Author's Note: Hi! Hi! Thanks so much to everyone who voted and responded to my last story. This is a continuation. It's probably two times longer than the previous segment. And I'll likely continue the story releasing one or two every week as writing practice. So, please leave comments to help me improve my writing. ^-^
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Running. Why was she running?
Ren scrambled across the brush of the forest floor, barefoot paws sliding along the excess of foliage littering the vicinity. She winced at the extraneous noise she was making.
It was coming.
Ren flattened her ears. Her muzzle lifting to the scent the air, her fox nostrils becoming filled with scents.
But they weren't right?
Ren couldn't figure out why. But something was off, no not off- wrong. Something was wrong.
The sound of crashing drove her into a sprint. Foxes weren't as fast as other shifters, but it wasn't a shifter.
Wait, it wasn't a shifter?
Why couldn't she remember?
Shit! How had she gotten here? Why wasn't her mate at least talking to her?
Her mate?
Something inside her screeched to a halt. There was something wrong there, too. But she couldn't remember.
Damn it. Why couldn't she remember?
An electrical charge ran through her body- her psychic senses sounding an alarm. The thing was within half a mile of her, but it was constantly flickering on and off her radar from all directions.
On some instinct, she backpedaled- managing to slip behind a tree before a harsh crack filled the, conveniently, clear area of forest Ren had been about to enter.
The thing- flashed into existence.
Yes, the word flash tasted right in her canine mouth.
The way the magic shimmered in the air indicated a form of teleportation- but the word was off. Alice teleported. In fact, Alice had teleported her on occasion. Teleportation didn't feel like this.
Ren looked on as the flash dissipated and the form should have become clear. Should, it turned out, was the operative word.
Despite the lack of visibility, Ren felt the thing's aura grow with every second, and she had to let canine teeth dig into the tongue of her mouth to prevent a whimper from escaping.
Wrong. It felt wrong.
She couldn't see it clearly- almost as if a clear fog overlaid the thing's form blurring its shape. But she knew, it wasn't supposed to be here.
Somehow, she knew it wasn't supposed to be here.
"Little one," the thing spoke, and Ren howled in agony- her fox ears flattening at the pressure. Get away, she had to get away.
"I have no quarrel with you, only your mistress," it began to move toward her, and Ren tried to move backwards hitting a barrier.
Too much. The thing was too much of something. Ren just didn't know what that something was. But it was overwhelming her even at this distance.
Nevertheless, the thing kept coming. Taking what Ren imagined were slow measured steps- perfect serenity in its movements, perfect order.
Order, the word resounded in her head. Bad.
She tried to back up. She really did try. Fox shifters knew when to run unlike some of their other shifter counterparts. But she hit a barrier.
Srrck! The barrier made an ugly sound as it fried the back of her haunches. Ren whimpered at the new injury.
The thing continued its advance. Its movements alien their perfection.
When it was only a meter from her, something burned on her chest. And an anguished howl filled the air; with a start, Ren realized it was her. It was her sounding so broken- so raw.
The creature's sereneness seemed to break in response, and it darted towards her its magic crackling in the air. Power so much power was rushing her- too much. It was all too much.
Ren woke up.
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For a second, Ren just laid there staring up into her mate's eyes- her heart pounding. Her breath was coming in harsh gasps.
Blaine was straddled on top of her, and his hands were clasped on her shoulders. His breath coming in short, ragged spurts while his body lay on top of her tensed.
Under normal circumstances, the situation would have rather arousing.
Instead, she laughed. The laugh sounding strangled even to her ears before shoving him off the bed.
He hit the ground with a rather satisfying thud- the small act of violence reducing her anxiety a bit.
Blaine had woken her from what in all likelihood was a prophetic dream.
Was her reaction to his help rational? Nope.
Did it make her feel better? Absolutely.
She began to giggle- hysterical giggles that soon turned into full out bellows of laughter- her entire body shaking with relief. By the time Ren was done and had opened her eyes, her mate sat across from her on the bed- watching her with exasperation.
Yes, it was fortunate her mate handled her little idiosyncrasies well.
When she'd fully calmed, Blaine finally spoke. "You want to talk?" he asked studying her with those beautiful blue eyes. "Or you want to play?"
"Play," Ren answered reaching a hand out to stroke his face. "If we have time, I want to play with you."
The answer earned Ren a grin and quick swat to her butt. Ren yipped earning her an even wider grin from Blaine. She nipped his shoulder in retaliation.
Strong arms wrapped around her shoulders, and this time it provoked a more sensual response from Ren. But the arms instead of pulling her closer, pushed her away asking, "Run or sex first?"
"Run," the answer was out before Ren could think. And she blinked for a second perplexed at her choice. Her mate stroked his thumbs against her shoulders earning a groan.
"Love," he said looking into her dazed eyes. "You know, better. All shifters even fox shifters need to shift at least three times a month. When was the last time you shifted?"
When she refused to answer, he sighed moving off the bed and standing up. She watched his chest muscles flex and resisted the urge to run a hand down said muscles until she reached the hairy patch between his legs.
Her mouth went dry at the thought.
"Okay, well I'll join you in ten or so minutes," Blaine said letting a hand stretch out above his head. "I changed yesterday, so it's going to take me a bit longer than usual."
When she groaned, he arched an eyebrow at her as she pouted. "Don't worry. We'll get to the sex and," he drawled the last part to add emphasis, "punishment."
Ren's inner thighs unconsciously shifted against each other at the tone. The strange, itchy feeling of her arousal welling inside her.
He turned towards her right before leaving the room- his nose flaring as her arousal permeated the room.
"Ren," he said thickly, "hurry up." Ren heard a small crack and a wry grin stole over her face. She was going to have to magic the doorknob later.
It was the third time he'd crushed it this month.
Swinging her legs off the bed. She rolled her neck and shrugged her shoulders to relieve some of her tension- breasts achingly pressing against the bra she'd failed to remove last night.
She unbuttoned the fly of her leather pants and frowned at the marks left by the tight material on her waist. With care, she stripped the tight material off letting out a sigh as it peeled away from her body.
Then, she grabbed the tank top and flung it off leaving her in only her undergarments. For a second, she looked at the full length mirror on the wall, and then she unhooked her bra releasing her breasts.
Few things were as instantly relaxing as taking off a bra. She only had C cups breasts at the very standard band size of 34. Frowning at the red marks along her chest area from the bra, she kneaded her breasts for a second to restore circulation- her eyes closing at the relaxing sensation.
One of her fingers accidently grazed her nipple. And she gasped, eyes flying open. She checked herself out in the mirror as she tried to calm her breathing. It really was too bad she'd chosen the run over sex.
But wait.
She let one of her hands drop to the mound between her legs. And she stroked softly letting her fingertips dance over the sensitive nerves.
It would take Blaine about 10 minutes to go full wolf; furthermore, once the transition began- he'd have to complete it.
A werewolf who had changed recently was often able to shorten that time to five minutes. But since he'd transformed yesterday, he'd take long today.
On the other hand, Ren, as a fox shifter- had the lowest form changing time at an average of 30 seconds. Coyotes were somewhere in the middle at around 5 minutes.
It was one of the few advantages she could lord over other shifters. You know, because she definitely wasn't going to win any strength or speed challenges against the wolves.
But right now, she was going to use that advantage to drive Blaine insane.