Sassy Ever After: Kiss My Sass (Kindle Worlds Novella) (11 page)

BOOK: Sassy Ever After: Kiss My Sass (Kindle Worlds Novella)
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“James, why?” Moving back over to where he was bouncing Lilly on his shoulder, she took the photo from him and gasped. “What? This can’t be right.”

Oh, but it was. There, plain as day, was her uncle’s name, a birthdate supposedly provided by the child to her grandfather, along with a line that read
“Species: Human/Honey Badger”.

Reaching out to hold on to the table, Ashe plopped down in a chair. “What does this mean?”

Luke opened his mouth, and Ashe was hoping to get an explanation that made some kind of sense, but a knock at the front door had him snapping it shut again as he stood. “Here, you take Lilly, and I’ll grab the door. It’s probably Benson. I’ll be right back.”

Gazing down at her daughter always gave Ashe a measure of peace. At the end of the day, she’d always have her little girl, no matter what level of craziness occurred. They were a family of two, and while she hoped to eventually expand their little unit, she intended to make sure that whomever they allowed in was worthy and had staying power.

Muffled voices floated in from the living room, sounding urgent and leaving her worried. Ashe moved to the doorway with Lilly figuring Luke was filling Benson in on what they’d discovered, but what she heard only confused her more.

“I’m telling you, Benson, her uncle is the badger. It explains why the bastard was upstairs, and why he was in that form. Clearly he didn’t want to be seen where she’d recognize him,” Luke insisted.

Benson rubbed the back of his neck, his face drawn in concern. “I see what you’re saying. As long as she didn’t know it was him, then he’d still be able to come and go from the house, and maybe she’d allow him to be present whenever she cleared out up there.”

“Exactly! I can’t believe I didn’t suspect him of being a shifter before now. He hasn’t shown up here since all this went down, probably because he got a whiff of us when we were walking up to the house that day. He knew we would recognize what he is as soon as he came by.”

Stepping into the room, Ashe noticed how they both clammed up and looked her way. “I’m not deaf and the walls are thin. Now somebody start explaining why the hell you think my uncle is a badger?”

Benson stepped forward, taking her by the elbow and ushering her over to the couch. “Have a seat, sweetheart. What we’re about to explain to you is going to sound a little crazy, but you’re going to have to hear us out, because it ultimately affects your daughter too.”

Ashe took a step back, hugging her baby to her chest. “Lilly? What does any of this have to do with her?”

“Come sit down and we’ll explain,” Luke coaxed.

It seemed like it would be the only way to have them explain this shit, so Ashe allowed herself to be lead around in her own home while these two men clearly tried to figure out how to deliver whatever news they had. “Just spill it. I’m a big girl.”

The two exchanged a look before they each claimed a chair across from her. It was Luke who spoke up first. “Ashe, did you notice anything strange about your pregnancy with Lilly?”

“What the fuck does that have to do with anything,” she demanded. “Don’t try to change the subject here.”

“I’m not, I promise. Listen, this is all related, but I need you to answer the question.”

Ashe narrowed her eyes on them both, holding Lilly a little tighter before she replied, “My term was a little shorter than expected, but what does that matter? She’s perfectly healthy.”

“And has she ever been sick? Does she become easily offended by smells or sounds?” Benson inquired.

She thought about the times she’d boiled some cabbage and how Lilly had fussed until the odor had been aired out. Then another time when she’d been at a gas station and the stench of gasoline had been hanging in the air from someone overfilling their can. “Yeah, a few times she’s fussed over some things that stunk, but she’s never been sick.”

“How about sounds?” Surely Benson had a point, she just wished he’d get to it already.

“Yes, yes, she has excellent hearing, but what the hell does any of this have to do with those papers?”

Luke leaned forward, resting his forearms on his knees and regarded her before replying, “You want us to just spit it out, huh?”

Benson offered a small smile. “I was trying to ease you into things.”

“Do I look that fragile? I’m a sturdy girl, so just lay it on me already.”

