Page 47 of Hateful Prince
“What was that?” Asshole cocked his little head to the side and stared at me.
“You heard me. I’m sorry. I’ve been taking you for granted. You are a good dog, Asshole.”
He was silent for a beat, and then his tail started to wag. “Damn straight. And don’t you forget it.”
Cerberus and I had been a team for longer than I could remember. I may not be able to call him anything other than Asshole now, because no matter the form, it was fitting as fuck, but he’d always looked out for me. I owed him the same level of loyalty.
“You want to help me sniff out a rat?”
“Can I take a shit first?”
I chuckled softly. “Sure, unless you want to find a pair of his slippers and use them instead.”
“Oh man, you are feeling guilty, aren’t you?”
“We’re a team. We always have been. Now, let’s go find some shoes for you to leave a present in.”
He pranced in a circle, panting happily. “Which one of the guys are we targeting? Please tell me it’s the pirate.”
This time I let out a full-on belly laugh. “Not today. Though I wouldn’t stop you if you wanted to seek him out on your own. Zeus knows he could serve to be taken down a peg or two.”
“Who are we hunting then?” he asked, beating me to the door.
“Temperance,” I answered, opening the door and finding a dark-haired Berserker with his fist in the air.
“Tor,” Tor said, his expression confused.
Asshole cocked his ears. “It’s a good thing he’s pretty.”
I had to bite back my laugh. “Not you.”
“I’m confused.”
“Obviously, beefcake.” Asshole pawed at my leg, pulling my attention down to him. “He must be dynamite in the sack. That’s the only thing saving him.”
I shook my head, not particularly wanting to entertain that line of thought. “What are you doing here, Tor?”
“I came to finish the conversation we started the other day.”
“I have lots of conversations. You’ll have to be more specific.”
A low snarl left the big Viking before he stared into my eyes. “I know who you are, what you’re capable of, and plenty about your history. I don’t trust you as far as your puppy could throw me.”
“Huh, maybe he isn’t as dumb as he looks. Still, if you want, I can lift my leg right here. He’s basically built like a tree trunk anyway.”
“Leave it,” I bit out, causing Asshole to whimper.
“Fine, you’re on your own, then. I don’t want to hear you complaining about it later though,” he called out as he zoomed past the two of us and down the hall.
“What’s wrong with him?” Tor asked, tracking Asshole’s speedy retreat.
“Small bladder.”
“Ah. This is why we only have large dogs where I come from. They’re far more useful and deadly when need be.”
A dark chuckle escaped me at the thought of Cerberus not being deadly. “Don’t let the fluffball fool you. He could tear your throat out before you even woke up.”
“I’d like to see him try. Dahlia deserves an adorable fur muff. I just won’t tell her where I got the fur.”