Sondrae Bennett - Alpine Woods Shifters 4 (2 page)

“Have you tried talking to him since then?”

Misty’s gaze shot to her friend’s concerned one. Jen couldn’t be reading her mind...right? As close as they were, she hadn’t told Jen about that night. She hadn’t told anyone, too ashamed to even talk about it.

“Since when?” Her words were measured. Misty hated uncertainty. Her father had always told her when she needed to make a decision, make one and deal with the consequences later. Don’t pussy foot around an issue. Okay, so he told her that while teaching her to drive, but the lesson worked on so many different levels. Then again, maybe it wasn’t the best advice considering recent events.

“Since the morning you saw that slut in his apartment wearing his clothes.” The sneering tone of Jen’s voice told Misty how the “other woman” ranked in her friend’s eyes.

A snort escaped Misty and the first real smile of the evening curved her lips. Fierce loyalty was one thing she loved about Jen. Ever since Misty had confessed the morning she’d gone to Cody’s house and seen a woman coming out of his bedroom, Jen had insisted on calling her a slut. Even after learning the woman was an arctic fox who had gotten lost while hunting, and was now mated to the Premier of the neighboring wolf pack. It didn’t matter nothing had happened between the woman and Cody, or that she’d been dating the wolf when she’d stumbled into Vulpes Creek. All that mattered to Jen was the hurt her appearance had caused Misty.

“She’s not a slut. And don’t let any of the wolves hear you talk about her like that. Or Cody, for that matter. They adore her.” Cody had been moping around town ever since she’d left with the wolves months ago. According to the rampant town gossip mill, he’d thought he’d found his mate and was heartsick after learning she’d already been attached to Jason, the wolves’ leader.

To Misty, Cody thinking he found his mate wasn’t all that much different than him actually finding his mate. Both put him out of reach.

“Whatever. Now that she’s mated and marrying Jason, maybe things will change. Not that Jason isn’t attractive, but why anyone would choose a wolf over a fox is beyond me.” Jen strove for a light tone but Misty read the doubt in her friend’s eyes, belying the words. Jen had been quite vocal about trying to get Misty to move on, until she’d realized it was hurting their friendship. Clearly Jen didn’t believe anything would change, but being the good friend she was, she kept those thoughts to herself.

“What about you and Nick? Things seem to be pretty hot and heavy from what I can see.” Misty had to change the subject. She didn’t want to talk about Cody. She didn’t want to see the doubt and disbelief that she and Cody could ever be more than friends.

Before Jen could answer, Cody strode back through the door of the pub and stood inside the entrance, capturing everybody’s attention. Misty stared at him, a sense of foreboding filling her as she studied his frown. In their fifteen years of friendship, Misty had never seen Cody look this angry before. Whatever that phone call had been about, something seriously bad had happened.

“I just got off the phone with Samantha.” Great. Misty couldn’t escape that damn arctic fox. She rolled her eyes and took a swig to hide her sneer. “Someone has taken Julie, the youngest Callahan.”

The beer stuck in her throat and Misty coughed to clear her airway. Cody’s words replayed in her mind. Even though the foxes preferred to keep to themselves, the Callahan wolf pack was right next door. The two communities often worked together. Their middle schools and high schools were separate, but school lines bunched the two communities together for elementary school.

Julie had been four years behind her in school, but Misty remembered her well. How could she forget? The girl had gotten picked on for being a full human born to wolves. The bullies had been careful not to tease Julie around her siblings, but Misty had seen it happen and informed Julie’s sister, Laurie, who was in her grade. Misty didn’t know what Laurie had done. Truthfully, she didn’t want to know. But whatever she’d done had stopped the bullying.

Misty had been a bit of an outsider herself, being a runt, and as a result she’d always sympathized with the youngest Callahan. The thought of someone taking her left a sour taste in Misty’s mouth. Okay, that might be the beer. But this situation didn’t sit well.

The wolves were family. Maybe the red-headed stepchild of the family, but still family. Some of her red hair fell into her face, catching her eye–maybe the wolves were the non-red-headed stepchildren. Looking around the bar, Misty knew she wasn’t alone in the feeling.

“What do you mean,
taken
?” A male called from the bar.

“Kidnapped.”

At Cody’s reply, someone unplugged the juke box, cutting off Billy Joel mid-sentence. The silence in the room deafened. An attack against the Callahans hit too close to home to ignore.

“They don’t know who, but the wolves are tracking her scent. Samantha says they’re heading our way. I’m going to run out and see if I can help. I’m looking for volunteers to come with me,” Cody announced.

Chairs scraped against the floor as all around the bar, people stood. It was a busy night, but almost every male and quite a few females made their way toward the door, ready to help.

Misty took one look around the bar and the flood of people leaving, and made up her mind. Doing nothing didn’t sit well with her. If she could help, even in some small way, she owed it to herself and to the wolves to do it. She turned to Jen and raised her eyebrows, even as her friend frowned.

“You’re kidding, right? I’m not real great at the fighting thing, and unless you’ve been taking lessons I don’t know about, neither are you.”

Misty pushed out her lip and gave Jen her best puppy dog eyes.

They stared at each other until Jen rolled her eyes and sighed. “Fine, let’s go. But if you get killed, I’m taking your movie collection and if I get killed, I’m coming back to haunt you.”

“Deal.” With a big smile, Misty grabbed her purse and held out a hand for Jen’s. She ran to the bar in the back and hailed Jarrod. Being the bartender, he would have to stay behind and since he was a friend, could watch their purses for them.

He studied her a moment before tilting his head to the side and opening his mouth.

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.