Chapter 14
LIV
SUPERBEAST - ROB ZOMBIE
My nose scrunches as something cold and wet bumps my cheek a couple of times, a whining sound accompanying it as it presses against my face then stops moving.
I force my eyes to open, my lids fluttering for a second before they do, my lashes carefully unsticking themselves from my eyelids.
My vision is blurry and my head is fuzzy, like I took a nap and slept longer than I planned.
I blink the sleep away and slowly lift my hand to my head as it begins to throb, rubbing my temple then the center of my forehead, wincing in pain the entire time.
Another whine comes from my left, along with another bump to my cheek and when I turn to investigate, I come face to face with a doberman pinscher.
“Hi,” I say softly with a frown, my voice hoarse and throat raw. “Where did you come from?”
The dog’s ears perk up for a second then flatten out, the action happening again as I get a boop on the nose this time.
I reach across my chest, the movement slow and sluggish, and like it should hurt but instead I feel a little numb.
I hold my hand in front of the pup’s nose for a moment then roll my eyes.
It already knows how I smell, the pooch has had its nose up in my business for probably longer than I realize so this is silly.
Lifting a little higher, I hesitantly brush my hand over its head, the glossy fur just as smooth as it looks, and when I go to scratch behind its ear, I hear the unmistakable thumping of a tail.
I slide my fingers down to the big studded collar, giving it pets until I take hold of the tag and flip it over.
Bee.
That’s all it says on the front and on the back is a phone number. Nothing else.
“Hello, Bee.” Her ears perk up and stay that way as soon as I say her name, her tail working a little harder against whatever I’m laying on.
Is it weird that I’m not absolutely terrified of this dog?
Not that I have any reason to be. It’s all about how you raise them, how you train a pup and how you treat them. That’s what determines their temperament most of the time, genetics be damned.
But this sweet girl is exactly that. Sweet and definitely concerned about me. I just wish I knew where the hell she came from or where we are right now.
I slowly scan the wall behind her as I scratch under Bee’s collar, my surroundings only familiar for a few seconds before I realize I’m in my bed, in my RV.
I wonder if Niko brought the dog in here. I could see him doing that. He’s grumpy but such a big softie. If he found Bee outside wandering the campground, then… I…
Pain lances through my head as my eyes slam shut, an onslaught of images racing through my mind on fast forward before they force me upright in one painful move.
“Niko,” I say, my voice full of panic even to my own ears. “Niko, honey, where—”
Movement by my feet has my eyes darting in that direction and when they land on my beautiful mate curled up at the other end of our bed, relief floods my veins.
Momentarily, anyway.
“Oh, honey.” I gingerly move toward him, my hands and knees pulsing with pain, my back on fire with each shift of my muscles, but I need to get to him. I need to hold him.
My eyes burn as I look down at his handsome face, lifting a few strands of golden blond hair to reveal stitches in his forehead and by his temple.
His face is bruised and a little puffy, a permanent grimace painting his features but he’s no less perfect, no less beautiful for it.
I lift the blanket he’s under so I can take a peek at his body, a few tears escaping down my cheeks as I take in all the burns and cuts littering his smooth skin.
I sniffle as I cover him up, desperate to hold him but absolutely terrified of hurting him, but when I go to give him some space, Niko’s brow furrows and he reaches for me.
“Okay,” I whisper as I grab a pillow and put it in my lap, smiling through my tears as he takes a deep breath and wraps an arm around my waist to rest his head on it. “Okay, honey. I’m not going anywhere.”
Once I have him situated and I’m leaning against the wall, Bee hops up and gently walks around on the bed before laying down behind my mate to be his big spoon in an action that’s both tender and protective.
I’m still not entirely clear on how this dog got here, but I remember what she did at that warehouse and it’s hard to reconcile that with how sweet she’s being with us. I’m grateful, though. For whatever reason, Bee likes us, and I’m good with that.
Stroking Niko’s hair, I lean my head back briefly and let my eyes slide shut but force them open just as quickly. Watching those bastards hurt my soulmate in person was enough horror for one lifetime, I don’t need to relive it when I close my eyes, too.
I don’t expect that to change any time soon.
I had nightmares for months after my pack was killed; Emery’s face and the gaping hole, Dante falling against his chest, feeling Jay take his last breath.
