“It’s all right,” I tell him.
Rupert sighs and shakes his head as he cleans the wound with a cotton ball. “I just felt like I had to… claim you. Mark you. As mine.” He smears some antiseptic gel on the wound before pulling out the bandages.
“That’s kind of romantic.”
He snorts a laugh, relief in his eyes. “Thank you. For being with me, even though I’m an animal.”
When he has me bandaged up, Rupert curls me up into his arms, and everything feels right again.
My neck aches when I wake up, but when Rupert takes off the bandage to examine the wound, the skin is already stitching back together. I gaze at it in the mirror, both of us surprised at how quickly it’s healing.
“That’s good,” I say as I examine it. “One less thing for Stella to gripe about.”
Rupert frowns over my head in the mirror. “Stella?”
I sigh. Stella is rather upset with me after “standing her up” for dinner, even though I explained multiple times that Andy abducted me and Rupert came to rescue me. She let out disapproving sounds over the phone, saying it had been all over the news and she wanted to see the celebrities for herself.
“She’s coming for dinner tomorrow night. As a make-up for last time.”
Rupert growls low in his throat.
“I know, I know. But she’s the only family I have.”
He searches my eyes in our reflections. “You still have your father, Peony. You could reach out to him.”
I scrunch up my shoulders and turn away from the mirror, exiting the bathroom. I don’t want to have to face Dad and tell him what a huge mistake I made in siding with Andy. I don’t want to have to remember the kinds of things Andy said to him, the kinds of things I’d agreed with to make the confrontation end.
“Maybe,” I say, picking my clothes up off the floor. “I’m going to head out to the grocery store to pick up ingredients.”
Rupert whirls, his mane standing up on end. “What? You’re going out again? By yourself?!” He rises to his full size. “You were just bloody kidnapped, Peony! At least take Kellen along.”
I frown at him. “I can’t just stop going out because of what happened with Andy.”
His mouth bobs open and closed as he tries to figure out what to say.
“But what if something happens to you again?” he says miserably, sitting down on the bed. “What if you don’t come home to me?”
I sit by his side, reaching up to stroke his cheek where the scales fade into fur.
“That’s not going to happen. I will come home to you. Andy is behind bars, and there’s nobody out there just waiting to pounce on me. You know that, right?”
“Rationally,” Rupert says with a snort. “Rationally, I do. But the monster… Let’s just say we worry about you. An irrational amount.”
“Aw, that’s sweet.” I resume putting on my clothes. “But I’m going. You could come, too, if you wanted.”
The disgusted look on his face is all I need. I kiss him on the nose, then flounce out of the room to get started on my meal planning.
rupert
I am all nerves watching Peony drive away. I had insisted we get her a different vehicle, one that is less ostentatious and wouldn’t be recognized. I also asked her to shop at a different store, if merely to avoid unnecessary attention. The last thing I want is for the press to jump on her while she’s out shopping.
Their presence has been obnoxious, and I had a gate hastily installed at the bottom of the hill to keep them out.
Peony’s agreement to my terms was begrudging, and I know she resents that I went out and purchased her a gently used Toyota, which will keep her safe and not attract too much attention.
But, as she said, she loves me, so she accepted my terms and left to get her ingredients.
I’m not pleased to be seeing Stella tomorrow, but relationships, I am learning, are about compromise. I want Peony to have the life she wants, as much as it angers me to think of anything happening to her out there in the world while I’m not around to protect her.
