Her Forever

Trinity

Deep, heavy breathing fanned my hair. The minty brandy smell made me sneeze again. My head, cradled into a chest I was unfamiliar with, had me pushing away while my eyes were glued to the radiating yellow eyes. Hairy hands gripped my arms tighter.

“Eva?!” I yelled inside my mind. There was no return call, she wasn’t there and hell, I need her sarcastic voice yelling at me to do something. I was frozen in fear. The fierce battle woman was gone and my body shook. I was staring face to face with a large fox-like creature.

Large plumes of fur towered over the fox’s face, a sly grin planted on its maw. “My Doll, you are awake.” My eyebrow arched. Who the hell calls a woman a damn doll? Not this girl. Pushing against his chest, he gently let me down, taking a few steps back. His furry hand grabbed my wrist.

Pulling it away, he gripped it tightly, his claws reminding me he could slice right up my arm. “Nah, ah, ah my darling, let’s not get too hasty. I know you are confused, but please let me explain.” The fox bowed at the waist in a fine tailored white business suit. Not a speck of dirt or b***d splattered on any of the material.

“I am Izume Kenji Haruto, your mate,” a purr rumbled through his chest, hand petting mine.

“Uh,” I began. My mates were in their crazy half form like their father, huffing. Their chests heaved. Good gracious, what kind of family did I mate into? Sadie was being held in Seth’s arms and the rest of the wolves were in an attacking position around us..

My toes moved into the wet dirt. After taking a large breath, I realize it wasn’t the moist earth I was smelling, but metallic b***d seeping between my toes. Gasping, I take my other hand coving my nose and lips. This was the most horrific scene I had ever seen. Bodies lay on the ground, b***d continuing to pool onto the blackened soil.

“M-mate?” I remembered his statement this ‘Izume’ had just spoken. “I actually already have two,” I gulped, “and they are a handful enough, so I think I will just,…” I took my other hand trying to pry the furry hands from my own.

The furry hands retracted, but my feet couldn’t move. Slowly, the hair, the tails crept into his body, leaving nothing but a man before us all. Gasps went around, revealing nothing but a human form of the Kitsune. His skin was light, his hair white with highlights of reds and golds. He was muscular and sure, any human woman would find this squared jawed animal handsome. I found him anything but.

My eyes went to my mates. They weren’t moving, not coming any closer, wondering what they could possibly be thinking. Why aren’t they helping?

“Now, my little doll, I was asking your father an important question.” Folen, who I assume I can just call Dad, was staring at me with a distant look. Defeated, he dropped his ax.

“I will save you,” he whispered. “Just like your mother, until the day I die.”

“What?” I whispered. Wolves growling, pawing at the ground, came closer, only to be pushed back by the wave of the Kitsune’s hand.

“Go on, say it now so I can take my mate. We have some marks to remove.”

“What is going on?” I yelled. My hands thrown up in the air. Growls from the treeline caught my brief attention. The entire pack house was surrounded. The surrounding wolves near me were all that was left. Some eight hundred wolves, gone?

“Eva,” I begged inside me. “Please come back.” Did the Kitsune do something to me?

“I give you permission,” my father’s word stung at my heart. Permission for what?

“Now was that so hard?” the Kitsune cooed. “Now, come my little doll, let’s get you to the limo and out of those dreadful clothes. I have some of the finest silk lounging clothes for our long flight back once we get those marks off. Ripping my hand from his clammy ones, I slapped him right across the face.

“Why the hell would I go with you, you over grown rodent? I’m not going anywhere with you!” The Kitsune chuckled, grabbing me, holding my body close to his. His breath tickled my ear, making me try to wiggle free.

“Oh, I think you will,” he whispered in my ear. His lips grazed my ear. “Because if you don’t, the rest of this pack will be destroyed in an instant. Your mother lays asleep just upstairs. One command from me and her little throat will be slit. Now, do you want to kill both your parents for your defiance?” My eyes glanced at my father. I didn’t blame him for what he did. My mates and my new family were holding off just the same, to help keep my family together. This was a tough decision: lose my family to save me, or lose me to save my family.

