9. Rowan
Author’s Note:
ROWAN
I sat in my hotel room for about two minutes before I decided this wasn’t going to work. Milo could not be trusted on his own. The man was a menace.
Plus, it felt a little lonely without him. Which was ridiculous, because I was usually on my own. I liked working on my own. Then again, the only other choice had been working with family, and they were annoying. My siblings loved to remind me that I was the youngest.
I was thankful for them, though. I loved my family, and hearing that Milo had no one had made me appreciate them even more.
I bet they’d love Milo. They’d all get a kick out of him, and his bloodthirsty nature would fit right in.
But the problem was tonight. As much as I enjoyed sleeping in a warm bed, I didn’t enjoy the prospect of Milo on his own. I knew about human social interactions, though, and it would probably verge on stalking if I showed up at his house right after he’d dropped me off.
There was a solution for that, though.
One of the reasons I’d chosen this hotel was that it backed up to the woods, and the lighting in the back lot wasn’t very good.
I left the room, and after making sure I was alone, I headed out the back and walked far enough into the trees that no one would see me.
I then stripped off my clothes (technically Milo’s pants and Ray’s shirt and shoes), leaving them in a neat little pile.
Then I transformed into my hellhound. It felt good to have this form again, and I gave a long leisurely stretch, admiring my flames dancing along my tail. I bet Milo would think they were cool.
Alas, it wasn’t time for that quite yet, so I tamped down my fire and concentrated very hard on my form.
I couldn’t really look exactly like a dog, but it was pretty close.
I could take a form somewhat between a wolf and a dog, and I was big, but I thought I could pass.
Dad had taught us all when we were really young to take alternate forms, and it had come in handy a time or two in the past. Sometimes you wanted to be threatening but not something that would freak humans out.
My hellhound form would definitely freak the humans out.
Once I was in my wolf-dog form, I loped off into the woods towards Milo’s house.
It hadn’t been long, and if Milo had stopped for any reason on the way home, I could probably beat him there.
He obviously liked dogs, so maybe I wouldn’t intimidate him.
If I even showed myself. Perhaps I’d just watch him from afar and make sure he was okay.
His property wasn’t far when I ran through the woods, although the roads took a more circuitous route.
I had a hellhound’s speed, as well, and when I made it within sight of his house, it was still dark.
I assumed I had beaten him home. I crept closer to his yard, keeping low to the ground, my focus on the house.
I saw headlights flash as a car pulled up, and I heard a car door slam a moment later. I just wanted to get a glimpse of Milo, which is probably why I didn’t register the rose bushes. Plus, who the hell plants rose bushes along the edge of their property by the woods?
Rose thorns are fucking sharp, and they’re slightly hooked, and I gave a little yelp as I ended up with a paw full of them. I tried to turn around, but I must have crept into the middle of the bushes without realizing it, because thorns scratched at my side and my tail.
I wasn’t sure what sort of noise I made, but Milo must have heard.
“Little bunny, are you stuck in the rose bushes again?” Milo called out.
I heard his footsteps coming toward me, and I stayed very still. It was dark, and my fur was dark, and maybe he wouldn’t see me.
Of course, the menace walked right up to the bushes and grabbed them to pull them apart. I wasn’t sure how he didn’t get thorns stuck in his hands, but he didn’t. The gasp he gave was entirely because of my presence.
“Oh, you aren’t a little bunny.”
We looked at each other, and then I moved a bit, accidentally causing the thorns to dig deeper into my paw and causing me to yelp a little.
“Aww, poor pup. You got stuck in the rose bushes. Come on out then, and I’ll help get the thorns out and call your owners.”
He parted the rose bushes even more, using a leg to keep them back on the bottom so that I’d have room to fit through. Seeing no other options, I slunk out of the bushes, careful to not put weight on my one paw.
I was thinking about running off, but before I could, Milo was on me.
“Oh my goodness, you’re huge! Who’s a pretty dog? Such a big dog, and poor baby has thorns stuck in him. Don’t worry, pup, I’ll help you out,” Milo cooed, and the man actually started petting my head.
He didn’t have an ounce of self preservation. I looked like a wolf, for goodness sake. I was not a “pretty dog” or a “pup.”
“Aw, no collar on you,” he said, feeling all around my neck. I thought about showing some teeth so he’d back off, because he really should be wary of strange animals, but his hands did feel really nice in my fur.
