FUR AND FEELINGS
1154 Words
Cassie woke up to the smell of maple syrup and existential dread.
Her brain: You’re trapped in the woods with a magical man-fox.
Her stomach: Pancakes again, please.
Her heart: Let’s not talk about last night’s firelight banter and how he looked shirtless holding an axe.
She groaned and pulled the blanket over her head. But the smell of breakfast and the faint sound of Leo singing a jazzy version of “What Does the Fox Say?” made hiding impossible.
Cassie emerged from her room to find Leo doing finger guns at a frying pan.
“Ylvis? Really?” she asked, crossing her arms.
He turned with a grin. “It was either this or Taylor Swift’s ‘You Belong with Me,’ which would’ve felt too on the nose.”
“Why are you like this?”
“Cursed. Also adorable.”
Cassie rolled her eyes but smirked despite herself. “You’re a menace.”
“I prefer ‘enchanting wildcard.’”
---
A Fox Among Mortals
After breakfast (and yes, the pancakes were even better than yesterday), Cassie found herself weirdly… calm. The panic from day one had been replaced with wary curiosity. And something else she didn’t want to name.
She watched Leo pace around the cabin, inspecting things like he was on HGTV: Shifter Edition.
“So,” she said cautiously, “what do you do when you’re not being hunted through the woods and crashing into unsuspecting civilians?”
He shrugged. “Freelance nature photographer. Which is code for ‘unemployed man with a camera and commitment issues.’”
She raised a brow. “How very mysterious of you.”
“I take pictures of wildlife for a couple magazines. And sometimes I pose dramatically on mountaintops.”
“You’re the reason my favorite hiking blog has shirtless wolf-boy photos, aren’t you?”
“Guilty. That one got 22,000 likes and one angry email from someone’s grandmother.”
Cassie tried not to laugh. She failed.
Leo leaned on the counter, his eyes meeting hers. “What about you? What’s the deal with Cassie Monroe, Spreadsheet Queen?”
She stiffened slightly. “I’m a data analyst.”
“So… spreadsheets and doom?”
“Basically. I work for a health tech firm. Long hours, lots of deadlines, occasional panic attacks in the office restroom. It’s glamorous.”
Leo nodded thoughtfully. “You don’t like it, do you?”
Cassie blinked. “Excuse me?”
“You get this look when you talk about work. Like you’re swallowing glass. That’s not love, Cass.”
Cassie stared at him, unsure whether to throw her coffee or ask him how he saw through her like glass.
She settled for, “Don’t call me Cass.”
He smirked. “Got it. Cassie. Short for Cassandra? That’s a name with drama. Like a Greek oracle who saw the future and wasn’t believed.”
Cassie sipped her coffee to hide her expression. “Maybe I’m the opposite. I believe things no one else sees.”
Leo smiled. “You believed me.”
She looked away. “Don’t make it a thing.”
“Too late. It’s a thing now.”
---
Tension and Toothpaste
By mid-afternoon, the line between dangerous shapeshifting fugitive and cabin roommate had blurred. Leo started organizing the kitchen. Cassie tried to check emails, failed due to zero signal, then pretended to care about a puzzle on the coffee table.
“Do you floss?” she asked randomly.
Leo looked up. “Do I—what?”
“Floss. Like dental hygiene.”
“Of all the things you could ask, that’s the one?”
“I’m trying to gauge how human you are.”
“I floss, I recycle, and I cried during Paddington 2. Satisfied?”
Cassie stared at him. “You’re weirder than I thought.”
“You’re not denying that Paddington 2 is an emotional rollercoaster.”
She pointed. “That part with the marmalade—”
“Right?”
They both laughed.
---
The Shifter Spiral
Later that evening, Cassie wandered outside for some fresh air. Leo trailed after her like an overly handsome shadow.
The forest was quiet. Peaceful. For a moment, it felt like the world wasn’t full of hidden magic and curses and fox-men with commitment issues.
Then Leo exhaled sharply. “I think I’m going to shift.”
Cassie’s eyes widened. “Here?!”
He winced. “Not on purpose. I can feel it coming. My skin gets… itchy. Like static under it.”
She stepped back. “Okay. What do I do? Is there, like, a safe word? A muzzle?!”
Leo sat down on the porch steps, breathing through his nose. “No safe word. I just need to calm down. Maybe talk.”
Cassie sat beside him, hesitant. “What triggered it?”
He didn’t meet her eyes. “You did.”
“Me?!”
“Don’t take it the wrong way. You’re just… not what I expected. You didn’t freak out. You’re kind. And funny. And weirdly obsessed with oral hygiene.”
Cassie’s heart did a very unprofessional flutter.
“I’ve spent years keeping people away,” he continued. “Now I’m sitting next to a woman who saw me at my worst and offered me pancakes.”
“You’re making me nervous.”
He chuckled. “Welcome to my world.”
His breath slowed. The tension in his shoulders eased.
Cassie, not quite sure what she was doing, reached out and took his hand.
It was warm. Rough-skinned. Solid.
Leo blinked, surprised. “You okay?”
“I think I’m helping you not turn into a fox.”
“You are. Very much.”
Cassie cleared her throat. “Good. Because I don’t think my insurance covers magical bite wounds.”
---
Almost a Kiss
The night crept in around them, stars twinkling above the trees.
Leo still held her hand. Cassie hadn’t pulled away.
“I’m not used to this,” she said softly.
“Letting someone in?”
“No. Sitting still and not panicking.”
He smiled. “You’re doing great.”
A beat passed. Their faces were close. Too close.
Cassie’s breath caught as Leo leaned forward—just a little, just enough—
But the cabin door creaked. She pulled back instantly.
“Right,” she said quickly. “It’s late. We should go in. Separately. Very separately.”
Leo nodded, trying (and failing) to look cool about it. “Of course. I’ll, uh, shift solo tonight.”
“Good. Please don’t explode in the kitchen.”
“No promises.”
---
Meanwhile, in the Woods…
The dark figure watched the cabin again, eyes narrowed.
“They’re bonding,” it hissed.
Another voice replied, deeper and crueler. “Let them. It will make the curse harder to break.”
“And more painful when it does.”
Then the forest fell silent again.
---
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