Sara Humphreys: Unclaimed

“Okay, pal,” Tatiana said evenly as she stroked the puppy’s coat and carried him to the exam room. “I know you’re not going to like this, but you need some stitches.”

Bumping the door open with her backside, she placed the puppy on the table. He lay quietly and timidly, watching her with those soulful brown eyes as she gathered the supplies she needed.

Tatiana found the poor thing on the side of the road, but she’d felt his energy signature—red with pain and anguish—before she ever saw him. The only good thing about being half Amoveo was her ability to connect with animals on a psychic level. It made her an extremely effective veterinarian and had her patients’ owners calling her an animal whisperer.

It wasn’t that she actually spoke to them or that she could hear them speak with words—it was more like the ability to feel what the animals were feeling. Tatiana was able to sense their emotions and in turn could send the animal soothing energy waves. It allowed her to connect with them on a deeper level, which made the animals more willing to let her treat them.

Tatiana made quick work of cleaning up the little beagle as he responded to her calming energy, lying perfectly still while she sutured and dressed his wound. He licked her hand as she finished, and though she sensed gratitude in his energy waves, she also saw it in those gorgeous eyes.

She could connect with all animals but had an affinity for dogs, which was probably from being part of the Timber Wolf Clan. Sometimes she wondered if the animals knew she could shapeshift into a wolf.

“You’re just a big flirt, aren’t you?” she asked as she scooped him up and placed a kiss on his head. “Made me fall in love with you with one look from that sweet face. So you know what? I’m going to keep you.”

Tatiana leaned back to get a better look at him and smiled.

“Yup,” Tatiana said through a smile. “You’re a heartbreaker, alright. So what do you think about the name Casanova?”

The puppy answered with a face full of warm licks and a nibble on her ear.

“Alright,” Tatiana giggled. “Casanova it is, but I think we’ll go with Cass for short.”

Satisfied with his new moniker, he snuggled against her chest and lay still as her sister’s voice floated into Tatiana’s head. Hey, sis. Layla’s familiar sound filled her mind. Are you alone, or is Matt with you? I need to see you right away.

I’m alone, Layla.

Tatiana grinned. Matt was her assistant and only friend outside of her siblings. Like her, he never knew his parents, but instead of being raised on a farm by a loving aunt like she had been, he grew up in foster homes and had no family to speak of.

Tatiana and her twin brother, Raife, may not have known their parents, but at least they had each other and their aunt Rosie. They were adopted and moved in when they were twelve, but they couldn’t have been closer to Rosie than if they were actual blood relatives.

Matt always said he and Tatiana were like two peas in a pod. Tatiana felt a bit sorry for him because he really didn’t have anyone other than her. He showed up looking for a job about a year ago, and they’d been thick as thieves ever since. However, as close as they were, he was still unaware of her unique heritage.

I’m in the exam room, but meet me in the waiting room, okay?

Tatiana held Cass a bit tighter as she made her way to the front office. Within seconds, the air-conditioned space filled with static electricity, and the air shimmered. Layla materialized in the center of the room. Her unruly red curls flowed wildly around her, and her brilliant green eyes sparkled brightly as she made quick work of kissing her sister on the cheek.

“I’ll never get used to that,” Tatiana said quietly as she hugged Cass for some much-needed reassurance, and to her surprise, the puppy snuggled closer and licked her neck. “Can all of them do that?”

“You mean all of us ?” Layla said playfully as she let the puppy sniff her hand. “Yeah. The pure-blood Amoveo can do it, and the hybrids like us can do it.” She lifted one shoulder and scratched Cass behind the ears. “At least, the few that I’ve met so far. Once you find your mate, you’ll be able to do it too.”

“No thanks, sis. I’ll stick to regular forms of human travel and human dating, for that matter. So what’s up?” Tatiana asked, changing the subject. She sat on the edge of the reception desk and watched her sister carefully. “You don’t usually pop in like this.”

“Hardee har har,” Layla said with a roll of her eyes.

“Sorry,” Tatiana said. “I couldn’t help myself.”

The smile faded from Layla’s eyes, and Tatiana sensed the tension in her energy waves as they swirled faster through the room. It was something akin to a breeze that only another Amoveo could feel.

“We need your help.”

“We?” Dread crawled up Tatiana’s back.

“Richard, the Prince of the Amoveo, asked me to come here to see if you’d be willing to help him. He has about a dozen Arabian horses that have all come down with something. And before you ask, no . Richard doesn’t want to use the vet he usually hires because he’s concerned the animals might have been poisoned, and if that were the case, then the vet would want to get the police involved. He suspects it was either a Purist, or possibly, part of the recent Caedo activity. Either way, we obviously can’t involve the human community.”

“No way.”

“Hear me out.” Layla put her hand up to stop the inevitable protest, and Tatiana snapped her mouth closed.

Tatiana made no secret about her feelings regarding the Amoveo. Purist Amoveo killed her father for mating with her human mother. After their mother died, none of them came looking for her or her twin brother, Raife. The two felt as though they’d been completely abandoned. Therefore, she had no love for the Amoveo or their world.

Tatiana’s mouth set in a tight line as she waited for her sister to continue.

“Thank you.” Layla let out a slow breath. “Now, listen. I know you aren’t jazzed about getting involved with the Amoveo. Believe me. I get it. You know that until I met William, I was on the same train as you. I thought they all hated hybrids—hated us —but it’s simply not true. Yes. There are some Amoveo—the Purists—who would sooner see us dead than sullying their bloodlines with human blood, but most Amoveo aren’t like that.” Her jaw tilted determinedly. “William isn’t,” she said, referring to her new husband. “He’s a Loyalist, just like the prince.”

“I know,” Tatiana said in a gentler tone. “I met William only a couple of times, but it’s obvious he’s crazy about you. I mean, he hovers around you and is more protective of you than Raife has ever been of either of us. I’m happy that you found someone who makes you so happy.” Tatiana’s face twisted with confusion, and she paused for a minute. “Wait a minute. Back up. Who or what is a Caedo?”

“The Caedo are a human family who know about us and hate us,” Layla said with a casual shrug as she sat on the sofa. “Apparently, they were the big bad enemy until the Purists got their panties in a bunch about us hybrids.”

“That’s a lovely little tidbit—hard to believe you’ve been keeping that to yourself,” Tatiana said sarcastically. “So there are two different groups that want to kill us. Awesome.”