Page 31 of Guarded By a Monster

I still hadn’t worked it out when we arrived back at his house. The rich smell of meat wafted from the open door. A few of the other wyrfangs raised their noses to the air, some licked their lips, and others made noises of obvious approval.

Nanna appeared on the porch. “Oh my, look at y’all.”

Little cartoon birds and hearts floated around her face. I thought about warning them, then decided they could take care of themselves.

“Well, don’t just stand there, come inside and set the table.”

She disappeared, and her troops followed the general obediently. By the time Thurl and I squeezed into the dining room, she had given each of the others a task, and they moved with precision to lay out plates, cups, and silverware.

I spotted Kendal as she held up the wall and tried to stay out of the way. I pressed through the wall of muscle to her side.

“Thank you.”

She looked over without her bemused smile faltering. “What for?”

“For making sure this house was stocked with everything to make this possible.” I waved at the controlled chaos that had moved from dinnerware to a well coordinated wait staff ferrying platters and serving bowls overflowing with food to the table.

She sighed. “I had hoped to see this one day. Aside from the first few weeks, they’ve tried to eat separately. Some are more successful than others. I think they believe they need to be independent, but they need each other. It hasn’t been a simple transition to freedom. So I should actually thank you.”

“Not me. This is all Nanna’s doing.” My grandmother’s bright grin must be visible from the moon. She was in her element and loving every second.

“Your Nanna is the best. I think she’ll be good for the ‘fangs.” Kendal looked over the wyrfangs as they did an old lady’s bidding. “Everyone needs a kind grandmother figure, don’t you think?”

I laughed. “Probably, but I’m not sure she fits the stereotype. She’s more of a tiny terror, but she’s the best. And she’s already adopted them.” I pointed into the kitchen where Nanna was standing in the center of a ring of wyrfangs, swatting some on the arm and hugging others as she handed out snickerdoodles.

It didn’t take long for me to feel comfortable around them. When we sat down and started to eat I watched them interact and their personalities shone through. Kragen was a calming presence. Quin was the complete opposite—a total goofball who delighted in making everyone laugh. Cavi was quiet, but observant. Drym was focused on Kendal and seemed happy. Roul sat sullen, hardly speaking.

Nanna took a special interest in Roul. I wasn’t sure if that was good or bad for him, but having her focused elsewhere lifted a bit of pressure from me. I watched carefully for most of dinner to make sure he wouldn’t tire of her, but his patience seemed endless.

She continually scooped food onto his plate, patting his shoulder and keeping up a steady stream of conversation despite him speaking barely two words.

When she sent Quin into the kitchen for the second round of snickerdoodles, I turned my attention to Thurl. One ear flicked back and forth as he listened to his brothers, while the other stayed cocked in my direction. Even though he seemed fully present in the wider conversation, I felt he was aware of every twitch I made.

It was thrilling. I’d never had a man’s undivided attention. Even boyfriends never seemed to be solely focused on me. They always had something that took precedence. Hockey for one, chess for another, and even a stupid television show for a third. It didn’t matter what I needed. If it conflicted with their thing, then I was on my own.

It was nice to have someone who picked me for a change.

I shook my head at myself. I barely knew Thurl. He could be secretly obsessed with making dollhouses for all I knew. There was always a honeymoon period where I got dragged into the relationship with fake words and insincere acts of devotion.

I couldn’t see Thurl making me go to a school event solo because a chess tournament was on TV. Well, I couldn’t see Thurl going to a school event, to be fair, but not because he wouldn’t want to.

“Why don’t humans know about you?” I looked up to catch him with a half-eaten cookie on the way to his mouth. His hand reversed course before he answered.

“Society goes to great lengths to keep supernaturals hidden from humans.”

“What does that mean? What happens to me now that I know?”

His hand tightened where it rested on my thigh. “Nothing. As long as you don’t write a book about Society or in some other way attempt to expose us to the greater populace, nothing will happen to you.”

“Keep the secret and it’s fine?”

His head tilted to the side. “For some.”

“How did I get a hall pass?”

The full force of his eyes pinned me to my chair. “Me. I’m your hall pass.”

twenty-two

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