by Romi Hart
I hated to even think this way, but after my parents’ deaths, reality had found a place in my head. “You might not always be around to protect me, Twi.”
His chest rose and stayed still as he looked away. “I’ve never thought much about my demise. I suppose being immortal has made me take life for granted. In my mind, I can’t die. But you’re right. It is a possibility.”
Taking his face between my hands, I made him look back into my eyes. “I don’t want that to happen to you. But if it does, I don’t want to be left defenseless against something like a dragon.”
“Well, my dear, I don’t actually know how much being able to shift into a fox will help any of us when the dragon comes into play.” Shaking his head, he took a deep breath then let it out slowly. “But it’s better than nothing.”
“It is.” I wasn’t sure what being a fox could do to help me in the situation. Given that everyone in the dragon’s realm was something other than human, I felt it gave me the same edge all the others had.
His fingers lightly traced a line along my throat. “It might be best to do this while making love. That way the bite won’t hurt as badly.”
I had another idea. “I think human teeth are too blunt not to hurt. I was thinking that you could change and bite me with your sharp fox teeth.”
“Actually pretty smart idea you’ve got there, Val. I’ve got to say that you’ve got the sharp mind of a fox already. You have the courage of a bear. And the beauty of a lioness.”
“Aww.” His words made my heart melt. “You’re the sweetest man I’ve ever met.”
“And the most handsome, I’d assume.” His laughter echoed off the walls.
The sound made me shiver as I thought about getting caught by the dragon or his human side anyway. “Twi, hush. We’ve got to be quiet.”
“That dragon will be out for at least an hour – maybe even longer. He’s got to stretch his wings, right?” Letting me out of his arms, he got up and stretched. “But we should get dressed and finish our exploration.”
I wanted to get right to it, now that I’d made my decision. “Twi, wait a minute. I want to do this now. I don’t want to take any chances. Can we do this here, now? There’s no cover outside to do it. And I’d like the comfort of being indoors. Even if it’s just a hard floor I’ve got to writhe around in pain on, it’s better than that weird sandy stuff outside.”
“Now? Here?” Dubious, his brows arched. “I don’t know, Val. This seems rather risky to me.”
“Get Mist to stand guard or something.” I had to do this while I was hyped for it. “Come on, Twi. Please don’t let me down.”
“As if I would ever let you down.” He pulled on his clothes as I sat on the floor, watching him. “Get dressed while I go get Mist. You should also know that once you change if Mist and I are in our fox forms too, you’ll be able to communicate with us through telepathy. Just think really hard the first few times you try it and you’ll get the hang of it, I’m sure.”
“That sounds cool. Can you talk to other shifters that way too?” I was stoked with this news.
“If they want to let you in, then you can. But not a whole lot of them care to share their thoughts and feelings with shifters – other than their own kind. We’re all a little behind the times when it comes to thinking of all shifters as part of a whole.”
“Much like the human race,” I mused. “I understand how it’ll go.” Getting up, I went to get my clothes. “I’ll be ready as soon as you get back.”
“Once I get back with Mist, we’ll find the best place to do this. Stay right here until then.” And then he was off.
Which left me all alone in the dark hallway. Alone with my thoughts.
What if something goes wrong? What if I don’t make it? What if I do make it but come out horribly deformed for some odd reason?
Shaking my head, I pulled on my jeans. “No. Stop thinking in a negative way. This is a positive thing. Only positive thoughts now.”
I will become immortal. I will become stronger than I am now. I’ll be able to communicate using only my mind.
Now, those were all exceptionally cool things. I had to admit that there were more pros than cons to becoming a foxshifter. The only thing I wasn’t sure of was what my brother and sister would think of what I’d done.
I wouldn’t age, where they would. I would live on and they would both grow old. As I pulled my t-shirt on over my head, I felt a heaviness in my chest that told me not all things were golden about what I was about to do.
