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Kellan tugged his T-shirt over his head. “What do I need to know?”
I held my clothes close to my chest. “Before I graduated, my ex-boyfriend proposed to me. It was caught on video, and it went viral.”
“You’re engaged?” he asked. I watched the anger travel over his face, and his fingers curl into fists. I loved the look of jealousy. It made the little girl inside of me squeal.
“I said no,” I whispered. “It didn’t feel right. He is mad and will most likely be waiting on me when I get back.”
Kellan’s heavy-lidded gaze swept over my face. “Do I need to fight him?”
A laugh bubbled up my throat. “Would you like to?”
“Very much,” he admitted.
“No,” I said, walking toward the door. “Unless he doesn’t take no for an answer that is, and then you have my permission to obliterate him.”
Kellan winked as I left the room. I took the back door out to the shower, so I could get dressed in peace.
The smell of rain hung in the air as well as a chilly morning breeze. I slipped into the new dress and brushed my fingers through my hair. I listened for Deidamia’s crow. He wasn’t near, or at least, not cawing. I opened the door and stepped into the back yard.
A soft noise drew my attention to the ground beneath the giant oak tree. Something small sat there. I eased closer, noticing the brown fur and spotted back.
When I neared him, it barked. It was the softest and sweetest bark I’d ever heard.
“Oh, you cute, little thing.” Bending down, I picked it up and held it in my arms. He growled and protested but eventually gave up and went lax in my arms.
I chuckled while scratching the top of its head. Where had it come from? Did its mother abandon him? “Poor, little guy,” I mumbled, turning toward the back porch.
Kellan stood there watching me. When I turned and he noticed the dog, his back straightened.
“Put that thing down,” he demanded.
At first my heart was hurt. Was he not a dog guy? I desperately wanted a dog guy. The white-picket fence with a dog and babies—
“Josephine,” his voice sliced through the air. “Drop him.”
“What’s the matter?” I asked, setting him back down against the tree. When I looked up, I saw why Kellan was so persistent.
The dog’s mother stood by the tree line, along with three other beasts bigger than her. She was the ugliest dog I’d ever seen. Her back was arched. She had long legs like those dogs that raced but three times the size. I stumbled backward over a root, crashing down onto my butt and scurrying away.
The mother dog began walking toward me, her long fangs snarled and ready to tear me to pieces.
“What kind of dog is that?” I asked, running into Kellan behind me.
He helped me to my feet and guided me toward the porch. “They’re hellhounds, and you’ve touched their baby.”
I cringed. “I didn’t hurt it,” I whispered as Kellan pulled his sword from the air.
Ernest walked out onto the back porch. “Dear God, you three showed up, and the entire damn realm decided to attack you.”
“I touched its baby,” I said.
Ernest watched as Kellan swung at the mother. “I’ve lived here for decades, and I’ve never had a hellhound come here. That’s not by chance.”
He took his time walking down the steps.
“You think she sent them?” I asked.
Ernest wobbled toward Kellan as he fought the dogs. It was impossible not to fawn over him as he fought. The way he moved, so big but graceful, each swing deliberate and precise.
