Nika
She was getting frustrated with all the questions that I kept asking her. She didn’t know because she had lain dormant inside me. The mishap in Croatia awakened her and when she pressed her thoughts against me, I heard her.
It was because of her that my leg healed, that my eyes improved. I had a feeling that being in the dark for twenty-eight years had left her a little—
Careful, she warned.
Do you deny that you are unstable?I asked cautiously.
By whose standards?
Damn it. She had a point.
I was sitting on the living room floor. Not for any particular reason—I hadn’t made a conscious decision to sit on the floor. I’d just ended up here, back against the sofa, legs stretched out in front of me, looking at the room in the grey morning light.
The scratch marks were still there. Four clean lines gouged into the wood where her claws had scrambled for purchase. I ran my finger along one of them. Deep. Definitive. The floor was going to need sanding and I was going to have to come up with a story for the landlord that didn’t involve the words I turned into a wolf.
There was a dark stain near the skirting board that I wasn’t going to look at directly.
I looked at it directly.
Leave it, Bad Girl said.Trophy.
I got up and went to get the carpet cleaner from under the sink.
What is Conrí Gallagher?I asked, working the cloth into the stain.
A low rumble began in my chest.
The enemy, she spat.
He’s also my boss.
I don’t care.
I sat back on my heels and looked at the patch of floor. Better. Not perfect, but better. The scratch marks were another problem entirely. I’d have to look up whether wood filler worked on claw gouges. Probably not a Google search I wanted in my history.
I ran my hand over the area that Finley had kicked. There was nothing broken and the bruising was gone. It was as if the incident never occurred.
I checked my phone again.
There were no dog attacks in the news.
We can just kill him, Bad Girl suggested.
I can’t believe he attacked me, I said glumly.
If we’re lucky he won’t be able to procreate. I did the world a favour. Where is my recognition? My reward.
Do you want me to buy a steak?
Hm. That would be nice. You need more real meat inside of you.
When she began to giggle I rolled my eyes.
I knew I was in trouble when I began to smile.
She was funny. It was like having my little sister back.
