“There we go,” said Caleb, grinning as she finally stopped screaming and stared at him, her eyes open so wide she thought they might pop out of her head. “Feels good, doesn’t it? Screaming is actually a life-saving mechanism in a life-or-death situation. It forces fresh air into your lungs. You were going into shock after the fall, and you would have passed out if you hadn’t screamed like the crazy witch that you are.”
“Did you just call me a crazy bitch?” she said, frowning as the waves crashed around them.
“No, I said witch,” Caleb yelled into her ear. “Witch, not bitch!”
Magda laughed as she wrapped her arms around his strong neck and leaned her head back. She could feel her hair long and wet against her naked back, and she frowned as she tried to look down at herself in the dark water.
“Why am I naked?” she said.
Caleb laughed. “You haven’t Changed in a while, have you?” he said. “Your fox doesn’t need to wear clothes, so I think your gown is on the floor of the dining hall up there.” He grinned and raised an eyebrow. “I’m naked too, if that makes you feel better.”
“It does not,” said Magda firmly, kicking her legs out and frowning again when she realized that her thighs and butt felt surprisingly strong beneath the waters. “Wait, why do I feel so . . . so buoyant? Am I . . . is my body . . . oh, God, I’m a whale!”
She felt the blood rush to her face as she looked down at herself and realized that her boobs were smushed up against Caleb’s tattooed, naked chest. Boobs. Big and heavy, with an ass and thighs to match!
“A whale Shifter? That’s a new one,” Caleb said innocently, reaching one hand beneath the surface and tenderly grabbing her ass. “Let me check. Hmmm. Interesting.”
“Get your hands off me!” Magda said, laughing as she wriggled her ass beneath the waters. She could still feel the lingering embarrassment of being back in the body she thought she’d left behind years ago, but she also felt strangely secure as Caleb’s strong hands cupped her big bottom like it was a perfect fit.
“As you wish, Witch,” Caleb said, immediately pulling his hands away from beneath her and letting her sink a few inches into the sea before grabbing her again.
“OK, get your hands back on me!” she shrieked as the water rose above her chin and she kicked out desperately with her legs. “I can’t swim!”
“All animals can swim,” Caleb said with a laugh, grabbing on to her and holding her tight.
“Then why did you tell me to Change back to a human?” she demanded.
“Because I swim better as a man. Also, my wolf doesn’t like to get its fur wet,” Caleb said. “Takes a long time to dry out, and I left my hair-dryer upstairs.”
Magda laughed as Caleb spun her around slowly in the warm waters of the Caspian Sea. The moon was out now, a sharp, silver crescent that looked like a smile in the dark blue skies above. The black waves around them were shining, and although Magda had never been a water-person, she felt safe and protected with Caleb. Safer and more protected than she’d ever felt with her magic.
Perhaps there is something to this fated mates thing, she thought as she looked into her mate’s blue eyes. Something that has to be experienced to be understood. Perhaps there is another kind of magic here, a magic more powerful than dark magic. After all, that’s why my magic couldn’t get a deep hold on Bart and Bis, right? Because their acceptance of each other unleashed a light that overcame the power of my darkness. Is that what’s happening here? Can that happen here? Do I want it to happen here?
Magda felt her animal turn inside her as her thoughts swirled like the dark waves around them. She could feel the sly mind of her fox at work, but she could also sense that it was conflicted, that it was feeling the magic of being close to its fated mate, that its own schemes and plans were being upended by what it felt like to be held by Caleb, protected by Caleb, claimed by Caleb.
Loved by Caleb?
“Oh, right, you’re a Navy Seal. You love the water,” she said, forcing herself to speak before she lost herself in thought, before her mind got twisted up in the madness that was her life: Murad’s dragon unleashed, Shifter armies running wild, crazy ambitions to take over the world, deals with dark powers that would have to be made good on. It all seemed like a dream, a fairy-tale, dark and twisted and unreal.
Perhaps it was unreal! Perhaps it was all over! Maybe the dark powers that her fox had made the deal with years ago had decided to leave her alone! Maybe those dark powers just wanted Murad’s dragon to be unleashed, and now her own debt was paid! She’d found her mate, her animal was back, and maybe this was her happily ever after! Who cared whether Murad’s dragon burned its way across the world! It wasn’t her fault, right? If anything, the world owed her a debt for holding Murad’s dragon in check all these years!
“Not really,” Caleb said.
“What?” said Magda, blinking as she pushed away the thoughts that threatened to drown her more than any waves ever could. “Not really what?”
“You said I’m a Navy Seal so I must love the water. I actually became a Navy Seal because I was afraid of water as a child, because I decided at some point to face every fear of mine head on. Face it and defeat it,” he said with a half-grin. “Got water in your ears, Witch?”
“Stop calling me a witch,” she said, feeling self-conscious in a way that sent a strangely comforting chill through her body. It was like she was a teenager again, awkward and unsure, but somehow not ashamed—like she felt accepted this time around.
“Are you not a witch now?” Caleb said with a grin. “Magic powers gone? Dark powers dispersed by my magical touch?”