Either way, there could be b***d. Letting out a breath, I stopped struggling. Tears welled in my eyes. “Fine,” I whispered. “But I want to make a deal.” Izume squinted his eyes, his yellow eyes looking me up and down.

“What kind of deal? I have everything I need. What could you possibly give me?”

“You said you needed to remove my marks. What does that entail?” Thaddeus growled loudly, his paw causing a large tuft into the dirt. The Izume grinned. “What a clever little doll you are.” He petted my hair, leading me to a large chair. “I knew you were clever, just didn’t know how much.” Izume almost giggled.

“I was going to give you a ‘forget me’ potion by taking some of your mates’ hair and mixing it together. Your mind would forget them and then I could use an ancient spell used with a hint of dragon’s b***d to permanently remove your marks. Then have you fall in love with me to take my mark but I have thought of something much more, interesting,” he rubbed his chin with his fingers, staring down at the beasts before him like they were the pebble in his expensive Italian leather shoes.

“To take the marks away, I will put my hands on your shoulders and whisper just a tiny spell and drip the b***d on your head. It will take away your marks, put your mates in a serious amount of pain but,…” he paused with a gleam in his eye, “will live. However, you must be willing, to have those marks removed, a willing participant.”

“And if I agree to this spell,” a tear dropped down my cheek. “You will let everyone live. You and your men will retreat like nothing took place. Every single person on this pack territory at this moment will go free.” The Kitsune smiled, finger pulling my chin up to meet his gaze.

“Yes.” I couldn’t hear my mates. There was no link. I couldn’t hear Eva clawing at my head, but my feet felt hot beneath the soil that should be cool. Calmness radiated from the soil, climbing up my legs and into my chest. From my chest, whispers invaded my soul. The calmness had me dare say the few words that will rip my life to pieces if this didn’t work.

“I accept.”

My mates roared in anger. Seth, holding Sadie, barked commands at the wolves to jump into action while my father pleaded for my mother’s life. Holding my hand up, they silenced. I would have no one die for me; I wasn’t that righteous.

“Get it over with.” Whimpers and cries left wolves I had never met, whining for their princes and the loss of their mate.

“Just stay still, my willing mate. I promise it will be quick.” My b***d-shot eyes looked to the large oak tree. Bohdi laid at the base, holding onto her heart. Her eyes blinked, nodding her head slowly. Bohdi’s fingers dug into the dirt.

The damn fox put his hands on my mates’ marks. Fire burned as he touched them. “Do you come willingly, my mate?”

“Yes,” I hissed. Anything to save my family, my mate’s family, I would do for them. I loved my mates from the Celestial Kingdoms of gods down to the depths of Tartarus. By the gods, I would save them.

Breathing deeply, he changed back into his half fox form. This must be where his magic stayed. My mates clutched their hearts, feeling sadness. “I love you,” I mouthed as they stared into my eyes.

A now darkened courtyard, only lit by the pile of burning bodies, lit instantly around me. Wind picked up, howling, pulling my hair into a bright red flame. The ashes of the dead, instead of flying into the air, rushed around the chair where I sat. The Kitsune had thought he won, but the bond that my mates and I share only grew. I felt it grow brighter inside.

Lightning hit the nearby oak tree, a large limb falling to the ground. Bohdi didn’t flinch, watching the scene from the ground, groaning.

Claws came from my fingertips, deep, dark fur with a hint of blue and red highlights decorated my covered arm. Looking to the sky above me, the Kitsune’s eyes continued to stay shut with hands on my shoulders. Bones cracking, I let out a tremendous howl. My back broke and stretched while I heaved a breath inward.

“Eva’s back, b***h,” the snarky wolf spoke lightly in my head compared to the terror in everyone’s eyes. “Eva!” I yelled back inside me.

