He didn’t move until Riley’s eyes lifted and met his. The lad didn’t answer, but his brief focus was good enough for Deane.
“Good luck,” Georgina said as he got up and went to the door. “Hope you get the information you’re looking for.”
Deane nodded and stepped into the humidity. It was hard not to let his mood sour. He hated the climate and was dreading being locked away as a tiger. He gritted his teeth and went to join Rollin and Emery in the parking lot.
A large silver truck pulled up the drive, going past the TailGator parking lot to the home and veterinary practice. Verity exited the front door of the building and went to meet the wildlife officer. As she got closer to the vehicle, she peered into the bed of the truck, recognizing the black and orange stripes of what she estimated to be a four-hundred-pound tiger, tranquilized with its tongue hanging out of its mouth.
“You must be Doctor Blackwood?” the man asked through his open window.
Verity looked past the red-lipped woman sitting beside him in the passenger seat and pointed to the back side of the home. “I am. Let’s not waste any time. I don’t want to risk the animal waking before we get him secure. Pull around to the detached building in back. That’s where my larger animal enclosures are.”
The wildlife officer nodded and drove the truck slowly with Verity following behind. Her shoes crunched on the gravel as she approached the building. The truck’s brake lights lit up before the engine shut off and both doors opened.
A large bald man got out and rested his hand on the truck. “Thanks for helping us. We needed to get this guy secured quickly. If he’s in good general health, then I can arrange for him to be taken up north to the big cat rescue in Tampa.”
A woman wearing an oversized Fish and Wildlife T-shirt shut the passenger door and went to lean against the side of the truck, gazing at the large sleeping feline. “We can come back tomorrow with a crate and take him off your hands.”
Verity walked into the detached building to grab a metal gurney and rolled it up to the vehicle. “I have a very secure enclosure that should contain him until you return. I’ll examine him right away to take advantage of the tranquilizers. How much did you give him?”
The man went to open the tailgate, revealing the backside of the sleeping tiger. “I gave him 8 ml about an hour ago based off my estimate that he weighed about four hundred or so.”
Verity eyed the enormous feline. “Let’s get him in the enclosure. I don’t want him waking up before I’m ready.”
She positioned the gurney against the tailgate, and the three of them pushed, pulled and slid the animal onto the metal table. The tiger’s tail and paws hung off limply while they rolled him to a secure chain-link enclosure inside the building. Verity put a padded blanket on the floor and lowered the gurney as far as it would go, only a couple feet from the ground.
The three of them did their best sliding and lowering the tiger’s floppy body to the blanket. Panting hard and exhilarated, Verity rubbed her forehead. “Good, that should do. Is there anything else I should know? Was he injured? Was he being properly cared for?”
The woman gave the animal a scratch. “I saw him drinking water before we tranquilized him. He was cared for—even had his own scratching post, though his owner was way out of her league with this tomcat. She was quite upset he wouldn’t let go of his brother, the family dog.”
Verity rested her hand on the tiger’s abdomen, feeling its chest cavity rise and fall with every breath. Its fur was soft and clean. She couldn’t spot any signs of abuse or neglect.
“Can we come back to collect him tomorrow at nine? Presuming he doesn’t need any medical treatment?” The man asked, handing her his business card.
“Sure, fine,” she answered distractedly and pocketed the card in her scrub pocket. “You can let yourselves out. I want to get started before he wakes.”
The wildlife officers backed out of the ten-foot square enclosure, then the woman paused before leaving the building. “His name’s Lucifurr, if you were wondering.”
Through the open doorway, Verity watched them climb back into their truck and pull away. She scratched the tiger’s temple and lifted his lips to examine his gums and teeth. “All right, sweetheart, be a good boy for me, and stay asleep until I finish.”
A repetitive tapping noise brought him out of his fog. Deane blinked his eyes and had trouble focusing on his surroundings. He could tell he was lying on the floor. Something soft was under his body, although it wasn’t soft enough to prevent his weight from sensing the hard cement beneath it.
