Page 12

Dove

A puff of steam escaped with each breath, my steps silent, my night vision heightened as we strolled well outside of academy grounds. The guys were shaped in a diamond around me, Seven leading the way, Kairos and Enko on each side of me, and Rhys rounding up the rear.

Hunting demons with my men brought a jittery glee to me. I clenched my fists and withheld my outburst—barely—

Having fun, are you? Seven goaded.

Yes, I responded, meaning to add a hiss of anger, but excitement coated the word like sugar.

I can’t wait to hear you squeal in terror when you see the next demon, Seven continued.

“I can manage just fine, thank you very much,”

I whispered, stepping onto a stick as I spoke and listening to the crack! echo against the forest.

Seven appeared in front of me, using his unnaturally fast speed to get the upper hand. His eyes narrowed, a powerful disappointment layered his smugness. “Quiet, Fated. We’re in demon territory.”

“Everywhere is demon territory around here,”

I hissed with a roll of my eyes, hands on my hips as I imagined Seven’s lips crashing down into mine, taking me into the safety of his Shadow, his cock pressing up into me—

The Archfox cleared his throat. There was still a distance between the two of us, a gap I desperately yearned to close. Especially after what had happened earlier, even after our first kiss.

“Get used to it, Rhys,”

Kairos said as he approached, his footfalls still silent as the night. “When they argue with each other, they’re actually both just covering up their hormones. Couple of horny kits that are always wanting to go at each other like rabbits.”

“Hey!”

Seven and I said at the same time before glaring at each other.

“You need to keep strengthening your mind shield, little fox,”

Enko grumbled as he approached. “The Lord of Nightmares may try to attack you at any moment, even while you sleep.”

“I have been working on it—” I began.

“Yeah,”

Seven snapped sarcastically, shooting me that taunting smirk. “Maybe she wanted me to see that, Enko.”

“It’s easy to reflect his attacks while you’re awake. Keeping him out of your dreams will be much more complicated, Dove,”

Kairos said.

“Goddess, I feel like I’m babysitting four kits.”

Rhys groaned.

“Fated mates always work best in their group,”

Seven said mockingly, puffing his chest out to exude authority.

The Archfox snickered, “Someone’s in a mood tonight. Must be all those hormones Kairos mentioned. Didn’t burn off enough earlier when you tasted her?”

“That just makes him more horny,”

Kairos observed.

“Okay, okay, enough,”

I demanded. “We’re supposed to be hunting demons, and I doubt even a Tier I is dumb enough to walk into this ruckus.”

The guys shrugged and sauntered back to their positions as we continued to roam through the forest quietly. It was at least ten minutes before we caught sight of something.

Ten o’clock, thirty meters ahead of me, Enko called out to me, and I relayed the message to the others.

Seven dashed into action, and I began to sprint, not caring about the snapping and crackling at my feet, eager to add to my kill count.

But one of my Fated mates was much more eager. “That’s one-thousand forty, suckers!”

I skidded to a stop within a few feet of him barely in time to identify the demon burning into ash at his feet as he swiped the splatter of blood from his face with his arm and his quicksilver short sword drew in the black demon blood that remained.

“Troll, Tier II,”

I murmured with disappointment. The lumpy grayish-green skin flared up into Hellfire, consuming the very strong yet very stupid demon.

“Give her a chance for some practice, Seven,”

Enko snarled, sidling up next to me and pulling me into the fiery heat of his embrace to ward away the chilly night.

“Yeah, that’s the fifth time tonight,”

Kairos snapped. “I’ll lead from here on out, you take my spot, Seven.”

Kairos leaned over and pressed his lips to the top of my head. “Don’t worry, Dove, I’ll let you have the next one if it’s doable.”

“Not my fault you’re a bunch of slow wussies,”

Seven grumbled as he moved to my right and Kairos began to take the lead. Seven leaned over, snickering as he took another jab at Kairos, “He probably won’t even let you take on a Tier I by yourself, Fated. You know how he is.”

My lips parted with a retort, but he shushed me and stalked away silently, disappearing when he was five feet from me. I would have to deal with him later.

We continued through the trees for another quarter of an hour, but much to my disappointment, the skies began to lighten with the dawn.

“Damn it, Seven,”

I groaned, sitting on the undergrowth with a crunch, giving a very dramatic show as I laid back in despair.

The Archfox chuckled from nearby.

“It’s not like I’m going to get anything when all four of you are surrounding me like a pack of dogs,”

I snapped.

“Did she just refer to us as dogs?”

Rhys asked disappointedly.

“Sharks, then,”

I corrected.

“Uh, Dove?”

Kairos whispered, nodding his head toward a tiny blue ball of fire hovering in the distance over a small stream.

We all went silent at the sight. Finally, this was my chance. Fire wasp, Tier I.

I leapt into glorious action, but I wasn’t about to try to pin a fly to a tree with my throwing knives or dagger. No, I needed to do this the old-fashioned way. I shifted into my glowing white fox form, leaving my black pile of clothes behind on the dried leaves. If it weren’t for my glow, I may have just looked like a perfectly normal white fox with my solitary tail.

I bounded on all fours, moving too quickly for the slow bumbling creature to get away. I leapt into the air, opening my mouth and aiming for the little creature.

Up close I could see all its little features, its dark blue hint of fire at the base, the edges turning to an orange-yellow of a true fire. Its iridescent wings and its body like that of a fuzzy bee. Its head had an eerily human face.

I clamped my teeth around its body, enjoying the satisfying crunch of a little extra power and protein.

And the power expanded within me. What? Now?

I kept crunching on the Fire wasp as I began to spin in curiously, trying to catch sight of my tail. The glow of my body brightened, like the sun coming out from behind a cloud on a dreary gray day. And when I saw it, I bounded with joy toward my men.

My second tail.

I swished it around happily, brushing up against their legs as I did circles around them.

Seven began laughing robustly, no surprise after how he had acted the first time I had gained a tail, but what could he possibly be laughing about this time? Could he never just be happy for me?

“Oh my goddess, she fucking evolved on a Fire wasp,”

Seven laughed, unable to control himself as he put his hands down on his knees and began heaving for breath in between his laughing spurts. “She is the dorkiest kitsune I’ve ever seen.”

When Seven reached down to ruffle my second tail, I snapped at his hand much less playfully. Then I whined. Stop laughing.

To which Seven laughed even harder.

“Okay, Seven, give it a rest,”

Kairos said after a moment, smiling down at me. “For the record, Dove, it is kind of funny that you got your second tail from the easiest Tier I out there, and you ate it.”

Enko shrugged, less inclined to be as jovial as the other two. “Feral instinct. It’s not like slashing that little dagger would have done any good. What was she supposed to do?”

“Perhaps a fly swatter,”

the Archfox said seriously. Then his smile quirked upwards and the others burst into laughter at the joke.

I remained in fox form as they walked back toward Foxfire Academy and I trotted along beside them. I proudly swished my two tails and kept looking back to make sure I wasn’t imagining it. I wondered briefly if I could shift back into a human immediately this time, but my pride got the better of me. I wanted to show off.

But isn’t it a little fast for my second tail?

“Maybe you gain tails more quickly since you’re a Disciple?”

Rhys suggested. “I’ll look into it tonight. There must be more information about it somewhere.”

Rhys stopped off at his office and followed us back to the dorm with a few books in hand. While he and Kairos began to skim through them, Enko lifted a couple of gigantic dumbbells, mentioning something about missing his workout. And Seven let me cuddle on his lap as we drifted off into a quick nap before classes the next day.