“Did you tell her everything, Twi?” I heard Mist ask as the two of them came down the hallway.
Sitting on the floor, I put my shoes and socks back on then smoothed out my hair as I heard Twi say, “No. I haven’t had time to tell her everything. Plus, I don’t know everything. I’ve never done this before.”
Hopping up, I smiled at Mist. “So, tell me what you know, Mist.”
“I know that once you’re a shifter, human medications don’t work the same on you.” He cocked his head to one side. “As in birth control. If you’re on any, it won’t work anymore.”
Catching Twi’s eyes, I froze. “Well, that’s not great news. Are you sure about that, Mist?”
“My uncle’s wife was a human who was on the pill. She got pregnant right off the bat after he changed her.” Looking at Twi, he asked, “You ready to be a daddy, Twilight?”
Gulping, Twi’s Adam’s apple bobbed in this throat. “I guess I am if Val’s ready to be a mom.”
“I’m not.” Chewing on my lower lip, I contemplated what changing meant for our newfound love affair. “We can abstain.”
“There’s always oral,” Mist offered.
Twi cringed. “That would only make it harder to stop at just that. Val, are you sure you want to do this right now?”
Having the same shifting powers everything else in the realm had was more important to me than sex. At least at that moment, it was. “We’ll have to deal with that, Twi. This is about life and death right now. And I’m more at risk of being killed by any number of things as a human. I could die of starvation. Or lack of water. Or get sick from the elements. Humans have pretty weak systems. I don’t think sex should be thought about above staying alive.”
Nodding, Twi knew I was right about that. “I didn’t think about all of those things. Being what I am, I’ve never had to worry about any of what you just brought up. And as a shifter, you won’t either.”
Mist looked around then pointed at a door. “I think we’ll be safe if we do the transformation in there. It’s far enough away from Codut’s bed chambers so we won’t be heard.” He led the way.
My heart began racing as I followed behind him and Twi came up beside me, taking my hand as he said, “Soon, this will all be over and you will be like us, Val.”
Sweat beaded on my brow. “I’m trying to be brave but it’s not that easy.”
“I think you’re plenty brave, Val. It’s just the unknown that you’re reacting to. Being a shifter is fun, exciting, and we’ll get to be together forever.” Pulling my hand up, he kissed it. “I wanted this. I wasn’t ever going to ask you to change so that I could have it, but I did want it.”
We went into the room that was empty, not even a window let moonlight inside. “Damn, it’s pitch black in here.” My body began to shake as my heart beat even faster. “I hope I don’t have a heart attack before I get to turn.”
“Are you sure you want to do this,” Twi asked me one more time.
“I am sure that I want to do this.” I had to do it. I had to survive in this place, and I knew that I couldn’t if I was just a human. “Do it fast, Twilight.” Grabbing him, I kissed him hard then let him go, and laid down on the cold, hard floor. “Now. I’m as ready as I’m ever going to be.”
Mist’s feet moved beside me. “Good luck. I’ll be on the other side of the door, keeping watch. You’re going to make a great fox, Val.”
“Thanks, Mist.” I hoped he was right.
Jus
t as the heavy wooden door closed, I heard rustling then felt fur graze my cheek. Fisting my hands at my sides, I closed my eyes and waited for the inevitable.
A fast clicking sound near my ear brought on a small amount of pain, but completely bearable. “That’s not so bad.”
More rustling then Twi said, “That was the easy part, Val.” His hand slipped into mine. “You can squeeze my hand if you need to.”
“So far, it’s fine.” I laughed. “It burns a little but it’s not bad at all.” My gut clenched as fire ripped through my head. “Shit!”
“It’ll be over soon,” Twi whispered.
As if hot coals had replaced the blood in my veins, my body pulsed with the worst pain I’d ever had. My jaws locked then felt as if they were breaking.
Convulsing, I felt as if I were being ripped apart. As I lost consciousness, I heard Twi humming softly.
