Page 3 of Becoming One
Nelson shook his head and rolled his eyes. “I already told everyone. My Santorini fox is gone. I haven’t felt so much as a tickle of his fur since the day I took out Fallon. Without my ability to shift into my fox, or just my fox claws, I can’t mate with Orion. Trust me, if there was a way to have Orion as my own, I would gladly take it.”
“Oh Gods, Nelson, I never thought that it wasn’t that you didn’t want to, but that you couldn’t. Fuck, we are all so damn stupid,” Jewel said with self-disgust.
“Maybe Helio and I can do something. We might be able to jump start your fox,” Briar said in concern.
“You can’t jump start something that isn’t there, Briar, but thanks anyway,” Nelson whispered.
Jewel gasped, “What if he is there, but is so far inside, you can’t feel him?”
“What are you talking about, Jewel?” Helio asked.
“Magic is a precarious thing. The saying that all magic comes with a price is true. It’s one of the reasons we aren’t using magic to build this town. Now don’t get me wrong, I love the fact that I can heat up my blankets with just a flick of my finger, or snap and my clothes are gone and Ezzy can make love to me without the wait. However, each use can either take from the person using it or mess with the environment around us. Therefore, sometimes it’s just best if we go at things as the humans have to do. Yes, it’s time consuming and yes, it’s annoying as hell when you know that all the pixies and elves would have to do is blink and the town would be as we would like it to be. However, Ezzy and I didn’t want to start our new life with the coven on magical grounds. We wanted to make sure its foundations were strong and unshakable.”
‘That’s great, but what the hell does it have to do with my fox?” Nelson asked.
Jewel sighed, then looked Nelson straight in the eyes. “You abused your fox, Nelson. You abused the magic he could provide. I have no doubt that your Santorini fox was begging you to stop whatever it was you were doing, and you ignored him and continued on with your revenge.”
“Now wait just a damn minute. Fallon was outside the Council building with thousands of warriors ready to attack and kill everyone in the place. Had I not done what I had to do, everyone in Maddox and Crystal would be dead,” Nelson snapped.
Jewel gave a sharp nod. “That’s true, but you have three brothers who are just as capable of doing what you were doing, and yet you refused to allow them to help.”
“It was my fight, Jewel! Mine! Fallon had me locked up for years. Beaten, abused, malnourished, and…” Nelson stopped his rant and whispered, “I had dreamed so many times about how I would kill the son of a bitch. Of all the shit the man put me through, I swear, the one thing I hated the most was Fallon’s ability to keep me from shifting and letting my fox out. We would call to each other and I would sing to him, telling my little fox that one day we would be one again, then when that time finally came, I barely gave myself a chance to get to be a whole me before I was shifting faster and faster, killing all those sons of a bitches bent on destroying my family and all their friends. I couldn’t let it happen.”
“Your fox asked you to stop!” Jewel urged.
Nelson looked away, but Jewel wasn’t letting it go. “Your fox asked you to stop! Admit it!”
“Yes, he asked me to stop, but I couldn’t. It was a strategic plan that was working and would save so many lives. I tried explaining that to my fox, but he kept asking me to let him catch his breath. I couldn’t do that. Fallon would have figured out what was going on and then the surprise of the attack would have been gone. I had to finish what I started,” Nelson insisted.
“You could have asked your brothers for help. You didn’t. Your fox knew this, Nelson. It was too much magic in too short a time,” Jewel stated.
“I don’t understand. Nelson says all he did was shift. How was that too much for his fox?” Helio asked.
“Shifting is magic, Helio, and even more so for a Santorini fox. It’s like a tune hit that gets higher and higher in pitch until the glass shatters all around for a Santorini fox. The faster, the higher pitched it is. So, when Nelson continued to shift, even though his fox warned him to stop, it didn’t just explode the armies all around, it was a betrayal to Nelson’s fox and he did the only thing he knew to do when they had been taken by Fallon to begin with. His fox hid. The problem is, now the poor thing has no clue who he can trust.”
“So, what you’re saying is Nelson’s fox got his feelings hurt, ran away, and is now hiding?” Briar asked in wonder.
Nodding, Jewel replied, “I believe so, yes, and if he wants his mate like he says he does, then we need to find him a Nocta.”
“What’s a Nocta?” Nelson asked.
Helio looked at Nelson. “Jewel’s amazing and he’s right. A Nocta is a dream walker of sorts. They can enter your body and mind through a dream entrance and take anyone you wish in with him or her. They can speak from within, see everything you see both consciously and subconsciously. If anyone can help find your little fox, it’s a Nocta.”
“Even if I was willing to go that route—and I’m not saying I am. I wouldn’t even know where to begin to find a notornal-thingy you just said,” Nelson muttered.
“Nocta—and that’s okay, I do know where one is. All I need is the go-ahead and I’ll set it up,” Jewel stated.
Nelson couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Jewel might have a way to get his fox back. “Hell yeah, I want to do this.”
“We’re going to have to talk with Orion,” Helio softly said.
“Orion has nothing to do with this,” Nelson argued.
Jewel scoffed, “Oh yes he does. Your fox is pissed at you, Nelson. Your fox doesn’t trust you. However, your mate—well that is a different story all together. Orion can speak with your fox. He can explain what happened and be the go-between for you and your fox. Think of Orion as the mediator or couple’s counselor. He will be the one to hopefully make your Santorini fox listen. Otherwise, you will have lost your fox forever and never be able to complete your mating.”