Chapter 1 In This House #3
With wide eyes, Seri sank onto the couch, and Brumous flopped across her feet with a contented grumble.
“He’s eating too much?” she asked quietly, her hands knotted in her lap. “He can have some of mine. I don’t need—”
“No!” all three of us barked at once before I gently added, “You both need a balanced diet to recover. Neither of you is going to go without.”
“Is it about the cost, then? Because I have some money. Not a lot, but you can have it all—”
“It’s not about cost.” Cas’ scowl deepened. “We could afford to feed a thousand dire wolves.
“And if we couldn’t, I’d sacrifice your leather jacket first, Cas.” Zane plopped beside Seri, ruffling Brummy’s scruff, and the pup’s tongue lolled. “An improvement, honestly, and a good chewy for our boy.”
“Cas does have a point,” I admitted reluctantly as I sat on Seri’s other side. “We don’t know exactly what Arabesque did to him, so we can’t predict how much more he’ll grow or when his aggressive nature will emerge.”
Her shoulders hitched toward her ears, as if bracing for a blow, and I hated to see that.
“Oh, no, three monster-hunting dhampirs can’t handle one big bad wolf!” Zane seized Brumous’ giant front paws, making them dance in the air. “Admit it, Ko. You’re just salty because he’s cuter than you.”
Brummy twisted to lick Zane’s nose, and my lips twitched with amusement, but Cas…
Cas was struggling. He paced before us, blond ponytail swinging, and all the light went out of Seri’s face at his next words.
“He’s too unpredictable, too dangerous, to be a house pet. He needs to be with other wolves. We can find him a good pack, Seri. One whose members could help him, connect with him, maybe even be able to communicate with him. We treat him like a dog, but a pack could teach him how to be a wolf.”
“You would… You would take him from me?” Her words slipped out, small and cracked.
Silence pooled. Razors scraped over my heart. Zane’s joke died on his lips. Casimir stopped pacing.
“Beloved.” My voice came out rougher than intended. She glanced over at me, wary as a cornered mouse. “You’re allowed to want things. Even unpredictable, dangerous things. I promise you’re safe here with us.”
I reached out one hand to touch her knee, and she flinched.
Our beloved flinched.
From me.
“People say that,” she whispered, her eyes dropping to her twisting fingers, “before they realize what it costs to keep promises.”
Trust. Such a fragile thing, and hers had been shattered too many times already.
“Brummy isn’t going anywhere, angel.” Zane angled one of the wolf’s paws to lay across her thigh. “Neither are you.”
“That’s right,” I agreed. “We won’t separate you two. Right, Casimir?”
Twisting his knuckle between his eyebrows, he sighed, then dropped his hand only to clench it into a fist.
“Right,” he spat and marched from the room.
And Seri’s head dropped until her chin touched her chest.
“Is he mad at me?”
How could a handful of words, barely breathed, shatter a man?
“No, sweet girl.” I gave her a small smile. “Never at you. At the situation, maybe, but never at you.”
“Cas doesn’t know how to show worry or fear like a normal person,” Zane chimed in. “It all comes out in orders and security protocols. Don’t be surprised if he hands you a Seri-Brumster interaction manual tonight at dinner.”
She smiled, but it didn’t reach her eyes.
#
On the patio, Brumous launched himself into a pile of wisteria trimmings, sending up a spray of green leaves. Seri’s laughter rang out like wind chimes as the wolf shook himself and a leaf landed on Zane’s nose.
“Terrorize your favorite daddy first,” Zane smirked. “Solid strategy, fuzz bucket.”
I leaned against a pergola post, thumb worrying the scar along my jaw.
Brumous’ claws had already scratched long furrows in the flagstones, but watching Seri press her forehead to his in silent conference made the destruction feel trivial.
Her gray eyes met mine over the pup’s ruff, crinkling at the corners.
“Koko?” She offered me the stick Brumous had abandoned.
The pup’s tail became a blur as I approached. Seri’s fingers brushed mine during stick handoff, brief and electric, before Brumous seized it with a growl that rumbled up my arm.
“Easy, hellhound.”
Cas chose that moment to walk around the corner, arms laden with wood for the outdoor fire pit, and stopped dead still.
“Teeth clear the artery?”
Seri stiffened. Brumous whined around his stick.
“Still attached,” I said, twisting my arm to display unbroken skin.
“Relax, Cas.” Zane stuck two fingers under Brumous’ upper lip. The resulting lick nearly toppled him. “See? Built for cupcakes, not carnage.”
“Dire wolves can snap a man’s spine in—”
“This one wouldn’t,” Seri interrupted Cas.
Her voice barely stirred the air, but we all turned. She stroked Brumous’ chest fur as the silence pulled taut between us. Something flickered in Cas’ eyes, and Seri got to her feet, flowers and leaves clinging to her sweater.
“I’ll go inside with him so you don’t have to—”
“No.” The word left me too sharp, too fast, and Brumous cocked his head in question. “Stay. Please.”
Cas exhaled through his nose, spun on the heel of his boot, and went for more firewood.