Natural Evil by Thea Harrison

weight. The blow lifted him off the ground and slammed him into the back of the building several yards away. When his three friends rushed her, she showed them what the fuck too.
    When she finished with the would-be rapists and walked away, all four of them were on the ground. Two of them were unconscious, and one of them was crying.
    Because Junior wasn’t the only one who had a hellish temper.
    Claudia had a hellish temper too.

Chapter Five
    Sacrifice
     
    “Wake up, Precious,” a male said.
    Luis came awake instantly. Once again, he almost lunged to attack but he managed to check himself before he tore off the other male’s face. It was the older man, the veterinarian. Jackson. She wouldn’t like it if Luis hurt him.
    Jackson was a smart man. He had jerked back as Luis came awake. “Here now, none of that,” he said gruffly. Despite his obvious age and experience, the human didn’t sound nearly as confident as Claudia had when she’d shushed Luis. “I’ve got something for you.”
    Luis was in the trailer, but Claudia wasn’t. A strange male, also human but much younger than Jackson, stood well away from them both, his nervous scent spiking the air.
    Luis bared his teeth. He was groggy, confused and angry that the men had gotten into the trailer and Claudia had slipped away without waking him up. That would never have happened if he hadn’t been injured and heavily medicated. She had promised to protect him. Where had she gone?
    Then Jackson showed him three liquid-filled vials. He stared. Jackson offered him the chance to sniff them but he didn’t bother. In his mind’s eye, the vials shone with Power.
    “Don’t worry, son,” Jackson said. “I’m not gonna talk baby talk at you and ask if you’ll take the num-nums. I have a feeling you’d bite me a whole lot sooner’n you’d bite her. Feel like having a drink?”
    “That’s all we had at the Urgent Care Clinic, Dan,” said the strange man. “You didn’t tell me why you needed it. You’re not really going to give thousands of dollars worth of healing potion to a dog, are you?”
    “Yeah, Stewart, I think I am,” said Jackson. With a near-silent grunt, he levered himself down on one knee in front of Luis. “At least I’m gonna give him one to start with. We’ll see how that goes.”
    “It’s going to take at least twenty-four hours for the clinic to replace those,” said Stewart. “Who’s gonna pay for them?”
    “Not real sure about that part,” Jackson said. “I feel certain the money will come from somewhere. If nothing else, I’m betting his new owner will chip in. Worse comes to worse, I’ll pay for them myself. But I don’t think I’ll have to.”
    “He’s a dog.”
    “That’s the thing. I don’t think he’s just any dog, Stew.”
    Luis watched intently as Jackson uncapped a potion and poured it into a shallow dish. He pushed upright enough so that he could drink, ignoring the harsh explosion of pain that his movement caused. He had his nose in the dish almost before Jackson could set it on the floor. Breathing shallowly, he lapped at the small, valuable amount of liquid and forced his swollen throat muscles to work. Power exploded like a sunburst inside him, flaring outward until his raw, abraded skin felt like it was on fire.
    “Want another one?” Jackson asked.
    Luis nodded.
    “Well, fuck me dead and gone,” Stewart said. The other human sounded shaken.
    “A heartfelt, if unsavory, sentiment,” Jackson said. He blew out a breath and poured a second one in the dish, and then the third.
    Luis gulped them down.
    “Mind if I take some of these bandages off?”
    Luis growled, still drinking.
    “Oh-kay,” Jackson said, drawing back. “Guess you’ll handle taking the bandages off yourself.”
    Luis finished the last of the potion and lay back down, panting as the healing spell spread through his abused body. Broken ribs knitted, and torn muscle and skin mended. Healing potions did an amazing amount of good,