by J. E. Cluney
Whatever that demon had done, it felt… right.
I mumbled as I remembered I had no phone. I couldn’t even waste my time down here playing crosswords.
Instead, I rolled onto my back and stared at the wooden ceiling with cobwebs hanging from it.
I focused on my senses, drawing in the air, smelling everything from the rust on my dad’s tools to the old oil in the motorbike. If I listened, I could hear the soft murmurs in the house next door, their child coughing, the dripping of a tap upstairs.
So much I’d never been able to sense before.
I shifted uneasily as I pulled the blanket up to my chin, my mind moving back to those four supes.
That blond guy had said I was a supe. Why? Did he really think that would work on me? Make me throw away everything I’d been taught and trained for?
But it niggled at me that I seemed to have surprised them, all of them.
Sucked I had to kill the red-haired one, he’d been kinda cute. Too bad he was trying to set me on fire.
I thought about the bunch of hot guys for a while, getting my mind more and more twisted. They’d been alluring, but thankfully all my training had helped me. But they had thrown me off, considering I’d not killed them all and abandoned so many of my things. My dagger. That pained me the most. It was the only thing from my real family I had. An ancient weapon passed down through the hunters. In the hands of anyone else, it was just a blade, but when wielded by someone with my bloodline, it was deadly to all supes.
I needed to go back for it. But dad was worried that there was something wrong with me. If I snuck out, he’d lose it.
I knew I could get out the little basement window if I put my mind to it. Jackson had locked me down here once a few years back when he’d invited a girl over to screw. Dad had been on his own hunting trip at the time, and I managed to use a hacksaw to cut through the bars on the frame of the window. I’d carefully put them back into place, and no one was any wiser.
I rolled onto my side as I scowled. This sucked. All I could do was wait, and patience was not my strong point. I had nothing to do down here. Well, I guess I could catch some shut eye. I would need it for tomorrow when I went back for my stuff. Hopefully no maid went into my room and found my dagger. That would be some interesting explaining, along with the body, I saw him collapse on the far side of the bed, but then he’d fallen out of sight. Maybe his companions took him away.
Fingers crossed.
I closed my eyes, willing myself to sleep, struggling to ignore all the new sounds and smells surrounding me.
It took a while, but eventually I drifted off. And of course, my dreams were filled with all four of those supes, and we were up to no good at all.
6
I awoke to muffled voices overhead in the kitchen. My dad and brother were whispering, and Jackson sounded pissed.
I closed my eyes, focusing on their voices, and finding my hearing was still enhanced. Great.
“What do you want me to do? Just let her loose upon the world? She’s dangerous,” my dad growled.
“She’s family! You raised her like your own, trained her to kill supes, and now you want to ‘deal’ with her?” Jackson snarled.
Wait, what? Deal with me? Surely he didn’t mean…
“She’s a monster, I hoped her power would never awaken,” my dad sighed in frustration. “Even if we pretend nothing has changed, she’ll know. Things will keep changing for her, she’ll start to see things in a new light. Supes may hunt her out, after all, they’re rare creatures.”
Creatures?
No.
No, he couldn’t be saying this. I must still be dreaming.
I pulled my knees up to my chest, biting my lip hard.
Definitely not dreaming.
Had blondie been telling the truth? Was I... a supe?
This made no sense at all.
I shook my head as I growled to myself. No. Dad was just confused. I was a special line of hunter. That’s what I’d always been told. Right?
I slid off the bed, my movements stiff as adrenaline coursed through me.
I froze as their voices rose up again.
“Please,” Jackson begged.
“She’s too dangerous. We need to do it humanely, you saw what happened when your uncle killed her parents, that bad luck killed him. We need to find a way to put her down without it being our fault,” my dad murmured.
My blood ran cold as my mind whirled.
Uncle Pete had died because he’d killed my parents? I’d been told it was a hunting accident, that some supes got him, shifters.
My legs wobbled and I grabbed onto the nearest wooden beam that held up the ceiling. I gripped it tight as I gasped, my chest tightening.
This couldn’t be happening.
What I was hearing made no sense. It was lies, it had to be, because if not…
I whimpered softly.
My whole life had been a lie then. Everything I’d been taught about myself.
If I was a supe, how could they all be bad? Sure, I killed, but only because that was what dad had taught me to do.
I killed other supes.
My stomach churned and I bit my bottom lip hard as my nails dug into the wood of the beam.
“So she was just a tool,” my brother said miserably.
“I told you when I brought her home that you shouldn’t get attached. When you were old enough, I told you why. She’s a monster, and now that wretched creature has woken her up. Her kind can stay dormant for their entire lives if they don’t know the truth,” my dad growled.
No. He wasn’t my dad. He was a stranger to me right now.
How could he be saying these things about me? How could he do this?
He’d raised me as his own daughter, taught me how to hunt, how to track, showed me how to spar with my brother, even helped me learn to ride a motorbike along with Jackson.
It was all just one big lie. All of it.
I was nothing to him.
I blinked back the tears that swelled. I was no weakling. I was a goddamn huntress, a dangerous being. I killed monsters.
No.
