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 was not a runner, but she couldn’t have gone faster than a brisk walk even if she’d had a marathoner’s stamina. The wild woods were too dense. The forest only showed her how to follow Hadrian; it couldn’t steer her around the thorny thickets, rough terrain, or the fast-running river.
So, the witch veered off course several times, imagining the vampire leaping over obstacles that took her precious time to circumvent. The time it took to be careful was worth it, though. One misstep could lead to a sprained ankle or worse, and she didn’t want to get even further behind.
Jasmine might need her, not her familiar or the vampire.
The thought staved off Dili’s frustration, especially when the darkness pressed down. Holding a lantern in front of her to light the path meant even slower going. The night wasn’t just black; it felt thick and heavy, like a blanket beneath the canopy coaxing her into sleepy stillness.
Dili kept her thoughts on Jasmine and kept her feet moving east for hours. Eventually she began climbing up a rather steep hill. She’d walked the lands around town for a couple of years before settling in, so she remembered there was a large granite cliff in the area. She assumed she was scrambling up to the top of that bluff.
She was right, and from on high, it was easy to spot the tendril of smoke rising from a crevice in the cliff face.
The witch glared at the wispy smoke. She didn’t remember many details from those early days in the mountains, but she would have noted such a split in the granite, and certainly a cave large enough to shelter a fire—which meant someone must have carved the cave with magic.
As if the unsettling sight wasn’t enough, the trees insisted Hadrian had taken the fastest way down, and encouraged Dili toward the edge. She sighed and pursed her lips in consideration.
She could have asked a cloud to carry her down, but clouds were as fickle as they were fast. Too risky.
She could have summoned a swarm of spiders to help her down, but that would have taken hours for them to gather. Too long.
She could have cast herself a pair of wings or a mountain goat’s legs, but she wanted to conserve her epic casts for when she caught up to Jasmine. Too costly.
So she grumbled the entire way down the slope, around the bluff, and to the magic-made slash in the rock. It had taken her another hour and a half. By then, the first glimmer of dawn already lit the horizon. She stared at the hint of color panting, with her hands on her hips, and a frown on her face.
The witch took the briefest of moments to scold herself for not resupplying her swift-foot potion months ago. She promised herself she would brew more the first chance she got.
Then, a bit sweaty, quite dirty, and thoroughly vexed, Dili marched into the looming entrance of the cave. She still held the lantern out, and pressed her other hand, with the sleeve pulled up, over her face. The fabric was enough to make the smell of the smoke flowing out bearable, but she couldn’t do much about the sting in her eyes beyond squinting.
The tunnel inside was as dark as the night had been, but despite the magic-hewn walls around her, she didn’t feel cramped or claustrophobic. Her worry lifted her feet and pumped her arms instead of weighing heavy in her chest.
It didn’t take long for the flicker of fire to play along the walls around her. Dili put out the lantern and stowed it; she could see well enough without, and she wanted to be as discreet as she could be.
Soon, the tunnel widened into a large cave, and Dili came upon a jaw-dropping scene. Only a few figures filled the cavernous space.
Jasmine Henderson stood in the center, with shoulders thrown back, cheeks flushed with anger, and Toad tucked into the crook of one of her arms. Relief flooded through Dili seeing them together, but she couldn’t fathom how Toad snuggled up with his closed in one of her arms while she was threatening Hadrian with the other.
The teen shook her fist in the vampire’s face. Dili could tell she was shouting, too, but the witch could only hear the crackles of the modest fire behind Jasmine and Hadrian.
Dili noticed all of that in the space of one breath, and even though she wanted to check on Jasmine, even though she wanted to scoop Toad up, even though she wanted to intervene in whatever problem Hadrian had clearly caused, she could only stare at the other person in the cave.
Behind the fire, another woman watched Jasmine and Hadrian as closely as Dili did. Almond-shaped eyes, the color of emeralds instead of rubies, sat over sweet curves where Dili remembered severe lines. The ringlet curls were gone, but so was the circlet that had crowned that chosen head, replaced by a halo of shimmering gold Dili suspected only she could see.
The body didn’t match the woman from Dili’s memory, either, but that didn’t matter. The witch knew that face, even though she didn’t recognize the features anymore. She knew how to look behind the features to see only the face; the part of all people that stayed the same when everything else looked different. Once Dili knew a face, she never forgot it.
