Page 32 of My Monster’s Keeper

Puppy

F ear is all I can feel. Terror-soaked memories are chains around my ankles, dragging me down into the depths.

I can’t see anything.

I shout, but only bubbles escape.

I thrash, and then, just when I think I’m going to breathe water, a hand locks around my wrist.

My downward propulsion stops, and we rise. In moments, my head is above water. I look to the side, to find out which of the group I need to thank, and it’s her.

She saved me. She jumped in and saved me.

Becky.

My meal.

No. This isn’t right. I was supposed to eat her. To consume her. Her eyes find mine, and she turns, dragging me through the water and to the bank.

“Out! Now!” she shouts.

I climb onto the bank, pausing only long enough to make sure she’s coming with me. She staggers along beside me and then turns.

There is something huge in the water, and several of its limbs are currently embroiled in combat with the other three irritants that inhabit my den.

I take a step towards the monster when one of its tentacles lashes out, hitting my human pet in the chest. She soars into the air, her eyes wide, and then she comes down, hitting the ground with a sickening thud.

I’m beside her in a minute.

Splintering bones.

That’s what the horned one said.

I gently turn her face, putting my ear to her chest and listening for breathing. She moans .

I snap my head towards the monster. The hunter can heal sometimes. I will take care of the beast. Wilder will save our human.

“No one touches what is mine.”

Wilder, Frost, and Stix jerk their heads in my direction. The two Fae peel away, but Stix stays where he is, distracting the beast while I let a rarely seen form come to the surface.

My claws dig into the ground, thick and sharp, my teeth grow longer. Black fur grows all around me, and I lift my head and sing.

I sing the song of death in the howls of my people, and then I charge the monster that tried to steal my mate.

No one. I mean, no one touches my mate without my say so.

A tentacle slaps down in front of me, hitting the ground hard.

It’s easily twice the size of a human head, but I reach out and bite hard, severing it a third of the way down.

Salty blood fills my mouth, and then the creature lets out a shrill scream that is heard on a different level than that of hearing. It is almost felt.

I huff a laugh, and the enormous eye of the creature widens and blinks twice. It has one eye, but I resolve to eat it. I want to feel the fluids gushing when my teeth puncture that membrane. I want the pop and the salty tang as it shrieks.

My powerful legs send me flying through the air, and I punch into another flailing limb.

The creature moves, dragging its ponderous bulk towards the water, but I grab hold of the limb and set my paws in the ground.

I tug, one step, and then another, I drag this fucker out of the water I so despise, where I can dismantle it systematically piece by tasty fucking piece.

It screams and fights, trying to pull against me, but, in the end, it knows it has no chance against me.

There’s a moment of stillness, and then it surprises me. I let go of the limb and watch in displeasure as it thrusts a tentacle into its own body and ends its own life rather than face me.

“That’s cheating,” Stix says, outraged on my behalf.

I snort and glance back at the corpse. Now that I’ve won, the appeal of eating it is gone.

She saved me.

I slowly turn my head back and find her still unconscious on the ground. Wilder is kneeling beside her, gently straightening her limbs. I can hear her breathing. She’s alive. But she might not have been .

My hackles rise just thinking about it, and I whirl and lope towards her. She barely moves when I change and pick her up into my arms. There’s blood coming out of her nose and a cut on her forehead.

My deadly gaze falls on the Hunter. “Heal her.”

“I can’t.”

“Heal her!” I thunder.

“I can’t heal her,” Hunter shouts back. “Not yet, not until.” He looks away. “I can’t do anything.”

The other two can’t. They don’t have the ability. From what I’ve seen of this world, it won’t be possible for them to heal the substantial damage in her. Which leaves one option.

I crack my neck and step into the shadow world. Pulling myself through. It’s as easy as stepping through a doorway. The one I seek is far, but it will answer my call.

My howl enters my realm and brings it to silence. It has been long since the howls of the Grim have floated on the winds. The grey landscape pulses.

I can feel her approaching and tighten my grip around Becky. My Becky. I look down at her and see something other than just meat. She saved me.

Worthy.

I want her alive. I want her voice and her strange gaze. Her soft, weird skin on mine.

The female creature approaches me hesitantly.

She’s wearing a long white veil over her face, her horns have pierced the top most fabric.

The only clothes she wears are yellow, brown bandages.

Her muzzle is long, like a rat's, with long, quivering whiskers, but her eyes are gone.

Torn out and swallowed by something stronger. All she has left are sockets.

That doesn’t make her less dangerous. If anything, her senses are now honed to a dangerously sharp level. It’s just here in the shadow realm. Everything else is more dangerous.

“Grim,” she says in a sibilant voice. “You called me forth?”

“Heal her,” I demand.

She floats over the ground, touching it only with her toes. She sniffs the air around my human and sneezes delicately.

“This will be a big undertaking. You will aid me.”

I let out a deep growl that rattles my chest. She dances away from me and returns.

“Take me to the human world.”

“No.”

“I would cease being food to those who dwell here. ”

I consider it. I don’t feel sorry for her. That’s not our way. I do debate the threat she will present to my mate in the future. I weigh her value.

“Okay, I will take you there.”

“And let me live there. I will simply go into the world and disappear. We need not ever cross paths again.” She lowers her head, spreading her arms out from her side gracefully.

I whip my tail across before I can think it through and drag us all back to the Earth world. I let go of the Healer. She turns and peers around with sightless eyes. I make a sound of annoyance.

She refocuses on me and gestures to the grass. “Lower the strange creature so I can heal her. You remember how it works, Grim?”

