Out foxed, p.13
Out Foxed, page 13
If only he knew what step to take next.
If only he knew exactly when they were to save Mr. Crevan and his friends.
If only—
“You fellas need a hand?”
A man in an old beat-up truck rolled to a stop beside them and stared at them through the rolled down passenger window.
Releasing Trace, he approached the truck and shook his head.
“No, sir. I think we’ve got it under control, thank you.”
“Sure, sure,” the man replied, his eyes wandering back to the flat tire. “You got a spare tire in that trunk?”
“We were just checking that,” Trace said. He popped open the trunk again, and much to Rane’s dismay, he shook his head. “Uh...that would be a no. There’s nothing back here.”
“That’s too bad,” the man said.
He put the truck in park and got out, which immediately had Rane on full alert.
It wasn’t so much the man wanting to help, but rather the fact his scent was not human.
Another shifter?
“No tire?” The man questioned, stopping just a foot away from them. “And no jack either, I suppose.”
“No, sir,” Trace said. He glanced at Rane, confirming that he had caught onto the scent, too.
“Well, shoot. That’s just unfortunate, boys. Didn’t your father ever tell you to keep both of those in your car at all times? You never know what will happen, or where it will happen,” he said matter-of-factly. “It would be awful to get stranded all the way out here.”
His pulse quickened as he heard another car door shut, knowing that Decker was now out of the vehicle. He probably sensed something wasn’t right.
Strength in numbers, he thought.
“Well, you boys are in luck,” the man chimed, his accent thicker than all of theirs combined. “It just so happens I’ve got a garage, and I’d be happy to give you a tow there. I can fix it for a good price—I don’t believe in highway robbery.”
Trace grabbed the sleeve of his jacket and tugged.
“Can I talk to you for a minute?”
He glanced at his brother briefly, and then looked back to the man.
“Pardon me for a moment, sir.”
“Sure, sure,” the man said with a nod. He folded his arms across his chest and grinned at Decker. “Where ya headed, son?”
Walking a good distance away from them, he glanced back to Decker and the man briefly before focusing his attention on Trace, who was wide-eyed and about to lose it, apparently.
“Doesn’t this seem a little suspicious to you?” He asked, jerking his head in the direction of the man. “Henley vanishes, we’ve got a flat tire, and now this guy with a tow truck just happens to mozy by...and he reeks of shifter?”
“Well, if he is a shifter, don’t you think maybe you need to keep your voice down? Superhuman hearing and all?”
He tried again, whispering this time.
“Doesn’t it seem a little—?”
“You don’t have to repeat yourself, Trace. I heard you the first time,”—he rolled his eyes—“And yes,”—he kept his voice as quiet as possible—“I do think it’s a little suspicious. But if we want to see if there’s a connection, we should probably string him along for a few minutes to see what he knows...if he knows anything.”
“What do you mean ‘if’? Of course, he knows something! We don’t just randomly stumble across shifters, Rane. Except for, well, those dyadthropes. But I’m chalking that up as a special occasion. They saw us coming before we even got there.”
“There may also be a fifty-percent chance he’s just a friendly shifter who really does want to help. Which leads me to ask—why the hell don’t we have a spare tire and jack in the trunk?”
“I don’t know!” He threw his hands up in the air and stared at him quizzically. “Maybe I’ll go back and ask the person we stole it from—and I don’t know why that’s relevant now anyway.”
“Because,”—he mocked him—“If we had them, we wouldn’t have to rely on someone else to fix our problem.”
“Oh, so this is my fault, then?”
“What? No. I didn’t say that.”
“Sure sounds like you’re implying it to me. You stole that car—not me.”
“That’s ridiculous. I didn’t steal—”
“Hey, guys!”
Thankfully, their petty argument was cut short by Decker.
“You guys! You have to come talk to this guy. You won’t believe what he just told me!”
He gave his brother a questioning glance, and followed him back to where Decker and the man stood. They both seemed relatively relaxed, which again, made him nervous.
He’d been too on edge lately; seeing people so comfortable made him...uncomfortable.
“What is it?” Trace asked impatiently.
He could relate to his brother’s annoyance. He was starting to feel it, too.
If only Henley hadn’t ran off...
“This here is Richard Bamey,” Decker said, nodding towards the man. “And he’s an ursithrope. Can you believe it? A bear-shifter.”
“We caught onto that,” Trace remarked. However, despite his tone and obvious aggravation, he extended a hand towards Richard anyway. “Trace Warrick. It’s nice to meet you.”
“Likewise, Trace.” Richard said, gripping his hand and shaking it. “We don’t get too many shifters ‘round these parts, and the ones we do get—we usually don’t like.”
“You mean werewolves?” Decker asked.
The man’s smile faded briefly and he nodded.
“Yeah, those are the ones. Can’t stand the bastards myself.” He glanced to Rane and his smile returned. “You must be Rane. Decker here tells me you fellas lost yourself a vixen?”
He glared at Decker, but it went unnoticed.
Why did he feel the need to share so much information with a stranger? Just because the man could shift into a bear, it didn’t mean he was trustworthy.
