Page 28 of Fight (Kitsune #2)

A s it turned out, the wedding that was 'next month' was barely two weeks away.

I requested the time off and scrambled to get ready for the trip.

Luckily, there was no uptick in the harassment.

A few more calls, and some messages over the web, but oddly enough, it didn't escalate.

Raine was still trying to find out who was behind the notes, but he wasn't finding much.

I'd never been so far from home and I had to look up what the temperature would be like. I'd known it wouldn't be as warm as I was used to, but I was surprised to find that it was predicted to rain almost every day.

"Have you ever been to Seattle?" I asked Devon about a week before we were supposed to leave.

"I've been to Washington State, but not to Seattle. Why?"

"I looked up the weather to find out what to pack, and the forecast says rain almost every day."

"Yeah, it rains a lot up there. You're going to want to pack warm. Even if the forecast isn't that cool, there's often a breeze off the water and it will feel colder."

"You just said you haven't been there." I said, confused.

"I haven't, but I've been to the coast."

"Ahh." I nodded. "Thanks." I curled against him on the sofa while we waited for dinner to cook. "What are you planning on wearing to the wedding?" I asked.

"If I were still in the Army, I'd wear my dress greens, I'm sure that's what Baker will be wearing. But I've got a suit."

"What color's your suit?"

"Dark blue. Why?"

I nodded, thinking about what I could wear to go with that. "Because I don't want to wear something that would clash. I'm not into the matching couples thing but clashing is just as bad."

Devon nodded, a small smile on his lips. I knew he didn't really get it, but he wasn't going to ask questions.

Bill had taken all the information on the wedding, date, time, location, and I don't know what else, and said he'd take care of our travel arrangements. That made things easier, since the pack was going to pay for it. It meant one less thing for me to do, so I didn't think much about it.

I spent the last few days packing and trying not to think about what was going to happen once we reached Seattle.

Bill had scheduled a meeting with the local Anikitos for us, telling him that I was his goddaughter and going to be in the area and that he wanted to make sure I paid the proper respects to the local pack.

It worked, and though he wasn't officially my godfather, it wasn't entirely inaccurate.

I was a bit nervous about that meeting ,but I was determined to face it and not worry about it until I had to.

My last day of work before the trip, I spent all day tense, uneasy. It wasn't that I felt like I was being watched, or anything I could really put a name too. I fidgeted and paced through the office until even my boss noticed.

"Are you all right, Nickie?" Mr. Willowby asked.

"Of course, sir."

"You seem nervous. Are you sure everything's okay?" He seemed concerned.

"I'm fine, sir. Just a little antsy. I guess I've had too much caffeine today."

He nodded and smiled, accepting my excuse, as he turned back to the stack of papers laying on his desk. I went back to my desk and tried to stay put, wondering what was wrong.

Then it struck me, I remembered a conversation with Caden a few weeks back.

He'd told me how sometimes shifters get restless like this.

Sometimes it's day to day stress, sometimes it's pent up energy.

But either way, the cure is simple - shift.

Going out and running in animal form is best. It seems to balance out whatever the issue is.

I sat stunned for a few seconds, trying to decide what to do.

I picked up my PCD and quickly dialed Devon.

"What's up, Little Warrior?" He answered the call.

"What do you have planned for tonight?"

He was silent for a moment, thinking. "Nothing really. Why?"

"I need some exercise."

"Wanna go swimming?"

"I was leaning towards running." I hoped he'd get the hint.

"But you don't- Oh." He fell silent, but not for long. "Do you have someplace in mind?"

"No. I hadnt' planned that far ahead."

"No problem. I'll find us someplace to run and we'll head out after dinner. How's that?"

"That sounds great. I'll see you after work."

"Later, babe."

We rang off, and I tried to focus my extra energy on the work I still needed to get done before I left, with only moderate success. The rest of the day crawled by, and I was relieved when I was finally able to head home.

I was already standing on the landing outside my door when I realized that the food I'd smelled cooking from across the courtyard was coming from inside my apartment.

Suddenly wary, I inhaled carefully trying to find out who was inside.

The scents I picked up were all familiar and supposed to be there, Raine, Devon, myself.