I grunt at her and lower Becky to the grass. She’s almost grey now, her colour bleached away. I can feel the tremendous damage that’s been done to her fragile body.

“Do you want it partially healed or…okay, no? Full healing. This will take some hours.”

She lowers herself to her knees beside Becky and leans over her.

I step back, giving them space but not much. Stix appears at my side in a blink.

“You brought the Healer to this world?” Stix clucks his tongue. “I hope it works. She’s trouble.”

She’s trouble if you try to control her. If you allow her to be who she is, she will be calm and sensible. But Stix isn’t the Shadow King for no reason. He has no need to be with those who dwell far from his reign. Those of us who do not fit into his kingdom survive however we must.

Wilder and Frost walk up beside us and lean towards us. I can smell the anxiety pouring off them. It’s strong, the pain, too. Feelings are deep for Becky Dawson.

I wonder if she knows how deep.

“When can you heal her?” I snarl at Wilder.

“When the bond between us is consummated,” Wilder says in an icy tone. “She should be changed by all of us a little bit. Her life extended to match ours. She may take on some of our characteristics.”

“How do you know this?” Stix asks.

“I watched Hartley get shot a few months ago. He has some of Diablos’ powers. Diablos and I had a discussion about it.”

Stix whips his head back to Becky. “What did she get from me?”

Wilder shrugs and sits down, his eyes pinned to the Healer and our girl. Frost circles the space and crouches on the other side .

“How did that thing pass out of the Unseelie Oceans and into a river?” Stix grumbles. “And how did it know to go after Grim?”

Wilder shakes his head. “I have no idea, Stix.”

For hours, the Healer works on Becky, and then, abruptly, she sighs and stands up.

“It took a while to fix, but she should be in good health from this moment.”

She lifts a hand to her veil and touches it before spinning away and turning her face up to the sky. Night has fallen, the stars are scarce, but it’s so alien compared to our world. I’m not surprised she’s feeling a need to look around.

“I shall go now.” She dances her way to the edge of the yard and pauses. “It took me a moment to take the block off, but give it a couple of days and she’ll be back to normal.”

My head whips around, and I launch after her, but it’s too late. Like a gust of wind, the Healer vanishes into the air and is gone.

“What block?” I snarl.

Stix shakes his head absently. “I know not.”

Frost carefully gathers Becky in his arms and walks into the house. “Someone needs to let Diablos know you unleashed the Healer on the world.”

I bare my teeth.

“You did what?” Diablos thunders. “Why? Why would you do that?” His roar disintegrates into a pitiful whine. What happened to this demon? He’s clearly gone soft like a rotting corpse. Blergh, he probably wouldn’t even taste good.

“Becky was hurt,” Wilder snaps. He flexes his fingers, and I wonder if he’s imagining charging the demon. Get him, Wilder, get him.

“So, you brought the Healer? Here?” He almost shrieks.

“What’s the problem?” Stix snaps.

“The Sirens are here.”

I blink, trying to figure out why I should care. If they become an issue, I will eat them.

“The brothers? The legendary Sirens of-”

“Of the Black Death Oceans. Yes, those brothers. You know they’ve had issues with her since she set the sky above their waters on fire.

” Diablos starts to pace, really putting some leg into it.

“She made it so they spent a hundred years beneath the surface, stopping them from retrieving their consort. It was a disaster. They swore to kill her. She promised if they came near her, she would get herself a penis necklace.”

I cock my head to the side, imagining the Healer wearing a necklace of cocks. Interesting .

Wilder raises a brow, not at all merciful. “Sounds like a you problem.”

Diablos hisses. “You are supposed to be helping.”

“We did help. Puppy ate the big octopus. It’s gone. Yay for the win.”

“I need a massage and a manicure,” Diablos moans. “There are two more. Go and kill them.”

“Um, not until Becky is feeling better,” Wilder says seriously.

“This isn’t optional.” Diablos stomps his foot, causing an earthquake.

I snort a laugh that makes the hair on Diablos’ neck lift.

“When Becky arises from her sickbed, I will go down there myself and take care of it,” Wilder assures him.

“In full armour?”

“Yes.”

Diablos stabs the air with a long finger. “Don’t get caught.” He pulls his phone out of his pocket, juggling it frantically, and answers it. “Hey, pookie. No, I’m on my way.” He glares at Wilder. “Take care of it!”

I’m already on the way to the house. Once inside, I follow the strong scent of our mate until I find her lying in bed. She’s pale still, but her colour is better, and she doesn’t stink of pain anymore.

“You bathed her?” I accuse Frost.

He reaches out, ices her skin before it heats, runs off, and evaporates into the air. I study where the air disappeared and sniff at her skin. She smells good.

I approve the technique and shift to my usual form, curling up on the bed next to her. But that doesn’t feel right. It takes me a moment, but then I slip my tail over her hip. She stirs over the next three hours, slowly rising out of the healing.

My mind plays her act over and over. No one has ever done that for me. I’m a monster among monsters. I’m feared, reviled. People look at me and tell me I should be dead.

I could have been dead.

But this human saved me.

She will not be pleased to discover that I am hers, but hers I am until she sends me away.

She will. Eventually.

No one keeps a Grim.

Especially not an omega. Why would she want me?

Becky opens her eyes and looks straight into my eyes.

I sit up, frowning as I study her closer.

She has a ring of white and gold around her pupil that wasn’t there before, and then, she reaches out almost faster than I can detect and wraps those delicate fingers around my throat and drags me down to her.

“Mine,” my mate growls and licks a long stripe up my cheek.

I rumble with pleasure and move over her.