“Your uncle is a shape-shifter.”

Ashe blinked several times in Luke’s direction, yet it didn’t do anything to change what he’d said. A shape-shifter? She’d heard rumors they existed, but for James to be one? “Is this like a joke to soften the blow? If it is, it’s not funny.”

Luke sighed. “It’s not a joke, Ashe. Shape-shifters
do
exist. You walk past them every day and never know it. They’re just like normal people, only they have the amazing ability to change into an animal as well.”

She considered what he was saying, wondering just how many people in her own town were shifters. Many of the residents were freakishly large, and she’d witnessed the strength some of them had. Could they really change into animals though? The very idea was both frightening, yet intriguing in equal parts.

With the wrong person, that kind of ability could be deadly, but for the most part, she imagined it would be pretty cool to be able to become an animal at will and roam the wilderness. “Lord knows there’s been plenty of times I wished I could become a bird and just fly away, but that’s just childhood wishing. Are you trying to tell me that my grandfather wasn’t crazy? That kid really did turn into the badger? My
uncle
can turn into a badger?”

“Exactly, and that’s why you don’t need to be alone. You’ve been in the dark all along as to what he is, and that’s given him an advantage. However, now that you know you need to be extra vigilant,” Luke insisted. “Badgers are mean little shits, but honey badgers are no joke. Those little bastards go after lion prides and come out fairly unscathed. They eat mainly snakes, poisonous or not. They’re hard to kill is what I’m saying.”

“Who said anything about killing him?” Ashe demanded. “I just want him to leave me alone.”

“And he obviously was trying to keep you from discovering what he is. There’s got to be a reason for that, beyond you just not knowing about our kind,” Benson replied.

“What do you mean by
our kind
?” Ashe wasn’t sure what was going on anymore, but she sincerely hoped she came out of this without completely losing her shit. Already her concept of reality was being challenged, and now she was wondering if there was more to her new friends than met the eye.

Luke gave a tentative nod of his head. “We’re shifters too, Ashe. So was Matt, and so is Lilly.” When her eyes snapped down to her daughter’s face, she heard him add, “That’s why someone had to come and check on you. There’s always a chance that a pregnancy with a human could result in a human child, but our genes are usually dominant, and you needed to be made aware so that you could be prepared. Raising a cub is much harder than the average child.”

“Cub? Did you just call my daughter a
cub
?”

“A wolf cub to be exact,” Benson supplied, ever the helpful one.

“Are you saying I got knocked up by a werewolf? What the
fuck
?” Ashe exploded. “And you expect me to believe my daughter will sprout fur and a tail on the full moon? What pills did you two forget to take this morning, because this is starting to sound crazier by the minute.”

Only, it wasn’t. She’d been out hiking with Matt on several occasions, and noticed how he seemed to sniff the air and listen to everything as they went along. She’d thought it was weird then, but now she had also experienced the sniffing thing in the store too.

“Ashe, we’re being serious. Matt wasn’t a werewolf, he was a wolf shifter, and shifters aren’t ruled by the moon’s cycles. Our kind can change at will, we’re passionate, protective, and loyal to a fault,” he added.

“Well, the dogs are,” Benson snorted. “Bears are lumbering, laidback and loving.”

“Hold the hell up! If you guys are shifters, then prove it,” she demanded. “That’s right, I’m calling bullshit.”

Benson shrugged and looked to Luke. “I’m too big to do that in here. I’d break something.”

“Yeah, yeah, I got this.”

She watched, waiting for them to admit to the joke, when Luke’s image began to blur before her eyes. A series of pops and cracks sounded, and Ashe blinked her eyes hard, rubbing them with her one free hand in an effort to clear her vision. When she opened them, there stood Shadow.

“What the fuck?” Rising to her feet, she took a couple of shaky steps back, putting the couch between herself and the wolf now standing in a puddle of Luke’s clothing.

“Easy, Ashe. He’s still Luke. The same guy who’s been helping you for weeks and guarding the two of you every night. He’s made no effort to hurt you before and he’s no reason to do so now,” Benson soothed.

