Stone Cold Fox Read online

  Speaking of Bianca, what had happened to her? How had they gotten through her spell and managed to get free? These questions and others drifted in and out of Jo’s mind like fuzzy thought balloons but she was too weak to catch them.

  Finally, though, she opened her eyes one day and everything around her was clear. She felt like a weight had been lifted off her chest and she could breathe—really breathe again—for the first time in what felt like ages. The IV was gone from her arm and she felt better.

  “Where . . . where am I?” Her voice sounded rusty and dull in her own ears but at least the words were understandable.

  Fiona, who was sitting beside Jo perusing an ancient book with a cracked leather binding, looked up alertly.

  “Ah, Jocasta! At last the fog has lifted.” She put down her book and took Jo’s hand. “How are you feeling, my dear? You’ve had us all immensely worried.”

  “I . . .” Jo licked her lips which were terribly dry. “I don’t know,” she admitted at last. “What happened to me? Where am I?”

  “Most of your life-force was drained through the use of some extremely dark magic.” Fiona’s ageless face was grave. “And you are in my spare bedroom. I wanted to keep a close eye on you, my dear.”

  “Thank . . . thank you.” Jo coughed and tried to sit up but she was as weak as a kitten. Fiona helped her and soon she was propped upright against a mound of pillows with her legs covered by a colorful patchwork quilt. Jo looked down at her arm. “I thought . . . I dreamed I had an IV.”

  “You did, my dear. You’ve had fluids and several blood transfusions. But the past two days you’ve been showing signs of improvement and Samantha judged it time to take the IV out. You may not remember, but I’ve been feeding you broth and you ate it just fine.”

  “Oh . . . thank you.” Come to think of it, she did have a fuzzy recollection of someone spooning something warm and salty into her mouth. But something else stuck in her mind. “Blood transfusions?”

  “As I said, your life-force was almost drained. You needed an infusion of new Shifter blood. Don’t worry.” Fiona smiled at her. “We found a willing donor.”

  “Um, okay.” Jo coughed. Her throat still felt incredibly dry.

  “Here, have some water, dear. Everyone is going to be so pleased to know you’re on the mend,” Fiona told her as she held a glass of water for Jo to sip. “You’ve had a lot of people very worried, young lady.”

  “Did I?” Jo remembered all the concerned faces she’d seen as she drifted in and out of the fog that had covered her mind for so long. And then she remembered the one she hadn’t seen. “All except Reese, I guess,” she said, looking down at her hands, twisting aimlessly in the quilt.

  “Oh my dear—you couldn’t be more wrong.” Fiona shook her head. “He’s very worried about you. So much so that he’s been sleeping on my couch these past three weeks. And who do you think donated the blood that brought you back from the brink? Luckily you two are the same type. I think he would have bled himself dry if Samantha had let him—anything to heal you.”

  Jo shook her head. “But if he’s so worried, why don’t I remember seeing him?”

  Fiona sighed and a look of aggravation passed over her face.

  “Because the silly boy will not listen to reason. He believes that what happened to you was a punishment on him by Lady Moon.”

  “What?” Jo exclaimed. “But why would the Goddess punish him? I’m the one who should have known better! I’m the one who broke my vow of celibacy and let him . . . uh . . .” She felt her cheeks go hot. “Let him breed me right in the middle of the Sacred Glade. Reese didn’t know we were defiling a holy place! It’s not his fault.”

  “It’s no one’s fault,” Fiona said sternly.

  “Yes, it is,” Jo insisted. “I broke my vows. Not only that, I committed blasphemy by breaking them in the Sacred Glade—”

  “Which had already been defiled by the senior witch, Bianca, when she worked dark magic there,” Fiona said crisply. “And as for your vow of chastity, I told you before that you cannot be a Shifter and be chaste—the two are incompatible.”

  “But—”

  “My dear, Lady Moon has called you to be doubly blessed,” Fiona said firmly. “She has need of more Shifters. Since only Rejuvenated females such as yourself can bear the next generation, she had need of you.”

  Jo bit her lip. “So . . . you really think she forgives me?”

  “Not only does the Goddess—Lady Moon as we Shifters call her—forgive with lavish generosity, she loves her children with intense affection.” Fiona squeezed her hand. “You, my dear Jocasta, are one of her children. She will not hold you to vows that are impossible for you to keep or punish you for fulfilling your destiny in a spot sacred to her. In fact, I would think she would be much more likely to be honored than to be angered by such an act.”

  Jo felt as though a great weight had been lifted from her heart.

  “Really?” she asked Fiona in a small voice.

  “Really, my dear. Lady Moon loves you and needs you in her service.” She patted Jo’s hand reassuringly. “And Reese needs you, too. He has been at your side every night, you know, as you slept. I can barely get him to eat or drink anything—he’s tormented by worry for you.”

  Jo felt tears prick at her eyes and a lump in her throat she couldn’t quite swallow.

  “Then . . . he really does care?”

  “So much he’s half out of his mind, my dear.” Fiona gave her a sad smile. “He really is dreadfully in love with you, you know. But he thinks he had to give you up. He even talked me into making . . .” She shook her head. “Well, never mind. Suffice it to say, he thinks he, ah, was a bit too rough with you during your first breeding and that he deserves to lose you because of it.”

  “But I asked him to be rough. I needed him to be.” Jo shook her head. “He asked me if it brought back memories of my . . . my past.” She swallowed. “But you were right—in the heat of the moment, I couldn’t think of anything else except, well . . . getting bred.”

  “Speaking of that, my dear,” Fiona said primly, “There’s a little test I think you ought to take.”

  “A test?” Jo frowned.

  “It’s waiting for you in the bathroom—if you think you’re strong enough to get up?” Fiona asked.

  “I think so. And if we’re going to the bathroom, I’d really like a shower.”

  “I’ll bet you would, dear. But let’s see how well you get around first,” Fiona said.

  Slowly and carefully, Jo swung her legs over the side of the bed. She still felt weak but after Fiona helped her to her feet, she found she was able to walk into the bathroom on her own.

  “All right now,” she said once she got there and was standing in front of the sink. “Where’s this test? I—” She stopped abruptly, cut off by the sight of her reflection in the bathroom mirror. “Goddess,” she whispered, reaching up to touch her hair. “It . . . it’s back.”

  The pure silver streak which had completely disappeared during her Rejuvenation had reappeared. It twisted through the left side of her hair, adding a dramatic flair to her bright red strands.

  “Ah, yes—I believe that is the result of the life-draining spell the other witch worked on you,” Fiona said. “In my opinion, it is the only adverse effect the dark magic had on you but I’m afraid it is permanent. Of course . . .” She patted her own auburn hair, streaked liberally with veins of purest silver. “Such hairstyles can be quite becoming on a woman strong enough to wear them.”

  Jo let out a little laugh.

  “I think I’m strong enough,” she said dryly. “After all, I had it for years before I started Rejuvenating.” She frowned. “The rest of my face still looks young, though.”

  “As I said, I believe that lovely silver in your hair is the only lasting effect,” Fiona told her. “You’re very lucky Reese was able to call for help and the spell was stopped before Bianca drained you completely. But I believe there is a reason Lady Moon spar