He stretched his legs and slowly rolled onto his stomach so he could hold his head upright. Deane wrinkled his nose and inhaled deeply, catching the aroma of metal, sanitizers, animal feces and blood. The last one concerned him, and he followed the smell to his foreleg and a small puncture. His tongue unfurled to clean it off and to inspect it more closely.
“There you go, sweetheart.”
The voice startled him, and he stopped mid-lick. Deane lifted his gaze to the chain fence and the pair of blue eyes staring in at him. It took him a moment to focus on her blue eyes. Long blond hair hung past her shoulders, and she was wearing alligator-patterned scrubs.
He fought to clear his mind of the cloudiness left from the tranquilizers and returned his attention to the puncture mark on his leg, hoping he hadn’t just been vaccinated.
The woman spoke again and straightened up. “Don’t worry, Lucifurr, I don’t drink from my clients. You started waking up before I was ready, so I had to put you under a little longer. But at least you shouldn’t remember the fecal exam. You slept soundly.”
What did she call him? And what about a fecal exam? This was certainly not what he’d envisioned when Cruz had suggested he be brought into the vet to go undercover. Emery wasn’t going to let him live this down.
A ceiling fan spun above them, clicking away. The movement of air felt good on his fur. When he tried to swallow, he realized just how dehydrated he was. Deane spotted a large metal bowl in the corner of the enclosure. He rose slowly and stumbled toward the water.
“That’s a good boy. Drink up. Julian should be by soon with your dinner. You’re sharing with the gators tonight.”
Deane lapped at the water. It traced down his throat and into his empty stomach. She’d said something about dinner. The thought made him hungry. But then he realized it was dark out. The only light in the building came from overhead fluorescents. The windows were like blackened eyes staring at him. How long had he been unconscious?
Another voice echoed through the building. “Who’s hungry for dinner?”
Deane lifted his chin and stared between the chain-link. A twentysomething man came walking in with a large metal bowl and a glass. Unless the guy was bringing cooked brisket, Deane doubted he would enjoy his meal.
The man set the glass of dark liquid on the counter and brought the bowl to the woman. “Here you go, Verity. Chopped up some extra rabbit for your new arrival and brought you some dinner—rabbitade.”
Verity pinched up her face and glared at him. The man threw his hands in the air with a flourish. “What, are you one of those snobs who doesn’t like knowing where their food comes from?”
She cast one last look at him before squatting down in front of the enclosure and picking up a piece of meat from the bowl. “I heal animals, Julian. You know how much I hate taking life away. It’s not right.”
Julian raked his fingers through his hair and shrugged. “It’s all part of the food chain. The gators have to eat just like we do. They need the flesh, and we need the blood. It’s a perfect symbiosis.”
“Yeah, well”—she shoved the chunk of meat through the links and caught Deane’s eye—“I don’t have to like that part.”
Deane couldn’t believe what he was hearing. They had just outed themselves as blood-suckers. There were benefits to being in animal form around people. They said just about anything without fear of being caught or shamed.
Ver
ity poked another piece of meat through the fencing and whispered, “Aren’t you hungry, boy? I’d feel a whole lot better about you leaving to your new home tomorrow if you had a full stomach.”
It may have been very normal for his animal form to eat raw meat, but his human side found it unappetizing. But he didn’t want to risk staying there any longer as a caged tiger, and he figured complying was his best option. So he gingerly pulled a chunk from the fence and set it on the ground and held it with his paws. Deane sank his teeth into the meat and tore a piece off. With very little chewing, he swallowed it, trying to pretend he was eating a rare tenderloin.
What he’d managed to get down threatened to come back up again when Verity went to go take a sip of her “dinner.” Deane froze in place as he watched her lift the glass to her lips and swallow the crimson liquid.
“Hey, sis.” Julian pointed his chin toward Deane. “He’s watching you.”
She lowered the glass to look at her patient. “He’s a cat. They’re curious creatures who observe everything around them.”
