Page 144 of Not Your Ordinary Shifter

Yeah, she might be able to fool herself, but she couldn’t fool her animal. She was nervous for Thor. How pathetic was that? She’d only known the guy a few hours. Shouldn’t she want him to lose, so she could boss him around all night?

“There she is! How’s the Viking Cowboy?” Cara asked, perking up when she saw Debbie. Next to her, her twin, Sara, tried to steal one of Cara’s fries and got a slap on the hand and a growl for her troubles. Of course, Sara just growled right back before also turning her attention to Debbie.

“He’s getting ready for his event.” Debbie opted to sit next to her cousin Sami, behind Cara and Sara, rather than beside or in front of them. Behind was always safer when it came to the twins. Her cousins were spread out over three rows, which allowed them to sit in a clump rather than a long line.

Natra sat down next to her while Windy decided to take her chances and sat down next to Cara.

“Did you know he’s some kind of bull riding badass?” Sami asked curiously. On her other side, Rachel leaned forward, obviously wanting to see Debbie’s reaction. Even Rana turned around from her seat between Saskia and Colie to look at Debbie. “Everyone has been talking about him all day.”

“We saw him throwing down with the bull shifter he’s up against,” Natra said enthusiastically before Debbie could answer. All the honey badgers lit up, even Rana.

“Did he win?”

“What’s Maddox look like?”

“I heard he’shuge.”

“I heard he’s huge in more way than one.”

“I want to ride him!” That was Sara.

“Whodon’tyou want to ride?” And that was Cara.

“Tom Hardy,” Sara said. Cara screeched at the insult to the man at the top of her ‘Want to Wreck a Room With’ list, and the two of them fell to their usual bickering, while everyone else ignored them.

“He’s pretty hot in a Channing Tatum kind of way,” Windy said. “Even taller than Thor and major bulging muscles. I wanted to climb him like a playground.”

“Ooh, then I hope Thor wins,” Sara said, abandoning her argument with Cara.

“Why?” asked Debbie, frowning at her.

“Everyone is gonna wanna fuck the winner,” Sara said matter-of-factly. “But the loser is going to need comforting. Plus, he’ll probably try a lot harder between the sheets because he’ll have something to prove.”

“She’s not wrong,” mused Cara, looking thoughtful.

Sara scowled at her twin. “Back off, I call dibs!” And they were fighting again.

Debbie tuned them out, too busy thinking about their words. Sara was a crazy bitch, but she made sense. How many women were going to be swarming around Thor if he won? Would he be tempted to ditch her? Her honey badger would not handle that well. It was already growling at her thoughts.

No share!

Yeah, but it’s not like she could make him choose her.

Natra elbowed her in the side. “Stop worrying, Thor already lockedyoudown, remember? Win or lose.”

Right. Debbie shook off the unexpected bout of insecurity. Besides, if he changed his mind, there were plenty of other hot cowboys swaggering around. Her cousins were already picking out the ones they had decided to target. Bull riding was the last competition of the night, which meant there was a big party after. Thor had invited Debbie and her cousins, but she didn’t need to pass on the message. Apparently, Ajax had already done so through Saskia.

The butterflies in her stomach hadn’t quite gone away, though.

“Hello, everyone, and welcome to our main event!” An older cowboy, rugged, a bit of white in his beard, stepped out into the middle of the arena, holding a microphone, his voice booming through the loudspeakers. “These here are the most thrilling, most dangerous, most exciting rides you’ll ever witness! These bulls are ready to bust up some cowboys!” The wooden structure holding the shifted bulls shook as snorting and stomping filled the air, right before it was drowned out by the cheers of the crowd.

Normally, Debbie would have been screaming right along with them, but right now, she felt more like biting her nails. She didn’t want Thor getting hurt. That’s what that sick feeling in the pit of her stomach was.

Granted, shifters healed far faster than regular humans, but it wasn’t instantaneous or anything. If he broke a leg, he’d be laid up for a couple of weeks—if he broke his back, even longer. Debbie didn’t like to think about any of that.

Buck will win.

Her honey badger was a lot more confident than she was.

---