Page 19 of Were-Geeks Save a Kitten

Yordan snapped back, “Opinions like that waste time.”

At the exact same moment, Kit tossed her the rest of the spiral notebooks. “Organize and start collection. Meanwhile...”

Meanwhile, what? He swallowed and tried to think through things clearly. There was too much. Flexible thinking was no help when the task was so big his mind shorted out.

Worse, he kept remembering his own bet with Coffee. Why the hell hadn’t he realized it long before now? Here was the cause of his “shifting problem.” One night of drinking with Coffee and... Fuck! A drunken confession turned into a challenge, which led to a stupid bet. He hadn’t even remembered that night until he’d seen the bet written dark and bold in the spiral notebook.

Well, at least he didn’t have to go to Scotland now. The cause of his freakish debilitation was now clear.

“I can’t think...” he murmured. Fortunately, Yordan was able to help cut through the chaos.

“Focus on the alphas first. If they have a debt, that’ll screw up the whole pack.”

Only one pack was on a mission right that second. All the others were resting or en route to one. “Oh shit. It’s a puppy pack facing their first monster.”

He punched a number into his phone and spoke for everyone’s benefit. “I’m taking the helicopter to Torch Lake. I’ll be in there in ten. Who have we got who’s combat ready?”

Pee frowned. “Torch Lake?” She got it a second later. “Fuck.”

Again, Yordan kept them on track. “Not helpful.”

“Right,” said Pee. “But there’s no one available.”

“I’ll go,” Yordan said. “What’s at Torch Lake?”

Kit shook his head. “You haven’t slept in thirty-six hours. A shower doesn’t make you rested, and I don’t allow stupid macho shit.” He thought about his options. “I’ll fly up there. Hopefully in time. Pee, you organize this shit and recall Gummy’s pack.” He glared at Yordan. “You get some sleep.”

Yordan arched his brows, a look that had no right to be so sexy on him, then he crossed to the back corner of Coffee’s closet. He tossed aside a pile of clothes to uncover a safe. He punched in the code—a not so clever 7734 which spelled hELL upside down—then pulled out a paper envelope.

Both Kit and Pee watched with interest.

“What is that?” Kit asked. “And why didn’t you tell me he had a safe?”

“Because I know what’s in here. We all did.” He lifted out small plastic container filled with colorful somethings.

“And what’s that?” Kit asked as Yordan ripped it open and pulled out a long, thin, and very gross gummy worm.

“A week’s sleep,” he said as he stuffed the whole thing into his mouth and started chewing.

“Bullshit.”

“Truth,” Yordan said between bites. “Not all his fairy bets were moronic.”

“But—” Kit’s eyes widened. “Is that what Gummy eats all the fucking time?”

Yordan shook his head. Apparently the worms were really chewy. “Nah,” he said as he worked the worm in his mouth. “His are mundane candy store stuff. But this is how he got the taste for them.”

Kit sighed. Clearly, Yordan was privy to a whole world of combat secrets. “No way does magic work as well as a good night’s sleep.”

“Course not,” Yordan agreed. “But I’m not letting you go up to Torch Lake without backup.”

Kit wanted to argue, but he didn’t have any good options and time was running out. He couldn’t get Marsha on the phone. She was the one leading a pack of new puppies against the Torch Lake monster. For all he knew, he was already too late.

Damn it. He couldn’t think straight. Yordan wasn’t the only one who was operating with too little sleep. With a groan, he held out his hand. “Give me one.”

Meanwhile, Pee was already halfway through the first notebook, but she had enough presence of mind to shoot him a long, hard look of fear.

“I had no idea,” she said.