Page 129 of Dr. Stone

BARK!Which was rapidly followed by a series of unholy shrieks that made my brain misfire.

“What the—” I stilled. “Is that Duke?”

Andie’s eyes flew open. “No! No, no, no. Orin said he was balanced now. He’s in harmony with the universe. Remember?”

BARK-BARK-BARK-HOWL. It sounded like he was actively fighting demons downstairs.

Then came the second scream, and this time it was from Brandon. “Shit.” I was already off the bed and yanking on my boxers, running half-naked through the house. “We forgot to put Duke in his crate!”

“Jace, he’s in Brandon’s room! He fell asleep on his bed…”

I took the stairs in two bounds, trying to get own there to shut the yapper up before this house sounded off in the worst sense of the phrase.

When I burst into Brandon’s room, it was like a war zone. Brandon was standing in his crib, screaming bloody murder while Duke was losing his damn mind in the corner, barking at something.

“What the hell is it?” I yelled to Duke over the chaos, flipping on the light. And that’s when I saw it…a goddamn mouse.

The tiny bastard skittered across the floor like it had something to prove, and Duke was absolutely feral, barking and lunging, sending Brandon into full toddler meltdown mode.

Without thinking, I lunged, and in one perfectly placed stomp, it was over.

Mouse: deceased.

Brandon: traumatized but unharmed.

Me: also traumatized and processing what the bottom of my foot must’ve looked like. Mostly feeling disgusted about what’d just happened.

Duke: completely silent, still, and staring at me.

He glanced back at the unmoving mouse, then blinked once after he looked at me—no longer panting—in total silence. And dare I say…submission?

I raised an eyebrow, knowing this dog must have just found its place, thinking that the mouse paid the high price for what I might do tohimif he didn’t stop yapping when told.

I smiled at him, now lying there at attention, giving me the respect I deserved from the moment I decided to bring him into Andie’s life.

I exhaled, proud to have finally fixed the barking situation for good—something I was now sure Orin never actually managed to do. That’s when I looked at the dog, who’d finally learned I was the alpha, not him, and said, “Pretty quiet now, aren’t you, you little prick?”

And then? You better damn well believe we all lived…

Happily… Ever… After!