“Fascinating stuff.” Sonny was making it worse. He could feel himself making it worse. “I’m going to stop talking now.”
“Don’t.” Reese glanced at him, those ice-blue eyes finding Sonny’s face for a moment before returning to the road. “I like hearing you talk.”
You’d be the first.
The clinic appeared ahead on the left. Reese pulled into the lot and parked.
Sonny opened his door and climbed out. The air was cool, carrying the scent of flowers from the baskets hanging near the clinic entrance. He inhaled the fresh mountain air, glad he’d run to this remote town.
Reese was already at the back door of the truck, opening it for the dogs. Delilah lifted her head when he reached for her, her tail giving a weak wag. Reese scooped her up with the same careful gentleness he’d shown before. The dog settled against him like she belonged there, her injured leg hanging at an angle that kept pressure off the limb.
Sonny helped Hercules climb down. The dog’s movements were stiff, his damaged ribs making each step painful. He leaned heavily against Sonny’s legs once his paws hit the pavement, seeking support. Sonny’s hand found the scarred fur behind Hercules’s remaining ear, scratching the spot that always made the dog’s back leg twitch.
“Ready?” Reese was already moving toward the clinic entrance.
Sonny followed with Hercules limping beside him. The dog’s nails clicked against the pavement with each step. His breathing was labored, every inhale visible in the way his sides expanded. The x-rays would show how bad the rib damage really was. Sonny already knew it wasn’t good based on how Hercules moved, but seeing it on film would make it real in a way that scared him.
The clinic door opened before they reached it. Dr. Sullivan stood there with Ryan beside him, both of them wearing matching expressions of professional concern. The vet’s eyes swept over both dogs, taking in their condition with the practiced assessment.
“Bring them straight back to the exam rooms.” The vet held the door wider, making space for Reese’s massive frame. “I’ve got the x-ray machine warmed up for Hercules. We’ll start with him and then check Delilah’s infection.”
The clinic interior smelled like antiseptic and something floral that was probably coming from a diffuser somewhere. Soft music played from hidden speakers, classical guitar that was probably meant to calm anxious animals.
Ryan led them down the hallway to the exam rooms.
The space was larger than the exam room from last night. A padded table dominated the center, positioned under a large machine that hung from the ceiling. Lead aprons hung on hooks near the door.
“Set him on the table,” Dr. Sullivan said to Reese, already pulling on gloves. “We’ll need to position him on his side to get clear images of the ribs.”
Reese lowered Delilah onto a dog bed in the corner first, making sure she was comfortable. Then he moved to where Sonny stood, lifting Hercules onto the table. The dog’s front legs scrabbled against the smooth surface, but Reese calmed him down, talking softly to the dog.
Dr. Sullivan gently positioned Hercules on his side. The dog’s scarred hide showed every injury he’d sustained in the fighting ring. Bite marks. Claw marks. Places where the fur had never grown back properly. Sonny wanted to cry looking at the damage, at the evidence of forced violence.
“I need everyone except Ryan to step out.” Dr. Sullivan was pulling one of the lead aprons over his scrubs. “The radiation exposure is minimal, but I’d rather not take chances.”
Sonny’s feet didn’t want to move. His body had planted itself beside the exam table, unwilling to leave Hercules alone with strangers. The dog needed him there, needed someone familiar while scary things happened to his body.
“He’ll be fine,” Ryan said softly. He moved to Hercules’s head, his hand stroking the dog’s scarred ear. “We’re just taking pictures. It doesn’t hurt. Five minutes and you can come right back in.”
Logic said Ryan was right. The x-rays wouldn’t hurt Hercules. The dog would be more comfortable without Sonny’s anxiety feeding into his own fear. But his bunny was screaming that leaving was wrong, that abandoning the dog now was a betrayal of the trust Hercules had placed in him.
Reese’s hand settled on Sonny’s arm. His mate’s presence wrapped around him like a physical barrier between him and the rising panic. “Come on. We’ll wait right outside.”
Sonny let himself be guided toward the door. His eyes stayed on Hercules until the last possible moment, watching as Ryan stroked the dog’s head. Then he was in the hallway and the door was closing and Hercules was on the other side without him.
The hallway was quieter than the exam room had been. He could hear the music playing from the lobby speakers, along with voices from somewhere toward the front.
Reese stood beside him, close enough that Sonny could feel the heat radiating from his body. The warmth felt good against Sonny’s skin, made him want to press even closer, the way the dogs always did.
“He’s scared.” Sonny commented while glancing around. “Hercules. He doesn’t understand what’s happening. He just knows strangers are touching him and I’m not there.”
“Ryan’s good with animals.” Reese’s gaze was fixed on the closed door. “He’ll keep Hercules calm.”
Sonny nodded, but still tense.
“Thank you,” he heard himself say. The words felt inadequate for everything Reese had done. “For helping. For bringing us here. For not making me deal with it on my own.”
Reese held his gaze. “You’re my mate. Of course I’m helping.”
