Clipped Wings: A New Orleans Shifters Novel Read online

  Bending down, I pick them up and hold them in each hand giving him a confused, pissed off look “You owe me a pair of handcuffs.” The asshole had the nerve to laugh at me before heading into the station, “You owe me an apology, and when I get one, you will get your handcuffs.”

  I’m a tall woman, roughly five feet ten inches, but even I had to stretch my stride to keep up with him. “An apology?”, I can feel my face heating up with rage, “You can’t be serious right now,” throwing my arm out behind me and pointing in the direction that the deer was lying dead on the side of the road, “ You owe that poor deer an apology.”

  I could feel the heat of his annoyance radiating off his body as he stopped and took two steps to be right in front of me. Leaning down so I would understand every tight-lipped word that came from his narrowed but perfect mouth, he said, “Listen to me, Ranger. I. Did. Not. Kill. That. Deer.” He pointed in the same direction I just had, “Someone hit the poor thing and left it there to suffer. All I did was put it out of its misery.”

  I’m not able to control the eye roll this time since I wasn’t buying his story, “Sure, sure. Tell it to my supervisor.” Stomping off into the station, I felt like a child who was just told they couldn’t have the chocolate cake for breakfast.

  Upon entering the station, I instructed him to sit his ass in the waiting area while I went in to brief my supervisor on the situation. Knocking on the door and waiting for him to acknowledge my presence, I let him know what I found and how this man was acting.

  Ranger Edward Townsend, my Supervisor looked at me like I had lost my mind, “What is going through your head, Cora?” standing up from his desk, he walks around and leans against the front of it with his arms crossed over his chest, “I’m going to safely assume that you are taking your current frustration out on this man,” unfuckingbelievable.

  Plopping down in the chair across from him, I mimic his arms as I cross my own across my chest, “Oh, you think this is because I wasn’t given that promotion?”

  As he slightly nods his head, “Yes, I do.”

  Huffing at his arrogance, I stand back up and start pacing in frustration. Yes, I was upset that someone with half of my experience and tenure got picked for the promotion over me, but this had nothing to do with the killer sitting out in our waiting area.

  Stopping in front of him and placing both my hands behind my back in very loose parade rest, “Sir, this has nothing to do with being passed over. I am not trying to prove anything, other than this man has violated hunting laws.”

  Ranger Townsend took a deep breath and walked over to his office door, opening it and waving at the deer killer sitting and talking with our receptionist.

  “Come on in, Son.”

  He stood up, flashed Mary, our receptionist, a beautiful smile and gave her a quick wink before heading into the office. Once he was inside, he took an immediate seat against the wall in one of the conference chairs.

  I started to say something to him when Ranger Townsend put his palm up in a stop talking motion and started talking himself, “So, I hear you may have killed a deer out of season,” walking back behind his desk, he sat down in his office chair and folded his arms across his desk, “Is that true?”

  Mr. ‘I didn’t kill a deer’ looked right at my supervisor and straight face while telling him, “Sorta true, but not in the sense that she is making it out to be.”

  This makes my supervisor raise his eyebrows in interest and asked him to explain what happened in his own words.

  He let out a heavy sigh and repeated the whole story to my supervisor, explaining about his motorcycle and how he found the deer a little way down the road already injured and dying a slow painful death. He also explained how he said an old Native prayer and petted the deer’s head as he slid his hunting knife across the deer’s throat to end its life, thus, putting it out of its misery.

  Edward nodded in understanding and stood up to walk over to the door, “Understood, you did the right thing. I’m sorry about all the trouble. ”Glaring at me while he spoke to him, “You’re free to go.” Then opening the door he stepped back to allow him to leave.

  After he walked out, Edward closed the door and stood in front of it with a chastising look, “Cora, you can’t just go around accusing people of poaching.” Shaking his head, he sat back down at his desk and unlocked his computer, “I’m going to make the report that it was a misunderstanding and let you leave here with a warning, understood?”

  Taking a deep, angry breath “Yeah, understood. Am I free to finish my shift?” Without even looking up at me from his typing, Ed nodded his head and motioned with his hand toward the door. I walked over to the door, opened it and walked toward my desk, that man is leaning against it looking smug as hell.

  Standing up as I approach, his smug smile tugs at me in annoyance, “What? Now, what do you want?” I ask him as I stiffly walk around where he is and sit down. He turns around to face me and simply says, “That apology.” Looking at him wide-eyed in disbelief, such arrogance, “I’m still not convinced that you didn’t outright kill that animal and then make up a story to cover your ass,” I unlock my computer and start typing up my report, “And until I am, you will get no apology from me.”

  His lips pinch into that firm line again and narrowing his eyes, he leans down close to make sure I am paying attention to what he is saying, “Oh, I’ll get my apology, one way or another.” Stopping what I was doing and turning to look up at him, my own eyes narrowing in a mix of curiosity and anger, “And what do you mean by that?”

