Page 98 of Moon Tamed

“I’m taking you home. You should have left an hour ago.”

In good news for my sanity, Calden paused long enough to grab my purse and make certain I had my phone and wallet before carting me off.

“Am I really an hour late getting out of here?”

“You really are, Miss Patten, and that simply won’t do.”

“Does this count as a kidnapping?”

He made a thoughtful noise and detoured to his father’s office. “Dad, I’m kidnapping your executive secretary. I caught her working overtime without informing anyone of why.”

“Will your kidnapping result in you failing to show up for work tomorrow?” my boss asked. “If so, I need to arrange for someone to care for her demons.”

However much I loved the noisy feathered menaces ruling over my office, I had to agree with him.

They were delightful little demons.

“She is to be hunted first thing in the morning, but I will bring her in already contained. I have received good-natured complaints over the vast number of bruises she has inflicted upon us, and a few Hunters would like to participate in a game so we aren’t completely shamed by her desire to score more points on us.”

“She’ll be plenty bruised next hunt. I checked the point standings. Approving that would fringe on cruel and unusual punishment territory. I can approve you deciding to kidnap my executive secretary tomorrow, but I’m not going to allow you to contain her for a generalized slaughter in front of the faction.”

“I was thinking I’d make use of that tub of glitter I found in the supply closet last night. Some simple syrup and glitter would create a harmless mess.”

“One word, boy: ants. That’s what you would be summoning with that nonsense. That idea is definitely not approved. Leave my glitter out of this. I have plans for that tub of glitter.” My boss sighed. “Why are you carrying her over your shoulder like she’s a sack of grain? More importantly, why is she letting you get away with this?”

“I stunned her with my general display of manliness.”

“He’s not wrong. One second, I was working. The next? I’m over his shoulder and no longer working. Not only did he toss me over his shoulder, I’d been concentrating on what I had been doing, so he caught me completely by surprise,” I admitted.

“I’m assigning you twenty points for having launched a successful sneak attack against her. People have been trying all day, and she’s just shot them for their efforts. Think of the bruised prides, Calden. The faction is full of them.”

“She just wants the victory more than they do,” Calden replied.

“While I know that, you know that, and she definitely knows that, I feel we must ease the rest of the faction into her level of unwavering dedication.”

“I’m pretty sure they’ve figured it out already. So, about the kidnapping.”

“It’s not a kidnapping if she consents to it. She clearly has zero problems with you carting her off. If you do anything nefarious that results in requiring bail, give me a call. If you do anything else nefarious, don’t get caught.”

“Why do you think I’m going to be doing anything nefarious, Dad?”

“You’re my son, and I helped raise you from your first breath. If she develops a severe case of shapeshifting, give me a call. I caught her growling at someone earlier today for interrupting her. Don’t teach her how to shift back for at least twelve hours, take her into the forest for a good hunt, and start your camping trip early. Do give me a call for that so I know to file the appropriate leave for you both. If you need help pushing her along, I recommend shifting to a wolf and giving her light nips until she’s annoyed enough she wants to put you back in your place. That’s usually a good method.”

Rather than continue to stare at Calden’s backside, which appealed in more ways than one, I twisted around, planting my hands on Calden’s hips for leverage. “His shifting and nipping at me can speed up shapeshifting?”

“According to your DNA tests, you’ve been primed and ready for donor genetics for a while. Being around a shapeshifter who is posturing is a good way to pick up the genetics. It’s also a good way to pick up the genetics without dealing with a pregnancy. The first few shifts are known to terminate pregnancies, so we either recommend shifter couples avoid intercourse while working on the first shift or wait until after the first shift plus a month. After that, we recommend expecting mothers avoid shapeshifting during the third trimester, although there’s been little evidence of miscarriage due to shapeshifting thus far. We don’t have a broad enough data set to confirm that, however.”

Interesting. “Are you saying I could, instead of coming to work, stay home and try to grow a fur coat instead?”

“That is absolutely an option, although if my son could give you time to work on your report and other projects, that would be ideal. I can give you both a laptop so you can do your work while out of the office. If he takes you to the ranch where the Earth horses are living, there’s a stable internet connection there. You’re so far ahead in points at this stage nobody has hopes of catching up without using your method, and you’ve already won in spirit. I have no problems authorizing time off to work on your shapeshifting.”

I poked Calden in the side. “Is he spouting nonsense again?”

“No. It’s part of the employee handbook. It’s more efficient and easier on shifting employees if he authorizes work-from-home if a pair is trying to induce shapeshifting. It takes a week, at a minimum, to adjust to the new form.” Calden bounced me on his shoulder. “Can you bring the laptops over in a few hours? If I’m going to be working on my kidnapping skills, I need to appropriately dress my target.”

“Go home and get changed first. Right now, you look like the victim instead of her.”

“Everyone knows it’s a hunt week. Nobody is going to care that I’m covered in paint.”

---