“Drugging my kid with magic isn’t normal.”
Christian got up and removed his white coat. “Might we continue this conversation elsewhere before Fido licks us with that unholy tongue?” After dusting off his pants, Christian waded through a sea of dogs and cats toward the front doors.
“Wait!” I called out. “We came in through the window.”
“Aye, and we’ll be leaving out the front.” Christian wedged his fingers between the automatic doors and pried them open.
Dogs made a break for it like prisoners escaping Alcatraz. The kittens weren’t as bold, and the older cats waited for the calamity to end before they went to investigate.
I followed Christian outside. “They’re escaping.”
Hands on his hips, he gave me a proud look as an orange cat rubbed up against his leg and trilled. “Aye. That’s the idea. It’s called a second chance.”
Christian had a keen interest in animals, and his knowledge about them was on par with experts in the field. A person couldn’t invest that much time learning about different species without developing compassion for them. Most dogs hated him, though it had to do with him being a Vampire. Animals could sense Breed, and Vampires didn’t have a personal scent. Christian was the last person you would find cuddling a kitten. But deep down, he was a softy. He just showed it in a different way.
Christian steered his gaze to Blue. “Do me a favor, lass, and don’t make him shift until we’re in the car. If Viktor sees this, he’ll have a conniption.”
Blue smiled when a pit bull bumped into her while darting to freedom. “I’ll wait until we’re a few blocks away.”
The kittens were too skittish to come out in the cold, and the smaller dogs warily sniffed the frosty air from the doorway but stayed inside where it was warm. Others shot out like a bullet. Two large black cats yowled as they crept into a nearby bush to investigate all the new smells. I turned my attention to a cluster of tiny dogs yapping and dancing all the way across the parking lot as they made their way toward the park. The shelter wasn’t located off a busy road, and this time of night had no traffic. Animals scattered in all directions across the empty streets. I wasn’t going to argue with him about whether it was the right thing to do because frankly I didn’t know myself. Some of them were scheduled to die within the week. Maybe they wouldn’t be free for long, but they had a second chance to wander up to a human and steal their heart. Not only was it close to the holidays, but people were kinder to animals when the weather was chilly.
A dalmatian bounded across the parking lot like a cartoon animal, his tongue flapping and his tail whipping back and forth in a blur. Two dogs humped by a fire hydrant. A golden retriever yelped when a Manx cat swatted him seconds before jumping over a fence.
I shook my head and laughed at Christian for creating this chaos.
Shepherd lit up a smoke while a calico kitten clawed its way up his pant leg. “This looks like something we’ll have to deny later.”
CHAPTER12
Viktor remained in wolf form for the entire drive. Blue sat with him in the back row, calming him, talking to him, and struggling to erase whatever trauma his wolf had witnessed. Sometimes I forgot that Viktor and his wolf were two different spirits inhabiting the same body. I couldn’t imagine Viktor the man being as upset by tragedies he knew went on in the human world, but his wolf didn’t understand.
Only two of the smaller kittens were brave enough to come outside. I was surprised when Christian scooped them up and brought them with us. He said he knew a few cat ladies in the area, so before going back to the hotel, he made a detour. We waited in the Jeep while Christian hopped the fence behind a small house. He returned empty-handed and said he just shoved the kittens through the doggie door into the kitchen. When I gave him a tender look, he told me that he only did it so he wouldn’t have to hear us complaining about having left defenseless kittens in the freezing cold.
I knew that was a lie. This same man rescued me when I was a child because he couldn’t walk by the flames and ignore my cries. Christian had done terrible things in his life—unforgivable things. But I didn’t get the feeling he was doing this as a way to repent. In his human life, he looked after his blind sister. He mentioned how leaving her behind was his biggest regret. In the depths of his soul, Christian had compassion for the most vulnerable creatures. We go through a lot of trauma and life experience as adults, but maybe the fabric of who we are is linked to our childhood. Moments like these reminded me of why I loved Christian Poe.
Two minutes before reaching the hotel, Viktor shifted to human form. I only glimpsed part of the shift from the middle row and was surprised to see him fully clothed.
“I bet you guys wish you could do that all the time,” I remarked.
Viktor rubbed his face.
“Do that?” Blue asked.
I looked between the seats. “Shift in your clothes.”
She rolled her eyes. “Nudity doesn’t offend us. We don’t sexualize the body the same way other Breeds do.”
“Yeah, but walking naked into a hotel might garner a few stares. It just seems more convenient to be dressed.”
Blue clutched his arm. “How do you feel?”
“Very strange feeling,” he replied, looking at his buttoned shirt and decorative blue vest. “Strange.”
Blue shook her head at me, signaling not to say anything just yet about where he’d been.
Viktor rubbed his eyes. “How long was I away?”
“A day.” Shepherd hit the brakes. “We’re here.”