I was pretty sure that only Devon, Raine, and the landlord could get inside without breaking the lock, but I was still cautious as I thumbed the lock and opened the door. I sniffed again, staying outside, checking the air for any scent that shouldn't be there.

I could have checked the lock panel, inside the doo,r to see who had accessed the apartment but I didn't want to turn my back on the room. I eased inside, looking around for anything out of place, any clue who could be in the apartment.

"Nickie? Is that you?" A familiar voice called from the kitchen.

The tension and caution instantly fell away. I knew that if Devon was in the kitchen and he'd heard the slight noise of my opening the door, then there was no danger of anyone jumping out of my bedroom and trying to abduct me, or beat me into submission.

"Yeah," I closed the door. "It's me."

Devon stepped around the corner into sight. "I hope you don't mind. I thought I'd start dinner, then we'd be able leave a little earlier."

"No, not at all." I hung my purse on the door. "Though a little warning would have been nice. I didn't know who was in the apartment until you spoke."

Devon cringed. "Whoops. Sorry, it never even occurred to me."

"How long until it's ready?"

"A little while yet, why?"

"Do I have time to change?"

"Sure, plenty." He turned back toward the kitchen. "I'll finish putting things together while you do. You want something to drink?"

"Sure." I headed into the bedroom. "I'll be right out."

I changed into a sun dress, and went into the kitchen where Devon had dinner almost ready. We talked about our day while we ate and cleaned up.

Devon found us a private place to run that wasn't too much of a drive but we had to take his truck to get over the rough trail of a road. I sat on the passenger’s side of the truck angled on the seat.

I braced one hand on the back of the seat, while the other gripped the oh shit handle attached over the door, as I tried to keep from being bounced all over the cab of the truck.

Devon was going slow, but the road was rough and he was being bounced around too, though the steering wheel in his lap kept him mostly in his seat.

"I didn't realize the road was this rough." He said in apology.

"At least we'll have plenty of warning if someone else comes out." I tried to look at the bright side.

His nodded reply was lost in the bounce from another dip of the tires.

A few minutes later, Devon pulled to a stop and set the brake.

By the time we'd shifted, and headed out across the desert, it was nearly dark but I had no trouble seeing.

My wolf's enhanced vision could see almost as well as in full light, though it was different.

Colors were different, more muted, as if there wasn't enough light to show them at their full potential.

Can you hear me? Devon's voice interrupted my thoughts.

I shook myself back to the present. Yeah, I got you. I turned to find him standing in front of the truck, watching me.

Are you all right?

I'm fine, I assured him. just lost in thought for a moment .

So we're here, what do you want to do now?

I'm not really sure. I just know that the last time I was so antsy and restless, Caden told me that a run would help, and it did.

Who did you go with? Devon knew I never went for a run alone. I might be the only one who shifted, but I wasn't alone.

Gabriel. Devon growled at the name. I rolled my eyes, finding that it was more difficult to do in wolf form.

Anyway, I thought over his growl. we went for a run. It worked, it seemed to burn off the nervous energy.

What did you do on the run? Did you hunt something?

I snorted. Eww. I found the idea of hunting and eating something raw, even as a wolf, more than a little distasteful. No! We played. We chased each other, tried to pounce on each other. We just had a little fun.

He didn't look happy. So what do you want to do tonight?

I tilted my head to one side and watched him for a few seconds.

Let's just walk for a bit, maybe something will come to me.

I started toward the desert, passing him standing in front of the truck.

He fell into step beside me and we walked for several minutes.

We were moving up hill into the base of the small mountain Devon had parked near the base of.

I looked around, and not seeing anything out of place, I turned my nose into the breeze and inhaled softly, looking for any intriguing scents. Something interesting to follow.

I smell water. I sent to Devon.

He was quiet for a moment. I think there's an artesian hot tub near here.

Really? I didn't know there was one around here .

There are a few scattered at the base of these mountains. But they're not as well cared for as others in the valley, and fewer people know about them.

Which means the odds of finding them empty are good, right?

True. he sounded intrigued.

Do you know where it is?

Not exactly, but I have a good idea.