. Dinah was the one who read me storybooks growing up and told me every year that birthdays were special things, that birthday wishes made at the stroke of midnight were bound to come true. And though, every year, I grow wiser and, every year, I should grow out of this silly belief, every year, I still make a birthday wish at the stroke of midnight.
And every year, I'm disappointed.
I push the thoughts from my head, load my tray with the goblets alongside too many different kinds of forks, and head up to the King's private dining chamber. This is the real world. No miracle is coming along to change my life. I need to focus on the life I'm living, and do my job properly. That's what getting older is about.
Unfortunately, I'm so focused on doing my job that I don't notice the King entering the dining chamber as I exit to fetch more dishes from the kitchen. He's deep in conversation with Alvin, his valet, gesturing animatedly with a book in his hand as Alvin politely tries to avoid getting hit in the face with it. Somehow he's the only one who avoids disaster as the King and I collide, sending both our eyeglasses flying as we crash to the ground.
"Clumsy maid," spits Alvin. Search the skies and I couldn't tell you what that man has against me. After all, he's no more of a noble than I am. Then again, perhaps that's the reason.
"Sorry! I'm sorry. Apologies, Majesty. Alvin." I'd curtsey, but I'm busy fumbling around on all fours, trying to retrieve my glasses. "I'm so sorry." I can practically hear Dinah cringing from three floors away, telling me again to stop apologizing.
But the King merely chuckles. "Pesky things, aren't they?" I can only manage a voiced exhale that I hope sounds like a laugh as I pick something up, but the thing catches the light in a way that lets me know these can't belong to me. The gold of these frames could pay my salary for a year, maybe more. Wordlessly, I hand them back to the King as he hands me mine, the cheap wire miraculously intact.
"If magic were real," he says, standing up and dusting himself off, "we'd have a spell that could fix our eyes in a blink."
"Magic? Like in fairy tales?" I can't help smiling. The King is a few years older than me, but sometimes he seems much younger. I wonder if all the ladies at court who swoon over his dreamy eyes and perfect physique would feel differently if they knew of his reading preferences. Then again, he’s still the King. "I thought those were all made up to teach lessons to stubborn children about obeying their parents and not straying from the path." I pause. “Your Majesty.”
"That's what this book is about," he says eagerly, holding up his book, finger still marking his page. The King loves storybooks more than anyone in the world except maybe Dinah, and being noble, he has far more time to indulge his passion. To my surprise, he offers me his other hand to help me up, which I accept. "It posits that these stories are in fact history, passed down as lessons, warnings, perhaps even instruction."
Alvin clears his throat and takes the King by the elbow, leading him inside. I step back to let them pass. I know my place.
By the time I return with more heaping plates of food, we're joined by Duchess Demetria, the King's aunt. The chosen few, as usual. They'll talk politics and diplomacy, none of the gossip that the girls downstairs are eager for. It's so easy to turn my brain off, let my muscle memory do the work. If the practiced smile I plaster on fades a little bit, who's going to notice? No one looks a servant in the face. Even good King Gus doesn’t look for long.
Alvin starts hounding the King about a recent visit from a diplomat, which he took as a threat. Personally, I think a country waging war wouldn't bother sending a diplomat ahead of time, but what do I know?
The King seems to agree with me. "No sense in being hasty," he says. "Why make an enemy where you can have a friend?"
"There's no such thing as countries being friends," Alvin insists.
That's when it happens. I have to laugh.
Barely even a laugh, really. A hearty exhale. Still, it's more noise than I've made since I stepped into the chamber, save the collision before dinner. Everyone slowly turns to look at me. I've never had so many people looking at me before.
"I'm sorry," I start, but the damage has been done. Alvin looks furious, the Duchess curious, the King...well, I can't quite tell. I'm too afraid to look at him.
"Don't apologize," he says. "Tell us. You clearly have a strong opinion."
"Well." Do I? I've never thought of myself as having a strong opinion before, but no one's ever asked. Feeling emboldened, I press on. "Of course countries are friends. Carbonel has trade treaties, peace agreements, lands we've sought aid from in times of need and returned it to in theirs. Our friends make us great. A diplomat suggests to me someone interested in maintaining that friendship. So, as you said—Your Majesty"—with a quick curtsey, in case I'm in danger of seeming like I've forgotten my station—"why assume the worst?"
