For Whom He Fights

by NaiKa Storm

  “Oh, Kurt told her to be on her best behavior. She’s just doing it up for you,” George teased. After a second, she laughed. “Nah, I’m just kidding. Rosa is the sweetest lady in the world.”

  “Thank you, George.” Rosa came out with a tray with crackers and cheese. “I figured you’d like a snack before dinner since it’s going to take a minute.”

  “Thanks Rosa,” George smiled, picking up a cracker and slice of cheese and popping it into her mouth.

  While they waited for dinner, the conversation turned to the case Kurt and George were solving and how much they hated working with the feds.

  Andronaisa blinked. “Michael worked for the FBI.”

  “Who’s Michael?” Kurt asked, noting this was the third time Andronaisa mentioned him.

  Andronaisa got quiet as she thought. George answered for her, “Michael is her douche of an ex.”

  “George!”

  “Well, he is! Do you know what he did?” George looked at Kurt. “He sent her a dead flower that was crawling with maggots and a threatening note.”

  Andronaisa looked down at her hands as George told Kurt all about her ex.

  “From what Stephane told me, he used to beat the tar out of her. That’s why he sent her here. To get away.”

  “That’s enough, George,” Andronaisa swallowed.

  “Andy, I told you we would protect you, and that means Kurt, too. But he needs to know what we’re dealing with.”

  “George. Please. Enough,” Andronaisa’s voice quaked.

  That’s when George realized what she was doing. She put her arms around Andronaisa. “I’m so stupid. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”

  Kurt swallowed. He had no doubt in his mind that the Michael he was working with was Andronaisa’s ex. But did she know Michael was a werewolf?

  Andronaisa wiped at her face and smiled. “I know, George. It's okay. I wanted to tell you that I’m not all that good with police work, but I’m pretty good with puzzles so if you need some help seeing something you can’t, I can help.”

  “Thanks, Andy, that might actually come in handy.” George smiled.

  Kurt glared at George. He knew exactly what she was doing. George just gave him a wink. Kurt gave a small shake of his head and glared harder, if that was possible. George silently cackled as she popped a cracker into her mouth. Kurt rolled his eyes. George was insufferable. He just hoped that she and his mother didn’t start teaming up against him.

  “Dinner’s ready,” Rosa called from the kitchen ten minutes later and Kurt couldn’t be more grateful.

  “Mmm, Rosa, this... smells so delicious. I think you may have outdone yourself tonight.” George smiled, taking a seat.

  “Oh, stop being a suck up,”

  George stuck her tongue out at him, and Andronaisa laughed as she took a seat next to George.

  “Oh stop it Kurt, at least she has manners,” Rosa said.

  Once the food was blessed, as Rosa always loved to do, there were no other sounds except the sounds of forks and knives and the occasional moan. Every time Andronaisa let out a moan of pleasure from the food, Kurt had to force himself to remain in control.

  “So Andronaisa, Kurt said you moved from San Diego. I heard it was nice there.” Rosa spoke.

  Andronaisa nodded. “Yeah. It's nice. But I just needed a change. I’ve been there my entire life. And my best friend is George’s cousin, and he told me about this place. And what can I say? It's so beautiful that I don’t think I could ever go back to San Diego.”

  “So what do you plan to do while you’re here?”

  “Well, back in San Diego, I worked as an interior designer and I kinda wanna do it again. It's what I went to school for. And it's a job I love.” Andronaisa took a sip of her juice. “The only thing is instead of actually working for a company, I want to start my own Interior design company.”

  “That sounds absolutely lovely,” Rosa smiled.

  “Sounds hard,” Kurt muttered.

  Andronaisa laughed. “Well, it can be when you don’t have the right budget to work with. I had a client that wanted all these grand things but the budget they gave me to work with wouldn’t cover half of what they wanted.”

  “Wow, that’s dumb,” George commented.

  “Yeah, but when you get clients who give you a decent enough budget to work with, it's very easy.”

  “So do you only do homes?” Kurt wondered.

