Mouse and the Ball (FUC Academy) Read online

  MOUSE AND THE BALL

  FURRY UNITED COALITION NEWBIE ACADEMY

  C.D. GORRI

  Copyright © 2022, C.D. Gorri

  Cover Art © 2022 Dreams2Media

  Produced in Canada

  An EveL Worlds Production : www.worlds.EveLanglais.com

  Edited by BookNookNuts

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

  This story is a work of fiction and the characters, events and dialogue found within the story are of the author's imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, either living or deceased, is completely coincidental.

  No part of this book may be reproduced or shared in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including but not limited to digital copying, file sharing, audio recording, email and printing without permission in writing from the author.

  CONTENTS

  Acknowledgments

  Author’s Note

  Introduction

  Prologue

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Epilogue

  An Unofficial Glossary & Acronym Appendix

  Jersey Sure Shifters

  About the Author

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  Special thanks to the incomparable Eve Langlais for permitting me to write in her amazing FUCN’A world. I am thrilled to be offered the privilege of writing for EveL Worlds, and I sincerely hope you will love my Jersey Sure Shifters!

  * * *

  del mare alla stella,

  * * *

  C.D. Gorri

  AUTHOR’S NOTE

  Hello, Amazing Readers!

  * * *

  Thank you so much for grabbing my latest FUC Academy story. I have been a fan of this world since day one and am honored to be allowed to write for the super awesome Eve Langlais! I hope you enjoy the snakish Dr. Damon Finn and his beautiful mouse shifter mate who is determined to stand on her own feet!

  * * *

  Happy reading!

  * * *

  Xoxo,

  C.D. Gorri

  INTRODUCTION

  An independent mouse and a ball python with an insatiable urge to protect his main squeeze. Will Wasabi Wednesdays prove too hot for these two to handle?

  * * *

  As the youngest of seven sisters and one devil of a brother, Julietta DiCarlo is sick of being told what to do by her older, more annoying siblings. After being rescued from SCARAB, where she was held by a madman who wanted to “cure the shifter disease,” Julietta is grateful to be safe. Especially when she meets her mate in one sexy, blond doctor.

  * * *

  Except, Dr. Hot Stuff turns out to be just another bossy pants! Tired of being treated to the rough side of Dr. Damon Finn’s tongue, Julietta decides it’s time for this little mouse to stand up for herself. There’s only one place she can accomplish that. FUC Academy!

  * * *

  If the ball wants this mouse, he’s going to have to prove that he's not another snake in the grass.

  Does this premise and world seem familiar? That’s because it is based off the Eve Langlais Furry United Coalition. Eve Langlais has invited her author friends to come and play in her world. To find out more, visit worlds.EveLanglais.com.

  PROLOGUE

  A few months ago...

  Julietta DiCarlo was unloading her groceries when a noise startled her from behind.

  Squeak!

  She turned around, nose twitching as she scanned the area for intruders. Her older brother, Tony, had taught her how to be prepared and to defend herself from any unwanted attention.

  Too bad he didn’t tell her how to avoid being shot with a tranquilizer gun at thirty yards.

  “Fuck,” she groaned, staring at the yellow tufted dart sticking out of her arm before a few others joined it and her vision blurred.

  She just hoped someone got the milk out of the Jeep before it started to stink.

  Some days or weeks later…

  Julietta coughed and moaned. She had no idea how long it had been since she’d been taken by the crazy-ass dude who called himself a doctor. She’d just come home from her shift at her parents’ store with a car full of groceries when she’d been ambushed.

  All those lessons on being aware of her surroundings and learning self-defense from her adopted brother, PRIC detective Tony Leeds, couldn’t protect her against half a dozen tranquilizers shot from a distance. What the heck did they think she was? A rhino or something?

  When she thought of the hours she’d spent getting her ass handed to her on the training mat in their basement, icing her bruises every night only to do it again the next morning, despite her mother’s protests, Julietta could have cried.

  All that wasted energy! Squeak!

  At least it gave her endurance. Heck, the way she felt now it was as if she’d gone a couple of rounds with that old training dummy that still sat in the basement of the DiCarlos’ Philadelphia home.

  The last time she’d felt this bad her oldest sister had infected her and the whole family after she’d brought a mild form of hantavirus home from a safari she’d gone on in Africa. But the beautiful artwork she’d returned with had totally been worth it.

  Still, Julietta’s head ached. Her muscles ached. In fact, her whole body felt beat up, tired, and worn out. No wonder, cramped as she was in the small animal crate they’d left her in.

  There were two of them. The doctor and the one he called Harrison. The latter was something odd indeed. She could have sworn she saw sympathy in his eyes once or twice. But it was difficult to look past the large plastic prosthetic he wore over the beetle-shaped hole in his face where his nose used to be. He smelled like a shifter, but not. Like he was tainted somehow. Like the food they fed her.

