All Foxed Up

by Emma Dean

Why did this always happen?

  Every time she was near him he lost all sense of what made him what he was. Every time she touched him or was near him it threw him off kilter. He felt his anger at her dissolve and change – making him furious he couldn’t really be mad at her. After all, it wasn’t her fault she had this kind of control over him.

  Kenzie made him feel things he didn’t understand.

  All he knew was he didn’t want to be a monster to her.

  No.

  Hunter wanted to be a monster for her.

  He would do anything for her – anything she asked of him, anything he had to do to keep her safe and happy…and there was no line he wouldn’t cross for her. That made her infinitely dangerous.

  “I’m fine,” he snapped. “We need to get out of here before the rest of the ravens get a good shot off,” he said, more annoyance in his tone than he usually allowed himself to express.

  The breath of relief she let out settled him even further. Kenzie cared about him, she worried for him. Now Hunter wanted to pull her into his arms to comfort her but he resisted, already annoyed he wasn’t going to yell at her. Instead he manhandled her into the car, buckling her into her seat while gritting his teeth.

  He wanted to be mad at her. It would make things so much easier. Anger was so much easier than whatever this bullshit was. Kenzie addled his fucking mind. Somehow she made his anger into something else, into…kindness.

  Hunter felt like he was losing complete control. It terrified him and Hunter never let fear rule him so he turned it into fury. That he could control.

  The rocks on his bare feet didn’t even register as he tossed the rest of his shit into the car, tucking the token into his pocket. They needed to get to a safehouse. Now.

  A rustle in the trees, and then he heard that tell-tale click.

  Hunter moved but he was too slow and grunted as the bullet lodged into his shoulder.

  Kenzie’s scream was all he heard over the other noises in the night.

  The pain didn’t even register as that fury rode him hard. She was screaming for him, terrified, and Hunter hated the way it pulled at him. He was the one who decided when and how he felt about things dammit.

  It took him barely a second to jump in the car and turn the keys that were already in the ignition. Blood streamed down his chest but he ignored it like he did the pain. It felt like nothing as he buried the sharp sting down deep and glanced behind him to see Ash rifling through their extensive first aid kit.

  Finnick pressed gauze to his wound and gave Hunter a nod. He would survive. Neither of the other foxes bothered to ask if he was okay. Ash tossed Kenzie some supplies, but Hunter ignored them all, focusing on getting them out of there without any more injuries.

  At least Kenzie had stopped saying his name like she might die if he did. Hunter didn’t like how it made him feel.

  He tried to shove it down like he always did but it was getting harder and harder.

  Gravel sprayed everywhere as Hunter flipped the vehicle around, annoyed they’d brought his Jeep. Now he had to get rid of it.

  Fuck, couldn’t anything go right tonight?

  “Move,” Kenzie snapped, pulling the girl out of the front seat.

  Hunter kept his eyes on the road even as his entire body was aware of everything Kenzie did. Glancing at the hole in his shoulder he wrinkled his nose at the smell of blood in the car. It choked him even as he could smell the dangerous tang of silver.

  Rolling the window down so the cool night could cleanse the air he took a deep breath.

  Then he eyed Kenzie who was pressing gauze to his shoulder.

  “We shouldn’t have split up,” he gritted out, hiding his wince when she poked at him. It was the first time the pain had even registered.

  “The bullet’s still in there,” she muttered, ignoring his anger which only pissed him off more. Kenzie knew how to get under his skin like no one else. “Someone’s gonna have to dig it out before you heal. You need to pull over Hunter.”

  “We can’t pull over!” that stupid girl screeched. “Those killers are probably right behind us.”

  “Ash, can you please shut her up before I do?” Hunter said with deadly calm.

  The other fox nodded and Hunter watched as he chloroformed her. Kenzie’s eyes widened as she took it all in, but then she shook her head and pressed the gauze into his shoulder even harder. Ash caught the girl before she hit the floor, Hunter wouldn’t have bothered to soften her fall.

