TOBIAS
Rachel cocked her head. "Who's Tascha?" she asked me.
"Um…" I said. "No one."
"Then why did you say her name?" Rachel demanded.
"I…" A sudden burst of inspiration hit me. "She was a cousin of mine that I was thinking about," I said.
Rachel squinted. I couldn't blame her for being suspicious. "Fine," she said finally.
I sighed with relief.
Rachel whipped around. "What's that rustling?"
TASCHA
I pushed into the woods, listening hard. I had known every leaf of every tree in this forest, previously. But that was by night, and that was when I was a chupacabra. I was a human now, and utterly unfamiliar with nature.
I thought I heard Tobias's voice up ahead. "Tobias?" I called. "Are you there?"
I crept into a clearing. Tobias, in hawk form, was sitting on a branch, talking to a blonde-haired girl. My first thought was 'An angel! An enemy.' I mentally shook myself. She was only a human girl, nothing more.
I sat in the bushes, watching and listening.
Tobias morphed to human and descended from his branch. "It's nothing, Rachel," I heard him say. "Probably just a squirrel or something." He took her into his arms and kissed her. I watched in quiet fascination.
They kissed for a long time, before Tobias's hand went around to her back. Rachel pushed away from him.
"What are you doing?" she snapped.
Tobias was taken aback. "I—"
Rachel shook her head and sighed. "Tobias, what's wrong with you?"
Tobias sat on the ground. "Rachel, I have something to confess to you." He looked around, saw me in the bushes. His eyes widened.
Rachel sat down. "What is it, Tobias?"
Tobias shook his head. "Nothing."
Rachel narrowed her eyes. "It's not nothing. Who's Tascha?"
She looked to where Tobias was looking. "Oh. I see."
Rachel leapt to her feet. She strode to where I was hiding, grabbed the collar of the shirt I was wearing, and dragged me out of the bushes. I hissed at her.
Rachel deposited me on the ground in front of Tobias. "You know this girl?"
I stared at Tobias. "Hello, my love."
TOBIAS
Tascha was crouched on the ground, where Rachel had dumped her. She was wearing one of my old T-shirts. I could tell she didn't have a bra on. Her damp hair was hanging over her face, and she looked amazingly sexy.
"Tascha…" I muttered. "How did you find me?"
Tascha looked up at me. "I thought you would be here," she said. "Is this your mate?"
Rachel glared at her. "I am his girlfriend," she said icily. "Who the hell are you?"
Tascha got up from the ground. "My name is Tascha," she said. "I am Tobias's."
"His what?" asked Rachel.
Tascha shrugged. "I am his. I belong to him. For now, at least."
Rachel looked at me, utterly confused. "What?"
I sighed. This was going to take a long time to work out.