Chapter Six #2
“Because they’ve been around you, especially Stryder,” Briar explained.
“It’s comparable to a hound given your scent prior to a hunt.
If close enough, it will detect you and alert the others.
The stone may help dull your presence, but there would still be a faint trail.
The door keeping them out has been opened and can’t be fully closed again. That’s my theory anyway.”
His theories were usually spot-on, so I didn’t doubt him in the slightest.
“In other words, a protection stone won’t prevent the mercenaries from finding Ev again.” Callum slid his arm around my waist and gently tugged me to his side, face dropping into my hair. “Seems we’ll have to kill them instead.”
“No,” I said. “Absolutely not. It’s too dangerous.”
I felt him smile.
“I’m serious, Cal. Keep it up and you’ll no longer be my ooey gooey cinnamon roll. You’ll be like Cinderella’s carriage at the stroke of midnight and turn back into a pumpkin. But stale bread in your case.”
“Cinder…who?”
I sighed. He was adorable. And too irresistible for his own good. I kissed the edge of his jaw, loving the sweet scent of his skin.
“Enjoy your time with him now, rabbit.” Rowan slouched on the window bench, eyes slanted. “That treasure’s all mine come sundown.”
I perked up. Rowan could use shadows to help him sail through the air. They wrapped around his legs and made him feel weightless. He liked to toss me on his back and take me with him.
Maddox glared at him. “If you think you’re going to take him soaring through the trees, think again, thief. This is not the time nor the place.”
And I perked down. Or whatever.
“Look what you did, you gluttonous, grumpy bastard.” Rowan flicked his hand toward me. “Turned him into a sad toad.”
“I’m not sad,” I grumbled before pulling away from Callum and hopping off the bed. I gathered the dishes from breakfast and stacked them on the tray, trying not to let my disappointment show. “Not like I wanted to go or anything. Nope.”
Maddox sighed.
Tray in hand, I shuffled toward the door, intending to set it outside in the hall so I could carry it to the kitchen later. Right before reaching it, a hard thud came from the other side. Standing so close to it, I nearly jumped out of my skin.
Maddox bolted off the bed and reached me in record time. I was trying to right my balance and not drop the damn tray of dishes when he grabbed my arm and steadied me. He pulled me farther away from the door just as another thud sounded.
And with that thud? The softest of puppy whines.
“Oreo?” I called out.
Woof! Followed by scratches on the door.
Smile bursting across my face, I weaseled out of Maddox’s hold, set the tray back on the table, and padded over to let the puppy in.
Much to my captain’s irritation. He growled and followed close behind me, one hand resting on my hip. Probably so he could yank me away in case of an attack. But the only attack I’d get from Oreo was one of excited licks and tail wags.
A point proven when I opened the door and saw a flash of black fur before being pounced on. Oreo gave me kisses and swished his poofy tail ninety-to-nothing, yipping in that adorable puppy way.
“I’m happy to see you too,” I said through my laughs, dropping to both knees and giving him all the pets and scratches behind his furry ears. One of them flopped like usual, and the cuteness was too much. “Are you hungry? We have yummy food you can eat.”
“He can’t have the muffins.” Maddox grumbled. “That’s where I draw the line. The beast is already testing my patience as it is, licking all over you like that.”
I snorted. “Don’t tell me you’re jealous.”
He sneered and looked the other way.
“He’s so grumpy, huh?” I told Oreo in a high-pitched, cutesy voice, ruffling the fur on his back. “Yes, he is. I think he needs another muffin.”
That earned me another sneer. I saw the amusement in Maddox’s blue eyes though. He could try to play tough all he wanted, but not even he could resist the cuteness of the Fenrir pup.
Lake came over and knelt beside me. He extended his hand toward the puppy but didn’t go far enough to touch him. “Hello again.”
Oreo stopped licking my face and tilted his little head, that one ear flopping with the action. Slowly, he inched forward and nudged Lake’s hand. It was the one Oreo had bit the night he’d come to see us at the cottage.
“I’m all healed,” Lake said, carefully upturning his palm. “See? Not even a scar.”
More gently than he’d done with me, Oreo licked his fingers.
“Apology accepted.” Lake smiled and patted the top of his head. Maybe it was their shared wolf traits, but he could understand Oreo. He had said he didn’t hear Oreo’s words; it was more of a feeling. Regardless, I found it cool as hell.
“Here.” Maddox offered me his hand. “Let me help you from the floor.”
Right as I placed my palm on his, Oreo growled. His tail stopped wagging and straightened out, and his ears angled back.
“No, you can’t bite him,” Lake softly said, still petting the pup.
