I have a story in Wild Hearts! :D

I am very excited to share that my story “The Spirit of Christmas” will be featured in the upcoming Armoured Fox Press anthology Wild Hearts! If you follow me on Bluesky or Mastodon, you probably already know this information. But if you don’t…

Wild Hearts is a F/F Furry Anthology (that was edited by Anastasia Spinet) that features stories of women being in love with other women. Each story in this anthology will be following queer furry women!

“The Spirit of Christmas” follows Lila Dusk, a doe, who travels to the mountains to spend Christmas with her wife’s family at their cabin, only to be faced with the events and regrets of the Christmas prior.

Since the first of July is a mere three (or is it four? I was never good at counting) days away, I wanted to share just a little piece of “The Spirit of Christmas” with you all.

(Side note: This has been posted with the permission of the publisher, Voice Spider.)

Lila Dusk’s breaths were cold mist as she drove through the Adirondack Mountains in northern New York. The windshield wipers brushed the drifting snow from her field of vision, making it easier to see the road ahead of her. On one side of the road, the trees were speckled with white branches that blew softly in the icy breeze. On the other, behind a metal guardrail, the tree-covered hills swept down into the misty white valley below.  

Today, this view was backed by a gray sky with small, scattered clouds. Normally she’d risk a glance out of the passenger side window, or even pull over into a lookout point to take in the view under the dim light of the afternoon sky. But today, they didn’t have the same effect as they usually did– not when she was alone. Her gloved hands gripped the steering wheel as she fought the urge to reminisce.  

“In five hundred feet, your destination is on your left.” The sound of her GPS distracted her from the oncoming memories and her eyes flicked over to the left side of the road, scanning the tree line. She spotted the gap and flicked her turn signal as she made the turn onto a snow-covered path. 

Unlike the GPS’s claim, the cabin was at the top of a hill. As she drove up, she could see the house looming against the gray winter sky. She slowed the car to a stop and parked near the front porch. She sat back in her seat and watched as the windshield wipers flicked the snow away only for more to fall. 

Lila had never driven up alone before. It was an unavoidable trip. Her in-laws didn’t like the idea of her being alone on Christmas. She could understand the sentiment. They missed her, and she’d be a liar if she said she didn’t miss them just as much. It would just be so uncomfortable to be with them, because of her. 

After a few minutes of silently staring out the window at the cabin, she turned the car off and hugged herself tightly as the cold started to seep in over the residual heat from the car heater.  

She let herself breathe in and out, then unfastened her seatbelt. She quickly got out of the car, grabbed her luggage from the trunk, and hurried up to the cabin as fast as her hooves would allow without slipping on the icy steps.  

She opened the door and quickly shut it behind her. A gentle chill blew against her back as she turned to take in the cabin. The living area took up much of the front of the cabin. The living room included a sofa, a heater, a fireplace, and a small table fitted with three rickety old chairs. The kitchen was in a separate room, right behind the couch. On the other side of the house, towards the back, there was a door that led to two bedrooms and a small bathroom. 

As she surveyed the cabin’s interior, she could see memories of previous Christmases spent in the house. Shadows of what she used to have played before her as if through a projector lens. She could see herself and Vivian lounging on the couch, her fingers gently raking through the wolf’s snow-white fur. Or dancing and laughing in the kitchen. The happy moments they had spent there.  

She shivered and lifted her arms to hug herself. The interior of the house wasn’t any warmer than the outside. She took another look around the old cabin and her gaze rested on the heater plugged into the side wall. The heater! Thank goodness that old thing was still there. She didn’t feel like going back out into the cold again. She walked over to it and turned the knob.  

Satisfied, she turned back to the couch, shedding her jacket and throwing it over a chair, revealing a long-sleeved shirt with the Georgia Tech logo on it. She kept her gloves on, as she could still feel the chill from outside. Now, the only thing she needed to do was relax and wait for her family to arrive. She tossed her keys onto her jacket and flopped down, lifting her arms behind her to stretch. Then she settled into the couch, letting herself sink into the cushions as her hands rubbed at the fabric. The cabin was surprisingly well-kept even though the family only used it every few months, though she assumed someone had to come by every once in a while to keep it that way.  

Lila’s eyes took everything in. Everything was just how she’d remembered. Well, not everything. Though the cabin held a special place in her heart from all the memories she had, she knew there was a piece missing. A big piece. She closed her eyes as a memory she had been trying to hide pushed its way to the forefront of her mind. She could hear the hushed voices of herself and Vivian arguing in her head. 

“I can’t believe you would do this to me… and on Christmas.” Her wife’s family had been in the other room, so she made sure to keep her voice down to avoid bringing them into this. 

“How fucking dare you! You really don’t see the problem with what you’re doing? Our family is outside. Do you really want them to hear?” Her wife’s hiss rang in her ears, as she had also been trying to keep her voice down. 

“You crossed a line, Viv!”   

Lila heard the growl in her voice as the fight continued in her head and she squeezed her eyes shut. Coming here was a bad idea. Maybe it would be better if she just left. 

If you enjoyed that snippet, I hope you’ll consider purchasing Wild Hearts to finish reading the story. Not even just for my story though. There are other writers who took part in this anthology who also have amazing stories about queer furry women! There should be a purchase link available come release day, that I will be sharing on my social medias. So if you want to read this story and others like it, please get a copy of Wild Hearts.