Page 27 of Plaidypus
“I received a dire threat of a fate worse than death if I did not fix my diet immediately. I complied, as I value my life. The doctors in Toronto are good, and they’re used to working with lycanthropes and shapeshifters, so you shouldn’t have any issues with their competency. I don’t recommend going to a vanilla doctor. Most of them wouldn’t know how to care for a lycanthrope even if you directed them to a guide.”
That matched everything I’d experienced being a shapeshifter in a small and prejudiced town. “There’s no reason we can’t go to this clinic while in Toronto.”
“Then it’s a plan. As soon as the blizzard clears, you’ll go to Toronto. After a day or two in the city, you’ll be able to head to the United States to see your parents. The CDC will be on hand to help you both with adjusting to your new circumstances, but you’ll find New York is a good place for vampires and lycanthropes.” Leonard’s eyes narrowed, and after a moment, he shrugged. “Given a good reason, I’d move there, assuming I could get the CDC to help with my paperwork. Unlike you two, there’s nothing American about me.”
Damn. I raised my brows at the verbal shots he fired. “You’re just jealous we can waltz into the United States whenever we want without having to make a fuss at the border.”
To my amusement, the other lycanthrope grinned at me. “You might be right about that. The last time I tried crossing the border, I got in trouble because I had an unpeeled orange on the passenger seat. It got confiscated. The joke’s on the guard, though. It was past its expiration date.”
Ew. “Clean your vehicle out more often. That’s gross. Don’t keep moldy oranges in your car.”
“It wasn’t moldy. It was just a bit wrinkled and had a startlingly hard texture. I suspect we’ll be here for a few days until the weather clears, so you just rest and relax and leave the cooking and cleaning to me.”
Before I could say a word, he disappeared into the kitchen. I turned to the two beings in the room who might be able to help me understand the wily lycanthrope. “Was he flirting? I can’t tell if he was flirting. That sounded suspiciously like flirting.”
The sex demons laughed. Mina approached me, looked me over, and raised a brow. “Do you want him to be flirting with you?”
I did, but pride demanded I make a stand against the plaid-wearing Canadian with the tantalizing scent of male wolf. “Can you ask me that sometime when he can’t hear me?”
In the kitchen, Leonard snickered.
“I’m sure you’ll figure it out one way or another, and I wish you the best of luck.”
Well, it could be worse. She could have told me to not bother at all. “Thanks, Mina.”
She patted my shoulder. “Anytime.”
EIGHT
You mean beyond her status as an undead moose?
Three days after tearing in, the blizzard eased up enough for the roads to be cleared. The freakish early-season storm transformed the Canadian wilderness into a sparkling wonderland, reminding me of what I’d be giving up. Leaving the comfort and familiarity of home would bother me for months or years to come, but I’d do my best.
My brother needed my best.
My wolf and platypus also needed my best, and I couldn’t give it to them in the small town burdened with hotspots and outbreaks of the undead. I certainly wouldn’t find any peace or comfort when living in a state of terror someone might kill my brother because he’d been transformed into a vampire.
It didn’t matter that he hadn’t hurt anyone other than me and Icy.
In town, the only good vampire was a dead vampire, and nobody cared who the vampire had once been.
Icy tended to stay in her shelter, nibbling away at her bales of hay. Every time I went outside, loading up the CDC’s family car with the things I’d need to survive in New York for a while, she emerged and came over to shower me with affection. Something about the snow seemed to do her a world of good, as I couldn’t spot any of the damage to her coat. After loading the trunk with everything for the trip, I went into the house, stomped the snow off my boots, and escaped my snow gear before pattering around in my bare feet in search of Leonard.
I found him in my brother’s lair, playing a computer game while the Chicago vampires educated Matthieu on blood drinking etiquette with donors.
Mina dozed on the floor, and I gave up wondering where the incubus hid.
“I think there’s something up with Icy, Leonard.”
The lycanthrope paused his game, turned in my brother’s computer chair, and raised a brow. “You mean beyond her status as an undead moose?”
“It looks like her coat has repaired itself. It’s thick, I can’t spot any of the crash damage, and I can’t even tell she’s not a living moose now. Well, beyond the ice covering her.”
“You’re going to get upset if I don’t scan her, aren’t you?”
I nodded. “If you’re going to take Icy into custody, you have to make sure my zombie moose gets the best care. And that means checking on her with your fancy scanner. If you don’t want to take care of her properly, I’ll just run off with my moose and your scanner.”
My brother snickered. “Those scanners aren’t cheap, Nadine. You’d be slapped with a felony for certain—and fined for the value of the scanner. It’s not worth it. The penalties for kidnapping the scanner’s operator are probably more lax than if you were to steal the scanner. The scanner belongs to the CDC. Leonard does not.”
