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  Tansy stomped forward and followed the path down the hillside, carefully picking her way along the rockier parts.

  What is it with people and their incessant need to butt into someone’s private life? I just want to be left alone.

  She felt Caylan’s hand on her shoulder and she tried to ignore the fire-like heat that was emanating from his touch as she sighed, “Why are you so persistent that I have to go with you? Can we just forget this ever happened? I’m sure there’s plenty of other single women who camp out here in the woods alone that you’ve stumbled across before and left alone.”

  “Oh, so you are single. Thanks for clearing that up for me,” Caylan laughed.

  “Caylan, can I please just go back to camp?” Tansy asked, anxiety slowly starting to float over her as her mind began to float back to the last time she had suggested to return to camp.

  Tansy laid with her stomach pressed against the sand, binoculars trained on the private facility in front of her. Everything was quiet. No one was coming or going from the compound and it was shooting up red flags all over in her mind.

  “Something isn’t right about this, Andrews. We should go back to camp,” Tansy muttered as she focused in on one of the entrances to the compound.

  To her right Andrews scoffed, “Stop being such a puss, O’Connor.”

  Tansy rolled her eyes at her partner. He could be such a stubborn ass. “Whatever. Lady bits take a lickin’ and keep on tickin’. I’d rather be a puss than a flacid dick any day.”

  “Har har, you’re so funny.”

  “Why, thank you. I try,” Tansy smirked.

  “I think we should get a closer look.”

  “I think you’re a moron. The more distance between us and that compound, the safer we are.”

  Andrews set his binoculars down next to her and grabbed his rifle, “Suit yourself. I’m going in.”

  “Andrews! Wait!” Tansy whisper yelled at her companion, “You don’t know what’s out-”

  As Andrews’ foot stepped down mid-run next to a bush thirty feet away from the hole they had been staking out the compound in, a small explosion erupted. Tansy ducked down as the blast went sweeping over the desert, feeling sand and something wet wash over her as she did so.

  A siren sounded from the compound, and Tansy darted from her hiding place. She ran as hard as she could to the stealth bike she had parked several meters back. Getting on, she turned the engine over and sped off towards camp, glancing behind her to make sure she wasn’t followed. Andrews was a good one. She wasn’t looking forward to having to report his death to her commanding officers. Occupational hazard, they had called it.

  “Tansy?” Caylan’s voice called, bringing Tansy back to the present.

  She laid on the ground, taking a deep breath before opening her eyes to look at Caylan, “How long was I out?”

  “Only a couple of minutes. What was that?”

  “Nothing, let’s go. I’m hungry,” Tansy pushed herself to stand.

  “No, Tansy, that obviously wasn’t nothing. Tell me.”

  “I said it was nothing,” she snapped, wincing as she tried to tame the oncoming headache she was feeling from passing out.

  A beat of awkward silence passed between the two of them before Caylan spoke, “Fine, have it your way. Let’s go.”

  Chapter Three

  Caylan’s mind was racing from Tansy’s episode that afternoon as he went about working in the kitchen to prepare some sandwiches to tide the both of them over until dinner. What could possibly have happened? One minute she was fine, being a little cantankerous and guarded for sure, but the next she had passed out in the middle of the path! Caylan could understand keeping secrets, not wanting to trust people, but this was something different entirely. She was hiding more than just secrets at this point, and he was determined to find out more about the mysterious woman.

  “Amazing what a shower can do for the soul,” Tansy smiled as she walked out of the bathroom towel drying her hair.

  Caylan took in her appearance. She was wearing his grey basketball shorts and blue t-shirt. He was quite larger than she was, so the clothes practically drowned her, but something about the sight of her in his clothes excited him.

  “Feel better?” Caylan asked as he set down a plate filled with a sandwich and chips.

  “Much.”

  “Tansy?”

  “I don’t want to talk about it, Caylan. Please, just let it go,” Tansy said, pulling the plate closer to her as she sat down at the table.

