Still of Night (Thorne Hill 4)

Binx shifts back into cat form and swipes a clawed paw at it, hissing. The puppy pulls its lips back and growls. The noise that comes out of it is deep and harrowing, and not something a cute fluffy puppy could make.

“No,” I say firmly. “Be a good girl.”

“You’re doing that thing where you’re not speaking English again,” Lucas tells me. “You’re commanding her in Enochian.”

“Am I speaking it now?”

“No. You named her Scarlet?” His brows go up.

“It’s on her collar, which is probably written in Enochian too.” I bend down and pick up the puppy. She’s soft and wiggly and warm and feels like an honest to goodness dog.

Not a creature sent to me by Uncle Lucy from the bowels of Hell.

“There are symbols on the collar,” Lucas tells me, staring at me with a hellhound in my arms. “They’re similar to runes.”

“I don’t see that at all. That’s so weird.”

“It makes sense. You are half angel.”

I put Scarlet down and unsnap her collar. The air vibrates again, sending a chill through me, and the smell of sulfur fills the room. She shifts back into her true form, looking even more terrifying than before. I quickly put the collar back on.

“What the fuck are we going to do with her?” I ask and stand up. We’re getting married in just a few days. I already ordered little bows for my familiars to wear. Should I order one for Scarlet too?

She bounds across the room, picking up my shoe and tossing it in the air. I stand there, rooted to the spot for another few seconds. And then I burst out into laughter.

“It’s not funny,” I say, wiping the tears that are running down my face. “It’s just…just…so fucked up.”

“Can you send it back?” Lucas asks and Scarlet suddenly stops and turns to him and growls. This time she sounds like a legit puppy.

“I don’t think she wants to go back. And we talked about getting a dog.”

“It doesn’t matter what she wants,” Lucas says, voice rising. “I’ve seen these things slaughter an entire village before. They are not fucking pets!”

I tear my eyes away from her and shake my head. “You’re right. I can’t keep a hellhound. She’s a hellhound,” I repeat, needing to remind myself. Holy shit. There’s a hellhound in the house…and now it’s chewing on my shoes again. “But she listens to me.”

“Callie, listen to yourself! You want to keep a fucking hellhound. It’s not a puppy. Take the damn collar off if you need to be reminded.”

My chest tightens and I hate that Lucas is getting upset with me. I can’t explain why I feel a connection to this thing. Yet I do. I close my eyes and nod.

Lucas moves in, taking me in his arms. “We’ll figure this out. If anything, you can keep it in a protective circle, right?”

“Yeah. It’ll be like one of those wireless fences for dogs. She won’t be able to cross the lines.”

“Good.” He brushes my hair back and kisses me. “Until then, maybe you should go to the pet store and buy some dog toys.”

“I’m so confused.” Kristy crosses her arms and looks at the puppy. She’s playing with a squeaky potato, tossing it up in the air only to pounce on it again. She slips on the hardwood floor in the living room and springs back up, adorably pouncing on the stuffed toy again, making it squeak. It’s been a full day since the hellhound showed up on my porch, and I spent most of yesterday begging and pleading for my dad or Julian to get their feathered butts to earth to help with this.

But they didn’t show up.

“Just watch,” I say and get off the couch. “Come here, Scarlet.”

Kristy jerks her head up, looking at Lucas. “I see what you mean. She doesn’t know she’s doing it?”

“Nope,” Lucas answers, referring to me speaking in Enochian. “Brace yourself,” he warns Kristy as I unsnap the collar. Scarlet turns into the monster she really is and Kristy shrieks and leans away.

I put the collar back on.

“Are you still confused?” I ask, watching the collar shrink down to the smaller size to fit the puppy’s neck.

“No, but also yes. Why would he send you a hellhound?”

“I have no idea…or what to do with her.”

“Keep the damn collar on.” Kristy stands, blue eyes wide. “I just…I don’t even know. Have you told Tabatha?”

I shake my head. “With the trial going on, I’ve been keeping my distance. She called me last night to check on me, and to let me know the Grand Coven is looking into that research lab but they haven’t come up with anything yet.

“I’m hoping Julian will get to sneak away and come here to help me deal with this.” I watch the puppy run around the living room. “I’m getting married in days, Kristy. Days. I don’t have time to deal with this. And it’s not like I can ask you to puppy sit my hellhound while I’m in wine country.”