Shock could have frozen Dili to the spot. Fear would have made her hesitate. Dread should have kept her wordless.
Instead, the witch sighed and felt around in her right pocket until she withdrew a silver key and one of her purification teabags, her personal blend. She ripped open the teabag and scattered the herbal contents in front of her. Holding the silver key in her right hand, she kissed the metal, and blew out in front of her.
The shrouding spell collapsed in a wave of agitated yelling and frustrated shouting. Dili would only have a second or two before they noticed her, so she tucked the key back in her pocket, rolled her shoulders back, steeled herself against the inevitable, and cleared her throat.
The raucous noise quieted as if she’d bellowed a command. Dili held still, her chin high, as four heads pivoted toward her.
Toad was the first to react. He let out a cheerful burble, leapt from Jasmine’s arms, and trotted over. He held his tail straight up, with the tip just curled over—clearly proud of himself, and her.
Surprisingly, the color drained from both Jasmine and Hadrian’s faces as they took Dili in. The girl’s hands dropped as her chest deflated, and she took a step back from Hadrian. She squirmed under Dili’s gaze.
Even as Dili watched Jasmine, she noticed Hadrian’s jaw go slack. His eyes dulled, but they flicked behind him for a split second. The witch ignored the sinking feeling in her stomach at that telltale glance.
She didn’t bother looking at the other woman. Not yet.
Dili cleared her throat again, the sound loud in the silence.
“Jasmine Henderson, we agreed on three eggs, did we not?”
Dili had pitched her voice to carry, and it echoed around the cave. Jasmine flinched at the reverberating sound. She hunched down, as if trying to make herself small.
“Y-yes, ma’am,” Jasmine said, head down turned.
“Then it is high time you paid me what I am owed,” Dili said. “Go home at once. I’ll collect at dusk.”
“But—” Jasmine’s eyes met Dili’s, and the protest died on the girl’s lips. She hung her head again. “Yes, ma’am.”
“Good.” Dili glanced down, where Toad rubbed against her legs, purring contentedly. “Wil you show her the way home, please?”
Toad let out an affirmative meow, then trotted back toward Jasmine. He circled her legs before heading for the exit. Jasmine, regret plain in her screwed-up expression, sniffed, sighed, glared at the vampire, then turned around to the other woman.
“I won’t forget,” the human girl said.
The other woman didn’t answer, nor did she take her eyes off of Dili.
Jasmine turned around and followed Toad, catching the toes of her boots every few steps because she kept dragging her feet. Dili held her tongue and her patience until the girl had been out of sight for several breaths.
Dili’s skin tingled with the silent tension building in the cave. The other woman just stared at her, and Dili stared back, though the witch saw Hadrian glancing between from the corner of her eye.
“Hadrian, if you would, please escort them home,” Dili said in a cold tone.
The vampire started, the movement sharp even in her periphery, but he said nothing.
“If you would please make sure Ms. Henderson returns home,” Dili said again.
He disappeared with a flourish before the last word left her lips. The blur of black left her alone with the woman who might as well have been a ghost.
“You,” the other woman spoke first.
“And you,” Dili said.
The other woman bowed and kept her head respectfully low when she straightened.
“Have you been well, my lady?” she asked.
“This conversation will remain just between us,” Dili stated instead of answering.
“Of course, my lady,” she said.
They both knew she’d lied.
“Very well,” Dili said. “I presume the one impersonating Jasmine Henderson was under your employ?”
“Yes, my lady. I will remove her at once.”
Dili nodded. They stared at one another for several long moments.
“Mountain air does you well, my lady,” she eventually said.
“Indeed, it does,” Dili agreed. “I’m afraid I’m no longer much of a host. Will you be staying long?”
“No, my lady,” she said.
“Very well,” Dili said. “Headed home?”
She bowed. “Of course, my lady. Might you accompany me? You have been missed.”
“What will you tell her when you return?” Dili asked, ignoring the invitation.
“That you are well enough,” she said without pause.
“Then, I wish you well on your way. May the road ahead be safe and every step land sure,” Dili said.
She bowed again, deeper. “It is my honor to receive your blessing, my lady.”
“One last thing—” the witch said. “—I assume you may have gathered as much already, but just to be quite clear, never step foot in my mountains again.”
Next chapter on Friday, October 31.