Page 63 of Found in Obscurity

He was going to hug Kit forever and never let go.

His brain paused over that thought.

With the threat of dying from hypothermia or his limbs falling off fading, he started to become more aware of his body. Specifically, how it was pressed against another naked body. A very human and not-fox anymore body.

He opened his eyes and found Kit’s glowing gaze in the darkness right in front of him, staring straight at him. He startled slightly, his heart, which had already been working too hard, giving a jolt.

Kit blinked slowly, his lashes brushing his cheeks.

He had stupidly pretty eyes, Lorin realized abruptly. Angular and hooded and fixed in a position that was the definition of bedroom eyes. And the color was out of this world. Identical to his fox form, they were like glowing amber lamps giving off their own promise of heat, and Lorin felt an answering spark in his stomach.

The next breath he shuddered out wasn’t because of the temperature.

One word began to surface in his head.

Mate.

It whirled around like a spinning top, bouncing off the insides of his skull and making him dizzy.

What did that mean? He still didn’t know. But the implication was enough to set him ablaze, especially now they were in such a compromising position.

He racked his brain for another train of thought, anything to distract himself. “So you’re human again. That’s…um… Do I call you Kit? Is that your actual name?”

Kit’s leg between his twitched, his toes curling against Lorin’s calf in a slow stretch before kneading as he nodded in answer.

Lorin choked, trying desperately not to react so obviously. Not when Kit would be able tofeeleverything. But it was a losing battle. He hadn’t been close to someone in so long, especially not someone so obviously beautiful.

Though Lorin was starting to suspect that Kit wouldn’t mind at all, considering the way he was arching into him. Fingers walked along Lorin’s back, now without the intent to warm him. There was curiosity humming from their tips as they dipped into the valley between his shoulders.

“Kit,” he whispered shakily.

He had no idea what was happening.

He also didn’t want it to stop.

Which was why when the blanket slipped and the rush of cold outside swept through like an arctic breeze, he cursed out loud. His hair was still largely wet, and it felt like it grew icicles immediately.

Kit made an annoyed sound, checking him over before looking around. He began to unlock their bodies and Lorin felt himself clinging. But Kit, just like when in his fox form, wouldn’t be deterred once he was set on something.

He climbed up and away from him, still completely bare and uncaring as he walked to the small metal fireplace in the corner that had been largely ignored save for cleaning. It had a single spindly, crooked flume that led up to the ceiling, and a stack of aged logs next to it. Because the cabin had electric heating, it had continued to gather dust in the corner, but Kit crouched down next to it now to stoke a small fire.

Lorin sat up to watch him, wrapping the blankets tighter around himself and shivering again now that Kit’s warmth was gone.

He watched Kit move around for a few moments, the fumbling way he touched everything like he wasn’t used to his hands anymore.

Which was another thing.

“Are you fixed?” he croaked out.

Kit turned to look over his shoulder from where he was piling more logs. He didn’t speak, but his eyes and mouth turned down a little. It certainly didn’t seem like the expression of someone who believed they were cured. The fact that it seemed like he couldn’t speak was enough of an indicator before he shook his head.

“Did something go wrong with the shift?” he asked, still shivering lightly. “Is that why you can’t talk?”

Kit paused his movements and cupped his throat, pulling a pained expression.

Lorin felt worry buzz through his veins. “Does it hurt?”

Kit nodded and turned back to the fire.