What have I done to myself?
19
Twilight
I’d never witnessed the transformation of a human to a shifter of any kind before. It bothered me more than I knew that the first one I saw was going to be the girl that I loved. “It’ll be over soon,” I kept saying then hummed to try comfort her and myself.
But there was nothing that could comfort her as her body twisted in ways it was never meant to. Her head lolled back, her blue eyes wide open, but vacant as the change took over.
Being born a shifter was so much easier than being made into one. I felt thankful that all our children would have it much easier than their mother did.
I might’ve been jumping the gun. But if I was, it wasn’t by much. Valentine would become my forever mate – of that, I was almost positive. We shared a love that neither of us had ever shared with anyone else before.
Of course, we’re going to become mates.
She nor I were ready to have pups yet. But who’s ever ready to become parents anyway?
When it happened, we’d get ready to welcome our first child – or children. Most of the fox-shifters I knew who had kids had one or two at a time. I was sure Val could handle that.
The ready for anything female could handle a brood of pups when they came her way, I was sure of that. Plus, I’d be right there to help her raise them all.
Me? A father?
The thought had crossed my mind before and I’d pushed it right on through. I had kids; I was sure of that. But being a father and raising them wasn’t a thing I’d ever done before. I supported them financially and anything else they needed. But I never made any commitments, and the females were clear with that. That’s how much of the shifter community that I knew were like anyways.
“You asshole!” Val shrieked, taking my attention. “You did this to me!”
“You asked me to,” I felt I had to point out.
“Argh!” Snap! She’d flipped onto her stomach, getting onto her hands and knees, then fox legs took over where human limbs had just been. “Twilight Foxworthy – you are a son-of-a-bitch!”
“That’s not true.” I figured that I might as well begin her foxy education during this process. “I am a son-of-a-vixen. You’ll become a vixen soon too, my dear.” I almost said something about our future children being sons-of-a-vixen too but thought better of it as she snarled and snapped. “And what a beautiful vixen you will become too, Valentine.”
“I’m going to bite your head off when this is over,” she growled as her body contorted.
“I hope that’s the pain talking and not you, my dear.” A bit of worry did niggle at me though.
What if I turned her into something that will end me?
It would disturb me deeply if the change made her heart harden toward me. The things that went along with becoming a shifter weren’t things I knew about much at all.
Perhaps this was a terrible mistake.
Mistake or not, I couldn’t take it back. What was done, was done. Valentine lay on the floor, writhing in agony. I had no idea what was happening to her brain or her heart for that matter. But I did know that she was going to come out of this stronger than she’d ever been.
Faith was something I’d never thought much about. I supposed that I had it in spades since I had never had to think about if I had it or not.
I had faith that Val would survive this. I had faith that she would calm down once the pain went away. But I wasn’t super faithful about how she would feel about me once it was over with.
It had been me who had bitten her. In my defense, I had told her that she didn’t need to do this for me. She’s the one who wanted it.
Will that matter afterward, though?
Her body was going through some serious shit at the moment. In all honesty, I had no idea so much would occur. Things like this that happened in the movies didn’t make it look this rough.
When people were turned into vampires, they would simply scream for a moment, then they would become a sexy vampire. Werewolves seemed to have it worse in movies. But Val was having it far worse than anything I’d ever seen in Hollywood movies.
The door creaked open then Mist stuck his head inside. “How much longer do you think this will take? She’s making a lot of noise. I’m afraid we’re going to get caught if he comes back inside.”
“I have no idea why you’re asking me about that. You know as much as I do about what’s happening to her.” We had to get ready to fight if Codut came back before the process was over. “If he gets back into the castle and all the way up here, then he might hear her. But he’ll have to be in his human form. The dragon can’t fit in the hallways and chambers up here. At least we’ll only have to do battle with him in that form if it comes to that.”