“He’s beautiful.” Julian came closer to the enclosure and tilted his head. “Now, there’s an idea.”
“No,” she said without missing a beat and took another drink. “It’s a gator park, not a circus.”
He rolled his eyes at her back and sighed. “Whatever.”
“Seven gators are enough.” Verity set down her emptied glass and wiped off her mouth, though a reddish residue remained.
Julian whispered under his breath, “Said no one ever.”
“Everything’s closed up?” She stood beside her brother. “You heading in for the night or going out on the town?”
Deane compared the two blood-suckers. He couldn’t see any resemblance and wondered if “sis” was a term of endearment or literal.
Julian gave her a kiss on the cheek and collected her empty glass. He said over his shoulder with a swish of his hips, “Miami can only handle me once a week. I’ve already been out, so I’m going in to relax and to get some beauty sleep. You coming inside tonight?”
The blond-haired veterinarian pulled out a folded metal frame and set it in front of the enclosure. “No, I’m sleeping on the cot. Want to make sure Lucifurr is safe through the night and doesn’t have any side effects from the tranquilizer.”
“Very well,” Julian said and waved as he walked away. “Sleep tight, and don’t let the tiger bite.”
Deane heard a door clang shut and watched Verity unfold the cot and lay it beside the cage. She stretched out and put her hand on the fencing. She blinked her blue eyes at him and muttered, “I know you’ll miss your owner, but you’re on your way to place where there are others like you. And there’s something to be said about knowing you’re not alone.”
Being alone was something Deane had grown accustomed to. Back in his youth, his mother had died on the passage from Ireland, leaving him to fend for himself when he’d arrived in America at the age of sixteen. After traveling from city to city, finding no welcome as an Irishman, he’d secured a job with the circus. He could remember doing just as Verity was, lying on a cot and watching the exotic animals in their cages. Amazed at their colors, ferocity and power.
He took a step forward and inched his muzzle toward her hand to inhale her scent. Gingersnaps and almonds came to mind, and he closed his eyes. Something gently touched the bridge of his nose, and he was surprised by the hitched breathing that reverberated from his chest as his own purring filled his ears.
A car horn blared, and Deane’s eyes flipped open. He sat up with a start, hitting his head on the top of a wood-and-iron crate.
His heart raced as he tried to remember where he was and what was happening. He stretched his muzzle to the front of the box and peered out through the metal grating. A tall building surrounded with palm trees stood at the other end of a parking lot. The trace of a breeze blew in through the narrow openings in the crate, though it didn’t provide nearly him enough air. His started panting faster as he took in the confined space.
He was okay, he told himself. He was back at the lodge. Everything must have gone to plan. These rational thoughts slowed his breathing, and he realized his clothing was under him.
Deane didn’t waste any time calling to his power. He didn’t often spend more than a few hours in animal form and was ready to have a proper meal and to wear clothes again. Energy coursed through his cells, inciting the change that transformed him back to his human body. His flesh tingled as his structure morphed and shrank. The fur that made him so hot disappeared, revealing his moistened bare skin.
“Oh, I missed ye,” he muttered to himself.
Though there wasn’t much room to move, he pulled on his underwear and next, his trousers. Covered enough, he tested the door of the crate and found it had been left unlatched. The tailgate of the truck was down, and Deane emerged shirtless and shoeless but happy to be standing on his own two feet again.
“Hey, Lucifurr,” a familiar voice said.
He turned around. Emery slid out of the passenger side of the truck, looking relieved to see him. Deane pulled on his button-up shirt, leaving it open. The air felt good on his skin.
“What time is it?” he asked and tilted his head back to look for the sun’s position in the sky.
His partner closed the door and went to stand beside him. She scratched her forehead and frowned. “We came to get you around nine and didn’t get back here until ten-thirty. I’ve been waiting for you to wake up for the last few hours. It’s almost one now.”
“I’m bloody famished.” He rubbed his cheeks and scratched his head. “What’s a guy have to do to get some grub?”
