Destined Fur More

Graham Crack-ers

"Fpphlt?" I growled in impatience.

Graham's eyes snapped to me and back to the men. His voice was like nothing I'd ever heard before—if I'd thought he'd been angry before at anything, I was wrong. "Do not touch her."

My face contorted in leopard-terror. "FPPHLT?"

Graham spun around, searching for Teague. The two doctor-y people were eyeing me, much to my leopard-y dismay. They were reaching for something behind their backs, but I let a small growl rip through my chest, stopping them.

"Neither will go willingly, Kyle," the creepy one said, looking at Kyle with sad eyes. "I don't like doing it, either."

Doing what?

Kyle looked tormented, but nodded in agreement. Bitch. I thought he was cool. They slowly took a step forward, making the we're-trying-to-be-painfully-silent-but-it's-not-quite-working face. I bared my teeth.

Another two appeared.

They circled me.

They closed in.

What the fuck was happening?

"TEAGUE!" Graham roared. I didn't like his voice. It wasn't right. This wasn't right, whatever it was. I pulled my lips up further, showing the doctors I didn't give a shit about the cost of plastic surgery these days. Or the amount of dental bills I'd get after having someone floss my teeth after biting off their faces. Graham swung around desperately. "GODDAMMIT, TEAGUE. GET YOUR—"

"What?" Teague snapped, exiting a large grouping of foliage in his human form. He was garbed in the shifter-clothes Graham gave him, thank God. "Did you run out of diapers already—" Teague stopped when he saw the people surrounding me. His entire body locked and his hands curled into fists. "Fisher?" he breathed, locking eyes with me.

Kyle tried diplomacy again. He looked at Graham longingly. "Please, Graham. I know that you're a little biased, but the procedure has become so much more—"

"What?" Graham barked, adding a humorless snort. "Humane?"

Kyle gave him the I-expected-more look. "Cleaner," he finished.

Graham couldn't give half a shit. "Cleaner? What the fuck does that mean? You killed my wife, I'm not going to let you kill—"

"We didn't kill her, Graham!" Kyle protested, sounding sincere and guilty at the same time. "Akiak killed herself! You know that! You just needed something to punch all your anger and frustration into, and you chose the Concilium." Though that seemed viable, that little shred of intuitive-Fisher I had told me it was a cop-out. Graham not liking Gatherings was so much more personal than puppies getting crushed by elephants. It was his wife.

Graham sneered, spitting at Kyle's feet. He surprised me by saying nothing, but it was enough. I couldn't see the look on his face, but the way Kyle backed away…

"What's going on?" Teague asked, his voice much deeper and guarded than before. "What did they do to Akiak?" It took me a second to remember she was his aunt. I guess this was personal for him, too. His flickered from me, to Kyle, to Graham, to the five people—did I mention they were getting closer? Because they were—encircling me.

Graham didn't look away from Kyle. "They're going to rape Fisher."

Silence.

"Graham—" Kyle started, but I cut him off.

"RLPPSS?" I screamed, looking frantically at the men surrounding me. I began to shake, preparing to pounce on the next one to take a step.