Chapter 16 #3
"Yeah." His eyes widen slightly. "She even growled at me yesterday when I tried to move one!"
That confirms my suspicion.
I sit back on my heels and look at him.
"I don't think she's pregnant."
For several seconds he simply stares at me.
"But she was bred."
"That doesn't always result in pregnancy."
His mouth opens and closes again.
"But she's acting differently. She's nesting, she's eating differently, she's been doing exactly what she did before."
"I know." I gesture toward the pile of toys. "I think she's having a false pregnancy."
The confusion on his face deepens.
"A false pregnancy? Isn't that, like… an omega thing?"
"It's a hormonal response that can happen after a heat cycle. Her body behaves as if she's expecting puppies even though there aren't any. It's actually fairly common."
Davos slowly sinks into an armchair. Relief and disbelief battle across his features at the same time.
"So she isn't sick?"
"No."
"And she's not losing puppies?"
"No."
For the first time since I arrived, he relaxes. "Phew, thank goodness. I've been worried sick."
Peaches lifts her head at the sound of his voice, then goes right back to lounging on the rug.
I spend a few minutes explaining what to expect.
More exercise can help. More distractions.
Less encouragement of the nesting behavior.
If she's producing milk, she shouldn't be allowed to lick her mammary glands excessively because it can stimulate further production.
Most cases resolve on their own without intervention.
By the time I'm finished, Davos looks years younger than when he opened the door.
"You have no idea how much better I feel! Such a relief!"
When the visit is over, he reaches for his wallet and presses several bills into my hand.
I glance down and immediately frown.
"This is too much."
"Nonsense."
"It really is."
"You came all the way out here and helped me."
He closes my fingers around the money before I can hand it back.
"Take it."
I consider arguing again but quickly realize it would be pointless.
Before I can escape, he pulls out his phone.
"And I also need your number."
I stare at him.
"Why?"
"For emergencies. Just in case."
A minute later, despite my best efforts, he has my number, and I finally make it to the front door.
Unfortunately, the moment I open it, two more people are standing on the porch waiting for me with big, hopeful eyes. Dammit.
The first is an older beta holding a remarkably overweight corgi. The second is a slim teenage alpha carrying an orange cat against his chest. I realize I've seen him before. He was at the funeral. He's the teenager with the vertical pupils.
I stop. Behind me, Davos brightens immediately.
"Oh good, you're here."
A sinking feeling settles in my stomach.
"I might have mentioned to them that you'd be visiting," Davos says with an apologetic giggle.
The beta adjusts the corgi in his arms.
"My dog keeps scratching his neck."
The teenager lifts the cat slightly.
"His eyelid looks weird."
I close my eyes for a second. Of course. Apparently Davos was a bit too talkative…
They are both still looking at me with the same desperate expression. I let out a slow breath.
"Fine."
The corgi turns out to be easy. Once I get my hands beneath his collar and work through an impressive amount of fur and neck fat, I find a tick buried against the skin. The dog barely reacts while I remove it, and the beta looks as though I've just saved his life.
"I knew something was bothering him!"
The corgi immediately starts wagging his tail, which only makes the beta happier.
The cat is even simpler. After a brief examination, I determine it's a mild eye infection. Nothing dangerous. I explain how to keep the eye clean, what symptoms to watch for, and which medication will clear it up. The teenager listens carefully to every word.
By the time I'm finished, both owners are thanking me enthusiastically, and even more money changes hands.
"Thank you, Dr. Nolan."
"Seriously, thank you!"
"You've been a huge help."
I nod awkwardly, accept their gratitude, and decide that if I don't leave right now, somebody else is going to show up carrying a rabbit, a parrot, or possibly a goat.
A few minutes later, I'm finally sitting behind the wheel of my car. I lock the doors, start the engine, and enjoy several glorious seconds of silence.
They were okay, but this isn't the stage of my life for this. My level of inner turmoil is way too high to give these animals my full attention, and they deserve more than an unfocused, unhappy new vet.
Then I remember that I gave Davos my phone number. A long sigh escapes me as I pull away from the curb. It may not be over…
As the road stretches out ahead of me, I can't help feeling a little satisfied. Peaches is healthy. The corgi is fine. The cat is going to recover without any trouble.
