Page 8 of Misbehaving With Minotaurs (Haven Ever After #8)

CHAPTER FIVE

CATHERINE

H ours later, I’m in the kitchen baking quiche for the morning buffet when an insistent scratching at the back door announces my neighbor Iggy’s arrival.

Before I can even turn to let the young gargoyle in, he rips the door open and zips through, executing a wild spin before he lands on the countertop, narrowly missing the uncooked quiche.

Annabelle groans in warning.

Iggy throws both purple hands on top of his horns. “Catherine! Come quick! Minnie had her puppies, and they’re so cute! You have to come see!!”

Without waiting for an answer, he grabs my hand and leaps into the air, dragging me toward the back door. Annabelle swings it open, and we rush out into the night. I can barely see where I’m going, but that doesn’t stop Ignatius from dragging me down the small path leading to his cottage next door.

When we get there, Alo stands there with arms crossed and a wry smile on his handsome face. “Sorry, Cath, there was no stopping him.”

Miriam, his pixie mate, pops out with a smile and a twinkle in her fuchsia eyes. “But I’ve got a pitcher of margaritas, so there’s that!”

I laugh as Iggy drags me into their kitchen, situated at the back of the cottage. He opens the pantry to reveal his hellhound, Minnie, lying in a cushy-looking dog bed as puppies squirm at her swollen teats. Lazy rivulets of fire run under her black fur, red eyes halfway closed.

Iggy pulls me to the ground, then sits next to Minnie’s head. She fully closes her eyes as he strokes her fur softly. “Well done, Minnie girl.” He looks up at me. “That’s what Dirk the hunter used to call her before she decided she liked me best.”

I reach out and rub one of Minnie’s big ears softly as I smile at Iggy. “She’s bonded to you for life, Ignatius. What an incredible gift.”

His return smile is thoughtful. “But her puppies won’t be, right?”

“They’ll bond with you for a while, but not forever,” I admit. “Once they’re grown, they’ll go off into the world and find their own monsters. Who knows when that’ll happen though. If we’re lucky, they’ll all remain in Ever.”

His eyes go glossy with unshed tears. “Or maybe Dirk will take them back to his hunter work at headquarters, and they’ll have law enforcement jobs. That’s what Minnie did.”

“We can’t know, son,” Alo says cautiously as he hands me down a margarita. “But you’ll always, always have Minnie.”

Miriam drops down next to us, translucent pixie wings fluttering at her back as she rests a hand on one of three squirming puppies.

“And don’t forget, we still have a lot to do to help take care of them as they grow.

Starting tomorrow! We’re still making collars for them, right? Did you decide on names?”

He shrugs as he keeps petting Minnie. “Minnie’s name isn’t that cool, so I kind of want to name them something badass like Brimstone.”

“Ignatius!” Alo and I shout his name at the same time .

Minnie jolts and looks up at us, lips curling into a warning snarl.

“I mean something cool , like Brimstone.” He rolls his eyes at Alo and me. “Can’t I just use cuss words at home? I promise not to say them at school. Kevin and I don’t even use them on the playground!”

I resist the urge to laugh as he picks up one of the puppies and cradles it to his neck. It nuzzles against him, whimpering as its long black tail flops quickly from side to side.

Reaching out, I stroke the pup’s black and red fur as Minnie watches intently, ready to spring into action if I become a threat.

“Hey.” I ruffle Iggy’s dark hair, careful not to jostle my margarita.

“I’ve got a really cool new guest, an old friend named Manorin.

I’m going to invite him to family dinner with the Hectors tomorrow.

Would you like to come and tell him about the puppies?

I think he’d be delighted to learn about them. ”

The idea just came to me, and I love it. Manorin would be a fabulous choice for our new skyball coach, and if I can do anything to welcome him to Ever, it's to help him make friends. He’ll feel more invested, and maybe he’ll stay, and that’ll be good for the town.

And my deep, deep love of skyball.

“Yep,” Iggy says with a pop. “I’ll bring them over tomorrow. The triplets are gonna want to see them too. I bet they’ve never seen hellhound puppies before!”

“Shit, none of us have,” Alo says dryly. “Minnie alone was enough to spark terror in most of the Evertons when she arrived.”

I smile as I think back to Minnie’s arrival with Dirk, the elemental sylph who used to work for Hearth monster headquarters. He came here hunting a warlock who threatened to ruin everything I hold dear.

My former mate, Wesley .

Good riddance.

Shoving unpleasant thoughts away, I catch up with Miriam and Alo while Iggy plays with the puppies and shouts exuberantly at Minnie.

