Mate Fur Hire (Bears Fur Hire #3)(35)

It had to be a good sign that Fox was comfortable in the shed, though, because before, she’d been too wild to step foot in here without trying to destroy everything.

As tempting as it was to stick around and watch her like a hawk on a rat, it could be another two weeks before she Changed back. Two more weeks before he heard her tinkling-bell voice and saw the blue in her eyes. Before she smelled like Vera again. He couldn’t just bow out of deliveries, even though he was tempted. Now, more than ever, he felt pressure to provide not only for the enormous amount of food he would be consuming soon as his body prepared for winter, but to provide a home for Vera, too. He’d saved up through the years, but he wasn’t a fan of banks or loans, and he wanted to buy their home outright. If he was going to go into this winter hibernating, he wanted her in a safe place of their own before he went down. And that meant while she was a fox, he had to keep working.

Still, it gutted him to leave her. Last night had been life-changing. He bent down and plucked her ring from the cot where she must’ve set it before she’d Changed. Fox’s eyes were locked on the shiny object he held between his finger and thumb, but there didn’t seem to be any spark of recognition. His disappointment stretched infinitely, though he kept his face stoic.

Vera was gone again, and after the last two weeks, having her back for a single night just didn’t feel like enough. He didn’t know how Elyse had done this for so long. She’d spent six months watching over Ian’s hibernating body last year and was about to do it again if Vera didn’t gain control soon. He had a newfound respect for Elyse, and also for Lena, who was now engaged to Jenner and willing to watch over her mate this year, too. He was glad that Lena and Elyse would have each other, but it was still tragic.

Tobias zipped his backpack and tossed it over his shoulder. He bent down and pet Vera, then made his way to Link’s cabin with her trotting behind him.

Link stood on his porch, arms crossed as he blew on a steaming mug of fragrant coffee. His bright eyes went straight down to Vera. “Shit. Again?”

“It’s good for her. She needs to Change as often as possible.”

“Agreed, but what about the medicine?”

Tobias sighed and hooked his hands on his hips, staring at Fox as she licked her paw in a cat-like fashion. “She shouldn’t help anyone else until she helps herself.”

“Nights are getting colder,” Link said.

“I know.” And he got it. That was Link’s warning. Time was running out. “Can you keep an eye on her?”

“Yeah.”

“I’ll be back tonight.” He cast Vera one last glance, then strode off toward the trail that led toward the runway where he stored the plane. A two mile hike, and he would be back in the air with a new purpose: make enough money to feed him and to take care of Vera through the winter just in case.

Fox didn’t even attempt to follow, only watched him go.

That right there was clue enough.

Vera wasn’t there anymore. Only her animal.

And when he was far enough away, deep in Link’s evergreen woods, he finally let out the snarl of pain that had coiled so tightly in his chest.





Chapter Fourteen


Fox gave back her body after three days. Scratched and sore, Vera ached badly as she stumbled from the woods. The pain was from a hard Change, sure, but it was also because Fox had settled right in the middle of a huge briar patch to shift back. Little monster.

Vera’s skin was decorated with hundreds of tiny cuts from where she’d escaped the thorns, and as she lurched into the clearing of Link’s cabin, she sighed in relief. It didn’t feel like home, but something close.

It was early morning, and Link was sitting on his front porch cleaning his rifles, but at her arrival, he jerked his too-bright gaze directly to her. His nostrils flared delicately, and his dark eyebrows lifted slightly. “Briar patch?”

“She hates me.”

Link snickered and twitched his head. “Your mate is already gone out on a delivery. I would call him back, but he sucks at answering phones.” Link narrowed his eyes and looked at her wild hair in a calculating way. “You look crazier than me. If you want to go into town with me, you should probably put some clothes on.”

Vera tossed a despairing look down at her dirt-caked body. She looked like a tic-tac-toe board with only X’s. Still, the thought of going into town softened the blow of Tobias being gone already. “Give me an hour to wash the crazy off.”

Link wiped a cloth all the way down the barrel of a .270. “Yep.”

She zombie-stumbled to the shed and began the long process of filling up an oversize metal tub in back. Clean, hair fixed in a damp, messy bun, and make-up carefully applied, Vera’s shoulders sagged in relief as she stared at herself in the mirror. She looked tired and stressed, but she was human and, right now, she was counting that as a tiny victory. Three days Changed was way better than two weeks. Sure, she was still disappointed it had taken that long to convince Fox to share, but determined to be a bright-side kind of gal, Vera lifted her chin, smiled brightly, and said, “Good job, Fox.”

The wee beasty inside of her pushed a growl up her throat. Lovely.

Ignoring the grumbly little cuss, she grabbed her purse and made her way toward Link’s mud-spattered green Bronco where he was leaning, chewing on a long blade of grass and talking to himself. Or arguing, she realized as she got closer. Pity took her. Eustice had started doing that near the end, and for the millionth time, she wished she could do something for the McCalls.