Page 68 of Vetted for Vengeance

---

I freeze.

“You’ll supervise the first feed,” he corrects. “Then you’ll step away.”

“I need to…”

“You need to trust your team.”

God, I hate that sentence. Because it feels like letting go. And letting go has never been safe.

But…

This place is different.

He’s different.

I look down at the two pups in my arms.

Then back at Honey and her remaining eight pups. Already there's more space for them to thrive.

They look more settled.

More… manageable.

“You’re right,” I admit quietly.

Rhys nods once. There's no smugness. No victory. Just certainty.

“Come on,” he says. “Let’s get them set up.”

Getting onto my knees is awkward until I slip the pups into my pocket. I can feel Rhys’s disapproval without even looking at him. I ignore it and stand up anyway.

I have to leave Honey to keep fighting for her pups, knowing these won't be the last I take from her.

Rhys walks with me to the nurse's room where the incubator is set up for its three current residents.

I'm not rushing. Not me dragging everything behind me.

Not struggling to do it all myself. Not carrying everything alone.

And somehow… that makes it easier to breathe.

Chapter thirty-three

Rhys

My head is spinning between Noah, his parents, and the shadow man.

And Noah keeps disappearing into the kennels to check on Honey, as if everything is normal. She's suffering from the caesarean section, and so many little puppies need her. She's gone from a familiar kennel where she can move around, to a tiny space designed for day admissions and post-op recovery.

Noah leaves the kennels, his hands cupping his scrubs pocket in that protective manner I've come to know

He's back to carrying puppies in his pocket.

I get it.

Even removing four from the litter…

Even with supplementing Honey's remaining pups…

---