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We walked into the house and halted in the foyer.
Conri, dressed up in a fine suit, waited for us at the family room. “There you are! Happy birthday, little Minsi!” He smiled at her, and she hid behind my back.
“What are you doing?” I asked.
“Well, it’s a special day, so I thought we could have dinner together.”
“No, thank you. We would prefer having dinner by ourselves.”
He walked toward me and it was an effort to stay rooted in my place. “I don’t think you understand, little wolf. I’m not asking. I’m ordering you two to sit down at the dining table and have dinner with me.”
I opened my mouth to retort, to tell him to go to hell, but I had done that so many times, and what did I get from that? A slap, a punch, a punishment. Defying him only made everything worse.
I held Minsi’s arm. “It’s okay, Min. Just sit by my side and I’ll keep you safe, okay?”
She shook her head.
Damn it. Gently, I slid my hand into hers and pulled her to the dining room with me. Conri trailed behind us, a handful of demons following him.
We never used the formal dining room, and from the little Minsi told me, her family had only used it for special occasions. The room was separated from the family room by a rectangular archway and two steps down. The long, brown table stretched out in the middle of the space with eight high-back chairs with beige leather around it. The chandelier was a rectangular piece of old metal with fake candles. But the most impressive part of the room was the large floor-to-ceiling windows—even bigger than the one in the family room. It opened up to the porch, and overlooked the stone fireplace and bench outside. And beyond it, the forest.
If this house wasn’t so depressing, it would have been amazing.
Conri took the head of the table and gestured for Minsi and me to take the seats to his left and right. “Please, sit.”
I helped Minsi to the seat beside me, away from Conri. “We can stay, but she’ll sit here.” My voice was firm. I knew I was walking a thin line here.
Conri’s nostrils flared, but he didn’t say anything.
I sat down in my seat and did my best to shield Minsi from Conri’s view.
Demons came in and brought our food—rare steak with undercooked potatoes. Conri devoured it, and I picked at the potatoes, but didn’t touch the steak. I could eat a rabbit or squirrel when in wolf form, but steak like this? No, thank you.
Minsi didn’t touch her plate.
And Conri noticed. “Why, birthday girl, aren’t you hungry?”
Minsi looked down at her hands and didn’t answer.
“She’s not hu—“
“I asked her,” he snapped, glaring at me. “Not you.” He stared at Minsi again. “Answer when I’m talking to you, little girl.”
Minsi recoiled.
“Conri, she—“
The devil slapped the table, rattling the plates and glasses. “Shut up!”
Beside me, Minsi whimpered. She shook from head to toe and was about to break down into a panic attack.
Conri stood and so did I. “I won’t shut up.” I faced him head-on. If he threatened her, he would have to go through me. “You know she’s not well. She’s having a panic attack and you’re making it worse!”
He raised his hand to slap me. I braced myself, even closed my eyes, but the slap never came. I spied under my lashes and Conri lowered his hand.
“Just get out of here,” he snarled.
As quickly as I could, I scooped a sobbing Minsi in my arms and raced upstairs with her. This time, I took her to my bedroom and laid her on my bed. With the side lamp on and without changing my clothes, I scooted in with her and held her tight.
