Page 48 of Shrouded in the Dark
Becca was bent over clutching her stomach as she gasped for air in between her laughs.
“She got you.” I bit my lip to stop from joining the others. “She got you good.”
Axel was leaning back into the couch. His deep rumbles in his chest turned into a loud belly laugh. I couldn’t hold it back any longer.
“Damn. That was good. But why a teddy bear?” After we’d all settled down, Axel asked the question.
She shrugged. “That’s what you remind me of. You’re this big, gruff, sometimes scary looking guy, but, in reality, you’re a big softy.”
She’d hit the nail on the head. Well, for the most part. Axel was a big softy with those close to him. Otherwise, he really was unapproachable. We glanced between each other with smiles. I noticed that Cody stared at Becca with longing.
“Don’t you dare tell anyone that,” Axel roared playfully, with mock anger.
“Or what?” Becca jutted out her hip, placing a hand on it. “You’ll carry me around like a sack of potatoes again?”
“Becca 3. Axel 1. Checkmate,” Cody interjected.
She beamed at him. “Damn straight.”
“Alright, alright.” Seth stood up. “It’s pretty late. Why don’t we all head to bed?”
Axel and I straightened. We had to wait until Becca slept before we went hunting.
“Aw. You’re right.” Becca glanced at her phone. “I’ve got a few things I need to do tomorrow in the morning.” She picked up the markers, putting them in the small basket for them, that we’d haphazardly put down.
“I’ll clean up,” Cody offered.
“Thanks.” Becca handed him the basket. “Good night guys! I’m really happy you’re here.”
She went over to Axel and hugged him tight but only briefly. I’d never seen such a look of confusion on his face as she stepped away. I had my arms up for a hug as soon as she looked at me. Her lips quirked as I pulled her into me tightly. I even lifted her from the ground for a second before placing a kiss on her cheek. She fit so perfectly. If only she weren’t a human.
It was all too soon she was in Seth’s arms. Anyone could see that he felt the same pull as Cody and I did with her. He pressed a kiss behind her right ear whispering good night to her with his sex-me-up voice that my fox always rolled over onto his back for him for. Cody pulled her away from Seth, wrapping his left arm around her shoulders while his right arm held her head into his chest.
“It’s okay, fair maiden. I’ll protect you from this ogre.” He proceeded to pull her back through the room and down the hall.
I shook my head, smiling at his antics. After his freak out earlier, I’d been worried he’d be out of sorts for a while but Seth had done what Cody had needed. It’d been hard to hear them while we’d been on the deck. I’d had to do my best to hide my hard on. Axel had been lucky, he’d been facing the grill the whole time. He hadn’t had to distract Becca from noticing the uncomfortable state we were both in. I’d enjoyed that he’d still been affected by our pack like that.
Seth waited until we heard Cody close Becca’s door after saying good night. We all kept our voices low so Becca wouldn’t be able to hear us. Cody nodded to us as he came back into the room.
“Alright. You all know the plan. Cody is protecting Becca. We’ll stay within earshot of each other as we hunt this fucker. Axel, you have the freshest scent, we’ll follow you. We need to find him in the next few days or I can guarantee we’ll have to leave the area because the Venandi will be swarming our territory. We don’t have enough backup to deal with them, since they come in hoards, right now. We maybe have a week before that happens if he does something again.”
We all nodded in understanding. The Venandi weren’t as deadly as they liked to think when they were on their own. They came in groups when they went hunting. Overwhelming numbers can take down a shifter if they couldn’t get away fast enough. With the advancement of technology, the Venandi were winning this war that we’d never asked for.
We knew that the majority of the Venandi in the states resided in Texas. They’d taken that state over thirty years ago. The survivors of the packs, if there were any at all, from Texas had moved to Canada seeking sanctuary. Texas was too big of a place to narrow down exactly where their main headquarters were kept.
The only places they’d been unable to infiltrate were Canada and Alaska. The packs there had formed together with each other, making it difficult for The Venandi to gain any traction. They were winning here because most of the shifters here were stuck in the old ways by sticking to their own species.
With Seth, we’d been working on slowly gaining surrounding packs’ trust for alliances, but it was hard won and slow. It wouldn’t help us in this situation right now.
“Here are the bags for your cells. I’ll put them on when you shift.” Cody waved the necklaces for our cells in his hands weakly. “Becca was tired, so hopefully it doesn’t take long for her to fall asleep.”
Seth nodded. We’d all keep our ears focused on her breathing so we could move out as soon as possible. My fox was ready to hunt, he was craving the feel of fresh blood between our teeth as we defended our family.
I was the first to strip my clothes off. Shifters were never shy while naked, like all the romance novels say, we got used to it at a young age. Transforming in clothes can hurt. I enjoyed the looks that my pack gave me, though. I shook my ass at them before letting my fox take form.
Seth and Axel would have to wait until we were outside. They’d probably crush something if they transformed in here. My fox wasn’t small, more like the size of a black lab, but we were the smallest in the pack. We rubbed our face along Seth’s leg.
“You guys be careful.” Cody knelt in front of me with my phone he’d grabbed from my pants pocket. “Here.” He placed the necklace over my head. He kissed my nose playfully. “Don’t take all the fun, yeah?”
