Page 12 of Pooch Planet

Chapter Five

Benji had shifted into his Chiweenie form to get more comfortable while napping. With his sausage body, he was able to twist his torso into the most extreme positions so he could find that perfect sleeping spot. Once he’d burrowed under the covers and shoved his back against a fluffy pillow, he tucked in his snoot then closed his eyes.

Right away, his thoughts locked on to an image of Antoine. Gorgeous, hunklicious, Alpha-to-the-tenth power, Antoine. He’d push his back up to that gargoyle any day of the week and twice on Dog Day Afternoon. Benji tried to ignore the warning signals in his head, the ones that screamed that whatever attraction they might be feeling would never come to anything.

In which case, he should be hiding from Antoine—not encouraging them to get together.

He wiggled his rump then laid a paw over one eye. Gargoyles were such a mystery to him. Actually, he didn’t know of anyone in his village who’d ever had much experience with one. Did they have fated mates? Was that a gargoyle thing? If it wasn’t, then it was doubtful Antoine was his fated mate anyway. Otherwise, that would be a very mean trick for fate to play on them.

His system was probably just out of whack. He’d likely mistook the tremblings for being something they weren’t. Instead of a signal that his fated mate was triggering his heat naturally, he’d gotten his brain jumbled by the frightening episode, combined with an unusually potent desire for Antoine.

Benji let out a sleepy huff. Yes. That was all it was. He wiggled his butt again but couldn’t get the right pillow-to-ass curve ratio. With an exasperated sigh, he shimmied onto his back, poked up his legs then let his front paws fold down. As his body relaxed, so did his jaw until his underbite went slack, tongue lolling to the side. Sometimes, it was the only way he could fall asleep.

Right when he’d drifted off, he let out a loud snort and woke himself up again. He sneezed three times in a row then got up, shook himself ears to tail, then began the whole process over again. He snuffled in the jumble of covers, scraping his claws along the seams to pull back the blanket, then nosed his way underneath. With another huff, he curled into a ball then closed his eyes.

In what seemed like a second later, Benji burst free from the blankets, barking and growling as a bang, bang, bang invaded his sleep.

“Benji! It’s me, Shep!”

Benji quickly shifted, but it took him a moment to gather his wits. He was one of the quickest around when it came to recovering from a shift, but not so much when he’d been yanked from sleep so abruptly.

“Hold on, let me grab some pants.”

Not that shifters cared all that much about nudity, but for some reason, he felt like it would be weird to hang out alone with another male with no clothes on. Benji tugged on a pair of soft, cotton pants in his favorite color of forest green. After tightening the cords around his waist, he covered the short distance to the door of his one room house located on worker’s row. Most of the single kibble factory workers lived in the same area, since it was all they could afford. But he didn’t mind. He’d be taking off and traveling as soon as he could anyway.

As he undid the latch to his little wooden home, a thread of melancholy hit him at the thought of Antoine leaving Pooch Planet in the near future. On the heels of that, was a reminder to himself that he had no business worrying about where one hot gargoyle was going or what he was doing. It meant nothing to him.

“Nothing at all.”

Benji was met with Shep’s furrowed brow and tilted head.

“What’s nothing at all?”

Did I say that out loud? Benji shook his head. “Just ignore me. I was asleep when you knocked so I’m still all fuzzy.” He pushed the door open all the way to let Shep inside.

“I figured. You’ve always barked like that when you’re startled awake. You used to scare the crap out of my mom when we were kids and you’d spend the night.”

Benji chuckled “Yeah. I don’t know why she put up with me.”

He glanced outside and noted it must be early afternoon already, judging by the position of the solar stars. The way they were situated in relation to the planet kept the temperature fairly mild year-round. Lots of rain, but only once since he’d been born had it been cold enough for there to be frost. On the flip side, it rarely got warm enough to become uncomfortable. But then another thought struck him as he realized the morning had already come and gone.

Why hasn’t Antoine called for me yet?

“It’s not gonna rain, if that’s what you’re wondering.” Shep was digging through Benji’s small pantry. “Oh man. All you have are the compressed meat sticks? Yuck.”

Benji worried his lip as he slowly closed the door. “I haven’t had time to shop.”

He glanced up and noted that Shep wasn’t letting a supposed aversion to treats made of smushed meat parts stop him from chowing down. He was perched on the wooden stool next to the small kitchen counter—which doubled as Benji’s dining area.

“Why didn’t you buzz me at the factory, buddy?” Shep said through a mouthful of food. “I’ve been itching to hear the story about last night. Everyone’s been talking about it all day.” He swallowed then drew his eyebrows together. “You’re not missing an ear.”

Benji blinked several times. “Um, what?”

Shep shoved another stick in his mouth. “Welf, thaf wha ah her.”

Benji scowled at his friend then snatched the treat bag away. “You can have them back right after you tell me what everyone’s saying.”

Shep licked each finger of both hands then smacked his lips. “That’s okay. They’re gross.”