Alvin scowls at me, but I hardly notice in the light of the King's twinkling eyes. He's kind but quiet, and I rarely hear him laugh, so every smile's a welcome reward.
Unfortunately, it's distracting enough that the gazpacho I'm serving somehow finds its way out of the ladle and all over the Royal Lap. Alvin sputters as if he's the one who's just had soup spilled all over him. The Duchess' smirk is the closest thing to a smile I've ever won from her. As for the King? I'm too afraid to look at him. Again.
"Sorry!" I shout, far too loud. "I'm sorry," again, at a more decorous volume. "Your Majesty, I am so—"
"Maid," Alvin says coldly, though I swear behind the scowl he's somehow also smirking, "leave us. You're dismissed."
Whether he means from dinner or from the palace, who's to say?
I skip Dinah and dessert, rushing through the kitchen and ignoring everyone who calls after me in my haste to lock myself in my room. My distress must be evident, because not even Dinah comes knocking until later in the night.
"Lurina?"
"How bad is it?" I don't know if she can hear me, muffled as I am against my pillow.
Dinah sighs. Never a good sign. Dinah can find the bright side in anything. "Alvin has lodged a formal complaint," she says hesitantly. "On behalf of the King."
"I see." That's that, then. Alvin's animosity, I've grown used to over the years. But I'd thought the King had somewhat liked me. If even he wants to let me go, there's no getting around it.
"I'm so sorry, Lurina."
"Stop apologizing," I reply, hoping she smiles. "I'll be all right. Can we talk about this tomorrow?"
Tomorrow, when I officially get fired. Dinah's kind enough not to say it out loud. "Good night, Lurina."
"Thank you, Dinah."
"Happy early birthday."
So much for that. For someone whose every birthday has been a disappointment, this one takes the cake—ironic, since I probably won’t get to eat any.
But the thought of cake makes my stomach growl. This late in the night, surely the kitchen will be empty. I'll be left alone in my disgrace, enjoy one last night of royal leftovers, and try not to think about how I'll never find another job or a place to live or three square meals a day again. I'm an orphan with no outstanding skills or talents, not even pretty enough to marry well. Could I even be hired as a maid now, when my only reference will be someone from the palace claiming I tried to drown the King in cold soup?
Right. Tomorrow. Tonight, there's at least cake.
Accompanying the cake is a small fire in the fireplace and a cup of tea. If a splash of the King's whiskey finds itself in it, why not? He can't fire me twice. (Can he?)
The whiskey stings a little going down, yet I find myself wanting more as soon as it fades. He can't fire me thrice. (He could, he's the King.) This should be celebratory, a happy birthday wish, but no, wishes are for children and in five minutes, I'll be eighteen. All grown up. No more fairy tales or happily ever afters.
Still, I can't stop staring at the clock as it ticks ever closer to midnight. What's the harm in wishing one last time? Either magic isn't real and nothing happens and everything is exactly as miserable as it is right now, or...
I don't even want to finish that sentence. I don't dare to hope. But I still wish. Oh, how I wish.
I pour what remains of the whiskey into my cup. (Let him do what he wants.) As the seconds race by, I squeeze my eyes shut and wish, pray, plead, beg for a solution to my problems. A personality transplant for Alvin. A memory wipe for the King. A way to stay, any way.
The clock begins to chime. Perhaps it's the whiskey taking quick effect but it's loud, so loud, too loud. Are there more clocks than I thought in here? Are the clocks bigger than they were before? Are they... Am I...
Wait.
When I open my eyes, I'm suddenly on the ground. But I'm not lying down, I don’t think. Or maybe I am, and that's why everything looks so different. And feels so different. Even the air tastes different. Strange sounds are everywhere, and everything's the wrong color. I try to get to my feet, but when I place my hands on the floor to brace myself, they're not hands at all.
They're... No.
The tea. Too much whiskey. That's all. I go to pick up the cup I dropped but my fingers are all wrong. My fingers look like beans. Why are they so hairy?
And then I see it. My reflection, in the spilled tea and whiskey that have cursed me.
Fluffy. White. Paws. Whiskers.
I’m a cat.
I scream, but it comes out as a purr.