For a completely unplanned first day on the job, things could have gone a lot worse.
◆◆◆
After pulling into the parking lot by the facility, I sit there for a moment with my hands still on the wheel, staring at the gray, minimalist building. It has that kind of gloomy heaviness that feels almost oppressive.
When I finally get out of the car, I lean against it for a second before turning toward the forest that starts right beyond the edge of the lot.
The contrast is immediate. The building feels wrong in my peripheral vision, while the trees look like…
an escape. Green, shifting shadows, the smell of damp earth and leaves, something that promises serenity.
So I just move. Straight into the tree line, letting the forest swallow everything behind me.
One quick glance over my shoulder confirms no one is following. I make my way to a small, dense thicket and hide there, shedding my clothes.
I shift into my cat form and take off running.
Yes! I need this. My feline nature loves exploring, taking in new territory and new trails. I race between bushes and tree trunks, leaping over roots, clumps of moss, and blueberry shrubs…
The forest helps me put things into perspective. I cut through undergrowth, between trunks and roots, jumping over moss and low shrubs. It’s just motion, pure and immediate.
Something pulls me in a particular direction, as if I'm being led on a string. I feel an urge to run that way, toward the patch of light I can see between the trees in the distance…
A clearing opens up suddenly, idyllic, serene. Sunlight floods the space. A stream spreads into a shallow pool, fed by a narrow waterfall that crashes into white foam.
That’s when I see him.
A human shape in the water, half-hidden by the falling stream.
Or is it human?
For a second, everything locks.
Fenn Drax.
He’s really there under the waterfall, completely naked. Unbelievable.
Can he leave the facility too? What a coincidence that I found him or… is it?
For the first time, I see him without his clothes, and I take my time studying him.
Wow…The markings along his body. Wide bands run along his sides, branching into markings that resemble claws or narrow, sharp triangles, across his ribs, hips, thighs, and calves.
It looks as though enormous purple teeth are trying to bite into his flesh, or as if someone carved a bloody pattern running along both sides of his body, but that's not all…
A thick band runs along the line of his spine, bristling with similar spikes.
Those areas of skin are slightly different from the rest. They resemble a dense, almost glass-like substance, like incredibly thick cartilage.
I know that purple alphas have a band that runs along all of their limbs, from which actual bone spikes can emerge during transformation.
Up until recently, I'd simply assumed Fenn was a purple alpha whose purple coloration had spread across a few more areas than usual.
But now, looking at him, I realize that impression may have been only superficial, based on the similar coloring, size, and general arrangement of the bands along the sides of his body. However, that's where the similarity ends.
What did Fenn Drax mean when he said his transformed form was much ‘much less attractive’ than mine?
There’s no way to tell yet, but I realize this might not be the end of his differences.
On his back, around his shoulder blades and lower down in two bands above his kidneys, I can see something that resembles black cartilaginous ovals. They're flat, but clearly glassy.
What the hell could those be?
The only explanation that makes any sense is that they're some kind of sealed openings through which… what?
Wings come out? Except there would be two pairs of them.
But that still isn't the end of it. On his lower back, near the lumbar region, almost where it transitions into the rear part of the pelvis, there are two more elongated black areas…
I don't understand the purpose of those either. They're positioned differently from the ones on his back. Could they be… additional legs?!
I realize that just because Fenn is standing with his back to me, with the waterfall pouring over his head, hair, and back, doesn't mean he isn't aware of my presence.
Unexpectedly, his head begins to turn in my direction…
Oh, fuck.
It turns… much farther than a normal human head should be able to.
It looks genuinely creepy, but at the same time strangely fascinating…
Our eyes meet.
Now I understand why people call him a monster, and… why he calls himself one.
His bizarre body leaves me staring in absolute amazement.
So I begin shifting back into my human form as well; a moment later I rise from all fours and straighten up.
Only then does Fenn fully turn around, his body finally catching up with his head.
Wow.
He's standing directly in front of me, dripping with water, fully bared.
My gaze instinctively drops lower.
Oh, fuck. What is that, a second monster?!
Damn. I may have signed up for more than I'm ready for.
That thing hanging between his legs, dear Fate!
Interestingly, and unusually for an alpha, Fenn doesn’t have a trace of body hair. I have more, although I shave religiously all over.