Grr.
“Look, Maddox.” I grinned at my captain. “He’s grumpy just like you.”
He rewarded me with another sneer.
“The pup truly does adore you,” came a smooth voice from the hall. It elicited a flurry of tingles deep in my belly.
Oreo woofed and excitedly flipped around to the open doorway, his tail wagging again.
Lord Onyx stepped into view, looking as he had earlier, wearing an ornamental type robe and black hair falling down his chest and back. Several sections were braided now, both regal and warrior-like in appearance.
In a swift movement, Maddox stepped forward and placed me behind him. The room was so quiet you could hear Quincy’s heavy mouth breathing. He didn’t know the meaning of breathing through your nose. Such a goofball.
“Lord Onyx.” Lake rose from his squatting position and tipped his head. “Good morning.”
“To you as well.” The demon lord nodded to him, tone polite.
Oreo rushed over and scurried around his feet.
“Greetings, little one.” Lord Onyx reached down to pet him. “I wondered when you’d finally come see your human. You’ve been so excited since his arrival.”
Woof!
“Morning,” I said, trying to step around Maddox but being held in place. Sigh. He was such an overprotective grump. I managed to peek around his bicep though.
“Hello again, little bird.” Onyx softly smiled at me before glancing at Maddox, his expression clouding. “He’s a grown man, knight. You don’t need to shield him nor treat him like a child.”
“I’ll do what’s necessary to protect him from you,” came Maddox’s sharp response.
“From me?” A dangerous gleam surfaced in the demon lord’s eyes. “Have I harmed him?”
“He’s your prisoner,” Maddox snarled. “That’s harm enough.”
“My decision to keep him in this realm is for his own protection. Unless you want Evan to be captured by Nocturne and whisked away to the kingdom of Haran for King Silas to do with him whatever he wishes.”
“You’re doing this for his protection?” Maddox gritted his teeth. “I find that difficult to believe.”
“No? Enlighten me then.” The red in Onyx’s eyes flashed brighter. “Who came to his aid when he needed it most? When he and Lake were collapsed on the forest floor covered in blood?”
Maddox recoiled at the words.
Oreo woofed and sharply wagged his fluffy tail.
“Yes, I know,” Onyx told the puppy in a lighter tone. “You’re the one who found them, but I helped too.”
I laughed. Then snapped my mouth shut. It had just been really cute.
When Maddox held me tighter, the tension in his body became evident. He might’ve been stubborn and overly protective, but it came from a good place. A dull ache wrapped around my sternum.
Oreo came over and nudged my leg, releasing a small whine.
“He senses when you’re upset.” Lake’s eyes widened. “Just like I do.”
“I see,” Onyx said with a knowing gaze. “That must be the reason you can understand him. It’s a shared imprint.”
“What’s that?” I asked.
“An unbreakable bond,” Onyx answered. “One stronger than any other.”
“This imprint…” Lake’s ears perked up. “It’s like the one I share with Evan? That’s why I’m able to understand the pup?”
“I believe so.” The demon lord nodded. “As his fated mate, your soul recognizes Evan’s.
You imprinted on him, much like Oreo did when he gave Evan some of his own mana to heal his wounds after the mercenary’s fire attack.
A double imprint is rare but not impossible.
It created a bond between the two of you as well. ”
I lifted a hand to my chest, resting my palm over the scarred skin beneath my shirt. Stryder’s fire spell had burned through me, scorching my lungs and heart. I’d been on my deathbed before Oreo saved me.
“How intriguing.” Briar stood from the love seat and joined us near the door. “I’ve come across imprints in my research. Some are romantic love, like Lake, but others are a strong, protective bond. In other words, Oreo adores Evan as his human and will tear apart any who dares harm him.”
Woof! The puppy’s tongue flopped from his mouth.
“Is that right?” I bent back down and held out my hand to Oreo. He lunged toward me, tail wagging and playful grumbles rumbling in his chest. “Will you protect me?”
He answered by slamming into my chest and sending me backward on my ass. I laughed as he licked my cheeks. He was too precious for words.
“I’ll protect you too.” I petted his soft fur. The ends of it had shimmers of blue, nearly imperceptible unless you were this close. “And I’ll cook you all the yummy things to eat.”
Onyx regarded the trio of knights. “We didn’t have the privilege of meeting last night. Allow me to welcome you to my realm.”
Baden, though his hard expression radiated wariness, tipped his head. Duke mirrored the gesture. Quincy, however, did what he did best.
“Is it true you have dragon scales?” he asked right before Baden shoulder-checked him. “Ow. What was that for?”
Briar pinched the bridge of his nose.