Sondrae Bennett - Alpine Woods Shifters 4 (14 page)

“I lo–”

“No. I don’t want to hear it. I can’t hear it right now.”

A fresh wave of fear swept over him. This was worse than he thought.

“I keep betting on you, and I keep getting hurt. Just when I’m about to give up, you do something or say something that gives me hope. And if you say those words to me right now, I’ll throw my hat back in the ring–even if you don’t feel the emotion behind the words.”

He tried once again to speak, but she was beyond listening.

“It would be comical if it weren’t so pathetic. To think I even tried to get you drunk so you’d sleep with me. Which is just so fucking stupid.”

Wait. What? “When did you get me drunk?” he demanded, not letting her cut him off this time.

“Movie night a few months ago. I brought over tequila.” She waved her hand absently, her mind already moving onto something else.

He remembered that night. Well, kind of. Vaguely. About an hour in, everything went a bit hazy. Now he knew why.

“We slept together months ago?” His voice rose. How had he forgotten something so monumental?

“No. It didn’t work. I should have known then it never would. A few days later, I went to talk to you and saw
her
walk out of your bedroom wearing your clothes.”

He didn’t have to ask who she referred to. There’d been no woman in his life for months, except one. With a jolt, he realized there was no longer the aching tug at his heart when he thought about Samantha. She no longer held his heart. Misty did. Everything inside him ached for Misty.

He shook his head, focusing back on the woman he loved and the confession she’d just made. Flashes of them tangled together flitted through his mind. The same images had played through his mind in spurts for months. Not a dream, but a memory.

“I can’t believe you’d try to trick me like that.” It was so unlike the woman he’d known all his life. He wasn’t mad. Not really. But he couldn’t keep the sense of betrayal out of his voice.

“Because you don’t believe I have the guts, or because you find it detestable?”

He wished she’d turn around, look at him. The longer she stood facing away, the more fuel got thrown on the fire. Here he was, trying to work on their problems, and she shut him out. And on top of that, to find out she’d tried to trick him into sleeping with her.

“No, because it was deceitful. I thought we were friends, but friends don’t manipulate each other that way.”

“Friends,” she echoed in a whisper. She turned to him then, staring at him with haunted eyes. “I can’t believe you don’t feel how right we are together. Can’t feel what I feel inside.” She paused, and he watched her chest rise with a deep breath. “Seems we both have a lot to think about. It might be best if you didn’t stay the night.” With that, she turned and walked into her bedroom, shutting the door behind her.

He could have told her he did realize how perfect they were for each other, but Misty’s emotions were as closed to him as the door between them. Nothing further would be gained tonight. With one last reluctant look at the closed portal, Cody left.

Chapter 11

Misty rubbed her hand over her face as she listened to the woman prattle away. Excuse after excuse. None of this made sense.

“You’re a vet, he’s sick. How can you turn him away?” Hysteria bled into her voice. What was she supposed to do? This was her baby.

“I’m sorry, ma’am, but we only take domesticated pets. Dogs, cats, birds. We don’t treat foxes.”

Her mind went completely blank. Something was wrong with Oscar, but she didn’t have the first idea what it could be. Without the vet’s help, she was clueless. Why wouldn’t they help her?

“You might try the vet over in Oakville. One of the doctors at that practice used to work at a zoo. He may be able to help.”

Throwing a quick “thank you” over her shoulder, Misty ran outside. Oakville was a bit farther away from town than she wanted to go, especially with all the hoopla about staying close to home, but her options were limited.

When she’d woken up this morning, Oscar had still been asleep. Hours later, he woke, but had still not been his energetic self. She’d known something was wrong. Just known. And she needed help to figure out how to fix it.

Briefly, she’d considered calling Cody, but her wounds from the night before were too fresh. In all honesty, she wasn’t ready to talk to him yet.

No, she’d handle this on her own. Oakville wasn’t that far. She’d get Oscar the help he needed and be back before anyone even missed her. After settling him in the back seat, Misty got back behind the wheel and took off. Everything would be fine.

* * * *

They wanted to keep him overnight. But he would be okay. Misty kept repeating it to herself as she walked out of the vet’s office. He was going to be okay. Her heart could finally return to its normal rhythm.

When she’d gotten home from her early morning class to find Oscar still asleep… She wouldn’t think about that. The vet assured her he would make a full recovery. That was the only thing that mattered. In a few short days, they’d be back in the woods hunting up breakfast. Well, his breakfast. Misty had never understood the appeal. Give her eggs and a muffin over raw rodent any day of the week. She’d just have to watch him more carefully. Make sure he didn’t eat anything he wasn’t supposed to. Who knew acorns were toxic? But the vet suspected eating them had caused the pancreatitis in Oscar. Thank God she’d managed to find him treatment. He was going to be okay.

Now that the drama of the morning had settled, Misty’s spirits soared. Her relief filled every part of her, making her almost lightheaded. There wasn’t even any room left for the resentment she’d felt last night. Maybe she’d call Cody and they could hash things out over lunch.

This morning had given her a bit of perspective. As long as they had their health, everything else would fall into place. She wasn’t willing to be used for sex, but she couldn’t believe that’s what Cody was doing. He cared about her. She knew he did. So if he needed time to figure out his emotions, she’d give him time.

Certainty gave her a sense of euphoria. She felt as if she floated ten feet above the ground. Which might explain how she’d been blind to the swarm of people until they were upon her.

“You think you’re better than us?” one shouted in her ear.

Who were these people, and what were they talking about? She shook her head frantically and tried to deny the accusation, but it was too late.

As if a dam broke, everyone ran forward, shouting in her ear. Misty slammed back to reality hard. The breath whooshed out of her as she looked around. Frowns marred everyone’s faces. No,
frown
was too mild a word for the rage reflected in the faces around her.

