Page 111 of Hoofin’ It

Ernesto leaned against the wall beside the door and crossed his arms over his chest. “How was their mood before the explosion?”

“Gibby and his woman?”

“Yes.”

“High-spirited and playful. He was rather like an eager child hoping to impress his first love with the little things he treasured. Whenever I sent Quinton or one of our brothers to check on them, they were far too occupied with each other to pay attention to much else. I thought it was going well. Gibby?”

I wished Dr. Valentine would put me down. Clapping my paws together seemed like the best way to inform Pierina I was less than impressed with her analysis of my evening with Marian.

“So shy,” she teased.

It turned out otters could, with a little work, flip someone the middle finger.

I thoroughly enjoyed watching Dr. Valentine browbeat the doctors, MRI techs, and nurses at the hospital, as she made it clear she had no tolerance for anything less than their best. She’d made enemies of the staff within a few sentences, but at least they handled her displeasure better than their co-workers.

No one had the piss scared out of them, for which I was grateful.

Since my job during the MRI was to keep still and behave, I made the most of my situation and tried to nap. Unfortunately, the machine made thumping noises, which killed any hope of falling asleep. Fortunately, my small size meant the procedure didn’t take long to finish. When Dr. Valentine came to retrieve me, I yawned and wobbled in her direction.

“You’re a very lucky man, Mr. Gibson. Had you been a vanilla human or an infected lycanthrope pre-shift, you would be rather dead right now.” I gaped at her, stiff with surprise, and she reached out and touched the middle of my spine. “From our limited understanding of shifters, we’ve come to the conclusion that most first shifts are induced by some form of trauma, which can show on medical scans as discolorations or shadows marking where the transformation process healed equivalent organs and tissue. Your spine showed these shadows, as well as most of your organs, with your lungs and kidneys suffering extensive amounts of damage. In humans, these organs are located near the spine, so I suspect the fall was the source of your injuries. Involuntary shifting typically addresses life-threatening injuries, leaving behind those shadows as evidence of trauma.”

I added ‘falling onto my back from a second-story balcony’ to my list of experiences never to repeat.

“Here’s the bad news. When you shift back to human, those life-threatening injuries will have been addressed, but you’re going to be rather miserable. We’ll want to handle your shift in a controlled environment, with one or more surgeons on hand in case anything goes wrong. I’m going to recommend we take advantage of your unusual response to the lycanthropy virus and do a transfusion upon your reversal and monitor your health from there. Do not misunderstand me; shifting is not a cure-all. Your first shift is the only one with any guarantee of fixing otherwise fatal injuries. There are theories on why. My favorite is that the first shift comes with a rather intense magical burst. Future shifts don’t have the same potency. Shifters aren’t invulnerable. Do try to keep that in mind.”

I bobbed my head to acknowledge I’d received her message. Assuming I could stop getting into trouble, I might survive long enough to enjoy my lengthened lifespan.

Dr. Valentine picked me up and carried me out of the room, pausing in the hallway to dump me in my mother’s arms—my mother’s human arms. Someone had found her a pair of sweats, and she cuddled me while Dad hovered, still in his hybrid form.

Of the three vampires, I saw no sign.

“You can take him out. I’ll handle all the paperwork. Remember what I told you. Don’t try to get him to shift, let him get a lot of rest, and feed him. While otters favor seafood, he’ll eat almost anything. Shifters have rather adaptable digestive systems.” Dr. Valentine pulled a card from her wallet and handed it to my father. “Call me if there are any issues. And Mr. Gibson?”

“Yes?” my father replied.

“If I hear that you tossed your child across a room again, I will do a very close examination of your ass with my foot. Am I understood?”

Dad ducked his head and mumbled something.

Dr. Valentine cleared her throat.

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Good. Enjoy your hunt. If you have to leave any of them alive, try to keep them in tolerable condition. Nothing leaves a bad taste in my mouth like being forced to give medical care to would-be cop killers. It’s illegal to make their treatment as painful as possible.” Dr. Valentine heaved a sigh, shook her head, and marched down the hall, her chin lifted just high enough she could peer down her nose at anyone stupid enough to get in her way.

“Now that’s one hell of a woman,” Mom muttered.

“No kidding. Let’s get out of here before she finds out we’ve been tossing our brat around since he was old enough to bounce.”

Ernesto and his children waited outside the hospital in an SUV with windows dark enough to protect even young vampires from the sun. Fitting into the vehicle was a tight squeeze, as Dad refused to shift out of his hybrid form and insisted on sitting as close to Mom as possible. I’d had enough of my clingy parents and took the first opportunity to escape, picking Quinton as least likely to bite me, continue the cuddling trend, or otherwise do anything but serve as a seat.

Next time, I’d remember Quinton was his father’s son. Since I couldn’t kneecap the bloodsucker, he took advantage and treated me like a pet for his amusement. Sighing over my lot in life, I turned my glare in Ernesto’s direction.

I’d have to have a long talk with the vampire about teaching his children I wasn’t a toy for their amusement.

“What’s the first item on our list?” I hadn’t pegged Ernesto as the type to drive, but he approached Upper Chicago as though it were a challenge to overcome, viewing traffic laws as basic guidelines. I suspected he mostly avoided breaking the law to keep the peace in the vehicle. If my parents noticed his minor misdeeds, they made no mention of them, so I followed their lead.

I’d enjoy yanking Ernesto’s chain about it later.