“With our dog!” Tarabell said and her little brother started crying.
I walked over and sat down with the kids. I introduced myself and explained why I was there.
“And because Tarabell tried to murder him!” the girl nearly identical to Tarabell said.
“I did not!” Tarabell said and thumped again.
Canton scooped up the thumping girl and tickled the bare little foot she stomped against the ground. The girl squealed and squirmed until she was nearly upside down, laughing hysterically from the tickling.
“She did too,” the other little girl whispered to me. “She fed him poison.”
“What sort of poison?” I asked. I already knew what had gone down with the chocolate but hearing her perspective promised to be interesting and it wasn’t like we were going anywhere anytime soon. Eran sat down next to me, Jacand still in his shirt.
“Asleep,” he mouthed to me and I nodded.
“So, she fed him chocolate after Daddy said not to. He said ‘you girls listen here. This is ‘portant. You can’t feed this here dog chocolate. It’s poison to him.’.”
“I don’t talk like that, Marabell,” Canton laughed.
“He did. He said ‘this here dog’.” The little girl nodded. “And what did my murdering sister do? She fed Gooseberry chocolate and he almost exploded!”
I held the puppy up to my eye level. He wagged his tail a few times. He certainly remembered the chocolate and that it was tasty. He hadn’t tied it to the horrible things that happenedafter because much like the little girl who fed him the chocolate he hadn’t developed the thought processes necessary to connect the dots. He barked again and I sat him down like he wanted. He was too big to hold up that way for long. He was nearly as big as me even if he was merely a puppy. With a few barks and some scents he explained to me the problem with being down here. He had to howl extra loud to keep the storm and the scary lady away. He had to shout his warnings extra loud so that they’d know that he’d eat them if they messed with his kids and all four of the little ones were his kids. They had a baby too. Though, Tarabell, the Giver of the Forbidden Snacks was definitely his favorite but he’d protect them all.
The storm rattled overhead and I snuggled into Eran as the puppy told me his story. He’d been born somewhere in the wild where there weren’t people or buildings or ‘loud moving rocks you sat inside of.’ He’d been one of three but somewhere along the way got separated from his mother and littermates. He missed them but could never find them. When he finally picked up their trail it ended in a weird box with food inside.
If I had to guess someone had ‘rescued’ his family and tried to leave a trap for him but Gooseberry had outsmarted it, taking the food and not going inside to be captured. So he wandered around for a few days until he found a cave. Then a bear chased him. Then he ran smack dab into Tarabell and the wild bear hauled tail away.
I relayed the story to the children and their parents, adding my own flourishes to entertain the kids. To my surprised, everyone was listening to me. I blushed, realizing I was the center of attention. Later, in a private session, I’d ask Gooseberry what his worries were but I figured his would be more or less the same as any puppy separated from their litter.His family had been kidnapped and he had to leave before he could find them. That was the biggest difference. Gooseberry decided to follow Tarabell out of the woods because he needed a friend and she fed him some weird meat on some white stuff that stuck to the roof of his mouth a little.
Only, Eran thought further abroad than I did and a few minutes later showed me his phone screen. There on a rescue website was a large dog who had much the same colors as Gooseberry with a puppy on either side of her about this puppy’s size. One was white and the other looked almost like a calico cat turned into a dog. They had been adopted by a sheep farmer. That solved that mystery, but it wouldn’t help Gooseberry now. The puppy had already curled up on Tarabell’s lap and fallen asleep.
As more of the kids dozed off the adults started talking about the weather radar and how this was the longest they’d been stuck down here for a storm. Canton and Philip did their best to reassure everyone that some storms just lasted longer but the puppy’s talk about the scary lady clung to my thoughts.
Eventually, Jacand woke up and crawled out of Eran’s shirt to the snack area. Eran cocked his head and looked at Canton. Both men were quiet for a long moment and then the rabbit shifter nodded. Eran rose to his feet with all his cat-like grace and helped me up. I opened my mouth to say that I wasn’t about to go out into the storm when Eran led me further into the Burrow.
Chapter 11
Eran
Canton Valley Farm
I wasn’t a fan of storms. We hadn’t a ‘thing’ touch down since the summer Jacand was born. I still remember my carrier going into labor in the Burrow while the thing tried its best to beat against all the magical wards the farm and the GGB used in general to protect its buildings from such threats. It managed a little damage but by the time it was gone Jacand and two other little siblings had been born.
I led Vatten down the twisting passageways familiar to me from my days of wandering through them as a teenager. Canton was a good man, but he did put bounties on the heads of non-shifting rodents who managed to make it into his burrow. They chewed on things and shat everywhere, and those things left unchecked might’ve foiled his whole system. So, he offered bounties by the weighted ounce to kids and teenagers who were bored or wanted extra pocket money. The system worked well and these days it was hard to find a mouse or rat brave enough to enter the Burrow. All that wandering around to hunt rodents as a teenager meant that I knew where the bedrooms were and while underground in a storm wasn’t the ideal place for a matingmoon, I was desperate for just a few minutes alone with my mate even if we kept our clothes on.
“Where are we going?” Vatten whispered to me.
“Somewhere I can kiss you all I want without giving anyone a show,” I whispered back and my mate blushed. The scent of his tangy arousal filled my head as I pushed open the door to a bedroom. It was a clean little space, big enough to sleep a pair of mates. I shut the door behind us and the lights came on overhead as thunder slapped the shit out of the sky again.
Vatten startled and I pulled him close. His warmth spread over me and phantom fur rubbed against my bare arms. He nuzzled his face into my chest and then into my shoulder where my claiming gland usually hid. Only now, it wasn’t hidden at all. It was filled with the clear magical fluid that he would lap up during our claiming vows. The magical stuff inside held enough memories from my current life to catch him up to speed. His would do the same for me. It was part of the true-mate magic that provided just enough information not to feel totally batshit for loving someone so deeply so soon after meeting.
I cupped Vatten’s handsome face in my hands and stared into his eyes. I could’ve fallen in and swam in the deep hues.
“I know it’s not the most romantic place, but I wanted to be alone with you. I hope you don’t mind,” I whispered even though we were probably half a mile from the rest of the shelter seekers.
In answer, Vatten’s lips brushed against mine. He didn’t mind at all. His soft, supple lips parted and my tongue snaked inside his mouth seeking out his. We stood there between the bed and the door, kissing for what felt like a small, sweet eternity. Then my mate stepped back and flashed me that mischievous look he’d flashed right before we were interrupted at the apartment.
“How loud are you?” he whispered. “I bet these halls echo something fierce.”
