Page 27 of My Monster’s Keeper

Puppy

I crawl down the wall and nose the pillows aside until I find what she’s buried. A knife. I lick the cold metal, tasting the lingering oils her fingers have left behind.

It’s sharper, clearer, spicy, and floral.

The rest of the pack has missed the signs. She filled the cupboards and fridges with food and drinks. She only sleeps when she’s safely in the middle of the bed, surrounded by us. Her scent has changed just a tiny bit. It’s more intense and heated and flares every now and then.

The posturing of the others is different as well. The Nightmare and Fae surround her at all times, circulating around her, touching more, murmuring and bringing her gifts to make her scent bloom in the air.

Their smells have grown stronger and changed slightly to complement hers. And to my surprise, each other.

She’s nesting.

Her scent is changing.

The omega side of this female is coming to the surface, and now the desire to eat her has dimmed. Every time I think I will, there is a stronger and stronger pull not to.

I inspect every weapon she’s laid, every food item. In the dark of the night with the Fae and Shadow sleeping beside her, I scent the omega in Becky Dawson rising just under the surface of her skin, and the horror of it is, I don’t want to consume her.

I crawl up to the corner of the ceiling where I can watch them.

They are changing me.

I’m not the same Grim I used to be. And I hate it.

I should eat her now.

“No! Stop! ”

I scramble across the wall, peering at her as she thrashes. The others wake immediately and try to soothe her, but her fear fills the room with a stench that is impossible to miss. Sour grapes and wet mulch.

What makes her this afraid?

I will kill it first just to get rid of the stench, and then I will eat her.

I shuffle my scales, and she abruptly settles down with a sigh.

I narrow my eyes and shuffle them again.

Is she comforted by me? How ridiculous. This species is desperate to be eaten.

When everyone has gone back to sleep, I slip into the shadows, using a method I rarely use, and pull myself out of the building.

The confusion over why I can’t just eat the thing that is annoying me is making me angry. Worse than angry, the more I want to attack her and can’t, the angrier I get at myself.

I stalk through the shadows, following the slightly acrid stench of something that shouldn’t belong here.

When I find it, it’s staring at two women sleeping on a park bench. The predator hasn’t even realised that it’s being hunted.

Suddenly, it stiffens and lifts its head. It’s got a long muzzle with grey fur. It lets out a trilling sound as it looks in my direction.

“Omega?”

It lets out a peep and runs.

Rage turns my vision red, and I pull the shadows around me, darting at and guiding, driving this creature further into the park. Once I have it in the dark with no one else around, I reveal myself.

It lets out a shrill squeal and darts away.

I cut it off, arching my back, the scales shifting in a death rattle.

It turns and flees, but I cut it off again and again.

It finally sits back, exhausted and trembling. Its whiskers shiver, and I get a distinct loss of my appetite.

It looks pathetic and pitiful and not worthy of me eating it.

“You said omega. Tell me about omegas,” I hiss slow and sibilant.

“I don’t know much, just that they are here, hidden. Everyone is coming to get themselves one if they can before they are all killed.”

I snarl.

It recoils but doesn’t run .

Smart.

“Okay, okay, okay. There are a faction who are trying to get rid of them. They say the Earth is ripe for the plucking. Anyone can rule here. The strongest and smartest can own this world.”

I watch the enthusiasm on its face. “What about the demon?”

The creature wrinkles its nose. “They can’t win, just a small band of fighters against everyone here? The only way they can win is if they…have…an omega,” it whispers with dawning horror.

I lunge before it can run, snapping my jaws down on its neck. The thick, rich blood fills my mouth, but I’m not hungry. I want to get back and make sure she’s okay.

I consume the body as quickly as I can and find myself, much to my dismay, racing back to the hotel. I try to stop myself; I try to fight this need to see her, but I can’t.

She needs to be safe. I need to know she’s safe.

And if that creature could smell her…who else can?

How long can the secret keep?

I settle back on the ceiling where I can see all the entrances and exits. When she whimpers, I rattle my scales, and she subsides, relaxing peacefully.

If it comes down to anyone coming for her…well, they’re just going to have to die. She’s mine.

What has Becky Dawson done to me?