I lived those moments over and over when I tried to sleep, and while I’m lucky to be able to say Niko survived whatever the hell we went through, neither of us came out unscathed, and I won’t be forgetting one second of it for a very long time.
A noise comes from the dining room, pulling my attention away from my thoughts and when I look in the doorway, I feel my brows raise.
There is another big ass dog in my RV.
Another one of the three big ass dogs who essentially ate the bastards who took my omega and I.
Funnily enough, I’m still not afraid.
It’s hard to be scared of a dog that has a nub for a tail but is so happy to see me his entire ass is wagging instead. And it’s smiling.
Tongue out, mouth open, fangs gleaming, but this dog is smiling at me, and seems to be waiting for some sort of invitation.
What the hell.
They can eat us at any second so if that was what was going to happen, I figure it would have already. Besides, how can I sit here staring at a smiling dog and not pet it?
“Come on.” I pat the bed beside me and the solid black brute jumps right up here on the bed.
It licks Bee’s tail then Niko’s bare foot before this dog tugs the blanket over it, pride beaming on its giant square face as it looks at me before it basically tiptoes over and flops down next to me.
I feel like a goddamn dog whisperer or something. The only other one I’ve been around was when I was a kid and it bit me, so my experience with canines is extremely limited. To have two enormous and obviously deadly dogs laying in my bed, it’s a very new thing for me.
Especially as the solid black one to my right leans its head back against my hip and lets me scratch under its collar while taking a peek at the tag.
Rus on the front, the same phone number on the back.
This is so strange.
“You gonna watch over us now, huh? You and Bee?” Rus gives me an adorable little ahrooh, quiet but happy as shit, as his butt wiggles like crazy. “You’re just a big baby, aren’t you?”
My eyes dart to the doorway again as I hear another noise and this time, not only do I see a massive dog, I see a massive man with it.
A massive man on his knees who is apparently drying off the dog in the kitchen area because I doubt either of them fit very well in the bathroom.
I guess I don’t need to wonder where the third musketeer went. He was just having a bath.
I say he with confidence, and without confirming on a tag, because that dog has the biggest set of balls I have ever seen on an animal and they are pointed in my direction. All male, and I’m sure Bee is grateful for it.
I watch curiously as he waits patiently for his owner to finish, thoroughly drying every inch of his glossy brindle-colored coat.
He doesn’t even wag his tail while he lets the giant finish but as soon as he does, the dog sits and watches him get to his feet, then his tail starts to wag as he’s given his treat.
I must be in some parallel universe where Niko and I are normal size and everything else is triple extra large. This is so bizarre.
It only gets more so as the dog gives the man a nearly silent bark, waits again, then as soon as the man motions in our direction, the pooch trots over and waits to be invited on the bed the same way Rus did.
Why not? “You too, come on.”
He even does the same thing Rus did. He gives Bee a kiss, licks the blanket covering my mate’s feet, then flops on top of Rus and scoots until he can lick my bare elbow.
This is so weird.
I shake my head as I check his tag. “It’s nice to meet you, Cy. I guess I should probably thank you, too?”
My eyes stay focused on the dog who’s looking up at me like he’s loved me his entire life, but I can see the man hesitantly stop just beyond the doorway.
Too far to see much aside from his massive silhouette but close enough for that orchid and spice to hit my nose.
That scent.
I swear I know it from somewhere.
Not the warehouse. I smelled it there, too, but it wasn’t the first time. I recognize that scent somehow.
I don’t just know it, I feel it.
“They bother you, tell me.”
Holy shit, that voice. I felt that too, every raspy word echoing inside my mind, each deep syllable fluttering inside my chest. I’ve never heard it before, but my god, it’s so familiar I almost ache with the feeling.
“They’re fine,” I say softly as I look up at him, straining to see his face in the low light. “Our heroes could never bother me.”
The man nods, the acknowledgment almost imperceptible as he goes to walk away but that is not fucking happening.
“Thank you.” He pauses as the words rush from my lips. “For saving us. For bringing us here and taking care of us.”
Another nod over his shoulder.
“I’m…” I debate briefly on telling him my real name and decide it’s the least I can do after everything he’s done for us. “I’m Liv. And this is Niko.”
“Rune,” he grunts. “You should sleep.”
I yawn as he finishes his sentence, almost like he knew I was tired before I did and that’s probably why I don’t argue.