Technical Threat (Westin Force #4) - Julie Trettel Page 0,83

evil geniuses.”

The time passed by quickly as they shared stories and we talked to get to know each other better.

The second Sapphire was free I excused myself and told her about Sage before heading back to the Lodge.

The rest of the day flew by as I really dug in and started researching colleges and various IT programs available.

Day turned to night and on a whim, I enrolled myself through an online program.

I sat back and stared at the screen.

“I did it!”

It had been so long since I had done anything for myself that I could hardly believe it. With the excitement and a constant itching of my skin, I knew I wasn’t going to sleep anytime soon.

Foxes are largely nocturnal with more cat-like instincts despite being part of the canine family. My fox was mostly laid back, requiring little attention, but I knew the signs and symptoms when she wanted to be free, and I knew the repercussions of trying to hold back the transition.

Since she mostly wanted out at night, the fear and concerns of being caught were lessened. It was definitely something I appreciated and used to my benefit.

Being so close to wolf territory with so many shifters around should have made me feel ever safer, but they were still wolves and I was not. The common thrill of doing something forbidden was still there. Not that shifting was forbidden exactly, it was just forbidden to get caught doing it. There was something different and almost primal this time though. I needed time in my fur in ways I had never felt before.

Knowing I wasn’t going to sleep anyway, I snuck outside and tiptoed into the woods. I checked around for any signs of life, but finding no one around, I quietly eased out of my clothes leaving them in a pile at the base of a tree several yards into the safety of the forest.

The shift came quickly. There was no pain or discomfort. It was as natural as breathing to me. I stretched out the stiffness in my limbs from sitting all day and not shifting in weeks. My tail wagged behind me. I turned and licked my big bushy red tail. I had always thought it was the most beautiful part of me.

The snap of a twig brought my fox to full alert. She was irritated that our grooming time was interrupted, but she took control, and I was happy to hand over the reins to her for a bit. Yes, we were one in the same, but we also weren’t. She was the primal side of me. She didn’t think, she acted on instinct and often didn’t understand right from wrong, only what felt right to her.

Sometimes I thought I was crazy for thinking of us as two separate beings, but it helped my logical brain to process what was happening.

We leapt into a tree and perched on a thick limb watching and waiting for the disturbance to reveal itself. Wolves couldn’t climb trees which made foxes far superior in my opinion and definitely cooler.

A bird flew out of the brush nearby just as a bunny hopped out. I suspected that was the culprit behind the snap of a twig that had set my fox on alert.

I watched the bunny hop around and make its way back towards the Lodge. My fox was curious and quietly leapt from one branch to another following the thing. It hopped out into the clearing between the woods and the building as I stayed put and watched from above.

Suddenly there was a flurry of activity. A group of men and one woman came running towards us. The bunny turned and hopped back into the cover of the trees faster than any normal rabbit should have moved.

I glanced back just in time to see clothes shredded and suddenly two very large gorillas were leading a mismatch pack of animals. Amongst them was a huge bear, three wolves, and a fox. Not just any fox though, it was my fox—Tarron.

I tried to control my own fox, but she had a mind of her own. Our mate was in animal form and it dawned on me she had never met Tarron’s fox before. That seemed odd, but everything had happened in such a blur that there simply hadn’t been any time yet for introduction.

We followed above as quietly as possible. The bear and the gorilla were trampling a path so loudly that there was no way they noticed me. All seven