Fire Storm Read Online Free Page A

in her hallway. She sighed. Obviously the mother wasn’t budging until something was done. The tigress and her cubs sat stiffly on a row of hard wooden chairs along the side, flanked by two large potted plants. The cubs squirmed restlessly. Having raised Bella’s kittens, Ari knew the signs. Trouble wasn’t far away. Scrounging through the storage room, she found two balls of twine for the cubs to use as toys. Picking up tangled string would be an easy cleanup.
    The tigers had a long wait. It was almost noon before city services called to say the neighbors had moved without notice, but the garbage had now been removed.
    When Ari stepped into the hall to give the family the good news, she clapped a hand over her mouth to stop the laughter that threatened to bubble free. She doubted the council members would share her amusement. As anticipated, the twine wound up and down the hallway. What she hadn’t counted on was the cubs would also unearth the potted plants, leaving a trail of soil, shredded leaves, and dirty paw prints.
    “Sorry.” The frantic tigress was trying to corral her unruly brood. “It all happened so fast. While I was chasing one, the other… I’ll clean it up.”
    Ari could only guess how long that would take with the cubs continuing to run back and forth in the debris. “No, it’s not a big deal. I can take care of it. Really.”
    Flashing a grateful smile, the tigress grabbed each cub firmly by one hand and marched them toward the front door. Once they left the building, Ari ran to the storage room, gathered a broom, dust pan, and bags. It took forty-five minutes to clean the worst of the mess. She had no idea what to do about the ruined plants, and from up close the pots had an odd odor, so she dragged everything—pots, plants and dirt—outside and stuffed them in a large dumpster. Without the foliage, the hallway looked rather cheerless, but it was clean. If she was lucky, no one would think to ask her about the change in decor.
    She finally collapsed into her desk chair, clutching the last cup of coffee, and put her feet up. She’d been too busy to think about Andreas’s imminent departure. If things continued like this, his absence might not be too bad. Yeah, right. Night would be a different story.
    The council president’s wizened face appeared in her doorway. Ari dropped her feet from the desk and jumped up to greet him.
    He waved for her to be seated. “Please, don’t be so formal. I merely stopped to commend you on your redecorating of the hallway. I’ve been telling the custodian for months that those plants were a bad idea.” His eyes twinkled. “Young shifters frequently relieve themselves on the pots, leaving unpleasant stains and odors.” He chuckled and continued down the hallway.
    Ari sank back into her chair. Was there anything the old wizard missed?
    The afternoon was nearly as hectic. She’d only scheduled appointments in the morning and had no idea the center had so many walk-ins throughout the day, looking for information or Otherworld-friendly resources. She suspected the center’s receptionist was taking advantage of her presence by sending all the unscheduled visitors to her. In spite of the steady traffic, Ari made the rounds of other offices and talked with any council reps she saw. The schmoozing was something new for her, but she needed to get back in touch with the rest of the magical community.
    When four o’clock arrived, she grabbed her jacket and headed for the door. A stop at the shapeshifter shelter, then home to see Andreas. Had he firmed up his plans for Italy? She hurried her pace. With a little luck, she could squeeze in both visits before evening patrol.
    There was only one all-shifter shelter in Riverdale. The other two Otherworld shelters in town were multi-species, but shifters usually chose the Shifters’ Den. Most lycanthropes were pack creatures by nature and newly transformed werecreatures were readily taken in by the packs, leaving the