  “Well, that’s what I did back in San Diego, but I haven’t figured it out yet. I might want to broaden my horizons and do more than homes,” Andronaisa smiled.

  As dinner progressed, the conversation moved from talking about Andronaisa’s job to baseball, as Kurt knew it would. Rosa and George were huge baseball fans and were always talking about the Red Sox. Apparently, they were playing a game next month in Fenway Park and George promised Rosa that she would get them tickets so they could go to the game live. Andronaisa made a comment that she wasn’t into sports, especially baseball, and that got a shocked gasp out of both Rosa and George. Then George made a comment about how Andronaisa and Kurt would be a match made in heaven. The way Andronaisa blushed had Kurt jumping up from the dinner table and running to the bathroom.

  By the time Kurt left the bathroom, dinner had been cleaned up, and the women were sitting on the couch drinking coffee. Rosa smiled at her son and patted the seat next to her. “Come join us Kurt.”

  Kurt nodded and went to make a cup of coffee just to give him the time to compose himself. This woman was seriously getting under his skin. And not in a bad way. But if he wasn’t careful, it could be bad for both of them. Kurt went into the living room and his mother scooted over so he was sitting in between her and Andronaisa. Kurt narrowed his eyes. He had a feeling she did that on purpose. But he said nothing and sat down.

  “What are we talking about?” Kurt questioned.

  “Soulmates,” George offered.

  Fuck, Kurt inwardly cursed. This was the last thing he wanted to talk about. Especially around Andronaisa.

  “Yeah. Your mom asked me if I believed in soulmates,” Andronaisa commented.

  “Do you?” Kurt asked carefully.

  “Not really. I have never been one to believe in all that stuff like love at first sight or that you have a soulmate that’s just waiting for you somewhere.”

  “Perhaps it's because you haven’t met them yet,” Rosa said.

  Kurt snorted, “Ma, you can’t tell her how to feel.”

  “I am not telling her how to feel Kurt, I’m merely suggesting that because she hasn’t had the experience is perhaps why she might not believe in that 'stuff' as she calls it.”

  Andronaisa blinked and looked at Kurt. “Wait, you guys actually believe in soulmates?”

  “Well...” He hesitated.

  “Of course we do,” Rosa explained. “But we’re not the only ones. There are a few others around here that believe in the idea of soulmates.”

  Kurt rolled his eyes. It was like his mother was seriously trying to give it to Andronaisa that they were werewolves. Because while Kurt knew some humans believed in soulmates, it was mainly a werewolf thing. He eyed his mom as if trying to tell her politely that she needed to shut up.

  George smiled, “Well, I think we should get going.”

  Rosa nodded, looking out the window. “Yeah, it's getting pretty dark. Would you like Kurt to drive behind you to make sure you get home safely?”

  Kurt took that as his cue to go get their coats and left to grab them out of the coat closet.

  George smiled and kissed his mom’s cheek. “No thanks. I’m good. Ready Andy?”

  Andronaisa nodded and stood, taking her coat from Kurt. “Thank you for inviting us into your home and for dinner. It was very good.”

  Rosa kissed her cheek. “I hope to see you more often, Andronaisa. You two drive safely.”

  Kurt stood in the doorway, watching them until they got into the car and drove away before he closed the door and looked at his mom. “Thanks. George
said she was poking around and I think you put it right into her lap that we’re werewolves.”

  Rosa shook her head as she took the cups to the kitchen. “Kurt, if she was meant to know, she was meant to know. There’s a reason for it.”

  Kurt eyed her. “Don’t you dare say it,” he warned.

  “That she’s your soulmate? Kurt, I could tell by the way you were reacting. You almost “wolfed out” in front of her.”

  “Ma, she’s just a pretty girl. That’s all.”

  Rosa turned and looked at her son. “No. Kurt, that’s not the effect of just a pretty girl. When you are around your mate, you feel this undeniable pull, even if you don’t understand it. And the simplest things they say or do will make you lose control over your shift.”

