The Fox Who Wouldn't Touch Me, The Snake Who Saved Me
My mate, Caleb Sinclair, was a high-maintenance fox
shifter.
He hated being touched. No hugging, no kissing.
But God, he was beautiful.
For that face alone, I had been willing to indulge him
forever.
Until the day we nearly died on a mission.
When things went wrong, Caleb ignored me completely and rushed to comfort my sister instead.
I almost died because of it.
The first thing I did after waking up in the hospital was apply for a mate reassignment.
The woman at the agency looked conflicted.
"There's only one compatible shifter available right now,"
she said carefully. "But he has one condition. He wants his younger twin brother to stay with him."
I blinked.
"So... buy one, get one free?"
She laughed awkwardly. "Not exactly. His brother doesn't have psychic soothing abilities. He's just an ordinary shifter. Raising shifters is expensive, and most people don't want the extra burden."
I fell silent.
Right then, my comm device buzzed with a message
from Caleb.
Message
[You're seriously this petty? Just because I didn't save
you?
Now you won't even cook for me?
Fine. I'll let you touch my tail when I get home. Happy
now?]
Attached was a live photo.
His massive fox tail swayed lazily behind him, thick and
silver-white, soft as a cloud. It curled teasingly toward the
camera like it was reaching for me.
My chest tightened instantly.
Caleb knew exactly how to manipulate me.
He had a terrible personality. He was spoiled, sharp- tongued, and obsessively clean. He refused to let me kiss him or cuddle him. If he got annoyed, he trashed the apartment without a second thought.
But no matter how badly he behaved, the second those fluffy fox ears twitched, or he generously allowed me to hold his tail, all my anger disappeared.
I spoiled him constantly.
I gave in to everything he wanted.
Because honestly...
He was just too damn gorgeous.
But then the memories came flooding back.
The mission.
My sister and I had both suffered a psychic backlash at the same time. The corrupted energy inside me felt like it was ripping my brain apart piece by piece.
I hurt so badly I couldn't even scream.
I could only clutch Caleb's shirt and choke out a
desperate plea.
"Help me..."
Caleb was an S-Class fox shifter.
A psychic specialist.
He absolutely could have saved me.
Instead, pain shot through my fingers as he pried my hand off him one finger at a time, his face twisted with disgust.
"You got blood on me."
I had vomited blood all over my hands.
He didn't apologize.
Didn't hesitate.
He turned and ran straight to my sister, Lexi Rhodes.
That neat freak of a fox shifter dropped to the ground without caring about the blood soaking her clothes. He gathered her into his arms and soothed her spiraling psychic energy over and over again.
His gaze was impossibly gentle.
His voice soft and patient in a way I had never once
heard directed at me.
Around Lexi, his temper disappeared.
His germophobia disappeared too.
My vision slowly darkened.
Right before I lost consciousness, a cold, unfamiliar power wrapped around my mind and calmed the violent psychic storm inside me.