Page 75 of Poison Ivy
“Fuck!” Torin snarls as one of the hellhounds latches onto his leg, tearing through his combat pants and into flesh. He tries to shake it off, but two more jump on his back, their yapping reaching a fever pitch.
Tate fares no better, stumbling backwards as three of the little terrors go for his face and throat. His hands glow with defensive magick, but he’s too overwhelmed to focus properly.
I press myself against the wall, torn between horror and a sick sort of amusement as I watch these powerful supernatural beings get their arses handed to them by tiny, yapping dogs.
“Call them off!” Torin roars at Ramsey, his eyes blazing red as he tries to pry a Chihuahua from his arm.
Ramsey just smirks, leaning casually against the bannister. “I don’t think so. Not until you two leave.”
“This isn’t over,” Torin growls, finally managing to throw off the dogs attacking him. He grabs Tate by the collar and drags him towards the door, hellhounds still hanging off them both.
As they stumble over the threshold, the dogs quit their assault and vanish, but the threat of them lingers as Tate and Torin glare at Ramsey from the outside.
“Lay a hand on her again, and next time, they won’t stop until they have eaten your insides out, digested them and shat them back out on your corpses. We clear?”
“Clear,” Torin growls. “But you, warlock, are on thin ice.”
“With whom? You? You don’t scare me, vampire.”
“No? Well, you fucking should?—”
“Enough, for God’s sake,” I snap, trying not to laugh at this ridiculous pissing contest. “Tate, Torin, go. We will talk tomorrow, noon, at the clock tower. Better bring Bram and get him up to speed. But if he tries anything, I’ll rip his balls off. Be sure to mention that.”
Tate presses his lips together as Torin glowers at me. The man has got that down. It’s sexy as fuck, and I want nothing more than to grab them both and haulthem inside, but I have a feeling the demon dogs will reappear, and that won’t be fun.
I watch as Tate and Torin reluctantly back away from the door, both looking thoroughly dishevelled and pissed off from their encounter with Ramsey’s hellhounds. Part of me wants to laugh at the sight of these powerful Kings of Thornfield being taken down a peg by tiny demon Chihuahuas, but I know the situation is far too serious for that.
“Tomorrow at noon, clock tower,” I remind them with a wave. “And don’t even think about trying anything before then.”
Torin’s eyes flash dangerously. “Don’t push your luck, little killer. This isn’t over.”
“No, it’s not,” I agree, meeting his gaze steadily. “But for now, you both need to leave and cool off. We’ll figure this out tomorrow.”
Tate gives me one last lingering look, concern and something deeper in his eyes, before turning to follow Torin. I watch them disappear into the darkness before closing and locking the door with a heavy sigh.
When I turn back to Ramsey, he’s grinning at me. “Well, that was fun.”
I roll my eyes. “Your timing is impeccable, as always. Where the hell did you get demon Chihuahuas?”
He shrugs. “I know a guy. Figured they might come in handy someday.”
“Hope it’s not Vex.”
“No, but now that you mention it, I bet he can give them an upgrade.”
“Honestly, Rams, they don’t need it. That was terrifying!”
He snorts, and we both laugh as he loops his arm in mine. “Tea?”
“Definitely,” I say and walk with him to the kitchen, grateful that he isn’t bombarding me with questions about this. He simply has my back, and that’s what makes him the bestest bestie a shifter girl could have.
38
BRAM
Stiflingthe smirk as I watch Tate and Torin trying to maintain some sort of dignity as they stroll down the pavement away from the small, terraced house on the opposite side of campus, I see a flash of blonde hair as the door slams shut.
“Little mouse,” I murmur, eyes narrowed. What is it about this girl that has Tate all tied up in knots?
