I listened as the door shut, and her footsteps faded before I slowly made my way down. I didn’t care much about what food we ate; I just had to figure out how to get food to the creature out in the cold. We had leftover steak and I could toss together some veggies and throw in the raspberries and blueberries we had in the fridge. It was the best idea I had until I could make it to the store and get something else.
My mother and brother were in hushed conversation as I turned into the kitchen. It was a large space full of modern appliances in stainless steel and black. The floor was a beautiful tiled masterpiece in ivory and crème, and the walls were off-white. I hated the room. It felt too sterile for my tastes. I didn’t think Mom or Kian heard me enter, so I cleared my throat. They immediately turned around, my mother looking guilty and Kian just looked worried.
“What were you two talking about? Me again?” My arms crossed over my chest in a defensive manner. I always felt attacked when my mother and brother ganged up on me. Neither one answered, so I asked another question. “Mom, how will I know my familiar? I know it chooses the witch, but how do I know if an animal has chosen me or just happened to be there of its own volition?”
This, I knew my mother would gladly answer, and she did. “You should feel protective of this creature. It will follow you everywhere. If it’s an animal you feel comfortable touching, you can pet it and it will start the bond. If it takes a little trust to build up, then it will still want to be near you. It’s an instinct every witch and familiar has. They feel drawn to each other.” She started pulling out white boxes out of the brown paper bag, her crisp black suit hugging her every curve as she twisted around. Her dark brown hair, so earthy, like fresh-turned soil, hung loose down her back. “What brought this up? Did a familiar find you?”
I shrugged. “I am not sure. I went outside today, and there was a fox. It stared at me for some time. The thing didn’t flinch when I got off the deck.” Wringing my hands together, I confessed quietly, “I set up a nest for it in the shed so it wouldn’t freeze. But I did promise to feed it…”
My mother turned back towards me, giving me her undivided attention. “A fox? That is really rare, and I don’t think there are any foxes in this area during this time of year. It’s unusual. Do you know what they eat?”
“They are omnivores, so meat, vegetables, berries, and whatever else they can probably scavenge.” I made my way to the fridge, opening it up to peer inside. “I was thinking of cutting up this leftover steak, adding some veggies and these berries that no one is eating. I can make the mixture, and it should be enough to last a couple of days until I can get to the store and get some real things.” Pulling out the items I listed as I said them, I juggled them all to the counter. “Hope that’s okay.”
“You feel something for this fox, don’t you?” My mother sounded proud, watching me pull out a cutting board from the dishwasher and a knife from the block on the counter. “If you feel you need to do this, I won’t stop you.”
I started in on making the food as the rest of my family sat down at our small dining table near the window to eat, Kian grabbing the plates and silverware. “I feel something for it. I did find it, after all. I don’t know if that is why I feel responsible or if it’s like you said and I feel protective.” I turned around to the cabinets behind me and got down a large bowl with a lid, putting the cubed steak into it before pulling the carrots closer.
“Whichever it is, I feel very proud of you. You either have found your familiar, or you made a new friend. I mean other than the ones you had over today. You are growing into yourself.” I didn’t want to tell her that they were all guys and who those guys were. It was bad enough my brother spazzed out at meeting them; I didn’t need my mother getting a bug up her ass as well.
I chopped in silence for a little while, adding the things one at a time to the bowl until it was almost overfilled. Taking two wooden spoons, I started tossing the pieces together, thinking about what those boys were and wondering if they were just pulling my leg. Except for Rhydian of course, and maybe Dylan, one had inexplicable proof and the other I felt some kind of attachment to. Actually, I felt incredibly attracted to all of them and felt something pulling me towards each of them, making me feel strung out and twitchy.
“Mom, are there other supernatural creatures in the world, I mean other than witches and Hunters?” The question was nagging at me, and I couldn’t keep it in any longer.
Mom stopped with her fork halfway to her mouth, rice falling back onto her plate. “Kirsten, what brought this about?”
