The huge wolf let out a savage bark that made her nearly jump out of her skin. It was so loud and deep it seemed to shake the entryway.
From outside came a sudden startled silence.
Good, Kiera thought fiercely. Let him hear you. Let him know you’ll fuck him up if he messes with me!
“Wha’ the fuck was that?” Higgs asked from the other side of the door.
“My new pet wolf. Believe me–you do not want to meet him,” she said sharply. “So go away–now. I mean it.”
“You’re lyin’—I know you’re in there alone,” came Higgs’ voice after a moment, sounding uglier now—less drunken wheedling and more mean, petulant anger. “You can’t stay holed up forever, sweetheart. You haveta come out sometime and when you do, I’ll be waiting.”
Kiera’s mouth went dry. The words hit a little too close to the truth–she was alone out here. Alone with the work—bots and the animals and miles of open plain between her and anybody else who might help if something went wrong.
Well…not entirely alone now, she thought, glancing down at Buck.
He was still growling, the sound low and terrible, and she saw one huge paw scrape at the floor as if he badly wanted the door to open so he could launch himself through it.
The thought made her feel safer.
“Higgs,” she said again, her voice colder this time, “if you don’t leave right now, I’m calling Commander Rarev and reporting you.”
That gave him pause–as it should.
The Monstrum didn’t play around when it came to the safety of the humans working with them. Rarev in particular had made it crystal clear that anyone who threatened Kiera or interfered with the sanctuary would answer to him personally.
And since Commander Rarev looked like a giant lion with claws the length of steak knives, that wasn’t an idle threat.
“Aw, hell,” Higgs muttered at last. There was another thump against the door, but it sounded less purposeful now—more like he’d staggered into it than punched it. “You ain’t worth the trouble anyway.”
“Good,” Kiera snapped. “Then go home. You’re a grown—ass man–you ought to be ashamed, acting like this.”
There was some more grumbling—something about stuck—up females and not knowing a good thing when they saw it—but at last she heard his uneven footsteps stumbling away across the hard—packed ground outside.
Kiera stayed where she was for several more moments, listening, just to make sure he really had gone. Slowly, her heart stopped pounding like it was trying to get out of her chest and make a get—away.
Buck, however, wasn’t calm–he didn’t stop growling until the sound of Higgs’ footsteps had faded completely. Only then did he huff sharply, as though to say Good riddance, and turn to look up at her.
Kiera let out a long breath and rubbed her chest.
“Whew—that guy is really getting to be a problem,” she told her new pet.
The big wolf gave a whuff as if in agreement.
Looking down at him, Kiera felt shaky all over again despite herself. The encounter hadn’t lasted very long, but it had rattled her more than she wanted to admit. Higgs had always been annoying—pushy, persistent, a little too full of himself—but this…this was different.
This had felt ugly…threatening.
She swallowed hard and reached down automatically to stroke Buck’s head. His fur was warm and thick beneath her fingers, and the minute she touched him, some of the tension inside her began to ease.
“Come on,” she murmured. “Let’s go back to bed.”
Buck stayed close to her all the way down the curved hallway, practically glued to her leg now. Every so often he glanced back over his shoulder toward the front door as though to make absolutely certain Higgs wasn’t coming back.
And Kiera, who usually prided herself on being independent and sensible and not the kind of woman who got spooked easily, found that she didn’t mind that at all.
By the time they got back to the bedroom, she was feeling the delayed reaction from the incident. Her hands were trembling a little and she was uncomfortably aware that if that had been an ordinary human—made door—or if Higgs had been more determined or more violent—the whole situation might have turned out very differently.
Thank the good Lord for Monstrum engineering and thank the good Lord for Buck.
