“Well, well—you’re quite a little fighter, aren’t you?” Her captor sounded amused. “Don’t worry, witch. I’m not going to hurt you—yet.”
His words seemed to unlock something inside Jo—something that had been growing slowly since the last full moon. Just as she had at the coffee shop, she felt a tingling start in her fingertips.
You bastard, let’s see how you like this!
Reaching back with her free hand, she planted it firmly against her attacker’s torso and concentrated on shooting the energy out at him, deliberately using her new power for the first time.
The man grunted and jerked, as though he’d been punched. But her attacker never loosened his grip on her wrist, though his hand did slip from her mouth.
“Leave me alone! Get off me!” Jo shouted, ramming an elbow back against his midsection.
He gave another grunt and pulled her closer, nearly breaking her wrist in the process.
“Mouthy little bitch!” he snarled in her ear. “And strong too. Good thing I invested in some anti-magic gloves or that last blast would have thrown me.”
“Anti . . . anti-magic?” Jo panted.
He laughed harshly. “You think I’d come against you unprepared? Hell, with your Shifter blood you’re the most powerful witch in the country right now—you should be, anyway, if that fucking Fox has bred you.”
“Wh-what?” Jo shook her head, still tugging against the cruel, gloved hand encircling her wrist. “Reese never . . . I wouldn’t . . .”
“He hasn’t bred you yet?” Her attacker shook her so roughly Jo’s teeth clicked together on the tip of her tongue and she tasted warm blood.
“I . . . no!” she gasped. “No he . . . he never . . .”
The man shook her again, angrily.
“What the hell is wrong with you, you little bitch? After that lust spell you worked and the Juvie scent you’re putting out, he ought to be all over you! There ought to be a baby planted in your belly by now and you’re telling me he hasn’t even fucked you yet?”
“Get your hands off my female!” The low growling voice was familiar and Jo felt a stab of relief.
Reese! Oh, thank the Goddess.
He was standing there, having come up silently while her attacker was shouting at her and shaking her, Jo guessed. His eyes were glowing a pale gold and there was murder on his face.
“Let . . . her . . . go,” he snarled, reaching for the man.
Jo’s attacker laughed and took a step back, dragging Jo with him.
“Or what? You’ll turn into an itty-bitty fox and nibble my ankle? I’ve seen your animal form—hell, a Pekinese is scarier than that.”
“I’ll nibble a hell of a lot more than your ankle, asshole. I’m going to fuck you up!”
The last word ended in a roar and then Reese was changing . . . Shifting under the moonlight before Jo’s eyes.
But he wasn’t transforming into the tiny, cute creature Jo had come to love so much. Instead of shrinking down and having to wiggle out of his jeans and t-shirt as he usually did, Reese burst out of his clothes as he Shifted.
The familiar red coat and white ruff appeared, as did his pointed muzzle and black-edged ears. But they were on a much larger scale than before. His mass doubled and then tripled as he grew and grew until he was bigger than any of the dire wolves that had chased Jo that first night in the forest.
She stared at the huge Fox, her eyes widening in fear. He wasn’t so cute and cuddly anymore. In fact, he was freaking terrifying. Eyes as big as baseballs glowed gold and green in the darkness and when he bared his teeth, Jo saw they were sharply pointed and as long as her hand. The huge, leonine head swung toward her attacker and a low, rumbling growl came from his shaggy throat.
“Holy shit!” the man who had grabbed her breathed in Jo’s ear. “What the fuck?” His grip on her wrist, which had been so tight she’d been afraid he might break her arm, suddenly loosened.
The giant Fox took a step forward, its menacing growl still rising into the cold autumn air. Jo didn’t know which she was more afraid of—the man who’d grabbed her or this immense, wild beast which bore almost no resemblance to the cute, fluffy animal she’d been cuddling with for over a week.
With a cry, she ripped away from her attacker and dashed through the woods. Away, she had to get away from here! From the Fox, the attacker, from this whole situation.
