A Fox Between the Bear's Sheets (10 page)

Working constantly until he was exhausted hadn’t helped either. Although he wanted her, he was also

scared shitless of what he was feeling. His bear was constantly on the prowl inside of him, growling

and wanting to emerge and hunt her down like a predator finding its prey. Why he had this infatuation

with a female that would be leaving Sweet Water was beyond him, and why did it hurt so damn bad at

the thought of her going away? He thought back to Charlie and wondered if this was how he felt when

he’d found Ary. He hadn’t spoken to his brothers about this, but maybe he should. Maybe then he

could make sense of why he felt so unbalanced. He thought fucking her that one time would ease this

pressure inside of him, but it turned out it made him just want her that much more. He was a fiend

when it came to Talia, and she was the only drug that could quench his insatiable addiction.

He set the lumber against the side of the building and went back for more. Sometimes he

stayed behind the scenes and worked with the architects on the blueprints, but the majority of the time

he did manual labor, trying to wear his body and mind out so much he just passed out. But in just the

three days since he met Talia he had needed more than just manual labor to help ease the frantic

feeling inside of him. No amount of working tired him. In fact, he seemed even more wound up after a

hard day’s work. It was as if he couldn’t control his bear, like the fucker wanted out to do whatever the

hell it wanted to.

“Hey, you okay, Ford?” Bram jogged up next to him. They both picked up a load of lumber and

made their way back to the frame.

“Yeah, I’m good.” He could sense Bram’s stare but didn’t bother looking over at his youngest

brother. After setting the wood down next to the first load and wiping the sweat from his face, he

finally looked at Bram. His brother sported a nasty looking black eye and a busted lip. “I should be

asking you if you’re okay.”

Bram grimaced but waved off Ford’s question.

“Nah, I’m good. Aside from the fact I got drunk and then decided to fight.”

Ford lifted his eyebrow and stared at Bram. “Is this one of those underground ones or just a

random bar brawl?”

“Random drunken fight at Slater’s, but what the fuck ever. The guy was asking for a beat-down

anyway when he thought he had bigger balls than me and decided to call me a pussy in front of his

girl.”

They headed back over for another round of lumber. It was no secret that Bram fought … a lot.

The youngest Wylde bear had a nasty temper, but it was more because his bear controlled him more

than his human side. The underground shifter fights weren’t a secret in Sweet Water, but no one, the

law included, fucked with them. Besides, Ford hated to think how his brother would be faring if he

didn’t fight and let off all that fucking animalistic tendencies he carried around inside of himself. It

wasn’t uncommon for shifters to get into underground cage fighting. Letting their inner animals out to

do some temporary destruction helped to ease the built-up adrenalin, testosterone, and overall

wilderness that resided in all male shifters. Blood was shed, bones were broken, and fur flew. It was a

spectacle that got all the males in the surrounding area rowdy for the bloody sport.

“You want to get drunk tonight, maybe pick up some chicks?” Bram wiped his brow and

shielded his eyes with his forearm from the sun. “I need to get laid, that or I need to find a fight, and

as you can see,” he pointed to his face, “the last time I got drunk and in a fight it sucked big balls. I’d

rather fuck.”

“I don’t think you need to fight either with your face looking beat to hell.”

Bram scoffed. “You should see the motherfucker that started it all. I bet his ass don’t come

around me ever again.” Bram cracked him knuckles and rolled his neck on his shoulders. “In fact, just

talking about that shit is getting me pissed all over again.” Ford could sense Bram’s bear rising up,

and knew a change of subject needed to be introduced or his little brother would end up destroying

something.

“So yeah, you up for going out with me or what?” Bram ran his hand over his sweat-soaked

hair, clearly waiting for Ford to answer. Banging some random chick had his dick shriveling up. All he

could think about was the image of Talia’s voluptuous body, of her big breasts shaking from the force

of fucking her, and of her lips parted and her breathy moans spilling out. He had never had a female

who left such a lasting impression on him, and never had he wanted a second chance with them. She

was an oddity to him, but something he wanted to explore more deeply. This little redhead changed

everything in the course of a few hours. Fuck, this wasn’t good, and he needed to cleanse her from his

mind, because obsessing about her like this was bordering on fucked-up.

“I don’t want a random fuck, but I could use a stiff drink.”

Fortunately, Bram didn’t question him on his lack of female company, and instead slapped him

on the back in approval. Maybe getting drunk would do him some good, but the more he thought about

it, the more a good fight sounded like an ideal energy reliever.

****

Dylan circled Ford, his muscles bulging as they prepared to shift. After they had gotten off

work they headed over Slater’s, the small hole-in-the wall bar that held the underground shifter cage

fighting in their basement. Now here was Ford, standing in the dank basement with a dripping pipe

running above him, the scent of mildew filling the must, damp air, and the muted noise of the music

above them. Ford pulled his t-shirt over his head and tossed it to Bram who stood on the sidelines

waiting his turn to throw some punches. Dylan, the lion shifter, cracked his neck and then his

knuckles. He grinned at Ford. There was enough alcohol moving through Ford’s veins that even if the

lion shifter got a hit on him, he would be too numb to feel it. He had drowned himself in liquor once

again, hoping to rid himself of these feelings for Talia, because frankly they were almost too much for

his shattered mind and heart to take in. Of course all of that alcohol only managed to make him want

her even more.

