Beast Tamer's Rebirth National Treasure Edition novel Chapter 3

Chapter 3 Cats Fight

The System went quiet almost immediately. If it weren’t for Payton’s constant inner monologue buzzing in Sierra’s ears, she might’ve thought she was losing her mind.

Sierra took a deep breath and turned her gaze to Nick, who was still rolling on the floor in pain. She walked closer, pool cue still in hand.

Nick’s eyes widened in fear as he begged, “Sierra, I’m sorry. I was dumb. I won’t pull this crap ever again. I swear. Just please let me go.”

Sierra slipped a hand into her trench coat pocket and asked calmly, “Did Natalie send you?”

Nick shook his head right away.

Sierra’s expression went cold.

Seeing her reaction, Nick quickly blurted, “Natalie told me you snatched the Paterson Group jewelry endorsement right from under her nose. I got so mad that I wanted to steal your dog so you’d know how it feels to lose something important.”

He trailed off, finally realizing how dumb he sounded.

Sierra chuckled. “Natalie is still a nobody. The Paterson Group wouldn’t trust a rookie with no standout work to endorse their jewelry line.”

Nick looked totally lost, clearly not following.

Sierra didn’t waste time explaining. “Go back and tell Natalie that I’m not letting this go. Every dirty trick she’s pulled, I’ll pay her back double.” She paused, lowered her eyes slightly, and said flatly, “Now get out of my sight.”

Nick and his crew practically scrambled out the door, tripping over themselves in their rush to leave.

As soon as Sierra heard the cars peel out of the lot, her legs gave way. She stumbled, catching herself against the wall. She doubled over, her face pale and lips colorless.

Even though she’d taken fever meds earlier, they hadn’t kicked in yet. She’d pushed through the adrenaline while facing Nick’s gang, but now the energy was gone. Her head spun and her body felt weak. After a minute, she caught her breath and steadied herself.

Payton noticed Sierra sweating heavily. It tilted its head, blue eyes full of concern, and trotted over to nudge her leg gently. It said, “Sierra, are you okay? Don’t scare me like this. If you go down, I go down with you.”

Sierra stayed quiet for a second, and then patted Payton’s head. “I’m fine. Did you get hurt anywhere?”

She’d always talked to Payton like this, and it usually barked back. The only difference now was that Sierra could finally understand what it was saying.

As soon as Sierra asked, Payton launched into a full-on whine session, listing every ache and pain, complaining endlessly. It even asked why she didn’t beat Nick up more.

Sierra didn’t answer. Sure, she’d scared Nick off with her attitude, but at the end of the day, it was still four grown men against her. There was no guarantee that she could’ve walked away unharmed if things had gotten worse.

Hearing Payton complain nonstop about its injuries, Sierra quickly ushered it to their usual vet clinic. Two male vets carefully wrapped Payton up and took it for a checkup while Sierra waited anxiously outside the exam room.

As soon as Sierra stepped inside, the animal ward erupted in chaos. Sierra’s head filled with chattering voices from all the cats and dogs.

“Wow, the gorgeous human’s back and she’s here to see me.” Sierra glanced over and saw an enormous ginger tabby taking up half its cage.

“As if! She’s obviously here for me,” a sleek blue cat in the next cage hissed, clearly offended by the ginger’s shameless boasting.

The ginger tabby insisted, “Definitely here for me, no question.”

The sleek blue cat retorted, “No way. It’s me she wants.”

Before Sierra knew it, the two overgrown furballs were going at it. They were hissing, batting paws, and puffing up.

The vet watched in amazement. “I’m telling you, these two adore you. Every time you pet them, they’re angels for days.”

Remembering the cats’ earlier banter, Sierra joked, “Maybe they like me so much that they fake being sick just to see me.”

The two cats looked up at her and meowed in unison, “Oh no, she’s onto us.”

The vet finally put it together and went out to call their owners.

Within ten minutes, their owners showed up with carriers. The two cats grumbled the whole time, but eventually, they were hauled off.

Not long after, Payton’s checkup was done. The vet came out holding a stack of X-rays and reports. “Payton’s got a bump on its head, but otherwise it’s fine. Bring it back every three days for meds. But…”

Sierra had gone to vet school herself, so she could tell from the scans that Payton was okay. But the vet’s pause made her nervous. “But what?” she asked, hurrying toward Payton’s room.

The vet hesitated, “Payton’s just really upset about getting shaved. It’s lying there looking heartbroken, crying nonstop.”

As soon as she finished, a tragic, husky-level howl echoed through all three floors of the clinic.

To Sierra, it sounded like Payton wailing, “They shaved me bald. I look like a naked mole rat now. I want to jump. Why live anymore? Just let me die already.”

Sierra saw several staff members clinging to Payton’s legs, yelling, “Somebody help! This dog is trying to jump out of the window.”