  Caylan frowned at his own sandwich before taking a bite, “Fine, I won’t force you. Just know that I’m a good listener and tend to not judge others, because there’s always more to a story than there might seem.”

  “That’s pretty deep for a guy,” Tansy said around a mouthful of sandwich.

  “Just saying, you never know someone’s story until they tell you it. There can be a lot more to them than what meets the eye,” Caylan shrugged.

  Silence passed between them for a moment before Tansy spoke, “So what’s your story? What makes a big guy like you move out to the middle of the woods?”

  Caylan raised an eyebrow at her before smiling at her curiosity, “To tell you my story, you have to be brought into the loop with everything else. Last time I mentioned something about it, you thought I was insane. I think it’s better if I show you.”

  “Show me what?” A look of concern flashed across Tansy’s face.

  “I don’t think you’re going to believe anything I have to say unless I give you proof that what I’m saying is true.”

  Tansy nodded, “You’re probably right.”

  “Thought so. Now this is how it’s going to work. I’m going to show you why you need to believe me when I tell you everything tonight.”

  “What if even after you show me whatever you’re going to show me, I still don’t believe you?”

  Caylan smiled deviously, “I’m completely sure that you’re going to believe me after I show you what I’m about to show you. Finish up your sandwich.”

  Tansy narrowed her eyes at him, “You’re strange.”

  “Yeah, you’ll learn to accept it though,” Caylan nodded, popping the last bite of his sandwich in his mouth.

  “Will I? I’m not planning on staying for long,” Tansy said as she finished chewing the last of her food.

  “You’ll find I can be quite... Persuasive.”

  “We’ll see about that,” she challenged.

  Caylan nodded towards the door, “Come on then, let’s go.”

  He tried not to laugh at the look of concern that was painted on Tansy’s face. Caylan could tell she was the kind of woman that was used to being in charge and didn’t do well with orders. A challenge like her brought all sorts of thoughts of arousal to the forefront of his mind. The things that he could do to her body. Turning the knob on the door to go outside, Caylan worked to refocus his mind. He couldn’t risk Tansy seeing him aroused when he was trying to earn her trust. He wondered if the couples had experienced issues like this when they first met. Having this constant, throbbing need for someone he knew he couldn’t have was not going to bode well for him. He was going to need to take her to the wolven so they could help her stay safe from Khain.

  Caylan remembered right around the time that the news of the getting to the foxen community, there was a big protest by the foxen that were still loyal to Khain. They wanted their own mates. When Khain had destroyed the females, he had been thorough with it. He had ended all options for mating for all of the shiften, even though he had created the foxen himself. The paranoid bastard had fucked everyone over. It’s why Caylan was out to settle the score with Khain. He had been the one to start organizing the rebellion within Khain’s loyal foxen families. He was going to watch Khain burn for what he had done to the shiften.

  As they came to the other side of the fire pit, Caylan took his lighter from his pocket and set about starting the fire. The cool fall air didn’t bother him, but he knew that it might
bother Tansy, even though she was too filled with pride to admit it. Once the fire was going, he turned to see Tansy seated on one of the log benches, arms folded, eyeing him like she thought he was up to something.

  “How did you end up at the top of that hill anyway?” Tansy asked, her voice filled with suspicion.

  Caylan winked over his shoulder, “Thought I smelled cookies. I don’t know how I got so lucky as to run into something as sweet as you.”

  “What’re you doing? I thought you were showing me something?”

  “I am. Patience, Tans; You’ll see soon enough,” Caylan winked as he grabbed the hem of his shirt to pull it over his head.

  “Whoa, whoa, whoa! What the hell are you doing?” Tansy stood, crossing to grab Caylan’s shirt and tug it back onto him. Caylan tried not to laugh at how many shades of red her cheeks had turned out of embarrassment from him taking his clothes off in front of her.

