HOTSHOT BROTHERS: Coyote Shifters

by Hunt, Sabrina

“Yes,” she mumbled. “That way I can be right there, I mean.”

  “And I can wake you up if you have nightmares,” I mused.

  Her shoulders now slumped as she began to walk away. “Yes and there’s that. Although last night…”

  I stood up and walked towards her. “What?”

  She glanced over her shoulder at me. “I slept pretty well. So, thank you.”

  “Good to know I’m good for something,” I joked.

  Willow whirled around, her face tightening and she growled, “Don’t say things like that!”

  “Easy, Lolo.” I held up my hands. “It was a joke.”

  “Ugh.” She turned and stomped off. “I’m getting ready for bed.”

  “I’ll come with you,” I said, grinning to myself.

  She glared back at me like she wanted to protest this, but instead, she let me follow her into the bathroom. We brushed our teeth in silence, Willow shooting me a dirty look every time she caught me looking at her.

  Finally, we wound up in her room with the door shut behind us and Willow folded her arms. “You sleep by the wall tonight,” she ordered.

  “I can’t,” I said solemnly, a wicked amusement rearing up in me. “I’d put my foot through it.”

  “What?” Willow exclaimed and scowled. “Knock it off, Burr. You would not.”

  “I could though,” I said. “Besides, you slept there fine last night.”

  Grumbling, Willow clambered in under the purple comforter. I followed and then realized the light was still on.

  “Are you going to get the light?” she asked with a sigh.

  “No,” I replied.

  “See, this is why I should have–”

  “Kidding, jeez woman,” I said, slipping out and hitting it, before climbing back in. It was warm and familiar. “I wish you’d laugh more,” I said without thinking.

  Willow sighed at that and I was about to apologize when she asked, “How are you feeling?”

  Like it’s taking every ounce of self-control I have not to pin you down and tickle you until you laugh. To make you talk. I remember your sides are your weak spots, Lolo.

  Instead, I said, “A little tired, a little sore. But better than I have in weeks.”

  “Well, it helps that you’re not stuck as a coyote, I’m guessing,” she said lightly.

  “Can’t hurt,” I agreed.

  Willow shifted on the pillow, tossing her hair and I caught a whiff of her. Closing my eyes, I drifted away on that scent and fell asleep.

  Moonlight shone on my face, waking me, and I winced. It had to be somewhere around three in the morning. Looking over, I saw a shadow curled up against the wall, trying to contain itself as much as possible.

  Willow.

  She was sitting up in bed next to me, head tilted up to the night sky.

  Sitting up, I rubbed my face and sighed. “Lolo, what are you doing?”

  “Burr!” She jumped, looking scandalized. “Go back to sleep. I’m sorry.” At that moment, I realized I’d also woken up because Juniper’s shirt was strangling me and I shed it without thinking. “Burr!” Willow exclaimed.

  “What is it with you and me being shirtless? Calm down.” I said, tucking my hands behind my head and leaning back. “What’s with the moon gazing? Gonna howl?”

  She rolled her eyes at me. “Go back to sleep, Burr.”

  “I can’t sleep if you’re awake and upset, Willow,” I said, too tired to keep up the pretense.

  “I’m…” Willow sighed. “I can’t believe I forgot how good you were at doing that.”

  “Doing what?” I asked.

  She didn’t answer, but said in a tight voice, “Juni is upset with me.”

  “Oh yeah, I knew something was up,” I said. “I’m sure he’ll cool off soon enough. He’s not one to hold a grudge against you, Lolo. You’re his big sister.”

  “Not this time. It’s an old… I hurt them both.” She placed her head in her hands. “I didn’t even… I was so busy trying to do what was right by them, I didn’t stop to think…how it could affect them. How it could wound Juni and he’d have to force himself to forgive me. Until he couldn’t.”

  I sat up straighter and leaned towards her. “Willow, what are you talking about?”

  She looked over at me, her face weary and full of grief. “They blame me for you staying away from them, Burr. Even with you here, now, I don’t know how to fix it.”

  For a second, a spark of anger at Willow’s brothers went through me, then I took a deep breath. I knew how they could have gotten that idea.

  Hell, it was one I was used to falling back on.

