Sondrae Bennett - Worth Fighting For

“I should have insisted you stay at the bar,” he muttered under his breath as he cleaned the gash on her cheek.

“You aren’t my father, Cody. Besides, who would have guessed a second man lay in wait, or that he’d attack from behind?”

“We didn’t know what to expect. If you’re going to keep putting yourself in these dangerous situations, I have to insist you learn how to defend yourself.”

“And how am I supposed to do that? Besides the yoga classes I teach in town, there’s a youth ballet class, and a step aerobics class. What kind of self-defense am I going to learn, how to sashay the bad guys to death?”

Cody frowned at her words. She was right. There was nowhere nearby to learn self-defense classes. Most shifters developed a natural instinct to fight, but somehow Misty had missed that day in Shifter Instinct 101. Although, now that he thought about it, developing a class in self-defense for the town wouldn’t be a bad idea. It would be a great way to protect his skulk when he wasn’t around.

Cody glanced back at Misty. She needed to learn now. It would take time to develop a full class and find an instructor. They couldn’t wait that long. He wouldn’t wait.

“I’ll teach you.” Cody twitched. Had he just said those words? He’d been thinking of asking one of the senior members of the skulk to teach her, but the thought of another man putting his hands on Misty, even to teach her self-defense, made him want to throw a blanket over her and shield her nakedness.

What was wrong with him? This was Misty. His friend-who-was-like-a-sister Misty.

He looked down at the thigh he’d been absently rubbing earlier. Maybe not quite like a sister. No, he couldn’t teach her. Right now, the emotions rolling through him were too confusing. But he couldn’t let any of the other male foxes teach her, either. They’d have to figure something else out.

His gaze moved up, stopping at the growing bruise on her side, the skin there already darkening. Once again, instinct warned him not to wait. And he always trusted his instinct.

Glancing up, he gazed into Misty’s eyes. She looked downright giddy at the idea of learning how to fight. Knowing he was caught, Cody sighed. It appeared he would be teaching her. He’d just have to stifle these new, strange feelings for the time being. At least until he figured out what had caused them and put an end to it.

Misty released the chipmunk she’d captured. She wasn’t hungry. Just restless. Cody was coming over tonight to begin her fighting lessons, and nervous energy filled her. If she hadn’t done something to burn off the excess energy, she would have started cleaning. And once she got started, she’d never be able to stop.

So she’d decided to shift and go for a run, especially since she still had an hour and a half before Cody was supposed to arrive. But now that she was here, surrounded by the forests she loved, boredom set in. Well, maybe bored was the wrong word, but she was still filled with the restless energy she’d hoped to dismiss.

After Cody had announced he would teach her, she’d been elated. After all, how could more time with the man she loved be a bad thing? Not to mention, there’d been something in his eyes and touch the night she’d been attacked. Some emotion she’d never seen before.

But a couple days away from him had allowed the doubts to set in. Yes, she hoped Samantha’s marriage to Jason would pave a path for her and Cody, and yes, she needed to spend time with the man in order to convince him she was perfect for him. But she knew what a miserable fighter she was. Her father had tried to teach her once, before declaring her hopeless and giving up. Having Cody watch her flail around like a landlocked fish probably wasn’t going to make her appear irresistible.

Too late now. Cody had already rearranged his schedule in order to meet with her tonight, even moving his weekly meeting with the elder members of the skulk. It would not only be rude to cancel, but outright inconsiderate. She’d just have to suck it up and look like an idiot. But she supposed if she’d managed to overcome Cody seeing her pathetic attempts to climb the rope in gym class, she’d get over him witnessing her embarrassing fighting skills as well.

A faint cry made her ear twitch as she meandered through the forest. Her ears swiveled, searching for the sound. It came again somewhere to the left. She froze, sniffing the air trying to determine if she was in any danger. The small mewling continued. The pain in the cry broke Misty’s heart. It sounded like a young fox.

Sometimes kids from the local middle school passed this area while playing. What if one of them had fallen and gotten hurt? Her imagination ran wild, picturing the young shifter’s friend running back to town for help, leaving the fallen child frightened and alone.

Her fox couldn’t sense any danger–not that her fox instincts were all that strong. For whatever reason, most of her senses and instincts had never developed as well as most other shifters’ had. The weeping continued, a constant cry of pain and fear. Misty could no more ignore that sound than she could ignore a lost child, which it might very well be.

Following the sound, Misty dodged through the trees until she came upon the source. The scene before her made her freeze. Horror and sympathy rose up inside her, tightening her throat. She swallowed past the lump, assessing the situation. It wasn’t some kids from her skulk, and no one would be coming to help.

Misty tramped down the urge to cry as she watched the baby fox, not a shifter but a full fox, curl up with its fallen mother. She didn’t know what had killed the mother, maybe another animal, or starvation. Perhaps the mother had never recovered from birthing the youth, who looked to be no more than three weeks old. Whatever had happened, one thing was clear, the mother had done whatever possible to protect her child.

The baby fox nudged the mother’s head with its nose, causing Misty’s heart to thud heavily in her chest. No way could she leave the kit here. If he didn’t starve to death, he would be a sitting duck for every predator in the forest. The mother could no longer protect her child, but Misty could. Reason enough to take action.

With stilted steps, she approached the pair. The kit looked up at her, a pleading cry escaping as if asking her for help. Misty tramped down the tears that threatened to fall. She needed to be strong and get this baby to safety. She eased closer, giving the kit time to adjust to her smell so she didn’t frighten it. A boy, she realized, his scent becoming clearer the closer she got.

It wouldn’t be easy to tear him away from his mother’s body. Using her nose, Misty pushed the baby away. Even recognizing the futility, Misty took a moment to nudge the adult fox with her nose. Cold and stiff, as she’d suspected.

Poor baby. She’d lost her mother at a young age, too, but at least she hadn’t been in the car with her at the time. Hadn’t seen the destruction, or been left alone with a cooling body. And she’d had her father to love her.

With a deep breath, Misty turned away from the body, forcing the kit to walk in front of her. Without looking back, she started home. Every now and then, the young fox would cry, breaking Misty’s heart again.

When they got back to her house, she would make sure he had plenty of food and toys. If Cody arrived while she was at the pet store, he’d have to wait.

It was actually kind of perfect. She’d been lonely lately, and thinking of getting a pet. Although she’d never wish this pain on anything, what could be better than another fox to keep her company?

The first thing Cody heard when he approached Misty’s front door was laughter. The kind of laughter that came straight from the gut, borne of pure joy. A sound he’d come to associate with Misty. He smiled as he opened the door and strode into her living room.