Maybe now he wouldn't feel the need to steal.Feeding the poor guy might've just saved some old lady from having her wings stolen.
After a minute, he looked up, licking crumbs from his whiskers, then retreated under the car.As much as I wanted to leave the food out for him, it didn’t seem right.There was no telling what kind of sicko would see it and decide to slip something else into it.Call me jaded, but poisoning a stray cat would be one of the smallest types of evil I’d seen in my line of work.So, I picked it up and vowed to feed Meatball again tomorrow.
Chapter 31
Nadya
IHAD THERAPY IN SIXminutes.It had better be like Nick had promised.The computer was already open, propped on a stack of Ljuba’s books to get the angle right.My heart thumped like it thought I was being hunted.Pretty sure therapy was supposed to make me feel better, but I was already feeling like shit.I didn’t want to talk about my feelings to some stranger on the other side of the screen.
Instead of counting minutes, I tried to distract myself by reading the titles of the books I had plucked from Ljuba’s shelves.Bred by the Hordewas at the very top.It didn’t take much imagination to figure out what that one was about.Lust and Lycanthropywas pretty obvious, too.Seduced by the Shadowmade me close my eyes and imagine having a shadow seduce me.You’d think an artist would have vivid imagination, but this time it failed me.
It kind of made sense that she’d fantasize about non-human love interests, considering how much a human had traumatized her.Dan was a welcome addition in Ljuba’s life, and I knew exactly why Ljuba had picked him.The guy looked at least fifty percent a tank.
How much longer did I have to sit here and wonder about my little sister’s kinks?
Two minutes to go.
Should I sit or stand during the session?People usually sat, right?I didn’t want to get too comfortable, though.I stood up, leaned on the counter in a way I hoped looked casual, then I stuck my hands in the front pocket of my hoodie, only to remember it was torn, then crossed my arms, then just gave up.The urge to bail was massive, but I knew that if I didn’t do this now, I’d never do it.Finally, I sat back down and tried to look sane.
The meeting room went from “waiting for host” to a jump-cut of a perfectly lit office.The woman on the other end wore glasses, a blazer and had exactly the kind of neat, expensive hair that told you everything you needed to know about her priorities.
“Good morning, Nadya,” she said, voice calm and friendly.“Can you hear me okay?”
“Yep.Loud and clear.Like you’re sitting in my kitchen, which is honestly a little creepy,” I said, trying for lightness.
The therapist chuckled.“We’ll stick to virtual for now.First sessions are usually about getting to know each other.No pressure to share more than you’re ready for.”
“Great,” I said, leaning back in my chair.“Because I was just planning to sit here and look mysterious.Very tortured-artist vibe.”
The therapist smiled and nodded, and I could practically see her analyzing even my humor.“I’d like to know what made you decide to give this a try today?”
My instinct was to joke.To saymy FBI almost-boyfriend keeps looking at me like I’m broken glass and it’s getting old.But I was here for a reason.Not to mention, this session wasn’t cheap.
“I’m looking for better coping mechanisms.I paint, which helps a lot, but not enough.So, I’ve been drinking, which isn’t the healthiest choice, but I don’t know how else to deal with everything.I just want to function.That’s all.If you can tell me how to do that without...you know.”I waved a hand, then dropped it.Was I babbling?Damn it.“Just the coping mechanisms, please, so I can reduce my alcohol consumption.We don’t need to talk about my feelings.”
She smiled again, but it was smaller this time.“We can do that,” she said.“But I will need to get a sense of your current habits.When you say ‘reduce,’ what does that look like for you?”
