Redhawk Caldera I thought I'd have it worked out and I'd be making plenty

She braced herself and listened, waiting for him to make a break for it. Her legs were trembling. She was so out of her depths here.

The silence went unbroken except for the sound of his paws shuffling back, away. Then, a whine. She could picture him but not in the way one would imagine. His fear was clearly drawn in her mind, and she could easily interpret that sound to have been a plea. Maybe she should let him go. Eljay would know what to do. She stayed where she was.

I'm not going to hurt you. No one here is. You're safe now. She tried to keep that same, calm, professional demeanor. But it began to slip towards desperation and she had to rein it in. I don't know how to prove it. Maybe I can't. Maybe I can't do a damn thing to help you. But I can tear apart anything that tries. With pleasure. She wanted nothing more, because even if she never actually found out what had happened to make him this way, it didn't matter.

I swear.

She didn't expect this to make much more of a difference than the other words, but she was prepared to stay here until he realized that nothing in this den was going to hurt him.