Wolf’s Fox by Juniper Hart

17

An hour passed, the darkness of the road the only solace to Ruthie. Despite Nicholas’ constant assurances that they weren’t being followed, she could not help but feel the oppressive presence of Luthor’s men gaining on her.

How did he find me after all this time?

The question played in her head over and over, but she had no good answer. She realized now that she had only thought herself safe in the comfort of Nicholas’ presence.

“No one is going to get you, Ruthie,” Nicholas vowed, reading her mind. “Haven’t I proved that already?”

“Pull over.” She caught his startled glance out of the corner of her eye.

“We’re on the interstate,” he reminded her. “I can’t just pull over.”

“You should let me go.”

He scoffed. “That’s not going to happen.”

“Nicholas, it’s the only way to ensure that I’m not a burden to you.”

“You’re not a burden,” he grumbled. “Stop saying things like that. You’re my mate, and I’m not just letting you run off into the night.”

“Once I shift back, you should let me go,” she muttered.

“No,” he said firmly. “I have a plan, but you have to trust me.”

She cast him a sidelong look. “What plan?”

A sign announcing their arrival in Wisconsin made Ruthie tense.

“I thought we were headed north,” she muttered. “Where are we going?”

“We’re meeting a friend,” Nicholas explained. Ruthie tensed more.

“Who? What friend? Where?”

“My brother’s mate,” he answered. “Her name is Heidi. She’s going to meet us in La Crosse.”

Ruthie had no idea where that was, but the idea of meeting a stranger for unknown reasons did not appeal to her in the slightest. “Why? What can she do?”

Nicholas seemed like he wasn’t going to say, but he eventually blurted out what he had in mind.

“She’s going to try and lift the curse from you,” he said quietly. “She’s one of the strongest witches I know of.”

“We’ve talked about this!” Ruthie protested.

“We talked about not lifting the curse because you were worried that Luthor would find you. That ship has sailed, Ruthie. He knows where you are now, and we can’t fight him if you’re constantly in your animal form.”

She opened her mouth to argue but realized what he was saying was true. There was no point in trying to avoid the inevitable now. Ruthie pressed her lips together.

“What makes you think she can help?” she asked instead, unconvinced that there was ever an out to any of this.

“She once put a powerful curse on my father,” he replied slowly. “Or at least she thought she had.”

Ruthie eyed him. “What does that mean?”

“Heidi used to be part of my father’s original cult,” he said, sounding pained at the memory. “But she quickly realized that she didn’t want any part of what he was doing, and she put a curse on him to stop him from procreating, after me and my brothers were born.”

Ruthie’s eyes were like saucers.

“Did it work?” she asked dubiously. She had never heard this story—not that she considered herself an expert on anything related to Baneism. Her limited knowledge had come from being under Luthor’s reign.

“For a time,” Nicholas said. “Then my half-sister, Bristol, was born, eight years later. She was considered something of a miracle, but I personally think that Heidi’s spell wore off.”

Ruthie balked, the implications clear.

“So even if she can help, it might not take?” she asked slowly.

“We have to try, Ruthie.” He reached out again to seize her fingers, but this time, she didn’t pull away.

He’s doing his best for me, she realized, knowing that she was behaving badly. The stress of the situation was more than she could handle, but Nicholas was on her side.

“I trust you,” she told him, her voice raspy. “You’ve kept me safe this long.”

“And I will continue to keep you safe,” he promised, squeezing her fingers. “You just have to keep trusting me.”

* * *

It tookover two hours to reach La Crosse. Ruthie was painfully aware of every second. When Nicholas pulled up in the parking lot of a closed diner, another car was already there.

“You made it,” Nicholas said, looking relieved when the fire-haired woman exited the vehicle.

“A dragon friend owed me a favor,” Heidi replied, striding closer. “He flew me over, so I didn’t have to wait for a flight.”

“I appreciate you coming on such short notice,” Nicholas told her. “This is Ruthie.”

“Yes,” Heidi said slowly, her eyes raking over the fox’s face and body. “You’re in an interesting predicament, I understand.”

Ruthie said nothing, her own gaze following her warily.

“Tell me about the spell,” the witch said, pausing her walkaround. She locked eyes with Heidi. “Who was the witch?”

“H-her name is…was Reyna,” Ruthie mumbled. “She helped me escape, but she said this was the only way.”

“I’ve never heard of her,” Heidi offered. “But that doesn’t necessarily mean anything. Still, that’s quite an odd curse. There shouldn’t be a reason that you couldn’t stay hidden without being turned full-time into your animal form.”

A fusion of relief and added tension swept through Ruthie.

“Do you think you can do something about it?” she asked, not wanting to get her hopes up. The look on Heidi’s face was difficult to read. Abruptly, the redhead nodded.

“Yes, I think so. Come with me.” She gestured for Ruthie to follow her toward the waiting car. Nicholas started after them, but Heidi shook her head.

“It’s better if you wait here,” she told him. “It’s less distracting for everyone that way.”

Nicholas grunted, but he didn’t fight.

“I’ll be right here,” he told Ruthie, who nodded nervously. “You’re in good hands.” He embraced her quickly and placed a soft kiss on her lips.

“What if this doesn’t work?” Ruthie whispered worriedly. “Do you have another plan?”

“Why don’t we just see what happens first?” Nicholas said huskily, brushing a strand of stray platinum hair away from her face. “Then we’ll see if we need another plan at all.”

His optimism was vaguely catching, and he released her, eyes darting up toward the still black night.

Time isn’t on our side.

Heidi wandered toward the rented vehicle and climbed inside, busying herself in the backseat. Slowly, Ruthie moved to join her.

