Chapter 11 Tabitha
Tabitha
I’m back in human form, racing for the kitchen phone as fast as I can when Jasper calls out, “Wait. I think she’s coming to.”
I skid on the hardwood, nearly taking out the ceramic pumpkins on the entry table, and double back to Bea, who’s blinking up at the ceiling from the rug with a dazed, uncertain expression.
Her hand is still pressed to her chest, but she’s breathing.
I drop to my knees at her side, heart pounding so loud I can barely hear.
“Bea? Bea, can you hear me?”
She squints at me—at my face, then her gaze slides over to Jasper, who’s crouched on her other side.
Then her eyes travel down.
Down.
Down.
They go comically wide when they land on Jasper’s junk.
“Oh, my—”
‘Fuck! SHIFT NOW!’
The thought screams through both our minds simultaneously, and we blur into our animal forms so fast I don’t even feel the transition. One second I’m a naked woman, the next I’m a tabby cat, and Jasper is—
Bea’s eyes roll back and she crumples again.
‘Fuck!’ Jasper’s mental voice is pure panic. ‘FUCK!’
‘Is she still breathing?!’ I rush forward, pressing my paw to her chest. Her heart is beating. She’s breathing. She just... fainted. Again.
‘This is YOUR fault!’ I hiss at him.
‘MY FAULT?! You’re the one who said MEOW like that was going to HELP!’
‘You’re the one who BIT me while we were HAVING SEX in the LIVING ROOM!’
‘You ASKED me to!’
‘I didn’t think BEA would WALK IN!’
We both stop our mental shouting and stare down at the unconscious elderly woman on her entryway floor.
‘Oh god,’ I whimper. ‘We killed her.’
‘She’s not dead. You just checked and she’s breathing.’
‘We gave her a heart attack!’
‘She fainted. There’s a difference.’
‘Should we call 911 anyway?’
‘And say what? “Hi, yes, our elderly owner walked in on us having shifter sex and now she’s passed out?” That’ll go great.’
‘We can’t just leave her on the floor!’
‘I’m not suggesting we leave her! I’m suggesting we—’ He pauses. ‘Wait. Do you hear that?’
I listen. Bea’s breathing is getting stronger. More even.
‘She’s waking up,’ I think at him, my panic ratcheting up another notch. ‘Oh god, she’s waking up. What do we do?’
‘Stay in animal form. Don’t move. Maybe she’ll think she imagined it.’
‘She didn’t imagine it! She saw your DICK!’
‘Everyone sees my dick eventually. It’s quite impressive.’
‘THIS IS NOT THE TIME FOR YOUR EGO!’
Bea groans softly, her eyes fluttering.
We both freeze, sitting perfectly still beside her like the good pets we’re supposed to be.
Her eyes open slowly. She blinks at the ceiling. Then her gaze slides to me.
I meow softly, trying to sound concerned and innocent and definitely not like someone who was just getting railed on her couch.
She stares at me for a long moment. Then, in a voice that’s quiet and surprisingly steady, she asks:
“Whiskers? Are you… are you human in there?”
My entire body goes rigid.
‘Don’t answer,’ Jasper warns. ‘Don’t you dare.’
But I can’t not respond. She’s looking right at me with those kind, gray eyes, and I can see she’s not angry. She’s not scared.
She’s hopeful.
“I know this sounds crazy,” Bea continues, pushing herself up to sit against the doorframe. “But I saw... I saw two people. A man and a woman. Right here. Then you and Sox.” She lets out a shaky laugh. “I must have hit my head. But if I didn’t... if you really are...”
She pauses, then smiles—actually smiles.
“It would be nice, you know. To have someone to talk to. Someone who could answer back. I love you, Whiskers. I love having you here. But sometimes...” Her voice gets softer. “Sometimes I get so lonely. It’s been years since Harold died, and most days, you’re the only one I talk to.”
My heart cracks in my chest.
‘Tabitha,’ Jasper’s voice is warning. ‘Think about this.’
‘I’m going to shift,’ I tell him.
‘Don’t do it.’
‘She deserves the truth.’
‘You don’t know how she’ll react—’
‘She’s LONELY, Jasper. She just told us. And we’ve been lying to her this whole time, eating her food, living in her house—’
‘Don’t fucking do it.’
But I’m already making the decision. Already feeling the shift start to ripple through me.
I change.
And Jasper bolts. Coward.
My skin prickles as the shift completes, leaving me crouched there in human form, bare as the day I was born, heart hammering while I glare at the empty spot where Jasper just vanished like the spineless fox he is.
Fury surges through me—how dare he abandon me in this moment, leaving me to face Bea alone?
Bea gasps, scrambling back against the door. “Whiskers?”
“Hi, Bea,” I say, my voice small. “I’m... I’m sorry.”
For a moment, she just stares. Then her eyes widen, and then a tentative smile breaks through the shock, like she’s piecing together a puzzle she always suspected was there. “It’s really you? My Whiskers?”