  She’d tried to resist. Really, she had, but it was hard when you went countless days, or was it weeks, with no nourishment. The madman had left earlier that day with a salute that was both odd and menacing.

  Julietta tried to take a breath, started coughing, and suddenly she knew why. The bastard had been saying goodbye. He’d left her there for dead!

  Smoke filtered in through the closed door, and she started to panic. Thick and dark, it stung her eyes and choked her as she tried to lay low, flat against the metal bottom of the crate.

  That was where the cleaner air would be, she knew from all those fire drills in grammar school. Still, it wasn’t enough. Julietta felt faint, her eyes closed, and she drifted away toward the unending darkness that seemed to want her.

  What a waste! I’m was too young to die. Not even thirty. Unmated. Career-less. No, this can’t be it!

  When she thought of all the fresh-baked cheesecake she’d refused to eat, all in an attempt to shed some stupid weight, Julietta could’ve screamed.

  What a terrible irony if this was her end! Oh, the waste! Idiotic dieting! Denying her mouse the joy of her mother’s homemade four cheese ravioli!

  The perfect little dumplings were a blend of ricotta, impassata, fresh mozzarella, and grated pecorino romano cheeses with a hint of salt, pepper, and parsley.

  Sad squeak.

  Why had she tried so hard to conform to society’s idea of beauty, anyway? Julietta was perfectly happy with her plumpness. Sh
e did not mind at all that her butt was big, her hips round, her belly soft, and her thighs thick.

  And what a cliché she was! Thinking about her body and food in her last moments of life. But what else was there, really? What else did she have?

  Her family, of course. Mama and Papa would be terribly sad. Her sisters would divvy up her clothes and jewelry.

  Julietta’s life was one boring day after another. She still lived with her parents, worked for them, and listened when they told her to shed her dreams of being a detective like her big brother.

  After all, she was just a weak, chubby little mouse who needed looking after. Didn’t this prove it? Here she was kidnapped and left for dead by the hooligans who’d decided she was more trouble than she was worth. At least Tony would hunt down these bastards and give them what they deserved.

  Faint squeak.

  Why hadn’t she dated more? She’d certainly been asked more than a few times. But, no, she did not have a boyfriend and no man that came to mind.

  Nope. She was thinking about cheesecake and ravioli. There was no Romeo waiting in the wings for this Julietta. She was going to die as she lived. Alone.

  Boring. Predictable. Nevertheless, boring.

  She’d had such high hopes, too, for her life. Julietta always was a spunky brat. She was forever following her big brother around. She wanted to be a detective just like him, or something else just as grand. Anything other than another DiCarlo sister working at Mama’s & Papa’s Grocery Store in downtown Philly.

  What happened to all that spirit she used to have? What happened to her dreams? How could Julietta allow herself to end this way?

  Barely thirty, with no one in her life who was even worth trying to stay alive for. Aside from her family, of course. Tony would look for her, for sure.

  But would her big brother find her in time? She should try to hang on. Really, she should. But she was so tired, and the air was so very thick with smoke. Maybe if she just closed her eyes and rested for a bit…

  Weak squeak.

  Julietta barely felt it when she was pulled from the crate and carried outside to safety. Her eyes opened briefly, and she saw a huge man with shaggy brown hair carrying her.

  Thanks, she thought, unable to speak, right before she lost consciousness again.

  1

  After her rescue, Julietta slipped back into her mind to avoid the pain of her body. Flashbacks of her youth played like a reel on an old home movie system.

  “I want to go too!” Julietta DiCarlo, the youngest of the family, pouted and stomped her little patent-leather-shoe-clad feet.

  “You can’t, Julietta. Basta! Enough!” Mama said, raising her voice as she did so rarely toward her pups.

  Papa came in frowning and sat Julietta down at the kitchen table. Her legs were so short they did not touch the ground, even though she’d turned ten weeks ago.

  “What is all this noise, little mouse?”

  “I want to go with Tony. He’s going to be a detective, and I want to be one, too.”

  “I see, I see. Tell me, are you like Tony?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Tony is not a mouse, is he? He is big and strong, able to take care of himself.”

  “I can take care of myself!”

  “I know, little mouse, but not yet, eh? You are still soft and small.”

  “But I can so take care of myself.”

  “Oh my littlest pup, you have the heart of a lion, eh? But it would break your mama’s and papa’s hearts if you left us.”

  “Okay,” she’d muttered, feet swinging more slowly. Even then, she knew when she was defeated.

  “Okay? Good! Now help Mama with the inventory list for the store, okay? That is how you can help today.”

  “Yes, Papa.”

