Free Something to Curse About by Gayla Drummond

outside his apartment’s door, opened it, and waved me inside while calling, “Hey, Terra, look what I found.”
    The teen came out of her bedroom. Her eyes widened, and she took a half step backward. “That’s a dog.”
    “Yes, a real dog, not an elf hound, and she’s friendly. It’s okay.” His assurance didn’t soothe her, because she stayed exactly where she was. A faint, acrid smell wafted from her. I didn’t like it, and sat down just inside the door. It clicked when Logan closed it. He dropped down to one knee beside me, putting his hand on my shoulders. “I wouldn’t bring home a threat. She’s lost, and hasn’t even growled once. It’s okay.”
    Terra edged forward a few inches, her pale green gaze never leaving my face. “It’s staring at me.”
    He ruffled my neck fur. “Yeah, she does that.” He’d emphasized the “she” and moved to stroking the top of my head. “But it’s really okay.”
    “I can’t believe you brought a dog home.” She moved sideways to sit on the couch, and pulled her knees to her chest. “A big dog.”
    The acrid scent had grown stronger, and I sneezed before dropping to my belly and scraping a paw over my muzzle. The teen froze, her eyes so wide I thought her eyeballs might pop out. Call me slow, but it was only then that I realized she was afraid of me.
    Well, of Doggy Me.
    A soft whine worked its way out of my throat, and I sat up, turning to look at Logan. Why was she scared of dogs? Okay, I could understand shifters being afraid of elf hounds, since those were used to hunt them, but scared of normal dogs?
    Terra could shift and eat a dog my size for lunch. A Chihuahua wouldn’t even be a snack for most shifters.
    He put his arm around my shoulders, his other hand rising to scratch my chest. I leaned into him, suddenly worried her fear might end with her jumping on me and biting my head off or something. “Do we have any leftovers from dinner? She’s probably hungry and thirsty.”
    “Yeah.” She unwound her arms from around her legs and slowly unfolded them. Her feet touched the worn carpeting, and after watching me for several seconds, Terra stood. “You’re sure she’s not going to bite me?”
    “Some normal dogs like cats. Maybe she’s one of them.” Logan didn’t rise, and kept his arm around me. “All I know is she came right up to me while I was out. Flopped at my feet and showed her belly. She didn’t growl at Soames when we came in either. Pretty sure she’s okay.”
    I did not show my belly. I tripped.
    Of course, he couldn’t hear me. I sighed and lay down, my muzzle propped on my legs. This was going to take some getting used to.
     

ELEVEN
     
    I woke up the next morning to a confusing welter of scents. The disorientation made me briefly forget what had happened and where I was. Long enough to flail around and fall off the bed with a loud yelp bursting out when I hit the floor. The comforter dropped on top of me.
    “Easy, little girl.” Logan scooted off the bed to kneel beside me, and began untangling me from the comforter. “Just a minute.”
    Untangled, I stood and shook. After a second, I shook again because it felt good and weird, my skin sliding back and forth over my shoulders and back. With a chuckle, he patted my head and rose. “You meant to do that, right?”
    Oh, absolutely, because I love to embarrass the hell out of myself at every opportunity .
    “We’ll have breakfast, and then I’ll take you to the closest vet.”
    While that sounded good, there was something else I really needed about then. Logan disappeared into his bathroom. It’d been a relief to discover he slept in sweat pants. I went to the bedroom door, which he hadn’t shut completely, and nosed it open. Terra stood at the kitchen counter, reading the back of a box of pancake mix. She glanced my way, her lips compressing into a thin line.
    I whined, padding to the front door. She ignored me. Come on, Terra. I don’t want Logan taking me for