Read Sondrae Bennett - Alpine Woods Shifters 4 for Free Online

airways. After two puffs, she began to feel normal again, even though her face still stung and she’d likely have two huge bruises on her chest and back–one from the cat and one from the ground.
    “You’re okay?” Cody asked, the panic starting to fade from his eyes.
    “Yeah. I still hurt in places, but I’ll live.” She thought about mentioning his unnecessary panic, but was glad she hadn’t brought it up after seeing the relief flooding his eyes. No need to bring it up when it would only put him on the defensive. It had been a tough night.
    “Wait here. I’ll get the first aid kit for your cut.”
    Misty frowned as she watched him walk out of the kitchen. The stinging on the right side of her face became sharper as she focused on it. But was it bad enough to need a first aid kit?
    All of a sudden, Misty didn’t feel quite so confident sitting on Cody’s kitchen counter stark naked. With a tentative hand, Misty reached up to assess the damage. Her breath hissed as she encountered raw flesh. Blood covered the tips of her fingers when she pulled them away.
    That was one way to kill a girl’s self-confidence. She might be naked, but she’d also bled all over the man’s kitchen while ogling him. As if Cody didn’t have enough embarrassing stories about her, she had to add one more.
    “Okay, tell it to me straight. How bad is it?” Misty asked after Cody reappeared carrying some bandages and Neosporin. The question seemed to startle him, and he stared at her cheek for a moment before replying.
    “Uh…”
    The hesitation made Misty groan. “That bad?”
    “No.” The waver in his voice belied the words. “No,” He stated with a firmer tone. “The guy got you pretty good, but it’s already starting to heal. Tomorrow you’ll be good as new, but I want to put something on it to be sure.”
    “I actually think it was the ground.”
    “What?”
    “The gash. I think it’s from sliding on the ground. He tackled my other side. See?” Misty pointed to the darkening spot on her side. “This is where he tackled me. The bruise on my shoulder and gash on my face is from the ground.”
    * * * *
    Cody fought the urge to growl as he examined the wounds on Misty’s pale skin. Everything inside him wanted to find the bastard in the town jail and beat the living crap out of him. The cat might outweigh his fox, but the rage he felt assured him of victory.
    Even though her shift earlier had likely healed some of the damage, the wounds Cody saw would take a couple days to heal completely. Which proved how bad the damage had been.
    Without thought, Cody moved to Misty’s side, his hand bushing the mark on her shoulder where she claimed she’d hit the ground. Blood pooled under the skin, giving the area a bluish tint. By tonight, the area would turn black, and by tomorrow, it would already be yellow. He leaned down and placed a gentle peck above the offended flesh.
    Emotions rioted inside him. He’d almost lost her tonight. If they hadn’t gotten the beast off when they did, or if her asthma attack had been worse… He shuddered. He now understood what it had cost Jason to release the man who’d captured his sister. He’d thought he knew before, but these emotions were much worse than he’d imagined.
    It wasn’t until he leaned away from her shoulder that he realized his hand had been absently stroking her thigh. Her inner thigh. Snatching it back, he cleared his throat and reached for the Neosporin.
    Since the first time they’d met, Cody had always felt a special connection to Misty. Being an only child, he used to fantasize about Misty being his sister. But the feelings crashing through his chest right now didn’t feel very brotherly.
    “I should have insisted you stay at the bar,” he muttered under his breath as he cleaned the gash on her cheek.
    “You aren’t my father, Cody. Besides, who would have guessed a second man lay in wait, or that he’d attack from behind?”
    “We didn’t know what to