  The pressure against his wound hurt enough he hissed in a breath and growled at Kenzie.

  “Then pull over!”

  Fuck.

  Hunter swerved into the darkness, letting the Jeep roll through the rough terrain until he couldn’t see the road anymore. Even now he was giving in to her against his better judgement. He was fucking pissed. Slamming to a stop he pulled the emergency brake and got out of the Jeep.

  Pacing would help.

  Breathing in deep, and then letting it out, he prowled back and forth.

  His anger was a living breathing thing. It begged him to lose control one more time, just one more time. Hunter slammed his fist into the door of his Jeep.

  But he couldn’t afford to lose it. Despite how mad he was, the last thing Hunter wanted to do was lose control and hurt Kenzie – his mate. She was making him lose his damn mind – go against instincts and common sense he’d used his whole life.

  Hunter wanted to hate her for it, but he couldn’t quite bring himself to.

  He snarled again when he scented Kenzie and whipped around, pushing everything down deep until his face was blank once more. His control was fractured. She never should have seen him slip.

  Kenzie stared at him and Hunter wanted to rage at her – knowing she’d seen the rage he always kept hidden – the true horror under his mask, and he had no idea what she thought of it. He wanted to scream ‘I told you I’m a monster’ loud enough everyone in the world could hear him.

  Clenching his hands into fists was all he allowed himself.

  “Let me get the bullet out, and then you can yell at me if that’s what will make you feel better,” she said, keeping her voice low and calm.

  Not a drop of fear on the air.

  Hunter narrowed his eyes and watched her approach him like he was nothing more than a wounded animal. He bared his teeth in annoyance and amusement. Having a human brain didn’t make him any less of an animal.

  But he didn’t move as she approached. He didn’t flinch or jerk away when she poured alcohol over her hands. Hunter clenched his jaw when she whispered an apology and then shoved her fingers into the hole.

  The pain lanced through him, making spots appear behind his eyes.

  “Got it,” she murmured, getting closer than necessary as she cleaned up the blood that poured down his chest. “The bullet was silver. You should be able to heal now.”

  With the bullet gone part of his irritation disappeared and he took the moment to really study Kenzie. Because despite how he’d been acting she wasn’t afraid of him. Not even a little bit. And that alone settled most of his anger. The universe had known he’d needed someone like her, Hunter supposed. No one else would come near him right now, not Ash nor Finnick.

  Even in the dark her hair glowed. Kenzie was positively radiant under the nearly full moon.

  When she started bandaging him he took the time and considered the effect she had on him. Hunter couldn’t deny his reaction to her anymore. This female had total control over him and he had to accept it. Even if he didn’t like it.

  Because he wasn’t willing to lose her to regain what he’d been before her. Hunter was a cold-blooded killer – a monster who cared for only two people in the entire universe.

  Now it was three.

  Somehow Kenzie had endeared herself to him. Her unwavering bravery, her lack of fear, and the way she accepted him as he was…Hunter couldn’t give up the way he felt around her. The way she made him…happy.

  Strange. He couldn’t reca
ll feeling something so trivial before.

  Either way, he had to decide right now if she was worth it. If Kenzie was worth giving up his edge for. Because he couldn’t afford more mistakes like the ones he’d made tonight.

  If Hunter agreed to this bond he would be hers completely. There was no halfway with him. It was all or nothing. Once he gave in…he would do literally anything for her. That’s the kind of person he was. And he didn’t give a shit about the world.

  That made her a threat in a way. If she held his leash, she controlled a monster. Would Kenzie ever ask him to do something he couldn’t live with?

  She reached up and Hunter grabbed her wrist, staring into those crystal blue eyes.

  Kenzie would never hurt him. She would never hurt Ash or Finnick. But anything else? He would do for her with a smile. He could live with that.

  “Hunter?”

