Page 81 of Their Promise

“I’m going to put together the thing I bought and resume driving, okay?”

He shook his head. “Let me drive. You and thepupcan ride in the back, put your thing together, and give me directions.”

Carefully, I grabbed the pup’s bag and the new bag, and got out of the car, climbing into the bag seat to do as he’d said.

Mason, true to his word, got into the driver’s seat and started driving.

“Aren’t you going to ask how I can sense the portals?” I asked him as I turned the phone on, adding the time to it, and set it up so it could do a videocall with me.

“If you wanted to tell me, you would have,” he said.

“Where did you guys get this necklace?” I asked as I unpackaged the waterproof case next.

“We found it during a demon hunt,” he answered and glanced up at me in the rearview mirror. “The necklace?”

I nodded. “It warms when there’s a portal opening or a demon nearby.”

He cursed and looked out the side window. “I knew it felt weird, but they wouldn’t listen to me. They thought it was something one of the demons had grabbed and when we killed it, dropped it, so it was a spoil of war. They said it would be a great mating gift for you, a reminder of why we had been separated, but that we were always thinking of you.”

When he put it like that, it was a thoughtful gift.

“It is beautiful,” I said and stroked a finger down the gem.

“You should take it off.”

“I … can’t.”

He hit the brakes a bit hard and I had to put my arm out to keep the pup’s bag from sliding off. Whipping around to face me he asked, “What?”

“I can’t take it off. I tried and I physically can’t do it.” Opening the bag, I smiled at the scared pup. “Don’t worry, Mason may hit the brakes hard, but he’s an excellent driver.”

The pup yipped and thumped its tail inside the bag.

“Let me try to take it off for you,” Mason said and reached between the front two seats.

I batted his hand away. “Not yet. I need it to get him home.”

He growled, but sat back down and turned around.

“I’m going to take him out of the bag so I can attach something to him. Don’t growl at him or freak out, okay?”

Mason exhaled through his nose and continued driving.

Carefully, I put the cord of the waterproof bag around the pup’s neck and tightened it.

The pup groaned and shook his head.

“Keep it on for me at least a little bit after you get through the portal we find, okay?”

The pup sighed and laid down, ears flattened to his head, in an adorable sulk.

“Good boy,” I praised.

“Wish she’d call me that,” Mason whispered. I was definitely not meant to hear it, but it made me curious what he would do if I did say it to him.

Putting the phone into the case, I prepared it for the videocall.

“Okay! Now we just need to find a portal!” My chest immediately warmed from the necklace. “Pull over!” I gasped.

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