Page 76 of Howl You Doin?
“Umm. Do you have something I can cover myself with?” I ask, offering a cringing smile that hides the contempt I feel for this idiot.
Who the fuck doesn’t offer a half-naked woman clothing or at least a blanket? He’s lucky I don’t skin him and wear his meatsuit as a dress.
He grunts, as if with surprise, and his bushy brows furrow like the idea never registered within his mind. “Aye. I’m sure I have something ye can wear.”
He turns, flashing me chiseled, muscular cheeks that look perfect for playing like bongos, and descends deeper into his home. Worried it could be a trap, I keep my feet rooted to the stone ground, refusing to follow him in case he’s a weirdo that has some secret dungeon or something. He could be an axe murderer for all I know! He said he was a sea monster, so he could be planning to plate me up for dinner or whatever.
Minutes later, he comes back with some ancient-looking off-white tunic in his meaty fist. He shoves it at me, and I don it while mentally grimacing at the fact that he didn’t even consider hiding away his personal dangling sea slug with a pair of pants. I’m just thankful he’s so large that the long-sleeved shirt he gave me almost comes to the middle of my thighs like a dress. My tits threaten to say hello due to the deep vee neckline, but that’s fine.
“Is all of this under the castle?” I ask, reaching for some kind of normalcy and waving a hand at the expansive cave walls.
He nods, his long red beard moving as he does. “Aye. The castle was built atop it.”
“Is there a way to get into it from here?” I need to know if there’s a way to escape, if I need it, or maybe for Connor to find me. Not that I want to see him right now... unless it’s to tear at him with my newclaws.
A wide grin splits his face. “Aye, lass. I won’t be takin’ ye through the moat again.”
I relax a bit at that and move to take off my stockings and shoe, yet I can’t help eyeing him warily. “Why’d you drag me down here?”
“It was foretold that my mate would be a human woman who enters my moat. I thought ye were her, but I guess not.”
His hands go to his hips as he spreads his legs and bends forward to touch his toes, one and then the other. Alright there, buddy. Just moon the poor, unsuspecting wall. More green scales grow over his shoulders, as do fins down his spine, then they fade when he straightens and shakes his body.
“I haven’t been in this form in ages. Och, it feels amazing,” he says.
My brow furrows as he once more dips his torso and bends at the waist, and I’m scared to ask what his other form looks like from the peeks I’ve seen of it already.
“Why haven’t you been in, umm... this form?”
Ignoring me, his feet come together as he bends at the knees and moves to sit down, his junk thankfully hidden behind his ankles. He closes his eyes, and it’s as if his entire being relaxes. A stillness takes over his face, like what I’ve seen gurus on social media do when they meditate. I stare as his light skin turns a deep shade of green, sharply contrasting with the red of his head and beard.
“What are you doing?” I blurt, before it occurs to me I should probably try to not overthink things on the day the Loch Ness monster decides to take me to his crib.
“Hush, woman. I’m tryin’ tae send a message.” His red brows bunch across his face, but smooth almost as quickly. “Done. Ye must have done something tae the magic. I’ve been waiting for centuries for a human, one just like ye. I thought maybe ye were the one the witch told me about, but alas. I suppose it’s good tidings for Connor.”
He opens his eyes to look at me and cranes his neck to the side, green scales crawling down it as a fin tries to push up from the skin around his ear. He licks across his lips, and a blue forked tongue flicks forward.
“A witch? I did something to the magic?” I repeat, sounding like an idiot even to myself. “I’m sorry, but I’m totally lost.”
“Aye. I’m held here by magic and can’t leave.”
My brows come together as I fist the bottom of the tunic he gave me, thankful my wolfing out has finally stopped... for now. “You mean you can’t leave the cavern?”
“The moat. I pissed off a powerful witch, one who cursed me tae never leave it.” He spreads his hands out, and shrugs as if this is a normal occurrence.
“Wow. I’m so sorry,” I tell him, trying to wrap my head around so many things at once.
“She warned me before I tupped her that it might happen, but I couldn’t resist her. She was so bonnie.” A faraway look climbs over his features, and I can tell he’s thinking of her.
“She warned you that you might be cursed if you slept with her, and you did it anyway?”
He grins. “That’s what happens when ye play find the bed sheets with a siren, but never mind that. I can change forms again thanks to ye, I think.”
My head throbs at the back of my skull. “How long have you been here?”
“A verra long time.” At my raised eyebrow, he laughs. “It’s no’ as bad as it sounds. I’m a fairly lazy creature and would much rather spend my days wallowing in the edge of my pond than have tae chase any prey down. It just gets lonely. What year is it?”
“Two thousand twenty-four.”
