Page 31 of Wanted: A Roommate Who Isn't Evil

“Dog-Shayne isn’t leaving,” Dranian grumbled. “He’s an assis—”

“Yes, yes. Anassistancedog.” Luc rolled hiseyes. He let out a heavy sigh. “How about I only kill one of them—clingy Beth or Dog-Shayne. You choose which one gets to live and which one must die,” he decided.

Dranian ignored him as he rearranged the tea towel back over the stove handle.

Luc tapped on the tabletop. He eyed the coffee pot, almost full now.

“You haven’t answered my first question,” he pressed. “Do you have an episode like that every time you feel panic, or did the episodes only start when I stabbed your arm and turned you into a broken fairy—”

“I was alreadya broken fairy!” Dranian’s shout shook the apartment—Luc felt the vibration beneath his feet, felt a shift in the wind, felt the distress in the growl. The mutt over in the living space whimpered.

But Luc was confused. He tilted his head as he studied the North Fairy, sure the claim didn’t add up.

Dranian’s chest pumped for a moment, a strange collage of emotions burning in his eyes. For someone who hardly showed reactions, it caught Luc a smidgen off guard. Dranian swallowed them down again, his expression vanishing as his jaw hardened. He abandoned the coffee pot and marched from the kitchen into his room. He slammed the door shut.

Luc nodded to himself, seeming to have found the answer he was looking for.

He rose from his seat when the coffee was finished brewingand poured himself a large mug-full. Steam billowed up from it along with the fresh smell of ground beans. He added a pinch of milk from the fridge and reached high to yank the sugar down from its shelf. When he’d mixed his drink perfectly, he went to put everything away. The milk first, then the sugar…

He eyed the sugar. The high shelf it belonged on. Then he glanced back at Dranian’s closed door.

He left the sugar on the counter beside the coffee pot instead.

As soon as Luc sat down in the living space with his delicious smelling drink, the mutt wandered over with a lapping tongue, spoiling the mood. Luc scowled at the animal. He reached for the ball sitting on the living space table. “Fetch,” he said, tossing it as far away as possible in the small apartment.

The mutt leapt over the couch and raced after the ball, and finally, Luc was rid of him.

Luc sipped his coffee, looking around for the remote. He dug a hand into the crack between the couch cushions to see if it was there.

The mutt came back.

To Luc’s horror, the animal dropped the drool-covered ball onto his lap. A gag threatened in the back of his throat as the wetness leaked through the knees of his pants. “You must ruin everything, mustn’t you?” he asked the creature. He slumped back on the couch in surrender, flicking the ball away with the ends of his fingers.

It rolled across the floor. And again, the mutt chased after itand brought it back.

This time, Luc stared at the creature long and hard. Most animals were afraid of him this close. Most fairies were, too, and even some humans. What was wrong with this fearless animal? Slowly, Luc reached out his hand. And sure enough, the mutt dropped the ball into his palm.

It was strange, but Luc got the sense that perhaps such a creature—though too stupid to fear him—might possibly be more faithful than a fairy. Its idiocy drove it back to Luc over and over, even when Luc clearly didn’t want it around. For the first time, he almost understood why humans brought them in as pets.

It was because humans could feel less stupid when there was a dog around.

Also, dogs seemed to always come back. Like an unspoken promise to never leave forever; to never abandon their owner.

Luc swallowed his disgust as he dropped the ball, then slowly reached out and patted the mutt on the head. “Dog-Shayne, is it?” he grumbled. The dog panted, gazing at Luc the same way females did when he turned on his fox charm: with complete adoration, only this wasn’t forced one bit. Luc found a smile at that. “Don’t flatter me so much, you mutt,” he warned as he scratched the animal behind the ears the same way he’d seen Dranian do it.

He snapped when a brilliant idea filled his mind. “Shall I train youto bite?” he asked.

“Hurryup, North Fairy, my hands are crisping to ice.” Luc held one of two tubs of ice cream toward Dranian. He shook it a little when Dranian didn’t take it. Their apartment door was already wide open, and Luc wanted to avoid running into clingy Beth, lest he intentionally toss his ice cream in her face and make a scene by throwing her off the building afterward.

“I’m still getting my shoes on,” Dranian mumbled, and Luc let out an impatient sigh.

Finally, Dranian had his shoes, his coat, his scowl, and his warm hat on—everything he needed—and he took the ice cream from Luc’s numb fingers. He didn’t look happy about going out. Though, he didn’t normally look happy about anything.

“Getting some fresh air will be good for you,” Luc informed him as he peeled the lid off his own tub. He began eating as soon as they were in the hall. Dranian held the door open for Dog-Shayne to follow, and they descended the stairs in a small herd.

When they came out into the fresh, late afternoon air, Luc stole a look at the grumpy North Fairy just in time to see the fool’s frown lift into something a little less frowny.

Luc smiled to himself. Had he been born a human, he might have become a therapist.

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