Page 66 of The Dire Reaction

The sound of a truck pulling in through the gates rumbles through the quiet kitchen. Thor and Misty bark, making several of the other guard dogs join in.

“Looks like your doggie momma is here.” I give her a lopsided grin.

Elly gets up quietly from the table, heading to the sink as I follow Dani out the door.

Damn, I need to make sure to sit down and talk to her. She usually hides in her room, but I do notice Dani and she are really close. It makes me feel a little better.

One of the guards is in my skid steer unloading a large cage from the back of the flatbed truck. A very unhappy tan shaggy beast is growling and snapping at the bars as it’s being moved. The heavy collar around her neck keeps her head in the corner, but her gnashing teeth and throaty growls bring flashbacks of a similar creature standing on my chest just a few short weeks ago.

Fuck those teeth. Just because the injuries have healed doesn’t mean that shit didn’t hurt like hell for a few days.

“I thought you said she was pretty gentle.” I glance at Captain Russo standing next to me, watching the irate animal being carried into the med tent opening where the forced air heater struggles to maintain the temperature.

It takes him a moment to respond. It’s hard not to watch the beast biting at the bars as the machinery backs away. Her teats are full and hanging from her belly, rows of nipples leaking milk on the bare floor of the cage.

Huh, for some reason I expected just two.

“Just what I was told. Guess her husband managed to tie her up when she changed. He’s supposed to be here on the next truck. Their older kid didn’t change, so I think he was holding out hope this one would be the same. He managed to sedate her enough they could check her with an ultrasound. Just one very human looking baby.” He takes a drink from his filthy coffee mug.

I don’t think I can remember ever seeing him without coffee.

“It’s fucked how the dice rolls, isn’t it?” he grumbles before walking away.

I feel for the guy. This whole world is fucked.

“Genetics seem to play a big factor,” Dani says, appearing by my elbow. She’s replaced her coat with a surgical apron and has a mask hanging from her right ear. The metallic smell of fresh meat fills the cold air as she shoves a few pills into the handful of hamburger in her hand. “I’ve been researching it. In most cases, if both parents haven’t changed, the baby will be normal.”

My chest tightens a little. “So, if you and I had a baby…?” I can’t stop the tug of a smile at my lips, or my cock tightening in my pants. I’ve been having dreams that she and I filled the house with children until it was bursting at the seams.

I fucking love those dreams. It always has me hard and leaking in the mornings when I wake up, wanting to practice.

“Good chance it wouldn’t be puppies,” she laughs before a worried look passes over her face as she glances back at the receding figure of the captain.

Leaning into her, my lips find the soft pulse in her neck. “Maybe we should take our chances.” Her heart beats faster, a rhythm I wish I could match right now, driving into her in tempo.

A pause before she answers. She’s thinking about it. “We aren’t even married yet.” Short shallow breaths punctuate her words as I nibble down her neck. I’m wholly addicted to her.

“Then, let me marry you now. You’ve already said yes.” I didn’t stop asking until she did. From the day I regained consciousness, I asked until she finally relented in the throes of naked giggles. My secret weapon is knowing that the backs of her supple knees are ticklish. I had used that valuable discovery as the final successful attack on the last of her reservations.

She tosses the drugged meat into the cage. The wild-eyed dog slowly calms enough to sniff it.

Dani turns her big blue eyes to me. A tease of her blond hair pokes free of her ponytail. “Sam, I’d marry you today. But, do you really think kids right now are a good idea?” She gestures at the creature gulping down the ground meat just a few feet away.

My hands find their favorite spot encircling her waist. “Baby, these dogs won’t last forever. But us? What we can create? That can last forever. Just imagine decades from now, our great grandbabies talking about how brave you were saving hundreds of lives.”

“Great grandbabies, huh? Well, let’s make it past our first Christmas together, maybe?” A smile plays at the corner of her mouth before she gifts me with a tender kiss on my scruffy cheek.

“New Year, new baby. Sounds like a deal to me.” I give her ass a firm pat as she gasps, then turn to follow where I saw the captain disappear to.

“Sam, be ready in twenty,” she calls after me. The twinge of exasperation I hear in her voice brings a smile to my lips. If I were a betting man, I’d be saying she’s tossing her pills in the garbage tonight.

I manage to find the captain and be back by Dani’s side before the twenty minutes are up. Soft snores are the only thing coming from the cage now. The crazy bitch is sleeping, the meds finally kicking in.

“Can you hold her paw while I shave it?” Dani asks me, squatting next to the cage. Kneeling next to her, I pull a giant foot through the bars. It’s wider than my palm, with nails almost two inches long. Much larger than Thor’s feet, at least three times as large.

This is the closest I’ve been to one since that day. The guards have killed several, but they’re either left outside the fence or burned near the gate. I haven’t had to touch one since I almost died.

The raw power that it exudes is intimidating. Thinking of those long claws tearing into me runs a shiver down my spine. When the dog sighs and stretches in her sleep, the toes splay out and a cold chill settles in my gut.

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