“I’ll help. There is no way you’re going to get him up now,” Nyght said.
Dox sighed. He was right. Smooth could fall asleep anywhere, but the thing was, once he was asleep, waking him up was nearly impossible at times.
They made their way over to the buck on the floor. It was still warm.
“We better take it outside. Master wasn’t too happy about the blood on the floor last time,” Nyght reminded him.
Dox glanced over to Master one more time. Joker had him in his arms, Master’s legs wrapped around his waist. Damn, Dox should have thought of that. Dox turned away before he jumped back into line and went outside with Nyght. They shifted their hands and cut into the buck, getting the meat that would feed their Master. The others would go out and hunt. In the realm of demons, they didn’t have the kinds of animals that tasted delicious and were enjoyable to hunt. So, they did it as much as possible while here in this realm. Master, on the other hand, didn’t enjoy bloody meat or a fresh kill.
Dox cleaned off some meat and placed it in a pot before walking back into the cottage. It was a small place and barely held all eight of them, but he wouldn’t ever call it crowded. It was perfect in its own way.
“I’ll cook it,” Blade said as he grabbed the few products they had left. Master had remarked that they would need to make a trip to town soon to get more. Blade had taken to cooking a lot better than the rest of them.
“Wolly, this is the third time,” Master said with laughter in his voice.
It was good to hear him laugh. The first week and a half, there had been none. Each day they’d watched over Master, and for the longest time, Dox had thought he’d imagined the bright man who’d laid claim to them. Dox made his way over to them and wrapped his hand around the back of Wolly’s neck, stopping him in his tracks.
“Ah, come on, one more,” Wolly whined.
Master chuckled while shaking his head. “You said that the second time around.”
Gunner growled. “Stop being a spoiled brat.”
Wolly stuck his tongue out, and before there could be a physical fight, Dox pulled Wolly to the side and pushed him over toward Blade.
“Why don’t you watch Blade cook. Maybe you can learn,” Dox said.
Wolly’s shoulders sagged, and he batted his lashes toward them. Master covered his mouth and looked away. The puppy eyes didn’t work on Dox most of the time, and Wolly would probably behave a little more if Master commanded it, but he didn’t. He never asked them to change anything about themselves. He allowed Smooth to sleep however much he wanted. He didn’t mind Gunner’s anger issues, Wolly’s shenanigans, Joker’s playfulness, Blade’s sharp tongue, Nyght’s silences, and for Dox, Master didn’t mind reassuring him he wanted them all.
“Dox,” Master called, snapping his fingers in his face, bringing his attention back to the matter at hand.
Dox snapped up to attention. “Yes.”
Master smiled at him, but Dox’s eyes were drawn to Master’s hands. He continued to rub the black marking.
“Want to join me in bed until breakfast is ready? I realized there is nothing to do until then.”
Dox could never deny his master anything.
“Yes,” Dox said.
Wolly moved back over to them. “I wan—”
“Learn to cook,” Dox said.
His shoulders dropped once more, and he reluctantly made his way over to Blade in the small kitchen area. Dox picked Master up and was on the pile of hay in three easy strides. He placed Master next to Smooth and cuddled close to him.
“I have no idea how you guys sleep on the hay naked. It’s so itchy,” Master said.
Dox picked him up with ease and placed him on top of him. Master huffed out a laugh, but he relaxed on top of Dox.
“It’s not so bad, plus we have you to make it tolerable,” Smooth said sleepily.
“If you were awake, you could have helped cut up the meat,” Dox said.
Smooth yawned. “I was tired.”
Master sighed, laying his head down. Gunner, Joker, and Nyght went out for their hunt. They went out in groups under Master’s orders.
“I wish I had met all of you before,” Master whispered.
Dox’s heart squeezed at the anguish in Master’s tone. Dox wished the same thing, but he knew that knowledge wouldn’t help anyone. The cottage filled with the smell of food, and Master’s stomach rumbled. His cheeks reddened, but he didn’t get up till Blade made his way over to them.
“Here you go. You know, if you lived alone so long, you should know how to cook,” Blade said.
Master shrugged as he sat up. “I wouldn’t call what I do cooking. It’s more like I save the food right before it burns or a little after.” He blew on the steaming bowl of soup.
“Plus, I have all of you and you can cook, so there is no need,” Master said.
His words made Dox’s heart leap, and he was sure it was the same for everyone else. Blade smiled and curtly turned away to hide. Dox even caught Smooth grinning at their master’s words. They got lucky to have met him.
Chapter Eleven
Snoe
Clothes should be the first thing he got his men, but with the lack of money and no job, Snoe wasn’t exactly able to get them what they needed. Snoe slipped on a pair of jeans that didn’t hug too tightly. His body still ached in certain spots, but he’d used the limited amount of healing charms he had on the more serious injuries. It was a damn miracle he was up and walking. Ezyrah may have kept him from dying, but Snoe had been in so much pain he’d almost have preferred it.
“All of you shift,” Snoe commanded.
None of them questioned him or balked at his commands; they shifted into their demon wolf form. Each time Snoe saw them, it sent a chill of fear through him. Their bodies seemed to be made of smoke instead of fur. Snoe tentatively reached out to touch one of them. Smoke curled around his fingers. It felt like nothing and something all at the same time. It was hard to explain, and Snoe found himself even more intrigued by the seven demon wolves he’d gained.
It wasn’t like Snoe could make the trip into town with seven demon wolves following behind him. People would notice, and the last thing Snoe needed was eyes on him. Technically, he was supposed to be dead, but the people in town didn’t know that. Hopefully. Leaving them behind was not an option though. Just the thought of Snoe being by himself even for a simple trip into town made his lungs freeze up and his hands shake.
A demon wolf’s massive head rubbed against Snoe’s arm, and smoke swirled around Snoe. He stared for a while and concluded it was Dox who’d comforted him. In the demon form they all looked exactly alike, and he couldn’t tell one swirling mass of smoke from the other. Snoe smiled down at him even as his hand burned, reminding him of his end of the deal. Snoe pulled his winter coat closer to him and headed toward the direction of town. He’d come up with some plan on the way. He had no other choice.
The hour walk wasn’t so bad having company, even if they weren’t talking. It wasn’t the awkward silence that he usually had to deal with, but the silence he used to enjoy when he tended to his roses. Just the thought of his rose garden put a pep in his step. I’ll have it again one day.