“That’s right,” he replied cautiously. “We were in the process of looking for her when our tire gave out.”
“Son, that ain’t no blowout,”—he chuckled—“I took a look, and I hate to break it to you, but someone slashed it good.”
He feigned surprise.
He still didn’t understand why she’d done it. If she really wanted to leave Decker and Trace behind that badly, she could have talked it over with him. He would have come to his senses on the issue...eventually.
I can’t let my brother die, he thought as his fingers ran through his hair. That’s just unacceptable.
“Well, anyway,” Richard said, tossing a thumb in the direction of his truck. “I can help y’all out. Don’t mind a bit. I only live a few miles down the road. Wouldn’t take long to get a new tire on.”
“That sounds fantastic, Richard. Thank you!” Decker exclaimed. “Isn’t that great, guys?”
“Real great.” Trace looked to him again, waiting for his response.
After all, as it was meant to be, the leader of the panthrope tribe always had the final say-so.
As if that’s been working so well for me.
“All right,” he finally said. “It’s not like we have a lot of options at the moment.”
Once they caught up with Henley, which would hopefully be soon, she was definitely going to get a piece of his mind.
At least then she’d have something to go with the piece of his heart she’d already taken.
Chapter Twelve
What am I doing?
It was a question she’d asked herself repeatedly ever since the plan of deception had entered her mind. But honestly, if anyone else were in her shoes, wouldn’t they have done the same thing?
It was the only conceivable conclusion she could come to, and she’d thought about it all night.
She had to do something to prevent Decker’s death; even if she was mad at him; even if she was hurt towards him—she had to save his life.
They had to have the opportunity to mend their friendship; and they couldn’t very well do that if he died.
Yes, her behavior towards him at the restaurant had been authentic; she was deeply upset, and had every right to be. But at the end of the day, no matter what happened, he was still her best friend. They shared a bond she held sacred, and even if he’d committed a ghastly crime, she would forgive him.
She’d had tons of time to think about it. Sleep most certainly wasn’t her friend, and how could she have slept anyway? There was too much on her mind, and her heart was slowly trying to repair itself now that the truth was known.
If Decker had somehow found happiness with Trace, and Trace hadn’t actually broken up with her because of her appearance...she’d learn to live with it.
Hell, she’d even be happy for them one day.
Besides, it wasn’t all bad, was it?
No, it wasn’t. Because at the end of it all, Rane loved her.
And she loved him.
It didn’t make a lick of sense, but she did—which made it even harder to leave them all behind.
If she’d discussed her plan with him beforehand, he would have undoubtedly talked some sense into her, and she just couldn’t have that. She needed to do this alone.
‘You’re going to get yourself killed!’ The beast within had cried as she stabbed the car tire with a screwdriver, which she’d found in the trunk. ‘We aren’t strong enough to face this on our own.’
She knew that. She wasn’t stupid. All the facts weighed heavily on her mind as she executed her carefully orchestrated plan.
But still, those facts didn’t hold a candle to the reality of how much she cared about Decker.
The future couldn’t possibly be written in stone already. Surely Mother had shown her that vision for more than just the sake of saving her father and his friends; it was an opportunity to rewrite Decker’s fate, too.
It had to be.
That was why she had deceived them, and why she was riding shotgun in a very friendly trucker’s cab as they crossed over into North Carolina.
Her stomach was a mess of nerves—she felt like she was going to be sick. But she wouldn’t allow her body’s weakness to distract her from the job she still had to do. Her father was depending on her, whether he knew it or not. And one day, he would thank her for her bravery.
Cat-shifters or no cat-shifters, she would succeed.
Somehow.
Ken, her temporary traveling companion, kept bringing up the usual chit-chat one would expect while being stuck in a moving vehicle, and she did her best to keep her responses to a minimum. After all, how could she tell him the truth without sounding completely mental?
So, as far as he knew, her name was Bethany, and she was headed to Greensboro to visit her family while on spring break. Even she had to admit that was a pretty impressive lie, especially when she’d given it no prior thought.
Her fox hadn’t necessarily wanted to get in the truck when it stopped, but she reminded the beast they didn’t have time to be timid anymore. The days of being careful and cautious were gone; there were a lot of people depending on her.
‘You are being stupid,’ the beast muttered as she’d climbed into the humongous truck. ‘If we die today, it is your fault.’
Yet, somehow, the thought of death wasn’t as frightening as it should have been. Maybe a few days ago, it would have. But with so many lives on the line, especially those of the people she loved, she was willing to take the risk.
‘What will Rane think?’ The beast had asked on more than one occasion. ‘He is going to be upset about this.’
‘Let him be,’ she’d responded rather smugly. ‘We are not mated yet. He cannot make those decisions for me.’
And oh, mercy! Just knowing she had a second chance at happiness gave her a confidence she’d never known until now.
Sure, Rane would probably be upset when he discovered she was gone—which he had definitely caught onto by now. But he would understand...one day.
He’d be grateful, too. She was trying to be selfless at the moment. Showing mercy to Trace, especially from her, was a big step.