“I’m gonna fuck you up, bear.” Dylan ripped his shirt off, took his jeans off, and took a step

toward Ford. He was ready for this. He had Talia on his mind, and that was what needed to change,

because he needed to get rid of all this fucking energy she caused within him. He let the shift take

over, felt his bear move through his body until his muscles stretched, his bones broke and realigned,

and his bear pushed his human to the side. He stood to his full ten foot height and stared down at the

now shifted Dylan. The lion paced back and forth, and even though Ford was now in full bear mode, he

still felt the effects of the alcohol rolling through his system. He knew he could easily take a lion, no

doubt about it, but he wanted to feel pain. Ford needed his mind off other things, ones that had him

wanting to keep a certain foxy female by his side. Those were ideas he certainly didn’t want to play

with, and so the best way to deal with it was fight like there was no tomorrow.

They charged forward and met in the center. Teeth tore into flesh, claws ripped into muscles,

and blood sprayed out like a geyser coating the dull grey cement floor a brilliant red. Dylan dug his

claws into Ford’s belly, and he let out a roar of pain and relief. Ford had fought on a few different

occasions over the last ten years, needing that pain to numb his mind. He couldn’t explain this feeling

inside of him, but it was as if he was coming unhinged and about to combust. And it was all because of

this one female. It didn’t make any sense, and all he could think about was Charlie and his now

pregnant mate. His brother had been so unstable when he met Ary, and Ford had a suspicion he might

be going through the same situation as his older brother. Could it be that his bear recognized Talia as

his mate?

Dylan bit his shoulder, and Ford swiped his paw out, throwing the lion to his side. He might

have wanted to feel pain, but his thoughts were making him vulnerable and looking like a pussy that

couldn’t handle himself against a lion. Tilting his head back and roaring, he charged Dylan. The crowd

that surrounded them was loud and rowdy, calling out for more violence, wanting to see them tear

each other apart. It was exhilarating and painful, and to Ford’s disappointment didn’t lessen his

thoughts when they concerned Talia. He let his confusion, anger, arousal, and every other emotion he

felt for Talia wash through him and defeat the lion.

When it was all said and done and Dylan limped off to lick his wounds, Ford looked around,

needing another contender. Bram stepped up, placed his hand on Ford, which only had his bear

rounding on his youngest brother and growling. Bram held out both hands. Ford forced his bear into

submission. He was being uncontrollable and needed to calm the fuck down. He took a deep breath

and changed back into his human form. It was the same bone-snapping, muscle-tearing sensation.

Bram handed Ford his shirt and pants, and he quickly put them on, covering his now bloody

and torn flesh. “Fuck, man, you were intense out there.”

The crowd was still going wild as a tiger and panther shifter took the center stage. He was done

for right now, ready to pass out and get his bearings. He wanted to talk to Charlie, see if what he was

feeling was his confirmation on Talia being his mate, even though he was pretty damn sure that was

what in the hell was going on. Running a hand through his hair, which was wet with sweat and blood,

he let out a heavy sigh. Yeah, he was pretty fucking sure he had just found his mate, and even if there

was a part of him that feared what came with that, he knew his bear wouldn’t let her go. Hell, his

human wouldn’t let her go either, but the thought of claiming another female was like him stepping

off the end of the world and hoping his feet would touch land. He’d never thought he would find

someone again, but this wasn’t about his relationship with Mina. She hadn’t been his mate, and the

things he wanted with Talia made what he felt for Mina all those years ago seem like an adolescent

crush. The question he had for himself was: was he going to fight his bear and let the darkness that had

been so much a part of himself for so long take him deeper to despair, or give in and let himself

experience love again?
Fuck
. That was the million dollar question.

Passing out was not on the last list of what he wanted to do. He needed some advice, and his

older brother was the smartest male he knew. Charlie would help him sort this shit out, even if he had

never been completely honest on what had gone down with Mina. They left Slater’s, and Ford made a

call to Charlie. After talking to him briefly they headed over to their older brother’s cabin. Ford

needed a shower and sleep, but he was more worried about getting the confusion out of his head. Now,

an hour later, they sat around Charlie’s dining room table, a bottle of whiskey sitting in the center of

the table and shot glasses in front of them. Ford and Bram sure as hell didn’t need any more alcohol,

but what the fuck, maybe some liquid courage would make him confessing this easier. Charlie and

Bram stared at him, both with a little bit of anticipation on what he would say on their faces.

It was late as fuck, and Ary was sleeping upstairs. Ford felt guilty for coming to Charlie’s at

this hour, but he needed his brother’s interpretation on what the hell was going on. So that was what he

did, just spilled everything. The reason he and Mina broke up, the darkness that had consumed him for

so fucking long, and then everything he felt when he met Talia. For ten years he’d kept that shit with

Mina buried deep inside, but then this little red fox had come around and all hell had broken loose

inside of him. After all of that his brothers just sat there, staring him with mixed emotions.

“Everything feels so fucked up inside of me.” Ford took a sip of his whiskey, not really wanted

to throw that shit back to further numb what he felt. He waited not so patiently to hear what his

brothers had to say, specifically Charlie since he knew his older brother had felt this edginess inside of

him as well. Bram and Charlie stared at him, and although Bram looked somewhat shocked, Charlie

appeared thoughtful.

“Shit, man, I didn’t know the Mina situation had gone down like that.” Bram scrubbed a hand

over his jaw. “You should have told us. We would have helped you through it.” Ford knew this, but he

had been a coward and kept everything inside and to himself.

He looked at Charlie. “I’m real sorry about Mina and the fucked up shit she did, Ford.” Charlie

looked thoughtful and concerned. “Bram’s right, you should have told us. We would have helped you