Trying to get away from the advancing crowd, Misty turned to run back to the vet’s office. To any building. But found more people coming from that direction. Her heartbeat pounded furiously inside her chest as every muscle in her body tightened in fright.

Desperate to escape, she spun in a circle, searching for a path out. All she saw was a sea of angry faces, shouting at her from all directions. They called her
bitch, slut, pure bred whore
. There was no way out of the mass of furious people.

The anger around her snowballed until she barely understood one word from the next. Frantic to shut out the angry voices, she covered her ears with her hands. But the effort was futile.

Fear threatened to overwhelm her as she found herself surrounded. Ruthlessly, she pushed it down.

A man stood in front of her and when she met his eyes, he spit in her face. She flinched as it hit her cheek. The shock of their hatred had her freezing in shock as tears filled her eyes.

“You stupid bitch!” Someone screamed in her ear right before a hand reached out and yanked on her hair. Pain burst across her skull as another hand wrenched her hair from the other side.

Another flash of pain.

Then she was pulled from all sides. Hands tore at her clothes, at her hair, scratching her without thought.

Misty called for help, but the crowd drowned out her words. With a sob, she begged those around her. They either didn’t hear her or didn’t care.

She turned to try another direction when a hand flew out of the crowd and pushed her. Hard. She stumbled, falling into a body in front of her. The woman she’d fallen into slapped her face with enough force to turn her head. Breath whooshed out of her lungs and her hand flew up to cup the offended flesh. Her cheek tingled with a mix of pain and numbness.

With a fresh sense of desperation, Misty frantically sought an exit. Some way to extricate herself from the situation. She had to get out of there. Now. But the bodies closed in around her until she barely had room to breathe.

Hands pushed her from all directions now. Claws scraped down her arm, causing her to yelp in pain. In a flash of panic, she wondered how far they would go. All it would take would be one person. One person with a knife. She’d bleed out on the street surrounded by people who hated her. Never again would Cody hold her in his arms. She’d never hear him tell her he loved her. If only she’d let him say it last night. At least she’d have that to hold on to.

Thoughts of Cody steadied her, even as the crowd seemed to grow wilder. It seemed the less she fought, the angrier they became. No. It couldn’t end like this. She had to find a way out. What had Cody taught her? When something goes wrong, she should breathe and keep a cool head.

Her lungs were tight with panic as she drew in the first breath. The air pushed painfully against the tight muscles. She forced herself to draw in another, deeper this time, and felt a sense of calm fill her, even as her head smarted from continued hair pulling.

Your job is not to win, it’s to get away. Use whatever means necessary to get your attacker on the ground and remember the pressure points
… Cody’s lessons came back to her. Get away. That was her purpose. By whatever means necessary.

A hand punched her back hard enough to bring a fresh wave of tears. No doubt she’d have bruises tomorrow. But it did make up her mind. If she would be hurt either way, there was no reason not to fight her way out.

With that resolve in mind, Misty punched the man in front of her in the throat. His eyes bugged out as he clutched it. She squeezed past him as new rage boiled in the crowd around her.

The next man, she thrust her hand up against his nose. Blood flew out, some landing on her shirt, but she didn’t stop to think about it.

Arms circled her from behind, forcing the air from her lungs as they tightened. On instinct, Misty squatted, breaking the hold. Without stopping to think, she turned and punched the man in the balls.

More hands reached for her. Clawed her. Nails dug into her skin, but Misty blocked out the pain. Using every ounce of training, she made her way to the edge of the crowd. The people behind her moved, blocking her from her car.

No time to worry about that. Now that she’d fought back, the crowd was becoming more violent. The only option left was to run, and hope they didn’t follow.

Stripping as she went, Misty threw herself into her change. As the shift swept over her, she pushed her body past endurance, rushing her fox to the surface. The pain blinded her, but she stumbled to her feet and took off for the woods. The need to get far away overrode everything else.

The crowd pursued her as far as the woods before breaking apart. But Misty never slowed down. Adrenaline flowed thick in her veins, allowed her to push her body harder. Faster.

She must have run for over an hour in blind panic before her lungs forced her to stop. Once she did, she collapsed on the forest floor. Her lungs wheezed as she struggled to pull air in. A quick inventory of her body showed pain originating from her abused scalp, her cheek, her arm, and her left front paw.

Raising her head, Misty looked around and sniffed the air. She didn’t recognize any landmarks, but detected the scent of Alpine Woods, Jason’s wolf pack. At least she was among friends.

Her legs wobbled as she stood. She wouldn’t make it much farther, but if she could make it to town, she’d be safe. Was probably safe now that she’d crossed their pack boundaries. But she couldn’t rely on the crowd staying off pack territory. The attackers had smelled like shifters, but not any she recognized. And she’d been outright panicked–she couldn’t trust her nose at the time.

As her sense of relief, of safety, grew, her steadiness shrunk. Her paws carried her in an uneven line as she continued to struggle for breath. Her chest felt like it would explode, or implode. But determination pushed her onward. Once she got to town, she’d get an inhaler and go home.

A sob of relief escaped as she caught sight of the bookstore, Books and Crannies. Help would be there. Putting on a burst of speed, Misty ran around the building until she reached the front door.

Of course it would have to be a push door and not automatic. But before she shifted, Laurie, Jason’s sister and owner of the store, opened the door for her.

“You lost?” she asked, staring at Misty with humor lighting her eyes. The humor vanished as Misty limped past her before collapsing with a drawn-out whine. The change swept over her until she lay wheezing on the floor in human form, no doubt bleeding on the entrance rug.