there?”
“Princess.”
I hit my nose on the gate, trying to look through the wooden slats. After a few seconds of adjusting, I could make out white fur. “ I’m Cordi. I’ve been looking for you .”
The Chihuahua seemed to understand my whining without any trouble. “ Why?”
“I know your mom, Vera.”
“ You do?” Princess pressed her face to the other side of the gate. “ I want to go home. Can you take me home?”
Marveling at the difference being a dog made in communicating with one, I said, “ Not right now, but as soon as I can. You need to find a way in here. I’m staying with friends, and they’ll take care of you too until we can take you home.”
She yipped and began scrabbling at the ground. “ There’s a rock .”
“ Yeah, I kind of dug out earlier. Let me see if I can move it .” Hooking a paw over the rock, I scraped at it. It moved a little. “ I can. Wait a second .”
“ Hurry. I saw the bad man looking for me .”
Still working the rock away from the gate, I asked, “ What bad man?”
“ He took me away from Mom’s friend, Eileen. He had others in a place that smelled bad. I couldn’t open their cages, but I opened mine .”
With a final hard pull, I managed to move the rock several inches back from the gate. It would’ve been a lot easier with hands instead of paws. “ Can you get in now?”
More scrabbling and Princess wiggled under the gate. She shook dirt from her fur before looking up at me with bright, brown eyes. “ You’re big!”
I debated telling her that I was actually a human, but decided against it. “ Yeah. Do you know what shifters are?”
“ The animal people?” She shrank back against the gate, looking around while her ears flicked back. “ They’re scary. The bad man’s an animal people.”
What? Shifters were stealing dogs? “ What kind of animal is he?”
Princess sneezed. “ Wolf.”
Okay, I needed some time to think about that. However, I didn’t get it right then, as footsteps sounded in the alley. “ Someone’s coming. Go hide.”
The Chihuahua didn’t waste time, scooting away from the gate with her little whip of a tail tucking between her hind legs. I didn’t move, watching the gate and listening.
“Last damn thing we need to be doing is looking for that yappy scrap of fur again.” A heavy thumping sound followed the words, and someone yelped. Pressing my nose to the gate, I sniffed.
The person who’d yelped spoke. “I didn’t let it out of the cage.”
“Dogs are stupid, they can’t open their own cages.” Another thump and yelp. “I swear, if he finds out, you’ll be the one getting your tail cut off.”
They were coming closer, and the breeze carried their scents to me. A growl rose in my throat. They were wolf shifters. “Did you hear that?”
“Yeah.” A few seconds later, the two were outside the gate. The larger one grabbed and shook it.
I went nuts, snarling, barking, and throwing myself at the gate, saliva flying everywhere. My doggy instincts shrieked Kill, kill, kill!
“Hey, looks like we got ourselves a candidate for the ring.” The gate rattled. “It’s locked. Step back.”
“Wait, don’t you smell...”
Behind me the door opened. I redoubled my efforts, aware that backup was on the way. I hoped it wasn’t just Terra. Splinters of wood peeled away from the wooden planks as I raked my nails down them.
“Hey! Calm down.” It wasn’t Terra, but Teague. I spun away from the gate, dashing toward him, only to turn and run back, throwing myself against it again. The wolf shifters beat a hasty retreat down the alley.
Alanna appeared in the doorway. “What’s going on?”
“The dog’s lost its mind.”
I stopped, cocking my head with my ears perked, and then gave a satisfied bark. “ That’s right, run! Cowards .”
“She hasn’t lost her mind. Can’t you smell them? There were wolves here a minute ago.” Alanna shook her head. “And they weren’t any of those doing
“Princess.”
I hit my nose on the gate, trying to look through the wooden slats. After a few seconds of adjusting, I could make out white fur. “ I’m Cordi. I’ve been looking for you .”
The Chihuahua seemed to understand my whining without any trouble. “ Why?”
“I know your mom, Vera.”
“ You do?” Princess pressed her face to the other side of the gate. “ I want to go home. Can you take me home?”
Marveling at the difference being a dog made in communicating with one, I said, “ Not right now, but as soon as I can. You need to find a way in here. I’m staying with friends, and they’ll take care of you too until we can take you home.”
She yipped and began scrabbling at the ground. “ There’s a rock .”
“ Yeah, I kind of dug out earlier. Let me see if I can move it .” Hooking a paw over the rock, I scraped at it. It moved a little. “ I can. Wait a second .”
“ Hurry. I saw the bad man looking for me .”
Still working the rock away from the gate, I asked, “ What bad man?”
“ He took me away from Mom’s friend, Eileen. He had others in a place that smelled bad. I couldn’t open their cages, but I opened mine .”
With a final hard pull, I managed to move the rock several inches back from the gate. It would’ve been a lot easier with hands instead of paws. “ Can you get in now?”
More scrabbling and Princess wiggled under the gate. She shook dirt from her fur before looking up at me with bright, brown eyes. “ You’re big!”
I debated telling her that I was actually a human, but decided against it. “ Yeah. Do you know what shifters are?”
“ The animal people?” She shrank back against the gate, looking around while her ears flicked back. “ They’re scary. The bad man’s an animal people.”
What? Shifters were stealing dogs? “ What kind of animal is he?”
Princess sneezed. “ Wolf.”
Okay, I needed some time to think about that. However, I didn’t get it right then, as footsteps sounded in the alley. “ Someone’s coming. Go hide.”
The Chihuahua didn’t waste time, scooting away from the gate with her little whip of a tail tucking between her hind legs. I didn’t move, watching the gate and listening.
“Last damn thing we need to be doing is looking for that yappy scrap of fur again.” A heavy thumping sound followed the words, and someone yelped. Pressing my nose to the gate, I sniffed.
The person who’d yelped spoke. “I didn’t let it out of the cage.”
“Dogs are stupid, they can’t open their own cages.” Another thump and yelp. “I swear, if he finds out, you’ll be the one getting your tail cut off.”
They were coming closer, and the breeze carried their scents to me. A growl rose in my throat. They were wolf shifters. “Did you hear that?”
“Yeah.” A few seconds later, the two were outside the gate. The larger one grabbed and shook it.
I went nuts, snarling, barking, and throwing myself at the gate, saliva flying everywhere. My doggy instincts shrieked Kill, kill, kill!
“Hey, looks like we got ourselves a candidate for the ring.” The gate rattled. “It’s locked. Step back.”
“Wait, don’t you smell...”
Behind me the door opened. I redoubled my efforts, aware that backup was on the way. I hoped it wasn’t just Terra. Splinters of wood peeled away from the wooden planks as I raked my nails down them.
“Hey! Calm down.” It wasn’t Terra, but Teague. I spun away from the gate, dashing toward him, only to turn and run back, throwing myself against it again. The wolf shifters beat a hasty retreat down the alley.
Alanna appeared in the doorway. “What’s going on?”
“The dog’s lost its mind.”
I stopped, cocking my head with my ears perked, and then gave a satisfied bark. “ That’s right, run! Cowards .”
“She hasn’t lost her mind. Can’t you smell them? There were wolves here a minute ago.” Alanna shook her head. “And they weren’t any of those doing
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