Chapter 13 #2
The puppy woofed happily at all the attention, completely oblivious to the bombshell Kieran had just dropped. His oversized paws scrabbled against the metal table as he attempted to turn in a circle, nearly sliding off before Beth and Nathan steadied him.
Another soft pop of displaced air announced a new arrival.
Beth's eyes widened as an older woman materialized beside Kieran, her face flushed with excitement.
She wore a flowing cream-colored galabiyya, its fabric adorned with intricate cross-stitch patterns in vibrant jewel tones that caught the light as she moved.
"Oh my God, I did it!" The woman's forest-green eyes sparkled with triumph as she steadied herself against Kieran's arm. "I actually managed to teleport on my own!"
A rare smile softened Kieran's stern features as he took her hand, his thumb brushing over her knuckles with obvious affection. "Everyone, this is my Chosen, Mandy." Pride rang clear in his voice as he made the introduction.
Troy visibly gathered himself, his professional demeanor sliding back into place despite the chaos of discovering they had a hellhound puppy in their exam room. He reached across the table and extended his hand to Mandy.
"Dr. Troy Shelton. And this is apparently the weirdest Tuesday of my career." His voice carried warmth despite his earlier exasperation. "Though I have to say, this isn't quite how I planned to spend my evening."
Beth stepped forward. "I'm Beth Kerrigan, one of the vet techs here." She gestured toward the couple who'd brought in their unusual patient. "And these are Nathan Burke and Harper O'Neill. They're the ones who found our... unexpected visitor."
Harper gave a small wave, her foxy-red hair gleaming under the exam room lights. Nathan nodded in greeting, one hand still steadying the enthusiastic overgrown puppy.
Beth watched the interplay between the Djinn with growing amusement. Jacinth's lower lip pushed out in an impressive pout as she crossed her arms, glaring at Kieran.
"I still can't believe you got married without telling anyone," Jacinth muttered.
Kieran rolled his ice-blue eyes toward the ceiling.
"We eloped," Mandy chimed in, her whole face lighting up with dimples as she grinned at Jacinth. Her forest-green eyes sparkled with mischief.
"Yes!" Jacinth wailed, throwing her hands up. "That's exactly my point! You eloped and didn't tell me!"
Beth pressed her lips together, trying desperately not to laugh at Jacinth's dramatic response. "That's... pretty much the definition of eloping," she pointed out, her voice shaking slightly with suppressed mirth.
Mandy caught her eye and delivered an exaggerated wink that broke Beth's composure completely. A giggle escaped despite her best efforts. Beth didn't know the woman at all, but she could already tell she was going to like Kieran's new wife immensely.
With amusement, Beth watched Troy pinch the bridge of his nose, his eyes squeezed shut. His chest rose and fell in a deep breath before he dropped his hand and fixed them all with an exasperated glare.
"HELLO? PEOPLE?" Troy's voice cracked with barely contained hysteria. "HELLHOUND. SPARKING. IN MY CLINIC."
The puppy's ears perked up at Troy's raised voice.
His massive tail thumped against the metal surface, sending another shower of red sparks cascading through his shaggy ebony coat.
He attempted to turn to face Troy, his gangly legs tangling as he nearly slid off the table. Beth and Nathan lunged to steady him.
Mandy's mouth fell open at the sight of the massive puppy sprawled across the exam table. The older woman's forest-green eyes went wide with wonder.
"Oh my God, what is this?" Mandy pressed her hands to her cheeks in delight. "Look at you, you gorgeous thing!"
The puppy's tail wagged frantically as Mandy approached. His entire back end wiggled with excitement as she wrapped her arms around his neck, completely unfazed by his intimidating size.
"Aren't you just adorable?" Mandy cooed, burying her face in the puppy's shaggy fur. "You're like a great big teddy bear! Yes you are! The sweetest, most precious teddy bear!"
The pony-sized pup attempted to give Mandy's face a thorough washing, his enormous pink tongue darting out with such enthusiasm it nearly launched her backward into Kieran's arms. She laughed and scratched behind his ears, completely unfazed by his size.
More sparks danced through his coat, but Mandy didn't seem to notice or care.
"Who's the most handsome boy? You are!" She ruffled the thick fur around his neck, making the puppy wiggle with joy. "Such a good boy! Look at those big paws - you're going to be even bigger, aren't you? Yes you are!"
The hellhound puppy soaked up the attention like a sponge, his tail thumping against the table with enough force to make the cabinets rattle, the sound like a bass drum.
