Chapter 13 #3
Beth pressed her lips together, trying to maintain her composure, but Harper's snort of laughter broke her resolve. They dissolved into giggles as Nathan stared at them, his expression a perfect mix of confusion and dismay.
"Welcome to my world," Troy grumbled.
Beth slipped past Harper and Nathan as they wrangled with the uncoordinated puppy—no, hellhound—and headed for the supply closet.
They kept emergency supplies for all kinds of animals, just in case clients needed something to tide them over.
Beth spotted the ten-pound bag of premium kibble on the bottom shelf and hefted it into her arms.
Beth nudged the closet door closed with her hip and headed to the reception area.
Tyr stood just inside the entrance, his fair hair gleaming under the fluorescent lights.
The sight of him sent a flutter through her chest. Even after several weeks of working together, her reaction to him hadn't diminished.
"Tyr!" She hurried toward him, nearly dropping the bag of dog food in her excitement. "You will not BELIEVE this!"
He looked up from his phone, blue eyes lighting with interest as he took in her flushed face and the unusual burden in her arms. His lips quirked into that half-smile that never failed to make her heart skip.
"What's happened?" he asked, pocketing his phone and moving to take the bag from her.
Beth surrendered the dog food, bouncing on her toes as laughter bubbled up through her chest. "We have a hellhound puppy in Exam Room 2!"
He stared at her blankly for a moment, before asking, "How the hell did they find a hellhound?"
Beth giggled as he unconsciously echoed Kieran's words.
Before she could explain, the exam room door burst open.
Nathan and Harper emerged first, still wrestling with their makeshift climbing rope leash as the pup bounded between them.
Troy followed after, still with that disconcerted expression on his face.
The hellhound's tail wagged frantically at the sight of a new person, nearly knocking over a display of pamphlets as he dragged Nathan and Harper toward Tyr. Red sparks showered from his thick black coat, making Troy take another step back with a muttered curse.
Tyr crouched down, completely unfazed by the magical display. He held out his hand, letting the puppy sniff his fingers before scratching behind the massive ears.
"Hey there, little guy." His voice carried the same gentle tone he used with the clinic's smallest patients.
Beth caught Harper's eye, pressing her lips together to suppress a giggle. Harper's shoulders shook with barely contained laughter as they both looked at the "little guy" who already stood nearly as tall as Tyr's waist.
"Little?" Harper's voice climbed several octaves into dog-whistle territory as she lost her battle with composure. "He's already the size of a pony!"
Beth dissolved into giggles, earning a confused look from Tyr. "Kieran says he'll grow to be the size of a bison," she managed between laughs.
The puppy woofed happily, his tail thumping against the reception desk hard enough to rattle the computer monitor. Red sparks sparked through his fur as he attempted to give Tyr's face a thorough washing.
Tyr straightened, still scratching behind the hellhound's massive ears. His blue eyes flicked to the bag of kibble on the counter.
"Yeah, that won't work," he said, shaking his head. "Hellhounds need fresh meat. A lot of it."
Harper's amber eyes went wide with alarm. "How much is a lot?"
"For a pup this size?" Tyr considered the massive black puppy, who was now attempting to climb into his lap despite being nearly as big as Tyr himself. "Probably about fifty pounds of raw meat. But he'll only need to eat every week or two."
Nathan's face went pale. "Fifty pounds?" His sandy brown hair fell into his eyes as he stared at Tyr in dismay. "Where are we supposed to get fifty pounds of meat?"
"And where would we store it?" Harper added, her voice rising in panic. She gripped Nathan's arm. "Our freezer is barely big enough for our groceries!"
"Just check with a local butcher," Tyr said, ruffling the pup's fur so it sparked even more. "Order a bunch of roasts. Tell them you're having a big barbecue or a family reunion or something."
The hellhound's tail thumped harder against the reception desk at the attention, nearly knocking over a stack of appointment cards.
Beth shrieked "No, no!" and dove forward, catching the stack of appointment cards just before they scattered across the floor.
She nudged the massive puppy sideways, redirecting his enthusiastically wagging tail away from the reception desk.
Harper lunged past her, snatching the container of pens before it could go flying.
The hellhound woofed happily at all the excitement, his tail now thumping against the wall instead in a thudding rhythm.
"Sorry!" Nathan grabbed the makeshift leash, trying to pull the puppy back. "He doesn't quite understand how big he is yet."
Beth straightened up, carefully setting the rescued cards back on the counter. Her heart was still racing from the near disaster. The last thing they needed was to spend an hour sorting scattered appointment cards off the floor.
The puppy attempted to turn around, his back end not quite getting the message from his front end. His oversized paws scrabbled against the tile as he nearly fell over himself, saved only by Nathan's quick grab of his shoulders.
"Careful, there." Nathan steadied the gangly pup, who rewarded him with another attempt at a thorough face-washing.
Beth couldn't help laughing at the sight of the massive hellhound trying to climb into Nathan's arms like a lapdog, completely oblivious to the fact that he was nearly as big as the musician himself.
Red sparks continued to dance, creating a mesmerizing display in the fluorescent lighting of the clinic's reception area.
Nathan turned to Tyr. "That... that could actually work. About the butcher, I mean." He ran his fingers through his sandy brown hair, pushing it back from his eyes. "We wouldn't even need to worry about storage if we just bought it when it was feeding time."