  Kurt cursed. That couldn’t be all true, could it? Sure, he’s heard some others, especially the elders, talking about what it was like to be around their mates, but... times were different. So that meant finding your mate had to be different, right? But... it would kind of explain this pull he felt toward Andronaisa.

  THE RIDE BACK TO THE house was quiet as Andronaisa closed her eyes and leaned back in her seat. She had a lot to think about. She remembered reading something about how werewolves were solid believers in mates and that they don’t get with anyone who wasn’t their mate. Did Kurt’s mom think she was Kurt’s mate? That would be crazy. Andronaisa didn’t think a human and werewolf could mate, even though technically they do become human. But becoming human and being human were two different things.

  “Holy shit!” George screamed, slamming on the breaks.

  Andronaisa sat up. “What’s wrong?”

  George eyed Andronaisa as she got out of the car, phone in her hand, “Stay in the car.”

  Andronaisa opened her mouth, but George gave her a look that said, please don’t argue. She sighed and nodded, but looked out the window to try to see what happened. On the ground, there appeared to be a person. She couldn’t tell if it was male or female, but Andronaisa was pretty sure they were dead. She saw a flash of something out of the corner of her eye and five minutes later, Kurt came walking to the car. A hand flew over her mouth. There was absolutely no way Kurt would’ve gotten to them that fast unless... Andronaisa felt like she was going to be sick. She rolled down the window to get some air and to hear what they were saying.

  “She’s missing a liver just like the others.”

  “Yeah, but Kurt, check this out. The removal isn’t as clean cut as the others. Which means...”

  “He’s getting sloppy.” Kurt nodded. “It's only a matter of time before he makes a mistake.”

  “The question is, why leave her here in the middle of the road?”

  Andronaisa saw Kurt pull out his phone and talk to someone, but he couldn’t hear what they said. Fifteen minutes later, she saw another flash, and then her heart stopped. Walking toward Kurt and George was the man she tried so hard to get away from.

  “What have we got?” Michael asked them, coming over to them just as the coroner drove up.

  Andronaisa couldn’t hear much of what they were saying around the sounds of the sirens. But she did notice when Michael looked up and stared at her. She gulped. He wouldn’t do anything, would he? Andronaisa slunk down in the seat and waited for George to finish so they could go home. She shook her head. It was clear. Kurt was a werewolf, and apparently so was her ex. So not only was she attracted to the dark and mysterious types, she was attracted to werewolves. What even was her life?

  “Andy?”

  Andronaisa jerked out of her daze to see George standing by her open window. “You okay? I’ll just be a few minutes and then we can go, okay?”

  Andronaisa nodded. “Sure. I’m fine.”

  She was anything but fine, but she didn’t want George to worry. She rolled up her window, so it didn’t seem like she was eavesdropping or anything, and closed her eyes. Kurt filled her thoughts. She imagined him kissing her senseless, speaking soft words to her as they made love....

  A knock on her window jolted her from her thoughts, and she turned and her heart stopped a second time. Michael was standing by the window. Slowly, she rolled it down and looked at him.

  “This is a pleasant surprise, Andy.”

  “What do you want? Don’t you have a job to do?”

  Michael narrowed his eyes. “Are you getting fresh? Because you know what happens when you get fresh with me.”

  Andronaisa looked at him. “Michael, you don’t own me.”

  Michael’s eyes darkened and, for a second, shifted. Quick as lightning, he wrenched open the car door and grabbed Andronaisa and dragged her out. “Oh, so you think coming here has made you all high and mighty?”

  Andronaisa thought he wouldn't do anything in front of Kurt and George. She was wrong.

  “You think you can just speak to me any way you want, you stupid bitch?!” He raised his hand to her and Andronaisa flinched, closing her eyes and waiting for the strike.

  When it never came, Andronaisa opened her eyes and saw Kurt on top of Michael. “Touch her like that again and I swear you’re a dead man.” Andronaisa saw a glint of fang when he spoke. “How the fuck you became a Fed is beyond me, but you can bet your ass you won’t be for long.”

  Michael shoved Kurt off and straightened up. He gave Andronaisa a death glare. “This isn’t over.”

