Chapter 27 - Kit

"Great Goddess," Joshua breathed next to me.

I easily shared the same sentiment as my mate as we continued to stand in shock.

"Wren!"

I looked over at Aaron walking over to us. "Is this...?" He asked, trying to be discreet about his question.

I nodded my head. "Yeah," I verbally confirmed, swallowing a lump in my throat. "That's him. And that means the group about to enter our borders was the one chasing him."

"Alright. Alpha James is heading off to send them away. We should bring the kitsune with us back to the packhouse," he said.

He sounded so cool with what was going on, but I could tell by the slight tremble in his hands that he was just as shocked as we were. This was more than just a confirmation of my ability, this was something completely out of the ordinary.

Usually, other species kept to themselves. Even shifters - including werewolves like us - preferred to be around our own kind. We, of course, knew of the other species out there that hid from humans - there were countless more - but we never saw them around. Yet there was a kitsune, and a very young one given the number of tails he had, right here in pack territory.

Kitsunes were solitary and elusive creatures. Some people considered them a part of the shifter community, but others liked to lump them in with demigods and whatnot. Their humanoid form always showed off their ears and tails unless they used magic to hide them, whereas shifters had a completely human-like appearance and an animal form. Also, shifters weren't usually magical - I've come to learn that not all of them aren't - but kitsunes always were.

Despite the many questions floating through my head, I inched closer to the circle, wanting to meet this person. The warriors eyed me warily, but Aaron nodded at them and they eased up, splitting apart to allow me into their little circle. Upon closer inspection of the kitsune, I realized that he was trembling very violently. He was also very thin and most definitely malnourished. I almost worried his bones would snap from the tremors going through his small frame.

Slowly, I knelt, keeping my distance at first, and waited for him to look up at me. "Hello?" I asked softly, trying to be gentle.

His trembling intensified for a brief moment before I quickly added, "I won't hurt you. You're safe."

At my words, he paused, and his head peeked up from his arms. My breath caught when I saw wide eyes with the most beautiful shade of red I had ever seen. He looked almost angelic. I carefully scooted closer, offering a reassuring smile when he flinched. "It's okay. I promise you're safe here."

The sound of growls nearby alerted me to how close the people chasing him were. At least I knew those growls were from the pack warriors and not from the group; they sounded like a warning. "Hey, you were running away from those people, right? We can help you."

At my words, he frowned. "Help?" He asked, and I noticed how gentle his voice sounded.

"Yeah, help. We can protect you from them. Do you need help?"

He quickly nodded, his red eyes wide with fear. My heart broke for him. From the way that woman had treated him in my vision, I figured whatever had happened to him had been horrible to bear. I reached out, and he flinched again, but I merely offered my hand palm-up for him to accept. "Let us help you."

He reached out and carefully took my hand, his small body still tense and slightly trembling. I smiled again, closing my hand around his to give it a gentle squeeze. I stood up, helping him to stand as well. He wobbled on his legs and collapsed, but a warrior rushed in to help me support the kitsune. I wished we could give him clothes, but that'd have to wait until we were safely inside the packhouse.

A kitsune. Great Goddess, life cannot possibly get any odder.

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After arriving at the packhouse, the warrior helped me take the kitsune to the infirmary. Practically the moment he was laid onto a bed, he passed out from pure exhaustion. Alpha James came by a few minutes later with a grim look on his face. He explained that the group chasing the kitsune didn't put up much of a fight, but he didn't exactly feel good about it either way.

We decided to give the boy a day of recovery before we'd start questioning him. I didn't dream of anything that could help us, but it didn't matter. The important thing was that the kitsune was safe and relatively unharmed. I felt a bit proud once I realized that my ability helped me to save him. A silver lining, if you will.

Now, I hoped I could do more. As Joshua and I entered the packhouse - our hands intertwined as usual - we noticed the increase in warriors milling about. It was good to be cautious. We didn't know if the kitsune was bad, or if the group chasing him would possibly try and come back. Erin noticed us and walked over, offering a tight smile.

I wasn't sure if we were quite friends yet, but we were on our way back to the kind of relationship we used to have. "Hey," I greeted. "How is the kitsune?"

Erin shrugged. "Fine. He refuses to speak to anyone. We were hoping you'd be able to get through to him since he'd been open with you according to Aaron."

