Page 17 of Found in Obscurity

Lorin glanced down and saw the fox staring up at him with bright amber eyes, almost accusingly. Its small ears were tipped back, tail curled in what looked like a question mark. It was a gorgeous creature. It was Lorin’s worst nightmare come to life.

“What?” Lorin choked. “What do you want?”

He wanted the thing to disappear. To never have existed. At the same time he couldn’t imagine it going anywhere and felt horror at the idea of being parted.

Another tear fell.

The fox tracked its descent, tilting its head. Its short ears flicked back and forth and its bushy tail swished once before it bounded up on the seat next to him.

Lorin moved all the way to the other side through more gathered puddles of water, his head bumping against the rope and knocking the wreath on his head askew. He hadn’t even realized he was still wearing it.

He reached up and ripped it off, holding it between his hands and squeezing. It creaked and folded under the pressure, the foxtails mocking him.

He cast it as far away from himself as he could, and it landed with athumpin a pile of wildflowers, battered but intact.

Lorin glared at it, panting.

A white paw landed on his thigh, and he tensed even as his shoulders relaxed. The opposing reactions made him angrier.

He looked at the fox with tears still clinging to his lash line in fat droplets waiting to fall. Looking into its face, he realized he couldn’t blame it after all. He wanted to so badly, but that was the worst thing about it—Lorin had no one to blame but himself. He’d agreed to the ceremony. He’d chased the fox and the connection in his mind. Chased the path. Chased warmth. Chased light. Like a blanket and a lantern.

He hated that secret part of him that was so lonely. That had been so lonely all his life. Searching and searching for something he couldn’t name.

He turned his face away and leaned against the rope, exhausted. He didn’t fight it when the fox curled up next to him, burying its face in its tail as if sensing he needed to be still and quiet for now.

Lorin felt it breathing next to him, a single warm spot against his leg, and he let himself cry a little more.

Kit

Waking up and finding himself no closer to being able to shift than before mating and bonding had been disappointing to say the least. Kit had pinned all his hopes and placed all his bets on it being the solution.

He didn’t want to let himself get stuck in a rut, however. Lying down belly up wasn’t in his nature. Unless it was for pets.

Lorin might not have fixed him, but he was a witch. Maybe, somehow, if Kit could get the message through to him, he’d still be able to help.

For now, Kit was adjusting to life with a mate and the weird feeling of being a familiar. There was a connection in his chest alongside the mating bond that was bright and effervescent. It glowed when he pressed into it. There was a new power brimming within him too. Untapped. Growing strong. Kit knew he couldn't reach it himself. It was there for Lorin.

There wasn’t a lot of time to explore it though, since Lorin seemed intent on going somewhere after only a couple of days.

Lorin was pacing the small bedroom, grabbing things here and there and tossing them into his travel bag. Kit trotted over to sniff at the various things, just to get himself familiarized with his human’s things and habits a bit more.

He already liked him a lot.

Despite all the pain surrounding him.

Kit hadn’t really had an image of his mate in his mind. He’d never thought about it much because all that mattered was finding them, making sure they had each other. Who they were, or what they were like, beyond being a nice person, had never played a part in it.

But then Lorin had come around, and Kit had realized that a deep part of him had obviously had some idea of what he wanted.

Because Lorin was exactly it.

He seemed sharp-tongued, kind of taciturn and withdrawn, which Kit found to be interesting. He seemed to love books, always reaching for one or having them in arm’s reach. He was also very pretty—even in fox form, Kit recognized that. He was tall and lanky, and Kit imagined Lorin would tower over his human shape easily. He shivered at the thought of just hiding his nose against Lorin’s neck.

He had wispy, ink-black hair that tickled at his chin, pale skin, and eyes as dark as night. They looked like he’d be able to hide anything behind them easily, and yet Kit felt like he could seeright through Lorin somehow. He had a sharp, angular face and thin, beautifully bowed lips Kit ached to see stretched in a smile.

He didn’t know how something so small could matter so much, but Lorin smelled nice and the whiff of sadness wrapped around that lovely scent was upsetting to Kit. He wanted to know what it smelled like when he was laughing and happy.

And he wanted to be the one to make it happen.