  Chapter Eleven

  Several days passed since Andronaisa saw Michael, and he attacked her in front of her friends. Several days passed since Kurt physically pinned him to the ground and threatened him. Several days since Michael told Andronaisa “It's not over” and still Andronaisa couldn’t relax. She tried to keep herself busy by working on getting her business started. It helped a lot that Stephane knew people here who would work with her. Every noise made her jump. That Michael was here in town... did he know where she lived? What was he waiting for? Andronaisa shook her head. She had other things to worry about instead of her ex. Like Kurt. And that he was a werewolf. She wanted to talk to George about it, but hadn’t gotten the chance. George was pretty busy with the current case. Especially since they found the girl in the middle of the road.

  “I swear to god!” George stomped into the house making Andronaisa, who was sitting on the couch, jump.

  “Jeez! Scared the crap out of me, George!”

  George chuckled. “Sorry. But, yeah, you’ve been jumpy ever since Michael’s attack.”

  “Well, do you blame me? Clearly he’s coming back for me. He’s just biding his time.”

  “Or maybe he’s too busy with this case and he just forgot. Which would be great.”

  Andronaisa shook her head. “He hasn’t forgotten. Michael never forgets. He’ll come for me. Just you wait.”

  George plopped on the couch and snorted. “Whatever you say Andy. How about we talk about more pleasant things.”

  “Like Kurt?”

  George blinked, “Kurt?”

  Andronaisa nodded. “How long have you known Kurt was a werewolf?”

  “Andy...”

  Andronaisa shook her head. “George, you called him as soon as we saw that woman, and he was there five minutes later. That’s not humanly possible. Not with how far away from his house we were. And then there’s the shifting of his eyes. At first I thought it was a trick of the light, but...”

  George whistled, “When Stephane said you were smart, he meant it.”

  Andronaisa gasped, “Stephane knows?!”

  “No. The only ones who know are me and our boss.”

  Andronaisa nodded and then thought. “The other day, when I saw the wolves run past the house... that must’ve been Kurt and Michael.”

  “Michael? You think your ex is a werewolf?”

  Andronaisa shook her head. “No, I know he is. Not only because of how fast he came to the crime scene the other day like Kurt, but I saw his eyes. He used to have this quick eye thing that I never could explain but now I know.”

  “Geez girl, you sure know how to pick them.�
�

  Andronaisa rolled her eyes. “Shut up.”

  George laughed. “So how’s the business plan coming?”

  Andronaisa smiled. “Good. I just got done applying for some business licenses and other things I need and soon I’ll be able to start accepting clients.”

  “Do you have a building you’re going to operate out of?”

  “Well right now, I’m just going to operate out of the home until I can make enough to purchase a building space.”

  George nodded, “Sounds good.”

  “Yeah. I actually have to meet with a contractor that Stephane knows. See if he’s willing to work with me.”

  “Wow, look at you getting up there.”

  Andronaisa smiled and nodded. Last week, George took her to purchase her own vehicle, so she didn’t always have to rely on George. She had a concrete business plan and began designing her website while applying for the permits and licenses. She even met and had lunch with some people in town. She was slowly starting to feel like this was home. Which is why Michael being around was so unsettling to her.

  “How’s the case?” She asked.

  “Ugh. Well, I think we might have actually solved it. We’re just waiting for some things back from the lab and that should help us pinpoint the actual killer.”

  Andronaisa shook her head. “Those poor girls.”

  “I know. But at least their families will get some kind of justice and closure once the killer is behind bars.”

  “I hope so.”

  THE NEXT AFTERNOON, Andronaisa parked the car in front of the house and entered the house with a smile on her face. She had just come back from a successful meeting with Stephane’s friend, who was a contractor and who would be put on her design team. Things really were coming along well. Now all she needed for her permits and licenses to come in the mail and she was all set to start business.

  “Took you long enough.”

  Andronaisa froze. Stepping from the shadows was Michael. “What the hell are you doing here? How the hell did you get in?” Andronaisa frowned. She still hadn’t moved from her spot.