Totally Boxed

Chapter 6

6

Puppy dog eyes.

Five hours later, I dropped onto my couch with a bowl of cantaloupe, alone. The other women from Luna's group, Mateless Mates, had dragged us off to a late night diner for interrogation. The questions started out with wanting to know every single second of what happened after I walked into the room until the alarms went off. They'd talked for so long that Luna was almost late for work.

Reluctantly, I kissed her goodnight after we swapped phone numbers, then watched the beautiful but sad sight of her a*s walking away from me. I'd have to wait a few more hours for her shift to end before she'd come over to my house.

Two hours in my flying fox form hadn't relieved the stress either. I'd even looked over the preliminary reports from the sonar testing earlier, and I'd been too distracted to focus. I stared at the display case on the wall holding the medals from when I was active duty, then my gaze drifted over to the case next to it. A deep ache formed in my chest. Even since my twin died, I'd felt different. I knew I obsessed over my job as a distraction for the empty cavity where my happiness used to be. The world seemed so much darker without Arric.

My beast and I wanted Luna to be with us, instead of at her human job. I grabbed an old radio out of the garage and turned it to the station she worked at. Maybe hearing her voice would help soothe us until we could finish claiming her later tonight. Several songs played before a voice came over the station.

"If you're just tuning in, welcome to The Night Shift with Luna and Apollo." The deep masculine voice sparked a primal jealousy in me. My beast pushed at me, begging to be released and find Luna. We couldn't trust this Apollo male to respect Luna's space. I knew I should have talked her into skipping her shift tonight. Or just quit her job. I made more than enough money to support her and any pups we might have. "Hey Luna, let's tell them what's coming up next."

"Well Apollo, we're keeping it creepy with 'I've Put a Spell on You', 'Hells Bells', and 'Monster Mash'. Then tune in for a spooky surprise on this hair-raising Halloween night."

An uneasy feeling settled into my gut. That wasn't Luna's voice. Even using manipulation software, there was no way Luna was talking. Her cadence was different. Why would another woman pretend to be her on the radio?

I rinsed out my bowl and set it in the sink while I tried to talk myself out of going to the station to make sure she was okay. Halfway to my office, my phone vibrated in my pocket. Pulling it out, I looked at the screen. Luna was calling.

"Hey." I barely held back my urge to make sure she was okay.

"I need your help. I'm on a short break, so I came out to grab my phone, but somehow locked myself out." There was a hint in her voice that she was upset. What did she think I could do to help her?

"I don't mind coming by, but wouldn't your boss be able to get a key to you?"

"That's part of the problem. He can't get the key to me before the tracks run out and the station hits dead air." A quiet sniff came through the phone.

"What happens if it does?"

"He'll fire me."

"I'll be there as soon as I can." I still wasn't sure how I could help her, but I'd figure something out, even if it was convincing her to quit. Grabbing the lock picking tools from my gear, I shoved them in a pocket. It was a damn good thing whatever we wore changed with us as we shifted. I didn't know everything behind how shifters had come about, but I'd heard it had to do with the magic used to create us.

"Thank you." I heard the line go dead.

Stepping to an open space in my living room, I called to the beast. Releasing my hold on our form, he burst out of my skin. Stretched wide, my arms shrunk while my fingers elongated until they morphed into thin black skin. Before my feet shifted, I jumped into the air. My wings gave me the lift I needed to fly to the top of my house, and then out of a specially designed bat door. Out in the open air, I pushed my speed while letting my mating bond direct me to Luna.

My animal form wasted no time in locating her. He didn't want to feel the wind gliding along his wings. He wanted to save our mate. That was one benefit about flying, we could more or less go in a straight line. I swooped down in her line of sight, then turned so I latched onto a branch with my feet. She saw me land and hopped over to me on one foot.

"Felix?" I flapped my wings a few times, reaching out with my thumbs. She chuckled and moved closer. Letting go of the branch, I used my claws to hold on to her shirt. I climbed higher until I was looking up into her beautiful eyes. Luna's gentle hands played in my fur before tracing the long bones in my wings. "Oh my god, you're adorable."

Wasn't that what every male wanted to be called. Adorable. I mentally sighed. At least my beast was happy with her hands all over our body.

"And you're huge!"

Now that was a compliment I liked. I nuzzled my face over her breast, my beast showing his affection for her. Her finger slipped behind my ear, gently rubbing. Turning my head, I licked her hand.

"You even have those puppy dog eyes. I don't think I can handle your level of cuteness right now."

Carefully unhooking my thumbs, I leaned back into a falling shift. By the time my feet hit the ground, I was in human form again. Extending my legs, I straightened to my full height until I looked down into her eyes.

"Your hero has arrived." I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her close, giving her a deep kiss.

"I don't think I'll ever get over how amazing it is you can change forms like that. Even though I knew you'd keep your clothes, is it bad if I admit I was hoping you'd be n***d when you shifted?" Luna pulled back. "Wait, does this mean I can call you my bat man?" The smile teasing her lips told me she couldn't help herself.

"Only if you let me save you, then you can see me n***d while my face is between-"

Her hand clapped over my mouth before I could finish. "Not right now." Luna gave me a hot look before it disappeared. "For some reason when you said you were a bat… flying fox, I imagined you as one of those tiny bats like you see on tv. I don't think you'll fit through the window now that I've seen your animal form."

"Then it's a good thing I'm a badass at picking locks."