Sondrae Bennett - Alpine Woods Shifters 4 (7 page)

“But I want to be like Laurie.” One of the wolves in Jason’s pack. Not only was Laurie an alpha wolf, she was a superb fighter both with fur and without.

“Honey, no matter how much training we do, you’re never gonna be like Laurie.”

Her sigh was so exaggerated, he had to wonder whether she tried to egg him on. Although he never understood why, he knew she occasionally tried to get under his skin.

“I know,” she said, reminding him of a petulant child.

“All right then, moving on. For the next lesson, I want you to follow my lead, okay?” He waited for her nod before continuing, “Breathe in.” With his hands toward him, he raised them to chest level as he took a deep breath, then lowered them as he breathed out. “Breathe out.”

* * * *

Wait, what? Misty stared as Cody lowered his hands to his side and then repeated the breathing exercise. When he’d had her breathe in and raise her hands, she’d expected him to show her some super move to knock down her opponent. But breathing? She knew how to breathe. She was a yoga instructor, for crying out loud.

“Is this like the ‘wax on, wax off’ approach to self-defense?” she joked.

“You watch too many movies.”

“Well, I thought you were going to teach me some fancy moves.”

His eyes narrowed and he glared at her through lowered brows. “Didn’t I just get through telling you not to do anything fancy? Not five seconds ago. Are you even listening to me?”

“Fine, nothing fancy.” Misty held up her hands in defeat. “You don’t have to get so cranky about it,” she muttered under her breath.

“I heard that.”

“I knew you would,” she shot back. And because she knew it would aggravate him even more, she smiled, enjoying the way his forehead crinkled in a frown.

This was probably the reason they’d never dated. In fact, it kind of amazed her they were still friends. Whenever she was near him, she felt compelled to tease. Almost as if the devil possessed her. She simply couldn’t help herself. If she wanted their relationship to grow into more, she needed to find a way to curb the impulse. He would never fall for her if she kept acting like such a brat.

New plan. She would throw herself into her lessons. She’d impress him by paying attention, listening closely, and picking everything up super-fast.

“Did you hear what I said?” Cody asked.

It wasn’t until he asked the question that she realized he’d been speaking the whole time her mind had been wandering. So much for the
listen closely
plan. With reluctance, Misty murmured an apology.

“I said, the reason you need to concentrate on your breathing is because it will help you remain calm during any intense encounter. Remembering to keep your cool is more important than any move I might show you. I know how panicked you get when something goes wrong.”

Misty reared back. She wasn’t a panicker. When things went wrong, she went with the flow. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I always keep a cool head.”

No response.

Probably trying to wrack his brain to come up with an example of her panicking and couldn’t, she thought with just a touch of smugness. Blatantly she stared back at him until his gaze darted past her shoulder in surprise.

“Oh no, Oscar broke loose!” he exclaimed.

Misty’s heart sped up, the breath freezing in her throat, as she spun around and ran to the pen. Oscar lay curled in a ball with his stuffed animal.

Knowing what was coming, she straightened slowly. The slight curl at the corners of his lips and raised eyebrow said it all.

“Touche,” she conceded.

“We’ll work on it. For now, let’s learn some of the most common ways a bad guy could grab you, and what you can do to get away. We’ll do human skills first and then learn to fight while shifted. Whenever you’re attacked from behind, I want you to squat down. It might seem strange, especially if he has ahold of your hair, but it’s the best way to break an attacker’s grip. Okay, turn around and let’s give it a try.”

Give it a try? Did that mean Cody would grip her from behind? Just the thought had her muscles tightening in anticipation. With a deep breath, Misty turned around. She held her breath, her eyes closing as she waited for the moment he’d touch her.

His touch had never failed to fire her blood. And her imagination. Often, she’d dream of Cody’s arms encircling her from behind. Granted, those fantasies had been romantic, not because he wanted her to fight him. Splitting hairs.

Any moment, Cody would take her into his arms. Maybe even sweep her off her feet. Her hands clenched as she pictured it. The smile on his face as he held her, those happy lips coming closer and closer until finally he closed the distance and kissed her… The breath she’d been holding came out on a sigh.

All of a sudden, Cody’s arms circled her, tightening just short of painful. Misty’s brain emptied. All she could think about was how incredible the man smelled. The spicy scent of his cologne was faint but still present, probably left over from that morning. But underneath, pure man bled through–a scent purely Cody. As the aroma surrounded her, she took a deep breath, pulling it into her lungs.

“You’re remembering to breathe. Good,” he said quietly. The heat of his breath caressed her ear, causing a shiver to snake down her spine.

She was supposed to be doing something, but her entire world began and ended with the fact that Cody Mattherson had his arms around her. Even though it wasn’t romantic, it made her stomach clench with need.

Sadness swamped her. If only he felt the same way…

* * * *

This was a mistake. The moment he put his arms around her, he realized it. Now here he was, Misty’s backside flush against him, trying desperately to control his wayward thoughts.

Over the past couple months, ever since he’d started having vivid dreams of taking Misty to bed, he’d been careful not to get too close. But now, he was trapped, his face pressed so close to her hair he smelled her shampoo with every breath he took.

Maintaining his distance emotionally proved impossible when he had her in his arms. Every time she breathed, her breasts rose perilously close to his hands. Over her shoulder, he stared at the peaks. Two perfect handfuls. Her nipples peaked under his stare, mesmerizing him. What would they feel like in his palms? And would they taste as good as they did in his dreams?

No. Thinking about that was dangerous. He needed to focus on the task at hand. She was taking deep breaths, which meant she’d not only listened to him but followed directions.