Shrugging nonchalantly, I dished out some of the food into Kian’s cat’s food bowl, him glaring at me the whole time. “I was reading a book, and it made me insanely curious.” I had to keep my interest down to a minimum or my brother, the ever-observant asshat, would catch on that something was amiss.
“I suppose there are other things out there. It is a very big world, after all. I just haven’t met any myself. But I’d assume they would be as secretive as we are, if not more. We can at least hide behind the religion, paganism. The Goddess could have certainly created other beings.” She stared off into space as she spoke, her mind deep in thought.
“Well, I am going to feed the fox. Thanks, Mom.” I left the kitchen, my mind still turning in circles with questions that the boys could probably only answer.
10
FOX SPIRIT
Kirsten
I woke up to another cold, snowy morning. My window was fogged up, so I wiped it away before looking outside at the shed three stories down. The fox had eaten everything I gave it last night and then curled up beside me as I sat reading. I didn’t dare pet it, lest it run off. This morning I rushed through my daily routine, taking the world’s fastest shower, for me that is, and running down the stairs, nearly colliding with my mom as she turned with a cup of coffee in her hand.
“Morning, darling. You are down early.” She took a careful sip of her coffee, black like I like it. Can you guess where I get my fondness of coffee from?
I made a move to take her coffee, which she easily dodged and tutted at me. “I need to feed the fox. Can I please have a drink of your coffee. It’s too early.”
“Go make your own. It’s a fresh pot.” She slid out of my way.
I moved past her, giving her a small smile. “Thanks for making the coffee this morning.”
“No problem, dear. You were out there quite late. Were you with the fox the whole time?”
I nodded before I left her standing in front of the stairs. Grabbing the food bowl from the dish rack, I pulled out the bowl of food from the fridge.
As I placed a heaping spoonful into the bowl, Kian came in with a brown paper bag in his hand. “Here you go. Even if it’s not your familiar, you can stop using my cat’s bowl.” He set the bag down next to me.
Looking up at Kian before tearing into the bag, I pulled out a beautiful ocean blue food bowl with little paw prints all over it. It was gorgeous craftsmanship. Throwing my arms around my brother’s neck, I squeezed as hard as I could. “Thank you, Kian. I love it. But when did you have time to get this?”
“I made it about a year ago, just waiting for a familiar to fall in your lap. Now please let go of me. You know I am not a hugger.”
I pulled away slowly. “Yes, but occasionally you deserve a hug.” Dumping the contents of Kian’s cat’s bowl into the new one, I headed outside to feed the critter. I really needed a name for it so I could stop calling it the fox or a fox in my head. Making a plan to come up with some cute names after finding out the gender of the adorable creature, I tossed a wave back at my brother. “I’ll clean the bowl out when I get back inside.”
“Don’t bother. I need to feed Conan now, so I can wash his bowl.”
When I stepped outside, I instantly regretted not grabbing my jacket. Almost considering going back in for it, I decided against it and just rushed to the cracked shed door. As I stepped in, I was bombarded by a warm heat that would have made me want to strip
out of the missing jacket pretty quickly. I saw a small heater plugged in and sitting in an empty corner. My mom must have brought that in here sometime last night. I was so grateful for her thoughtfulness.
The fox was curled up on its blankets, its furry tail covering its nose as it slept. But when I set down the new food bowl, the creature immediately perked up, coming over to investigate the dish.
“It’s not much, but it should be nutritious enough until I can get you some real food.” Sitting down next to the bowl, I watched as it took dainty bites, licking its jowls occasionally. I had to admit, I never expected to be even sitting this close to a wild animal. Usually, familiars appeared as cats, dogs, birds and other creatures that could pass as household pets, but a fox was something I hadn’t even read about even in all the research I did for training purposes. It was unheard of and would make me stick out like a sore thumb even more if this was indeed supposed to be my familiar. I was too afraid to touch it to find out though.