Blondie’s words shot through my head, knocking the wind from me as I slumped to the floor.
Innocents.
He’d said I’d killed innocents.
Not all supes were monsters then, because I knew I wasn’t. How could I be? My father had raised me with his own son, I couldn’t have been as much of a threat as he made all supes out to be.
”What have I done?” I whimpered, wrapping my arms around the beam as my body trembled.
And now he wanted to kill me. I flinched as movement caught the corner of my eye, but I realized it was my own reflection in a cracked mirror from the old bathroom. The one my dad had renovated.
I stared at my reflection, into my own eyes.
Now I could see it. How he’d known.
Vibrant deep pink flecks filled my eyes.
No human had eyes like that, not even special hunter lines. I knew that.
Hell, special hunter lines probably weren’t even a thing.
That family he’d told me about? His distant cousins? A lie.
No wonder Jackson had always dodged around the topic when I asked him about it. He didn’t want to mess up the lie.
My whole life lie.
“Take her out in the car, abandon her in the woods, send some other hunters out there. Maybe the Franklins, they’re always up to dirty tricks, a dose of bad luck would be good for them, finally deal with the sorry bunch,” my dad said.
The Franklins, a family of redneck hunters, sure, they were annoying and got on our nerves, but he wanted to send them after me? Cause killing me meant some kind of bad luck? What the fuck?
I had to get out of here.
Now.
I blocked out the continued arguing overhead as I climbed to my feet, forcing my body to listen to me despite wanting to wallow and curl into a little ball. I was not going to die.
I darted
over to the window, climbing up onto the old workbench quietly, being careful not to bump the old chainsaw sitting there.
I tested the bars, letting out a sigh of relief when they budged. No one had realized they were broken.
The voices got louder overhead as Jackson refused to ‘deal’ with me. At least I still had him, kind of.
Although he knew. This whole time, he’d known. And he’d never said a word.
So much for ‘family is the most important thing’.
I was just some pawn to them, a means to an end.
I tugged the bars lose, wincing as they creaked and gave way.
I stopped to listen, checking that they hadn’t heard anything.
No, dad was still snapping at my brother.
Good.
I pushed against the glass, forcing the rusty hinges to give as it folded outwards. Well, I wasn’t quite small enough to fit through with ease, but if I’d managed a few years ago, I could manage again.
“Need some help, Sav?”
I nearly shrieked and barely stopped myself from tumbling off the bench-top as a hand appeared before me.
I knew that voice instantly, and I peered out the window at Tristan.
“What are you doing here?” I hissed. As if my life wasn’t enough of a shitstorm already. Now the demon who’d thrown a hammer into the works was here.
“Returning your stuff,” he smirked.
“What?” I frowned, but then glanced over my shoulder.
The voices had gone quiet.
Fuck.
“Dad wants to kill me,” I murmured as Tristan knelt down.
“I’m sure he’ll get over it,” Tristan waved it off.
“No, he really wants to kill me, says I’m… one of you,” I growled.
Tristan frowned and cocked his head at me, but then shoved his hand out again.
“Guess we better save you then.”
“My hero,” I muttered as I begrudgingly accepted his hand. I could hear the deadbolt being undone, and I sure as hell was not going to die today. But could I fight my family for my right to live?
Tristan eased me out of the window carefully, and my eyes flicked to raven-haired man who stood there as well, his arms crossed and an unhappy look on that godly face.
“Well, let’s get out of here before they realize she’s gone,” raven man muttered as those dark eyes trailed over me.
At least I had clothes on now.
They’d look better without clothes.
I mentally slapped myself. Seriously? Right now? God, my body had a mind of its own.
Tristan still held my hand as he grinned at me, and I rolled my eyes but allowed him to pull me along. He dashed out of the yard and then down the street to where a black Jeep was idling.
I heard my father and brother calling out my name softly, obviously searching for me in the yard.
Hell no. As if I’d go back to die.
Tristan yanked one of the back doors open, and I went to climb in, then froze.
“Is that a baby?” I stared wide-eyed at the red-haired toddler on the seat, completely naked.
“Hey, you killed Wesley, so this is your fault,” blondie growled as he spun around in his seat.
The baby, who I guess was Wesley, somehow, gurgled and clapped his hands.
“Shouldn’t he have a diaper?” I asked dumbly as I climbed into the seat beside him. I wasn’t even going to mention the lack of a car seat.
“He did, but he shit himself. We only had the one spare, we’ll pick more up shortly,” Blondie muttered as he scratched his cheek in annoyance.
Tristan shut my door and hurtled around to the far side to climb in, while raven man took the front passenger seat.
Why as I getting in the car with these strangers? I had to be an idiot. But considering my father wanted me dead, and they hadn’t tried to kill me, I was going to take my chances.
Besides, curiosity was killing me, I needed to know what the hell was going on. They could help me with answers. And I’d owned their asses once, I could do it again if they tried anything.
I did up my seatbelt, just staring at the baby beside me.
“Why’s he still alive?” I asked as the car pulled into the street.
“He’s a phoenix, he doesn’t die,” raven man said matter-of-factly. He was the least fun one of the bunch it seemed. With blondie in close second.
