Page 5 of Demon with Benefits (Hell Bent #3)

After saying her goodbyes, Iris stepped out of the heated building onto the snowy street. Head down, hands stuffed into her pockets, she headed straight for home, her mind blank. She definitely didn’t think about stupid Meph or wonder why he wouldn’t look at her.

You’re a shallow piece of shit with no substance or personality.

She winced and then immediately slipped on black ice on the sidewalk.

Only her hand snapping out to catch her on a stop-sign pole kept her from landing on her ass.

Cursing, she shook her head roughly to dislodge the memory.

Walking absentmindedly in winter was a good way to end up with a bruised tailbone.

This time, her gaze remained fixed on the ground as she went, face tucked into her parka to keep the frigid wind from biting at her cheeks.

The moment her foot landed on the bottom step of her apartment stairs, a soft whine reached her ears.

She jerked her head up and saw a fuzzy black blob outside her front door.

Frowning, she hurried up the steps as fast as she could without slipping on the ice—which wasn’t very fast. The majority of Montreal apartments had outdoor staircases leading to the upper-level flats, oftentimes with spiraling steps and decorative wrought-iron railings.

Fun. In summer. Whoever’s bright idea that was had obviously never had to climb a staircase in a snowstorm. Thankfully, Iris reached the safety of the covered balcony unscathed.

And then she saw the puppy.

It whined in the cold, its big, well, puppy eyes staring at her amid a fluffy mound of downy black fur. It was sitting outside her door, on her doormat, like a present.

It was the cutest thing she’d ever seen.

“You poor baby,” Iris cooed, racing to the precious creature and scooping him up. She quickly unzipped her coat and tucked his tiny, quivering form inside, her heart cracking.

Turning around, she scanned the vicinity for signs of his nearby owner, desperately searching for their beloved pet who had somehow escaped. The neighborhood remained silent and still, however.

Iris’s eyes narrowed. What kind of lowlife left a puppy outside in this weather? It wasn’t like he could have wandered off. It was too cold for aimless dog walking, and he was too tiny to navigate a snowbank by himself.

Giving up on finding his owner, who didn’t deserve to have a dog anyway, she spun toward her front door and fumbled with her house keys.

Once inside, she ditched her winter gear and carried the puppy to the couch, where she wrapped them both up in a warm blanket.

Grimalkin peeked his head around the corner and hissed at the harmless animal like he’d come to bring doom upon them all.

Finally, the puppy stopped shivering, and Iris was able to quell the urge to kill someone. Only then did she open the blanket and peek at the little bundle in her arms.

He was so black and fluffy, she almost couldn’t distinguish his shape.

But his paws were big enough that she could already tell he was going to be a huge dog.

He had unusual reddish eyes. She’d never seen a dog with eyes like that before, and, of course, she was unable to stop herself from making a comparison to the only other person she knew with eyes that color.

“Of course even the damn dog would remind me of him,” she grumbled.

The puppy just grinned at her in that dopey puppy way, tongue lolling, little tail wagging. Damn it, he looked even more like Meph now.

From out in the hallway, Grimalkin made a godawful wail, and Iris sighed. Guess he wasn’t a fan of her new friend. She’d always disagreed vehemently with Lily when she called Grimalkin a jerk, but she understood. To say Grim wasn’t friendly to strangers was putting it mildly.

Iris lifted the puppy up, his stubby little legs dangling from her grip, and he continued to grin at her. His tail wagged expectantly.

“Well, now what?”

By that evening, Iris was exhausted. She left the puppy alone for five minutes to scarf down a hastily made sandwich, only to return and find her sofa pillow in shreds, bits of white fluff scattered across the floor like snowflakes. He sat amid the chaos with his little tail thumping on the floor.

“I left you alone for five seconds, damn it!”

His tongue lolled. Bloody hell, he was so cute.

“At least you didn’t pee on the floor again,” she said with a sigh.

A moment later, he tottered down the hallway, and Iris quickly swept up the carnage so she could find him before he destroyed something else.

Grimalkin’s howl moments later indicated he’d chosen his second favorite pastime after eating furniture—tormenting the cat. She dropped her head back and groaned.

“I need help,” she admitted.

Her phone rang from the kitchen at that moment, coinciding with the puppy’s yips and Grimalkin’s hissing. Iris wanted to rush to his aid, but really, the silly dog needed to learn not to mess with Grim. Nobody messed with Grim.

“Is everything okay?” Lily asked without preamble when Iris answered the call.

She emptied the dustpan with the pillow’s remains in the bin. “Why wouldn’t it be?”

“I don’t know. Call me crazy, but I just had this weird urge to call you. I’ve been practicing obeying my instincts, so here we are. What’s up?”

“Um... I got a dog. Or rather, I found a dog. Or the dog found me?” Iris quickly told Lily everything about her new puppy, including how she’d found him on her doorstep. “I’m in way over my head, Lil. He’s adorable, but he’s like a tornado of destruction.”

“I’ll come over right now and help you! We’ll stop at the pet store on our way and grab some food, a leash, and a couple of chew toys.”

“You’re my hero.”

“Anything for my baby sister,” Lily teased and hung up.

Iris dropped into a chair and slouched forward onto the table, burying her head in her hands. She had all of five minutes to sit in that power position before another series of yips and hisses came from her bedroom, and she was forced to rush in and play referee to the animals once more.

The doorbell rang half an hour later. It felt like salvation.

She scooped up the puppy, interrupting his play/battle with Grim, and rushed to answer it. “Hey, guys, come in.”

She stood back and made way for Lily and Mist, currently in human form. His skin was deeply tanned instead of dark gray, his eyes a soft amber instead of yellow, but his black hair was still the same messy tumble that brushed his shoulders.

The minute he stepped inside, the ward over her door lit up like a beacon. It bothered Iris that she almost didn’t react to it at all. Overriding those fear instincts still felt like a betrayal of who she was.

“Oh my god, he’s adorable!” Lily said, reaching for the puppy.

Mist closed the door behind him and then turned around. He went perfectly still when he saw the creature in Iris’s arms.

Lily scooped him up and petted his soft black fur and then turned to show him to Mist. “Isn’t he the cutest little thing?”

“That is not a dog,” Mist said tonelessly.

They both stared at him.

“What?” Lily glanced at the puppy and then back at Mist. “Of course he is. He’s—”

“That is a hellhound.”

The silence that fell felt like it lasted an hour.