Page 38 of Hellhound AU

I wasn’t even sure it was a dog.

Maybe it was half dog and half rat? Whatever it was, it wasugly. It had tangled, matted hair, it was small enough to be heldin Milo’s arms, and its tongue was literally hanging out the side of its mouth, even when that mouth was closed.

When I reached Milo, the little beast had the nerve to growl at me.

“Aww, boo, he likes you!” Milo gushed, petting the little monster.

I raised my lip and growled back, only it didn’t have the desired effect. Rather than cowering in fear like any dog with any sense would do, the little rat-dog growled louder.

“Aww! You gotta hold her!” Milo announced, and before I knew what was happening, he’d plopped the dog into my arms.

It immediately bit down on my hand, growling and worrying at my skin. Apparently the tongue hanging out the side of the mouth was because this pup had no teeth left, because there were only gums clamped down on my skin.

“Isn’t she adorable?” Milo cooed.

The dog was now trying to play tug of war with my hand, which was not a comfortable feeling at all. Milo got his face right up to the little beast, and before I could warn him to back away before he got bit, the dog let go of my hand and licked his face.

“Who’s a cute little puppy? Hmmm? You are! Such a beautiful dog!” Milo baby-talked.

“I don’t think it qualifies as beautiful,” I said.

The dog turned, lunged at my face, and continued its rabid growling toward me even when Milo took it out of my arms.

“Aww, Rowan doesn’t mean it. Of course you’re beautiful. You’re so beautiful that we’ll call you Beauty. Then you’ll never forget what a pretty pup you are,” Milo said, rubbing the little monster until it calmed down.

He continued to pet and coo over the dog all afternoon. If I got close, the little beast growled at me. I wasn’t going to disappoint Milo, though, which is how Beauty ended up coming home with us.

When we walked in the front door, Baby greeted us and cemented her place as my favorite child. She looked at Beauty and then looked at me and cocked her head, as if to say, “What the fuck is that?”

“I know, Baby. It wasn’t my idea,” I answered.

“Baby, meet Beauty, your new sister. You two are going to get along great!” Milo declared.

I hadn’t thought about it until that moment, but what if the two dogs didn’t get along? Milo put Beauty on the floor, though, and after a wary sniff of each other, Baby went over and took a drink, effectively dismissing Beauty’s existence. I wished that I could do the same, but Beauty decided to attack my pant leg and was currently growling and trying to rip my jeans.

“Aww, they love each other!” Milo said.

I tried not to kick the little beast off of me, and I just smiled at Milo. The things I was willing to do for love.

Because itwaslove. The beginning of our relationship had been filled with chaos and adventures, and I’d thought Milo was my mate even then. Having a few calm days to just relax and work together had cemented the fact in my mind. Milo was mine. My mate. My perfect match. I loved him, and maybe I would tell him tonight. We were going to embark on our next adventure soon, and I wanted Milo to know how I felt about him.

Surely one just didn’t blurt something like that out, though. I’d have to find some special way to say it.

As if reading my mind, my phone started ringing. Not Riley, thank goodness. It was Raina, my oldest sister.

“Hey, sis,” I answered.

“Is it Riley?” Milo asked.

“No, it’s Raina. I’ll make sure you meet her soon, too,” I answered.

“Wait,” Raina said on the phone, “Riley and your boy toy met?”

Milo was already distracted by the dogs, so I stepped outside to answer Raina. I wanted her advice anyway.

“He’s not a boy toy, and he knows about Riley since she showed up in harpy form. He knows about me, too, and he likes me,” I answered. I couldn’t keep the smug tone out of my voice.

“Oh, Rowan, I’m so happy for you,” Raina answered. “Do you think…” She trailed off, but I knew what she was getting at.