Magda giggled as she felt his fingers claw at her ass, slowly making their way to her rear parting. She gasped as a sudden wave of heat whipped through her, and even though she was already wet from the sea, she could feel her own wetness between her legs.
“Stop trying to change the subject,’’ she said, blinking as she felt Caleb’s hardness brush against her naked mound as he spun her slowly around like they were on a dancefloor beneath the open skies.
“This is the subject,” Caleb whispered, pulling her closer, his breath warm on her wet face, his hardness pressing up against her mound and making her wetness flow faster. “You and me. It’s time, Magda. Time for me to—ouch! What the hell?! Oh no, you didn’t! You did not just do that! Oh hell, you’re gonna pay for this!”
Magda giggled like the silly teenager she felt like, and Caleb just leaned his head back and shouted in amused frustration as that metal chastity-belt with the iron padlock popped back into existence, locking his cock and balls behind an inch of studded armor.
“This isn’t funny,” Caleb growled, leaning in close to her neck, his breath hot against her skin.
“Really? Because I’m laughing,” she whispered back through a wide smile. She reached between them and grabbed the padlock, raising it and letting it drop back against the metal underwear.
“Let me out, or I let you go,” he said sternly.
“Is that a threat?”
“It’s an order.”
“Oh, an order?! Is taking orders from you part of the whole fated mates deal? I’ll have to look up the rules to see what I’m signing up for.”
“The only rules are the ones I make, Witch,” Caleb growled, slowly running his tongue along her neck in a way that made her almost burn up with heat. She wasn’t sure how the hell she’d managed to conjure up that medieval metal monstrosity without chanting a spell, and it was only when she felt her fox twist and turn with gleeful laughter that she understood that the little rascal inside her had done it! The horny little animal was . . . was flirting! Playing with its mate like a puppy or a kitten! Doing a dance of courtship! Testing its mate just like a woman tests her man! Putting up barriers just for the thrill of watching her man tear them down with his desire to claim his woman! And how the hell was her magic wo
rking when she was still in this shape with big boobs and a thick ass? Or was it not her magic but her fox’s magic? Who knew. Who the hell knew. All she knew was that she was naked, being held by a man in metal underwear, and laughing her ass off like she was crazy!
“You like calling me Witch, don’t you?” she said, smiling as she held on tight to the back of his thick, muscular neck. She ran her hand over his perfectly shaped, buzzcut head, his thick brown hair spraying her with saltwater as she rubbed it. “Wolf,” she said softly. “You like calling me Witch, don’t you, Wolf . . .”
“Yes,” he whispered, drawing close, his thick stubble brushing up against her face and making her hot inside, so hot she thought she could boil the sea itself if this went on too long. “Like most horny schoolboys, I always fantasized about having sex with a witch,” he said matter-of-factly.
“Must have been an interesting school,” Magda said with a laugh. Then she reached beneath the water and knocked on his metal boxers. “Though nobody’s having sex yet, I should remind you. I’m not that kind of witch. You’ll need to buy me dinner first.”
Caleb growled as he reached around to the back of her neck and grasped her firmly, holding her head back and looking down into her eyes. “Not that kind of witch, huh? Perhaps I’ll just dunk you and see if you sink or float. That’s how they did it in the old days, right?”
“Don’t you dare!” she squealed, gasping as Caleb pulled her down just enough so the water lapped against her chin. “I’m afraid of water, Caleb. I swear I’ll turn you into a goddamn frog!”
Caleb shrugged. “I’m a Navy Seal, Witch. They already call us frogmen. Also, if you can’t swim, then turning me into a frog isn’t gonna help your case, I should point out.” He grinned and cocked his head. “And if you can’t swim, why the hell did you jump into the sea? Got a death wish, Witch?”
Magda blinked as she felt her fox stir inside her. It was restless but quiet in a way that puzzled her. It had been so long since she’d felt its presence that she couldn’t quite tell what was normal. Yes, she could feel its desire, its need to be claimed by its mate. But there was conflict too, conflict that the fox was hiding from its human. Was that even possible? Wasn’t her fox just a part of her? Wouldn’t she know everything her fox would know?
“The only thing I wish is that I’d never . . .” she started to say, the memories of that dark time in her life coming rushing back to her. Suddenly that playful, flirty atmosphere seemed lost, and now the waves felt ominous and dark, the moon’s crescent like a grimace of pain, the wind that was once whistling now sounding like a whisper of warning. “ . . . never made that deal.”
“Deal? You mean with Murad?” Caleb said.
Magda sighed. How could she even begin to explain herself to him? How would he ever understand? How would he—
You don’t need to explain yourself, whispered her fox suddenly, and when Magda heard its soft voice come through clear as daylight, she knew it had been listening to everything, sitting there on its haunches in her subconscious like the little fiend it was, taking it all in. Not to him, at least. He is our mate, and he already understands, even if he does not know the details, even if he does not understand that he understands.
Oh, so you’re a philosopher now? Talking in riddles? Magda replied in her mind, almost rolling her eyes as she felt Caleb’s strong arms hold her as he kicked out and slowly began to pull her back towards the island.
