Page 35 of Bewitching Her Monsters
JADE
Beast was more friendly with me today, following me around and letting me rub his soft ears. He’s no longer giving me indignant glares when I offer him food or let him out to use the yard to stretch his legs.
It’s cute that he enjoys being in my office and watching me write. I tease him and ask if he likes my latest plot twist or what a character did in my dreams. I swear he’s reading over my shoulder and sometimes looks scandalized by some of the sex scenes.
But perhaps he can just read my nervous energy. I see his owner in some of the scenes and feel guilty about including the hunk of perfection.
I do love that I combined Beast and his owner into a wolf-shifter, though. It feels right, as if I’m just plucking these characters out of the ether, and they’ve always existed.
However, it troubles me that Beast has a hard time trusting me. Did his owner neglect or abuse him?
But if he’s a wolf breed mix, or an actual domesticated wolf, as I’m beginning to suspect, they can be standoffish with strangers or anyone who isn’t their alpha.
So I’ll defer judgment about his owner’s behavior until I know more. Perhaps it isn’t his current owner who might have mistreated him.
When it’s time for bed, Beast trots after me, so close he’s almost on my heels, into my bedroom. He has his head cast downward as if he expects to be kicked out. But his solid presence brings me comfort, so I’d rather he stay.
I don’t know if I want him on the bed. He strikes me as the type who will claim the entire space. So I grab an old, soft blanket and place it at the foot of my bed on the floor.
“Here you go, buddy.” I kneel down by the makeshift dog bed and pat it, trying to entice him to use it.
He glances at my bed, then his offering, and concedes. Stepping onto the blanket, he sits and rests his head on my shoulder. His sweetness is almost enough to allow him on my bed. I sink my fingers into the thick fur at his neck and give him a nice massage. Apparently, I’m growing on him.
“I wish you didn’t have to return to your owner.” I give him a quick ear rub, and he settles down on his blanket.
When I walk away, he stares at me as if he wants to say the same thing. Boy, my imagination has been running wild lately.
I change into my sleep shirt in the bathroom. Mainly because no matter how I brush off my anthropomorphizing as my intense imagination, it still feels like there’s a human inside that dog. The dreams about him being the guy from the bar haven’t exactly helped.
Sometimes, I think I can see that man behind Beast’s eyes.
Ugh, it’s just that I’m writing and dreaming about that idea.
As soon as I crawl into bed, Beast abandons his spot and hops up, curling at my side.
But I don’t mind the company, so I sigh and close my eyes. Between Rob’s alarming email and Maxum being a jerk, I could use the comfort of having someone nearby.
Would Beast help me if shit were to go down? I don’t know, but maybe just his presence would deter someone… especially Rob.
* * *
I become lucid in my dream state, which is a fairly common occurrence for me. I’m often aware I’m dreaming in my dreams. Most of the time, it’s because they don’t seem like my dreams at all. Sure, it could be that I just read a lot and have picked up random scenes and scenarios. But if I do have a magical ability, it would be this… I’m almost convinced that I dream other people’s dreams.
Now, I’m currently in a strange landscape that feels like hyperrealism. The colors are more vivid and brighter. It looks like a painting of a fairy world.
The sun sets, and a portal opens in front of me. The alphahole from the bar and Maxum walk through the portal and shake my hand.
I glance down and see my hand looks to be masculine. I’m tall, but not as tall as Maxum, but really, few people are over six-foot-five.
“Did the witches see you?” Maxum asks.
“Nah. I think we’re good,” my persona says with a deep voice that reminds me of whiskey pouring over ice. “The tracking spell should lead us right to their hideout.”
“Perfect.” Then the broody alphahole wolf-shifter warns me, “Don’t go by yourself to check it out. Okay?”
“Sure,” my avatar says, but even I can hear his lie.
The scene fades, and I’m outside of a large mansion. Not sure why it feels familiar, but maybe it’s the sense I have in the dream. I’m supposed to have been here before.
