AllFreeNovel
Share Us
That got me a dismissive snort.
“I got nothin, then.”
He studied me for a moment, as though trying to make a decision. What, I had no idea.
Then he lifted his front paw—the broken one—and looked at it for a moment, then let out a huge sigh.
And then…
I don’t even fucking know how to describe it. How the fuck do you actually explain what it looks like when someone’s whole body just fuckingripples? Muscle and fat and tendons and whatever the fuck else make up the meaty bits of the body just… bubbled, like there was a thick, sludgy liquid boiling under his skin.
I’m sure my face looked horrified, which—I realized a bit belatedly—I probably should have done more to conceal, butholy fuckthat looked like it hurt.
The part that was probably most shocking was that it was over before my brain really had the ability to process that it was even happening.
And then Taavi, a little breathless, was sitting on his haunches on my floor naked as a fucking jay-bird.
“Fuck,” I breathed. “Are you—okay?”
He arched both eyebrows. “Yes? Why wouldn’t I be?”
“I—that looks—painful.”Eloquent, Val. Real fucking eloquent.
He cocked his head to the side, and it was so fucking like his dog-self that I almost literallysawboth at the same time. “It’s… not comfortable,” he replied. “But it isn’t exactly painful, either.”
“I—I’m glad? I guess?” God, I am so fucking awkward.
Taavi offered me a smile that had more than a little grimace in it as he gingerly rubbed his arm. “Unless you’re already injured. Then it kinda hurts.”
“Do we—”
“Val, it’s fine,” he interrupted before I could actually ask him if he needed to go to the ER or at least the vet.
“Are you sure?” I was fretting. I knew I was fretting, but we’ve already established that I don’t like seeing Taavi in pain.
“I’ve had a broken leg before, Val.”
I frowned at him as I knelt down beside him. “Can I ask Doc to come do it?”
He sighed heavily. “I don’t want you to bother him. It will be fine.”
“Can I—” I swallowed. “Will you let me tape it, at least?”
“Can I put on pants, first?”
My ears flushed. “Oh. Um. Yeah. Of course. If you want to.”
He studied my face. “Val.”
“What?”
“Areyouokay?”
“I don’t have a broken arm!”
“Val.” He set his good hand on both of mine where they sat in my lap holding tape and gauze. I looked up at him, realizing that my hands were shaking and his wasn’t.
“I’m okay. Yes, it hurts, but it’s not any worse than it already was. It’s healing—I heal faster than a human, and it’ll be okay.”