Above them the moon had gone behind a cloud, casting a gray-silver glow over the dark waves that lapped around them, and Magda shivered as she realized that they’d been in the sea for a long time now. She was glad Caleb was heading for shore. She was glad Caleb was with her. She was glad Caleb was . . . hers?
He’s mine, she thought as her animal went silent again and Magda just held on to her mate as he swam them both towards the shore of the island. She could see the castle looming on the cliff face above them, and she wondered why the other Shifters hadn’t come after them. She didn’t see the dragon flying around, lighting the night sky with its flame. She didn’t see anyone staring out of the windows or balconies. Did they even care? Were they glad the witch was gone? Perhaps. Perhaps they were just being polite letting her sit at the table with them. After all, they couldn’t possibly trust her, could they? Couldn’t possibly like her!
“You didn’t answer my question,” came Caleb’s voice, soft but steady, without any indication of the effort he must have been exerting to swim against the current and pull them both back to safety. He was barely even breathing hard, she realized with awe as she felt his muscles flex and relax with each smooth stroke.
Magda felt herself relax as she concentrated on Caleb’s body moving beneath the waves, his body moving against her body, protecting her, guiding her, leading her. Her head was buzzing as she lost herself in the rhythm of the two of them moving together, and soon she was aware that their breathing had fallen into lockstep, their hearts beating in time. She could feel the power of the physical, the flesh, the body. She could sense the simple beauty of two animals moving as one.
This is magic too, she thought as she tried to push away the nagging thoughts of that dark deal her fox had made to protect itself, to protect its human, to protect its . . . future?
Its future, Magda thought as Caleb got them closer to the shore, his powerful strokes guiding them around jagged rocks until she saw a patch of hard sand at the foot of the cliff—a tiny beach nestled into a cove. What future does an animal think about? Animals aren’t burdened with far-reaching plans of some imagined future, are they? No. To an animal, the future means just one thing:
Reproduction.
Offspring.
Babies.
The moment the thought hit, Magda felt her fox tighten and twist inside her like it had been struck. She frowned in the darkness as she tried to get her animal to speak to her, to open up to her, to reveal what it was hiding from her, what it had been hiding from her for decades. She’d always known that her dark powers had been granted to her in exchange for something—that was how dark magic worked. You made a deal.
What was the deal, she asked her animal as Caleb’s legs finally hit the seabed and he stood up, lifting her out of the water like she was a feather. She felt the water dripping down her long dark hair, rolling off her smooth curves, beading on her breasts like dark diamonds. She looked down at her naked body as Caleb carried her, gasping as she saw a vision of herself with a round belly, breasts heavy with milk, a new life forming inside her womb. Her child. His child. Their child. Their first-born pup.
“No,” she muttered, feeling her fox yelp and thrash inside her, her vision turning red as the animal whipped itself into a frenzy. That vision of hers became clearer as her mate carried her onto the dark sand of the hidden beach . . . clearer and darker . . . so clear and so dark that she almost choked. “What did you do? What did you promise?”
I had no choice, yelped her fox from amidst its frenzy, and now Magda understood that her animal was being turned inside out with conflict now that it had met its mate, now that its natural instincts to produce new life was so overwhelming that it couldn’t be resisted. Dark powers only make two kinds of deals. Either they want death, or they want new life. And I promised them both in return for the power of dark magic. We would give them death at the hands of your army. And we would also give them life. New life. Our first born.
Magda almost howled out loud as her fox wailed inside her. She understood now that back then even her animal was young, innocent in a way, desperate to save itself and its human. The future seemed so far away, and it was so easy to say yes, sure, whatever you want in exchange for what we need now!
Except now the future is here, Magda thought as it occurred to her that the metal underwear that had started as a joke, a tease, playful flirtation was in fact her subconscious trying to delay the bill-collector. Yes, the future is here and we don’t want to pay up.
Her fox yelped in anguish, and Magda sensed its innocent despair. She couldn’t blame her animal, she realized. Her animal had done what it needed to do to save them both, and now it was her turn to step up. They were a team, Magda and her fox.
We’re a team, my little red furball, she told her fox as she tried to get it to settle down. You, me, and our wolf. We’ll find a way out. There’s always a way out. There’s always a way.
11
“No way,” Caleb said, standing with his hands on his hips and looking down at the big padlock blocking his cock. He shook his head and rubbed his jaw, feeling the saltwater roll down his neck as he tried to process what Magda had just told him, her words coming out like a tidal wave of information that threatened to drown his brain. “Deals with dark powers? Delivery of millions of dead human souls? Oh, and our first born child as a bonus payment? What is this, a goddamn Harry Potter knockoff?”
Magda cocked her head and frowned. “Was all of that in Harry Potter?”
“I don’t freakin’ know! Do I look like I read children’s books?” Caleb roared, rubbing his head and pacing on the hard-packed sand of the little beach. “All right. All right. All right!” he said, taking long breaths as he steadied his heartrate like he’d been trained to do at Seal bootcamp. “Here’s what we’re gonna do. We’re heading back to the castle, and we’re going to set up a plan with the crew. We’ve got knowledge, resources, connections. We can figure this out together. All of us together.”
Witch for the Wolf Page 6
