Page 61 of Devour

“Ishmael!”

The dog ignored his owner and continued to approach in a very non-friendly manner. Not even exaggerating here. The teeth bared and barking kind of unfriendly. I backed away from the open gate as fast as I could without running. Rhory must’ve flown down the steps because I bumped right into him. Somewhat stunned that Rhory rushed down the steps rather than heading toward the door, but there he was—right beside me.

I’d like to take this moment to remind you that self-preservation falls outside my moral code.

Rhory looked from me to the dog rounding the corner of the house and barreling across the yard toward us. Said dog stopped maybe less than a foot away from us before letting out a sharp yelp and rushing back to his people with his tail between his legs.

“I am so, so sorry,” Ezra said while fast approaching. “He’s never done that before, I swear.”

And he’ll never do it again, Rhory thought with a smirk. No one bites my hubby but me.

I’m glad you’re okay, but I won’t condone violence against animals. I raised a brow at Rhory.

The fuck you think I am, a monster? All I did was growl and scare the piss out of him.

“I think maybe he got spooked by something. Maybe the door slamming.” And not at all by my favorite doggy—er, demon. “No harm done.”

Bet you think you’re real funny, hubs.

Sometimes, yes.

“We were just headed out,” Rhory said with a strained smile. “I guess we’ll be seeing you another time.” Then he ushered me over to my car without looking back. Never before had I seen him so… anxious.

Now, I know for a fact that dog didn’t scare you.

Rhory’s gaze met mine, but he neither confirmed nor denied anything. Instead, he watched me get in the car before he even opened his door and climbed in after me. Even in the car, Rhory remained impatient, and his thoughts shifted at a pace I could hardly follow.

Tell me, I prompted.

I don’t like that guy. Rhory nodded toward the window, and sure enough, Kai scowled back at us while holding onto the leash of the dog. He seemed to concur with Rhory.

Why? What is he thinking?

I don’t know. And I don’t like it.

Interesting. Normally, that could only mean one thing, and I didn’t think I liked it, either.

Rhory spoke little about the others he knew, but from what I gathered, each inhuman operated like a rogue agent. Running into one in the wild, especially someone he didn’t know, made the situation nothing short of unpredictable. Maybe we should make up an excuse not to attend tomorrow. I couldn’t see it ending well when nothing had ever made Rhory so frantic.

Thankfully, I knew how to distract him: visiting the small shops with everything from clothes to trinkets to saltwater taffy. By the time most people were packing up to leave the beach, Rhory and I arrived. We enjoyed a late lunch in the sand—fries and malt vinegar, since he’d never tried it before—and an empty beach with the sunshine no longer blazing down our backs.

After lots of lounging and swimming, followed by more lounging, Rhory and I got back to Mary’s past dinnertime. Not quite dark, but hard to see when walking. Even though we rinsed off the sand at the beach, those showers only did so much and weren’t heated.

Rhory headed upstairs without me. I planned to occupy myself elsewhere while he used our bathroom first and changed, when I noticed my cousin sitting on a gliding bench in the backyard. Mary saw me too and waved me over.

“Feels like I haven’t seen much of you.” Her tone stayed light, and I knew my cousin well enough to know when she was teasing.

“Well, Rhory’s need for constant amusement keeps me busy.” I sat down beside her and enjoyed the cooler air of the evening while I could. Mosquitoes would be out soon.

“Good. I like Rhory,” she chuckled.

“Me too.” She didn’t say anything else, and I hated how I felt the need to add, “Not like that.”

“Oh, I know. And a room for each of you to stay in would’ve been too much of a burden,” she giggled.

Sigh. Clearly, my excuses needed some improvement. Mary wouldn’t judge, but anyone else in our family would. Having a room all to himself made little sense considering Rhory slept only a few hours a night, and especially since he always wound up in bed with me by then, anyway. Not that I could say any of that to her.

“Eli, he’s practically your best friend. I get it,” Mary said.

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