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Grayson popped out of bed, throwing on a pair of sweatpants that were crumpled in a heap on his bedroom floor. Cass groaned as he peered out of the bedroom curtains, a ribbon of light touching her face. She flopped an arm over her eyes to shield her from the bright sunlight.
“I’ll wake you when the food’s ready.”
Cass grunted a response he assumed was agreement.
Grayson strolled down the hall towards the kitchen. He flipped on the radio, playing soft music as he worked. Breakfast was important in his family. Many fond memories centered around the meal. Soon the pan was sizzling with certified non-shifter bacon and eggs. Chunks of seasoned potato chunks sputtered in another pan. It smelled delicious. It smelled of home.
A blast of water sounded down the hall, emanating from the master bathroom. Cass had probably glimpsed the remnants of eyeliner and flaking mascara on her face and decided to give fixing it another go. After a few minutes, she sauntered down the hallway with a clean face, wearing one of his button-down flannels. The bottom hem of the shirt nearly reached the knees of her short frame. Without her usual stilettos, Cass was significantly shorter than him. She raised her arms in a long stretch as she yawned.
“Smells good,” she complimented him, taking a seat on one of the stools at the breakfast bar. The morning sun lit up flecks of short scars across her cheeks. The other day, Grayson had only noticed the one interrupting the hair of her eyebrow. The rest must have been masked by her foundation and concealer. In any case, he didn’t think she was any less beautiful for them.
“Thanks,” he said, grinning broadly. “The potatoes are my mother’s recipe.”
A dark expression clouded Cass’ eyes for a moment. Grayson assumed it was the mention of a healthy relationship with his mother. He knew Cass yearned for that, had tried hard to get that with her own mom. He thought back to how Cass said her mom reacted to her injuries in the hospital. It chilled him to his core. Cass needed the support of friends and family with the kind of extensive injuries she’d described, and instead of a caring and helpful family member, she was cascaded with negativity. Rejection. But Cass powered through all that with her own sheer will.
“I would love to meet her,” Cass said softly.
Grayson leaned forward, planting a kiss on her forehead. “I’d like that.”
* * *
It was hard—no, near impossible—to peel themselves out of Gray’s house after breakfast to get back to work. The temptation to make love again was strong. Cass wanted to wrap around his hard cock and ride him until the sun set. But they had an evil hawk to catch. Sex could wait; the opportunity to track down Sandy would not.
They reviewed the map locations while eating, deciding which areas were most likely to house a new evil lair for the experiments Sandy enjoyed. It was disgusting that a shifter could put another through such agony. And for what? Merging abilities? Learning about how shifting worked? Whatever the purpose, the methods were unethical. The ends did not justify the means in Cass’ opinion. Many agreed. Hell, it was one of the few subjects FUC and ASS could see eye to eye on.
Once they planned out their day at Gray’s breakfast bar, Cass slid out of his shirt and put her garments from yesterday back on. Aside from her thong, which she’d left in a crumpled heap in Gray’s living room, abandoned during their sex sessions last night. It took her twenty minutes to track her bra down. That was hanging from the ceiling fan. Once she was able to get dressed, it was back to business. Since they left her car at WANC in their excitement to get back to Gray’s, they decided it would save them time now to just go from his apartment to the locations of interest that had been pulled from the phones of Frick and Frack.
They had a lot of driving to do since the locations were in different towns across the area, and for once, Cass didn’t mind letting Gray drive. In fact, it felt comfortable having him behind the wheel, going at his calm and patient speed.
After they found nothing out of the ordinary at the first two locations, Cass was beginning to think this was a wild goose chase. This was going to be a long, annoying day if nothing came of their investigation. Grayson eased his SUV into a parking space at the third location, an abandoned mall. Tufts of long grass and weeds sprouted up through the broken asphalt, running through the lot like exposed veins. The expanse of the mall stood in the distance, the glass of its doors cracked. No light escaped from inside the structure. It appeared forgotten.