  Shrugging his massive shoulders, he gives me a wink and turns to head toward the entrance of the station without a word. Once I saw that he left the area and wasn’t coming back, I continued writing up my part of the report. Even though Ed said not to, I felt my part of the story needed to also be heard.

  Finishing up my report and locking the computer down, I realize that it’s close to the end of my shift and the urge to work overtime comes over me. I know that’s not what I need to do; I need to hit the gym and train for my next match. I am a local pro kickboxer for the southern United States region. Holding two titles and making headlines nationwide, I am known well around my hometown.

  Not so much here though; I came here to keep a low profile.

  To the ordinary Joe, I look like the average All American woman. They probably think I played basketball in high school because of my height, that I’m younger than I am ( I’m twenty-two) and an all-around ‘good girl’. In my reality, I am a country girl at heart and have always been a huge tomboy. I’d rather be out playing with the boys than hanging with the girls. I feel better with a firearm close by, preferably on my hip, rather than a purse.

  I was born and raised on a farm and worked from when I was old enough to help with the animals until around the age of eighteen, tending every animal we had from early morning until late at night.

  I trained to fight in the barn with another boy my age and then found a professional trainer at a local gym, where I learned that I am a natural at speed and agility. My body is a fighter’s body and it shows. Hell, half the women in this small town think I’m a lesbian, and even though I don’t mind women sometimes, I do prefer a good strong man. There’s just something about being circled in huge, muscular arms at night.

  The attraction I felt to this tall, dark and handsome stranger threw me off guard, which is one of the reasons I acted as I did. I know it wasn’t professional but trying to keep yourself in check while he is looking at you with those inquisitive and smoldering eyes, takes a whole lot of damn discipline. Something I’m good at is self-discipline, it has been ingrained into my head since I was six. I’ve always been in one form of martial arts or another.

  I’m half tempted to try and find out where he’s staying so I can swing by with the information where his bike is, although all he’d have to do is call the station to find out specifics.

  I need to get my head back in the game, I know deep down he had nothing to do with
the initial pain that the deer went through, it was just a horrible accident and the person who hit that animal is the piece of shit who needs to be roundhouse kicked right to the face.

  ∆∆∆

  Chapter 3

  Kangee

  Once I got outside the station, I stood there for a few minutes trying to control my annoyance at this woman who has already decided who I am, even though she has no idea. What would she think if she knew that I was not human? Would she retreat and never talk to me again? I am an animal, in more than one sense of the word. I don’t take other animals’ lives like I said, unless it’s for survival or that said animal is in pain and there’s nothing else, we can do but end their precious life, such as this deer’s life.

  I hear an engine coming up the path and decide to wait it out before heading back down that same path and into the woods so I could shift to my Raven and take flight. There’s something about being in the air and gliding in the wind that helps calm the old nerves. Funny enough, it was another Park Ranger vehicle. The Ranger pulled right into the parking spot close to where I was standing, rolled down the window and leaned out, “Hey man, you need a ride back into town?”

  It was a quick decision to take him up on it since I wanted to find out all I could about this Cora before our next interaction. I just had a feeling that this was the beginning of many interactions with her. “Sure, that would be wonderful, thanks.”

  He reached over and unlocked the passenger side door. Geesh, manual huh? Must be an older truck. Sitting on the passenger side of the old truck, I extend my hand in a normal human fashion, “Hi, I’m Kangee.” The ranger looked at me, my hand and then finally decided to grab it in a shake, “Nice to meet you, Kangee. I’m Colin.

  Where are you headed?”

  Knowing that the ski cabins were only about a 15-minute drive down the hill, I was going to have to make the most of this time. “I’m staying at those little cabins at the bottom of the hill.” Colin nodding his head pulled out of the parking spot and started to head down the gravel path to the main road.

  “So Colin, what’s the story on Cora?” Colin laughed and looked at me to see if I was serious or not, “Oh, you’re serious. Ok.” He chuckled again as he rolled down his window and pulled out a small vape device, “Do you mind?”

  “No man, you do you,” I said knowing that those things aren’t as bad as cigarettes,

  Colin took a big hit off the thing and the truck filled up with the scent of berries.

  That’s the funny thing about vapers, they could be the biggest, badest, hard ass and you walk around the corner to find them with a fluffy cloud of fruit surrounding them.

  “Well, gimme the four-one-one, man,” I ask, looking out the window so I don’t look like I’m interested in the woman. I want it to look like I could care less. “I’m just asking in case I have to have another encounter with her.”

  Colin takes another, smaller hit and blows the smoke out his window, “She’s a bonafide hard ass, man. Born and raised on a farm, she spent most of her childhood being homeschooled, and she was in some sort of martial arts program and a farmhand. When she became an adult, she started training to be a kickboxer and holds a couple of titles statewide.” Taking another hit of his vape he blows the smoke out the wide-open window.

  My mind is blown, my jaw feels like its hanging open and I take moment to shut my mouth before opening it again, “Well. That makes so much more sense.”