She heard a hoarse cry and a crunching sound like boots on dry leaves and knew her attacker was running too. There was a blood-curdling sound—a howl that was half scream which sent another shiver of fear down her spine—and she knew the Fox must be in pursuit.
But in pursuit of who? Who was the man who had almost kidnapped her and how had he known so much about her?
Jo didn’t have time to think about it at the moment.
She ran blindly, not sure what else to do, crashing through the forest as branches whipped her in the face and dead leaves crunched under her feet. Only one thought pounded in her brain over and over—Have to get away from here! Have to get away!
She wasn’t paying any attention to where she was running—the only direction she cared about was away. She ran for what felt like forever but finally she was forced to stop because she literally couldn’t go on anymore.
Jo staggered to a stop under a tree, her breath tearing in her lungs as she heaved in great gasps of air. She put a hand to her chest and tried to still her galloping heart,
All right—it’s all right, she told herself. Her attacker was gone and so was the giant Fox. And thanks be to the Goddess, the Shadow Creature hadn’t shown up. She was all alone in the forest at night but that was fine—the main thing was the “alone” part.
Still . . . where was she? Jo looked around, searching for the familiar golden glow of Reese’s back porch light. She couldn’t see anything but blackness and trees and moonlight. The house was completely out of sight and with it gone, her sense of direction in the dark forest was nonexistent.
Before, when she’d been alone and on her own, she’d been able to work little directional spells to give her an idea of where to go. But all her Casting equipment was back at Reese’s house.
Not that I’m sure I want to go back there! she thought with a shiver, remembering the massive beast he’d turned into. How could he pretend all this time that he was little and cute and cuddly when he had an animal bigger than a dire wolf inside him?
She felt betrayed . . . lied to and hurt. Also scared. What was she going to do? What if her attacker got away from the Fox and came back? Or what if the Fox came and found her? What would she do? She knew deep down that the huge beast was still just Reese inside but still, it was a hell of a lot scarier than his cute little form.
At last, unsure of what else she could do, Jo started walking just to keep warm. There was nothing else she could do. She was out in the middle of the forest with no way to find her way back.
There was no sugarcoating it—she was lost.
* * *
Reese nosed through the underbrush, smelling for traces of Jo’s sweet scent. He had chased her attacker as far as he could and then the male had somehow suddenly disappeared. How he had done it, Reese didn’t know. One minute the man was there, racing just ahead with Reese hot on his heels and the next minute he was gone—vanished into thin air.
He sniffed around some, trying to find the scent again but it had also disappeared. Reese’s Fox didn’t like that—it didn’t make sense. But at last he realized that the attacker was gone for good and Jo had been left alone in the forest.
Alone . . . sudden fear stabbed at him. What if the man had only been a distraction—a diversion so that someone else could grab Jo? It was a complicated concept to grasp in his animal form but once he had it, Reese was terribly frightened it might be true.
Jo! Have to find Jo! Have to make sure she’s safe!
The chase had led him deep into the woods and he had no idea what direction Jo had gone in. He hoped she’d headed back for the house??
?if she hadn’t been grabbed, Goddess forbid. But when he finally found the place where the attack had first taken place, he could tell by the scents that lingered in the cool night air that she hadn’t gone back home. There was no sign of her but her scent trail led deeper into the forest.
Reese stayed in Fox form—it was much easier to track her that way. Putting his nose down to the forest floor, he scented for her, following the smell of her long hair and the rubber of her little tennis shoes but most of all, the warm, enticing aroma of a Juvie in heat. He just hoped no other Alpha Shifter was out tonight in the woods—Jo’s scent would lead them right to her.
Have to find her, he thought anxiously. Have to make sure she’s all right—that she’s safe. She’s mine to protect—mine to guard. Mine!