Cass got out of the car and lifted her sunglasses for a better look. She leaned her elbows on the open vehicle door in front of her. “This place has seen better days,” she mused. Patches of stucco on the outside walls had crumbled, falling off in tiny piles littered around the building. The mall had been abandoned for years. There were talks of turning it into office space, but the plans were never approved. Instead, the building sat aging and uncared for, becoming more and more derelict as time marched on. Cass wished she could say she had fond memories of malls in general, but every time her mom took her shopping, it was all business. Either they were dress or shoe shopping for an upcoming competition or her mom was scanning for new fashion trends for her own wardrobe. It always felt more like a chore during their outings, her mother’s judgments and negativity killing off any scrap of fun.
A flock of seagulls lingered in a far corner of the lot, pecking at the ground and squawking. Cass couldn’t help but think back to the unfortunate people from the park. She wondered if the hawk tried something to make the shifters’ animal form more dominant, or spliced non-shifter humans with animals. Unfortunately, it was probably a little bit of both. Whatever she tried, the results were disastrous. Cass hoped FUCN’A could help them. So far, they hadn’t heard any updates on that progress, but she kept hoping the results of the experiment were reversible. But what was Sandy’s endgame? Was there a diabolical reason for her tests, or were they random?
Grayson nodded, his eyes scanning the mall. “It looks abandoned but be careful. This is the type of place that would make a great hideout.” He sniffed at the gentle breeze, wrinkling his nose as he dissected the smells. “I should shift so my olfactory sense is more precise and sensitive.”
A tingling filled Cass’ stomach, heating up her pussy as she thought about Gray taking his clothes off. Her eyes glided over the rock-hard muscles that were covered in clothes. Her lips pulled back in a mischievous smile, one that promised all the dirty things she wanted to do with him later.
He glanced her way as if reading her thoughts. “We’ll have time for that later. Right now, we need to focus.”
“All right,” she agreed. “But a girl can dream.” She chucked her sunglasses on the seat of Gray’s SUV and closed the door, leaving her purse under the seat. Her handbag had been through enough on this case already. She thought back to the gross bird bar where their adventure started. Her shoes would have to hold out a bit longer.
Grayson glanced around the empty lot. They’d parked at the back entrance of the mall, nestled between a forest and a doctor’s office that appeared to be closed for the day. The main road lay on the opposite side of the mall. Cass knew he didn’t want to risk needing a COOCHI. She knew how Gray felt about paperwork.
Quickly Gray stripped down, throwing his clothes in an unorganized pile on the driver's seat. Then his body started the transformation. He seamlessly crouched down onto all fours during the process. Cass was amazed by his ability to balance. Even though, in her animal form, she remained with two legs instead of four, she struggled with acclimating to her giant bird body after shifting. It took a second to adjust where her weight sat in the new form. Gray didn’t seem to have an issue at all. In a second, he padded on four massive paws toward the entrance of the mall. His brown nose hovered along the asphalt. The long, brown, velvet ears of his Basset Hound form flopped forward, wafting the various scents toward his waiting nostrils.
Cass watched in fascination. She always loved watching him work, especially in dog form. She wondered how her shifter senses differed from his.
She walked to the driver's side, reaching for Gray’s backpack in the backseat. Cass piled his clothes inside before strapping it on his back—the entire activity something they’d done so many times before when they’d been partnered.
Gray assisted, picking up a paw at a time so Cass could put a strap around each front leg. It would ensure Grayson would have a set of clothes inside the mall if needed. It was a necessary precaution to avoid random sightings of naked people. A majority of streakers were shifters caught without their clothing or access to a NAKED—Network for Apparel and Kit Express Delivery—package. She patted him on the back when the bag seemed sturdy and properly balanced on his back.
She followed Grayson to the entrance, telling him to take his time. She kept her own ears and eyes open for anything suspicious but figured it would be another fruitless endeavor. Once they reached the doors, she pulled hard on the handle, expecting the door to be locked. Instead, it opened.That is surprising.Maybe this site won’t be a pointless stop after all.
Gray waddled his frame into the vestibule with his short legs. Cass hurried to the next set of glass doors to open for him. She glanced around for clues that would explain the unlocked door. Nothing seemed out of place for a vacant mall. The dark corridor ahead held empty storefronts, not evil laboratories.
A crash echoed in the distance. She was about to ask Gray if he’d heard it when a metal barrier snaked down in front of her, blocking the mall entrance and separating her from Grayson.