  “I never apologized,” she continued on miserably. “I know it’s too late.”

  “That’s not true,” I interrupted, moving closer. “You did last night.”

  She gaped at me. “You heard that?”

  “Yeah,” I said and tentatively put an arm around her. When Willow leaned into me, I smiled and pulled her closer. “But I forgave you the second you hugged me yesterday. Maybe before then. I’m no good with grudges, and it wasn’t a very fair one.”

  Willow turned and slipped her arms around my torso, resting her head on my chest. “Of course it was. I missed you so much, Burr.” Her words sounded like an exhale of everything she’d held in and I hugged her back. “You can’t even imagine.”

  “I think I can,” I said into her hair, silently praying this wasn’t a dream. “And you should know the whole story, Lolo. It was partially you, but it was also because…” The words caught in my throat. “It’s not something I care to think about. I try to ignore it as much as I can.”

  “You can tell me, Burr,” she murmured. “You know that.”

  “I…” I swallowed. I’d never told anyone this. “I didn’t want my brothers to hate me.”

  “What?” Willow loosened her grip and sat back. Her eyes were fierce and she shook her head at me. “They could never! What are you talking about?”

  Stomach roiling, I hunched my shoulders and said, “I was the only one there that night who knew what the Ash Walker was. Where it came from, what it meant. Think about it – it may have even been after me.” I looked away, but Willow caught my face, gently turning my gaze back to her. “I think I was a kind of the catalyst for the events of that night.”

  “Oh,” she said, and I could see her quick mind working. “Well, maybe, Burr. But you don’t know that for sure. It could have been–”

  “Even if it wasn’t my fault, would they see it that way?” I asked in a rush. “It was easier to pretend that I didn’t know what was going on either, to casually suggest we go see Aunt Sil.

  “Our lives changed forever that night. Ben – he fought it tooth and nail at first. And I was the one who dragged him back to it. Both of his own sake and ours. I was so angry with him in Seattle – I lost my temper. But I was also angry at myself. I should have told them the truth.”

  Willow said nothing but her hands found my shoulders and laid there.

  “Ben would never forgive me, I felt like. Maybe none of them would. With Wes, our destiny keeps him away from his family. Cree loves it, but sometimes he’s afraid of it and struggles to hide that. He worries that he’s a monster in the eyes of the world. And then Rayner.” My throat went tight. “It was a secret he never wanted to know.”

  “What?” Willow asked.

  “Nothing, I can’t…” I looked at her and sighed. “Willow, I can’t lie and say I wasn’t angry with you, but there was so much more to it than that. If anything, our falling out became a convenient excuse. I’d make sure we had firefighting jobs any time you all came to visit. Plus, I…” I slid my hands up her arm to just below her elbow. “I wanted to keep you all safe. There was a time when there were Ash Walkers every other week it seemed. It’s slowed down, but now that damn Skinwalker is everywhere. I didn’t want to put your family through anything else.”

  Willow stared at me as I let go of her. She seemed at a loss for what to say.

  “I’
ll go sleep somewhere else,” I muttered, and went to get out of the bed.

  But she stopped me. “No,” she said and curled up like a cat around me. “Please stay.”

  “Are you sure?” I whispered. “I don’t want…”

  “Just shut up and go to sleep,” she commanded, tugging me down onto the pillows. “We’ll talk more tomorrow. We need to sleep. You need sleep.”

  “You woke me up,” I chuckled.

  “Sh,” Willow admonished. “Sleep.”

  Holding onto her, I tried to stay awake and savor it, but all too soon I’d drifted off.

  Chapter 10

  Waking up, I seemed to be basking in a radiant, soft light, not unlike the glow of the moon. My neck, however, was a bit stiff. And no wonder, my pillow was warm but hard as a rock.

  Underneath my ear, I could hear the rise and fall of strong lungs, along with a heartbeat. With a small gasp, my eyes flew open onto the broad expanse of chest across which my arm was flung.

  Lifting my head, I peeked at Burr. He was still deeply asleep, sprawled on his back, and the blankets had been kicked down to our waists. Shivering, I tugged them over me and then carefully felt Burr’s forehead. He was a little warm again.