“As long as that collar stays on, she acts like a real puppy,” Lucas says. “And only Callie can remove the collar.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. Go ahead and try.”

Kristy picks up the pup and reaches for the collar. It zaps her finger, the same as it did to Lucas when he tried to take it off last night.

“I think it’s tailored to angels,” Lucas goes on. “Which is reassuring.”

“Yeah, it is.” Kristy shakes her head again, totally stunned. “Well, until you can figure this out…at least she’s cute.”

“And not house broken,” I grumble. “I’m reminded again why I’m a cat person.” I rub my forehead.

“What else needs to be done for the wedding?” Kristy asks. It’s Thursday, and the wedding is quickly approaching.

“Nothing,” I say with relief. “I’m getting my nails done in the morning and then we’ll be heading to Michigan once the sun sets.” By we, I mean, Lucas, my wedding planner Eliza, and I. We need to travel at night, and Eliza and I were spending the day at the spa, keeping me away from Lucas until the ceremony at night. “I need to finish packing for Napa, but that’s assuming we can even go.”

“You can take dogs with you on the plane, right?” Kristy shrugs. “I mean, if worse comes to worst.”

“True. And she does listen to me.”

“Then take a deep breath, and let me help you with…with…”

“Scarlet.”

“With Scarlet.” Kristy shakes her head again. “I’ll go to the Academy and will talk to Evander too. See if he can come up with something.”

“Thank you.”

Kristy gives me a hug. “That’s what friends are for.”

I walk her to the door, needing to take Scarlet out anyway. We come back in and I plop onto the couch, exhausted.

“She’s right,” Lucas tells me, zooming over. “It is going to be okay. And as much as I don’t like the fucker,” he says and Scarlet growls, “I’m warming up to the idea of taking her collar off the next time demon hunters are around.”

“Right?” I push myself up so I can inch closer to Lucas. “There is light at the end of the tunnel, right?”

“Right. And we are almost there. I know getting married won’t make all of our other issues go away, but it’s one big thing we both want. You’ll be my wife, Tabatha will file the papers with the Grand Coven, and at least you won’t have to worry about being sentenced to death anymore.”

“Some silver lining,” I laugh.

“We are getting married in two days.” He wraps his arm around me. “Everything is in place and the wedding will go off without a hitch.” He pulls me into his lap. “I cannot wait to see you in your dress.”

“I have something else you’ll be excited to see me in,” I tell him, referring to the white lingerie I ordered. I’ve never dressed up like that for him, and I’m excited to see his face when I slowly pull back my robe, revealing the white lace.

“You are going to be the most beautiful bride.” He kisses me and holds me a little tighter. “And just so you know, I’m forcing you to rel

ax the rest of the day.”

I hook my arms around him. “I’ll let you.”

“This is the last time you’ll wake up as Ms. Martin.” Lucas runs his hand up and down my thigh. Its early Friday morning, and muted sunlight is trying to stream in from behind the curtains.

“That sounds almost threatening,” I laugh.

“Callie King,” he muses. “It has a nice ring to it.”

“How did you end up with the last name King?” I ask Lucas.

“When I had to register as a vampire, I needed a first and last name. I thought King suited me.”

I smile. “It does.”

“And now it will suit you.” He moves on top of me, kissing me hard. I put my hands on his chest and push him away. I have to shower, grab something to eat, and then make it to my nail appointment in an hour. If we have sex now, I’ll miss it.

And this time, I really am saving myself for marriage. I think we can both manage a day. I have to force myself out of bed, and groan when I find hellhound pee all over the floor in the kitchen.

“I’m getting you a crate,” I say through gritted teeth as I quickly clean it up. Scarlet wags her little tail and jumps up at me, all excited. I pet her for a minute, fully aware how weird this is. “Puppies are cute and all,” I tell her, “but I would have been okay with the Hell-forged collar making you into a well-trained German shepherd too.”

I let her out and then put her back in the kitchen, filling a rubber chew toy up with peanut butter to keep her entertained. I drink my coffee on the porch, sitting with my familiars, who remind me how much more sophisticated they are than the hellhound.