Page 6 of Evil Hearts

When she finally decided to take a break, bending over and resting her hands on her knees, a solid, impatient tug from Fenn sent the loop flying off her wrist. With a squeak of alarm, she straightened, gasping for breath as she reluctantly started running towards the dog zooming to the far end of the lot.

Panting and coughing with exertion, she let the mask slip on her cool, calm demeanor and started shouting. “Fenn! No! Come back here!”

She sure hoped Fenn-the-human didn’t have cameras out here in the lot, recording how fast her supposedly experienced trainer persona was unraveling. Fenn-the-dog had gone into full-on zoomies, clearing the edges of the training field at a terrifying pace she couldn’t hope to match.

Annoyance turned to self-preservation as he picked up speed. If that much dog came flying at her with that sort of energy, he’d flatten her like a pancake. At least she wouldn’t have to worry about getting a job if she got run over by a wall of hyperactive canine.Ugh.

“Fenn!” she barked, putting all the command she could muster into her voice. “Stop!”

He slowed down, dropping to his belly like she’d flipped a switch.

“Fenn!” she called again, puzzled but hopeful. “That’s right, here! To me!”

The commands purposely mimicked the tone and volume from the videos she’d watched. Had she accidentally mastered them through sheer luck? She’d take what she could get right about now.

Fenn rose from the ground and trotted over, that funny little hitch to his walk a sure sign that he wasn’t any calmer.

“Okay, so there’s no way I can keep up with you, mister speedy paws, so we’re just gonna play a little catch. ‘Cause I sure as hell need tocatchmy breath,” she said, miming a comedic rimshot.

Fenn panted hard from his own efforts, tongue peeking through a hole in the muzzle as he stood at attention, patiently waiting for her to throw something. She sighed: clearly, Fenn’s sense of humor needed work, because she washilarious.

It wasn’t until after she’d thrown the blue dumbbell squeaky toy that Addison realized she’d forgotten to take off Fenn’s muzzle.

Fenn, uncaring that he couldn’t actually retrieve the toy, bolted after it like his tail was on fire. The rubber toy sailed end-over-end, up, up, up…

…and out of sight behind the tall maple tree, likely over the fence into a dense tree line behind the school. She had flashbacks to the Sandlot, suddenly terrified he was going to clear the fence like Hercules in pursuit of the toy, and took off after him before he could try.

“Fenn! Stop!” she screamed, exhausted and desperate.

Luckily for her, the big brute didn’t attempt to hurdle the fence, jumping up against it instead. She hoped the chainlink would hold his heavy bulk as her thighs burned in pursuit. If she lostthisdog, she’d have worse problems than continued unemployment.

Finally covering most of the distance, she lost sight of Fenn’s furry back for a long moment as she cleared the tall storage shed and the maple tree on the other side of it. Her steps faltered as strange sounds broke the relative silence of the empty dog yard.

A strange, strangled bark that barely sounded canine broke the stillness, followed by the high-pitched shriek of the squeaky toy rapidly deflating. A loud metallic rattle grew frantic, like someone was trying to tear the chain link fence clear off its posts. Clouds drifted over the full moon overhead, plunging the near corner of the yard into darkness as she hesitantly swung around the thick tree trunk to figure out what the hell her trainee had gotten into.

Addison wasn’t sure she was seeing correctly at first, convinced the darkness was playing tricks on her eyes. Mind whirling, she tried to process what was going on, hand smacking onto the tree to steady herself. Fenn-the-Dog was nowhere to be seen, but Fenn-the Human—there was no mistaking that particular haircut—sure was.

Her presumptive boss stood bare-ass naked, front pressed to the fence,muzzled facelooking over his shoulder with a thoroughly panicked expression. She tried to process any other reason for what was in front of her as she stepped closer, reflexively scanning the fence line for the dog that had beenright thereseconds ago.

Closing the distance, it became all too clear:

Left in place of the giant mutt she’d been training was Fenn-the-human, collared and wearing a goddamn dog muzzle, apparently stuck dick-first in the chain-link fence.

Wide-eyed, Addison stared in confusion until their eyes locked–his gaze heavy with embarrassment, fear, and…lust?

What the fuck was going on?

Chapter 4

Burying his facein the chainlink didn’t offer Fenn any solace, considering how it still left himveryexposed. No, he’d have to actually look at her. Worse yet, the embarrassment wasn’t helping his erection die down—especially with his knot lodgedvery firmlyon the other side of the fence links. His only consolation was the empty kennels behind him, cleared out for the full moon—without Connor here to watch over everyone, the regulars had found somewhere else to handle their shifts. Fenn could have been all on his own, eagerly prowling the forests of Happenstance Park for deserving predators if he hadn’t let his moon-addled dick drive him to schedule Addison’s interview tonight, of all nights.

If it had been any other fence, this wouldn’t have been an issue, even with the monster knot currently sticking him in place—yeah, it would have hurt like hell, but he could have extricated himself. But no, Connor justhadto invest in a fully silver-infused fence to keep their more boisterous clientele reined in. The coating short-circuited Fenn’s transformation and sent him right back to human.

Except, of course, for that fucking knot.

With a groan, his gaze swung to Addison, gawking at him as she took in the scene.

“I—I swear this isn’t a weird sex thing,” he stuttered, his topside cheeks burning. “I was chasing the chew toy and was doing my best, I really was. It’s just—the moon—and I was being such a good boy, I really was. And Connor’s stupid fence—I’m so sorry, this is so embarrassing and inappropriate, and if you want me to, I’ll tell Connor everything and quit and turn myself in.”

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