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Helena shook her head. "Well, I. Wow."
Just Like Cats & Dogs - 123
Gray chuffed softly. "Does that mean I get to bite you
now? Since you're family?"
"Nope." No biting. Lord. They hit the suburbs in
record time, and Gus took the airport spur, his tires
squealing a little.
Helena had been fucking with her fancy phone. "I
have us flights that leave in four hours. Should I get
hotel rooms?"
Such a city girl. "Yeah. Gray will have to be our
command center, and he'll need a place to hole up."
"I have medical supplies back in the rental car, which
is, unfortunately, back there..." Gray's nose wrinkled. "I
don't suppose Pete will come deal with it?"
Helena snorted. "Tell him to bring Lizzie and he'll
come. She's his wife, after all."
"No shit?" Huh. They'd actually gotten married and
Pete hadn't invited him... "Pete will come."
"Find us a medical supply place in the city that will
deliver, Sister."
Helena looked back at Gray, eyebrow arched like he
could see it. "You mean we're not going to hospitalize
him?"
"I thought we'd just kill him and put him out of his
misery," Gray shot back.
Ah, siblings. Gus rolled his eyes. "Hospitals bad,
kids."
Helena actually laughed, chuffing softly. The sound
didn't last long, though, before it faded. "He's okay,
right? You'd know, if he was..."
Gus tried not to rumble at her. "I'd like to think so,
yeah. We didn't get to spend much time bonding. And
I've been grumpy at him."
"Are you sure? I mean, he's a cat, Gus. Can we do
that?" Gray looked utterly confused.
Just Like Cats & Dogs - 124
"I'm sure." That he knew, deep down. It was fucked
up, but it was his.
"Well, good."
Helena looked at Gray, wide-eyed. "Good?"
"Yes. Sam deserves a mate."
Jesus, Gray ran hot and cold. Of course, Sam's whole
family were weirdos, so why not have him be a strange
one?
Helena rolled her eyes. "Mom will be so pleased."
Gray nodded. "I think she will."
"Only if we manage to get him back." He was ready
to snarl. Maybe to ditch the truck and run across
country...
"We will. We have to." Helena growled low. "We
have to, Gus."
They did. He wouldn't accept anything else. He just
needed to get to the East coast. Then he would track
Sam down and never let the man go again.
Just Like Cats & Dogs - 125
Chapter Twenty
"Sammy? Sammy, open your eyes."
He growled softly, refusing to move. Gus was
supposed to come, but it was taking so long.
So long.
He'd stopped trying to move, stopped fighting it.
Marina came often, talking to him, cleaning him,
feeding him. Sam wasn't sure, but he thought that he'd
stopped breathing a few times. The big males had
stopped coming when he started stinking. It was a
blessing, he thought.
Maybe.
"Open your eyes. I found the antidote, so you can
change. I'm saving it, though. I have to take the thing out
of your back, so your legs have a chance, but it'll hurt.
It'll hurt a lot."
He tried to follow what she said. In the beginning,
he'd talked to her, told her about Ma and Poppy, about
Helena and Lizzie and Gray and Pete. About Gus. His
Gus.
Sam smiled, remembering the way his wolf growled,
the way Gus bit and touched him, made him purr. He
hadn't wanted to purr for so long.
"Sam!" She held his nostrils closed until he gasped,
blinked at her.
"Bitch."
"There you are. You were fading." She looked
worried. Sam didn't blame her at all. He was worried.
"Sorry. I was..."
"Stoned. I know. Did you hear me?" She stroked his
hair out of his face. "I don't want to do it, but it I'm
going to get you out, I have to. I don't know if your Gus
is coming, but you're not going to make it if I don't
move soon."
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"He'll come." Gus had to come.
"Okay, then when he does, I'll be ready." She had
tears in her eyes, and she smelled like regret. "I'm so
sorry, Sammy. I hate this."
He managed a grin. "Not as much as I will, I bet."
Marina sniffled, nodded. "I know. Tell me you'll
forgive me?"
"Nothing to forgive, honey. Do it." Whatever it was,
he would cope.
She reached behind him, fiddling with something in
his spine, and a fire started to build, down where his toes
were covered by the filthy blanket. He winced,
shuddered.
"I'm sorry, Sam. It's going to get worse."
He growled, deep in his chest. "Quit apologizing,
girl. You're Pack. Act like it. I'll be fine."
She stood, chin lifted as she looked down at him.
"You're sure?"
"Positive." A fresh wave of pain hit him, and he knew
it was a lie, but she was about to have to go, so it didn't
matter.
Sam was beginning to believe nothing mattered.
Just Like Cats & Dogs - 127
Chapter Twenty-One
Gus stared at the carnage that was Sam's glittery
funhouse apartment. There were signs of a heavy-duty
struggle, there was blood, and how Helena and Gray
could say the place smelled like him was beyond Gus. It
smelled like male cat spray.
Luckily, this was a scent he could track, because it
wasn't Sam.
Something tickled his face, and he reached up, the
feather that was dangling from the ceiling spattered with
blood, and that made him want to howl. It wasn't right.
None of this was right. He growled, the sound bubbling
deep in his chest. He hated this not knowing, not being
able to feel Sam in this place without the bad energy.
"Where do we start?" Helena was ghost white, and
Gray... Gray was barely holding it together.
"We start with you putting your cell number in my
phone, then taking Gray and getting us some sort of bolt
hole and that medicine." He needed them away.
"I can help." Gray's growl was near desperate, and
Helena caught Gus' eyes, shook her head.
"You can help more by being my command center,
man. We need a place to bring Sam. If these kitties are
as bad as you say, I need you on the horn getting us out
of town."
"Hand me your phone, man. Gray, should we hunt
clothes for him?"
"He'll want something soft..." Gray was tight around
the mouth, but calmer.
Helena handed him his phone back. "We're in there.
We'll find a safe place -- unless you want me to clean
this."
"Not yet. I may need the scent again." Even if it made
him gag.
Just Like Cats & Dogs - 128
"Okay. We'll find a suite somewhere." Helena's hand
wrapped around Gray's arm. "We've got to get ready for
him."
"Yeah. Call me and let me know. I need you out;
your scent is distracting."
Helena nodded, dragging Gray out. "Find him."
"Got it." He would. He so would. As soon as they got
far enough away that their scent faded. Gus closed his
eyes, letting his other senses take over.
It was Sam that hit him first -- his mate's scent
wrapped in pain and fury and fear. Underneath that were
others -- strangers to him, more than one, males. They
had been angry, violent, but not murderous. They had
taken Sam with them.
Someone wanted to make an example of Sam, he
would bet on it.
He couldn't decide if he was going to beat the living
fuck out of Sam for not telling him -- telling someone --
that this shit had been going on, or be so proud of his
mate's strength that he couldn't bear it. One way or the
other, it wouldn't matter if he didn't start tracking. He
figured in this instance he was glad he was more feral
than his family, or his mate. He could do this.
He headed outside, searching, but the trail only led
him to the top of the stairs. So many people. So fucking
many feet. Gus growled, heading back into Sam's
apartment. He had to focus on one thing, on one scent,
the strongest one.
The scent of something new hit his nose on his third
trip in and out.
A wolf.
A female.
Not Helena.
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