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.
Dili found herself striding down the hill toward town before she realized where she was heading. She paused, chastising herself for her carelessness, and turned toward home. She’d only taken a few steps, though, before heaving a giant sigh and turning round again. The witch needed lunch and comfort in equal measure, and tea, biscuits, and a cozy blanket at home wouldn’t suffice.
It was a quarter till two when Dili arrived outside the clinic. She entered through the back door and was pleasantly surprised to find Vanessa lounging in the office. She had her feet up on the desk and was doing something on her phone.
Dili knocked gently on the door frame. Vanessa glanced up, did a double take, then jumped to her feet.
“Oh my god, Dili, are you alright? I didn’t think I’d see you at all today. What happened?”
The whispered words tumbled out in such a rush that Dili could hardly keep up.
“I need to talk. Do you have any time?”
“Mrs. Davis is changing now before our appointment, but my three o’clock canceled. Can you wait until then?” she asked.
Dili nodded, but Vanessa frowned.
“Is it safe to wait until three?” Urgency dropped the nurse practitioner’s tone by an octave.
“Yes, it is. I promise,” Dili said.
Vanessa hesitated, then nodded back. “Alright. In the meantime, help yourself to some of my leftovers. You’re looking awfully pale.”
“Thank you,” Dili said. “I am hungry.”
Vanessa gave Dili’s shoulder a squeeze before turning toward the exam room. The witch did indeed help herself to the leftovers, a delicious pair of chicken enchiladas, as well as some of the emergency ice cream they kept in the freezer for dire days. She was staring into the empty bowl, tapping her spoon against the porcelain bottom, when Vanessa returned. The human eyed the ice cream bowl, then grunted.
“That bad, huh?”
“Not violent, but yes. Bad,” Dili said.
The witch outlined the last two days for Vanessa. She didn’t elaborate on some details, like how powerless she felt stuck in Hadrian’s grasp. She didn’t want to scare her friend more than the vampire’s presence already did. She also didn’t mention the humiliating situation after Toad had fled—or the question Hadrian had asked that tied her tongue up in knots.
The human listened, reacting when appropriate, but without interrupting until Dili sagged back in her chair with a sigh.
“So… Toad is a vampire?” Vanessa asked.
“Not until he completes his contract. For now, he’s a vampiric disciple,” Dili said.
“But does he… you know… bite people?” Vanessa asked, wincing as she said it.
“I’m sure he could, but I don’t know when he would start feeding,” the witch said honestly.
Vanessa said nothing for quite some time.
“Are you scared of Toad now?” Dili asked gently.
“If not now, then I will be. Eventually,” Vanessa said.
The women sat in silence for a few tense moments, Dili brooding over her tea and Vanessa staring into her cup of coffee.
“So, let me get this straight; the problem isn’t that Toad’s a, uh, disciple. You just don’t like Hadrian?” Vanessa clarified.
Hearing it out loud, Dili closed her eyes and shook her head. “I’m sorry. I’m being so selfish. I must sound absurd to you,” she muttered.
Vanessa grunted. “Shouldn’t you be a bit more concerned that he’s going to hurt you? Or Toad?”
“I should be more wary, yes,” Dili agreed.
A flash of purple suddenly caught Dili’s eye from the side window. The witch started at the sight of the familiar beanie crossing the glass.
“Jasmine! I completely forgot with everything else going on,” Dili said as she bolted to the front door.
Vanessa said something back, but the witch didn’t catch it. She was focused on speeding out onto the sidewalk without stumbling. The girl was already at the corner about to cross the road, so Dili called after her.
“Jasmine!”
The teen froze mid-step. She turned, her movement jerky, and her eyes widened as she took Dili in. Her cheeks pinked, and she turned away.
“Jasmine, wait!”
The girl paused awkwardly before pivoting slowly on her heels to hang her head in front of Dili. Her shoulders crept high around her neck, and a hint of red flushed up her neck.
“What’s the matter?” Dili asked.
“What?” Jasmine asked vaguely.
Dili frowned. “Are you alright?”
“I’m fine,” she said in a soft voice, refusing to make eye contact.
The girl seemed completely out of sorts. She appeared the same, but her disconnected gaze, her standoffish mannerisms… Something was off. She just didn’t seem like the same girl who had rushed up the hill a few days before.
“You never came by to deliver the eggs,” Dili said. She frowned deeper. “Are you sure you’re all right?”
“Oh, that. Yeah, sorry, it slipped my mind. I had this homework thing… so….”
Dili paused. “How did the conversation with your mother go?”
“Coulda been better, coulda been worse.” The girl shrugged. “Look, I’m kinda in a hurry. I’ll bring those eggs tomorrow, okay?”
Jasmine didn’t wait for Dili to respond before turning tail. The witch stared after the girl, who was all but running away in the opposite direction of where she had been going.
The eggs were hardly the issue—though Dili would collect in due time. Not even witches could work for free. It was unlike Jasmine Henderson to forget something so personal and private, and she was acting quite out of character.
Obviously, the teen was hiding something, but the witch also understood that the girl was old enough. If Jasmine didn’t ask for help, then Dili couldn’t force her way into fixing problems where she was unwelcome.
Knowing her place didn’t help her accept it, though. There was something wrong. She couldn’t figure out exactly what, but she felt it. That wrongness niggled away at her subconscious, rubbing her worry raw like a pair of boots that always gave blisters.
“What was that about?” Vanessa asked when Dili returned inside.
The witch paused. She didn’t want to lie to her friend, but she couldn’t breach confidentiality, either.
“Have any of the Hendersons come by in the last few days?” Dili asked instead.
Vanessa’s eyes narrowed. “No. Why?”
“I’m concerned about Jasmine. She wasn’t herself just now,” Dili said.
Vanessa pursed her lips, then tapped the side of her nose. ” I see. Like just having a bad day, or…?”
“Or,” Dili said. “Something’s wrong. I can feel it.”
Vanessa frowned. “Your guess is better than mine, but… I don’t think it’s a coincidence that something’s gone wrong right after a lone vampire showed up.”
Dili stopped by her cottage to pack a small bundle of food and replace her blood bag before heading back to the pond.
She gathered strips of dried fruit and meat, two handfuls of almonds, and the hand-sized honey pot. She wished she had another croissant or a muffin, but she was out of all fresh bread and had no time to make more. The witch wrapped each snack in waxed cloth, tied the parcels together, and slipped them into her right pocket.
Then, she rummaged around her attic until she found an old waterskin that was still in good condition. It could only hold about two liters, but it was clean and it hadn’t leaked when she’d used it a few decades ago. She’d make sure neither Hadrian or Toad punctured it so it would last until she mended the other one.
Determination carried Dili’s feet as she marched out her back door, but worry weighed her heart down. Vanessa’s words rattled around in her mind.
She trusted Toad completely, vampiric disciple or not. He had nothing to do with Jasmine’s odd behavior. She struggled to extend the same benefit of the doubt to Hadrian, but she reasoned that Toad would have retaliated if the vampire had done something to Jasmine.
But… when vampires did anything to anyone, there was always evidence, whether it was semen or blood, which had certainly been absent. Dili reexamined her memory of Jasmine’s behavior—the reticence, the vague answers, the—
She hated that she hadn’t seen it before. Dread slid down Dili’s throat, thick and choking.
“Oh no.”
Next chapter on Friday, October 17.