Page 26 of OutFoxed

It was one of many things that Ula loved about her friend.

* * * *

Merry glared at Richard, and he was looking at her in shock. “How hard do you punch?”

“Hard enough, butthead. If you don’t want to play nice until we sign a contract, you can just forget it. I don’t like being hit.” She sighed. “If you want to continue to play like that, find someone else.”

Giovanni asked, “You were struck?”

“My grandmother liked to beat me. I wasn’t ladylike enough, so she hit me until I bled. My change took the scars, but I still remember... I don’t like to be hit.” She stared at Giovanni coldly.

He inclined his head. “Noted.”

Thomas nodded. “Understood.”

She nodded, moved away from Richard, and settled by herself on the floor. Merry folded her robe under her knees and sat there. She looked at Giovanni. “Well, you can leave now.”

He raised his brows. “You are dismissing your alphas?”

“Not my alphas yet. Scoot.”

He growled and got to his feet. “Merry, please walk with me.”

She snorted and rose to her feet. “Fine.”

Merry followed him out of her house and into her backyard, facing the lake, and sighed. Giovanni held his hand out to her, and she took it. The moonlight on the harsh planes of his face sent a flutter through her, and the flutter was south of her stomach.

“Merry, we are learning you, and you will learn us. We will do things you object to, and you will do the same. What our sex lives have been up until this point are our pasts.”

She looked at him. “He hurt me, so I hurt him. I thought it was fair. I didn’t even bruise him like he bruised me.”

“Bruise?”

She held the robe down and hiked the back up to show the darkening skin on her ass.

He knelt and growled as he got a better look. “There it is. A fucking handprint.”

He looked at her. “Wait here for a moment.”

“I will walk down to the lake.” She walked to the lake with her robe rustling around her ankles. Crickets sang, frogs tried to get lucky, and the heavy beat of the water against the dock blanked her thoughts. It would be all right. Richard had picked up on her like of rough handling and confused it for a love of pain. She hoped her fist to his ribs had brought the knowledge to him.

She heard thudding feet behind her and turned. Giovanni nodded. “Show him.”

Richard and Thomas were standing and looking at her. She shrugged and hiked the robe up again. Richard looked ill. “I am so sorry. Giovanni explained the flaw in my logic.”

She nodded. “Can I heal it now?”

Thomas nodded. “Please.”

She moved her robe so her back was exposed and summoned her wings. Her body tingled as it transformed for flight, and her butt felt better.

Giovanni smiled. “You heal when you transform?”

“Yeah. I get about fifty pounds lighter, too.”

He grinned.

Thomas smiled. “Can I verify that?”

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