Chapter 5

Chapter

Five

THOR

W ith every ride that finished, Thor’s insides wound tighter and tighter. He cheered and groaned along with everyone as he watched the rider and bulls. Mostly, he cheered for the riders, although there were a few bull shifters he was friends with he chose to cheer for instead of their opponents.

Kade’s ride went off without a hitch, giving him a good score after he stayed on for the full eight seconds. The bull shifter he’d gone up against sulked a little but shook Kade’s hand with good grace. He was young; he’d have plenty of time to learn. Ajax managed to stay on for eight seconds as well, barely.

Now, it was Jack’s turn. The youngest of the four of them, he was naturally a good rider but tended to be a bit of a slacker when it came to actually training. So far, he’d been pretty lucky, but Thor had a feeling, today was the day his ego was going to take a bruising.

Unlike Thor, Jack didn’t seem to get the concept of bragging for the audience while staying humble inside. He believed his own hype, whereas Thor was very aware Maddox might win their matchup, which was why he’d phrased his bet with Debbie so carefully.

“Watch out for the twist and kick,” Thor advised as Jack shook out his shoulders. “Clark is fast, and he’s very good at knocking his riders off balance, so he can throw them with that move. You’ll feel the need to lean against him when he twists, but you have to go with his movement, or he’ll be able to buck you off.”

The younger buck rolled his eyes, and Thor had to bite his tongue. His stag snorted, metaphorically pawing at the ground, taking it as a challenge.

Upstart. Teach him respect!

Out of the corner of his eye, Thor saw Kade watching in amusement. They’d both competed against Clark before. It was the most recent time Thor had almost been thrown because of Clarke’s proficiency with that move.

He’s about to learn his lesson the hard way, Thor sent the thought to his buck in a soothing tone. If Jack didn’t, Thor would likely have to let his buck teach Jack a lesson about respect sooner rather than later. The young idiot was getting way too big for his britches, as Thor’s grandma would say. She’d said the same thing about Thor more than once.

“I’ve got this,” Jack said, just barely managing to sound respectful. “Worry about your own ride, Alpha.”

Jack had never been thrown in his career so far, which left him with a very high score average at the moment.His was the last ride before Thor and Maddox faced off. Jack swaggered off to the chute, and Kade and Ajax came up beside Thor to watch.

“Five bucks he stays on,” Ajax said.

Kade snorted. “I’ll take that bet. Easiest money I’ll make.”

They shook hands on it before leaning on the fence with Thor. He didn’t bet—he never did when it was someone from his herd—but privately, he agreed with Kade. While Jack had a lot of natural ability, it had led to laziness in training and overconfidence. The combination was going to be his downfall eventually, and Thor was pretty sure it was today unless there was something going on with Clark he didn’t know about.

The buzzer sounded, and Clark barreled forward, Jack clinging to his back with a big grin on his face.

Four seconds later, the grin was gone as Jack flew through the air, victim to the exact twist and kick Thor had warned him about. He’d leanedagainst the twist instinctively and to his credit, had realized it and tried to change course, but it was already too late.

“Damn,” Ajax sighed, pulling a bill from his pants and slapping it into Kade’s waiting hand. “I thought for sure he’d have that one.”

“That’s because you haven’t competed against Clark directly before,” Kade said with a chuckle, sliding his new money into his pocket. He turned his attention back to Thor, slapping him on the shoulder while Clark did his victory lap, and Jack got to his feet, red-faced and dusting himself off while staring at the ground in frustrated shame. “Go on, Alpha. We’ll make sure the hothead doesn’t do anything rash.”

Thor didn’t have far to go, but he needed the minute or two to clear his head while Clark celebrated before shaking hands with Jack.

Honey badger, his stag said almost dreamily, and Thor shook his head. Yeah, he couldn’t go into this ride thinking about Debbie. His eyes scanned the crowd right before he walked up to the chute, and as if his thoughts had conjured her, his gaze went straight to her as if by magic.

Strangely, it helped him focus instead of the other way around.

He was going to do it. He was going to stay on Maddox for the full eight seconds, get the highest score, and he was going to do it because she was watching.

