Two loud gunshots rang out, but their shots missed us by inches. We pushed our feline bodies faster.
“I have an idea. Stick close by me,” Drake said.
I followed him across another small stream and finally into a cave I didn’t know was there. We both quickly shifted back into our human forms. We’d left our clothes at a spot at the edge of the forest, buried under a pile of leaves, so we’d have to wait for the fucking poachers to leave before we could shift back and run and get them.
“This sucks,” Drake said.
I glanced at him, careful to keep my eyes above his beltline, and replied, “You can say that again.”
We were both pretty heated and sweaty from the run, so we sat and took the opportunity to cool down. After about ten minutes, I poked my head out of the cave. With my keen eyesight, I saw the two men sitting on rocks next to the stream, drinking from cans. They hadn’t even bothered trying to cross the water to catch us.
I reported my findings to Drake, and he looked at me from under his too-long light-brown hair that hung over his eyes. He pushed it aside and said, “Let’s shift back and take them by surprise. Give the fuckers a little scare.”
It was the best hope we had, as we couldn’t just go walking through the woods unnoticed buck-naked.
We both shifted back quietly and crept out of the cave. Thankfully, their backs were to us, so we had the element of surprise.
“You bite one, I’ll bite the other, then we’ll take off. They won’t go chasing after us if they’re wounded,” Drake suggested.
“First move their guns out of reach,” I suggested.
“Perfect. Let’s go.”
I leapt onto the guy on the right, kicking his shotgun away with my back paw from where it was propped up on the rock, and clamped my jaws down onto his forearm. I felt his blood flow into my mouth as he wailed in surprise and pain. I quickly took off running toward the edge of the forest. Drake’s victim was also yelling out.
“We should have just ripped their fucking throats out,” I said.
“Yeah, but killing people is bad karma, dude.”
I chuckled inside my head. “You’re such a goddamn hippie.”
“Well, I am from Austin. We’re all weird.”
It had been a long, strange day, but the shift and run had energized me. So had the blood I’d had from the poacher. I didn’t desire, want, or need blood while in human form, but while the cat, blood and raw meat were delicious and actually good for my animal body. I went into the club that night to help out with security during one of Kitty’s fights, and I decided to report what had happened to the boss.
“What’s up, guys?” Six asked, sitting down with his old lady to watch the fight.
Drake and I stood there in our cuts, and he indicated for us to sit.
Chuy brought over two whiskey neats and I took a sip of mine after thanking him. “There was an incident at the national park today.”
Six looked concerned. “What happened?”
“Poachers. Tried to shoot us while we were on a shift. We’re obviously okay, but we don’t know how many more are out there.” Drake lifted his drink to his lips.
“So you got away from them?” he asked, looking pissed off.
I glanced at Drake, then back to Six. “Yeah, but we kind of ambushed them first. We’d had to hide out in a cave for a bit. We shifted back and then bit them before taking off. We didn’t kill them, just wanted to scare them. Maybe… deter any future behavior.”
Six snorted. “You’re a better man than me. I’d have ripped their fuckin’ throats out.”
I laughed. “We thought about it.”
“Well, I’ll put somebody on it. See if these guys come around again. If they do, they’ll be taken care of.”
I swallowed down the rest of my drink and got up. “Fight’s starting soon. Let me know if you need anything, Six.”
“Will do. Thanks for letting me know about that incident today.”
“No problem,” Drake replied.
The fight was well underway now, and I was simultaneously watching it and scanning the room for any trouble. Thankfully Kitty was fighting another shifter, so it was actually a good, clean fight this time.
My phone vibrated in my pocket with a text. I clicked on it.
Emory: Hi, are you busy?
I grinned and hit reply: Working at the club. Why?
Emory: Wanted to get out of the house, thought maybe you’d want to shoot some pool. But if you’re working, I’ll catch up with you later.
I was about to invite her down to the club, but hesitated. Humans in here tended to get hurt. I thought about Ray and the guy who had pressed charges for breaking his arm. However, those two had brought those problems on themselves. Then I thought about all the horny motherfuckers in here who would be sniffing her out if she came in here. It wasn’t like I would let any of them within ten feet of her, though.
Fuck it.
Me: Come down to the club. Just watching a fight. Then we can go shoot pool after it’s done.
She didn’t respond for a few minutes, and I wondered if I’d scared her off. With a shrug, I re-pocketed the phone, folded my arms across my chest, and watched as Kitty knocked out the shifter.
Well, that was fast.
Candi came up on stage, wearing a tiny black bikini with her tits spilling out of it and announced him the winner. I knew he’d be fucking her later, as she always ‘rewarded’ the winner with her body.
It wasn’t until I thought about Emory’s body that my dick twitched in my pants. Then, my phone vibrated in my pocket, distracting me. I pulled it out.
Emory: What’s the address?
I quickly answered, and she replied she was on her way.
Wow. Now my dick would be at attention for the rest of
