At first it seemed like getting the night-blooming jasmine would be easy. Jo slipped across the back lawn in her little white tennis shoes as quiet as a cat. Lady Moon was waxing—she was over three quarters full by now—and shed plenty of light on this cloudless night.

Jo reached the edge of the woods at the border of Reese’s backyard, and stood there, listening and watching. She couldn’t hear or see anything but the moonlight on the branches and the soft rustling of the wind in the trees. The Shadow Creature was gone—Jo didn’t even feel a hint of malice in the chilly night air.

All right. So far so good . . . Now she just had to find some night-blooming jasmine and get in and out of the forest with it and back to the house without Reese seeing her.

Closing her eyes for a moment, she pointed her face into the wind and took some deep breaths. The scent of night-blooming jasmine could extend for as much as twenty to thirty feet around the plant itself. It was going to be a matter of following her nose . . .

Soon a sweet, heady aroma came to her. Jo opened her eyes and took a step toward the scent. She peered through the branches of the trees and again, saw no sign of the Shadow Creature. Another step and the scent got even stronger.

It must be close—really close. Looking deeper into the woods, she thought she saw a glimmer of white—like moonlight on a cluster of flowers. That must be it! All right—here goes nothing.

Taking a deep breath to nerve herself up, Jo dashed lightly into the forest. Bobbing and weaving around the branches, her feet crunching on dry leaves, she ran as fast as she could, intent on grabbing just a handful of the greenish-white bell-shaped flowers and getting back to the yard as quickly as possible.

She was reaching for them, the little waxy blossoms brushing her fingertips—when a hand grabbed her arm.

Jo shrieked in surprise as someone terribly strong gripped her wrist.

“All right now, none of that,” a rough, masculine voice said as a hand was slapped over her mouth.

Jo kicked and struggled, her past rushing up to swallow her whole as terror coursed through her, sharp and jagged as lightning. She bit down on the hand over her mouth but it was covered in some kind of thick, black glove and her teeth only sank into the rough, suede fabric, making no impression.

“Well, well—you’re quite a little fighter, aren’t you?” Her captor sounded amused. “Don’t worry, witch. I’m not going to hurt you—yet.”

His words seemed to unlock something inside Jo—something that had been growing slowly since the last full moon. Just as she had at the coffee shop, she felt a tingling start in her fingertips.

You bastard, let’s see how you like this!

Reaching back with her free hand, she planted it firmly against her attacker’s torso and concentrated on shooting the energy out at him, deliberately using her new power for the first time.

The man grunted and jerked, as though he’d been punched. But her attacker never loosened his grip on her wrist, though his hand did slip from her mouth.

“Leave me alone! Get off me!” Jo shouted, ramming an elbow back against his midsection.

He gave another grunt and pulled her closer, nearly breaking her wrist in the process.

“Mouthy little bitch!” he snarled in her ear. “And strong too. Good thing I invested in some anti-magic gloves or that last blast would have thrown me.”

“Anti . . . anti-magic?” Jo panted.

He laughed harshly. “You think I’d come against you unprepared? Hell, with your Shifter blood you’re the most powerful witch in the country right now—you should be, anyway, if that fucking Fox has bred you.”

“Wh-what?” Jo shook her head, still tugging against the cruel, gloved hand encircling her wrist. “Reese never . . . I wouldn’t . . .”

“He hasn’t bred you yet?” Her attacker shook her so roughly Jo’s teeth clicked together on the tip of her tongue and she tasted warm blood.

“I . . . no!” she gasped. “No he . . . he never . . .”

The man shook her again, angrily.

“What the hell is wrong with you, you little bitch? After that lust spell you worked and the Juvie scent you’re putting out, he ought to be all over you! There ought to be a baby planted in your belly by now and you’re telling me he hasn’t even fucked you yet?”

“Get your hands off my female!” The low growling voice was familiar and Jo felt a stab of relief.

Reese! Oh, thank the Goddess.

He was standing there, having come up silently while her attacker was shouting at her and shaking her, Jo guessed. His eyes were glowing a pale gold and there was murder on his face.

“Let . . . her . . . go,” he snarled, reaching for the man.

Jo’s attacker laughed and took a step back, dragging Jo with him.

“Or what? You’ll turn into an itty-bitty fox and nibble my ankle? I’ve seen your animal form—hell, a Pekinese is scarier than that.”

“I’ll nibble a hell of a lot more than your ankle, asshole. I’m going to fuck you up!”

The last word ended in a roar and then Reese was changing . . . Shifting under the moonlight before Jo’s eyes.

But he wasn’t transforming into the tiny, cute creature Jo had come to love so much. Instead of shrinking down and having to wiggle out of his jeans and t-shirt as he usually did, Reese burst out of his clothes as he Shifted.

The familiar red coat and white ruff appeared, as did his pointed muzzle and black-edged ears. But they were on a much larger scale than before. His mass doubled and then tripled as he grew and grew until he was bigger than any of the dire wolves that had chased Jo that first night in the forest.

She stared at the huge Fox, her eyes widening in fear. He wasn’t so cute and cuddly anymore. In fact, he was freaking terrifying. Eyes as big as baseballs glowed gold and green in the darkness and when he bared his teeth, Jo saw they were sharply pointed and as long as her hand. The huge, leonine head swung toward her attacker and a low, rumbling growl came from his shaggy throat.