  “Woman, I’m going to show you something that will help you believe what I’m saying is true. Would you just go sit down? I’m sure I won’t be the first man you’ve seen naked. I’m not going to try and get frisky with you, I promise.”

  Tansy glared at him in defiance.

  “Suit yourself, but you might be warmer next to the fire than over here by me,” Caylan said, pulling his shirt off and dropping it on the ground next to him.

  Tansy turned around and walked back to her bench as Caylan undid the button on his jeans and stepped out of them and his boots at the same time.

  “Alright, now you’ve gotta face me. If you don’t watch me, you won’t believe it, okay?”

  “Fine,” Tansy said, turning to face Caylan.

  As soon as Caylan’s eyes met with Tansy’s, he willed his body to shift. His bones began to pop and crack as they shift into new positions. He watched Tansy’s eyes fill with fear as she watched his transition from man to beast. Red and brown fur grew from his arms while his body molded and shaped into the large foxen body that he called his own. As his body fell forward on all fours, he gave his fur a shake. Lifting his head in the direction Tansy had been sitting, his eyes followed her as she walked forward with inquisition in her eyes.

  “How is this possible?”

  Chapter Four

  Tansy sat down in front of what she could only assume was an oversized fox. Caylan had magically gone from man to a fox-like creature in less than five minutes. How? She wasn’t quite sure. It took everything in her to ignore the chill on the back of her neck begging her to run away, but she stayed put. Her curiosity getting the better of her. The need to reach out to touch him made her fingers itch.

  “Caylan?” Tansy asked, noticing the fox’s head canting in acknowledgement as she did so, “Can I… Can I touch you?”

  Caylan stood up on all fours and moved toward Tansy slowly. Tansy marveled at how large he was as he spun in a circle to get comfortable before lying down next to her. He definitely wasn’t your average fox. He was more the size of a full grown wolf. She wondered what had caused him to be this way as she moved her hand to touch his scruff.

  “You’re so soft… This is just so… Strange,” Tansy pondered outloud.

  A soft rumbling sound that sounded much akin to purring came from Caylan’s chest. He turned at looked at her as though to say, ‘I told you so’. Tansy wasn’t sure what to think anymore. Life was definitely strange. What was even stranger is that Caylan was a fox, and Tansy’s favorite animal was a fox. She even had a fox tattoo that ran from her mid-thigh up to her shoulder where the tail wrapped over her collarbone and rested just above her heart. She’d loved the fox species since she was five and found a beautiful gold fox pendant with an angel engraved on the back stowed away deep in her mother’s jewelry box.

  A pang shot through her heart at the thought of her mother. How she had missed her the past two years. Her mother had been diagnosed with breast cancer when Tansy was only sixteen. Tansy had enlisted in the military to help cover her medical bills and give her mother a better insurance than what her had been able to afford on her own. It hadn’t been enough though.

  Caylan shifted underneath her hand, bringing her back to reality. She needed to make a decision. Was she going to stick around and hear what Caylan had to say, or was she going back to camp and getting the hell out of dodge? Tansy stuffed her free hand into her pocket and pulled out the fox pendant and stroked it with her thumb as she thought about what her mother would suggest she do. A small breeze blew through her hair and she smiled.

  “Caylan, can you turn back now? I want to hear what you have to say.”

  Chapter Five

  Caylan finished zipping his jeans back up as he watched Tansy walk back toward his house from the fire pit. His mind drifted back to her hand running over his fur while he was a fox, and his chest was filled with an intense heat. Her touch had been gentle and her hands were soft as she had touched him. Deep underneath that hard, cold exterior that she put up in front of everyone, he knew she had a gooey and soft center. He didn’t want her to stop touching him while he had laid next to her. She obviously had a soft side when it came to animals, and he had wanted to soak up what he could of her affections.

  He jogged to the house after her, closing the door behind him as he crossed the threshold into his home. He was pleasantly surprised to see her curled up comfortably on the sectional waiting for him to come inside with a smile on her face.

