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Chapter 10

Eden stood next tothe examination table as Roxi, one of the sanctuary vets, checked over the doggo. She stared at the wall, chewing on her bottom lip.

Blaze loved her! He wanted her for more than a one-night stand. From the way he’d been talking, he wanted things to be fixed between them forever. He’d talked about marriage!

No, she’d talked about marriage. He’d talked about finding a match, but it was basically the same thing. You had an exclusive one and only. No one else was invited.

Love! Blaze loved her. No way. It had to be his hallucinations making him talk such trash. He couldn’t mean it. But if he did, it would make things seriously messy between them.

Eden didn’t do forever. Not with anyone. No matter how amazing Blaze made her feel. And she still couldn’t figure out what he’d been talking about. His dad giving him files? What did that mean?

“Here’s your problem,” Roxi said, a smile on her pale green face. “Look at the small lump under the skin on this pad.”

Eden peered at the doggo’s paw. “What is it?”

“I think it’s a shard of glass. He must have stepped on it, and the skin healed over the glass. Every time he put weight on this paw, it would have been agony.”

“Aww! Poor little guy. No wonder he’s in such a foul mood.”

“You’d be raging mad too if you got jabbed with glass and couldn’t get it out,” Roxi said. “It’s easy to fix. I need to make a small incision, extract the glass, and make sure there’s no infection. A few days of rest and the right drugs, and he’ll be a sweetie once again.”

“These creatures aren’t rare. What’s he doing in the sanctuary?”

Roxi leaned over the doggo as she extracted the glass. “They’re not. But there were animals on Tiavac when we arrived. It’s their home too, so we left them alone. Some get curious and come into the sanctuary to see what’s going on. They must be able to smell the food and the other animals. And it’s a safe place for them. You can’t get any safer than here. Some find a way in and they never leave.”

“What are you going to do with this one?”

“Relocate him. He shouldn’t be around the breeding areas. I’ll make sure he’s healthy and then set him free.”

Eden studied the soft gray fur of the doggo. “Don’t do that. This guy’s gotten used to being in the sanctuary. He may have trouble finding his own food and a safe place to sleep if you let him go.”

Roxi arched an eyebrow. “What do you suggest I do with him? Do you want him?”

“Um, maybe.” Her very own pet. That would be a first.

“You want a doggo as a pet?” Roxi straightened and held up a pair of tweezers. There was a small sliver of glass between them. “Got it.”

Eden grinned at the doggo. “Why not? He’s small, so he’d be easy to keep on the Apocalypse.”

“He may not want to be a domestic pet.”

“We could have a trial run. See how we get on. And we have other animals on-board the ship. This could work.” Now Eden had the idea in her head, she loved it. A pet. Something to rely on and love. Something that gave back love with no conditions.

“Have you got much experience with doggos?” The skeptical expression on Roxi’s face suggested she wasn’t convinced about Eden’s genius plan.

“Not much. Reptiles are my specialty. But I know about them. And I’ve got several friends who’ll tell me what to do to make his life great.”

Roxi tilted her head from side to side as she cleaned the doggo’s paw. “It could work. Let me stitch the paw, and then he’s all yours. He’ll come around in a few minutes, but he’ll be groggy. When he’s back on his paws, you should see a change in his behavior, so you’ll know what his natural temperament is like.”

Eden stroked a hand across the doggo’s back, being careful not to disturb his wings. “I already know we’ll get along great.”

“I find that plenty of treats are a good way to tame these creatures. They’re motivated by food.”

“Aren’t we all?” She smiled down at the sleeping doggo. Her very own pet. That was something she hadn’t expected to find on this mission. She stroked a finger across the top of his silky head. He was a cutie-pie.

“Okay, I’m all done,” Roxi said. “You can leave him here to recover.”

“I’ve handled plenty of animals under sedation. I can watch over him while he wakes up and make sure nothing is wrong. I’ll take him back to my quarters if you’ve got something to carry him in.”