* * *
Jo didn’t know how long she wandered or where she was going. At first she was afraid her attacker or the Shadow Creature might show up again. But after a while, she just concentrated on keeping warm. It had gotten a great deal colder in the week since she’d come to Reese’s house and the two sweaters and thin jeans she had on weren’t nearly enough protection against the icy wind which howled through the trees like an uneasy ghost.
Goddess, I’m freezing! Have to keep going.
Jo knew it was true. It was plenty cold enough out here to die from exposure or hypothermia. If she stopped to lay down, as she desperately wanted to do, she might never get back up again.
Her arms wrapped around herself, as she staggered forward doggedly.
Just keep putting one foot in front of the other, she told herself grimly. Just keep—
Something caught the toe of her shoe—probably a root. With a little cry, she pitched forward, the dark ground coming up to meet her with no warning.
Jo tried to put out her hands to try and stop her fall but she’d had them tucked under her armpits for warmth and her fingers tangled in the loose cable knit of her sweater. Before she knew it, something hard hit her in the side of the head.
She gave a sharp cry and knew no more.
Chapter Eleven
Jo woke up to feel something warm and wet bathing her face.
“Hey . . .” She tried to push the thing away and then touched the place where it had been rubbing. Her right temple ached fiercely but not the way it usually did when she needed Reese’s touch, she thought blurrily. It was more of a stabbing pain than the dull throbbing she was used to.
The warm, wet something came back, rubbing gently over the sore spot on her temple. Jo winced away from it.
“Hey,” she protested again. “What . . . who . . . ?”
At last she came more awake and opened her eyes . . . only to see the face of the enormous Fox bending over her, nearly blotting out the moonlight.
“Ahhh!” Jo sat up so suddenly a sharp bolt of pain stabbed through her injured head. She tried to scramble away in the dead leaves but the Fox was having none of it. Lithe as a big cat, he leaped in front of her, blocking her way. Then he curled his big body around her, making himself into a round, furry donut with her in the center.
Jo froze, uncertain what to do. She felt trapped—caught in a living net. She stared fearfully at the Fox’s big eyes, which still glowed gold in the moonlight. He simply returned her look, however, and then put his head down on his paws, almost as though he was trying to appear less threatening.
“R . . . Reese?” she ventured at last.
The Fox looked at her and raised its head long enough to give a single, firm nod.
“So it is you,” Jo said. “I mean, of course it’s you. I saw you change.” She remembered the way he’d ripped out of his clothing, doubling and trebling in size as he Shifted. “But you’re the wrong size,” she continued. “You’re supposed to be little and fuzzy and cute.”
The Fox turned his eyes up to her and sighed deeply, his entire furry body moving with the gesture.
“Yes, I guess you’re right,” Jo said reluctantly. “Little and cute wouldn’t have scared off that bastard who attacked me.”
The Fox made a low growling sound in his shaggy throat but Jo somehow knew it wasn’t directed against her.
“Yes, he was an asshole,” she said in agreement. “Did you catch him?”
The Fox made a soft whining sound and shook his head from side to side—no.
“Damn.” Jo frowned. “I would have liked to know who he was and what the hell he wanted with me.”
The Fox whined again.
“It’s okay,” Jo told him. “You did your best and you showed up when it counted. I don’t know where I might be right now if . . . if you hadn’t come when you did.” The reality of the attack seemed to hit her all over again and a sob rose in her throat. Jo swallowed it down as best she could even though her eyes were stinging with tears. “Thank you,” she whispered to the fox.
He whined softly again and his long pink tongue came out to bathe her face.
Jo gave him a small, tentative smile and reached out hesitantly to stroke between the huge animal’s ears—this was something he loved, at least in his smaller form.
Sure enough, the Fox’s eyes nearly closed with pleasure and he made a soft, approving sound in his throat somewhere between a purr and a growl.
“You like that, boy? Hmm?” Jo scratched harder, using both hands to reach around the bases of his huge, furry ears.