I nod, my throat tight, but before I can find the words to explain, Jasper reappears, back in human form, jeans slung low on his hips like he just threw them on in a rush.
He’s carrying my robe, and without a word, he steps forward and drapes it gently over my shoulders, his fingers lingering just a second too long as he pulls the fabric closed around me.
“I thought you bolted,” I say as I pull the robe closed and stand.
“Never. Foxes mate for life, remember?” His amber eyes flick to Bea before returning to mine. ‘I was just protecting poor Bea from another eyeful of my junk. Women have been known to faint at the sight of it, I hear.’
I roll my eyes and cinch the tie at my waist. “Thank you,” I say out loud before we both turn our attention back to Bea.
She’s sitting now, and she peers at me, then at Jasper, then back at me. Her mouth opens and closes a few times. Then she lets out a breathless laugh that borders on hysterical. “Oh, my stars. Sox too? You’re... you’re both... people? Shifters? Like in those romance novels I read?”
“Yeah, something like that,” I say, crouching beside her again. “Bea, I’m so sorry—we never meant for you to find out this way. Or, well, at all. It’s... complicated.”
Jasper kneels down beside us, keeping a respectful distance, his posture all easy charm now that the initial panic has ebbed. “Mrs. Hargrove—Bea—I’m Jasper. And she’s Tabitha. We’ve been... guests in your home, more or less. Not exactly the way we planned to introduce ourselves.”
She blinks at him. “Oh, are you talking about the sex? That’s nothing, dear. You should have seen the things Harold and I used to get up to before we both got old and boring. For a pair of animals, you two seem pretty tame.”
I blink at her. Jasper blinks at her. We both stare.
“I’m sorry,” I finally manage. “Did you just... are you saying you’re OK with this?”
“Well, I’m certainly not thrilled you’ve been lying to me,” Bea says, brushing off her skirt as she struggles to stand.
Jasper immediately offers his hand and she takes it, letting him help her up.
“But I suppose I understand why you did. It’s not exactly something you lead with, is it?
‘Hello, I’m a magical cat-person, may I live in your spare room? ’”
“Technically, I lived in your laundry room,” Jasper offers with a grin.
“For all of a week.” Bea gives him a look that’s pure grandmotherly exasperation. “And you destroyed my living room your first night.”
“That was Tabitha,” he says quickly, pointing at me. “She framed me.”
“JASPER!”
“What? We’re doing honesty now, right?”
Bea’s lips twitch. “You framed him?”
I flush. “He ate my chicken. And your turkey leg.”
“My turkey leg?” She gasps. “I knew I didn’t eat that.”
“No. It was him. He’s generally very annoying.”
“I’m charming.”
“You’re insufferable.”
“And you can’t resist me.” He winks and I want to strangle him.
Bea watches this exchange with growing amusement. “Well. This certainly explains why you two were so... antagonistic at first. And then suddenly inseparable.” Her eyes narrow. “How long has the... the other part been going on?”
“The sex?” Jasper asks.
“JASPER!” I bury my face in my hands.
“What? She’s an adult. She reads romance novels. I hear those are super dirty now. Plus, she just told us about her and Harold—”
“Can we please not discuss Bea and Harold’s sex life?!”
“I’m just saying, she’s clearly not a prude—”
“About a week,” I say loudly, cutting him off before this gets even more mortifying.
“The sex has been happening for about a week. Since the second night, actually. We’re.
.. we’re fated mates. It’s a shifter thing.
When two shifters are meant to be together, there’s this bond, and—” I stop, realizing I’m rambling.
“I’m sorry. This is probably too much information. ”
“Oh, I don’t know,” Bea says, moving slowly toward the kitchen. “I think after what I just witnessed, we’re well past the point of TMI. Now, I need tea. Maybe a little whiskey. Then you two are going to sit down and tell me everything.”
Jasper and I exchange a glance.
‘Is this really happening?’ I think at him.
‘I think she’s taking it better than expected.’
‘She saw us having sex, and she’s making tea.’
‘She’s British. This is what they do.’
‘She’s American!’
‘She drinks a lot of tea for an American. Are we sure she was born here?’
Bea calls from the kitchen, “Are you two having some sort of telepathic conversation? Is that part of the fated mates thing?”
We both freeze.
“How did you—” I start.
“I told you I’ve read shifter romance novels before.
And you’re looking at each other like you’re arguing.
I may be old, dear, but I’m not stupid.” She fills the kettle and sets it on the stove.
“Harold and I had our own version of that. After fifty-three years of marriage, you don’t need words.
Though I imagine your version is more literal. ”
Jasper leans over and whispers, “You know she’s gonna ask for the real dirt, right? Not just the Bonding 101.”
“God, I hope she’s too traumatized to want the play-by-play,” I mutter.
He grins. “She’s not. Look at her face.”