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was both welcome and needed.

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    Chapter 2

    THE Varda house was at the end of a cul-de-sac halfway up on Mount
    Rose, and people were out strolling, walking their dogs, and I could even
    smell barbeque as we all got out of the car and charged across the
    manicured lawn to the front door.
    There was a party going on that we basically interrupted as we
    barged into the house. Artem pushed through the crowd of people,
    carrying his brother, forging a path for me, and I stayed no more than a
    step behind him. I took in vaulted ceilings, stairs that led to the second
    floor, and a sunken living room as we moved through it.
    When we reached the bathroom, I had Artem sit down on the toilet
    with his brother in his arms as I turned on the hot water in the tub.
    ―Put him in,‖ I directed.
    ―But he‘ll get burned,‖ he said, hesitating.
    I shook my head. ―He won‘t. He‘s a panther, and his body
    temperature will rise to match the water. Hurry up, ‘cause I need you to
    get me stuff.‖
    ―His name is Rocco,‖ he told me. ―It‘s a bad nickname that stuck.‖
    ―Okay,‖ I soothed him. ―Put Rocco in the tub. Trust me.‖
    He did as I asked and then left me to get the bottled water and bucket
    I needed.
    ―My reah!‖
    Turning to the door that had been thrown open, I saw a woman
    staring in at me. There was only one person she could be: mama.
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    Mary Calmes

    ―Close the door, Mrs. Varda,‖ I directed Artem and Rocco‘s mother.
    ―You‘re letting the heat out.‖
    She came in and closed the door behind her, rushing to her son‘s side
    as he slouched in the tub. Her hands were all over him before she looked
    over her shoulder at me with frightened eyes.
    ―He has alcohol poisoning,‖ I told her. ―For us, as you know, the
    balance is even more precarious, because we need the water in our bodies
    to shift. As soon as his system realized that he couldn‘t shift if he needed
    to, it shut down, and he passed out to conserve energy.‖
    ―I had no idea that panthers could get alcohol poisoning, because
    normally we metabolize it so fast out of our systems.‖
    ―It takes a lot,‖ I told her. ―He must have just been putting it away all
    night.‖
    Her face was pained. ―He‘ll recover, my reah?‖
    ―As soon as his blood heats,‖ I told her, ―he‘ll start throwing up, and
    he‘s gonna be miserable.‖
    Her face lit. ―He‘s going to be sick?‖
    ―Yes,‖ I said, smiling at her. ―Very.‖
    ―Oh thank you, my reah,‖ she breathed out. ―Bless you.‖
    I gave her a reassuring smile as Artem came back into the room.
    Minutes later, Rocco started first to shake before his eyes sprang open and
    he leaned sideways and vomited. I had the bucket there ready as he
    brought up more alcohol than I had seen in quite some time.
    He was so sick all he wanted to do was curl up into a ball and sleep,
    but I made him drink a gallon of water just to start.
    ―No,‖ he moaned, shoving Artem and his mother‘s hands away. ―No,
    no, no… just lemme sleep. Please, I just––‖
    ―Rocco,‖ I snapped at him, hot and sweaty from being in the steam-
    filled bathroom. ―Drink the water now.‖
    He looked up at me, knowing there was someone else there but not
    sure of my identity. When he realized who I was, who was there with him,
    his eyes got big and round.
    ―My reah,‖ he breathed out, trying to crawl out of the tub to get to
    his hands and knees. ―I didn‘t know it was––‖
    ―Drink the water,‖ I told him. ―Do as I say.‖
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    ―Yes, my reah.‖
    As he guzzled more water, Artem and his mother both crawled over
    in front of me and bowed low.
    ―If not for you knowing what to do, my reah,‖ Artem told me, ―I
    would have––‖
    ―It‘s okay,‖ I told them, taking hold of both their arms, urging them
    to stand. ―We just need to educate poor little Rocco here.‖
    The retching turned all our attention to the young man.
    ―I just wanna die,‖