And that’s how I found myself being led into Milo’s house in my wolf-dog form, limping inside with my paw full of thorns. He laid a blanket out and got me settled on the floor, telling me to stay put while he got stuff to pull out the thorns.
He came back with tweezers and a bowl of warm water. He put my paw into the water, and then he focused on my back and tail.
“Not too many thorns here, pup. Just a couple, and they don’t look deep. I’m gonna pull them out. It might hurt, but it’ll be over quick.”
There were a few pinches, but my fur was thick and it didn’t feel like the thorns had penetrated deeply. I’d also only really brushed against them. I’d fully stepped on them and swatted them with my paw, so that definitely felt far worse.
Of course, I could’ve just used hellfire to burn them away and heal myself, but I didn’t think it was time to introduce Milo to the supernatural. Plus, it was really nice to have him taking care of me.
He rubbed some kind of salve on my skin where the thorns had been, and then he came up and sat next to me, petting my head. It was calming enough that I almost could have dozed off, except the twinges in my paw kept me from being entirely comfortable.
“Okay, pup. Time for the paw. Now, this is probably going to hurt, but you aren’t going to bite me, okay?” Milo said.
I had the urge to lecture him. Telling a strange dog not to bite him was not an effective strategy. Not that I would bite him. But he didn’t know it was me.
The man needed a keeper.
He took my paw out of the warm water, and he murmured softly to me as he started plucking thorns out. It stung, but I’d felt worse. When you’d been shot, a few rose thorns really weren’t that big of a deal.
He finished quickly and efficiently, put some kind of salve on my paw, told me not to lick it, and then told me he was going to make me a spot to sleep in his bedroom.
Zero self-preservation skills. Although I guess if a dog was going to bite him it would be while getting patched up and not while sleeping. But still.
He made me a nest of blankets and sweatshirts on his floor, which was fine with me.
It smelled deliciously of Milo. He then offered me some baked goods, which I firmly turned my nose up at.
He ate an apple in that freaky way of his, and then he was in the bathroom getting ready for bed.
It made me feel slightly better that I wasn’t peeping on him getting changed without him knowing it.
My last thought before I fell asleep was that he had a good voice for singing in the shower, and then I closed my eyes and let sleep take me.
I woke early and snuck out of the house while Milo was still sleeping, heading home in my wolf-dog form.
After all, I needed to show up this morning as me.
Once I got home, I changed into my human form and put clothes on, wondering how long I needed to wait to go and see Milo.
We had a weighted blanket to rescue and a dog fighting ring to combat. Which reminded me…
I picked up my phone and dialed. A voice answered “’Sup” on the second ring.
“Hey, Troy. I wondered if you could do a bit of research for me.”
“Rowan! Good to hear from you! What’s up?”
I filled Troy in on what we knew about the guy who ran the puppy mill and the vague rumors about the dog fighting ring.
“The guy who’s raising dogs isn’t hellbound, so I won’t kill him, but we’ll scare him. I just need some place for the dogs, too. Something that won’t end up with them in shelters that euthanize.”
“Of course,” Troy said, and I could hear him typing. “I’ll send any information to your phone.”
“And tell my sister I said hello,” I added. I was sure Riley was mad at me, and I didn’t need Raina pissed off as well. Not that my oldest sister was as short-tempered as Riley. After all, Raina had raised two twin girl harpies. She had patience for days.
We hung up the phone, and I headed out to go back to Milo’s house—this time with clothes on. I didn’t bother bringing a car since it wasn’t far to run there, and I was knocking on his door less than ten minutes after I left the house.
He opened the door looking disheveled and disgruntled, like he’d just woken up. Which he probably had, now that I thought about it. Oops.
“The dog is gone. I was gonna introduce you,” he grumbled.
“Dog?” I asked.
He just sighed and opened the door for me to come in.
He mumbled something about there being coffee and muffins, but I didn’t trust the muffins.
If Milo had made them… Well, better not to risk it.
I checked his fridge, though, and he had eggs and cheese, so I rifled around in his kitchen looking for a pan.
He needed a keeper, and eating something other than apples was important for his health.
I heard the shower start, and I set about making Milo an omelette. I assumed he liked eggs and cheese since they were both in his fridge. By the time he came out, freshly washed and dressed but still smelling deliciously like apples, I was sliding the omelette onto a plate I’d found in the cabinet.
“Boo, did you make me breakfast? Aww, that’s so sweet!” Milo came over to me rather than sitting where I’d placed his food, and he reached up to kiss me.
Yes, I could definitely get on board with kissing.