Yeah, when pigs fly. "Thanks," Susan said with a smile so fake, it would make a politician proud.
Sneezing again, she headed for her car and set the cage in the backseat. "Thanks a lot, Puss in Boots," she said as she eyed him with malice. "I hope you seriously appreciate the misery I'm enduring for you."
Angie watched as Susan pulled out of the parking lot and headed south toward her house. Releasing a relieved breath, she turned to see Jimmy motioning for her on the other side of the door that led to the employees only area of the shelter.
One minute, she mouthed to him.
She was just about to grab her coat from behind the counter when she saw Theo heading straight for her. His handsome face was paler than normal as he slammed the door shut from the cat room. Two seconds later, his assistant, Darrin, came out of the cat room just behind him.
Theo's dark brown eyes were flaming angry. "Where is he?" Theo demanded as he stopped in front of her.
Angie was baffled by his anger and accusing tone. "Who?"
"The cat." He spat those words at her as if they were evil. "The one that was brought in early this morning. Where the hell is he?"
"Is that the one that was just adopted?"
Angie cringed as the receptionist spoke. "Is there a problem with him?"
Theo and Darrin exchanged a hostile glare. "Yes. He's feral."
"Oh." Angie started to say she'd go get the cat back when she saw Jimmy making odd gestures at her through the door. It looked like he was telling her to run toward him. She frowned at her husband.
Theo turned to see what she was looking at. Jimmy dropped his hands and tried to look nonchalant.
Something dark descended over Theo's face as it turned to stone. "Darrin?"
"Sir?"
"Lock the door and shut the blinds."
Ravyn wasn't sure if he should be happy or not by his rescue. One thing was certain, he'd be a whole hell of a lot more grateful had his rescuer not put him in direct sunlight on her backseat. The painful rays forced him to cower in a corner, and cowering wasn't something he relished.
He sniffed the air. Damn. Was that his fur getting singed? Of course it was... what would make him think for one minute that it wasn't him getting burned?
Nothing was worse than to have burning hair and a heightened sense of smell. Well, maybe there was something worse-burning flesh and turning into a pile of flaming ash, which was exactly what he'd be doing if he were in human form.
Okay, on second thought, this was better, but even though he could tolerate the sun as a cat, it still hurt like a mother. He might not burst into flames like this, but if they didn't get him out of here soon, he would be blistered pretty badly.
"What's that smell?"
He ground his teeth at Susan's question. It's me, genius. He would project that thought out to her if it weren't for the fact that it would shock him and he'd been shocked enough for one day. Ravyn hissed as sunlight cut across his footpad and blistered it. He jerked his paw and tucked it up under him.
His head was throbbing and honestly, he didn't know how much longer he could maintain his form or hold back his magick. Time was running out for him.
"Is that you, Puss in Boots?"
Ravyn glared at her as she stopped for a red light. Irritation at her aside, she was rather cute in a very girl-next-door kind of way. Not a knockout by any means, but wholesomely pretty. With dark blond hair and bright blue eyes, she looked like she should be on a farm somewhere, tending a dozen or so kids. There was something about her that reminded him of a no-nonsense Mennonite woman. She wasn't wearing any makeup and her hair was pulled back into a ponytail. If it were down, it'd probably fall just below her shoulders-the same length as his.
She rolled down the car windows. "Gah, what did you eat, Puss in Boots? I'm thinking I shouldn't have taken that Benadryl. A stopped-up nose would definitely improve this aromatic nightmare. Someone shoot me."
Oh, to have the ability to speak as a human right about now... Get me out of the sunlight, lady, and we'll both be a hell of a lot happier.
Ravyn tried to swallow only to learn that he couldn't because the collar was suddenly constricting his throat. His body was starting to grow again even with the ionic inhibitors of the collar that were keeping him in small-cat form. Since it wasn't his natural form and it was daylight, his body wanted to return to being human, and before much longer he would switch back whether he wanted to or not.
If he were still wearing the collar when the change came, it would kill him.
Drive faster.