Page 38 of Guarded By a Monster

Nanna patted his elbow. I’m sure she meant the pat for his shoulder, but she was too short to reach.

“Go sit down now.” She followed him with her eyes, a small smile on her lips. “Such a good boy.”

I choked. “Nanna! They aren’t dogs.”

She waggled her eyebrows. “Oh, I’m well aware. I just mean that he’s incredibly sweet and kind.”

It was Thurl’s turn to choke. He left my side and went to sit next to Roul, where they exchanged a flurry of whispers. I made my way to Nanna.

“Are you okay?”

She beamed up at me. “I’m perfectly fine. He’s so sweet. Every time I got up to go pee, he would check on me. Make sure I didn’t need anything.” She took a deep breath. “I don’t know what’s made him so sad, but I’d like to give her a swift kick in the canoe.”

I laughed. “How do you know it’s a her?”

“Honey, that kind of sad is always heartbreak.”

The arrival of Quin raised the volume in the house and made side conversations impossible. When the three humans were patting the food babies in their bellies and the ‘fangs were polishing off every scrap of the food, Kendal came to check on me.

“Settling in okay?”

“Yes, I have. I don’t know where you found that mattress, but it’s heaven.” I felt the blush creep up my neck and hoped she would ignore it.

“I’m glad you enjoyed it.” She didn’t wink, but it was clear in her voice.

I had to laugh. If there was anyone else in the entire world who knew what the experience was like, it was her. Which brought to mind… “Can you tell me about the mate thing?”

“Sure. What do you want to know?”

“Everything. All Thurl has said is that it’s permanent, but it’s my decision. He implied that he’d be more than heartbroken if I reject him.”

Her voice went up an octave. “Are you going to reject him?”

“I don’t think so. I don’t know. I need more information. I don’t think I can decide without knowing everything.” I stared out the window, which was the only place I could avoid anyone looking back. “How did you decide?”

Kendal snorted. “Drym and I sort of bonded through trauma. I was drawn to him instantly and fell completely in love. There was… a lot going on, and I wanted that connection. The decision was simple for me.” She leaned forward to catch my eyes. “I get that it’s difficult, but sometimes the leap is worth it. What does your gut say?”

I looked at Thurl. He was crouched next to Nanna’s chair, his palms out as she piled cookies into his hands. The way he’d folded his body looked uncomfortable. My gut said he would sit there for as long as she wanted him to. He was big and objectively scary looking. His claws and teeth were sharp. He could probably stab people with his horns, and I was pretty sure my attacker was no longer living or in one piece.

But he was a marshmallow. Soft and squishy on the inside. I wanted to take care of him.

Holy crap. I wanted to love him.

I spent the rest of what turned into brunch in a daze. I’m not sure I responded appropriately when spoken to, or even at all. I vaguely remembered being asked direct questions. I was lost in my head, analyzing my feelings from every angle I could.

Would it be so bad to mate with Thurl? What was the worst possible outcome? That we grew to hate each other? That happened to married couples all the time. Even without the remedy of divorce, I’m sure some kind of mutually beneficial solution could be found.

He’d said ‘fated mate.’

Meant for each other. In a designed way, not an amorphous one. Specifically created or chosen for each other.

Why would the fates choose to pair mates who’d grow to resent each other?

They wouldn’t.

Taking that off the table, the worst possible outcome was us—what? Growing old together? Living happily ever after?

I was delusional. Seeing an outcome I wanted to see. Rose-colored glasses shoved firmly up my nose. There had to be a catch.

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