Page 134 of My Monster’s Keeper

“Aww, come on, tell me,” I tease.

He stands up abruptly and stalks away from me. I follow but leave a bit of room between us.

“Puppy?” Is it that bad?

His chest heaves, and he clenches his fists. “No!”

Which clearly means yes.

My eyes widen as he advances on me, but instead of lashing out, he leaps off the roof and vanishes into the shadows.

Aw, come on. I stand on the edge of the roof and consider following him to see what would happen. Probably a broken leg.

“It’s a cruelty, you see,” Stix whispers.

I whip my head towards him, startled. “What?”

“Some of the denizens of my world can see and touch your world. They were talking about this thing called a puppy. It was a joke, a cold and cruel joke, but he didn’tunderstand, he was newly hatched into the world. He did not realise they were trying to set him up.”

I get shivers up my spine. “What happened?”

“They told him how wonderful it would be, people would call Puppy, and he would run to them, and they would love him, embrace him, be happy to see him.”

I swallow hard. “He named himself?”

“He named himself a name that meant love and family. A name that would be wanted and called with affection.”

I feel sick. “Stix, I don’t want to hear this.”

“They sent him here, and when people called Puppy, they ran. Screaming. He came back changed. Harder. When our people called Puppy, he came, still full of hope. So they tried to kill him and almost succeeded. They mocked him. They hurt him. A tiny little Grim helpless against the mob. He managed to escape, gravely injured. The Grims that came before him were vicious, violent, but they could be reasoned with. Puppy is merciless, volatile, and without empathy. Up until the day he met you, he was the most dangerously violent creature in my world.” Stix smiles. “Now he’s your dangerously violent weapon.”

I stare at him with wide eyes. “He just wanted to be loved? That’s what his name means?” The agony inside me feels like it’s going to break open my chest.

“He refused to change it. In my world, when you call the name Puppy now, you invite death. You go to war. He is a bogeyman.”

My fingers curl into my palms, and I stare harder into the shadows, searching for my Grim. Tears stream from my eyes, and my chest aches like it's being crushed.

“What’s his real name?”

“He wasn’t given one,” Stix says regretfully. “We come from different sides of my world. I live in the cities, he lives in the wilds. I was not aware of him until it was too late.”

“What would you have done?” I snap. He hesitates, and my breath hisses out of me. “Really?”

“There is no place in any world for an out-of-control creature with unlimited strength and power. Why do you think Frost was sent from court where he couldn’t grow to control his power? Why do you think Wilder was imprisoned with magic to obey?”

“And you?”

“My sire drummed into me control and responsibility. But, even so, until I walked on the Earth, I didn’t allow myself to feel the skin that was mine. I kept walls and masks in place, hiding my strength. Pretending to be something I was not.”

“This is insane.” I shake my head in denial.

“It’s not like your world is any better.”

I want to argue with him, but he’s right. I know better than most how cruel my world can be.

“There are good and bad in all of the worlds. I wish I could take you to some of the amazing places in mine. I wish Puppy could show you his home territory. You would understand him better.”

“Do you want to go home?”