I approach cautiously, sniffing the air. Incense, lavender or some other hippie oils. Normal human smells, blended with the wilderness scent. But something else. Cigarette ash.
"Is your mom a smoker?" I ask when I go back to the truck.
"You mean, like, pot?"
"Tobacco."
"No way."
"When did you last see her?"
Foxfire thinks for a bit. "Maybe last Thanksgiving? Or the year before that. Wait, what year is it?"
"Never mind."
I open her door.
"Thank you." Her cheeks color. Her nipples press against her shirt. I've got to get her thicker clothes. No one should see that sweet body but me.
Not that I'm claiming her.
She grabs a jacket out of her bag and tugs it on. She's still in her Daisy Dukes, so she looks fully ridiculous. And hot.
As we approach the trailer, the door creaks open.
"Mom?" Foxfire calls.
I hold out my hand to stop her. "Does she usually leave it wide open?"
"Not usually, but she rarely locks it. Says anyone who steals from her needs it more than she does." Foxfire shrugs. "She doesn't own much."
Lots and lots of windchimes, and dream catchers hung from the awning and in the trees around.
I walk inside. The place is a wreck. Not just messy, but trashed. I'm about to ask Foxfire if this is typical of her mom's housekeeping, when she lets out a sob.
"Mom?"
We search, but no one is there. I try to get a scent of the place, but it's too clogged with the smell of burnt sage. I cough and step outside to clear my head. That's when I notice what's in the dirt beside the door.
Boot prints.
"Does your mom have a man?" I ask Foxfire when she wanders out. "Someone who smokes?"
"She'd never date a smoker. She hates Big Tobacco."
I show her the prints with the cigarette ash. "Someone was here."
"They came for her, like they came for me. She's in trouble, Tank. I know she is."
"Maybe not. You said her car isn't here, right? Maybe she's hiding somewhere." I wrap my arms around her. I want to comfort her, but all I can think about is how Foxfire is with me, safe, when she would otherwise be in danger.
It takes me a moment to realize she's pushing at my chest.
"Let me go," she says, and takes all the space I give her. She wraps her arms around herself and walks away.
Damn, she blames me. I kept her from getting the phone call from her mom last night.
"Foxfire-" I jog to catch her arm, but she twists it out of my grasp.
I release her, let her scuttle away. I don't want to hurt her. I want to comfort her.
"Leave me alone," she snaps, and runs toward the pine trees.
"Foxfire, no." I use every ounce of alpha command I can muster. She can't turn into a fox. Not here-there are cars zooming by just a few hundred feet away.
I find her facing a tree, her fists clenched.
"Come on," she whispers. "Come on."
She's calling on her fox, but her animal won't give her release. Not until I allow it.
"Foxfire, it's okay. We'll find her."
"She's my mom. She's the only family I have. If something happened to her, I have no one. No one. I'm all alone."
"Hush." I pull her into my arms, scoop her up to carry her back to the truck. Without thinking, I kiss her temple. "You have me."
~.~
Foxfire
I watch mom's trailer disappear behind us as we drive away. It's chilly, but that's not why I'm shivering.
I couldn't shift. My fox sits inside me, waiting, but she wouldn't come out and let me escape my panic for a moment.
Figures. I'm a freak of a human, so why wouldn't my fox be broken? Foxfire, a shifter who can't even shift.
I barely notice where Tank is driving until he parks on a forest road. We're not in Flagstaff or near civilization.
"Come on," he says.
"Where are we going?"
"We're going for a run."
"Here? Now?"
"This is a national forest."
"It's almost dusk."
He pulls his shirt off and tosses it in the front seat. "We'll run in the moonlight." He strips out of his jeans. My mouth goes dry. "You coming?" He's almost naked.
"You should take your clothes off first. Less wear and tear. Trust me."
I give him a small smile.
It's chilly in the cool spring air.
"Come here." He gathers me in his arms.
He's so strong and warm. Super warm. After a minute, I relax against him.
"There you go, baby," he murmurs.
I shut my eyes and melt into his strong arms. A barrier between me and the world. A girl could get used to this. If I'm smart, I won't.
"You ready?"
"I can't. I can't do it."
"I know. I stopped you back there with alpha command. You were panicked, and it wasn't a good idea. But we're safe here."
Safe. With Tank.
"I don't… I don't know-"
"Call her, baby. Call your fox. Just relax."
"What if she doesn't come?"
"She will." He dips his head and kisses me. When his lips break away, his eyes glint amber. "Now, Foxfire." His voice holds that same authority he used before.
My body shivers at the order, and he steps away.
The world changes. The cold and my chilled flesh swirl away. I'm on all fours, low to the ground, but it feels right.
I blink at the giant black wolf with yellow eyes facing me. He trots over and licks my muzzle until the tingles are out of my limbs. I take a step, hesitate. Tank nudges my side.
And we're off. Running. Sometimes Tank's in the lead, sometimes he's behind me.
I race, but I take many steps to his single loping stride.
I find a few tight places to hide, but he flushes me out.