“Come in here,” Heidi said. “I think I’ve got the right herbs to make this a distant memory.”

Ruthie climbed inside and closed the door behind her, waiting expectantly for Heidi to do whatever it was that needed to be done.

“How long have you been living like this?” Heidi asked. Ruthie wondered if the amount of time was really pertinent, but she answered anyway.

“Over fifty years,” she confessed. “Since the day before my eighteenth birthday. I was to be bound to Luthor the next day.”

“Wow,” Heidi sighed. “That’s incredible. I don’t know how you managed.” She flashed Ruthie a smile. “You’ll have to regale me with that story—after we get you right.” She paused and looked intently at Ruthie’s face. “Are you scared?”

Ruthie swallowed visibly and nodded. “Yes,” she confessed in a whisper. “I…I haven’t lived any other way in decades.”

Heidi nodded wisely. “But you did live normally once,” she reminded her. “And with Nicholas’ help, you’ll learn to do it again.”

She bore such confidence that Ruthie began to feel her shoulders relax.

“It will be nice to be able to shift at will again,” she said, an excitement growing inside her. “And to…be with Nicholas anytime.”

“Now hold onto that thought, that feeling,” Heidi said urgently, leaning forward with a smile. “Close your eyes.”

Ruthie did as she was instructed. Heidi inhaled deeply and released a massive breath, her words slow and deliberate but nonsensical at times. Ruthie resisted the urge to peek at her face, knowing that she couldn’t break concentration if she wanted the spell to work.

All around her, she felt waves of energy pulsating, Heidi’s hands moving to create more friction. Ruthie strained to understand, a sweet but musky smell filling the car. Heidi’s voice grew louder, her words more insistent but just as incomprehensible. Shivers ran down Ruthie’s neck and back, but she kept her eyes closed.

“I release thee,” Heidi chanted and suddenly, there was a huge clap. Gasping, Ruthie’s lids parted inadvertently.

“I’m sorry!” she choked, thinking she’d ruined everything. “You startled me.”

Heidi grinned nonchalantly. “No need to apologize. I broke the spell.”

Dumbfounded, Ruthie gaped at her.

“A-are you sure?” she asked, trying to determine if she felt different in any way.

Heidi chuckled. “I’m sure.”

Impulsively, Ruthie threw her arms around the redheaded witch, and Heidi giggled, returning her embrace.

“Thank you!” Ruthie choked, even though she wasn’t entirely convinced. Heidi’s assurances did something to give her faith, however.

“Just doing my job,” Heidi chuckled. The women parted, and Heidi’s smile faded. “But this is only part of the solution, Ruthie. What are you going to do about this dragon that you’re promised to?”

“I wasn’t promised to him!” Ruthie cried indignantly. “I didn’t make any promises.”

“Then your commitment to him isn’t legally binding,” Heidi said, nodding sagely. Another spark of hope shot through Ruthie.

“Really?” she demanded. “I-I don’t have to go back to him?”

Heidi sighed. “It’s not that simple, Ruthie. The old ways are still honored by the more ancient types. Just because the contract isn’t legal doesn’t mean that Luthor won’t keep coming after you. We just have to figure out a way to get him off your back.”

The use of the word ‘we’ reminded Ruthie once more that she wasn’t alone.

“Do you think there’s something you can do about it?” Ruthie asked hopefully. Heidi smiled sadly.

“I don’t know yet,” she admitted. “But you’re part of my family, and I’ll do everything I can to keep you safe.”

Emotion choked Ruthie’s chest but before she could thank Heidi again, the redhead spoke.

“Go back to Nicholas,” Heidi said softly, nodding back toward the Jeep parked behind him. “He’s probably going crazy. We’ve been in here over an hour. We’ll be in touch, I promise.”

Ruthie hadn’t realized how long they’d been there. “Thank you for everything, Heidi.”

“Don’t be a stranger,” Heidi told her. “We will get this figured out, and when we do, you will have to come to Fort Lauderdale and meet my twins!”

“You have twins?” Ruthie asked, her heart swelling with the prospect.

“Yes, with Nicholas’ brother, Lincoln.”

Would it be so bad to have a baby with Nicholas, to give Heidi’s twins a cousin to play with?

She found herself looking out the back windshield to where Nicholas sat, hands curled around the steering wheel as he tried to see what was happening in their vehicle. She knew it wasn’t really the time to have such thoughts, particularly not after the anger she’d displayed when Nicholas had suggested the same thing, hours earlier. Yet Heidi’s happy, confident face made Ruthie wonder if she wasn’t missing out on something she had never considered for herself.

It’s possible now. The curse is lifted…I think. Maybe Nicholas is right. Maybe we could try for a baby.

Heidi continued. “You’ll come and meet them soon. We don’t see enough of Nicholas as it is. You’ll visit.”

It wasn’t a question, but Ruthie nodded anyway, opening the car door as she flashed Heidi a final smile goodbye.

“I will,” she promised, stepping out of the vehicle. “You have my—”

She didn’t have the opportunity to finish her sentence. The sound of wings flapping about and a piercing screech filled the air as a huge form descended upon them.

“Ruthie, RUN!” Heidi screamed, but it was too late. She was caught up in the sharp claws of the flying beast, dangling in the air as Heidi and Nicholas leapt from their cars.

“RUTHIE!” Nicholas howled. “PUT HER DOWN!”

She wriggled against the grasp of the ascending dragon, but he ignored the figures below, spiraling upward into the graying sky. Fighting him would only lead to more trouble. A fall from that height would not fare well for her. There was truly no escape now, Nicholas vanishing into the landscape below.

And Ruthie began to sob as she realized she would likely never see him again.