The vet lifted a puppy out of the crate and began her examination by weighing each one on a small scale.
“My husband is African wild dog,” she informed Shay in response to his partially asked question. “We met when I was in vet school. Sorry about calling you a bear. I don’t spend much time around big cats.”
After weighing each pup, she checked their heartbeats, claws, paws, and teeth.
“The puppies look great. Very healthy. Now, time to take a look at the momma.”
Shay put his arms around Princess and lifted her as he stood. Before he could put her on the exam table, though, Tock took the muzzle from Dani and stepped over to the pair so she could put it on the dog. That’s when Princess bared her fangs in warning at Tock for the first time.
“I know you didn’t just growl at me,” Tock told the dog.
Princess’s mouth relaxed, her hackles went down, and she yawned. Tock stepped close and put the bucket muzzle around the dog’s closed mouth.
Once secure, Shay put her on the exam table.
The vet examined the dog and took some blood. She asked about vaccines, and when Shay only gazed at her, she began writing furiously on her chart.
When Shay put Princess back on the floor, the vet said, “Mr. Malone, my strongest suggestion to you at this point is that you don’t place these puppies with anyone other than the big shifters. That includes the smaller cats and dogs. No bobcats. No foxes. No jackals. Apex predators only, please.”
“She’s fine with me,” Tock said. And when the vet only gazed at her, she added, “I’m honey badger.”
“Ah. The psychotic, rage-filled assholes of the wild? Yeah, I’m sure she’s fine with you, but my suggestion still stands. Bears. Lions. Tigers. Wolf Pack. And start socializing those puppies now.”
“You mean . . . socialize them outside their uncles and mother?”
The vet clenched her fists and, for a brief second, Shay was sure that the woman was going to punch him. But his daughter stepped forward and said, “Don’t worry, Dr. Maurice. I’ll be handling the puppies from now on.”
“Well, thank God for that. Unbelievable.” She shook her head at Shay. “You got them at a parking lot. Unbelievable.”
*
“She wanted to beat you to death.”
“I am aware.”
“Who knew you could make a vet so mad? She deals with animals all day and yet you pushed her to the edge. It was hilarious.”
They had left the vet’s office and were making their way down to the world beneath. Of course, that sounded way more dramatic than it actually was. All you had to do was walk down some stairs and pass a couple of shifter security guards who gave a good sniff to make sure you were one of them.
“You want something to eat, baby?” Shay asked Dani, placing the crate with the puppies on a table near the Starbucks.
Tock dropped into a seat and Dani took one of the others.
“No, thank you, Daddy. Just some water.”
Shay had walked into the coffee shop but walked right back out. “You’re not hungry?” he asked, gazing down at his daughter. “What’s wrong? You don’t feel well? Do I need to take you home?”
“Um . . . no. Just wanted some water.”
“When was the last time you ate? Did you eat before we left? What about some fruit? Do you want some fruit? Or cereal? I can get you some cereal.”
“You are freaking her out,” Tock told him. “You know what I’d love? A small coffee. Black. No sugar.” She pushed a ten-dollar bill across the table, but Shay waved it away before looking his daughter over one more time and finally walking into the Starbucks.
“Thanks for coming with us today,” Dani said once her father was gone.
“No problem. Your father is always so cute in his inherent confusion.”
“I think I’m going to stay with him and my uncles until we find homes for the puppies.”
“Probably a good idea. Will your mom be okay with that?” Tock’s mom had become weepy when she spent the night at Streep’s house or Nelle’s mansion. Even now she received regular texts from her mother that basically said the same thing: “I haven’t heard from you in days. Are you dead?” Tock had never wanted a sibling, but she always wondered if her mother would be less clingy if there were another child to distract her.
“My mom has my brothers in football camp, then they will start practice for football at their school, so I won’t be missed. She’ll be busy until after the Super Bowl.”
“Does that bother you?”
“No. My test scores are always higher during football season.”
Tock laughed at that.
Shay returned to their table. After watching the cat stare at the crate of puppies, Tock picked it up and placed it on the ground next to her legs and Princess.
With a grunt that she guessed was a thank-you, Shay put down a large coffee in front of Tock—she’d asked for the small—and a plate with several honey buns, which she hadn’t ordered at all. He put a giant bottle of water in front of his daughter, as well as a bottle of orange juice, and a plate filled with cinnamon buns.
“Here. Eat,” he ordered.
He went back into the coffee shop to bring out his own food.
“I don’t want this,” the kid said.
“How about the honey buns?” Tock loved honey but she wasn’t a honey bun fan. There wasn’t enough honey for her and the bun just felt gummy against her tongue. She’d rather just squeeze the contents of one of those bear-shaped honey containers directly into her mouth.
“No.”
“Well, I’ll take the cinnamon buns.” She loved those. “Orange juice?”
“I really just wanted the water.”
Tock took the juice, opened it, and drank it all in several gulps. She closed the bottle and put it back in front of Dani.
“You drank that,” she said, pointing at the empty bottle.
Shay returned with his own three plates full of pastries, a large coffee, and a large bottle of water.
He sat down, carefully arranged everything around him, and then began to eat. But not before noting, “At least you drank the juice, baby.”
Nodding, eyes wide, Dani replied, “Uh-huh.”
“Here.” Tock pushed her honey buns toward the big cat.
“You don’t like?”
“They’re okay. But I like cinnamon better. I like my honey plain and unfettered by stuff.”
“Whatever that means.”
They ate in silence while the kid pulled out her notebook and began working on her fractions again.
When Shay had finished shoveling food into his mouth with a speed Tock found fascinating, he reached across the table and took Tock’s arm. As he turned it so he could see her watch, she no longer felt the desire to punch him for touching her without permission.
“Okay. I’ve got to get to practice. You ready, baby?”
“Do I have to go?” Dani whined.
“Baby, I can’t leave you here.” Shay gestured at the others sitting at nearby tables. “These are all killers and you’re just a little cub. I can’t leave you alone with any of them.”
Tock dropped her head to hide her smile when she saw all the insulted glares leveled at the back of Shay’s head.