Page 26 of Vow Of A Fox

“I’ll need a little time to grab the correct sedative and a cage to secure him in from the clinic,” Ben said.

Dean leaned back in his chair, his steady gaze bouncing around to each of us. “Okay, nine o’clock work for everyone? We can meet in the woods near Lucius’s grave and get this done.”

Everyone agreed, and I breathed a sigh of relief along with everyone else. It was short-lived though, because, yes, we had a plan, but that didn’t mean this was going to be easy.

10

BEN

Ipulled over onto the side of the road in the exact spot I’d parked my truck when I saw Sienna shift into her fox. Being back here felt like a dream. Well, maybe in this situation it would be a nightmare.

I wasn’t sure yet.

There was an unnatural stillness to this place that amped up my nerves.

“You okay?” Sienna asked, her eyes on me as if she could sense my unease.

Maybe she could being what she was while also being my mate. I wasn’t going to pretend to know how any of this worked.

“Just taking it all in. This place has a creepy vibe to it, you know?”

“Yeah, but don’t let it get in your head. We’ve got this.”

She was so certain. I liked that. It was what I needed to hear.

“Right,” I muttered, slipping the syringe into my coat pocket.

The weight of it felt heavier than it should. Maybe it was because this wasn’t just about sedating a raven—it was about stopping something darker and much larger than I fully understood.

Together, we climbed out of my truck. I made my way to the bed, grabbing the cage I’d snagged from the clinic, while Sienna headed to where the others had gathered near the edge of the woods. As I walked toward them, I scanned them all. Dean stood tall with his arms crossed, while Waylen casually leaned against a tree trunk. Astrid stood near Lyra, her sharp gaze alert as she scanned the tree line.

Rachel strode toward me.

“Ready for this?” she asked.

“As ready as I’ll ever be.”

She nodded. “Is this your first time seeing someone shift?”

“I saw Sienna—by accident,” I replied.

“Well, seeing them all shift is wild at first,” she said, her tone light. “But you’ll get used to it. Just keep in mind that it’s still them, no matter what form they take.”

“That’s oddly comforting,” I admitted, meaning it.

Sienna caught my eye and stepped closer, her presence grounding me in a way I hadn’t anticipated. She leaned in and brushed her lips against mine in a brief but electric kiss.

“For luck,” she whispered, then headed back to where the others were.

When they all began to undress, I averted my eyes, even though none of them seemed to care about privacy.

Shifters must be okay with nudity.

More so than humans, at least.

Once they’d shed their clothes, the same energy that had filled the air when I saw Sienna shift into her fox could be felt. Dean was the first to shift. His form rippled and bent while he sprouted fur until a massive wolf stood in his place. Astrid followed next, her slender frame giving way to sleek black feathers and sharp eyes as she transformed into a raven. Waylen’s shift was quick, and the eagle that emerged carried a commanding presence as it took to the sky. Lyra gave way tobecome a beautiful owl half a second later, her feathers stark against the night sky while she flew after him. Ellis shifted next, becoming a lithe bobcat in what felt like under a minute. And then Sienna gave way to her fox. The process was as seamless and graceful as I remembered. Once she was finished, her fox stepped closer to me and I gathered she was observing if I was okay with what I’d just witnessed.

I was.

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