“Sorry, I was getting all dolled up for my reappearance. Didn’t realize you could get yourself in so much s**t in a few hours.” Rolling my eyes internally, my body grew taller, the Kitsune’s claws digging down my back. My clothes ripped from my body until I stood at full height. My mates stared on in awe while others stood back in confusion.

Turning to the animal shifter that had caused me the most pain, I gripped his furry little neck. Feeling the radiating power beneath my paws, I dug them deeper into the soil. The rage fueled into my arms, crushing his neck. “Im..possib…le,” he choked. “You… were willing.”

“My body was willing, but my heart wasn’t. It’s pretty stubborn,” Eva sang, sniffing the mint brandy smell on his fur. “Pretty sure love conquers all anyway,” she retorted.

Hearing a scream, my eyes shot to the fourth floor. Dad had retrieved mom who stared down in disbelief. Looking at my mates, they crept forward, venom leaking from their fangs.

“I do have one question,” Eva whispered into the over-grown Q-Tip. “Where is the one I called ‘daddy’ all these years? I would like to take a stroll down memory lane.” The Kitsune tried to laugh, but the lack of oxygen made him g***n. Letting go of his throat, he gritted his pointed teeth.

“Dead. Pissed himself and keeled over from a heart attack.” Eva, utterly disappointed, ticked.

“Such a shame. Guess I’ll have fun with you,” she drawled. Our clawed hand reached forward, scratching the suit off his body. Claws quickly tore into his torso, fur flying into the air as b***d dripped down, staining his white fur. Flaps of skin quivered while hunks of meat fell to the ground. Our free hand continued to rip into him, his cries deafening. One hand waved, causing my body to feel heavy. I fell to the ground with a bang. Roots of the old oak tree next to Bohdi slithered towards the fox, gripping him by the ankles. My now large maw bit into his calf, ripping the muscles and tendons.

“Now!’ he screeched.

Before our other hand could claw right down his back, a needle shot straight into my arm. Pushing the poison forward in my biceps, a sharp burn penetrated my veins. The liquid silver shot through my body the quicker than my pulse.

Letting go, he scurried away, shifting into a small fox with just an ordinary tail. “Get him!” Seth roared out, Sadie now shifting into her own fox like wolf chasing him down along with other warriors.

An insane howl came from the top of the pack house. A tanned wolf, with static electricity popping around its body, jumped from the roof, landing next to Bohdi. Showing fangs, he circled her, sniffing, making sure she was alright. Several bears came towards the firework wolf. With a stiff bark, lightning radiated from its body, electrifying the bear.

Spencer.

Grabbing my stomach, I heaved, emptying the contents of my empty stomach. Bile rose in my throat and continued to pour forth. My fingers dug into the dirt, humming from the earth filtered in, my fingers pulling its calming effects. Instantly feeling better, I rose to the height of my mates. I could feel the poison leaving my body already.

Rogue wolves, bears, and foxes entered the yard. Our wolves, already exhausted, g*****d but jumped into the fight without a thought.

“Hey yo!!! There’s the party!” A vampire jumped from the house steps. It was Suron. “Come on out guys, you all are missing a good fight, yeah?” Vampires and hundreds of wolves jumped from windows, doors, and many ran from behind the house.

Stacy stood at the front door, covered in b***d. Using her forearm to wipe her brow, she watched as all her hard work went right back into the fight. Landon, now seeing Stacy look on in worry, walked up the house steps, bare to the world. Both hands cupped her face, eyes baring into hers. Both of their lips touched while their bodies leaned into each other.

Feeling the earth pull me to the woods where Sadie ran to find the Kitsune, my hand grabbed both of my mates. “Ready to run?” Both of them smiled wickedly, pulling me into the darkened night.

“So f*****g hot,” Thaddeus g*****d in my head.

“Baby, you can dominate me all you want,” Theon purred as we raced through the thickened trees. I giggled inside the mind link, our wolves talking among themselves about how much they missed each other. Eva briefly explained where she was. She was with the actual fates of the gods deciding what powers would be given upon someone that would not be a goddess.

