Chapter 53

Sarah POV

“Mommy, look!” Chloe cried, pointing to an attendant holding a golden retriever puppy that looked about ten weeks old.

“What will you name her?” Zane asked, his tone indulgent as the attendant put the puppy on the ground just a couple of feet away from the girls. Chloe looked ready to rush to the puppy, but she restrained herself. I found myself nodding with approval, and she flashed me an indulgent look of her own.

Chloe sat on the floor and put her mask down beside her. The puppy looked at her, then slowly came forward to sniff her. Chloe put up her hand, let it get a good sniffing, and then pet the dog gently on her head.

“What’s your name?” Chloe asked her.

Grace sat down next to her sister and whispered something in her ear. The girls looked at each other and nodded.

“Selene,” Grace said, though it was very quiet. The puppy sniffed at her knee.

“That’s a perfect name,” I said. “I have to confess, I’ve always wanted a puppy, and this is just about the cutest little thing I’ve ever seen.”

Grace nodded. Chloe was now busy stroking the puppy’s back. The puppy, Selene, turned around and gently mouthed her. Chloe giggled.

“No biting now,” Zane told Selene, though gently.

I decided not to share that I could never have afforded to care for a puppy properly, with vet visits and everything. Besides, I was always working hard, and it’s cruel to a puppy to be out of the house too much. I had toyed with the idea of getting an older dog who would just be happy to sleep on the sofa all day, but I hadn’t had the time.

I realized Selene was eyeing me and squatted down as best I could in my evening gown. My hand was properly sniffed, and I managed to scratch her lightly under the chin without getting mouthed.

The puppy looked up at Zane and then seemed to cower slightly.

“Oh dear,” he said. “She doesn’t seem to like me.”

“It’s because you’re an alpha,” I said. “She knows her manners.”

I carefully picked Selene up and carried her over to him. Gently, he scratched the top of her head, and she wagged her tail and licked his hand in response.

“There’s a good girl,” I said.

Zane smiled and looked down at his girls. “Having a puppy in the house is going to require a lot of work on your part. Are you sure you’re up to it?”

“Of course we are,” Chloe said almost scornfully. Grace nodded.

“Any pet is a privilege and a responsibility,” he continued. “But a dog is particularly so for a werewolf. And this is a working dog, bred to fetch game birds. She’ll get bored if you don’t play with her, and bored dogs chew on things they shouldn’t and get into trouble in all sorts of ways.”

“We’ll play with her, Daddy,” Grace said solemnly. Chloe nodded.

“I’m fairly certain Mavis will help you with that,” Zane said.

“Which one is that?” Chloe said, echoing my own thoughts.

“She’s the groundskeeper. You must listen to her when she tells you where Selene here should not go on the grounds, what plants might be bad for her, and whatever else Mavis thinks is important.”

The girls agreed, and I put Selene back on the floor—it was hard to let go of that soft and silky coat—for Chloe and Grace to pet her some more.

“Our next item is a true work of art,” the auctioneer announced as the same small human girl who had held up Selene during bidding walked out holding up a heavy-looking bust of a snarling werewolf. I suppose the quality of the sculpture was good because the sight of that rage, even in stone, made my heart race a bit.

“And who will start the bidding off at two hundred dollars?”

Several bids were placed while the poor girl struggled under the weight of the bust, and at one point she almost dropped it, leading to a few unkind chuckles from the crowd.

“Oh dear,” said the auctioneer. “Mary almost has too much to handle there. You OK, Mary?”

The girl nodded almost frantically and gripped the bust harder. She looked not far from tears, but she managed to hold the artwork until the end of the bidding, and the lot went for $4,500.

No half-million for that, I thought, glad when the girl took the thing away.

The attendant who had brought out Selene returned and explained he would take the puppy to the vet they had on the premises to microchip her and then return her. Zane gave instructions to have her taken to his car then got on the phone to instruct Ollie to have someone from the villa come to fetch her and set her up with a bed, food, and some toys.

“Tell them to be sure to get her something to chew on,” Chloe said, and Zane relayed the command with a smile.

The attendant leaned down to pick up Selene, who turned her body to confront him and bared her teeth. She almost growled.

While we were all looking down at her, Selene moved to put herself between me and the attendant, and I realized she was protecting me from a “strange man.” I would have thought she’d protect the girls, if anything.

“Hold on a second,” I told the attendant, then carefully picked up the puppy, who licked my face and waged her tail.

I looked Selene in the eyes. “This man is very nice and is not going to hurt me. You need to go with him so you can be microchipped, and then you’ll be shown your new home. We’ll meet you there later.”

I then handed her to the attendant. She whined a little but went peacefully enough.

I looked at the others and realized they were staring at me.

“What?” I asked.

“Do puppies always do what you say?” Zane asked.

It occurred to me that my little conversation with the puppy might have looked a little odd. I was just trying to keep her calm, and it just felt like the right thing to do.

“So far,” I said, then looked down at the girls. “Especially little werewolf puppies, right?”

Grace giggled, Chloe frowned, and Zane laughed out loud.

“Our final lot of the evening is something really special,” said the auctioneer. “A brand new Rolex we’ll have personally engraved for the lucky winner. Who wouldn’t want to take it home?”

A teenage human walked out holding up his left wrist, but I didn’t look at the watch. The poor boy looked terrified.

Just what was going on here?