To Love a Beast

Stranger Danger

When Sin envisioned the rest of her day off after leaving the orphanage, she imagined kicking back and maybe helping herself to a mug of hot cocoa and a risque romance novel. What she didn't expect was to be elbows deep in hot waters-literally.

"Hey! Stop squirting water!" she scolded without much heat. 

The little pup she discovered at the alleyway stared up at her with innocent eyes swirling with mischief. 

After the close shave with the vampire, Sin managed to coax the little guy out of the cold and into her home and a tub, where she was now discovering just how playful wolf pups could be.

When he splashed water at her again, she yelped.

"Alright, you're done in there! Time to dry you off." 

Grabbing the little guy around the belly, she placed him onto the tiled floors to towel him off. She couldn't help but grin at the little ball of energy.

"Aren't you a little cutie." 

The little wolf pup was the most adorable little thing she's ever met. Her heart clenched at the prospect of returning the pup to its owner. Within the hour, he managed to win a section of her heart. She wished she could keep the little squirt and a small part of her was holding onto the sliver of hope, no matter how improbable the scenario was. 

But there were other things to worry about, like the vamps crawling through the city. More than once, she detected a shadow out of place outside the window and her gut told her the reasons were supernatural.  Sin possessed a sorry amount of magic and if any Lore-kind managed to break in-she didn't want to think about it. A question she thought of earlier reentered her ponderings. What did the Lore-kind want with the little pup?

Her attention was drawn back to the little furball squirming in her lap. Toweled off and clean now, Sin was seated on the love seat crammed into a corner of her makeshift living quarters with the little pup curled up on her lap. Running a soothing hand through the pup's fur, she felt small tremors run through his body.

What in the world— 

A squeak escaped her as a snap cracked through the air and smoke assaulted her nose.  Her mind swirled with panic as a million scenarios ran through her head. Most included a dead body, her dead body. Grabbing onto the adrenaline coursing through her veins, she gripped onto the little pup and shot out of her seat. If she could make it to the summoning circle in her bedroom- she stopped, stumbled. Sin tightened her grip when the pup almost slipped from her grasp. No, not a pup, a boy. 

A child of no more than six summers stared up at her with doe eyes. Chubby hands reached out to grab her unruly mass of hair. 

"Mama."

What? Did she hear wrong— 

"Mama."

Stupified, she could only stare at the pup turned boy. When she migrated to the human realm, she sure as hell didn't expect to see much of the Lore. And now she was sheltering a Lycan pup that may or may not be the target of prowling vamps. 

Just how important is this child to the Lore? And what did that mean for her?

When leaving the realm of Lore, she intended to sever all her ties to the realm and live as humans do. As a consequence, she was not updated in the politics and happenings of the Lore, a fact she regretted staring at the Lycan boy. 

In an absent-minded daze, she spoke, "Just who are you, little one?" 

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