She was beginning to feel more comfortable with the immense animal now. After all, it was still Reese in his Fox form, just scaled up—way, way up. And she often talked to the Fox this way during the hour she spent with him before bedtime each night.
But as much as she enjoyed spending time with the Fox, they couldn’t sit here in the dark forest all night.
“Reese,” she said. “We can’t stay out here—we need . . . need to go back home.” The word seemed to stick in her throat. Home—she had to admit Reese’s big old house had begun to feel like her home too, not just a place she was staying for a while.
“Well?” she said to the Fox when it didn’t move. “Why are we just sitting here?”
In answer, he twitched his soft, bushy tail, which was almost as big as a blanket, so that it covered her shivering body.
“Oh . . .” Jo cuddled down under the soft, warm fur. “You want to warm me up first, before we go?”
The Fox nodded. Then he whined gently and lifted his head to lap gently at her right temple with his long tongue.
“Ouch!” Jo winced. “I must have hit my head when I tripped on a root and fell. But I’m all right now—not dizzy at all,” she told the Fox.
He seemed to give her an appraising look and Jo marveled at how expressive his face was, even in animal form. She could almost see him weighing her words, considering if he thought she was well enough to travel. At last, he nodded.
“Good. Then let’s go.” Jo started to get to her feet, but the world seemed to spin around her. “Whoa . . .”
She reached for a nearby tree trunk but the Fox’s broad back insinuated itself under her hand instead. Then he nudged her thighs and looked at her.
“What?” Jo asked him as he nudged her again. “I wish you could Shift back to human for a second and just tell me what you want.”
To her surprise, the Fox began to shrink and change, its orange-red pelt, so like the color of her own hair, disappearing as reddish-brown hair with a slight curl appeared atop his head. In a matter of five seconds, Reese was standing there naked.
“God it’s cold!” he muttered, rubbing his hands together and blowing on them.
“Oh!” Jo was surprised and a little uneasy—he was so big and naked and male standing there in front of her. The sexual tension, which she never felt when he was in his Fox form, suddenly filled her body with longing. “I never,” she started. “I mean, I didn’t mean you had to—”
“Look, let’s make this quick,” Reese interrupted her. “I’d like to know why the hell you were out in the forest in the middle of the night—were you running away because of what happened between us?
”
“No,” Jo denied quickly. “No, I—”
“We’ll talk about it later,” Reese cut her off. “It’s fucking cold out here in human form—especially with no clothes on.”
“All right,” Jo said at once, glad to put off that particular discussion. “Then Shift back to your Fox form—your little Fox form—and lead me home. Um, back to your house, I mean.”
“It’s your house too, darlin’, as long as you stay with me,” Reese said frowning. “I’ll shift back but I’m going to be my ‘holy shit’ size again—sorry.”
“Your ‘holy shit’ size?” Jo was surprised into a quick burst of laughter. “Well, I guess that’s one way to put it. But can’t your little Fox get through the forest more quickly and easily?”
“Yes, but he can’t carry you on his back,” Reese said, frowning. “Which is where you’re going. That head injury has made you too dizzy to walk.”
“That’s not true,” Jo objected. “I’m fine now.”
He sighed roughly. “God damn it, Jo—why do you have to fight me every step of the way? Would you rather I carry you in human form? I won’t be as warm and cuddly but I’ll do it if you’d rather.”
“No, I’d rather walk on my own!” she exclaimed, beginning to get irritated. The idea of being swung up in those big, muscular arms and held close to his broad chest made her heart skitter nervously behind her ribs.
She took an unsteady step away from the tree and then another, swaying slightly. Her head still ached fiercely but she was damned if she’d let him make her into an invalid.
With a low curse, Reese came up to her. Without warning, he reached down and swung her up into his arms.
“Reese!” she gasped, pushing ineffectually against his broad chest. “Hey, what are you doing? Put me down!”
“I’m taking you home,” he replied shortly. “And if you won’t ride on my Fox to get there, I’ll have to carry you this way.”