Page 22 of Feral

“Four is good.”

He nods, lingering.

“Would you like me to come inside with you after what happened today?”

Yannis clears his throat. “Nah, that’s okay. I’m good. They don’t know where I live.”

“Okay. I’ll see you tomorrow then.”

“Yeah. Thanks for the ride.”

“My pleasure.”

He glances out the window and chuckles before finally opening the door. I watch him walk up the steps to his building, then turn to wave at me before disappearing inside. I inhale slowly, my eyelids fluttering at his lingering scent.

A moment later, I step out of the car and look around a bit. It’s pretty quiet on this block, which is good. I’m about to leave when I catch a new, familiar scent. I tilt my head back in time to see Thorn drop down from the rooftop of the building to the left. He lands softly before standing to his full height and barreling into me with one of his bear hugs.

“Oof.” I laugh at the aggressive affection.

“Hale. What are you doing out here?”

“Hey, Thorn. Dropping off a new friend. He’ll be working at Lair.”

“Yeah? What’s his name?”

“Yannis.” I glance at the building. “I’m a little concerned. He’s from a small town and just moved here, and he had an unpleasant encounter today.”

“The Mafia dudes?”

I nod.

“Yves called me since I’m out hunting tonight.”

“Have you seen anything?”

“Not yet, but I’m on it. Want me to keep an eye on this building?”

“That’d be great.”

Thorn gets a huge grin on his face. “Is your new friend a love interest?”

“To be determined.”

“Alright, my guy. Getting back on the horse. I like it.”

“I didn’t say that.”

He shrugs. “It’s the first time you’ve even kind of talked about it, so it’s a start.” He claps my arm. “It’s okay to be happy, dude.”

“I’ll try to remember that.”

“You know what we should do right now?”

“Tell me.”

“Hunt. A fresh kill will do you good.”

I consider it for a moment. “You’re not wrong.”

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