“You’re remembering to breathe. Good,” he murmured, closing his eyes to breath in her scent. Any moment now, she would squat down, like he’d instructed, breaking his grip. For now, he savored the feel of her in his arms.

When she shivered, he almost lost it. Undoubtedly, she was cold in only a tank top as the day cooled into night, but in his mind, he pictured her in bed, shivering under him in pure desire. The image punched him in the gut.

Misty was a friend. A good friend, but nothing more. There was no way he would ruin what they had because his libido all of a sudden realized she was also a woman. As if oblivious to his inner struggle, Misty turned in his arms to face him.

In a haze, his gaze dropped to her lips. They parted and the urge to close the distance between them almost overwhelmed him. He needed to find out if Misty tasted as good as she smelled. If she would sink into his embrace or push him away. He needed to know if the emotions rioting inside him were one sided, or if perhaps she was feeling the same undeniable pull.

A few inches would close the distance. Although he tried to resist, Cody found himself moving closer. He looked up into Misty’s hazel eyes, saw the naked desire inside before she closed her lids, shielding her emotions from him. He’d always been able to read her by gazing into her eyes.

The thought made him freeze.
Always
could mean a lot of things, but for Misty and him it meant over a decade. Fifteen years of friendship. Way back when he still believed in Santa Claus and The Easter Bunny, they’d baked gingerbread cookies and colored eggs at his parents’ house.

This was wrong. It didn’t matter if she felt the same way–which she appeared to. Throwing all that history away wasn’t the right move.

Clearing his throat, Cody released her and took a step back. A retreat, plain and simple. He was man enough to admit it. Even as every instinct urged him to plow forward, or maybe because they did, he took another step away.

One minute longer and he would have pulled her tight and ravished her, here on the grass with little Oscar sleeping not ten feet away. He looked into sparkling hazel eyes as they opened.

“Attackers usually don’t let someone go and back away on their own,” she joked.

Under normal circumstances, her humor attracted him, making him a part of the joke. One of the things he loved most about her. But tonight, he didn’t want to be pulled in. He needed to get away from her and the temptation she’d become. Once he’d regrouped and regained his equilibrium, they could continue training. But not until then.

“It’s getting late. Why don’t we try again in a couple days?” Cody continued to back up. He saw the question in her eyes, but didn’t bother trying to explain. Nothing he said would justify his squirrely behavior. “I’ll call you.”

Without another word, he turned and ran.

* * * *

Finding other hybrid shifters had been easier than she’d anticipated. And once she’d found them, it hadn’t taken Stella long to earn their sympathy. A few fake tears, the story of her brave brother persecuted by the evil pure breeds and their pure breed council, and they’d been eating out of her hands.

“Those wolves would have killed him right there, but the fox Premier showed up. I thought it would be okay.” Stella sniveled for effect, soaking in the furious expressions around her. Perfect. “But he said they should send my brother to the council. That the council would surely kill him. They said he didn’t have a chance because he wasn’t a ‘pure breed.’”

A fist slammed down on the table. A large beefy hand. Stella’s gaze traveled up the arm, pausing at the wide shoulders. This one would do nicely as her new muscle man.

“We have as many rights as pure breeds. They’re supposed to be for all of us,” the man said, looking at the crowd of hybrids around them. Easily manipulated, and he roused the crowd for her. Yes, he would do nicely.

“But they don’t work for us. My brother was guilty of nothing more than living too close to the wolves’ territory. It wasn’t even across their boundaries. He died protecting me.” She practically felt the outrage building. These people weren’t even questioning her story.

“But didn’t the wolf Premier just marry an arctic fox? I hear she’s pregnant, too. You’d think a potential father of hybrids would be more understanding toward us.”

Stella glared at the woman who’d spoken out, before composing herself. She’d planned for this moment, but she’d hoped it wouldn’t come until later. After she’d already gathered enough support to squash such questions with no more than a look.

“I don’t understand it, either. You should have seen the look on his face.” She closed her eyes and shuddered. “I think the foxes are to blame. Why else would they have shown up?”

The rumble of the crowd began again, louder than before. She heard the anger in the whispers. Having spent time listening to the local gossip, Stella knew the foxes were known for keeping to themselves. They were the perfect scapegoat to rouse the indignation of the oppressed hybrids.

As the anger around her grew, Stella implemented phase two of her plan. “What we should do, is start our own group, a union of sorts. For the rights of hybrids everywhere. But first, we have to show them we mean business and aren’t going to back down.”

The avid gazes of the crowd told her she had everyone’s attention. Before long, she’d be their leader, and then she’d take over the council. After she did, her brother’s killers would pay. Along with everyone who’d turned their backs on her and Jay. They would all pay.

Chapter 5

Misty narrowed her eyes as she saw Cody sitting alone in a booth at the diner one town over from Vulpes Creek. He’d avoided her for almost a week, dodging her calls, ignoring the door when she went to his place–as if she didn’t know he hid inside. But by the look of his plate, he’d just gotten started. Perfect. She might not be much of a hunter, but she’d cornered her prey.

Squaring her shoulders, Misty strutted to his table and swung into the opposite side of the booth. It took him a moment to look up, but as soon as he saw her, something close to panic entered his eyes.

“Sit down,” Misty ordered as he started to rise.

Last time she’d seen him, she’d been sure he’d been about to kiss her. But he hadn’t. Instead, he ran away. And now he avoided her as if she were a leper. How was she supposed to convince him they were perfect for each other if he ran away every time she got close?

“Eat your lunch,” she said.

He stared at her for a full minute before a smile curved his lips. The sight caused her stomach to clench in desire. “Feeling bossy today, are we?” That was all it took. With one little tease, the tension in the air cleared, and they were back on friendly ground.