Page 29 of The Howling
“I want my freedom. I want to go back beyond the veil.”
As the door shuts, I get a great view of his face, one of complete and utter surprise. Of all the things he thought I’d ask for, I bet he never expected that one.
And neither did I.
REAVELY
My mate wants to leave. My Wynter wants to go back beyond the veil. I’d like it very much if my prick would behave so I could think clearly, but being so close to her has made it worse than ever.
I want to howl at the moon. I want to tear something apart. I want to kill.
“Rutting?” the little Hedley Kow says.
I turn on her with a snarl, but of course the trickster snaps from one side of me to the other with her mischief magic.
“I’ve invited the Duegar to come back here,” she says, biting into a sandwich.
“I need some death in my life,” I snarl. “Starting with you.”
“I think you’ll find you need a way to give Wynter what she wants.” The Hedley Kow skips my huge claws as easily as she breathes. “And the Reaper doesn’t want my soul.”
“I don’t want it for the Reaper. I want it for myself,” I growl.
The creature laughs at me, finishing her food in three short bites. “I know exactly what you want, and it has nothing to do with me.” She sticks her tongue in her cheek. “You need towin her over, to get her to understand what a mating, what a marriage means to a Barghest.”
“And what would aHedley Kowknow of such things?” I rasp, my claws still fully extended.
“You’ll find I know about many things, including humans. If you want a mating, you’ll do as I say.”
“Why should I trust you?” I snap my jaws at her.
“Because I don’t want her soul,” she retorts. “But the Reaper does. And if you want to keep her from him, you’ll do what I say.”
My blood runs from hot to cold in my veins. The Reaper wants Wynter and he can’t have her. I can’t possibly allow it.
Not when Wynter is mine.
“Why do you even care, mischief maker?” I growl.
“I care because I see souls, and hers is pure,” the Hedley Kow says. “She deserves better than the Reaper.” She looks me up and down, and I know what she wants to say, even if she doesn’t say it.
“I can be a good mate,” I say, quieter this time. “I can keep her safe.”
“Then do better,” the Hedley Kow growls. “Make this place somewhere she wants to stay because if you let her go back beyond the veil, she will never be safe.”
“You want me to comply with her wishes, and at the same time you want me to keep her here?” I pinch my muzzle. This has become more complex than my prick would like.
“I told you to give her what she wants,” the Hedley Kow says before winking out of existence. “And I suggest you start straight away, by making sure your ancestors know your intentions.” Her voice comes out of nowhere.
“Trickster creature,” I growl under my breath, grinding my fangs.
If nothing else, the discussion with the Hedley Kow has at least meant my prick is less bothersome. I drop my head back and stare at the vaulted ceiling.
“She is right, Reavely,” a familiar voice says in my ear.
I had hoped I might have been home longer before this happened.
“Mother,” I look into the translucent figure of a female Barghest.