“I’m getting a bit hungry, Miss Bethany,” Ken said as he nodded towards the exit sign a few feet ahead. “Would you mind if we stopped for a bite to eat?”
Her stomach began to growl at the thought of food, and even though she wanted to stay on somewhat of a schedule, she knew she wouldn’t be any good to anyone if she didn’t eat something.
“That’s fine with me, Ken. I could go for a bite, too.”
The not-so-distant memory of Decker offering her a strawberry shake came to mind then, and guilt began to gnaw at her.
I’m sorry, Decker. One day you’ll understand, too.
They stopped off in a small town called Georgefield, and her legs thanked her for it as she got out and stretched. She hadn’t realized it, but they’d been on the road for nearly two and a half hours—time really flew when one was being overwhelmed with thoughts of impending doom and self-sacrifice.
Stop thinking about it like that. Everything’s going to be okay.
Mother’s vision had shown her the rescue would be a success, and now that she knew what was going to happen to Decker, she could prevent that, too.
By the time this was all over, she could return home a hero, let Rane love her as she would love him, and still have her best friend.
He would still love her, wouldn’t he?
“A pretty girl like you has to have a boyfriend,” Ken said once they were settled into a booth with drinks in hand.
“Kind of,” she replied. “I mean, the relationship is new, but I’ve got a good feeling about it.”
‘Liar!’ Her fox screeched. ‘He’ll never forgive you for leaving him behind like that. And we need him to help us fight. What were you thinking?’
‘Oh, please. Shut up. Give me one minute of peace – just one!’
Biting at the tip of her straw, she dropped her gaze to the tabletop and mulled over the fox’s words.
Was that really true? Would Rane be that upset?
If the tables were turned, she would be upset with him. But that’s only because she’d probably worry herself ragged over him, wondering nonstop if he was okay or not—just as she’d been doing over her father since they’d found out he was missing.
How on earth was her mother able to stay at home, allowing her daughter to embark on this journey without her?
‘We really are supposed to be cowards, aren’t we?’
‘Yes. It is safer that way. We are so weak compared to others—especially our cousins, the wolves. We do not fair well in fights with them, or have you forgotten that part of your past?’
She rubbed at her temples as she thought about it.
It was true that her ancestors had fought hard for their independence from the lycanthropes. Years ago, long before she was ever thought into existence, the foxes and wolves had tried to live together. It had made sense for a long time, because they knew humans could never accept them for who they were.
Shifters of all kinds lived close to one another, but being distant cousins, the canidthropes and lycanthropes decided to live in the very same village, and everyone knew how that story ended.
The lycanthropes easily claimed dominance over the foxes, and it wasn’t long before they became miserable. They tolerated it for a while, but it was one incident alone that caused a revolution, and the beginning of an alliance between foxes and the panthropes.
It was a story she’d heard several times as a young girl, usually from her grandmother. It served as a cautionary tale, and a reminder as to why the panthropes were in their lives in the first place.
In truth, Rane and his ancestors were the reason she and her kind did not have to live in misery anymore.
But she did not want to think of that story at the moment. In fact, she would have given anything to shut her brain off. Just five minutes of peace – was that so much to ask for?
“So this fellow of yours,” Ken spoke, which caused her to nearly jump out of her skin. She’d been so lost in her thoughts she’d forgotten he was there. “Is he a good man? Got a good job?”
“I think so, yeah,” she replied, propping her chin against her fist. “He’s a land contractor. I don’t really know too much about it, but judging by the house he lives in, he makes some serious dough.”
“Uh huh,”—he nodded—“Well, that’s good. At least he’ll be able to take care of you if y’all ever decide to tie the knot.”
Her cheeks warmed at the thought, and try as she might, she couldn’t keep from smiling.
We’re definitely getting married.
Her heart skipped a beat as memories of Malcolm’s face came to mind. What a beautiful baby he was, and she swore she could feel the softness of his skin, even now.
How could she remember someone so vividly when they didn’t exist yet?
“So, you never did tell me what you’re going to school for, Bethany.” His bushy beard hid his mouth for the most part, but she could tell he was smiling because his eyes sparkled. “What do you want to be when you grow up?”
“Honestly? I just want to be happy,” she answered. “I’ve never given much thought to an occupation, because where I come from, that doesn’t determine much about the life you’re going to live. Finding happiness with someone has always been the biggest priority.”
“Aw, sweetheart. You can’t let someone else be the supplier of your happiness. If I’ve learned anything in my forty some-odd years on this earth, it’s that no one will make you as happy as you will.”
Buddy, if you only knew.
She supposed it would sound strange to someone in the human world, but it made perfect sense to her; happiness was only guaranteed when she became mated to someone. And in her case, that someone had to be stronger, faster, and smarter.
Rane was now that someone for her, and though their romance was happening fast and under anything-but-typical circumstances, she knew, without a shadow of a doubt, he would make her happy.
She only hoped he wouldn’t change his mind because of this.
He has to understand.
But what if he didn’t?
