Page 36 of How Not to Date a Griffin

She led them down a hallway through a wooden door with… yes, those were teeth marks on the bottom of it. In fact, the whole corner of the door was chewed off, the dark wood littered with scratch marks.

“This is the cat room,” she said softly, and pointed to their left. Through a screen door was a room the size of a living area, lined with cat trees in front of a giant window on one side, and metal crates stacked floor to ceiling on the other. Some cats were free and sat up at the sound of people, staring at them warily.

She pointed to the door opposite them. “Food, toys, and treats are in this closet, as well as fresh towels for the cages. Don’t bother with the red-tagged cages—those are special cases, and they’re best left alone.”

“Surely not all the time, right?” Nolan asked. It could have been construed as a bitchy question, if not for the worry in his voice.

“No, of course not,” she answered. “Those cats just have specific volunteers that handle their care and have been taken care of today already.”

“Oh, that’s wonderful. They’ve become attached?” he asked.

“Yeah, it just makes letting them go a little more bittersweet.”

“What’s your adoption rate here?” Nolan asked, and wow, he was really into this, nipping at Amanda’s heels with question after question.

Amanda answered all of them with a smile as she led them to the kitten room, where they cared for healthy kittens, and the parvo room, where they cared for the sickly ones. They didn’t go in that room, with different brightly colored papers taped to the front of it.

“This is surprisingly roomy, compared to some of the places I’ve volunteered at. I’m terribly afraid your place looks rather small from the outside,” Nolan said at one point.

“I know, right?” she said, not offended at all. “It’s a squeeze. We’re actually looking at adding on a few rooms, which will be cheaper than finding a new place altogether.”

“Oh, that’ll be lovely,” Nolan said sincerely.

Amanda led them back to the cat room, and clapped her hands together softly. “Okay, then, I think that’s all you need to know. I don’t usually leave first-time volunteers alone with the animals, but from your extensive reference list, I think you’ll be alright,” she said with a wide smile. “So, take your time, and if you need anything at all, I’ll be up front. They’re all yours.”

“Thank you so much, Amanda.”

Reid waited before she was out of sight before he elbowed Nolan. “You’re a volunteer?”

His cheeks turned pink as he nodded. “I am. Shall we go in?”

Nolan unlatched the door after making sure none of the cats were trying to escape, and they slipped in before latching it back.

Instantly the cats, who had been waiting in silence, all leapt into action. They climbed to the tops of the cat trees, near the ceiling, and hissed in unison like a fucking choir.

Nolan froze. “Well, that’s certainly never happened before.”

“Uh…” Reid laid a hand over Nolan’s shoulder. “I’m a griffin, dude.”

He half-turned toward Reid, brows lifted in disbelief. “No… surely not! Is that what they’re upset about?” he asked, eyes darting between the upset cats, their backs arched and tails flicking and hair standing up, and back to Reid, who slowly unlatched the door and slipped back out.

“I think so, man,” he said, nodding at the cats who still eyed him suspiciously. With a door between them, they started to settle down again, tails snapping side to side in irritation. Reid watched in awe as Nolan shushed them with a gentle voice, high-pitched in the cutest way, soothing the army of cats like some magical cat whisperer.

Once they’d calmed down, Nolan turned back to the door and eyed Reid through the mesh net.

“Well, that’s certainly disappointing.”

Reid winced, running a hand through his hair. “I’m sorry. I mean, I guess I am half jungle cat. They can sense it.”

Nolan huffed. “Do you want to leave?”

“Do you want to stay?”

Nolan’s eyes were wide and round and… the only word that came to mind was pouty. “Yes.”

“Then we’ll stay. I’ll just be your… your stuff grabber. From the closet. Just tell me what to do.”

Nolan lifted his hands to his hips. “Are you sure? I didn’t expect you to do any work. I just—”