  “So… This is bizarre. I don’t even know where to start with you. I’ve never seen something like this before…” Tansy rambled on as she spoke before Caylan interrupted her.

  “One step at a time, Tans. Let’s start with the obvious. I’m what my people call a foxen, a man that also shifts into a fox.”

  “Why are you so big?” Tansy asked, clapping her hands over her mouth to prevent any further outbursts.

  Caylan frowned, “You’re right, I am much larger than an average fox. Most of my kinsmen are only slightly larger than a normal fox. I’m technically a hybrid. After my mother had my older brother Cieran, she cheated on the man I thought for the longest time was my father. No one had been able to figure out for the longest time how I had turned out so much larger than the other boys. When my mother was killed, we’ll come back to that later, my presumed father found her journal. Inside it she had detailed who my biological father was and how it was a one-time only tryst while she was insecure about her body from her postpartum depression. Problem was, my birth father was a bearen, a man that can turn into a bear. When my father found out, he was ashamed of me. He treated me differently than my older brother. I was only five when he found out.”

  “Oh, Caylan…” Tansy whispered.

  He walked over and sat down on the edge of the couch, “He was too proud to admit it out loud to anyone though that she had cheated. So he didn’t cast me out or send me to live with my real father. Instead he pretended he didn’t notice me growing larger and stronger than the other boys. When I turned eighteen, I was able to leave home and make a place for myself out here.”

  “You were so young. Have you contacted your birth father since you’ve been out here?”

  “I looked him up once before, but when I went looking for him, no one had heard from him since shortly after my mother had been killed.”

  “Okay, so you mentioned that a minute ago. Who killed your mother?” Tansy frowned.

  Caylan lifted his eyes to meet Tansy’s and could see the concern there. She was listening to what he had to say and wanted to know more. Maybe now she would listen to him.

  “To explain that, I have to tell you everything. You have to promise to hear me out though. What I have to say can sound crazy to someone who doesn’t know the story already, but I swear every word of it is true.”

  Tansy nodded, “Okay.”

  “Promise me,” Caylan said gently.

  “I promise. I’ll listen to what you have to say.”

  When Caylan began to speak, his voice changed tone, much like he was telling a story, “In the beginning there
was The Light. There were many things that happened that lead up to the creation of humans and shiften. But the shiften were created as the goddess, Rhen, and the demon, Khain, battled on the Earth. Rhen wanted to protect the humans. She loved them as The Light did. Khain claimed he was killing them out of mercy because they were miserable. Rhen went to battle against Khain, and they fought for months. One night as they were fighting, they crossed into a territory that belonged to a pack of timberwolves. When Rhen cried out for their help, they came to her aid. As they distracted Khain, she took advantage and delivered a finishing blow to Khain. He disappeared into the Pravus, a world between worlds, weakened, but not completely defeated.

  “Rhen gave pieces of herself to the wolves as a way to thank them for their help. This created the first shiften, the wolven. As she walked the Earth, she came across bears trying to put out the fires that she and Khain left in their wake, so she also gave them pieces of herself. With every piece she gave away, she grew weaker. Even though, she was weak she pressed onward, running alongside the wolven through the forest. At one point, she almost ran over the edge of a cliff, but a mountain lion stopped her just in time with a scream. Rhen gave a part of herself to the mountain lion as a way to thank it, and together, they found others for her to give pieces of herself to as well.”

  “But what about the foxen?” Tansy asked, canting her head with curiosity.

  Caylan’s mouth turned into a frown, “Khain grew jealous when he came back through the Pravus years after Rhen had gone to her resting place and saw that the shiften were millions strong. He took wolven women and forced them to breed with him so he could create his own army of shiften. The result was the foxen.”

  Tansy held up a hand to signal for Caylan to stop, “Wait...are you saying the foxen exist because Khain…”