No doubt she looked like a frightened animal herself, but who could blame her? “I’m not so much scared, as freaked the hell out,” she admitted. “Does it hurt to change like that? It sounded like it would.”

“At first it does, but after a while you get used to it, and the change goes much smoother.”

Suddenly, Ashe’s face flushed hot with a mixture or anger and mortification. There had been nights when she’d sat on her porch with Shadow and had poured out the details of her crush on Luke, thinking she was speaking to a canine who had no idea of anything she was actually saying. Now, her humiliation over realizing he knew of her feelings this whole time had her seeing red.

“You little
shit
! I poured my heart out to you on that porch, and you just let me?” she exclaimed. “You change back right now, fleabag, we have some talking to do.”

Benson groaned before casting a disgusted look at Luke. “Please tell me you didn’t.”

His transformation back to human was somewhat quicker…and left him standing gloriously naked in front of her. Just like that her anger all but vanished, replaced by good old fashion lust. The man looked like every single sinful female fantasy all wrapped into one delicious package. And what he was packing was nothing to joke about either.

While she was busy ogling his body, Luke was standing with his hands on those trim hips, regarding Benson with an incredulous look.

“What the hell was I supposed to do? It’s not like I could just leave my mate and her child unprotected. I was guarding the house in case that shifter came back, so yes, I allowed her to unload while she relaxed in the evenings.” Turning to her, he continued. “Ashe, I never have, nor would I ever have, shared anything you said to me.”

“I basically poured out my heart to you, Luke,” she pointed out, hating that her voice cracked. It was beyond embarrassing to know that this man was privy to her private thoughts regarding him. She’d gone on and on about his striking looks, his sweet personality, how wonderful he was with Lilly, and how much she wished they could actually have some sort of relationship together. Now to find out she’d actually been saying all of that to Luke was a devastating blow. “Well, I hope you got a good laugh at my expense.”

Breezing out of the room, she walked into her bedroom, closed the door, and placed Lilly in her basinet. Ashe just couldn’t face them right now. Not to mention, something Luke had said was bugging her. He’d called her his mate.

I’m not necessarily a genius, but even I know that’s something significant
, she thought to herself.

A soft knock at her door had her growling, “Go away Luke!”

“Um, it’s me,” came Benson’s cautious voice from the other side. “Can I talk to you? I know you must have questions.”

Yeah, she did, and she sure as hell didn’t feel like asking Luke any of them at the moment. “Come in.”

Cracking the door open, Benson stuck his head in first. “See, just me.”

“It’s not like I’m going to throw something at you,” she chuckled, amused by his cautious expression. The guy was damn near seven feet tall for crying out loud.

“Well, I’ve seen my mother’s temper, and that is one woman you do
not
want to end up on the wrong side of, and I’m a grizzly, so that’s saying something.”

“So your mom’s a bear too? I have to admit I think this whole shifter thing is pretty neat. I’m still weirded out by the news, but who the hell wouldn’t be?”

“Eh, mom’s not a bear, she’s just mated to one,” he explained.

“So you’re afraid of a human?”

“Nope, I’m afraid of a witch. I’ll have you know that woman gave me boobs—
boobs
—when I was in high school, all because I made a lecherous comment to a girl in my class who was well endowed.” At her snicker, he gave a sad nod. “I had a nice set of perky D’s for the whole weekend, and she even drug my butt to the grocery store with her. She made sure that, to everyone else, I looked like a very attractive woman, and I had to endure the same sort of comments I had been lobbing at school. Let’s just say the woman has a way of teaching you a lesson you won’t soon forget.”

Ashe didn’t know what to say. She honestly didn’t think her jaw was even capable of closing because it was hanging so far open at this point. It was when he brought his hands up like he was cupping said boobs on his chest that she completely lost it and fell over on the bed laughing.

BOOK: Sassy Ever After: Kiss My Sass (Kindle Worlds Novella)
12.16Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
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