I just watched and admired the beautiful coat as it stretched and came over to me, curling into my side. My hand ached to reach out and see if the fur was as soft as it looked. When I moved my hand closer, the creature gave me a lazy look before laying its small head on my jean-clad legs. My fingers were the first to touch, barely caressing the tip of the black fur on its neck. When the fox didn’t move except to yawn, I dug in deeper, reaching through the fur to scratch at the skin.
I nearly jumped out of my skin when I felt an electric shock course through my fingers straight to my heart, giving me the scare of a lifetime. I didn’t expect that to happen, nor did I expect the pounding of my heart to slow down to a more relaxed pace the longer I kept my hand on the fox.
She—for she was indeed a she, just don’t ask me how I knew—got up and stretched one more time before crawling into my lap and starting up a lick fest on her graceful paws. I couldn’t help the smile that stretched across my face. My heart nearly felt complete with just the addition of the furry friend in my lap. Now, if only I could find my Protectors who were supposed to make me feel whole. That was not going to be an easy feat. Other than the fact that the only thing I knew about them was that they were supposed to make me feel stronger, more grounded to myself and my powers, I didn’t know where to start looking or how I’d know if I did find them.
11
MARKED FOR LIFE
Rhydian
I paced by her locker, anxiously waiting for her to show up to school. This feeling that was overwhelming me was new, and I didn’t handle sudden newness like this very well. I was over eight hundred years old, so I was used to change coming very slowly over a long period of time. The other guys didn’t know I was feeling this anxious, I was good at hiding that sort of thing, but they would discover it shortly since it was so out of character for me to skip our morning meetings, but I couldn’t wait to get to school and see her.
She didn’t reject me outright when she saw my true face. Instead, she came up with only a little fear—and I would be worried if she was not afraid at all—and touched my face, my changed features. It did something to me and I wanted to talk to her about that. When we left the house yesterday, we all went separate directions in silence, pensive over the revelation of her being a witch. If that was true, and she had no reason to lie, then she was a very powerful witch indeed.
“Rhydian, what are you doing here at my locker?” Her sudden voice had me spinning faster than what a human should be able to do, but she didn’t flinch. She just watched me with curiosity in her beautiful eyes. Her face was devoid of most makeup, only black liner and some mascara. Of course, she didn’t need any makeup to look perfect.
I growled, trying to get my thoughts back on track. “I think you did something to me. I can’t stop thinking about you.” My gruffness didn’t faze her as she turned away to put the combination into her locker.
“I didn’t do anything to you, Rhydian. Whatever you are feeling is all you. Trust me; I would know if I did something.” She hung her jacket up in her locker and I caught something shimmering on her wrist.
Without thinking, I grabbed her hand, pulling it closer to get a better look. On her wrist in red and gold was a fox face with a bushy tail wrapped under the lower half. “What is this?”
She yanked her arm back, holding her hand to her chest. “I don’t know.” She whispered desperately. “It appeared this morning.”
“What showed up this morning?” Keegan appeared out of nowhere, only his scent letting me know he had been coming up. “What has you two acting so secretive?” His tease made his smile light up his face.
I gave him a curious look. This was out of character for him. It seemed both of us were affected by meeting this little dark-haired vixen. “Ask her.”
Kirsten gave me a glare that made me feel like there would be hell to pay later before she turned towards the shapeshifter, showing the inside of her wrist. “It showed up on my wrist this morning. I don’t know what it means, only that it’s magic.” She kept her voice to a whisper.
Dylan, Branden, and Kyler came walking up from down the hall, their heads bowed together and the student body giving them a wide berth. Sometimes it paid to run this school.
“Maybe you can talk to Dylan. He might know since his family is the most prominent witch family on this side of the hemisphere. They have a lot of books that you might be able to look through, too.” Keegan waved the trio over.
