Amelia blushed and looked at her feet. Healthy babies… Whose healthy babies? Seth’s?
“Anyway, let’s not have this conversation,” continued Blake. “I hate my body. End of story. It’s something that will never change. I’m not feminine enough for a man to ever feel attracted to me, and I’m not strong and chiseled enough to impose myself physically. I would probably be able to take down any male werefox in a fight, but let’s face it: he’s not going to feel threatened when he sees me.”
“I think that’s an advantage,” offered Amelia reluctantly. She had had no idea Blake was so insecure. She had always seen her as this badass Alpha who was ready to turn the world over for the good of her clan.
“Yeah… might be…” She threw her socks on the pile of clothes and relaxed all the muscles in her body in preparation for the transformation.
The crack of bones made Amelia gasp. When Seth changed, he was powerful and majestic. When Blake changed, she was elegant and graceful. It took less than a minute, showing how experienced Blake was. Now, before Amelia stood a tall white fox with lithe legs, a strong body, and rather long, pointy ears rimmed with black hairs. That small trait probably came from her mother’s side, just as Blake’s dark hair, which made her stand out in a sea of white, arctic foxes. But that was not what fascinated Am
elia the most. The five tails, as white as snow with a bit of black at the tips, took her breath away.
“Oh my!” She covered her mouth with her hand as her eyes lingered on the long, thick, gorgeous tails. “Five… you’re a five-tailed vixen. I’ve never heard of a female fox-shifter with so many tails. Oh. My. God. You’re the only one in the world! If only they knew…”
Yes, Blake’s father did have five tails himself, but he was an old, experienced Inari. In a culture in which females, be they human or shifters, weren’t shown the same respect as men, a vixen with five tails was unheard of.
“I don’t… I don’t even know why I’m so shocked. Of course you’d be wise and powerful, capable of ruling over the clan at least as well as Roman. All those years of intense study… they certainly weren’t in vain…”
The white fox stepped closer to Amelia and tipped her head, as if she was trying to ask her something. Amelia realized Blake had no way of communicating with her while in her animal form, so she took advantage of the situation.
“I’m sorry you’ve lost so much. I’m sorry your father’s decisions and plans robbed you of a normal childhood and youth, of a possible relationship with someone special… I’m so, so sorry…” She reached for the vixen’s long snout, but the shape-shifter pulled back and frowned. “I know you’re tough and independent, and confident… I know you don’t need anyone’s sympathy, but I want you to hear this… I want you to know that I care. You’re my friend, my best friend. I care and I love you like a sister… We all do. Seth, Aaron, Elena… We’ll always be there for you no matter what.”
Blake had clearly gotten bored with Amelia’s ramblings, so she turned around and started walking towards the mansion. Amelia lifted her skirt again and did her best to keep up with the vixen’s wide steps, which was impossible. She smiled to herself and hugged the cloth strips closer to her chest. They were Blake’s secret. Her best friend’s secret. If needed, she would take that secret with her to the grave.
***
When Seth came to take Amelia out for a walk after breakfast, she was tired, but not for the reasons the whole clan presumed. She and Blake had drunk wine and played chess all night, until Amelia eventually passed out on Blake’s bed and slept for three hours. When she woke up, the vixen was there to laugh at her inability to hold her liquor and asked the maid to serve breakfast in their room.
Their room… Amelia smiled while walking one step behind Seth. They had left the docks behind and they were heading east, although they didn’t have a particular destination. They were just walking in silence, enjoying each other’s presence.
“Today I’m moving in with Blake,” Amelia said.
“Makes sense.”
“Yeah. It won’t be much different from Alma Venus, you know. Except this time I’ll have to share the same bed with my roommate.”
Seth was silent. He still couldn’t forget the way Amelia had looked in her long, white dress the night before. Her brown curls falling around her pretty face, the dark eye-shadow and long eyelashes making her eyes stand out, the nude lipstick plumping up her lips… He got a hard-on every time these images flashed into his mind.
“Are you okay?” Amelia picked up the pace so she could search his face.
“Not really, no.” He stopped and turned to her, but his eyes were fixed on the river behind her. The sun was slowly inching towards the center of the sky, announcing a warm, pleasant day. “We’ve been so reckless… Spending so much time together, going to my cabin two times in row… Even what we’re doing now is risky.”
“Oh…” She wasn’t sure where this was going, but she had a feeling she wouldn’t like it. He was right, however. They had been rather reckless. They had allowed their lust and passion for each other to cloud their judgment.
“Still, I couldn’t help it. I had to see you this morning. I didn’t stay at the party until the end. I helped Roman back to his room, then went home and tried to get some sleep. It was impossible.” His eyes finally found hers. “I thought about you all night, fantasized about peeling that dress off your body… God, this is going to be so hard!”
Amelia stepped closer and buried her head in his chest. They were far enough from Ekviknuna, and the whole town was almost asleep anyway. The mating ritual and the party had drained them. Seth wrapped his arms around her small body and let out a deep sigh.
“We have to be careful, Amelia. We can’t make any mistakes.”
“Does this mean we can’t see each other anymore?”
Seth’s heart ached at the thought. “No, I wouldn’t be able to live if I didn’t see you every day. But we can’t spend so much time together, we can’t risk being seen alone. You’re Blake’s bride now, the future Alpha bride of Clan Sylfur.”
“As if they gave a toss about me…”
“They will. Blake will make sure they will show you the respect you deserve. When he takes over, he’s going to change so many things.”
Amelia chuckled. “It’s so strange that you refer to Blake with “he” even when there’s just the two of us…”