“Iggy’s birthday’s coming up,” Miriam says as he zooms in circles through the house. She looks at me. “He wants to have a party in the rose garden, if you’re okay with it.” She chuckles. “Apparently it’s good for hide and seek because his friends don’t want to go near the thorns.”

I beam as I sip at the margarita. “Perfectly reasonable of him. That sounds delightful.”

Alo leans against the island. “His invite list is about twenty kiddos long. You sure you’re alright with all of them running through your roses?”

The mental image of it is so adorable.

“Yeah.” I set the drink down. “Annabelle will love that, and, of course, the Hectors will be there. Wren can always fix the bushes up when the kids are done.”

“It’s gonna be awesome,” Iggy shrieks as he zooms back into the kitchen with a puppy slung over his shoulder. He rubs its tiny bum as if it were a baby, eyeing his father and schooling his expression to neutral. “Maybe I can even have a soda, like, the one day a year I get to.”

I resist a laugh. Iggy’s obsessed with soda and never allowed to have it.

Alo scowls but eventually relents. “Just one. ‘Cause that sugar high seems to go on for days.”

Iggy whoops and takes off again. Minnie grumbles from the security of her dog bed, as if asking Iggy to return her pup but not fussed enough to chase him for it.

Eventually, I take a second margarita to go and head home.

When I get there, I consider scrawling a quick note for Manorin about dinner but decide I’ll ask him directly instead.

I don’t examine that desire too closely as I leave the margarita in the kitchen, ascend the stairs, and knock quietly on the door to the rose-themed room.

I smell him before I see him. That same glycerin and pine musk I used to love when we were young and lustful. When he’s hot, it takes on a dark, needy edge that?—

The door swings open, and Manorin stands there shirtless, with said shirt in one hand.

He grins and leans against the doorway, the tee dangling from his fingers.

His chest is covered in pale brown fur, yet it does nothing to hide a body still tight with muscle.

Somehow, Manorin’s even manlier than before.

Twin bars pierce his nipples, though—that’s new—and his jeans hug thighs so thick, I don’t know if I could wrap both arms around them.

He leans down. “Smells good when you stare at my body, Cath.” He wrinkles his snout. “Actually, you smell like tequila. You come up here for a good time, pretty girl?”

Such a flirt. I forgot how insanely flirtatious he is. Is he like this back home? Does he flirt with the females there?

It’s such a stark contrast to Vikand, who couldn’t string a flirtatious sentence together if he tried. I told myself I wanted that because Wesley was also a charmer. Such a charmer that I didn’t see the red flags until it was too late and monsters got hurt.

I choke grief back as I look up at Manorin.

His sexy smile falls, and he reaches out, capturing my chin between his fingers as crimson eyes scan my face. “Your scent changed. Is everything okay?”

I force a smile. “I got lost in thought for a moment. I’m fine, thank you.”

He winks at me. “If I need to defend your honor against a wayward centaur, I’m there, Cath. In a heartbeat.”

I nearly choke at the idea of Manorin taking Vikand on in some sort of fight for my honor. It’s laughable. I think Vikand would likely crumple to the ground in a heap, begging not to be beaten.

Manorin’s smile grows wicked. “Are we envisioning the same ridiculous scene right now? That male on the ground in front of me, cringing and promising never to insult you again?”

I swat his big chest, resisting the urge to curl my fingers through the soft, flat fur there. “Stop it. He’s perfectly pleasant, and very much a gentleman.”

Manorin scoffs as he rolls his eyes. “Just what every male wants to hear from his bed partners. Oh, Manorin, how perfectly pleasant he was.” He winks playfully.

“Never let it be said that I was anything but a ravenous beast in the bedroom. If you ever look back on our time as perfectly pleasant, I’ll expire from disappointment. ”

That reference leads me back to all the good times we had. It’s been centuries. But years of memories flood back all at once.

“Errr, no.” I clear my throat. “Perfectly pleasant isn’t really the right description for you.”

He leans closer again, bringing his hands to either side of the doorframe. He fills the entire doorway as he leans into my space, the low light glinting off the ring in his nose. “Is that what you came here to discuss, Cath? A reigniting of all those imperfectly filthy times we had?”

I shake my head; I’ve got to get out of here.

The mere suggestion of our past times has my power rising and roiling, desperate to be unleashed.

“I came to invite you to dinner tomorrow. One night a week, I have the Hector triplets over. Long story about how we met, but I figured it might be helpful to introduce you to some Evertons, and they’re lovely.

All witches, and all mated to various haven leaders. ”