I awoke to something wet on my ear. Muttering feebly, I swatted at it and cracked open one eye. With a hoarse yelp, I shot backwards across the bed and into a warm body. I heard a muffled “ooff!” and a muted thump even as I stared at the tiny creature sitting on the side of my bed.

“What in 7 hell’s is that!?!” I yelled, and immediately regretted it as I grabbed my pounding head. I registered the inside of my mouth tasted rather like a cesspool and my tongue felt like it was covered in some sort of hellish fuzz. The tiny creature’s nose wrinkled at me.

I heard an abortive snicker and swiveled my head around to scowl deeply at my husband, who sat sprawled out on the floor, naked as a jaybird. He quickly wiped the fiendish grin off his face.

“Good morning, Gorgeous.” He said seriously. “How’s your head?”

“Don’t you ‘Gorgeous’ me, Devin MacKenizie!” I growled. “You know perfectly well how my head is! And what in the Flaming Hell’s is that?”

I jerked a thumb over my shoulder. He raised up and peeked around me, a brief smirk crossing his lips before gazing at me in perfect innocence.

“That’s a Felifox, Dear.” He replied reasonably. “Don’t you remember? You said she could stay.”

“You spawn of a thrice cursed Hellhound Cur! Of course I don’t remember! I drank a whole bottle of Tequila last night! I don’t even know how I got to the bed!”

He did grin at me then. Unrepetantly.

“I’ll have you know, I’m descended from a very respectable line of curs. None of which were ever cursed.” He joked playfully even as I growled again. “And I poured you into bed right after you threatened to turn Mr. Johnson into a frog.”

I pinched the bridge of my nose between my fingers and sighed heavily, feeling my stomach turn over queasily.

“Exactly why did I threaten to turn Mr. Johnson into a Frog, Devin?” I asked in a long suffering tone as I looked up at him again.

“He was threatening to have Bear destroyed by the magistrate.” Devin supplied helpfully.

“Why?”

“Bear bit him in his butt.”

4. In the Still of the Night