Fangs and Fur- Beta Read Along
All rights reserved. Copyright © 2025 by LA Magill. All distribution rights reserved for the exclusive use of Wicked Women LLC.
Weariness overcame the witch, and she sank low with a long groan. A thousand different thoughts flooded her mind, but she ignored all the things she should do, at least for the moment. She just needed to catch her breath and let her heart rate come down.
A freezing touch on Dili’s arm startled her. She pulled back, only to see her familiar, a paw outstretched, and his new green eyes wide with hurt.
Her hand shot out to comfort him, but she stopped mid-motion when his ears flattened out. Dili held her breath, meeting his eyes. Toad’s tail swished across the floor.
The witch lowered her hand to her lap. Aimless regret brought a tear to her eye.
“I’m sorry. Whatever I did, I’m so sorry. You didn’t have to… I never would have… Please tell me it isn’t true.”
Toad’s unsettling green eyes bore into hers unblinking. His tail curled around him, and he held perfectly still.
“Won’t you speak to me?” she asked.
Toad simply continued to stare at her.
Dili frowned. “I can’t hear you.”
Toad cocked his head at her, and the tip of his tail thumped the floor.
“I really can’t hear you,” she repeated.
Toad stood, his tail thrashing low behind him.
Dili spread her hands. “I… I don’t know. I don’t know what you’re saying. I don’t know what I did. I don’t—”
Toad swatted her hand aside and pushed his way into her lap. The witch held as still as she could as the cat drew level with her eyes. He flattened his ears and flung his tail from side to side.
The familiar head-butted Dili hard enough to bruise, then aggressively rubbed his face all over hers. It felt like he dug all four of his paws into her legs and stomach to put as much pressure as possible into giving her a sneezing attack.
Dili made a strangled noise in the back of her throat. “Toad—mph!—Stop! That’s too much. You’re—”
Toad growled in the back of his throat, and Dili quieted herself. Toad stopped, too, then he pulled back to glare in her face. He held her gaze intently, but Dili had no idea what the cat was searching for in their eye contact.
Whatever Toad was looking for, she thought he must have found it, because after an undefined moment, he licked her face everywhere he had just rubbed. Dili tensed up, but Toad didn’t need to growl at her that time. The prick of his claws against her skin kept her motionless.
Dili held her objections to her familiar’s insistent grooming. His toe beans felt like little popsicles, even through the cloth of her dress. His icy breath and frigid tongue left dry saliva on her skin, until it grew moist with her body heat.
The witch may not have understood her familiar, but she thought she knew what he meant. He was reaffirming their bond without telepathy—regardless of magic.
That he had chosen her and nothing else mattered.
At least, she hoped so, because even though Toad was still Toad, the familiar she loved was dead.
Toad had curled up next to Dili’s side as he always did when they slept, but the witch found his lack of body heat disturbing. Twice during the night, she rose from harrowing dreams—a gaunt figure with moonlit hair stalking her through the woods—and panicked in her mid-sleep state, thinking her familiar had died.
Though he was, in fact, dead, it took a few bleary moments for Dili to remember the unfortunate encounter with the vampire. At least she wasn’t seeing those vile green eyes in her dreams.
By morning, the witch had slept fitfully, and after expending so much magic the night before, she felt extra groggy. She let out a long yawn as she stretched, and Toad mimicked her.
She reached over and scratched his rump, which he’d stuck high in the air. The familiar leaned into her fingers, purring. Dili smiled at his delight and marveled again at how soft his fur now was. The fangs and eye color she could have expected—not that she ever had expected Toad would ever want to be anything but a cat—but she hadn’t known that being turned could affect fur.
Toad’s purring grew to a low rumble that vibrated through his ribs, then flopped onto his side, showing her his belly. The witch chuckled, then grazed her fingertips over his most sensitive skin. Toad made biscuits with his paws in the air, gazing up at her adoringly. Though Dili missed his orange eyes, she had to admit that on Toad, the green looked stunning, too.
