Page 22 of Hers to Claim

Mari pulled her hand away from Rio. He looked concerned, but didn’t reach out to her again. “That sounds like I’m somekind of monster. Like I could suck you dry without even meaning to.”

“That’s a bit dramatic. First, our kind of magic regenerates, so even if you took it all I might be exhausted for a while but I’d be fine by tomorrow. Second, like I said, I wasn’t ready for it to be like that. Once I figured out what was happening I could exert some control.” Pricilla straightened her skirt and smiled. “And third, I’m a pretty great teacher. We’ll get you sorted out and hopefully once we do your magic will be a little less grabby.”

Mari must have looked as skeptical as she felt about that, because Pricilla continued, “When I told you to run the magic through the focus you did, and everything calmed down quickly. The fact that you don’t want to harm or take advantage of anyone is what keeps you from being a monster, not what you can do.”

Rio dragged her into his arms again, as if to prove he wasn’t afraid of her. He kissed her temple and then nuzzled in. “I don’t believe for a second you’re some kind of monster, Mari.”

She squeezed him tight and hoped he was right.

* * *

Mari relaxed in the waning autumn sunshine following a lovely picnic meal that Giselle had prepared for the entire household. She was stretched out alongside Pricilla on a blanket watching the guards playing the most disorganized game of soccer that Mari had ever seen. There didn’t seem to be any real rules, aside from showboating and grandstanding seeming to be worth extra points, at least judging by the way they were all behaving.

There also didn’t seem to be actual teams. Rather than shirts and skins, everyone was skins because all of the shirts had come off once things started heating up.

A chorus of jeers rose up as Tilly performed a particularly thrilling flying tackle and drove Kima into the ground.

Pricilla watched the game with a puzzled expression. “I feel like I no longer understand who’s winning.”

Kima’s resounding growl shook the air around them, but she didn’t move to unseat Tilly who held her pinned, though she clearly had the strength to do so if she wished.

“I think there are no real losers here,” Mari murmured as her eyes roamed from them to take in the golden form of Rio who stood watching them with the ball under his foot and a wide grin.

Karma pounced on Rio out of nowhere and while he was trying to dislodge her from his back, Dasher stole the ball to a roar of laughter from those around them. Kima used Tilly’s momentary distraction to flip her onto her back. Tilly struggled to get out from under her until Kima leaned close and licked up the side of her face slowly. Tilly froze, and then tilted her head toward Kima, her eyes drifting closed.

Dasher was running straight at Mari and Pricilla, though his attention was behind him on his pursuers. He was half a dozen strides from bowling them over and closing fast. A fast-moving furry form interposed itself at the last moment, shouldering Dasher off his path so that he darted around them rather than crashing through.

The gray-gold stare of a large spotted cat panned their way, first over Pricilla and the Mari, and then Samar hissed in Dasher’s direction.

As if that was a signal that all of them had been waiting for, every shifter shucked their clothes and transformed. What had been a chaotic game turned over to a whole new level. Furry bodies clashed all around them. None of the fights were serious, and no blood was shed, but it was now a much more violent and feral game.

Samar grumbled with annoyance and positioned himself between Pricilla and Mari, glaring around him in a challenge. His long, fuzzy tail curled around Pricilla protectively. The othersex witch didn’t seem to notice. Her eyes were wide, taking in the growling play fights happening all around them.

Mari smiled to herself and wondered if there was something going on there that she didn’t know about.

Rio batted Karma alongside her wide wolf head with one paw to encourage her to release him and then slinked over to Mari, laying his front paws and head across her legs and yowling a warning when anyone got too close.

She stroked him between his velvety soft ears. “You can go play if you want. I’m not worried.”

He rolled his golden eyes in her direction and huffed, as if the idea that he would leave her defenseless with all of the antics going on around her was ridiculous.

One of the hellhounds—she absolutely could not tell the difference between them when they were shifted—crossed in front of them, batting the ball between his enormous paws. He was a vicious-looking black dog nearly the size of horse, his impossibly long fangs showing when he snarled at the other hellhound who prowled close. A scuffle broke out between them when the second hellhound tried to steal the ball, and they rolled over each other on the ground, snapping their teeth.

Karma dashed by them in wolf form, swatting them both with her tail as she snatched the ball away while they continued to fight. They both snapped to attention when she ran away at top speed and scrambled to chase her, kicking each other and yipping wildly.

While they continued to roughhouse, Tilly began to struggle from her position on the ground, shoving Kima away. Kima rolled aside and then came back up on her feet with a roar that made every hair on Mari’s arms stand on end. Her shifted form was an impressively huge male lion with a mane so dark it was nearly black.

“Fuck off,” Tilly snapped before heading back toward the main house.

Kima’s tail swished with irritation as she stared after the harpy’s retreating back. A fox who Mari didn’t recognize in their shifted form shoulder checked Kima and drew her attention back to the game. The huge lion dashed back into the fray.

Mari couldn’t even tell who had the ball anymore among the tumbling furry bodies that spilled across the lawn. For some reason she couldn’t identify, she suddenly felt anxious. This has started out fun, but it seemed more serious now.

Rio and Samar began growling at the same moment, their eyes turning to regard someone behind Mari. She glanced over her shoulder, surprised that the person approaching was Cisco.

The gargoyle stopped several feet away. “Relax. I’m no threat to them.” They both stopped growling immediately. He took in the game happening beyond them. “Unless you two are eager to be a part of what is shaping up to be a particularly bloody shifter orgy, I think you should slowly head back toward me.”

“Really?” Mari looked over the group again. She had noticed that several of the guards who weren’t shifters had left the game earlier, but didn’t think anything of it. Her magic hadn’t perked up at all. “Why am I not picking up on any sexy vibes?”

---