“What’s up?” Kyler was always straight to the point. It was he who found each of us in this town and pulled us into his group to form the Princes of Greenville High School. It was only natural he became the leader, with his charisma and intelligence.
Kirsten showed her wrist to the other three; her eyes never leaving the ground. I could tell she was a little worried about this. “I don’t know where it came from. I saw it on my wrist while I was drinking my coffee this morning.”
Dylan was quick to grab her wrist and bring it close, running his fingers of his other hand across the shining magic tattoo. “Did you meet any foxes lately?” His sudden question had Kirsten jumping.
“Yeah, yesterday. But it didn’t show up ‘til this morning.” She started fidgeting with the attention of five guys on her.
When Dylan looked up at her, he pulled her chin up to look at him. “But, you didn’t touch the fox until today, right?” When she nodded, he grinned at her. “It’s just your familiar marking. Nothing to be worried about.”
“Do you have one?” Her tiny voice echoed around us.
Dylan let go to pull up the sleeve of his left arm. What looked like a sharper version of a dog laid shimmering on his wrist in browns and greys. “I have a wolf. I found him as a pup, and we immediately connected. I was only fifteen. He is now a very happy three-year-old forever puppy. At least he acts like a puppy still.” His grin split his face. “I know it’s unconventional to have a wild animal as a familiar, but he is mine and I am his.”
Kirsten let out a sigh. “Yeah, I figured she was probably my familiar. I feel this intense bond with her, and I couldn’t help but take care of her. She laid with me last night and this morning, and then I felt this insane urge to pet this wild animal who made a home out of my shed.” She rubbed at Dylan’s familiar mark absentmindedly. “Should I bring her inside now?”
Dylan let out a soft chuckle before stilling her fingers. “That is up to you and her. If she wants to be inside, she will stay. I mean, you could always do what I am doing. I have a doggy door with a run for Atreyu. He comes in and goes outside as he pleases. But he isn’t really wild anymore. Do you know how old this fox is?”
“Not very old. She is smaller than the pictures I was looking at online last night. I bet she is young. But it’s not like I can take her to a vet and check.” Kirsten shrugged, pulling away from our resident witch.
Branden put his hand on her shoulder. “We have a doctor in our pack that might be able to check her out. She is really good with us when we are in our wolf form.” Kirsten gave him a gentle
smile.
“I’d like that very much.”
“I can take you after school if you’d like. We can stop by your house and pick up your little fox friend on the way.” Yup, something was definitely up with us all. Kyler couldn’t even keep his eyes off the girl.
Kirsten
I could not wait for school to be over. It seemed to take forever for that final bell to ring. When Elena tried to goad me into a fight at lunch, I was in no mood, so I walked away, not even giving her one of my sarcastic remarks that I am always so known for in other schools. It was only my second day at this school, and I was totally distracted.
The bell finally rang, sending its shrill alarm throughout the entire school, letting the students know it was time to escape the daily drudge of school—and letting teachers know they could finally get some work done in peace, whether that meant leaving with the student or staying to work on school work that they couldn’t put off any longer. I was one of the students that went running for freedom, my locker just the first step out the door.
Branden was already waiting for me at my locker, my jacket in his hands. “How did you know my locker combination?” I asked, amazed.
He pointed to his ears. “Super hearing, as Dylan has so gracefully dubbed it. I could hear when the tumblers clicked into place. Makes it easy to get into these cheaply made locks.”
Grateful that I could skip that step, I walked with him as he headed towards the front doors and the snowy grounds. “Thank you,” I told him.
“For your jacket? No problem.”
I shook my head. “For that, yes, but also for bringing my fox and me to your pack doctor. That’s got to be a big deal.”
He shrugged. “It’s fine. I already talked to my dad, and he approved it, and what he says goes. He is the Alpha after all.”
My mouth dropped open. “The Alpha? You didn’t tell me that you were the Alpha’s son when you told me what you were. That is kind of a big secret to keep from me. So, your, what? The pack prince?”
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