Page 5 of Tempest

That just seemed creepy.

When he reached his vehicle, he carefully opened the passenger door and set him inside. The guy just flopped over, sprawling across the bench seat since he couldn’t support himself. Cash hurried around the hood and carefully climbed in on the driver’s side, lifting the eagle’s head so he could rest it on his thigh.

He knew it was inappropriate, but he couldn’t stop himself from running his fingers through that messy black hair. It was so soft, like downy feathers. He wondered if the eagle was as soft in his shifted form and if he’d let Cash touch him one day.

He frowned at the road as he headed back into town. That was a weird thought. Why was he thinking about that? They were just going to make sure the guy would be all right, and then he’d be going on his way. He wouldn’t be staying, so Cash wouldn’t be touching him in any way.

Grabbing his phone, he called his alpha, preparing himself for Liam’s displeasure.

“Did you find them?” he answered after only a single ring. Cash heard Fern in the background say something about the intruder moving farther into their territory and grimaced.

“I found them,” Cash confirmed, eyes darting down before he could stop himself from running over the smooth olive skin that would be haunting his dreams. “It’s an eagle shifter.”

“What does he want?”

“I don’t know. He passed out. And… he doesn’t smell right.”

“What do you mean?” Liam asked, sounding concerned. Fern demanded he put the phone on speaker so she could hear too.

Cash licked his lips, dragging his gaze back to the road. “There’s something off in his scent and heartbeat. I’m not sure if he’s sick or injured in some way.”

“Where are you right now? I’ll come to you.”

“I’m bringing him to Pops,” Cash said, bracing himself for Liam’s reaction.

The lion didn’t say anything for a long moment. Even Fern was silent, waiting for their alpha to rip him a new one for not following protocol. Finally, he said slowly, “You’re bringing him to your grandfather’s house?”

“Yes, sir,” Cash said, hoping the extra sign of respect would help remind Liam that Cash wasn’t usually such a dumbass. “He needs a healer.”

“He needs to get out of our territory,” Liam said, voice still carefully level, but even over the phone, Cash could feel the edge ofalphacoming through. The only real indication that he wasn’t happy with Cash, and it was enough to upset his panther.

“I know,” Cash said quickly. “It just… It feltwrongto just leave him outside the warding while he’s sick and unable to fend for himself.”

Liam sighed heavily, but Cash knew he would agree with him. Liam was wary of outsiders, just like all of them, but he wasn’t heartless.Far from it.

Compared to their old alpha, Liam was a damn pushover.

“I’ll meet you at Pops’s,” Liam said and hung up.

Cash’s panther stirred restlessly in his chest, unhappy with upsetting their alpha but also thrilled at the nearness of the eagle. Ignoring what that could mean, Cash turned south on a road half a mile outside of Silver Oak.

He and Pops lived in an A-frame cabin a little way away from the rest of the pack. His grandfather had built it for his nan when they were first mated, keeping it updated over the decades. There was a small outbuilding Pops used to see patients from the pack, but otherwise, it was just them and the trees. When Cash had moved in with them when he was eight, it had become the only real home he’d ever had.

He knew Pops would be there, even though it was the middle of the day, because it was right in the middle of his favorite soap opera. Pops never missed it, not since he’d retired a fewyears ago. He’d owned a veterinary clinic in the next town over for decades, his grandmother running the reception desk and keeping the schedule—and his grandfather—on task.

After Nan passed away, Pops had said it wasn’t the same anymore and had sold the business to a human, deciding to retire. He couldn’t fully stop working though. Pops was the only healer they had in the pack, which Cash knew was just one of many concerns on Liam’s plate.

While a lot of the pack liked keeping their size small, it was proving… problematic. The median age of their pack members was rising; not enough young people were coming to the area to help replenish those aging and retiring like his Pops. Too many members were avidly against opening their pack to non-cat shifters or even just actively trying to encourage new cats to move to the area.

If they didn’t though, within a couple of generations, there wouldn’t be a pack left to protect from outsiders.

Their A-frame came into view, the top peak visible over the tops of the trees nearby. Turning onto their driveway, he rumbled up the rutted path and parked next to Pops’s older sedan.

When he turned the truck off, the eagle stirred, turning his head into Cash’s thigh and rubbing his face against his jeans, making a faint, confused sound.

“Hey, can you hear me?” Cash asked quietly, running his fingers through that soft hair again.

The eagle made another noise, smashing his face harder into Cash. His panther rumbled happily at the scenting, even though it was obviously accidental.

---