Page 49 of Loving Ladybug: Part One
Me
If she hasn’t already.
“How much did you have to pay for her to have that experience?” an alpha dad asked me. “One of my kids loves anything dangerous. She was keeping apossumunder her bed.”
“Gwen had a racoon in a bucket.” I chuckled, still unsure what the story was. “She rescued Marty when he was a baby, so she gets special privileges.”
The alpha smiled and shook his head. “She rescued a tiger? Have fun with that.”
I heard some noises, like something from her tote was rustling. Did I even want to know? My phone buzzed.
Eats
Back in town. Going to my sister’s pack's farm later. Any interest?
He added a link to a summer farm party. Oooh, live music, barbecue, beer, berry picking, hayrides, and dancing? Too bad she had to work tonight. Eats was the one person I knew in New York. While we weren’t really close, we went way back.
Another zookeeper clipped the leash to Marty and took him away. A few moments later, she came back out with Trixie, smelling like a tiger.
“Thanks, Trixie. Oh, do you know anyone at the reptile house?” She asked, then gave her a hug.
“I do. Why?” Trixie eyed Gwen as she got a popcorn pail out of her tote.
It rustled again, and I saw a shadow.
“I found this little guy at the rink. I put up signs, but no one called me. Since he’s illegal to keep as a pet in New York, I thought I’d bring him here.” Gwen took the lid off the pail.
Inside was a small orange and black lizard that stuck out its tongue in an annoyed gesture.
“Gwen. You found him at therink?” A fond, exasperated look crossed the omega’s face.
“In a storeroom. I’ve only had him a couple of days while I looked for his owner. I’ve been feeding him like the internet said.” She handed Trixie the pail.
Trixie got out her walkie talkie. “Taking ten and going to the reptile house.”
“Um, why?”a voice echoed.
“Gwen found an endangered venomous lizard.” Trixie shook her head.
Laughter echoed over the walkie. “See you when you get back.”
“You found all the animals as a child, didn’t you?” I said as we followed Trixie out of the tiger area.
Gwen nodded. “My nonna’s wasn’t quite a farm, but there was land, a pond, and lots of wildlife. Nonna was a vet and taught me so much about animals. She wouldn’t let me keep the wolf cub after her leg healed though. We used to volunteer at an animal sanctuary my aunt runs, too.” She sighed. “I miss having pets.”
“One day,” Trixie assured her. “Animals love you.”
“Yeah.” Her scent turned salty with sadness. “Does Cooter have a pet armadillo?”
“No, but Cooter’s family has a horse ranch where he spends the off-season,” I told her.
“That sounds fun. I never learned to ride a horse.”
We entered a building that saidReptile House.My nose scrunched at the potent smells, my alpha nose overly sensitive sometimes. Trixie led us through a door that saidstaff only.
“Lan,” she called. “I’ve got something for you.”
A beta with a beard came out. “For me?”