“Holy shit!” the man who had grabbed her breathed in Jo’s ear. “What the fuck?” His grip on her wrist, which had been so tight she’d been afraid he might break her arm, suddenly loosened.

The giant Fox took a step forward, its menacing growl still rising into the cold autumn air. Jo didn’t know which she was more afraid of—the man who’d grabbed her or this immense, wild beast which bore almost no resemblance to the cute, fluffy animal she’d been cuddling with for over a week.

With a cry, she ripped away from her attacker and dashed through the woods. Away, she had to get away from here! From the Fox, the attacker, from this whole situation.

She heard a hoarse cry and a crunching sound like boots on dry leaves and knew her attacker was running too. There was a blood-curdling sound—a howl that was half scream which sent another shiver of fear down her spine—and she knew the Fox must be in pursuit.

But in pursuit of who? Who was the man who had almost kidnapped her and how had he known so much about her?

Jo didn’t have time to think about it at the moment.

She ran blindly, not sure what else to do, crashing through the forest as branches whipped her in the face and dead leaves crunched under her feet. Only one thought pounded in her brain over and over—Have to get away from here! Have to get away!

She wasn’t paying any attention to where she was running—the only direction she cared about was away. She ran for what felt like forever but finally she was forced to stop because she literally couldn’t go on anymore.

Jo staggered to a stop under a tree, her breath tearing in her lungs as she heaved in great gasps of air. She put a hand to her chest and tried to still her galloping heart,

All right—it’s all right, she told herself. Her attacker was gone and so was the giant Fox. And thanks be to the Goddess, the Shadow Creature hadn’t shown up. She was all alone in the forest at night but that was fine—the main thing was the “alone” part.

Still . . . where was she? Jo looked around, searching for the familiar golden glow of Reese’s back porch light. She couldn’t see anything but blackness and trees and moonlight. The house was completely out of sight and with it gone, her sense of direction in the dark forest was nonexistent.

Before, when she’d been alone and on her own, she’d been able to work little directional spells to give her an idea of where to go. But all her Casting equipment was back at Reese’s house.

Not that I’m sure I want to go back there! she thought with a shiver, remembering the massive beast he’d turned into. How could he pretend all this time that he was little and cute and cuddly when he had an animal bigger than a dire wolf inside him?

She felt betrayed . . . lied to and hurt. Also scared. What was she going to do? What if her attacker got away from the Fox and came back? Or what if the Fox came and found her? What would she do? She knew deep down that the huge beast was still just Reese inside but still, it was a hell of a lot scarier than his cute little form.

At last, unsure of what else she could do, Jo started walking just to keep warm. There was nothing else she could do. She was out in the middle of the forest with no way to find her way back.

There was no sugarcoating it—she was lost.

* * *

Reese nosed through the underbrush, smelling for traces of Jo’s sweet scent. He had chased her attacker as far as he could and then the male had somehow suddenly disappeared. How he had done it, Reese didn’t know. One minute the man was there, racing just ahead with Reese hot on his heels and the next minute he was gone—vanished into thin air.

He sniffed around some, trying to find the scent again but it had also disappeared. Reese’s Fox didn’t like that—it didn’t make sense. But at last he realized that the attacker was gone for good and Jo had been left alone in the forest.

Alone . . . sudden fear stabbed at him. What if the man had only been a distraction—a diversion so that someone else could grab Jo? It was a complicated concept to grasp in his animal form but once he had it, Reese was terribly frightened it might be true.

Jo! Have to find Jo! Have to make sure she’s safe!

The chase had led him deep into the woods and he had no idea what direction Jo had gone in. He hoped she’d headed back for the house—if she hadn’t been grabbed, Goddess forbid. But when he finally found the place where the attack had first taken place, he could tell by the scents that lingered in the cool night air that she hadn’t gone back home. There was no sign of her but her scent trail led deeper into the forest.

Reese stayed in Fox form—it was much easier to track her that way. Putting his nose down to the forest floor, he scented for her, following the smell of her long hair and the rubber of her little tennis shoes but most of all, the warm, enticing aroma of a Juvie in heat. He just hoped no other Alpha Shifter was out tonight in the woods—Jo’s scent would lead them right to her.

Have to find her, he thought anxiously. Have to make sure she’s all right—that she’s safe. She’s mine to protect—mine to guard. Mine!

* * *

Jo didn’t know how long she wandered or where she was going. At first she was afraid her attacker or the Shadow Creature might show up again. But after a while, she just concentrated on keeping warm. It had gotten a great deal colder in the week since she’d come to Reese’s house and the two sweaters and thin jeans she had on weren’t nearly enough protection against the icy wind which howled through the trees like an uneasy ghost.

Goddess, I’m freezing! Have to keep going.

Jo knew it was true. It was plenty cold enough out here to die from exposure or hypothermia. If she stopped to lay down, as she desperately wanted to do, she might never get back up again.

Her arms wrapped around herself, as she staggered forward doggedly.

Just keep putting one foot in front of the other, she told herself grimly. Just keep—

Something caught the toe of her shoe—probably a root. With a little cry, she pitched forward, the dark ground coming up to meet her with no warning.

Jo tried to put out her hands to try and stop her fall but she’d had them tucked under her armpits for warmth and her fingers tangled in the loose cable knit of her sweater. Before she knew it, something hard hit her in the side of the head.

She gave a sharp cry and knew no more.