Last Chapters
#28 Chapter. 28
Last Updated: 1/7/2025#27 Chapter. 27
Last Updated: 1/7/2025#26 Chapter. 26
Last Updated: 1/7/2025#25 Chapter. 25
Last Updated: 1/7/2025#24 Chapter. 24
Last Updated: 1/7/2025#23 Chapter. 23
Last Updated: 1/7/2025#22 Chapter. 22
Last Updated: 1/7/2025#21 Chapter. 21
Last Updated: 1/7/2025#20 Chapter. 20
Last Updated: 1/7/2025#19 Chapter. 19
Last Updated: 1/7/2025
You Might Like 😍
I Slapped My Fiancé—Then Married His Billionaire Nemesis
Technically, Rhys Granger was my fiancé now—billionaire, devastatingly hot, and a walking Wall Street wet dream. My parents shoved me into the engagement after Catherine disappeared, and honestly? I didn’t mind. I’d crushed on Rhys for years. This was my chance, right? My turn to be the chosen one?
Wrong.
One night, he slapped me. Over a mug. A stupid, chipped, ugly mug my sister gave him years ago. That’s when it hit me—he didn’t love me. He didn’t even see me. I was just a warm-bodied placeholder for the woman he actually wanted. And apparently, I wasn’t even worth as much as a glorified coffee cup.
So I slapped him right back, dumped his ass, and prepared for disaster—my parents losing their minds, Rhys throwing a billionaire tantrum, his terrifying family plotting my untimely demise.
Obviously, I needed alcohol. A lot of alcohol.
Enter him.
Tall, dangerous, unfairly hot. The kind of man who makes you want to sin just by existing. I’d met him only once before, and that night, he just happened to be at the same bar as my drunk, self-pitying self. So I did the only logical thing: I dragged him into a hotel room and ripped off his clothes.
It was reckless. It was stupid. It was completely ill-advised.
But it was also: Best. Sex. Of. My. Life.
And, as it turned out, the best decision I’d ever made.
Because my one-night stand isn’t just some random guy. He’s richer than Rhys, more powerful than my entire family, and definitely more dangerous than I should be playing with.
And now, he’s not letting me go.
His Mission
Emily is suddenly thrown from one world of danger and uncertainty into another. The two teens ride the rollercoaster of love, unbelievable betrayal and heartache.
Omega Bound
Thane Knight is the alpha of the Midnight Pack of the La Plata Mountain Range, the largest wolf shifter pack in the world. He is an alpha by day and hunts the shifter trafficking ring with his group of mercenaries by night. His hunt for vengeance leads to one raid that changes his life.
Tropes:
Touch her and die/Slow burn romance/Fated Mates/Found family twist/Close circle betrayal/Cinnamon roll for only her/Traumatized heroine/Rare wolf/Hidden powers/Knotting/Nesting/Heats/Luna/Attempted assassination
Mated by Contract to the Alpha
William—my devastatingly handsome, wealthy werewolf fiancé destined to become Delta—was supposed to be mine forever. After five years together, I was ready to walk down the aisle and claim my happily ever after.
Instead, I found him with her. And their son.
Betrayed, jobless, and drowning in my father's medical bills, I hit rock bottom harder than I ever imagined possible. Just when I thought I'd lost everything, salvation came in the form of the most dangerous man I'd ever encountered.
Damien Sterling—future Alpha of the Silver Moon Shadow Pack and ruthless CEO of Sterling Group—slid a contract across his desk with predatory grace.
“Sign this, little doe, and I'll give you everything your heart desires. Wealth. Power. Revenge. But understand this—the moment you put pen to paper, you become mine. Body, soul, and everything in between.”
I should have run. Instead, I signed my name and sealed my fate.
Now I belong to the Alpha. And he's about to show me just how wild love can be.
Mr. Ryan
He came closer with a dark and hungry expression,
so close,
his hands reached for my face, and he pressed his body against mine.
His mouth took mine eagerly, a little rudely.
His tongue left me breathless.
“If you don't go with me, I'll fuck you right here.” He whispered.
Katherine kept her virginity for years even after she turned 18. But one day, she met an extremely sexual man Nathan Ryan in the club. He had the most seductive blue eyes she has ever seen, a well-defined chin, almost golden blonde hair, full lips, perfectly drawn, and the most amazing smile, with perfect teeth and those damn dimples. Incredibly sexy.
