My Girlfriend, My Pet.

Chapter 37

"You can't be serious, can you? No! No freakin' way, man!" Mike was on the edge of losing it when Raiden broke the news to him and the rest of the executives that he would be resigning once the merger was completed.

Following three months of contemplation, it had occurred to him that the best way to keep the firm running without ever raising any alarm bells would be to have him leave to manage what he now called the 'Black Division' while Mike was to be promoted to the rank of CEO. Elizabeth, on the other hand, would fill Mike's shoes in an even more important position.

Not only did she earned it but she needed it since she was now seeing her colleague officially - whispers of marriage were uttered occasionally, after all.

With Raiden leaving the company on paper, he would inform everyone that he was destined for retirement. The surface side of Evelyn's company would still be managed by her to keep things looking normal while Jen will take charge, along with Raiden and Iona, of the aforementioned 'Black Division'.

"I've had plenty of time to think about my decision and yes, I don't think you can change my mind. Don't worry, it's not like I'm dying, right?" Raiden joked to the room full of executives.

In just over a year, he thought as he reclined his office chair, so much had changed. Mike and Maggie were due to get married in three weeks, Elizabeth had gone from a scheming woman bent on stealing his heart to a trusted employee who will now help lead the company towards better times, Jen and Evelyn will now set up a centre to train young shifters while Iona...

He sat back up and stared at the photo of them on his table - a smiling Raiden walking Sakura in the park. Opening his office safe, he withdrew a small maroon case and gently flipped it open.

A ring.

He was going to ask Iona Moira Lennox to be his wife.

~~~

Jen and Evelyn wasted no time in setting up their base of operations in an undisclosed location on the Japanese island of Hokkaido. Raiden had flown in earlier to purchase a decent size of land that will be converted into a farm on the surface, a development camp underneath. Situated on the northernmost region of the island, the surrounding area offered them lush forests, access to the sea and close to zero neighbors.

To facilitate the soon-to-be-international network, Evelyn had ensured that funds will be transferred legally from the company towards the division. "Think shadow CSR, if you will," Evelyn said just as Iona and Jen flew towards Raiden and her.

The spring hawk and osprey landed in front of the duo, ruffled their feathers and began to blur and stretch into the shape of two women. Raiden observed as the two shapeshifters changed forms at a different rate and even style.

While the spring hawk melted into an almost liquid-like state before stretching upwards, the osprey grew wider before shooting upwards. Jen's face appeared first on the osprey's morphing body while Iona's shapely legs formed from the talons.

Jen's feathers melted at the start of the metamorphosis while Iona's only vanished when her body was more than halfway reshaping into her human frame. Within a minute, two nude women stood before the pair. Jen had finished changing earlier but Iona had deliberately slowed her transfiguration down if the wink she sent in his direction was any indication.

Any straight man's dream if they could stomach the morphing, Raiden thought to himself as he handed over their clothes.

"Couldn't have asked for a better location. Closest farm is at least half an hours' drive away and in between, nothing but two campsites." Jen commented on the results of their recce.

"Yeah, and plenty of room to explore as different animals," added Iona.

"Did you take more than just bird form?" Evelyn asked.

"For sure, we did plenty of simulation for future shifters in training," Jen added in before Iona could respond.

While she and Evelyn continued discussions regarding the establishment of the new base, Raiden decided to pull Iona along for a walk around the woods nearby. The conversation mainly surrounded on how things would work out in the future before Raiden touched on the past.

"You remember the time I came to the shelter and we took the dogs out for a walk?"

Iona craned her neck and smiled at the memory. Of course she did. She had freaked him out a bit when she could almost telepathically communicate with one of the dogs, asking it to follow or stop just by willing it from her mind. Her abilities naturally gave her the advantage of communicating with different animals.

"Yeah, I remember that. Why?"

"Just wanted to bring it up. It all seems so far away now. I mean, thinking about it... I... yeah. Never in my wildest dreams could I have imagined that I would be walking dogs with a woman who could actually become one herself."

She took her hand in his and stopped in front of him. Arching her eyebrows, she said, "Are you hinting for me to become one right now? I saw the way you looked at me when I changed back earlier."

"Only because you were changing slowly on purpose, weren't you?"

"Not bad, not bad at all. You even know my default morphing pace now." Iona was already slipping off her shirt when she said that. "Maybe I should try to change at different speeds and see if you can catch me slowing down or speeding up?"

He wanted her to go ahead with it. He couldn't resist, watching Iona bend physics and biology to her will as she put on what must be the most erotic sight he has ever come across. He wanted to hear her flesh slide like she was made out of gelatinous material, watch her body stretch, melt, elongate and/or shrink like she was warm wax.

It was undoubtedly sexy - taboo or not - to watch, hear and sometimes feel Iona Moira Lennox morph herself into different animals.

"Maybe not now," Raiden said as he held her. She stood half naked with her bra on and turned to face him.

"This is new. Something wrong? I thought you liked it when I changed shapes?"

"I do but... maybe not here. We're out in the woods in a foreign country. Let's not take the risk, okay?"

Iona bit her bottom lip and let out a soft moan in his ear. The sounds of her flesh sliding caught his attention and he looked down to see leopard-like spots forming between her cleavage. "Just showing you what you're missing," she grinned between sharpened canines as whiskers grew from her slightly misshapen face.

"Yuf surph yuf donf wanf thiffffffff...." her voice became gravelly at the last syllable as he saw her lips and tongue stretch forward further into a feline muzzle.

"Iona, please, don't risk it." He couldn't help himself, though. Raiden's eyes trailed her face and body as she began to turn gelatinous. Her outline beginning to soften as she closed her eyes and reversed the transformation. Just as quickly as she had started it, Iona had returned to her solid, human shape.

"Okay, but only because we're somewhere unfamiliar," she said as the two of them trailed the path around and back to the place where they started. Jen and Evelyn were just about done discussing when they turned to greet them.

"Lovebirds can't help wandering around, can they?" Evelyn commented as they came within earshot.

"Only because it's a new place to get lost with him," countered Iona as the group settled down and stared at the vast expanse of what was soon to be a dedicated training site for shifters around the world.

"I assume everything checks out fine, then?" Raiden asked again as the rest of them nodded.

"Yeah, all good. Now all you have to do is sign the cheque and we're good to go," Jen concluded.