Debbie

Seeing the young cowboy who rode right before Thor thrown made Debbie’s nerves skyrocket to unprecedented levels. Apparently, he’d been undefeated until now, which she’d learned thanks to the crowd around her. A lot of them seemed to think that was mostly because he wasn’t as experienced, and quite a bit of money changed hands when he was thrown. Some of them had expected that outcome, but it was still daunting.

It didn’t help that the crowd’s excitement amped up once the bull’s victory run around the arena ended, and he shook hands with the cowboy. The very air seemed to change, humming with new anticipation, everyone refocusing on the last chute with an intensity that hadn’t been present for any other ride. The wooden frame of the structure shook, quivering, and the crowd roared... except Debbie, who sucked in a breath, her anxiety spiking so hard, it hurt her stomach.

Attack? Kill? Her animal was confused, trying to figure out what the threat was.

Crap on toast, she needed to get a grip on herself before her honey badger freaked out the same way she was. That was the last thing she needed right now. Taking a deep breath, she reminded herself, so far, not a single shifter had been more than scratched. That helped a little. She didn’t have time to do much else, though, because the announcer was already talking.

“Now, for our main event, Thor versus the undefeated, Mad Maddoooooooox!” He held out the second syllable of the bull shifter’s name the way a soccer announcer announced a goal, and the crowd roared to life, surging to their feet and stomping as they cheered—something they hadn’t done for anyone else.

When the gate to the chute slammed open and the massive bull charged out—Thor looking strangely small on his back—the sound was deafening. Debbie and her cousins were caught up with everyone else, on their feet, screaming and jumping as the bull bucked... heaved... twisted...

She shrieked as Thor’s legs lifted off the bull’s back, but then he was back down again— ouch that looked like it hurt.

In her head, her honey badger was shrieking as well, in its own kind of weird, violently inclined cheer.Apparently, her honey badger was now a fan of the rodeo. It wanted Thor to win as badly as she did, even though it would technically mean she’d lost the bet.

The buzzer sounded.

And Thor went flying through the air just a half-second after, turning the crowd’s shocked and jubilant roar that he’d managed to stay on the whole time to an anxious scream. Debbie’s hands flew to her mouth, her eyes wide as she watched him hit the ground, rolling several feet before he came to a stop.

Attack! Kill!

Her honey badger wanted at the bull so badly, Debbie felt her bones start to creak in anticipation of a shift.

Chill out! She snapped at it.

The animal only sulked for a moment before sighing with relief as Thor got to his feet, a broad grin on his face. Debbie hadn’t thought it was possible for the crowd to get any louder, but she’d been wrong. She screamed right along with them, so loud, her throat hurt.

Thor

When the buzzer sounded, and Thor realized he’d actually stayed on Maddox’s back the whole time, he whooped—and immediately lost his concentration and his balance, laughing as he flew through the air.

I won! I fucking won!

His buck snorted. Of course.

Cocky ass animal.

Hitting the ground, he rolled, still grinning, before leaping to his feet. The screams of the crowd, the bright lights shining down on him, was an adrenaline rush like no other. His stag preened inside his head, loving the adoration.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Maddox approaching, shifted back to human form, his shoulders slumped. The big bull shifter held out his hand, and sympathy surged. It couldn’t be easy, but Maddox was taking his first loss with good grace.

“Hell of a ride, man,” Thor said, clasping the other man’s forearm in a more intimate move than a mere handshake. He could hear the crowd cheering again, loving that both of their heroes were displaying sportsmanship. “You almost had me there.” He didn’t even have to lie. His balls still ached, despite the cup he wore, from the jolt Maddox had given him.

“I know.” A ghost of a smile crossed Maddox’s lips. “Next time.”

Thor laughed. Yeah, a rematch would be a hell of a thing. Especially now that Maddox had something to actually work toward.

They slapped each other on the back with their free hands in a kind of manly half-hug before Maddox turned Thor back toward the stands while he walked off to find some clothes. Thor thrust his fists in the air, giving the crowd the celebratory acknowledgment they wanted.

Already he could see women lining up outside the fence, eyes shiny with interest… but there was only one woman he wanted to see right now.