  Fuck. His name on her lips somehow asked so many questions. She was asking if he was all right without wasting unnecessary words. It also sounded like a plea. She was begging to let her take care of him – she needed this.

  But what Kenzie didn’t understand was that he needed to kill or fuck something, right now.

  Finnick had been hurt under his watch. The fox would live, but his judgement call had gotten the other fox shot. He’d had to call in Ash and Kenzie, putting them in danger too. And for what? For a fucking girl he couldn’t stand.

  Kenzie watched him, waiting for him to figure out whatever it was he needed to in that moment. His grip on her wrist tightened as he finally understood.

  He needed her.

  She may fuck with his mind, but she also grounded him in a way he’d never experienced before. Hunter had never had a moral compass. But now Kenzie was the center of his universe and he had no idea when that had even happened. Every little thing he did in the last few weeks was for her.

  He should have fucked her in the gym.

  Life was too short to play games, but the games were what made life worth living.

  Could he take her right now?

  Somehow she must have sensed what he was thinking because her heart rate shot up as did her breathing.

  No. He wouldn’t take her yet.

  Now that he’d decided he wanted the mate bond he wanted to make her beg for it.

  That was a far better game.

  “I want to cook you dinner,” he said.

  She blinked, no doubt confused how he’d gone from raging mad to this, but Kenzie would figure it out eventually.

  Out of everyone in the universe, Hunter knew she was the only one who could.

  “Sure, you can cook me whatever you want,” Kenzie said, her words low and soothing. “Can I finish patching you up so we can take this bitch to the safe house and go home?”

  Home.

  Hunter tilted his head and studied her. Kenzie had said home.

  His den was now her home and that pleased him more than he would ever admit.

  The remaining rage and need he had melted away and he settled in to play the long game.

  Releasing her wrist he grabbed the back of her neck and yanked her forward roughly, crushing her mouth with his, shoving his tongue between her lips, tasting that burnt sugar and fire he desperately craved – needed, possessing her and giving her a silent promise.

  Then he released her and Hunter felt that ripple of pleasure wash through him as she stumbled, slightly dazed.

  Kenzie may not understand what he was promising yet, but she would. Hunter would never leave her, no matter what happened, no matter what she decided. He would always be there for her in whatever way she needed him – as a friend, as a lover…it didn’t matter.

  Because he’d decided.

  “You can finish, mate,” Hunter said, watching as she tied off the bandage.

  He couldn’t wait for her to figure out the game.

  Chapter Eleven

  Kenzie

  “Kenzie, are you even paying attention?” Selene demanded.

  The snap in her sister’s voice made Kenzie jump, startled out of her reverie. Coffee sloshed over the side of her cup and Selene sighed, taking the mug from her.

  “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you.” Her sister placed the cup on the table carefully and then leaned over to see what was on Kenzie’s computer screen. “You look like shit. What happened last night?”

  “Finnick and Hunter got shot.” Kenzie couldn’t stop thinking about it. She couldn’t shove down the sensation of Hunter’s slick blood all over her fingers or the way the silver bullet had made his body literally smoke, and the whole time he was too mad at her to even notice it.

  “Oh Fates, are you okay?” Selene asked, looking for signs of injury. “Are they okay?”

  “The ravens used silver,” she muttered, flipping through everything she currently had up on her screens. “But Hunter said one flock plans to back off. We’ll see though.”

  Her sister shook her head and went back to grinding up something pleasantly pungent. “I don’t like you putting yourself in so much danger and I miss you, but I get it.”

  Swinging her chair around Kenzie watched her sister work her magic with the skill and ease of a witch three times her age. “I miss you too, S. It’s weird not being in the same house.”

  “The only benefit of living in a hotel while we wait for the repairs to finish is I don’t have to share any space with Martha,” Selene said, smiling slightly. “I haven’t had to deal with her or her parents outside the coven since. I get why humans don’t live with their families now.”

