He hunkered down in a defensive stance. “Get out of here. My territory.”
“Says who?” I asked, tipping my head to the side. Did he think he could take on two bears by himself?
That was the weird part about this town, the divisions in it. No one talked about it, but they were there. Cougars kept to themselves, so did bears.
A different boy ran across the rocks in the creek, splashing up a storm. We all tensed, wondering what he was doing. Would he attack? When he drew close enough, he kicked a big splash in our direction, mostly drenching the cougar shifter who sputtered, then turned and ran.
I tipped my head at this newcomer, baffled. I recognized him from school, a loner younger than us. The other cougars in town didn’t seem to like him. He stood there like he knew us, his hands on his hips, then jerked his chin at where the other shifter had disappeared.
“He hates water,” the boy said, spitting to the side.
I scratched my head. “Thanks for the assist, I guess.”
“Once he dries off, won’t he come back here and kick your ass?” Landon asked in his droll tone.
“Probably.” The boy shrugged. “I’m used to it.”
I raised my eyebrows at Landon, then the boy. “What’s your name?”
“Walker.” He spit again. “They all hate me, so it doesn’t matter anyway.”
“Why do they hate you?” Landon asked, genuine curiosity in his tone.
“Because I called them assholes.”
The kid wasn’t wrong. Cougars did tend to come with a healthy dose of asshole in them.
With a shrug, Landon and I continued the way we were headed. Walker kept following us. We didn’t tell him to leave. Our pace picked up until I was running.
I ran so fast the wind whistled through my whiskers. I kept away from people and their campsites, heading directly into the forest. We always picked national parks for our camping expeditions because hunting wasn’t allowed. I wasn’t worried about getting shot by an overzealous hunter.
I spring-boarded off the ground in great leaps and bounds, pushing myself as fast I could go with all the trees around. I weaved in and out of the trunks. A rabbit bounced out of my way, then a squirrel. I chased it for a while, nipping at its heels until it escaped up a tree.
Passing it by, I focused on a pine with low lying branches, and bounded toward it. The next instant, I clung to the rough bark and climbed as high as I could. The crows at the top barked their displeasure. I licked my lips, letting them know what I thought about their noise. They squawked again and flew away.
It was a long while later that I slunk back toward our campsite. I’d gone far, but my scent led me back to my family. I watched for a moment as they readied their hot dog sticks over the fire. My sister and mom looked good together, both with dark hair, unlike my blonde. They were laughing and talking. The only time my mom and I were like that was when we gabbed about shoes and boys and makeup and shopping.
The trees around me each turned into a student, large groups of them walking ahead of me from the high school to the mall. The regular, every day, lunch hour migration. Being home-schooled, I could go to the mall anytime I wanted as long as I finished my homework.
My senses went on alert when I saw Emily in one of the groups. I searched through, scrutinizing the people my sister hung out with. Not the best group. Not the worst either.
I stopped dead when she ran toward someone and jumped on them, straddling his hips. An icy sensation trickled down my spine when I realized who it was. Tom. The guy I’d beaten the shit out of five years ago. The guy that got me expelled from school whenhewas the one who’d started it—I’d just ended it. There was no way he was dating my fifteen-year-old sister for any other reason than to fuck with me. I ran toward them before I knew what I was doing.
The people around them saw me coming before either Tom or Emily. A sudden hush fell around them. Then Tom turned, his grin changing into one of satisfaction.
Oh, yeah. He’d only dated Emily to fuck with me.
I jerked my head toward the house. “Let’s go,” I said under my breath. “This fucker is messing with you.”
Her eyes shot to Tom then back to me, her brow pinching, wariness in her expression. I thought she was about to come with me when Tom piped up from behind her. “She likes it when I mess with her, Kane. Just ask her for some details.”
I knew what he was doing. He wanted a fight. I wasn’t going to give it to him this time. Keeping my sister’s gaze, I jerked my head toward the house again.
When she took a step toward me, Tom lost his shit. His tackle knocked me off balance, and we tumbled.
The red haze enveloped my vision. I couldn’t stop the growl that came from my throat or the way I turned toward him once I regained my feet. The back of my hand hit his jaw. A collective gasp resounded around us.
A cocky grin spread across his face as he wiped off the blood at the corner of his mouth with his thumb. “Let’s do this,” he growled, then lunged.