They stared at one other, sharing in the soft and sweet morning routine like they always did. He may have felt too cold under her hands and too soft to her fingers, but he was home. That was all she had really needed.
Dili packed two croissants in her pockets and put her tea in a thermos. She looked down at Toad, who had hovered near her feet since they’d gotten out of bed.
“We need to let Vanessa know that I’m not coming in, then you and I have to figure out how to talk to each other,” she said. “Deal?”
Toad wrapped his tail around her legs and meowed cutely.
“Very well.”
The witch walked briskly down the road. She was in no shape to go much faster, though she didn’t like being out in the open. She assumed the vampire would want to retaliate after she’d blown him off her property, and hopefully down the mountain.
At least, considering the circumstances of the vampire’s unwanted appearance, Dili didn’t think he posed a threat to the people in town. He had been starving, but had been in full control of any violent urges. Though, she could think of a handful of individuals who would happily volunteer to help with his hunger the moment they saw his handsome face.
Ten minutes down the road, Dili turned off the main road onto a wide driveway that cut between fields of budding soybean plants. There was an equipment shed about a quarter of a mile in, with a special landline for Dili’s use. When the witch had first moved in, she had bargained for it with Mrs. Herrera, the then-matriarch of one of the town’s most prominent families and the owners of that soy farm and many others. In exchange for access to a phone and basic internet, Dili offered to help nurture the nearby crops. The Herreras gained higher-yielding plants that more than financially compensated for the extra tech, and Dili didn’t have to use a cell phone at home.
The witch unlocked the shed door and let herself inside. She sneezed once from the dust, then pulled the collar of her dress up over her nose. Dili picked up the receiver and dialed the clinic’s number, tapping her foot as she waited. Toad wound between her ankles, his neon green eyes flashing in the morning light.
“Mountain Clinic, this is Vanessa.”
“It’s me. I won’t be in today.”
A pause. “Everything okay?”
Dili sighed, twisting the phone cord around her finger. “Toad came home last night.”
“Oh, thank goodness! You must be so relieved.”
“I am, but…” She hesitated, watching Toad stare up at her with those unnerving new eyes.
Dili didn’t want to lie to her friend, but she knew that Vanessa would react badly no matter what. Haunting memories still clung too close for the human.
The witch decided it was best to tell the truth without the details. “Well… We had a visitor. That vampire everyone’s been talking about.”
The sharp intake of breath on the other end made Dili wince.
“What happened? Are you hurt?” Vanessa’s voice pitched higher with each question.
“I’m fine. He appeared after Toad showed up, but he wasn’t violent. More… annoying than anything, I suppose. I handled it.”
“Handled it how?” The fear still pitched Vanessa’s voice too high.
“Let’s just say he grossly underestimated the consequences of his actions.” Dili allowed herself a small smile at the memory. “But I need to figure out why he came to my home specifically. There’s something off about the whole situation.”
“Dili, this is serious. We should call the paranormal PD. A lone vampire targeting a witch—”
“He’s not targeting me,” Dili interrupted before Vanessa could spiral with the worst-case scenario. “And I’d rather not involve the authorities until I understand what’s happening. They’ll just make everything more complicated.”
“But—”
“Please, Vanessa. Give me a day or two to sort this out.” Dili watched Toad, who seemed unusually interested in the conversation. “I’ve dealt with vampires before.”
A long silence followed before Vanessa sighed. “Fine. But promise you’ll call me tonight to check in. And if anything else happens—anything at all—I’m calling the PD.”
“Agreed.”
“Take whatever time you need. I can handle things here.” Vanessa’s voice wavered. “Just be careful, Dili. Please. Lone vampires are dangerous.”
“I will. Thank you.”
Dili hung up and looked down at Toad. “Well, that’s one problem solved. Any idea how to handle ours?”
Toad meowed, the sound oddly deeper than before, and padded toward the door, tail high in the air.
Next chapter coming Friday, August 29.