Page 31 of Cats Never Fly

Hayden’shand shot out and coveredNelson’s, as if he couldn’t stop himself from trying to help the guy.I’dseenHaydentry to help people he considered his pack, even if he refused to believe he was the alpha.SoIguessed that meantNelsonand the rest ofGage’steam were part of the pack now too. “Youokay?”

Nelsonblinked atHayden, then turned his attention toGage. “CanIsee the picture again?”

Gagepassed the tablet over.Theshadow jumper swallowed hard as he stared at the image.

“Youknow him?”VanaskedNelson.

“Notyet,” the shadow jumper answered, without looking away from the screen.

GagecaughtVan’seye and shook his head.Awordless message to back off.

“Oraclebusiness?”Vanasked.

Gagepressed his lips together and inclined his head in acknowledgement.

Vanfrowned.

“Andhow did you end up here?”GageaskedOgdenbeforeVancould pressNelsonharder about his reaction to finding out about the unicorn.

Iglanced atOgden, who nodded at me.Hereached over and rested his hand on my leg under the table, and that light touch helped me rally my courage.Iswallowed hard.Ipulled out the whistle and dropped it on the table.Itclattered as it tumbled before coming to rest in front ofVan.

Everyonestared at the whistle.

“Ifound it.Iblew on it.Thenthe dragon…Ogden…He, uh, came shooting out of the middle ofWillowLake.”

Vanmoved to poke at the whistle with the tip of his pen, but before he could,Ogden’shand shot out across the table and swattedVan’shand away.

“Don’t.”

“Isthat whatIthink it is?”Vanasked.

“Probably.”Ogdennodded and licked his lips. “Ifanyone butSimontouches it, they might disrupt the magic that summoned me here.Iexpect to be sent back to the cage when we don’t succumb to the whistle’s magic, but let’s not hurry things along, m’kay?Yes,OfficerHellhoundhere has hooked me up with some interesting goodies to stuff into this monstrosity.”Ogdenjiggled the beltVanhad given him. “ButI’drather not return sooner than necessary.”

Theidea of him going back to that place made me queasy.

“That’sone ofUlric’swhistles, isn’t it?”Iwas lucky thatDavinawas a medium and not a mage with the way she scowled at me.

Inodded quickly.Mystomach flipped and flopped even more under her disapproval.

Van’sgaze softened as he eyedOgden. “Areyou sure you want to return?Myjob is to protect civilians, not send them into danger.Whatif you work something out withSimoninstead?He’sa good kid, and we can ensure the connection between you is balanced.Ifyou finish what the summoning started, you would stay here.You’dbe safe.”

“Couldwe?”Thatsounded like the perfect solution.Whyhadn’tIthought of that before?Wecould negotiate andOgdenwould stay here where he was safe. “Maybewe should do that.”

Thedragon pursed his lips but didn’t jump on the suggestion likeI’dexpected.

“Whataren’t you saying?”Iasked.Thatsame queasinessI’dexperienced earlier reared up again. “Yousaid it wasn’t slavery.”

“Butit could be if you don’t handle things properly.Themagic evoked during a summoning has the power to bind you together.Forlife.”Vanrubbed his forehead. “Icould call theSupernaturalCounciland arrange a representative for you.Noone would blame you,Ogden, if you didn’t want to return there.Wewill try our best to get to you as quickly as possible, butIcan’t guarantee your safety.”

Mychest tightened.Icouldn’t sendOgdenback to a cageMagiconly knew where, for people to doMagiconly knew what to him.Weshould do everything we could to keep him away from that cage.Buthow couldIforge a lifelong bond with someoneI’donly just met?Thatwas sonot good.Mamawas going to be so pissed at me when she heard about this.

WhatwouldItell her?Idoubted saying “So,Mama, it looks likeI’veadopted a dragon” would go over very well.Shewas going to pinch my ear for this.Ijust knew it.

Although, given thatOgdenwas older than me, maybeIwouldn’t be the one being adopted.Wouldhe want me to call himDaddy?No.Icouldn’t.Thatwasn’t for me.IhadPops;Ididn’t need a daddy.Ogdenwould understand, right?

“I’llbe fine,”Ogdensaid firmly. “Ineed to get those people out.Thisis the best way to do that.”

Islumped.Hedidn’t want to bond with me.Thatwas understandable.Hewas magnificent, whileIwas just a simple cat shifter.Iprayed to theEternalMagicfor his plan to succeed.I’donly known him for a few hours, butIcouldn’t imagine a world withoutOgdenin it.