Uneven Stride

Murph stuffed his tail down his pantleg and tried to walk normally. With limited success. People would think he'd developed a limp. And sitting was going to be a pain.

Barely out of the elevator, Angelo spotted him. "Should you be here?"

"I can't possibly take any more days off. This is fine. I'll distract myself with work."

As he backed away, Angelo pointed to the phone in Murph's hand. "Text me. For any reason."

"I will. Thank you."

"Mornin', Murph!" Tippy wheeled up and announced, "Becca's got a thing, but as soon as she's done, we'll jump into a staff meeting. Ten-ish."

"Certainly. Look, I apologize for my sudden … uhh …." Angelou was nosing his pant leg. "Hello to you …?"

The dog lifted her head and wagged her tail.

His own twitched in response, and he shifted his weight to try to hide any motion beneath the fabric of his trousers. Did he have some special affinity with canines now? With an awkward wave and an uneven stride, he escaped in the direction of his office, only to draw up short again.

What?

What was that?

The scent didn't fit here, which was another fundamental change. He'd always had a good nose, but since when did scents matter this much? He closed his eyes and took slow breaths, because the answer was obvious. Ever since he'd sprung a tail.

So why was this scent such a problem?

Becca had people in her office. Early meeting. It was probably one of them. Eyes still shut, he angled his head, listening hard. He turned, lifted a hand, and blindly reached out. To his utter astonishment, his fingers bumped into something. Someone. The growl was vibrating even before he opened his eyes.

"Yeah, yeah. You caught me. But for the record, I wasn't exactly trying hard." A young man with pointy ears and a long fall of pale green hair gave him a thumbs up. "You're the newbie, right?"

"I didn't see you."

"Happens a lot," he said. "I'm Sinder. And you look like you want a whiff. That's normal for wolves. Go ahead."

Murph sniffed uncertainly. Right away, he was distracted by the door at Sinder's back. "Levity's in there. In Becca's office."

"She did just go in."

This guy was definitely the source of the problematic scent. It worried him, almost like Sinder was a threat. It made him want to growl again. "Why do you smell … different?"

"Honestly? I don't remember what I last oiled with, so it could be anything. Let's just go with … dragon. You've scented a dragon."

"I hadn't realized that dragons were represented among the Amaranthine clans."

"Yeahhh, it's not really a secret, but here's the thing. I am. So I have good news and bad news, Murphy Benedict Koogan."

Sinder's voice took on a pleasant lilt, and Murph was immediately more at ease.

"I'm one of the good guys, so remember my scent and remember that it's safe. Even though I'm not going to let you remember me."