She and he had a beautiful and hot one-night stand...
Katherine thought she might not meet the man again.
But fate has another plan
Katherine is about to take on the job of assistant to a billionaire who owns one of the biggest companies in the country and is known to be a conquering, authoritative and completely irresistible man. He is Nathan Ryan!
Will Kate be able to resist the charms of this attractive, powerful and seductive man?
Read to know a relationship torn between anger and the uncontrollable desire for pleasure.
Warning: R18+, Only for mature readers.
The War God Alpha's Arranged Bride
Yet Alexander made his decision clear to the world: “Evelyn is the only woman I will ever marry.”
The Son of Red Fang
Alpha Cole Redmen is the youngest of six born to Alpha Charles and Luna Sara Mae, leaders of the Red Fang pack. Born prematurely, Alpha Charles rejected him without hesitation as weak and undeserving of his very life. He is reminded daily of his father’s hatred for him paving the way for the rest of his family to become the same.
By adulthood, his father’s hatred and abuse towards him has spilled over into the rest of the pack making him the scapegoat for those with the sadistic need to see him suffer. The rest are simply too afraid to even look his way leaving him little in the way of friends or family to turn to.
Alpha Demetri Black is the leader of a sanctuary pack known as Crimson Dawn. It’s been years since a wolf has made their way to his pack via the warrior’s prospect program but that doesn’t mean he’s not looking for the tell tale signs of a wolf in need of help.
Malnourished and injured upon his arrival, Cole’s anxious and overly submissive demeanor lands him in the very situation he’s desperate to avoid, in the attention of an unknown alpha.
Yet somehow through the darkness of severe illness and injury he runs into the very person he’s been desperate to find since he turned eighteen, his Luna. His one way ticket out of the hell he’s been born into.
Will Cole find the courage needed to leave his pack once and for all, to seek the love and acceptance he’s never had?
Content Warning: This story contains descriptions of mental, physical and sexual abuse that may trigger sensitive readers. This book is intended for adult readers only.
The Alpha Of The Shadow Pack And His Mute Luna
Vanessa, the mute runt of a cursed litter, has only ever known cruelty and abuse. Her voice stolen by a witch’s spell, her freedom crushed by a brutal father, she’s been promised to a monster she doesn’t want. But fate intervenes when she’s left for dead—bleeding, broken, and bound—only to be rescued by Alpha Alfred of the Shadow Pack.
Alfred, fighting against a generational curse that has doomed his brothers to remain wolves forever, never expected his fated mate to be a fragile girl on the brink of death. But the moment he breathes in her scent, everything changes.
Together, they must confront the past, survive betrayal, and uncover the true key to breaking the curses that bind them. Will their bond be strong enough to save them both?
Nanny And Her Four Alpha Bullies
But her origins make her a thorn in the side of the school's four ruling brothers.
They have to take a little baby girl, less than a year old, to school.
But the baby girl resists everyone ...... except Chloe.
So Chloe, a new adult, is forced to become the baby girl's nanny and live in the bullies' dormitory?
Ignored By One Alpha, Chased By Another
However, just before inheriting his Alpha position, Raymond found his fated mate—a rogue girl named Giana.
Forced by his parents, Raymond had no choice but to marry Aurora. Yet on their wedding night, he abandoned her to be with Giana.
Tormented by the mate bond, Aurora ended up having an ONS with a handsome and charming man.
But how could that man turn out to be Raymond’s best friend, the Alpha King’s nephew, and notorious playboy—Kane…?
To protect what’s mine
Fangs, Fate & Other Bad Decisions
After finding out her boyfriend cheated, the last thing she expected was to stumble across a wounded man in an alley. And definitely not one with fangs. But thanks to a mix of cocktails, shame, and her questionable life choices, she takes him home. Turns out, he’s not just any vampire—he’s a king. And according to him, she’s his fated mate.
Now, she’s stuck with an overprotective, brooding bloodsucker who keeps rescuing her, a growing list of enemies who want her dead, and an undeniable attraction that’s making it very hard to remember why falling for a vampire is a terrible idea.
Because if she’s not careful, she won’t just lose her heart—she’ll lose her humanity.












