Page 100 of Moon Tamed

“The collar will be more of a symbol than an actual restraining device, and you’ll be able to remove it at your leisure,” Calden promised, setting me on the floor with a grunt. To make certain I wouldn’t be escaping him, he put his hand on my shoulder. “Don’t expect us at work for a few days, Dad, and don’t forget to bring the laptops to my place so we can pick them up on our way out of town.”

“I’ll drop them off within the next two hours along with the login info for them. As I expect you to create some trouble, please limit the trouble to levels you can mitigate and control without parental assistance.”

“I’m sure we can handle it,” Calden replied, urging me to flee his father’s office with a few gentle pushes. “If anyone asks, just tell them Coraline is close to sprouting a fur coat because she just loves animals that much. It should confuse the others nicely.”

“Remember, no grandchildren until after she’s stabilized her shifting, but you may practice all you want.”

I rolled my eyes while Calden snorted. “Mind your own business, Dad.”

“I am minding my own business! I am informing my child he has all the blessings he could ever need or want to sensibly sign up for an entire lifetime of frustration, mayhem, expenses, and anxiety splashed with unmatched levels of love and adoration.”

“Why don’t you go visit the bunnies and leave us alone. And that does not mean bring a male bunny to add to the bunny numbers.”

“You are zero fun, Calden.”

“I don’t have time for a baby wolf and baby bunnies right now, Dad. Behave.”

“Behaving is overrated.”

While I agreed with him, I left my boss’s office before we could be infected with his level of insanity.

Had I been thinking, I would have realized the whole collar idea would backfire in glorious fashions. The instant the first Hunter spotted Calden holding the leash, he bolted and spread word, resulting in a bunch of curious people milling around.

Calden basked in the glow of their attention, which did a good job of convincing me to stick around rather than slipping the collar and making a run for it. To my relief, nobody went out of their way to embarrass me, but everyone got the same idea Calden’s father had.

Rather than asking when we’d have children, they inquired on the wedding date, if we would be having a public ceremony, and how long he expected it to be for me to sprout fur. Calden refused to answer the first, but he said I’d been spending a little too much time around wolves as of late and was showing signs of becoming snarly.

I played along, and I mock growled at him.

He viewed my display as a cue to get the hell out of town, as he said, “And that’s my sole warning to get out of here and feed her else she may sprout her coat and strip the flesh off my bones.”

The laughing hunters scattered.

“Am I going to bite and strip the flesh off your bones?” I asked once most of them left the area, leaving enough space for us to escape the faction’s lobby. “That seemed like an extreme reaction.”

“After my first shift, I had a tendency to bite ankles. Humans stink, and it takes getting used to. Perfume and cologne are not fun when you have a sensitive nose, so I would nip the offenders.”

“Which is worse? A skunky human or their perfume or cologne?”

“I have not yet made a decision on this,” he admitted. “Both are really bad. Deodorants are less offensive than the skunkier body odors, but some people smell pleasant and cover it with deodorant. It’s individual.”

“I fit into the skunk territory without my deodorant. Consider yourself warned.”

“That explains why you had deodorant when we were camping.”

“Trust me on this one, you do not want to be around me when I’m imitating a skunk. It’s just not good.”

“I’ll take your word on that.”

TWENTY-FOUR

That explains a lot.

Outside of Calden’s preferred clothing store, three Hunters armed with paintball guns surrounded him. Their grins, which bordered on the maniacal, promised more trouble than I could readily contain.

“Why are you pointing those at me? I’ve reached my kidnap quota for the year,” Calden complained. “Haven’t I been shot enough times for one day?”

“No,” the Hunters replied.

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