Page 43 of Witch of My Heart

Word of ‘my punching bag’ had spread through the village, but was quickly forgotten once Blithe and I responded as true-mates. At least, I thought it had.

A tiny, high-pitched yip sounded to my right and I looked over to see the furriest pint-sized dog-ish creature I’d ever laid eyes on. Inside my inner sanctum my cat’s tail twitched.

“Run? Lick? Claw? Sit on? Run?? What do we do with it?”My cat hissed, but I didn’t let the sound out.

The world didn’t need to know baby dogs freaked me out. So, I wasn’t about to run from the shaggy pup who was more brown curls than canine.

“Rasin!” Rex’s voice called, amused but firm, from the window of the house next door.

The wolf’s Alpha scent was friendly and vaguely familiar, because Blithe sorta smelled like him and his mate yesterday. The puppy’s tongue lolled, and he turned to race back to the window. Bouncing on his hind legs he yiped and whined until Rex put an arm out to pull him inside.

“Hey again, Rex,” Blithe waved.

“Hey, neighbor?” Rex called back, tucking the puppy under his arm like a football.

“Maybe,” Blithe nodded. “We’re here for the grand tour before we decide to stay.”

“Bet Lee is on tenterhooks about that,” Rex chuckled.

“Rex?” A sleepy voice called from inside the house.

“The mate and kid call!” He said and waved goodbye to us.

“What sort of pooch is that?” I asked Liam once Rex and his puppy were out of earshot.

“A Moonscale Poodle mixed with a Moonscale Sheepdog. He’s a hairy guy, but he’s sweet. He’s an adoptee from the rodent dog sanctuary,” Liam grinned. “Do you want one?”

“No!” I said too fast, and everyone laughed.

“I think we should find a house before we get a pet,” Blithe said, giving my hand another reassuring squeeze.

“Look! A house!” Duke said, throwing his hands up over his head in mock surprise. “I found a house!”

“You look a lot like a scratching post when you do that,” I said, narrowing my eyes on him.

“You look like a ---” Duke started, but stopped. “I’ve been informed by my inner dude that I best not say what I had on my mind.”

“A tasty little morsel?” Liam offered up.

“Huh?” I blinked and Blithe stepped between me and Liam.

“That’s what his ‘inner dude’ was thinking. It’s draconic. You use him as a scratching post and he’ll eat you,” Liam shrugged.

“I wasn’t going to say it,” Duke held up his hands and glanced in his cousin’s direction.

They shared a look I couldn’t read, and Blithe laughed. I almost asked if they were talking over their family link but decided to leave it alone.

“Come on,” Bobby sighed. “Let’s find you two a place to live or at least carry out your mating moon before Blithe knocks someone’s block off.”

Chapter Twenty-Three

Blithe

Duke walked into the house behind Bobby and Liam and before me and Cord. His scent frowned. If asked exactly what that meant I couldn’t have told you, but something in him deflated when he walked into the house.

“What is it?” Bobby asked before I could.

“Nothing,” he shook his head and squinted like he might have a floater too. “Where do those windows lookout onto?” he asked, pointing into the kitchen.

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