“I hope you meanyourbathroom,” he growls.
“Um, no-oh… I meanthebathroom. We’re sharing, but don’t worry, there’s plenty of room for Zosia’s litter box.”
Teddy cringes. “No! Out of the question! I don’t want to see fox dung when I use the facilities. Keep it in your room, out of sight.”
This is the weirdest werewolf I’ve ever met. My cousin Jake’s packmates are sweet, grungy types who couldn’t care less about litter boxes and a little mess. It’s like Teddy has some sort of a cleanliness disorder. “Fine. I’ll take care of it when I’m back from my date.”
He’s shaking his head and backing away, like the whole room has cooties or something. “Oh no, that won’t do. You need to move it right away.”
“But look at me! I’m all dressed up. I can’t possibly do it now.”
Teddy peers down at me, his sea-blue eyes steely. Then he heaves a dramatic sigh, as if I’ve just asked him to make some enormous sacrifice on behalf ofall supernaturals everywhere. “Just this once I’ll move the disgusting fox box. But don’t expect me to have anything to do with that ball of white fuzz. Here?—”
Teddy hands me the zippered leather case containing Auntie’s will and walks stiff-legged into the bedroom. He stoops down with a grimace to retrieve the litter box and then carries it at arms-length down the hallway. As he waits for me to open the door to my room, I notice small beads of sweat dotting his upper lip and forehead. But at least his hands are back to normal again.
Teddy gingerly deposits the box where I indicate and then asks to use the bathroom. I’m a smidge worried he might lose control of his wolf, possibly damaging my home in the process, so I decide to stick around another five minutes.
I put Auntie’s will back in the kitchen, freshen up Zosia’s water bowl, and reapply my lip gloss, but I can’t wait much longer. I’m just grabbing my purse when I hear a crash in the bathroom, followed by Teddy shouting.
Oh no! I completely forgot about?—
Teddy throws open the door, which slams into the wall so hard the doorknob leaves a dent. “Sophie!” he hollers. “There’s a giant snake in your tub! We need to call an exterminator right now.”
I don’t think Teddy Barker would appreciate me laughing in his face, so I promptly swallow the giggles forming in the back of my throat. “No one is going to come out tonight for a non-emergency call.”
Teddy’s eyes pop wider. “That… thing in there is a definite emergency. Maybe we just need to call animal control.”
“Relax,” I reply calmly. This werewolf is such a big baby. “That’s not a snake, it’s an eel. My dad just dropped it off; he’ll swing by tomorrow to pick it up and cook it for a wedding he’s catering. I guess the groom’s family loves fried eel.”
“You keep eels in your tub? Foxes in your bedroom? What next, a vampire in your garage?” Teddy drops into one of the chairs in the living room, leans his head back, and closes his eyes; his complexion is nearly the same shade as the green slipcover.
I’m already late, but this werewolf looks… almost defeated, like all the fight’s gone out of him. “Would you like some herbal tea before I go? I’ve got lemon-ginger, chamomile, and peppermint.”
Teddy blinks open his blue eyes. “Don’t you have a date tonight?”
I fiddle with my purse strap, not meeting his gaze. “It’s not an actual date, but a meetup with a few friends, one of whom is bringing an extra guy she thinks I might like.”
“I see.” Teddy’s mouth lifts slightly on one side, creating a tiny dimple in his right cheek.
“Then you best be going.” Teddy nods toward the door. “I don’t want to delay you. Besides, I’m perfectly capable of microwaving a cup of water and dropping in a tea bag.”
“Um… we don’t have a microwave. You’ll need to put on a kettle.”
“No microwave?” Teddy heaves another one of hisdramatic, woe-is-me sighs. “Look, I think we could both use a little… space… right now. Why don’t you go meet your friends and let me recover.”
“Recover from what?”
“From this.” He throws his arms open wide, indicating the whole room or cottage or whatever. “From my Sophie Spellman Brownlee full-immersion experience.”
My mouth gapes open. I’m giving this yahoo a job, room, and board for a solid year, and all he can do is insult me? “Yeah, well, you’re not much of a package deal yourself, werewolf!”
I storm out of the cottage, slamming the door behind me. As I pause on the front stoop and inhale a steadying breath, I hear Teddy muttering through the poorly insulated walls, “Miss Dragonfly,whatwere you thinking?”
“Yes Auntie,” I whisper. “What indeed?”
Chapter 5
My Aching Head
