Page 20 of Charming Her Monsters

“Oh, Wolfboy? Don’t shit in my yard,” I poke at Arran.

Jade hides her snicker in my arms.

“Fuck, dude! You aren’t ever going to let me live that down, are you?” Arran metaphorically tucks his tail between his legs.

“You took a dump in our mate’s back yard. How am I supposed to forget that?” I egg him on.

“I cleaned it up!” Arran whines.

“Throwing it at my head doesn’t count,” I deadpan.

“He did what?” Jade laughs a bit too hard.

I glower at her, though there isn’t much heat behind it.

Then I focus back on our destination. I whisper words of power as we approach, and the wards allow us entry to the property.

When I near the front porch, I use my will to open the door.

Jade squeals with delight, like a child seeing her first magic trick. She makes everything feel new and exciting. I can’t wait to delight her for all the years we may have together. She even lets out a playful giggle when I carry her inside.

When I set her down on her unsteady feet and wrap my arms around her waist, she gazes up at me adoringly. My whole body vibrates with happiness. I don’t think I’ve ever experienced this giddy feeling.

She lifts onto her toes, and I lean down to give her a kiss.

Then, like a curious puppy, she bolts away to explore, even though I can see it’s taking the last bit of energy she has to even move.

Flint and Calder are already here, as they used a quicker set of portals to travel and had the spell to unlock our place.

I’m about to call out to them when Flint steps into the hallway.

In her excitement, Jade is practically flying at him. She screams, not out of fear of him, but that she will crash into his stone body and upset the lug. Her momentum is such that she will collide, so instead, she purposely falls.

Sliding on the slippery hallway wood flooring, she barely misses Flint’s legs.

Her head thuds against the wall and then the floor.

“Jade!” Flint cries out and then almost tries to pick her up. He stops himself at the last second when he realizes what he’s about to do.

Arran is there in the next moment, aggressively shoving Flint out of the way, and dropping down to check on Jade.

“I’m fine. Just banged myself up a little.” She waves him away, but her eyes are glassy, and she doesn’t move to get up.

“You can’t afford anymore head trauma,” Arran says with the bite of reprimand. “You are quickly killing me,woman.”

“So dramatic.” She laughs it all off. “Flint, I’m sorry for coming at you like a damned baseball player sliding into home. I should have been more careful with my surroundings.”

Ugh. I hate that she has been conditioned by jerky ex boyfriends and an unloving mother to take responsibility for everything, even when it isn’t her fault.

“Please, don’t apologize to me,” Flint says with so much sorrow that I feel it pierce my heart. He despises this part of himself, and Jade is only rubbing the old wound lately. “It’s my issue. Please, don’t hurt yourself to avoid me.” He runs outside and takes off, flying over the lake.

“Well, I keep making a mess of things. He won’t ever get used to me, will he?” Jade frowns as Arran helps her to her feet.

“He will, but it might take more than a couple of days,” I assure her.

But will Flint heal? Could she be the one to help him finally come out of his self-inflicted and literal shell?

“Sweetness, you should get some rest,” Arran says. “Today was a lot.”

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