“Well, let’s begin with this, cranky pants is Damien, and blond cranky pants is his twin, Leon,” Tristan made the introductions. “And you met Wesley, the phoenix. He gets reborn when he dies.”
“So you guys have to look after a baby?” I said as I shuffled away from the naked little thing that was staring up at me hard. He looked pissed.
“Yes, but he ages quickly, thank God,” Leon sighed. “He doesn’t age past his twenties though.”
“Cool,” I murmured as I looked out the window.
This was all too much to comprehend. Yesterday, I was a renowned huntress and beloved daughter and sister.
Now I was a supe wanted dead by my family. What even was I?
“Why’d you come to help me? Especially if I killed him?” I asked as I flicked my eyes to Wesley. He was gurgling and playing with his tiny little toes. Guess he was still cute, just in a different way.
At least someone had put a seatbelt on him, not that I thought it would do much if we crashed.
“We figured out you’re a kitsune, a rare supe. You should be protected, even if you’re a bitch,” Tristan snickered.
I would’ve said something snarky back, but I was caught on the kitsune thing.
What the hell was a kitsune?
“Judging by your face, this is some real news to you,” Leon said as he glanced in the rearview mirror at me.
“Yeah,” I mumbled as I swallowed.
“So, what’s the deal with your family then? You said your dad wanted to kill you?” Tristan asked. Damien was rather quiet, but he did seem like the brooding, always pissed off type.
“Yeah, him and my brother are hunters, raised me as one too. Said I came from his cousin's family, they were murdered by supes, and he saved me, took me in. Guess that’s a lie, considering as soon as he realized something had changed, he wanted me dead. Something about how I was dormant,” I said with a shrug. “What’s a kitsune?”
“Think of it like a tailed werefox shifter. They can have up to nine tails. You’ve got four,” Tristan said as he checked his phone.
My phone, where was it?
“I have four tails?” I said in disbelief.
“When I tried to possess you, you rejected the possession. Only strong supes can do that. It triggered your magic to flare up, outlining your true form. You had four tails, so not a useless kitsune, a decent one,” Tristan explained.
I was some kind of strange werefox shifter thing? What the hell?
“That blade you stabbed Wesley with, it’s a kitsune blade. The warrior kitsunes of old used to have them, to battle other supes. They protected royalty in ancient times, and the blades are only disastrous in the hands of kitsunes. They can kill almost any supe,” Leon explained.
“Where is it?” I asked softly, hating that this was all new news to me. And yet, it was meant to be me.
I was a kitsune.
“In here,” Damien said from the front seat, and I leaned forward to spy my messenger bag on the floor in the front seat.
“We grabbed your clothes, laptop, and phone. How’d you think we found you?” Tristan smirked.
“You hacked my phone?” I gaped.
“And laptop,” Leon added.
Great. Wonderful.
“Don’t worry, it’s untouched, really,” Tristan assured me. “We just tracked your dad’s number.”
“He’s not my dad,” I spat as I crossed my arms defensively.
“Obviously. But usually killing a kitsune lands you so much bad luck that you normally end up dead in ten years. So he mustn’t have been the one who killed your family,” Leon muse
d.
My stomach knotted as a wave of sickness washed over me.
I’d had a real family.
Not some Harlow cousins to my Harlow adopted family.
Was Savage Harlow just a fake name too?
Who was I? Who was my family?
“Where are you taking me?” I asked, hating the way my voice pitched. My world had just been turned on its head, and the only ones who knew anything were four random strangers. Well, three, and a baby.
“Home,” Tristan said, giving me a charming but soft smile.
“After we get diapers, I don’t want Wes shitting in my car,” Leon growled.
I cracked a grin at this as the baby beside me made a startled sound.
“Believe it or not, he’s fully there, got the same mind he had when you killed him, just a baby body,” Tristan informed me.
“Sorry,” I apologized to the baby.
Wesley turned to me and gave me the finger as he scrunched up his face.
I snickered, finding the expression hilarious.
So, phoenixes were a thing.
Guess my night couldn’t get any weirder.
7
Damien.
Why we were bringing the huntress home with us was beyond me. She’d murdered Wesley, which meant we were stuck with a baby for a while. Not to mention all those innocent supes she’d killed, those who’d done nothing but accidentally expose what they were. Sure, her history of murder was mostly rogues, like what we hunted, but there was a decent amount of harmless supes she’d put down while ‘hunting’.
She had a lot to answer for, I didn’t care if she was only now finding out what she was.
Kitsunes being dormant? Apparently that was something Tristan had heard of. If raised by humans, they could sometimes never awaken. They were never taught to harness their power.
I glanced at her over my shoulder, slumped in the backseat looking like her whole world had been crushed.
The pang of sympathy that hit me was instantly squashed. I would not feel sorry for some huntress. Kitsune or not. She was hated among supes for her work.
But I wouldn’t deny she was attractive. It was all Tristan could talk about on the way to her place. That we’d had our asses handed to us by a hot chick.
Sure, she was beautiful with her high cheekbones and heart-shaped face, curvy body and dazzling blue eyes. And that long blonde hair was tumbling down her shoulders.
