Sloane was the last to shift since he was team leader and Tony was still in recovery. Ash, Cael, and Hobbs took turns shifting into their Therian forms, and they waited patiently outside with their partners while Rosa took a seat behind the wheel in case they needed to make a quick getaway. She hated driving the BearCat, but there was an order to who drove the huge tactical vehicle. After Hobbs, it was Tony, then Sloane, Ash, and then Rosa.
"You okay?"
Dex clipped Sloane's PSTC kit to his tactical backpack. He smiled at Sloane. "Let's do this."
"Hey." Sloane pulled him close, placing a gloved hand to Dex's cheek. "You don't have to pretend with me, you know that?"
"I'm a little nervous," Dex admitted. "But I'll be okay. Be careful out there, okay?"
"You too." Sloane gave his lips a quick but sweet kiss before he slipped behind the privacy screen.
Okay, Daley. Get your shit together. Time to pull his head out of his ass and get to work. He lowered his visor and grabbed his tranq rifle from the weapons cage. Securing it closed, he met Rosa's concerned gaze through the rearview mirror and gave her a wink. His team needed him.
"We'll be back before you know it, Rosita bonita."
"You better. Go kick some ass."
Sloane's pained groans and roars resounded through the closed truck, and Dex closed his eyes for a moment, letting the sound wash over him. His muscles tensed, and he gritted his teeth at the pulse of pain that spread through him. His muscles twitched, and he breathed out slowly through his mouth. Sloane's Therian roar did something to Dex, and his eyes snapped open. His heart raced, his pulse picking up. The pain in his body eased, and Dex hit the button to raise the privacy screen. Sloane's fur bristled, and he lowered his head, ears flat against his head. Why the hell was Sloane hissing at him?
Dex crouched down so they were at eye level. "What's going on, babe?"
Another hiss left Sloane before he gingerly approached Dex, sniffing him as if he didn't recognize Dex. What the hell? Dex remained perfectly still as Sloane circled him, and he realized that this was the first time Sloane was in his Therian form around Dex since Dex's transformation. Sloane sniffed at Dex before pushing his nose against Dex's cheek. That was more like it. Dex put his hand on Sloane's head, and gave him a scratch.
"You had me worried for a second there." Dex stood, and Sloane rubbed his head against Dex's legs as he circled him, leaving his scent. When Sloane was done, he padded to the end of the truck. Dex opened the door, and they hopped out.
"Took you long enough," Letty grumbled. "We doing this or what?"
"You got a date or something?" Calvin teased, scratching Hobbs behind his ear. Hobbs let out a chuff and playfully bumped his head into Calvin's leg. "Planning on having a little sci-fi marathon?"
"Shut up, Cal." Letty cursed at him in Spanish before marching off ahead of them, Ash on her heels, mane swishing as he trotted along. Sometimes he was such a precious princess that Dex couldn't help but laugh. Wait. Sci-fi marathon? What the hell was that about? Dex arched an eyebrow at Calvin. Mischief filled Calvin's blue eyes, and Dex gasped. It could only mean one thing.
"Oh, sweet baby Jesus, you found out Dimples' name!"
Calvin grinned broadly and wriggled his eyebrows. "He called this morning for Letty, and Lisa put the call through to me by accident. We had a friendly chat."
"You ladies coming, or you gonna stand around all day gossiping?" Letty growled at them. Ooh, she was so not happy with Calvin. This was awesome.
Calvin leaned into him, his voice lowered. "You're going to love it."
Dex let out a squeal. He was practically vibrating with excitement. "I can't freaking wait."
After what sounded like a threat promising disembowelment or some other form of grievous bodily harm came from Letty in her native tongue, they hopped to it, catching up to her. Dex would find out once this was over. The three of them approached a set of derelict buildings, their brick facades crumbling. When the hell was the city going to do something about this place? Who knew how many feral Therians were in here. While true that the majority of Therians who lived here never ventured out, some did. They had to get food from somewhere. This wasn't exactly the wilderness. There were no gazelles loping through or zebras congregating around a waterhole. This was the urban jungle, filled with nothing but crumbling stone, brick, and exposed mortar. Weeds and dead shrubbery grew through the cracks in what little asphalt was left.
Some of these Therians were here of their own free will, believing this was what nature intended. Others found themselves here out of necessity. Ending up on the streets with nowhere else to go, they turned to Greenpoint for shelter. Then there were the ones evading arrest, much like Juarez and Turner. It was a sanctuary of sorts, Dex supposed. As long as the ones walking in were in Therian form, the rest didn't seem to care who came and went. How many of these Therians were still Human inside? It was terrifying, the thought of a Human getting lost in the depths of their own mind, receding so far they became a feral creature. His thoughts went to Taylor, and it saddened Dex. Taylor might be an asshole, but he didn't deserve whatever Moros had done to him. The guy seemed to be stuck in his Therian form. It wasn't looking good, and the longer Taylor spent in that feral state, the more difficult it would be to bring him back. If they could bring him back. Dex hoped TIN figured out what the hell was wrong before it was too late and they lost Taylor for good.
Cael stalked quietly beside Dex, and he reached out to put his hand on his little brother's head. Sloane's fur bristled in front of him, and the hairs on the back of Dex's neck stood on end. They were being watched. Dex sniffed the air at the unfamiliar scents. It was a mixture of various classifications of feral Therians. He could smell them. If only he could distinguish the scents. His skills weren't honed enough yet. His sense of smell was sharp, but he couldn't tell Therians apart yet, not the way Sloane and the rest of his Therian teammates could. Dex had always been able to tell his teammates apart from other Therians. No two tiger Therians had the same set of stripes, just like no two cheetah Therians had the same coloring, face, head, or nose shape. The same went with lion Therians. Their coloring varied, the size of their manes, their attitudes.
Ahead of him, Sloane stopped, and they followed his lead. Dex murmured quietly to Cael. "Be careful."
Cael bumped his head against Dex's leg, most likely telling him to do the same.
Sloane broke into a run, the rest of them following. Ash, Hobbs, and Cael joined him, with Dex, Letty, and Calvin bringing up the rear. Sloane roared, the sound causing a shiver to go through Dex. His partner meant business. He wanted Juarez and Turner to show themselves. When there was no response, Sloane stopped. He turned to Hobbs and hissed. Hobbs sniffed the air, then let out a roar that scared the birds out of their nests. That was certainly going to rattle some cages. So to speak.
Dex grabbed Letty and Calvin and pulled them close. Calvin opened his mouth to say something when glowing eyes appeared from the darkness of the empty doorways around them. They readied their rifles while their Therian teammates created a perimeter around them.
"We don't want any trouble," Dex called out, hoping at least those Therians possessing some humanity would hear him. Enough for them to understand what he was saying to them. "We're here for two Therians wanted for murder."
Dex turned at the sound of a roar in the distance. It came from a building at the far end of the street, one covered in dry ivy and wisteria. Sloane took off toward it, and they followed. As they approached the building, Dex's instincts went into overdrive. Gravel crunching, low hisses, and movement caught his ears. His eyesight sharpened, and his heart raced. A twig snapped, and he spun, shooting at the lion Therian that leaped out from a nearby doorway. The dart struck him in the chest, and he went down. Dex quickly checked the lion Therian's fur but found none of the gang's distinctive markings.