Page 30 of Shadow Weaver
The door to each pen was huge, and I caught sight of snouts and intelligent red-rimmed eyes peering over the top. There was enough space for them to stick out their heads but not enough room to jump out. And the walkway between the pens was wide enough to avoid getting chomped on if one of them decided to try for a bite.
Good to know.
We stopped outside the final pen.
Brady stepped forward with a slight smile and peered in through the rectangular gap in the door. “How you doing, Athos?” His voice was low, soothing, and filled with a warmth that sent a tingle of awareness through me. There was a low answering rumble from the pen.
Brady chuckled, opened the door, and stepped in.
I glanced at Jemima to see a soppy smile on her face. It was an I-adore-you smile, and I doubt it was aimed at Athos. Damn, she had the hots for Brady. Something jagged twisted inside me.
But then Brady was calling my name.
“Go ahead,” Jemima said. “I’ll be right with you.”
I nodded and then stepped into the shadowy confines of the pen. My senses latched on to Brady’s scent, and then his hand was wrapped around mine. Part of me reveled in the contact while the other part was rapt by the monstrous creature glaring at me from across the huge pen. It was hunched, eyes fixed on me as if it was deciding whether I was something to maim or devour. Neither option sounded appealing.
“Athos,” Brady said. “This is Indigo. She’s my … friend.”
Jemima exhaled softly behind me. Probably relieved that I wasn’t anything more.
Athos made a grunting noise and then stepped forward. Brady’s grip on my hand tightened.
“Friend, Athos,” Brady reminded the hound.
The hound’s gaze flicked from Brady to me, then down to our joined hands, and then he bared his teeth in a low growl. The air moved, wafting over my skin in soft abrasion, but instead of fear, a strange calm came over me.
I locked gazes with the beast as it padded closer. The air crackled with tension.
“Um, Brady?” Jemima sounded nervous.
“Yeah, you’re right,” Brady said. He tugged me, intent on pulling me out of the pen.
But there was no malice in the hound’s eyes. Just curiosity.
“No. Wait.” I released Brady’s hand.
“Dammit, Indigo,” Brady said.
And then the beast bridged the distance between us with one bound.
Jemima let out a shriek.
Brady a bellow.
But I was frozen in place. Trapped in the red-rimmed, azure gaze pinning me to the spot. Athos had landed right in front of me, grazing me with air but nothing more.
“Indigo, do not move,” Jemima said softly. “Brady, intercept and get him to back off. Now.”
But the world was melting away, and it was just me and the beast and the need to make contact. My hand came up to rest on his snout.
“Hey.” My voice was soft. “I’m Indigo. Nice to meet you.”
Athos closed his eyes and let out a low, chesty rumble. My forearm tingled strangely where the fomorian mark was etched.
“Motherfucker,” Brady said softly.
I stroked Athos’s rough snout as a strange warmth filled me. “You are beautiful.”
