to the office and forget you ever saw any of this."
"Well, that does not sound super sketchy," River murmured.
"What he said," Brie pointed.
Rathais sighed. "There are things you don't know. Things I was going to tell you when you took over as Sheriff."
"Things? Pile of dead bodies kinda things?" she demanded.
Rathais blinked in surprise. "Actually, no, this is not normal, even for us. Brainless ferals attacking fae, shifters, vampires, and witches, is the usual norm."
River snickered. "Gods, you are terrible at this."
Brie felt her eye begin to twitch. "What?"
"It may be faster to simply show her," a gorgeous blond said, as he walked up to them pulling off his clothes.
"Sir, I'm gonna need you to stop," she said, trying to keep her voice even. One, she had no idea why he was getting naked, and two, he was absolutely breathtaking, and three, he was getting naked!
"Gods above, Ari," Rathais exclaimed, shaking his head.
Brie's eyes never left the beautiful man before her. Seconds later, it felt as if her entire head became wrapped in cotton. Her hearing was muffled, and she knew she was going into shock, but who wouldn't? The runway model was now a freaking lion!
"Sir?!” she yelled.
"Stand down, Brie, we can explain," Rathais started. When she turned to face him, her body moved along with her head, and she now had her gun pointed at her boss.
"Brie, it's okay, honey, just put the gun down," Rathais continued.
Movement out of her corner of her eye had her swinging back to face the huge lion. "S-s-top," she ordered.
She felt Rathais move closer to her, and the lion began to snarl viciously. When her boss wrapped a comforting arm about her shoulders, the large feline roared loud enough to hurt her ears. Without thinking, she fired off a warning shot, her normally perfect aim skewed by her own shaking hands. When the lion collapsed, she was horrified. "I didn't mean to hit him!" she said, looking up into her boss' kind eyes.
"We know, honey. He had to go an act like an idiot. He should have known better than to approach someone holding a gun when they're spooked." Rathais easily pulled the gun from her hands. "Shift back, Ari, you're upsetting my deputy."
It wasn't until the men around her began to look concerned that she realized something might be really wrong.
"Ari?" Aiden called out, kneeling down next to the lion. He pushed back part of the mane and inhaled sharply. "He can't shift, the bullet looks close to the spine. If he shifts back to human, it may cause irreversible damage."
Brie felt her knees go. "I didn't want to hurt him," she whispered.
"I know, hon, you're a huge cat lover," Rathais easily supported her weight.
Aiden grabbed his phone. "Rheia, I need some advice."
"Who's Rheia?" she asked.
"A surgeon who lives with Aiden," Rathais answered.
Aiden ran down the series of events, explaining that they now had a four-hundred-and fifty-pound lion laid out with a bullet near the spine.
"I'd love to help, Aiden, but I've never operated on a lion before. If he were human, I'd say bring him straight here, but we're talking a completely different anatomy."
"Shit," Aiden exclaimed.
Brie stepped forward on wobbly legs. "I know someone who may be able to help," she offered.
Aiden looked relieved. "Who?"