Page 7

Dove

“Orders from the Archfox and Elder Peter,”

came an unfamiliar voice at the door.

My eyes snapped open, finding a lanky student on the other side, one that worked in the office of the Elder. He peered around Kairos into the room and I felt the distinct lack of privacy as he viewed the unusual setup of combining beds. Seven snuggled against me beneath the blankets and I became acutely aware that I was naked beneath. Enko’s body pressed against my other side, bringing an odd sense of heat and chill from both of them.

And this pervert is just looking at us in our most private moments.

Kairos snatched the note from the messenger’s hand. “Keep your eyes off my Fated, Charles. Or I’ll set Enko on you.”

The man jumped back in fear, bowing his head. “My sincerest apologies, Kairos.”

Kairos slammed the door in his face, rolling his eyes.

“Fated, how we sleep isn’t anyone’s business other than our own. And he’s just jealous anyway,”

Seven purred as he awoke, pressing his hips forward pleasantly and causing an ache of emptiness within me as his hardness pinned against me. My eyes snapped open in shock.

Enko awoke, nostrils flaring and nearly jumping out of the bed away from me. He wore his gym shorts to bed, but no shirt. “I’m going for a run.”

Kairos grabbed his arm before he could make it out the door. “Not today, Enko.”

His eyes flicked down to the note. “The Council of Elders requested for all of us to meet with them. Apparently, they want to check in on the Disciple. Get dressed, all of you.”

It was only then that I realized Kairos was already fully dressed in his dress clothes. He was always so well put together and sexy. It made me want to mess up his hair.

“Do it,”

Seven hissed with laughter. He threw the blankets off and showed me exactly what the rigidity crammed against me had been.

Kairos threw his hands up, “Seven! What the hell! Put some clothes on. No one wants to see that.”

Seven smirked. “Oh, I think someone does.”

My eyes snapped up to his, shaking my head away from the glorious sight that I wanted more than anything. He winked at me.

Enko growled, “We’re not supposed to be sleeping with her naked, Seven. You know that. And just because Dove wants your dick doesn’t mean I want to sleep naked with you.”

Seven shrugged. “I shifted into fox form with her. I forgot,”

he lied, winking at me again.

We had been Fated mates for long enough that I was beginning to wonder when we would actually mate for the first time. And how was it supposed to work when I had four different male mates? Would we do it all together? Would they take me separately—

“Dove,”

Kairos reprimanded. “Please don’t make us all horny when we have to go to see the Council of Elders right now.”

“Sorry,”

I mused, unable to stop my smile. “I keep forgetting you guys can hear everything now.”

We got ready, and though I was feeling more comfortable with my body around them, I demanded, “Seven, get me some clothes.”

His glare made my heart flutter. It showed how much he cared.

But then he complied, grabbing a pair of black pants, a black shirt, black socks, black bra… “These ones, Fated?”

he said, lifting a pair of lacy black panties from the drawer, dangling them for all to see.

“Seven, must you always be a pest?”

Kairos said, grabbing the black pile of clothes and passing them over to me.

I quickly dressed beneath the covers while Seven threatened with his eyes to make another comment. “Don’t worry, Fated. When we get back I can take you out of them again—”

“Seven, I swear to the goddess, if you keep this up I’ll pummel you,”

Enko growled, practically feral.

Seven shrugged innocently. “I didn’t say anything too bad that time, Enko.”

Everyone rolled their eyes except for Seven, who was exceedingly playful that morning. I figured I’d be the only one who could actually keep him in check.

As we headed out, me looking like a demon in black, and the rest in normal clothes, Seven’s Land Rover beeped in the parking lot as we approached it.

“Shotgun!”

I called, easily winning out against Kairos as we entered the vehicle.

“Both of you are feisty this morning,”

Kairos grumbled as he took the back seat with Enko. Then bumped Seven’s arm from the backseat to get his attention. “Is Rhys meeting us there?”

“I’m not my brother’s keeper, Kairos. Text him if you care so much.”

When we arrived at the destination, an old temple building on the outskirts of Lethe. It had gray stone columns instead of the usual white.

“Dove, keep quiet, ask us in our heads whatever you wish, but these are not the people to share any secrets with, as trustworthy as they think they are,”

Kairos said before we exited the vehicle.

I nodded, saluting my bossy mate. “Yes, sir.”

“Careful, Fated, he might get his own head caught up his ass with you calling him ‘sir.’”

Outside the vehicle Rhys waved, immediately opening the passenger door for me.

“Glad you guys finally arrived. The Council is waiting. Let’s go.”

Rhys held a serious expression, and I wondered how much my brain had let slip of what had transpired between us during the short morning.

Seven nudged me. “Everything if you keep thinking about it.”

“Wait,”

Kairos began, turning toward me and holding my shoulders. “Dove, whatever they ask, you only need to say what you want.”

His seriousness made me nervous, but I nodded. I hadn’t been within the temple life for over a year, but I knew what the Elders expected of me, especially if they knew my past.

Rhys held the door as we entered the temple-like building, and once inside, a Holy Fox, a monk in pure white robes, bowed and gestured for us to follow. I knew immediately the severity of the meeting only by the actions of the monk. I hastily followed the white robe, something from my childhood taking over. My Fated mates rushed after me, not that it was hard with their super-speed.

