Free Blood and Silver - 04 by James R. Tuck Page A

from the teeth. A low “hmmmmmmmmm” came from him as he sat looking at Sophia with a tilted head. Kat had to quickstep out of the way as he wheeled backward, spun, and rolled to a counter across the room. He slid open a drawer, rummaging around it and throwing stuff on the counter. His voice was a low mutter to himself that I couldn’t make out. Something told me that if I could, I still wouldn’t understand it. He gave an “Aha!” and held up an empty syringe. He left the drawer open as he wheeled back over to the table. Sophia eyed him warily but wasn’t growling and her teeth were behind her lips.
    Larson looked her in the eyes, voice still calm. “Is it okay if I take a small blood sample? I will be as gentle as possible. There is no harm that can come from this to you.”
    There was a drawn-out pause as she looked at him. He kept his eyes down and his hands open where she could see them. Finally, her tail thumped the table twice. Slowly, her paw stretched out toward him. With a murmured thank you, he slipped the slender needle into her skin. A quick hand motion had thin red liquid streaming into the syringe. He withdrew the needle and rolled over to another counter where he began doing things while muttering to himself again.
    Sophia licked where the needle had gone in, then lay her head down and closed her eyes. I wanted to reach out and pet her, to comfort her. In my mind, I knew there was a human inside and she was not truly a dog, but I wanted to pet her.
    Ah, to hell with it.
    I reached out and put my hand on her head, fingers curling through the ruff of fur behind her ear. She leaned into my palm, rubbing her cheek and jaw against it. It was a little strange. Very gently I stroked her face and head. Her fur was dirty, but soft. Long and thick, it felt like spun cotton. She made that small purring sound that dogs make when you scratch them behind the ears. Her brown eye opened again and I could see the intelligence inside. Quickly, her tongue licked out across my hand. I kept petting her until Larson rolled over.
    “Sophia, do you know that you are pregnant?”
    Pregnant?
    Two thumps on the table from her thick tail said, yes, she did know.
    Larson’s arm went around Kat’s waist and squeezed. He looked up at her. “Will you go in the kitchen and bring back some food? High protein, I think there is some tuna in the pantry and I know there are some protein bars.” He kissed the back of her hand. “And bring some water.”
    Kat nodded and moved off through another door. Larson looked up at me. His blue eyes were red-rimmed, bloodshot, and deep sunk in bruise-colored hollows. He looked like he had been burning the candle at both ends. With a blowtorch.
    “The pregnancy may explain the slow healing she is experiencing.” He looked down sadly at Sophia. “We’ll get some food in her for fuel and hopefully speed up her metabolism.”
    “Okay.” I went back to petting her head while we waited. She didn’t seem to mind and it wasn’t weird once I got used to it.
    It wasn’t long before Kat returned with a plate heaping with meat. I smelled the tinny fish smell of tuna along with a bloody meat smell. A large piece of what looked like liver covered one side of the plate too. She showed it to Larson and he nodded that it was fine. Looking back at me, he jerked his head to the side, indicating I should follow him to the other side of the room. I patted Sophia and moved. Kat slid into my place and began spoon-feeding the tuna into the Were’s muzzle.
    Out the door on the other side of the lab was another short hallway. I followed Larson through. He stopped in the middle and spun his chair around. The footrest banged into the wall, stopping the chair from turning with a jerk.
    Larson’s voice was a snarl as he yanked on the wheels of the chair. “Fucking piece of shit chair!” The footrest gouged a chunk out of the drywall as it broke free. It was the newest one of many in the narrow hallway. Looking