Page 84 of Thunder with a Chance of Lovestruck

The gargoyle came stomping into the house, looking menacing. Its attention went instantly to the injured woman on the floor.

Drest killed another demon as the young man from the campus who had clearly been interested in Purple Hair rushed into the home, calling out the name “Franks.” He joined the fighting as well, surprising Drest by not dying at once.

In fact, he seemed quite adept.

A monster charged Drest, and he countered its attack, making short work of it. Out of the corner of his eye, Drest spotted a monster coming through a stained-glass window. It went right at Purple Hair.

The fierce need to protect her hit Drest, and he ran, leaped over the table in his path, and landed right before the monster. He grabbed it by its neck as rage coursed through his veins. “Where in the hell is she?” demanded Drest, wanting answers about his mate.

The thing looked confused.

Drest lifted it by its neck about a foot off the floor. “Tell me where the hell they are! Where is my wife and my child?”

The dog that wasn’t a fan of Stratton was there, going at demons left and right. It bit the head off one.

Drest focused on the monster that he still held off the floor. “I know you’re hunting for them.”

Before Drest could get an answer, white light, just like the kind that had occurred at the Frankenstein Manor years ago, enveloped him.

ChapterTwenty-Eight

Rachael

“Mom,I checked your room. I didn’t see my shoes or earrings in there either,” said Demi, her voice getting louder. “I could have sworn they were in my room. I can’t find them anywhere. Are you sure they didn’t get packed?”

“I’ll be there in a second to help you look,” I said, glancing around the kitchen, already knowing I wasn’t alone. “Archibald, what did you do?”

A six-and-a-half-foot-tall, muscular man who was dressed a bit like a lumberjack appeared out of thin air, near the sliding glass door that led out to the backyard and patio.

His ink-black hair was tied back at the nape of his neck and was partially hidden under the red cap I’d never seen him without. Blood dripped down his forehead without going into his eyes. It just kind of stayed that way all the time. I still wasn’t sure how that worked. He had a full beard that he kept close-cut and huge dark brown eyes that were known to turn red when he was angry.

Archibald, or “Arch,” was just shy of being bodybuilder bulky, and even I had to admit, he was incredibly handsome, even with the perma-blood dripping from his cap. He’d been part of our mismatched family since shortly after my daughter had been born.

He glanced at me, lowering his gaze slightly. For a man who could strike terror into just about anyone, he looked like a scolded child.

“What did you do?” I demanded.

He eyed the cake on the counter, his gaze narrowing.

I pointed at him. “Arch, if you so much as exhale near it, I’ll find your iron pick and cram it up your backside. Redcap-badass-half-demon-half-Fae or not.”

He grunted and pulled a chair out from the small four-person kitchen table. With a rather dramatic sigh, he sat before crossing his arms over his chest. The act caused the red and black plaid shirt he was wearing to pull at the seams, showing off his powerful arms. “I do nae like the idea of her going off to this higher learning institute. She should remain here. Here has been safe so far.”

We’d been over this more than once. Expelling a long breath, I walked around the counter area that sectioned off the kitchen from the eating area. I went to him and put my hand on his shoulder. “Demi is not a little girl anymore. She’s growing up. We need to let her.”

“No,” he said, his Scottish burr thickening. “We do nae have to do any such thing. We could lock her in her room.”

I gave him a hard look. “She’d only pick the lock. You have only yourself to blame. You taught her how to do it.”

He grumbled and stamped a booted foot like a child. “Then we’ll chain her to the radiator. That’ll do it. She cannae go off to Grimm whatever if she cannae leave. Then, she’ll be here. Safe. And far from the boys there.”

“I knew I shouldn’t have let you go on campus visits with us,” I said with a grunt.

“There was a show on the television showing what the youth today do while at university,” he said, looking horrified at the idea of Demi joining them. “They were drinking, smoking, partying, having sex, and doing drugs.”

“All of which I’m pretty sure I’ve heard you claim to be a really fun way to spend an evening,” I said, giving him a knowing look.

He huffed. “I’m hundreds of years old. She’s a child.”

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