  Colin laughs and nods his head in understanding, “Yah, she acts tough though, so most of the men in this area fear her.”

  I had a feeling that he wasn’t one of them and to know so much about her, they must have been close at one point or still are. Feeling like I needed more, my curiosity got the best of me, “I’m going to be that asshole and assume that you two are close?” Why do I feel jealous when he hasn’t even answered me yet? The better question was, why did I feel jealous at all? I hush my rambling mind while waiting for Colin to answer.

  Colin snorted and choked on the sip of soda that he just took when I asked the question; looked over at me with curiosity in his eyes, “We dated. Why do you want to know all of this?” I could feel my chest get tight with feelings that I didn’t want to even feel right now, that woman was aggravating. I wanted to throttle her pretty neck about as bad as I wanted to pull her into my arms.

  Shrugging so I didn’t look like I was more interested than I was I answered, “As I said in case I have another encounter with her. Just trying to figure out why she was being such a hard head earlier, that’s all.” Coming around one of the last bends before reaching the bottom of the hill, I had one more question that I needed answered. Colin looked at me, waiting for me to speak, “Can you locate which tow yard or mechanic that she had my Harley towed to?”

  Colin nodded and pulling out his cell, swiped it open and called into the station.

  A few minutes later, he popped the cell back into the center console and pulled into the cabin parking lot, “It’s down the street and to your left about five miles. A little place called ‘Knight’s Auto Body’ run by a cat named Jesse.”

  I thanked him for the ride as I exited the truck and looked over at the little restaurant that they have on-site to see if it was open. I was starving suddenly, and they have pretty good food for being a little hole in the wall. There was still staff in there this late, I went in and ordered a cheeseburger and fries to go and waited at the little bar that sits off to the side. After they brought my to-go box out, I paid, tipped and made my way back to my little cabin in the back of the complex. Deciding to call the mechanic in the morning since it was so late, I ate my dinner while watching horrible TV and passed out cold still in my clothes.

  I woke up to birds singing morning songs and the smell of fresh rain outside my window.

  Reaching over to where I tossed my phone and checking the time, I realized that I slept in longer than I should have and looked up the number to the body shop.

  After only a few rings, a friendly male voice answers the phone, “Knight’s, this is Jesse.” I could tell by the sound of his voice that he was younger, probably close to my age if not just a bit older than me, “Hi Jesse, my bike was towed in last evening. I’m calling to find out the status.”

  I can hear him typing on the computer, “Ah, yes, the jacked-up ’94 VR. I don’t carry Harley parts normally, so I’ll have to order those special for you once I figure out what is wrong with it. It can take a few weeks to get the parts shipped out here.”

  A few weeks! I’m stunned that it’s going to take that long for parts, “Shit, alright man.” I give him my contact number and where I’m staying and ask him to contact me with any information or updates that he may have. Jesse assures me that he will, and we disconnect.

  Fuck. Now, what am I going to do? Need to figure out a legal way to make money for however long I’m going to be stuck here in this little town.

  Walking back down to the restaurant, they have all kinds of tourist pamphlets, I’ll start with those. I grab a handful and a cup of coffee and head back to my cabin.

  I can go to every one of them and apply for work. Choosing the ski lift for my first target, I jump into the shower and make sure I look presentable then head up that way.

  Only thing is, it’s back up where I was last night and with no vehicle to get up there, I’m either going to have to hike the six or seven miles straight up a hill, or get far enough up and into the woods so I can shift and fly. Flying is always the best option. Locking up the cabin and making sure I have everything I need; I start the walk toward the ski lifts. Once I am sure there are no cars around, I make a mad dash for the woods.

  Shifting into my Raven form is wonderful, not only because I can fly, but also because I don’t mess up any clothes that I’m wearing. Unlike some of my buddies who are bigger forms of animals, for example, Gage in his wolf form. When Gage shifts, he has to strip down to almost nothing, so his wardrobe doesn’t get ruined. Otherwise, he’d be buying new clothes e
very day.

  Taking a few steps and then stretching my huge wings out, I take a minute to just feel the raven stretch out. It feels so good to be in this form, I take off into the sky.

  Going up to about ten thousand feet and then swooping down and doing it again. It’s such a feeling of satisfaction and excitement. Spotting the ski lift I scan for an area to land so I can shift back into human form.

  Finding a patch of a wooded area not too far off the parking lot, I land there and quickly change forms.

  Walking into the main office, I ask the cute girl behind the counter if they are hiring and if so, where to apply. She sweetly hands me an application and tells me if I fill it out now, more than likely they will hire me on the spot. So, finding a seat outside on the patio, I fill out the long-ass application. About forty-five minutes later and two very informative interviews, I have a position here at the ski lifts.

  Well, this will keep me busy with money in my pocket for the next however long my ass is stuck here. Plus, I get benefits, something I’ve never had before. I don’t know, I think I may just stick around for a while in this small one-horse town and make it my own.