verbal apology. Really, the man was incorrigible.
And incredibly sexy.
“Enough.” She’d had to raise her voice to be heard, but the barking and growling decreased immediately. A few brave ones gave a final bark or snarl before she pinned each of them with a glare.
“You seem to have quite a lot of business.” He didn’t move and his voice remained low, deliciously dark. A few warning growls, but the peanut gallery remained relatively quiet.
“People’ve always liked to travel with their pets when they could.” She checked the doors to all of their kennels, pausing to give each of them a reassuring skritch to the nose as she passed. “Customs doesn’t seem to be holding most of the supposed zombie hunters to the normal quarantine times. Gives them the ability to bring in their hunting dogs, I suppose. But really, we get a decent number of these pets to board while their owners see their fill of zombie-infested London.”
She eyed Seth. She’d seen him in action. Energy fairly vibrated in the air around him, and yet he’d somehow managed to tuck it all away as he stood there, perfectly still. She wondered if it only lasted while he remained standing there. And why did he have his hand clutched to his shoulder like that?
“What happened? Have you gotten yourself hurt again, then?”
He lifted an eyebrow.
“Well, has someone shot you besides me in the last twenty-four hours?”
He flashed teeth in a real smile. “I might have had a run-in with a stray zombie.”
“What zombie isn’t a stray, shambling about aimlessly until it stumbles across live meat?” She wanted to spit the bitter taste from her mouth, but it’d set a bad example for the boys and next she knew, they’d be drooling everywhere.
“I’ve been wondering that myself.” Could the man be more cryptic?
Seth turned and lowered his hand to the small utility table in the center of the room at the same time. She had to step around him to see.
There stood the tiniest orange tabby kitten, standing on wide braced paws and looking very annoyed.
“He fits in your hand!” She hushed herself and leaned in for a closer look.
The kitten immediately puffed into an orange ball of temper.
“There now, easy. We’re only trying to help.” She cooed and made soft nonsense sounds, let him see she meant him no harm. As his fur settled, she extended a single finger.
It took another long minute before the lad met her halfway to sniff her finger tip.
“All right then, now we’re friends, let me look you over in the other room.” Before the boys set to barking their furry heads off again and scared the bejeebers out of the kitten.
She gathered him to her chest and tried not to wince when needle-sharp claws immediately anchored into the front of her shirt. Poor thing didn’t trust her not to drop him.
Couldn’t blame him. Easier to survive in this world relying on no one.
Seth followed her into the examination room. “Found him in an alley, fighting a zombie.”
“You must be joking.”
“He reminded me of someone, so I brought him here.”
Oh, wasn’t that charming. She gave the werewolf a scowl for his trouble.
“He can’t be more than a few weeks old.” It took a bit of wriggling to detach him from her shirt. He’d better not rip it—she only had a few good enough to wear down to the clinic. “He’s in good shape, though, if he’s got this much fight to him.”
She set him down on the table and checked him over with gentle hands.
“Cats’ve been doing well in the city this past year, better than dogs.”
“You think so?” She’d not seen many dogs at all. “I thought most of the dogs might have run off.”
Seth shook his head. “Most people keep their dogs in their houses with them or tied up to a kennel. Usually dogs can’t run away from a zombie if one of the blighters gets into a home or yard.”
Her breath caught. Poor things. She focused on breathing away the pang of sadness and she spent an extra
And incredibly sexy.
“Enough.” She’d had to raise her voice to be heard, but the barking and growling decreased immediately. A few brave ones gave a final bark or snarl before she pinned each of them with a glare.
“You seem to have quite a lot of business.” He didn’t move and his voice remained low, deliciously dark. A few warning growls, but the peanut gallery remained relatively quiet.
“People’ve always liked to travel with their pets when they could.” She checked the doors to all of their kennels, pausing to give each of them a reassuring skritch to the nose as she passed. “Customs doesn’t seem to be holding most of the supposed zombie hunters to the normal quarantine times. Gives them the ability to bring in their hunting dogs, I suppose. But really, we get a decent number of these pets to board while their owners see their fill of zombie-infested London.”
She eyed Seth. She’d seen him in action. Energy fairly vibrated in the air around him, and yet he’d somehow managed to tuck it all away as he stood there, perfectly still. She wondered if it only lasted while he remained standing there. And why did he have his hand clutched to his shoulder like that?
“What happened? Have you gotten yourself hurt again, then?”
He lifted an eyebrow.
“Well, has someone shot you besides me in the last twenty-four hours?”
He flashed teeth in a real smile. “I might have had a run-in with a stray zombie.”
“What zombie isn’t a stray, shambling about aimlessly until it stumbles across live meat?” She wanted to spit the bitter taste from her mouth, but it’d set a bad example for the boys and next she knew, they’d be drooling everywhere.
“I’ve been wondering that myself.” Could the man be more cryptic?
Seth turned and lowered his hand to the small utility table in the center of the room at the same time. She had to step around him to see.
There stood the tiniest orange tabby kitten, standing on wide braced paws and looking very annoyed.
“He fits in your hand!” She hushed herself and leaned in for a closer look.
The kitten immediately puffed into an orange ball of temper.
“There now, easy. We’re only trying to help.” She cooed and made soft nonsense sounds, let him see she meant him no harm. As his fur settled, she extended a single finger.
It took another long minute before the lad met her halfway to sniff her finger tip.
“All right then, now we’re friends, let me look you over in the other room.” Before the boys set to barking their furry heads off again and scared the bejeebers out of the kitten.
She gathered him to her chest and tried not to wince when needle-sharp claws immediately anchored into the front of her shirt. Poor thing didn’t trust her not to drop him.
Couldn’t blame him. Easier to survive in this world relying on no one.
Seth followed her into the examination room. “Found him in an alley, fighting a zombie.”
“You must be joking.”
“He reminded me of someone, so I brought him here.”
Oh, wasn’t that charming. She gave the werewolf a scowl for his trouble.
“He can’t be more than a few weeks old.” It took a bit of wriggling to detach him from her shirt. He’d better not rip it—she only had a few good enough to wear down to the clinic. “He’s in good shape, though, if he’s got this much fight to him.”
She set him down on the table and checked him over with gentle hands.
“Cats’ve been doing well in the city this past year, better than dogs.”
“You think so?” She’d not seen many dogs at all. “I thought most of the dogs might have run off.”
Seth shook his head. “Most people keep their dogs in their houses with them or tied up to a kennel. Usually dogs can’t run away from a zombie if one of the blighters gets into a home or yard.”
Her breath caught. Poor things. She focused on breathing away the pang of sadness and she spent an extra
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