  Turning, I glanced over my shoulder out the window. What time is it? It seemed like we’d been asleep for hours, but the sky was dark as night. Glancing at my clock, I saw it was around seven. Damn. Another storm? This is getting ridiculous, even for Alaska.

  Without thinking, I went to lie back down, but then I hesitated, clenching and unclenching the sheet in my fists. Maybe we shouldn’t have slept like this. Maybe I should have let him leave.

  But the thought seemed to make my whole body rebel and I slid my arm back around him. I wasn’t sure what had come over me – the middle of the night seemed to unlock everything I’d hidden from the light of day.

  Of course, Burr had woken right up, too. But, I was glad. We’d finally talked. It wasn’t much, maybe, but at least we were moving forward., and he’d accepted my apology.

  Letting out a sigh, I turned my head so that my chin was resting above his heart, right on his tattoo, and gazed up at him. Burr had always wanted me to lean on him. Even all this time later, his first instinct was to reach out and try to help me.

  Only now, his once-clumsy hands were sure and strong.

  My breathing hitched and I moved closer. Hadn’t Burr said the other night that I knew what he had wanted? And from the looks of it, he still wanted that…

  But even as I thought it, I cringed and loosened my grip. Was I really so selfish as to chain Burr to me the second he came back into my life? Yet, lying here in his arms, I couldn’t deny how much I’d wanted this. Maybe I could make him happy. Trembling, I aimlessly slid my hand across his hard stomach and chest.

  Maybe he’d fall in love with me eventually.

  Suddenly his hand shot out and caught my wrist. Green eyes danced as they met mine and I gaped at him. “I’m sorry,” I breathed. “I didn’t mean to–” In an eye-blink, Burr flipped us over, pinning both of my hands above my head in one hand and tickling my sides with the other. A shriek of laughter escaped me as my eyes streamed with tears. “Burr!” I gasped. “No, stop it! That’s not fair, I didn’t mean to wake you up!”

  He only tickled me harder, saying, “Payback.”

  “Burr!” I squealed, as peal after peal of laughter escaped me. I’d always been horrifically ticklish and Burr had loved to take advantage of it. It was horrible and wonderful at the same time.

  Suddenly he let go of my wrists and began to tickle both my sides. I tried to kick out, but he pinned my knees between his. So all I could do was squirm and hit his shoulders. The entire room seemed to shake with our laughter. Finally, when I was gasping for air, Burr stopped and sat back, grinning.

  “I’d like to start every morning like that,” he remarked.

  “What, torturing someone?” I asked, struggling to sit up. The second I did so, my hands shot out, but Burr was too quick and our fingers locked. “Dammit,” I grunted.

  “You haven’t won a wrestling match in years, Lolo.” He was gasping for air as he laughed and I tried to use it to my advantage, pushing on him. For a brief second, I thought I was winning and then I was pinned down among the blankets again.

  Burr gave me a lazy smile. “Were you even trying?”

  I made a face at him. “You have supernatural strength; that’s not fair. You should have let me win.”

  His face crinkled up with laughter as he leaned down. “Next time.”

  “Next time?” I asked, heart beating strangely. Burr was only inches away.

  Suddenly his eyes closed and he winced. “Ugh.” He rolled away from me, holding his side. “Damn it, why now?”

  “Burr, here, let me,” I said, springing up and tugging his hand away. He was curled in a ball, eyes closed and shaking, and he lifted his hand.

  The mark was dead black with thin white lines. “Oh no.” I pressed my hand to it and Burr let out a long breath. “Is that helping?”

  “A little,” he said, sounding weak.

  “Burr, you have to take it easy,” I said, fear thick as a web tightening around me. “Please.”

  “Aw. You worried about me, Lolo?” His eyes were still closed, but he smirked. “It’s cute.”

  “Shut up,” I snapped and then I wrapped my arms around his neck tightly. “If I lose you right after I found you… I will kill you.”

  Burr let out a surprised sound and then hugged me back. His thick arms were warm and solid against my back and I relaxed against him. “No such luck. There’s no way I’m going to let that happen. Especially now.”

  I wanted to ask him what he meant by that – my heart skipping several beats – but instead, I just clung onto him.

