Read Online Feral Pride by Cynthia Leitich Smith - Free Book Online Page A

Joshua doesn’t need a doctor or, for that matter, the undivided attention of an entire ER. “Joshua is . . . robust,” I say. “It wasn’t as bad as it looked.”
    “Uh-huh.” It was Kayla who cleaned up the not-insignificant puddle of blood on the hardwood floor. Rinsing the mop, she asks, “How dumb do you two think I —”
    “Shh!” Clyde cocks his head. “Someone’s coming. It’s not Yoshi.”
    “What now?” the Cat girl whispers.
    The sharp knock at the back door is impatient. This time it’s a friend. Meara Morales, Kieren’s mother. Quincie must’ve called her. Miz Morales barely nods at us before jogging upstairs with her worn leather doctor’s bag. Miz Morales isn’t supposed to know what Joshua is either, but at this point, that’s between her, Quincie, and God.
    “Everything’s fine now,” I announce to Kayla. “Miz Morales is an amazing healer. She brought Clyde out of a coma last fall.” I don’t mention that the spell she used blew the roof off of her house. Repairs were finished only a few weeks ago.
    “You were in a
coma
?” Kayla exclaims. “What happened?”
    “It’s been a hell of a year,” he replies.
    A few minutes later, Miz Morales returns with her bag. “Joshua’s passed out from the shock, which is a mercy. I created a patch. It’ll hold him until I can figure out something better. For now, I’ve left Quincie in charge.” It’s an alpha female werepredator tone (with the barest trace of her Irish homeland), and none of us question her. I’m sure that “temporary patch” is mystical in nature.
    I introduce Miz Morales to Kayla. I don’t have to explain the Cat-Wolf part. Their noses will tell them that. “Nice to meet you, ma’am,” the Cat girl says.
    My mom wishes I was that polite. In Pine Ridge, Kayla explained that everyone held her, the mayor’s daughter, to a higher standard.
    “I have news from Father Ramos,” Miz Morales says. She sets her bag by the door and grabs one of the Bears by the shoulders. “Give me a hand, will you?”
    As Clyde lifts the same Bear’s feet, Miz Morales says, “The FHPU is a fake federal agency. They don’t exist.”
    “You’re sure?” Kayla asks, tossing Masters over one shoulder.
    “Unless the White House is lying to the Vatican,” Miz Morales replies.
    Feeling like a weakling, I open the door and look around outside to make sure nobody’s around. Then the shifters load the FHPU team into a white van labeled ENDLESS LOVE BRIDAL PLANNING . When Miz Morales isn’t healing werepeople, she tames bridezillas and, when necessary, their mothers.
    “Of course the FHPU is fake,” Clyde says, like he realized it from the start. “Why would the feds care about Daemon Island? It’s not a U.S. territory. This is payback from the arctic asshats.”
    Kayla asks, “What’re you going to do with them?”
    “The Bears?” Miz Morales checks their pockets. “Turn them over to the interfaith coalition. If they’re sellouts, they’ll be questioned. If they’ve been controlled using implants, surgeons will be called in for the extractions and then they’ll be questioned.”
    Something occurs to me. “Be careful. The FHPU . . . or whoever’s behind this . . . could be tracking those Bears right now, using the same chips.”
    “Noted. Thanks, love.” Having found nothing so far, the Wolf healer moves to rummage through Masters’s wallet. Seconds later, she holds up a plastic security card with his photo on it.
    Clyde looks at me. “It’s an MCC Enterprises employee badge.” This day just keeps getting better.
    Yoshi runs up the driveway, carrying a briefcase. Curious Cat, he’s broken the locks. “Look what I found in their trunk!” He opens the lid, revealing two rows of fluid-filled glass vials, half of them with green caps and half with red caps, along with metal syringes packed in foam padding.
    Miz Morales pries out a green-capped vial, the side of which reads MCC INJECTIONS and, in smaller lettering