Emery gestured to the art deco building and walked with him to the front doors. She followed him inside, and he felt her eyes on him as he scanned the room. A few younglings were sitting at one end of the lounge, talking and laughing. He glanced to his left and spotted Riley sitting on the same couch he’d left him on.
Deane went to sit down on a padded chair beside him. “When I said ye weren’t to leave, I didn’t mean from this very spot.”
The teenager lowered his phone and brushed his hair from his eyes. “You’re back.”
“Aye, that I am.” Deane looked to Emery and asked, “Would ye mind getting me something to sink my teeth into? Preferably nothing raw.”
He knew she was anxious to find out about his time spent at the vet, but she’d have to wait. He wasn’t talking until his belly was full and he’d checked in with Riley. She sighed and left the room.
“What have ye been up to?” he asked the kid.
“Nothing.” Riley actually lowered his phone away from his eyes and stared blankly at the windows behind Deane. “Do you think they’ll come back for me?”
Obviously, the lad had been dwelling on his comment to Cruz about the blood-suckers looking for him. Deane wasn’t one to soften a blow. He spoke plainly. “I think it’s possible. We know nothin’ about yer kind or what yer father was up to. He may be dead, but there may be others who’ll want retribution.”
“Why couldn’t I have stayed with Aerilyn? She’s the only one who cares about me.”
Deane rested his elbows on his knees and leaned forward. “Because it wasn’t Aerilyn who promised yer ma to keep ye safe. I’m a man of my word.”
Riley lowered his gaze to the floor. His voice rose a little and shook when he spoke. “You talked to her before she died?”
“Aye.” Deane exhaled and straightened up. “She was worried for ye until the last. It’ll toughen ye up, not having her around, to be sure. Make ye a man.”
“Is that supposed to make me feel better?” Riley scowled at Deane. “I’d rather things went back to how they were before Ramsay showed up and ruined my life.”
“Never make a fool wish like that, kid.” He shook his head and raised his brows. “I made that mistake once, and fate upped the ante. There’s nothin’ so bad that it cannot be worse. Remember that. It’s time ye toughen up that skin of yers.”
“Great. Now I feel worse.” A burst of laughter from the other side of the room drew Riley’s attention, and he got up and went upstairs, presumably to his room.
Emery came from the back of the building holding a plate filled with a sandwich and chips, which she was eyeing hungrily. She glanced over her shoulder at Riley disappearing to the second floor. “What’d you say to him?”
“What?” Deane retorted. “Ye blame me for the kid going to his room?”
She rolled her eyes and handed him the plate. “I’m sure it was nothing you said. He just wants some alone time to think happy thoughts after one of your pep talks.”
Deane held up a chip and inhaled its enticing smell. “Human food is so much better than raw meat. Thank ye for this.”
“Don’t get used to me waiting on you. Just because I’m the rookie doesn’t mean I’m your sandwich maker.” Emery put her hand on her hip and watched him take a bite.
While he was still chewing, he muttered, “Ye should have made yerself one.”
She sighed. “I did earlier. I can’t help it. I’m always hungry—it’s the bear in me.”
Georgina walked into the lounge and went to speak to one of the younglings. The teen didn’t even look old enough to have gone through the change yet. She was small-framed with long black hair.
When Georgina finished talking with the girl, she came over and sat on the couch Riley had occupied. “You’re awake. Rollin will be happy to hear. He’s gotta get going to work but has been waiting for your tranquilizer to wear off. Apparently, the doc loaded you up for your ‘long trip’ up north.”
Deane took another bite of his sandwich and swallowed before answering, “It worked, all right.”
He kept eating. His hunger was too great to make chitchat, something he wasn’t inclined to do anyway.
Emery sat down beside Georgina and whispered, “Who’s that girl you were talking to?”
Georgina touched her hair, making sure every strand was in place. “She’s my little cousin. Her mother sent her up here to live with me. She’s exhausting—up all night, sleeps all morning.”
Half-Blood Secrets: A Paranormal Series (Half-Bloods Book 2) Page 3