Page 96 of Leashed

“Am I dismissed?” he asked, swaying backward on his heels a fraction and hoping against hope Hades didn’t notice. “I need to get topside. Need to, uh…oh, damn.”

“Hades, honey. He doesn’t look well.”

Seph’s voice was the last thing he heard before he hit the floor.

*

Sage drummed herfingers on the steering wheel, her frazzled nerves settling as the lights of a gas station burst onto the vast dark expanse in front of her. She never let the fuel gauge go below a quarter, yet it had been on empty for thirty miles, a methodical dinging testament to her single-minded focus to get back to Seattle.

Back to Bo.

She’d been on the highway for almost three hours, slowly pushing the limits of her little car before she’d instinctively ease up, unwilling to spend her night broken down on the side of the road.

Swiping her credit card at the pump, she bounced on her heels, her eyes anxiously following the ticker as her tank filled.

The same peculiar draw driving her away from Bo the last time she saw him was pulling at her now, almost tangible in its insistence. Hanging up the nozzle, she scampered into the brightly lit store to grab a coffee and a snack, not waiting for her change as she ran back to her car and slipped back into the traffic racing along the highway.

*

For the secondtime that night, Bo sputtered awake, snapping his jaws at the shower spray raining down on him.

“Calm it,” Ryan huffed, gripping his haunches and settling him. “We need to get the blood off to see if there’s everything we need to tend to before we start setting those bones.”

Nipping at his brother’s hands, he squinted and allowed the shampooing to continue, yelping in protest when the soapy water worked its way into his deeper lacerations.

“Yeah, those go to the bone,” Ryan muttered, his hands gently working through the thick fur. “But I think you’ll get away with only a few stitches. Dio?”

Unable to open his eyes from the amount of suds covering his face, he perked his ears up.

“Not a chance. We’re going to need a seamstress to get this boy patched up. Check out the one on his hip,” Dio stated. “And the ones on his ribs. They should be healing by now.”

He growled a warning, baring his teeth to ensure the god knew he was serious.

“Gloves are on, boy,” he replied tersely, poking at the wound on his shoulder blade. “I’m more concerned about this one reopening. Any needles and thread in here?”

“None,” Ryan grumbled. “We’ll pick some up. Okay, Bo. We’re going to rinse you off and let you soak in the salts Seph sent along.”

Dio stopped poking at his wounded shoulder. “This would have been a lot easier in the underworld waters.”

His voice was bordering on worry.

The God of Revelry didn’t worry.

“But he’s more settled here,” Ryan replied tersely. “We weren’t getting anywhere with how much he was struggling against us down there.”

The temperature of the water went cool for the rinsing and he grit his teeth, involuntary tremors flashing through his body. When the heat rose, he relaxed into the bath, dropping his head onto the side of the tub and taking the ear scratching Dio was doling out.

He hurt.

“We’re just going to get a list of supplies together in the kitchen,” Ryan said, giving him a quick pet between the eyes. “No falling asleep, no drowning. Got it?”

Chuffing in response, he twitched his muzzle in protest as Dio’s hand disappeared from his ear and he lay in the quiet, his whimpers of pain echoing in the tiled room.

Pathetic.

He couldn’t even gain the energy to lift his head, to see for himself how much damage he’d sustained. Hundreds of cuts and slashes stung under Seph’s healing salts, the deeper ones settling into a burn so intense it was almost numbing.

The broken bones in his paw had dulled to an ache, competing with whatever hit he’d taken to his foot. His lungs had already learned to take short, shallow breaths to accommodate his ribs, his throat still raw from the prolonged thirst.

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