"It's a hellhound," Kieran told his wife, reaching out to scratch behind the pup's ears, his stern expression softening slightly, completely unfazed by the shower of sparks.
"He's just a baby. He can't be more than two or three years old, I'd say.
When he's full grown - in about thirty to forty years - he'll be roughly the size of a bison. "
"Years?" Harper's voice squeaked. She gripped Nathan's arm, her amber eyes wide. "He's already the size of a pony!"
Nathan just stared at the Djinn Prince. "A bison? But... but that's..."
"Approximately six feet tall at the shoulder and up to twelve feet long," Kieran supplied helpfully. "Though some grow even larger, depending on their bloodline."
The puppy attempted another excited spin on the table, nearly taking out a tray of instruments with his wildly wagging tail.
"No! No!" Beth and Nathan both lunged to keep him from tumbling off, while Harper rescued the medical equipment before it could crash to the floor.
Troy slumped against the counter, looking like he might need to sit down. "Thirty to forty years to reach full size," he muttered. "A hellhound the size of a bison. Why is this my life?"
"Still new to all this supernatural stuff?" Mandy's forest-green eyes regarded Troy with sympathy.
Troy ran his hands through his hair, making it stand on end.
"Been a couple years now." He gestured at the massive puppy sprawled across his exam table.
"Every time I think I've got a handle on things - shapeshifters, Djinn, whatever - something new crops up.
" He waved helplessly at their current patient. "Case in point."
The hellhound's tail hammered rhythmically against the table, sending another shower of sparks through his thick black coat. His enormous pink tongue lolled out in a happy grin as he basked in Mandy's continued attention.
Mandy's delighted laugh filled the exam room. "Oh honey, I've only been at this a couple months." She buried her fingers deeper in the puppy's shaggy fur, completely unfazed by the tiny red embers dancing around her hands. "And I am totally loving every minute of it."
Nathan ran his fingers through his sandy brown hair, his expression a mix of concern and bewilderment. "Um, so a hellhound showed up at our door. But what are we supposed to do with him?"
"Well, first you should feed him," Kieran said, his tone matter-of-fact.
"Kieran!" Mandy regarded her Chosen in exasperation. She planted her hands on her hips, glaring up at the much taller Djinn prince. "That's not helpful. They need actual guidance here."
The prince shrugged, seemingly unperturbed.
"The more pressing concern is determining where his mother is and how they became separated.
A hellhound pup this young shouldn't be wandering alone.
He doesn't belong in this dimension." His nordic blue eyes narrowed thoughtfully.
"Jacinth, contact Kayja. As Lord Damien's demoness half-sister, she may have insights into this situation. "
Kieran held out his hand to Mandy, his stern features softening as he gazed down at his new wife. "Shall we get back to our honeymoon, my love?"
Mandy's forest-green eyes lit up as she took his offered hand. "Yes, please!" She gave the puppy one final scratch behind his ears. "Be good, you adorable thing. Bye, everyone!"
The couple vanished with another soft pop, leaving behind only the lingering scent of jasmine and sandalwood.
In the sudden silence, the weight of their situation seemed to settle over the room like a blanket. They were alone. With a hellhound. A hellhound puppy, who would grow to the size of a bison.
Harper was the first to react. She shoved her fingers through her foxy-red hair, her amber eyes wide with dawning panic. "But what are we supposed to do with him in the meantime? We can't keep a hellhound! We've already got Jill and her mother living in the backyard!"
"We can't just abandon him either," Nathan said, steadying Harper. His normally calm expression was pinched with worry. "He's just a baby. Even if he is... well, a hellhound."
Troy sighed, rubbing his temples. "Look, take a bag of dog food to get you through tonight. At least that will keep him fed until we figure something out."
"I'll have Alyssa send Kayja to your house," Jacinth assured them, her dark eyes twinkling with amusement as she watched the puppy's antics. "She'll know what to do with this little one."
With a soft pop of displaced air, Jacinth vanished, presumably off to find her friend.
Beth couldn't help smiling as Nathan's face scrunched up in confusion.
"Wait, who's Kayja?" He glanced between them, his sandy brown hair falling into his eyes.
Harper nudged him with her elbow. "Keep up, honey. She's the vampire head honcho's demoness half-sister."
Nathan's face went three shades paler as the full implications hit him. "The vampire lord has a demon for a sister?" His voice cracked. "And she's coming to our house?"