Page 22 of Fighting Furry

Because they wouldn't be able to fight his alpha voice, I realized. “Still, I'd have expected someone with a secret like yours to be a better liar.”

He grunted, but didn't bother to argue.

I got us back to my condo and we found Shelly waiting outside my door. I let us all in and Shelly took a seat at my kitchen table, hands folded in front of her, ready for war. I let Axel take the lead and sat across from Shelly.

“When Julie was in Mule Creek, she was bitten by a werewolf.”

Shelly gasped and I swung my head around to look at Axel so fast I gave myself a neck ache. What the hell was he doing? “Axel?”

He smiled. “This isn't the sort of secret you can keep from a friend like Shelly. If we don't tell her the truth, she isn't going to rest until she finds out for herself.” He looked at Shelly. “Right?”

She nodded, but her face was pale, her eyes wide and shell shocked. She looked at me. “Is he sane?”

I ignored her and turned back to Axel. “Are you sure?”

He knelt next to me so we were face-to-face. “If we don't tell her, she'll get us into ten times more trouble than if we do tell her. I have a feeling she'll keep your secret if it means keeping you safe.”

“Julie?” Shelly asked.

I gave Axel a quick nod and turned to face my friend. “He's telling the truth. I was bitten. I'm a werewolf.”

She leaned back in her seat and reached under the table. If I knew my friend, she was blind-dialing 911 and preparing to press the call button. “That's impossible, Julie. I mean this guy is good-looking and very charming—”

“Charming?” I asked. “You can't be serious. He's a totally gruff mountain man. He's barely verbal. He probably doesn't even know how to read.”

“I know how to read,” Axel grumbled. “And I talk plenty.”

I rolled my eyes, but Shelly's shoulders had relaxed a hair. “You like him, don't you, Julie? Is that why you're going along with his crazy story? Because you want to get in his pants?”

“In his pants?” I asked, pretending to be way more outraged than I felt. “Shelly, I am not that kind of woman.”

Shelly laughed, but her hand was still under the table and I knew her thumb was hovering over the call button. I sighed, stood, and started pulling off my clothes.

“Um, Jules, what the hell are you doing?”

“Just give me two minutes, Shelly. If you aren't convinced, you can hit that call button and have me and Axel dragged off to the psychiatric ward.”

“Call button?” Axel asked. “She can't—”

I held up one hand to him as I unbuttoned my jeans with the other hand. “I've got this. Just make sure I don't go psycho-killer.”

“Now, wait just a—” Shelly said.

But I'd finished undressing. I dropped to all fours and I shifted. Wolf-Julie scented Shelly right away and knew she was pack. I walked over and put my head in her lap. I loved her scent, it was so comforting, and the smell of her little one, a strong and healthy child, made me want to leap for joy. Shelly would be so happy. After a moment, Shelly dropped her hand to my head and petted my fur. “I can't…I just can't believe this,” she said. “If I hadn't seen it myself. . .”

I lifted my head and licked her hand, enjoying the salty taste of her mixing with her scent. Home. She was my home and my pack. I walked back to the other side of the table, shifted to human, and dressed.

When I looked over at Shelly, there were tears in her eyes. “You're a beautiful wolf, Jules. How…How does it feel?”

“It healed me,” I said. “I've been up all night and I'm not the least bit tired. It feels pretty fucking amazing.”

She smiled, but she looked worried. “So, what will you do now? And who is he to you, really?”

I sat and explained who Axel was and my plans for the future. I pretended confidence as I told her I'd go back to fighting and my life here would be normal. I'd changed and I was still changing every day. I had no idea what normal was for me anymore.

Shelly didn't look convinced, but she stood and hugged me. “Call me later,” she said. “Let me know how it goes at the gym.”

“Take care of you and that baby,” I said. “Let me know what the doctor says.”

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