Sondrae Bennett: Worth Fighting For

Misty frowned at him before he could speak. “Don’t lecture,” she warned.

He held up his hands in compliance before reaching for their purses. “I’ll watch your purses, but if you get hurt, I’m selling them to the highest bidder.”

“What would I do without friends who would steal my movie collection and sell my purse when I’m hurt?” Misty joked before she jumped up, leaning over the counter to kiss his cheek.

He stood back as she struggled to reach him.

“You could make this easier, you know.”

He simply smiled and crossed his arms over his chest. The jerk. Somehow, the two purses hanging from his hand didn’t subtract from his manly demeanor at all.

“Fine. No cheek kisses for you. Your loss, I give a mean cheek kiss.” She smiled as she backed away from the bar. Already, the cracks and pops drifted in from outside, signaling people had begun shifting. As she turned, she saw Cody guarding the door, brooding in her direction. She stood staring at him for a moment before squaring her shoulders and making her way to join the others.

Where did she think she was going? Cody had seen Misty stand up with the rest of the crowd and pass her purse over to the bartender. He stood and watched in amusement as she flailed around trying to kiss Jarrod’s cheek. His lip hurt where he’d bitten it in an attempt not to laugh. God, she was entertaining.

Looking down, he wiped a hand over his face, hiding the small smile that escaped. Was it any wonder they were friends? Back in middle school when he had been way too serious about grades and football, Misty had whirled into his life and made him laugh. She’d shown him that sports were not the most important thing in the world and that being silly wasn’t a bad thing. In fact, he’d wager Misty had been the biggest influence on who he was today. She’d taught him to laugh at himself.

But being friends for as long as they had been, Cody also knew a lot about Misty. Like her struggle with asthma. And the fact that Misty was not a fighter. At all. Even when she hunted, she more chased the squirrels than captured them. She had no business going with the pack when she would be a liability.

Their eyes met as she turned away from the counter. Cody stared at her until she squared her shoulders and started to walk past him. He knew that look. Misty might be goofy, but when she got an idea in her head, there was no changing her mind. Logic wouldn’t dent her determination.

Still, he had to try. He had no clue how dangerous the night would be. Surely, this one time she’d listen to reason.

“Misty.” Cody reached out and clasped her arm.

She didn’t try to fight him, stopping at his touch. But when she turned to him, he sucked in a breath. A strange plea shone out from her eyes, tearing into him. Maybe she was just putting on a brave face. Did she want him to stop her?

“I don’t know how this is going to go down. It could be dangerous. I don’t think you should go.”

She huffed out a breath, but ruined the effect by smiling. “Someone’s gotta watch your back, chief.”

Ever since he’d taken over as Premier of the skulk, she’d called him chief. He still remembered the day it first happened. The way she’d uttered it during one of her rambling rants and how she’d blinked afterward, looked straight at him, and told him she was always going to call him that from then on. True to her word, she did. Some people might get annoyed, but he loved it. It was silly and exactly the kind of thing he liked about her. Through that one word, she made sure he didn’t take himself too seriously.

And it was the reason she had to stay. Misty was goofy, and silly, and sometimes drove him insane with her lack of logic, but she kept him grounded. His mind hitched on the thought. How could the same thing drive him insane and keep him grounded? Yet somehow, that’s exactly what she did.

Shaking his head, he gripped her arm tighter. Risking her wasn’t an option. Determined to try again, or order her to stay if need be, Cody opened his mouth to protest but was cut off when Misty grabbed his arm and pulled him outside.

“No time for arguments. They’re waiting for us.” She pulled him out the door and he saw the rest of his skulk, already shifted, sitting in a group, staring at him. As much as he hated to admit it, Misty was right. There wasn’t time to argue. Still…

“Promise me you’ll stay toward the back. And if things get out of hand, you and Jen take off and go for reinforcements.”

“Yeah, sure,” she muttered, pulling off her shirt.

Focusing on her eyes instead of the appealing flesh she’d revealed, Cody pulled her around until she met his gaze. “Not, ‘Yeah, sure.’ Promise me.”

She huffed again, stirring her bangs, and rolled her eyes. “I promise I’ll stay to the back and go for reinforcements if things get out of hand,” Misty replied in monotone.

Having her along still didn’t sit well with him, but they needed to get moving. If Jason needed help, he couldn’t afford to waste any more time worrying about this. Everything should be okay if she stuck to the back of the group. Enough members of the skulk were coming, she would be protected. Right now, he had bigger concerns.

Samantha had been frantic on the phone. The panic in her voice had pulled at every protective instinct in him. It was silly to still want the woman now that she was mated to Jason, but he couldn’t help it. He couldn’t get her out of his head. So when she asked him to try and help her mate, he hadn’t even thought about saying no. Months ago when they’d first met, he’d told her he would be there whenever she needed his help. Now the time had come to step up to the plate.

Quickly stripping off his clothes, Cody dropped the reins of control and allowed his fox to take over. He gasped as the stress he’d been holding in his shoulders surrendered. The tension increased before fading to a dull ache as his muscles stretched and shrunk to his animal form. Skin rippled as fur surged down his body. The shift forced him to his hands and knees as his bones reformed.

When the shift completed, he stood and shook. It took a moment for his brain to assimilate with his new body, reconnecting nerve ending and pathways. But soon, it had cleared and he focused on the task at hand.

Facing his skulk, Cody let loose a battle cry and heard the sound echoed from the foxes around him. Without another word, he turned and took off.

Certain in the knowledge that the others would follow, he didn’t bother glancing behind him. Instead, he allowed his mind to wander as he ran toward the edge of town, passing homes along the way, and every now and then, picking up another fox. Whether word had spread or they joined the group out of curiosity, he couldn’t be sure. His own ranch-style house was the last, standing guard between the town and the surrounding woods. Cody sprinted past it into the fields where he’d first met Jason’s mate.

It occurred to him that if something were to happen to the wolf Premier, nothing would stand between him pursuing Samantha. But as soon as the thought came to him, he pushed it out of his head. That wasn’t him. And he didn’t want to be the type of person who could stand back and let something bad happen to a friend for any reason.

Sure, when he’d first met Samantha, his fox had stood up and taken notice. He’d felt something, a pull for her. Had even considered mating with her. His inner animal had been attracted to the little arctic fox who’d stumbled into their town. Samantha had been–and still was–a woman he imagined falling in love with.

Always curious, Cody had spent years learning everything he could about mating. The mating pull was nothing more than animal attraction. An instinct the creatures inside them developed. True mating happened when animal attraction met human love, an emotion that developed in their human half after time. The attraction was instant and couldn’t be faked. Cody had been attracted to women before, but never the attraction. The pull indicating he’d found his mate. His fox hadn’t taken notice of anyone. Until her… But that didn’t immediately mean they were meant for each other. Love and destiny were never that easy.