  Walking out into the kitchen, I saw that it was now nine and I blinked. Where had the last two hours gone? Had we really hugged that whole time?

  Shaking my head, I began to make breakfast. My conscience was jabbing at me and telling me I was the worst person ever. Laying my hands flat on the counter I stared down at it and sighed. Burr deserves better than this.

  We had to talk this out like adults. I’d tell him that I knew he’d only offered in kindness and of course, we could be friends. But it could never be more than that.

  No matter how much I want it to be.

  “Lolo, what are you doing?” Burr’s laughing voice came in my ear and he gave me a quick squeeze on my waist. “Meditating? Also, the toast is burning.”

  “What?” I gasped and spun around.

  “Yeah,” he said. “Black as night.”

  Burr was dressed in another too-tight outfit of Juniper’s, more sweats and another muscle tank, this one with a ridiculous T-Rex flexing on the front. He was standing so close he was warming up the cold kitchen and when he smiled down at me, I instantly smiled back, my knees weak. Dammit, Burr, don’t make this any easier on a girl.

  Suddenly I realized I had no idea if Burr was still single and I pushed around him, all of my happiness turning to rubble. Oh God, Burr with another woman. Immediately that thought alone had me wanting to punch this phantom woman in the face.

  She’d probably be really nice. A sweetie like Burr.

  No, Burr needs a strong, fierce warrioress in his life. Someone like…

  “Willow?” Burr’s voice was in my ear. “Did you hear a word I just said?”

  “Sorry what?” I looked up at him. “No.”

  He gave me a crooked smile. “Still worried about Juni?”

  I shrugged and held my hands out. “Uh, maybe a little.”

  “Okay. Here, let me help.” Burr began to move around the kitchen with ease, pulling things down and cooking. “You guys set up your kitchen just like you did in your old house.”

  “What?” I asked, jerking out of my daze. I’d been watching him for a good few minutes and he grinned over at me.

  “‘What?’” He mimicked. “You want me to take my shirt off while I do this? M
ake it a real show?”

  Lips parting, I tried to glare at him, but instead, I muttered something incoherent and went to the fridge. A ribbon of hurt flashed through me. Was I that obvious?

  Once we were both seated at the breakfast table, I screwed up my nerve to interrupt his banter. “So, are you seeing anyone?”

  I’d asked the nicely-made toast more than I asked Burr. He didn’t answer and when I finally looked up he was staring at me in disbelief.

  A bitter laugh escaped him and I shivered. “Are you trying to be funny, Willow?”

  “No,” I said, my voice growing more timid. “I just wanted to know.”

  “Are you?” His eyes flashed and I saw his fist knot around the fork. “That guy from the other night, the other vet? Is he your boyfriend?”

  “What? Who?” I shook my head. “No. I don’t know who you’re talking about – but no.”

  Burr put down his fork and stood up. “You are unbelievable. I can’t do this again, Willow.”

  Watching as he walked away, I scrambled to my feet and followed him. He went to Juni’s room, ripping through the winter coats. “You can’t do what again? What are you doing?”

  “Leaving,” he said briefly.

  “No!” I cried out. “You can’t! You’re still hurt – that mark looks worse than ever and it’s going to start snowing any minute. Have you seen the sky?”

  “Don’t care.” His back was to me and every line of muscle was taut. “I cannot… No, this is my fault.” His voice became as bitter as his laugh had been. “I didn’t learn the first time.”

  “What do you mean?” He’d found a jacket and pushed around me. “Burr!”

  “I should have known it was pity.” Burr’s voice was full of anger. “Or something like that. I got my hopes up. But it’s not going to happen again. This is the last time.”

  “What isn’t?” I flew in front of him and glared at him. “Tell me what you are talking about!”

  “You, Willow!” he blasted at me and I took a step back. “You, messing with my head. And making me think… I was so damn eager to forgive you. Too damn eager. Rolling over for you like a dog. And you just walk all over me. As always.”

  I’d never imagined Burr this livid and I held my breath. His entire body was shaking and the lines around his lips were white. As much as I wanted to run, I forced myself to say, “Burr, wait, please listen. I have to tell you something. I-I think you’ll understand…”