Tyr nodded. "Exactly. Every week or two, just pick up what you need."
Beth couldn't help smiling as she watched the massive black puppy trying to spin in circles between them all, his oversized paws scrabbling on the tile floor. Despite his intimidating size and supernatural nature, he was still very much a baby, ungainly and sweet.
"That's actually brilliant," Harper said, her amber eyes brightening. "We can rotate between different butcher shops too, so no one place gets suspicious about our massive meat orders."
For the first time since the hellhound had bounded into their lives, the group seemed to relax slightly. They had a plan. It might be unconventional, but it was workable.
A soft pop of displaced air announced Jacinth's return, and with it, another complication.
The puppy's tail wagged harder, sending another shower of sparks through his shaggy dark coat as he attempted to turn and greet her.
His back end didn't quite cooperate, resulting in him nearly bowling over Harper in his enthusiasm.
"Careful!" Beth steadied the massive pup while Nathan and Harper regained their balance.
Jacinth's dark eyes sparkled with amusement as she watched their antics. "Kayja is a bit... occupied at the moment." Her lips twitched. "Apparently there's some new demon nightclub in Manhattan she simply had to check out."
Beth blinked. "Demons have nightclubs?"
"Oh yes." Jacinth's smile widened. "This one just opened last week. Something about incorporating actual hellfire into their light show?" She waved her hand dismissively. "Anyway, Kayja says she'll come by your house in an hour or so, after she's done dancing."
The hellhound woofed happily, his tail thumping against the reception desk in a steady rhythm.
Nathan's eyes went wide. "Midnight?" He glanced at Harper, who looked equally alarmed. "That's... that's really late."
"For a demon?" Jacinth laughed. "That's practically early afternoon."
"But she'll know way more than I do about hellhounds," Tyr told them. "My knowledge is pretty limited."
"Would you..." Nathan hesitated, running his fingers through his sandy brown hair. "Would you mind coming with us? Just until Kayja arrives? We've never dealt with anything like this before."
"Of course." Tyr scratched behind the hellhound's massive ears, earning another shower of sparks dancing through the black fur, creating an oddly beautiful display in the fluorescent lighting.. "I can help you get him settled in."
"Oh thank god." Nathan's shoulders slumped with relief. "Because I have no idea what we're doing here."
The puppy woofed happily, apparently approving of this plan, making them all laugh.
"Do you think he can understand what we're saying?" Beth asked, turning to Tyr.
Tyr's brow furrowed as he considered the question, his blue eyes studying the massive puppy thoughtfully. After a moment, he crouched down to the hellhound's eye level.
"Can you understand us?" he asked directly.
The puppy's response was immediate and enthusiastic. He lunged forward, nearly knocking Tyr over in his eagerness to give him a thorough face-washing. His enormous pink tongue left trails of slobber across Tyr's cheeks as his tail wagged frantically, showering red sparks everywhere.
Laughter filled the reception area. Beth covered her mouth with her hand, trying to stifle her giggles as Tyr attempted to fend off the enthusiastic puppy while maintaining his dignity.
He failed at both, ending up sitting on the floor with the hellhound half in his lap, still determinedly trying to wash his face.
"I think that's a no," Harper managed between laughs.
"Or maybe it was a yes?" Beth snickered. "Hard to tell."
"Wait!" Beth stepped forward, her heart racing with excitement. "Could I come too? I'd love to meet a demoness." She bounced on her toes, grinning. "Plus, I haven't visited Jill in ages."
Troy's moss-green eyes went wide as he stared at her. "Do you know how weird that sounds? 'I'd love to meet a demoness'?" He shook his head in disbelief. "Sometimes I forget how completely insane my life has become."
Laughter erupted through the reception area.
"Welcome to the supernatural club," Harper managed between giggles, her amber eyes dancing with mirth. "Where wanting to meet demons is just another Tuesday night."
"At least she didn't say she wanted to pet one," Nathan added, his shoulders shaking with suppressed laughter.
Beth helped Harper and Nathan wrangle the pup through the clinic's front doors while Tyr held them open.
The colossal puppy launched himself into the snowy night like a furry cannonball, dragging his makeshift handlers behind him as red sparks showered all around him, creating a mesmerizing display against the white snow.
"This is ridiculous." Troy locked the clinic doors behind them, his breath fogging in the cold air. "A hellhound. In my clinic."
"Could be worse." Beth grinned, watching the puppy attempt to chase his own tail, nearly taking Nathan and Harper down in the process. "At least he's friendly."
Tyr rolled his eyes at their antics. "Beth, why don't you ride with me? I'll bring you back to finish your shift after we get this sorted."
The puppy woofed happily as Nathan and Harper coaxed him toward their car, his massive paws leaving deep prints in the fresh snow. Fire motes scattered through the thick black fur, creating tiny melted spots in the snowflakes around him.
"Good luck!" Troy called after them, already heading for his own vehicle. "Text me if anything explodes! Wait… don't!"
Beth hurried to Tyr's SUV, grateful to escape the biting wind.
She slid into the passenger seat, watching through the windshield as Nathan and Harper somehow managed to get the enormous puppy into their back seat.
The car visibly shifted under his weight as he bounded inside, his tail still wagging enthusiastically.
"Ready?" Tyr asked, starting the engine.
Beth nodded, still grinning as she watched red sparks dance past Nathan and Harper's car windows. "This is going to be interesting."