The power to shift into an ordinary wolf was taken away. I would never run on four legs, but that did not seem to bother me. My natural form is a Lycan, as the fates had informed Eva and now my mates. Apparently, Mia had not given that information to us earlier.

“We have Elven b***d, Trinity,” Eva turned serious. This means we can can pull power from the soil of Earth and Bergarian. Your full potential won’t be reached for many years, but I think we can kick anybody’s a*s anyway. Pushing my arm out, my claws ripped down a large pine with one swipe.

“I’m going to get a boner while running,” Thaddeus panted beside me. “Not to mention you a*s in this form is quite fine,” he licked his lips while trying to smack my a*s.

Theon laughed. “Guys, I don’t know where we are going. I don’t smell shit.”

“Same,” Thaddeus said. “I was following mom’s scent but she just mind-linked saying she lost the trail and is heading back.” Our feet continued to hit the floor, the soil continuing to guide me. I could swear I could see the tree’s branches pointing to where I needed to go.

“I know where we are going,” I said confidently. “We are on a hunt, after all.” My mates looked at each other, confused, while jumping over some fallen logs.

After running another few minutes, the pulling became less and less. We must have been close because the surrounding soil radiated with heat. Looking to the branches, several of them pointed to a small hole in the ground covered by rocks and leaves. One would think nothing of it, just a small animal big enough for a badger or a… fox. My l*p curled.

“Dig,” I ordered my mates. Theon licked his lips and the side of my face as he began. Thaddeus worked with him. Crouching, I gazed at the hole until the red tail of a fox came into view. Stupid fox thought he could hide his scent. Before I could reach for him, the branches came around me, pulling him out of the hole, wrapping him tight in the vines.

“How’d you do that?” Theon huffed.

“I don’t know. I didn’t think or ask about it,” I replied.

“Nature, your Elven b***d calls to nature. When you sense danger to yourself or others, so does the life of the planet. It looks to you as its princess, since the elves protect it. Remember your history lesson?” Eva said sarcastically.

“You’re a princess?” Theon pulled me into his chilled chest. “Damn, Thaddeus, we are mated to a princess. She didn’t need us to make her one.”

“Of course she didn’t. I knew she was a princess all along.” Thaddeus pulled me from Theon’s arms, nuzzling his nose into my shoulder.

Listening to the cries of the Kitsune struggling, our attention was granted there. His paws couldn’t wave around to cause magic, and his maw was clamped shut.

“Not much of a talker, are we now?” Thaddeus shouted, laughing. “Not when you have the princess of f*****g nature kicking your a*s.” The tree shook, looking like laughter.

“Un… real…” I whispered. Theon walked beside me, interlacing our fingers.

“Now that we have him, what do you want to do?” Squeezing his hairy fingers in mine, I looked him in his yellow eyes.

“He’s too dangerous. Look what he has done.” I looked back to Thaddeus, who had now gone seriously. “Think of the countries he controls, the lives he takes, the life he was going to take from me, but I don’t think I can do it. I’ll hurt someone all day long, but I don’t think I can end it.”

“Quite being a damn p***y, Trinity,” Eva yelled. Duke and Damian howled cheering.

“Let them do the honors so your sweet little heart doesn’t have to be involved.” Eva softened her tone. Believing strongly to protect oneself, I should be the one to do it. To end him, but I was serious pansy when it came down to the act of killing, but that doesn’t mean he should go free.

“End him,” I lowered my voice, feeling the hatred of the thought of the Kitsune killing Naomi, her mother and so many others in a blink of an eye. I barely had time to register what was happening until the branches released the Kitsune, still in its tiny fox form as my mates pulled its limbs apart one by one.

I had never heard a fox scream before, but there it was. The cries echoed through the forest. The limbs of the tree that held the fox touched my shoulder, patting me as it would be alright.

And you know what? It would be.