“You will need protection from her wrath,” I reply.
“No.” She gives my nose a firm tap.
“You cannot order a king!”
Alienor cups my face with both hands. “Grandma doesn’t know you’re here, alright? She’s going to be in a foul mood when she discovers the Boogie Man’s cum everywhere. Add a giant hound to the mix, and she’ll toss you out of the wards.”
Actually, she makes an excellent point.
“So, will you be a good boy and stay in the bathroom?”
“Very well,” I bark.
She leans down and presses a soft kiss on the tip of my nose. My heart leaps in my chest like a hare.
I swipe my tongue at her but hit the magical barrier.
A growl rumbles in my chest.
How can I claim the object of my infatuation when the power protecting her is impenetrable?
“None of that.” She shoves me backward and hurries out of the door.
“Alienor,” the grandmother shrieks from outside.
I jam my front paw into the doorway so I can peer out into the rest of the cottage. Before I can get settled, Alienor’s front door slams open, and the grandmother flies in on her broomstick.
My breath catches.
The older woman is a formidable figure. Now that I am no longer blinded by rage and sexual frustration, I can see vague similarities between the older woman and my betrayer wife. It’s mostly in the vicious twist of the lips.
Alienor stumbles backward, her hands clutching at the bathroom. “Grandma, it wasn’t me—”
“Another of your magical accidents?” the grandmother asks.
“No.” Alienor shakes her head. “It was the Boogie Man.”
The older woman dismounts her broom and stalks toward what’s mime.
My jaw clenches and my claws scrape against the bathroom’s stone floor.
Now that my head is clear, and I realize that Alienor is too pure-hearted and innocent to be the reincarnation of my wife, all I want to do is protect her. Alienor is mine. There is a reason why only she can get around my chastity curse. Fate must have made her to end my eternal isolation.
But if I can’t get through the magic of her locket, it will be impossible to attack the grandmother.
“Explain yourself,” she says.
Alienor’s mouth opens and closes. “Um… The Boogie Man flew in—”
She dips her head.
I know exactly why.
Alienor is too embarrassed to admit to having sucked me so skillfully that she unleashed a torrent. Her cheeks redden, and she shuffles on her feet.
The grandmother huffs.
My poor sweet maiden looks guilty, even from my point of view.