Page 75 of Shrouded in the Dark

“Damn right you do!” Cody’s voice carried across the floor. “You have months and months of hard sex to make up for lost time!”

Axel squeezed my hand as we both laughed together. His shoulders relaxed. It looked like this had been weighing on him.

“We’ll talk more about this when we get back.” He gave me a soft kiss that made a shiver go up my spine.

I nodded as we walked back to the others.

“Do I get to see everyone’s animals?” The idea perked me right up.

Arms wrapped around my waist pulling me into a toned chest. Cody rested his chin on my shoulder.

“It’s only fair. You met my wolf. Right, Seth?” he teased him.

Seth had been looking out the windows to the back deck. “I don’t see why not. We won’t have time to do a proper introduction, but you could put our cell phones around our animals necks. That would actually be helpful.” His stunning eyes locked onto mine as he turned his head back to look at us.

“We’ll change outside, it’ll be quicker. Cody, get our cell phones ready. Jasper, you know where to go?” The ease that he held himself as he gave orders was distracting.

I wondered if he was bossy in the bedroom, too. Most likely, based on our kisses. I slapped my cheeks. It was no time to get lost in a fantasy. Just because I slept with Cody didn’t mean I was going to just jump into the other guys arms. Now, if only I could actually make myself believe that.

Several minutes later, I found myself out on the deck with the guys around me. The sun was high in the sky as it beat down on us. I held the cell phone holder necklace things that they wore when they shifted into their animals. I could still barely believe that they weren’t human. Even though I’d seen Axel and Cody change.

“Better close your eyes, love, if you don’t want a show.” Jasper came forward to kiss my forehead one last time. “See you in a few hours.”

“Alright, let’s shift, lads.” Seth removed his shirt, throwing it to the side. He smirked at me as my eyes roamed his chest.

Dear God. They all had their shirts off in seconds. I was close to having a bloody nose. Totally overloaded by muscles galore. As soon as Seth’s hands went to his waist, my eyes shut tightly. The sounds of the rest of their clothes joining their shirts had me squirming as I fought to keep my eyes closed. I would not peek!

Who was kidding? I wanted to peek. Slapping my hands over my eyes, I opened my right eye to look through the small gap between my fingers. I didn’t see any of them naked, I’d been too slow, but my hands slid from my face as I looked at what was before me.

I’d seen tigers at the zoo, just like most people did. But seeing them at the zoo was nothing like standing three feet from one. Seth’s head was big, really big. His body was sleek as his fur practically glimmered in the sunlight. The colors of his fur were fascinating. His black stripes moved in a waving fashion along his body. He had to be at least ten feet in length. His tail moved slowly from where he sat patiently.

When he yawned at me, flashing his sharp, long, and very big teeth, I snorted. “You don’t scare me, pussy cat.”

There were sounds of chuffing around me. The others seemed to be laughing, or at least trying to. Seth stood from sitting, taking the two steps to be directly in front of me. He rubbed his head against my stomach. I took that as permission to sink my fingers into his fur and sighed. He was a little scruffy on top but as my fingers sunk into his coat, he was fuzzy and soft. Behind his ears were especially soft. He seemed to approve since he pushed his head more, which made me stumble backward.

Instead of falling, my back hit a solid and very furry side. Axel was making sure I didn’t fall. I smiled brightly at him. I couldn’t resist, I ran my cheek along his side. A yip from my side brought my attention to an unnaturally big fox.

Jasper had to be the size of a large dog, like a lab or slightly bigger. He was all a dark red along his body, except for his feet and face. He looked like a much larger version of the fox I had painted.

“…How?” My whisper was soft as I touched Jasper's ears gently. “My painting… it’s you. But, how?”

His head titled as his nose pressed against my arm. “Right. We can talk about that later.” I placed the necklaces over their necks, kissing their noses. “Be safe.”

The last one to get his cellphone was Cody. He’d sat further away, letting me say hello to the others' animals. His fur didn’t reflect the light, it was like it swallowed the sunlight. After I placed his necklace over his neck, I hugged him tightly.

“Come back to me.”

Cody licked my cheek as we pulled apart. His grey eyes were bright and he winked at me slowly, making me laugh.

Seth pushed the door open as he pointed with his humongous paw inside.

“Fine. I’m going.” After the door shut, I activated the security system. The guys gave me one last look before they were running off the deck and into the forest. “Tigers, foxes, wolves, and bears, oh my,” I whispered softly as the shutters blocked my view of the outside.

* * *

Becca

Try as I might, I couldn’t focus on anything but the worry that rolled in my gut. I’d resorted to pacing in the living room. I’d tried to work on my art, any medium, really, but I stared at the supplies and couldn’t sit still.