I was avoiding my situation made me laugh. If I didn’t keep myself busy, all my thoughts went to the princess. It was impossible to hide my feelings. There was nothing to do but accept. My waiting was me trying to give her space, but all I wanted to do was back her into a corner. I’d reached my limit. She had plenty of time to come to me, but she hadn’t. I was ready to learn about my future. “A day and a half. I think that’s long enough.”
“Long enough for what?” Dirk asked.
“To stay away from her. Prudence agreed we needed to talk. Instead of waiting for her to decide, I say we do it now.”
“I’m going with you in case you need backup!” he announced as if a gremlin could help me.
“Uh…” I hadn’t told Dirk what Prudence was. “You should know that she’s a Reaper.”
He blinked. “Who’s a Reaper?”
“Prudence.” I sighed.
His tiny yellow eyes widened like planets. “You—you!” He shook his head, then muttered a string of unrecognizable words. “Only you, Sire, would bond with a Reaper.”
I laughed, and my form rippled. “And she’s perfect.” He rolled his eyes. “I’m going alone.”
“I’ll be the judge of whether your soul made a good choice for you.” Dirk sniffed.
“Why? You’ve met her already, remember?” I stated.
He inhaled deeply. “And if you hadn’t taken her out of the bar when you did, I would have behaved like Wallis.” To prove his point, he gestured toward the black Labrador, trying to hump a smaller dog.
The dog owners argued before the little dog was swept off its feet. “Some people shouldn’t be allowed to bring their dog to the park!” the owner clipped out.
“Jack is fixed, lady. Fucking chill.” The man bent down and grabbed his dog by the collar. As the woman strode away, the man patted his dog’s head and said, “Dude, what is your problem?”
The dog was getting into so much trouble thanks to the gremlin.
“Wallis!” I yelled. Instantly, the green demon jumped out and came running over.
“Yes?” Wallis, keeping his eyes lowered, tugged at his shirt.
“Can’t you go five minutes without humping something?”
He bowed immediately. “I’m sorry, Sire. I mean, Boss.”
With one last glance, I smiled at Tiffany as she laughed with her grandkids. She has a good life. Maybe it was my turn.
After rounding up the gremlins, I pressed the portal chip. Time to go see my mate.
____
“I’m so happy we’re meeting her!” Wallis squealed and clapped his hands.
I shoved the portal chip in my jeans and grabbed my cigarettes and lighter. “Only because you wouldn’t stop begging.” I tried to convince the gremlins to stay, but it was no use. So after a short trip to the trailer, we arrived wherever my princess was in the Underworld. Where? I had no clue.
“She must meet us since we’re a part of you,” Wallis explained.
I glared. “In what way?”
“You’re our sire.” Marty waved his arms around frantically, as if that explained everything.
I chuckled deeply as I lit the cigarette. “Dirk, would you mind telling them what my beloved is and what her work entails?”
Wallis frowned. “What?”
“She’s a Reaper,” Dirk said.
Marty and Wallis stumbled backward, then tried scrambling away. I reached down and grabbed Wallis, and Dirk latched onto Marty’s arm.
“Where do you think you’re going?” I asked.
“Sire, how could you be a soulmate of your natural enemy? We’re going to die!” Marty wailed.
Lifting a brow, I took a puff from my cigarette. “Hmm. Just yesterday, you said I should accept my demon DNA and claim her like my soul wants.”
“Sire!” Wallis shouted.
“Pull yourself together.” I thumped the top of his head. He rubbed it and looked at me like I took his stuffed animal. “Let’s head inside the cave. That’s where I sense her.”
“Why is she in a werewolf den?” Dirk asked, shoving Marty ahead of him.
In the distance, someone screamed from inside the pit. Wallis, backing away from the entrance, fell on his ass. Instead of getting up, he sat there shaking like a leaf.
“Hey, you wanted to come,” I said, walking to the opening.
The space stunk of wet fur and body odor. Apparently, some beasts weren’t too keen on hygiene. It was dark, but thanks to my demon vision, I could see inside. Water trickled down the walls. Rounding the first corner, a light flickered across the cavern and created shadows on the surfaces. A fireplace? Rough grunts and thumps filled the dewy air. A werewolf growled, and I crept deeper inside.
A hairy figure, snarling