Feral Nights by Cynthia Leitich Smith

Author:Cynthia Leitich Smith [Leitich Smith, Cynthia]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
ISBN: 978-0-7636-6368-1
Publisher: Candlewick Press
Published: 2013-09-04T04:00:00+00:00

PAXTON SHOWS UP, pushing a metal food cart, and shoves a plate of milky oats through a slot in the cage bars. He’s ditched the heavy gold-chain necklaces from the club, revealing ugly, deep scars around his collarbone.

“Where’s Aimee?” I demand. Travis hasn’t reported in yet, and I don’t know if that’s because he couldn’t find her or because he’s lost track of time mooning over her. Back when he was alive, he used to do that a lot.

“Your girl? Unless she’s managed to piss off the deific, which can be fatal, she’s their newest intern. Robotic, corporate, pedestrian fashion — tragic, let me tell you.”

Noelle finally filled me in on our kidnappers. “You’re one to talk,” I counter, “selling out your fellow shifters to a bunch of overgrown arctic asshats.”

“Go play dead,” Paxton replies. “You know why you’re still alive? You’re nothing but a companion animal for Noelle. Like when horse breeders let the old mares out to pasture with their prize champions. Piss me off, and it’s the glue factory for you.”

I could’ve lived without him saying that in front of the Lioness.

Carrying a platter of meat, piled high, he approaches the slot in her cage.

Noelle saunters over as if to accept the meal and, as he leans in, lashes out through the bars with extended claws.

Paxton jerks back and flashes his teeth. “Naughty kitty! I’d let you starve, if this gig weren’t so damn profitable.”

Spotting my crutches against the nearby tree, he sets the plate on the three connected bars at the top of one and moves to try to feed her again.

“Grab it!” I yell once the underarm cushion is within her reach. “The crutch!”

“What?” Noelle is already holding the platter of food. “What’re you —?”

With a sneer, Paxton tosses the crutch so it lands on the metal roof of my cage. He doesn’t know why I want it so badly. He’s just getting off on torturing me.

Returning his attention to Noelle, Paxton adds, “Yak ribs fit for a queen.”

She sniffs her food and retreats toward her hammock, and it’s then that I notice her limp. “I’m not interested in your favors,” Noelle says.

She’s not just talking about the menu.

“You sure?” he asks. “Clients keep telling the deific that they want to bag a head with a mane — makes for a nice trophy over the fireplace mantel.”

Noelle tears off a hunk of meat. “What would you know about having a mane?”

Paxton strikes a pose that I’ve seen Yoshi work to great success, but Paxton can’t quite pull it off. “If they can’t locate a male Lion soon, the deific might take a chance on breeding you with another type of Cat.”

Noelle shakes her head. “Remember what happened last time you got too close?”

She’s the one who’d marked Paxton. Is that how she injured her foot?

“You can only hold out so long.” He runs a suggestive hand down his chest. “You and I used to play together just fine, and we kitties have our appetites.”

Ew. Whatever was between Noelle and Paxton, it ended badly.

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