Mist agreed, “You’re right. I’m going to run down the hall to that room with the weapons that you pointed out a while ago. I’ll grab us a couple of swords to use if we need to.”
“Even in human form, Codut’s skin won’t be cut by anything in that arsenal. I’m not completely sure what it can be cut by.” Defeating a dragon-shifter in either form seemed next to impossible. “He is still only vulnerable right in the middle of his chest. Every time we’ve seen him, he’s got armor on, covering his chest.”
With a heavy sigh, Mist nodded. “I guess we’ll just have to hope he doesn’t come anytime soon then. I honestly don’t know what we’re to do here, Twi. We might be able to free everyone. But how will we ever defeat Codut?”
“I think talking to other dragons is the key.” I hadn’t asked Val if there were other dragons being held in the dungeon. And now was not the time. “If there are none here, in the realm, we’ll have to try to find some who are willing to tell us secrets about themselves. Secrets that could get them killed if we too many shifters knew about them. I think it’s a real longshot, Mist.”
Everything about this felt insurmountable. If it weren’t for Zoe closing the portal and locking us in the dragon’s realm, I ventured to guess that Mist and I both wouldn’t have stayed to help the others.
Being a hero wasn’t my thing. Mist might’ve entertained the thought of being a soldier for Codut. But that was only to gain powers. I had the feeling that the whole, gaining shifters powers thing was nothing but a ruse to get shifters to come to his realm so he could imprison them.
Codut’s plan for them was still a mystery. One that I cared not to solve. Free the shifters then get the hell out of Dodge was my only care. Although forced care, I would rise to the occasion.
It’s not like I have any other choice anyway.
Val began panting and I looked at her to find her lying on her back in human form. Her eyes were fixated straight up. Her chest moved rapidly as the breathing moved it. Finally, she rolled her eyes to look at me. “I can see you, Twilight. My eyes have changed.”
“Glad to hear that.” I was also glad to hear her talking calmly. “Is it getting better?”
“It feels like fire is moving back and forth inside my body. It hurts like nothing I’ve ever felt in my life. But I’m starting to change – even the human part of me. I can
smell you. I can hear the sounds of every move you make. And I can see you in a light I hadn’t before. You are remarkably handsome, Twilight.”
“Good to know that you still think so, my dear.” Leaning over her, I sniffed. “You’re smelling like a fox. Not long now, I’m sure, and this will all be over with.”
“I’m sorry about what I said. I don’t really want to bite your head off.” She smiled a little as her nails raked over the stone floor.
“Good to know. I’d rather keep my head on my shoulders anyway.” Running my fingers over her cheek, I felt her entire body shudder with my touch.
“Don’t!” she barked at me. “Don’t touch me!”
Withdrawing my hand promptly, I felt horrible for what I’d done. “I didn’t think about how sensitive your skin must be. I bet that felt painful.”
“Like sandpaper being rubbed over skinless muscle tissue.” She closed her eyes and panted harder. “Something’s happening. Something bad. I can feel it in my bones.”
Mist opened the door and came inside, closing it behind him. “Something is going on in the dungeon. I just heard a wailing sound that made my skin crawl.”
Val groaned, “He’s in the dungeon. I can feel it.”
Mist’s eyes flashed with rage. “I’m going down there. He’s hurting one of them. I can’t let him do that.”
“Mist, don’t,” I cautioned him. “What are you going to be able to do to help anyone?”
“I’ll trick him into leaving the dungeon,” came his quick answer. “I’ve got to do something, Twi. I can’t let him get away with this.”
“Twilight, let Mist do what he feels he has to. Not all of us are reluctant heroes the way you are,” Val whispered as she seemed to be fading out of consciousness.
Mist nodded. “She’s right. I’ve got to go. Promise me that you’ve got my back, cousin.”
As if I have a choice. “I’ve got your back. But be careful. Trick him but don’t get caught.”
“I’ll do my best.” Off he went, making sure to close the door behind him.