  The misty movie-like dreams faded, and Julietta opened her eyes slowly. The walls were a clinical green color, and the lights were far too bright. She squinted against them until they were obstructed by a very large head of garishly red hair.

  “Miss? Miss?”

  Was she in some kind of hospital? The bed and tubes sticking out everywhere would certainly suggest so. The redheaded woman pursed her lips. Her nametag read Nurse Mabel. She stood on one side of the bed, an annoyed expression on her face. On the other side was a tall, nicely built, and, yes, very handsome man. He was frowning down at some kind of tablet in his large, manicured hands.

  “Ex-excuse me,” Julietta mumbled, her throat unbearably dry.

  Steel eyes darted to her, the man’s face pinched and focused. With concern? She hardly knew. Trying to sit up, she was shocked when he placed one large hand on her shoulder and pressed her down gently onto the bed.

  “Don’t get up or talk just yet,” he said in a commanding voice.

  But it was his touch she was more concerned with. Julietta felt as if sparks of electricity were zipping up and down her arm from that tiniest of contacts. Her inner mouse, whom she hadn’t heard from in days, was squeaking up a storm, but her thoughts were unclear.

  “Ice chips, Nurse Mabel, if you please,” he said to the woman.

  Julietta watched as annoyance flashed across her face. On closer inspection, the female had a ton of makeup on, and even more hairspray than Julietta thought safe around the various machinery and tons of electrical outlets.

  Surely, that stuff was flammable? After her near-miss, she was a bit cautious about the whole getting-stuck-in-a-blazing-building thing. Maybe the nurse had a side job at a dance club or something, Julietta pondered.

  “Yes, Dr. Finn, right away,” the nurse said, leaning over to display her ample cleavage before running off to fetch her ice.

  A flash of jealousy went through Julietta, surprising her into a coughing fit. That was new and unexpected. Why the heck should she be jealous of him? He was a stranger!

  “Here now, let me help you sit up,” the man, Dr. Finn, said.

  Again he touched her, and she felt all sorts of strangeness at the contact, but she allowed it. Helpless as she was to refuse. Her coughing subsided after a few more seconds, but she hadn’t realized tears were running down her face until he wiped them.

  It felt strange, but nice, that he was caring for her. She tried to reach out to her mouse to get a closer look. Her wee beastie was great at sniffing out people and their intentions. Where the heck was her mouse, anyway?

  She felt her, faintly, in the back of her mind. That was odd. Maybe the critter is still tired, she thought, frowning a little in disappointment.

  “All right? Now, if you just follow my instructions, I’ll have you good as new in no time at all,” he murmured, and Julietta was hypnotized by that singular stare of his.

  “Where am I?” she whispered, her voice harsh after who knew how many days of not having been used.

  “You’re in HOLE. It stands for Home Office for Life-threatening Emergencies. My name is Damon Finn. I’m a doctor.”

  He spoke gently, covering her trembling hand with his big one. The gesture might have been odd, but suddenly, her mouse, so far away and yet so close, seemed to like it. Her tiny counterpart was encouraging Julietta to turn her own hand around and grasp his tightly.

  “Did you save me?” she asked, wondering at the fact he allowed her to hold on to him.

  Maybe it was just him being kind? Whatever the reason, she couldn’t make herself let go.

  “Um, no, that was a PRIC, name of Sergio Gravino. The second they found out about the explosion and knew that shifters were involved, we were called on scene to help with any possible injuries. Good thing too, Miss DiCarlo. You were suffering from smoke inhalation.”

  “Oh,” she replied, trying not to squirm under his stare.

  “I have some things I’d like to discuss with you,” Dr. Finn began, but before he could say anything further, the curtain opened with a sharp clinking of the metal hooks.

  Julietta noticed then that this HOLE was set up like a triage center, almost more like a tent than an actual hospital. The e
quipment seemed new and modern, and it certainly was cozy and clean. An interesting concept for sure.

  “Doctor? Here are your ice chips.” Nurse Mabel had returned, and her eyes flashed daggers at Julietta when she saw their hands still joined.

  “They’re for the patient,” he corrected.

  “Oh, yes, silly me. Here you go.”

  Nurse Mabel’s lips pursed, eyes narrowing in on their hands. Julietta knew before the cup made contact that the woman was going to try something. Of course she did. A feigned trip that had the nurse spilling the cup of ice all over Julietta.

  Squeak!

  The next few weeks were more of the same treatment from the redhead, and Julietta had just about had it. There were only two things keeping her around.

  One, they still didn’t know what SCAR, the organization responsible for her kidnapping, had done to her. And two, she was starting to believe that Dr. Finn was more than just her doctor.

  In fact, Julietta had the sneaking suspicion that he might well be her one. He was so very professional and straightlaced, but she noticed he took more time with her than with his other patients.