Destined Fur More

Pretty Boys Are Such Flakes

People screamed.

I mean, there were two cats the size of Europe running down an Alaskan street, what should I expect? But we didn't stop, or bother with taking alleys.

I was numb. I had to be. That's all I knew was Teague was at my side and I had to keep going. I forced my mind to think of nothing other than running. I pumped my legs harder than I ever had before. Sirens sounded in the distance. We reached the hotel in seconds. Thirty, would be my guess. The parkinglot was some-what hidden from the crowded streets, and thankfully empty.

Then came the real problem: getting to the room.

Granted, yes. We could just get the hell out of town. But the odds of getting to the edge of Anchorage without darts jammed in our asses wasn't likely, and Gra—told me to get the bags he'd packed. Too bad they were thirty floors up, behind a locked door and behind a very open lobby filled with very reactive people.

I swung my fat head over to Teague. He felt my eyes and looked back to me. There was a moment of silence, which I guess was emphasized by the fact that neither of us could speak, but it spoke novels. If panthers could cry—well, no. Panthers can cry. Teague was. He took a few stumbles over to a bush, where he collapsed, and deep, mournful noises began to erupt from him.

It's just me, then.

I swallowed all my emotions, storing them deep in my stomach, with the Twinkies and cheeseburgers I'd eaten not three hours before. I needed to be human; that much was obvious.

I could still feel the adrenaline. Well, I thought, that bitch needed to go. I took deep breaths, trying to get a hold of my heart rate. It didn't help. I began to pace. Think of calm things.

Oceans.

Rain drops.

Cupcakes with little smiley faces frosted on top.

Unicorns.

Green pastures, filled with frolicking gnomes—

"Momma, is that a tiger?"

Oh, fuck it all to hell.

I leapt from where I was pacing, to the front doors of the hotel. I heard some lady scream. If leopards could roll their eyes, I did it best. They didn't slow my pace, which I kind of wish they did, because I ran straight into the automatic doors. As they slid open, I felt—not for the first time—technology was laughing at me.

Recovering, I continued sprinting through the hotel. The lobby was empty—even the snotty, balding receptionist was on break. I leapt across the fancy carpeting to the elevators, taking forty-three more seconds than I'd have preferred trying to press the call button. For some reason, people didn't feel the need to accommodate for rogue leopards.

Bitches.

Just as the panicking mother and her daughter made it into the hotel, the elevator doors slid open with a ding. I stepped into the shaft, trying to hold back my animalistic fear of small places. The doors slid shut, oblivious to the cargo it was about to carry to the thirtieth floor.

If I could get my damn claw to press the fucking button, that is.

There. The little circle lit up and the doors slid shut just as over-protective mom screeched into poor-daughter's ear at the sight of me. I rolled my eyes and wondered what I was going to do about Teague. Obviously, he wouldn't work properly for a few days, which meant I'd have to shove my own grief down my throat and work this shit over-time for us.