  Kenzie got it too, even if it was weird. “How’s Edith?” She should invite her grandmother and Selene over for dinner. That could be nice. Or the worst idea ever. It was always a tossup with her family.

  Throwing the foxes into the mix didn’t help matters either.

  “Oh you know, enjoying the most expensive hotel money can buy. She’s been dealing with the authorities and insurance. Humans don’t like dealing with me since I’m so young. It’s easier this way.” Selene shrugged her shoulder and considered one of the grimoires. “At least our spell books survived.”

  It wasn’t what Kenzie cared about, but she also couldn’t do magic. “I have most of them backed up anyway. How are the wards coming along?”

  “Should have something to test soon. You have the system ready to go?”

  Kenzie nodded. “I’ll just use something similar to what we created for my workroom and tweak it from there. Have you got any more information about who might have broken into Samuel’s warehouses with a damn demon?”

  Her sister stopped stirring to look up and arch an eyebrow at Kenzie. “Have you heard anything from your demon godfather who I knew nothing about?”

  “To be fair, I didn’t know anything about him either.” Kenzie pulled out her tablet and studied the schematics for the warding system. It would be heavy duty – protecting against anything human or paranormal. “Who do you think wants to take down the Alpha of the West Coast Pride?”

  “The Alpha of the East Coast Pride?” Selene offered.

  “Nah, too easy.” Kenzie wished she could figure it out. It was like one of those wooden puzzle boxes. Her brain wanted to work on the mystery until she unlocked it and found the prize inside, but it wasn’t as simple as moving a few pieces around. “You don’t think it’s a witch do you?”

  Selene was quiet as she carefully measured one of her more volatile ingredients and then she set it aside so she could lean back and run her fingers through her black hair. Kenzie watched her sister, so proud of the woman she’d become.

  Somehow after all the years of dealing with the coven, her sister hadn’t turned out to be the bitch Kenzie knew she so easily could have been. Now she was a woman with power and she used it wisely. Not only that, she was smart as hell and generally a nicer person than Kenzie could ever be.

  And here she was, comfortably working in a foxes’ den. Selene would help break down the stigma between shifters and witches one way or another. Kenzie j
ust wasn’t sure how yet. Still…putting aside everything the witch community had taught her – Selene was trusting shifters, fox shifters.

  It was a big deal even if it didn’t seem like it.

  “I don’t think it’s a witch,” Selene finally said. “And I don’t think it’s Brad. He’s too busy dealing with you and your foxes. It’s been a while since the fae have been involved in anything. They’re the only ones who have the power to deal with a demon without binding them. And then there’s the competition factor. Samuel is encroaching on something they’ve been working toward ever since humanity started polluting this planet. But the fact that they would be more inclined to work with him is why I haven’t called it.”

  “I’ve been thinking the same,” Kenzie agreed, turning back to her computers. She’d managed to hack into Council files and had been poking around all day.

  And yes, the Jesse James had been a hunter. Now Kenzie wanted to meet Jessica bad enough she’d considered asking Samuel for the favor. The Council had a list of his enchanted items and Kenzie really wanted to see the spurs.

  The whole thing reminded her of one of her favorite animes.

  “The Council has a list of the most dangerous paranormals, did you know that?” Kenzie asked, not really expecting her sister to answer. “They’re not even ranked by whether or not they’re criminals. It’s just a list of all of them in the order of most to least damaging. There’s a whole section labeled ‘world ending.’”

  “How is that helping?” Selene asked. “I’m sitting here doing all the work. The least you could do is get us food.”

  “It’s useful information, S. You never know when you might need to avoid someone. Some of the smaller shifters are pretty high on this list for what they call ‘destructiveness.’ I wonder what that means.”

  “Someone might have a grudge against a white tiger?” Selene asked, carefully pouring the liquid into the bowl which filled the room with a smell that wasn’t of this earth.

  Kenzie wrinkled her nose. “That’s what I’m looking for. A lion shifter would be too obvious right? He’s the Alpha of the American Plains Pride.”