The Holy Fox bowed as they opened the chamber doors. A spotlight shone down on the center of the room, and the Elders hid within the cover of the shadows.

The five of us entered, standing within the light, squinting at the dark figures across from us. The dimness irritated me in a way that wouldn’t have when I was less experienced, and I felt my body expand in fury.

A white glow emitted, covering the room and exposing the Council Elders from their place of safety. They stood around us in an arch wearing red robes with white belts.

Not the typical white robes with red belts of the Elders. No, these were much higher ranking. These Elders had been carefully selected by the others, deeming that the goddess herself blessed these Elders with a higher authority.

“Disciple, withdraw your light,”

a female voice ordered.

I immediately turned and found the speaker, glaring at her, “I have no control of what the goddess gifted me, Elder.”

“No control?”

a male Elder said.

“Perhaps the goddess wants you to be seen,”

Seven snipped. That silenced the Elders. And I knew what it meant. Seven was the most dangerous kitsune they’d ever seen. Nobody dared question him. If he wanted, he could take the position of the Archfox in a heartbeat.

“Why did you call us, Elders?”

Kairos asked to break the silence.

“Is the Disciple healed?”

someone asked.

Kairos growled, “Light up this room or we’ll leave it. You’re making my Fated uncomfortable.”

Instantly, one of the Elder’s scurried across the room and the lights illuminated brighter. “Granted, Kairos, five tails.”

I could now see them clearly in their red robes and white belts. So clearly, looking so human and weak. My own light dispelled, no longer threatened by the elderly Elders.

Seven laughed at the thought as it slipped over to him. “Which of you has tails at all? Why do you think you deserve the authority to command us?”

“Seven,”

Kairos whispered.

“You know I’m right—”

“Archfox, Commander of the Nine Orders of the Goddess, eight tails, step forward,”

said one of the Elders.

Rhys stepped into the brightest of the light without question. “Why did you call us here? Stop wasting our time. You know I have more important things to deal with than the politics of the Elders.”

“I called the meeting to ensure the Disciple’s safety.”

A man at the center cleared his throat, “How is the training of the Disciple progressing?”

“It would be better if you hadn’t pulled her away from classes today, Allen,”

Rhys commented with a keen air of disappointment. “Dove is a prodigy. She’s only been enrolled at Foxfire Academy for four weeks and she has over a dozen kills, at least one Tier III. A succubus, I believe.”

The gray and white haired heads nodded in approval, looking at each other, whispering. “Will she be ready in time?”

“Ready for what?”

I demanded. I hated that this meeting was about me and they spoke about me like I wasn’t even in the room.

“Dove, one tail, you speak when spoken to,”

Elder Allen boasted, the only Elder with any color to his hair. The comfort of using our names made me realize they had spent a long time studying our student files.

Enko growled, the fury of the vibrations causing a hint of fear to shudder through the Elders. “You will not order my Fated mate around. Weren’t you the ones who denied her application last month? If it weren’t for the blood tests, she would have slipped through our fingers.”

A feminine Elder gazed at him with bored eyes, but I could sense her fear through her words. “Enko, six tails, the goddess has a hand in all things. She ensured the Disciple was accepted. And that she found her Fated mates.”

Rhys’ eyes rolled, a whisper of his annoyance coming through our mind link. “Is that all? Because I’d prefer if my Fated mate attended classes today. She still has much to learn.”

Elder Allen shook his head. “Almost. How has mating gone? Has the Disciple gone into heat?”

They were hoping that being a Disciple was genetic and that I would produce an heir. In case I was killed in the war against demons.

As expected, Enko let loose a roar, but Seven was already across the room, hand gripping the man’s throat. “Your daring may have gotten you into the Council, but you will not disrespect my Fated. As you’ve already been warned.”

The man choked, heaving for breath and trying to speak. The other Elders appeared panicked, but looked unsure how to handle the problem. “Seven, seven tails, please release him.”

“I don’t follow your orders.”

He snapped his glare back to Elder Allen. “Plead for her forgiveness.”

When Seven released the man, his wide eyes were filled with annoyance. “Apologies, Disciple.”

Seven snickered, smirking, “No, on your fucking knees, Allen. Beg for her forgiveness.”

“It’s okay, Seven—”

“No, it’s not, Dove,”

Rhys snapped. “If they had their way, they’d use you. Force you to mate until you have a child and then force you to fight until your death. The goddess gave you protectors, and that’s exactly what we’re doing.”

Elder Allen dropped to his knees, hobbling forward and bowing until his forehead touched the tiles. “I beg your forgiveness, Disciple Dove, one tail.”

Seven cackled, getting a kick from the power.

Another Elder stepped forward, “Do you forget who is in charge here? The Council of Elders is in place to ensure our victory in this war.”

“None of you has even fought a battle, yet you act as though you can order us around. I am the Commander in this army, chosen by this very Council as the Archfox to lead our kind. Not you,”

Rhys snapped. “Now, you have been updated on Dove’s progress. You will not waste any more of our time. Your duty is to monitor the Hellgate for any abnormalities. If you call us again for no reason, I’ll be forced to call a vote for a new Council. Perhaps sitting pretty in your mansions has made you forget your purpose here.”

And with that, Rhys stomped out of the room and we all followed him, but my eyes lingered on the pissed off group of Elders watching us leave. Elder Allen’s lip worse, showing his teeth in a threat.