I nodded, and the three of us made our way to the room holding our guest. As soon as we entered, the kitsune sat up, his eyes slightly wide in fear. Alpha James, the beta, and Dr. Milton were already inside. "Wren, Joshua," Alpha James greeted before looking at his son. "Can you get Aaron for us? He might want to be here for any important information."

Erin nodded and left the room. I let go of Joshua's hand to cautiously walk to the edge of the kitsune's bed. The moment I approached, he relaxed slightly. Joshua brought over a chair and I sat down in it, offering the boy a friendly smile. "Hello again."

"Hi."

I could tell that Alpha James was slightly relieved that the kitsune talked to me; it would've been a lot harder to get information from him if he refused to speak. I scooted my chair closer, still smiling. "Are you feeling better?"

The kitsune nodded, and I noticed how he avoided eye contact with me. From what I had learned about kitsunes, they were usually very proud and mischievous, unafraid of the mortals they lived amongst. Why was this one so timid and afraid? What had happened to him? By the number of tails, he was young, probably a little under two centuries old. Kitsunes lived to about 1,000 years before they ascended the mortal plane, so he was very young, far too young to not be reckless and a bit wild.

"May I ask what your name is?" I asked, wanting to get his name first before asking any more questions.

The kitsune remained silent, avoiding my gaze. "Okay, that's alright. Then, can I call you something else for now?" I offered.

He nodded slowly. "How about Kit then? For kitsune."

He glanced up at me and smiled, surprising me. At least he liked it. "Kit it is."

Kit hummed in confirmation. The sound of the door opening and closing told me that Aaron and Erin were there, so I decided to begin. "So, can you tell us anything about who was chasing you? Why were you running from them?" I started, figuring I should lead the conversation.

No one objected, so I waited for Kit to answer. The kitsune tensed up, hiding behind his white hair. "Bad people," was all he said. "They...hurt me."

He spoke slowly as if he had to taste every word that left his mouth. It was clumsy and made me wonder if he'd spoken much English before. "Hurt you how?" I asked.

Kit shook his head violently. "Can't tell. Father can...hurt you."

"Father? Who is that?"

Father. The group had mentioned something about a father. And a sister. Were they his family maybe? I hadn't seen what the woman looked like, just the men. Perhaps she was a kitsune, too.

"Are you talking about your family?" I added after he didn't answer, to which he shook his head again.

"No. Not family. Father is... bad man."

"He's bad? So he hurt you?"

Kit nodded, and my heart broke a bit when his big, red eyes welled up with tears. He sniffed but didn't cry. "Very bad. Hurt many people."

"How many people, Kit?" Alpha James asked.

Kit eyed him warily, but I offered a reassuring smile. "He's good. How many people were hurt, Kit?"

"A lot," he whispered. "When Father angry... he hurt many people. Sister, too."

"And where are these people?" Alpha James questioned next.

"In the Home."

"Home?" I echoed.

Kit nodded. "The Home. Father's home."

"If we went looking for this place, would you be able to help us?" Alpha James asked gently.

Kit shook his head quickly. "No! Home scary. Father get too angry."

At least his sentences were becoming a bit more cohesive. Slowly, but they were getting there. "Okay, alright. But would you mind helping us from here? Maybe tell us a general direction?" Alpha James pushed.

"I can... do that. Need map," Kit agreed with a slow nod.

"We'll make sure this Father doesn't hurt anyone else," I told him.

Kit smiled widely and my eyes were drawn to the lengthened canines in his mouth. He even had fox-like teeth in his humanoid form. At least our canines weren't visible unless they came out from an instinct-driven response. "Thank you," Kit whispered.

"Of course. We want to help," I said.

We all left Kit alone so he could get some more rest and instead took this conversation to Alpha James' office. As soon as we sat down, Alpha James spoke up. "Dr. Milton said he found something on Kit's body."

"What was it?" I asked worriedly.

For some reason, I felt responsible for Kit. He'd been in my vision and he seemed to trust me a lot. I didn't want any harm to come his way.

"You must've noticed the many scars on him. On his back was a multitude of scars that looked to be from whips or other items of that sort. And on his hipbone... there was an eye symbol."

My stomach dropped as soon as he said that. "An eye? Like the ones from...?" I didn't want to finish the sentence.

Alpha James gave a simple nod as a confirmation. "Great Goddess. So The Eye had him? But, that means we know where they could be. We could defeat them," I said.

"Yes, we might be able to, but we'd have to do some research on our enemy. We cannot be irrational and attack without knowing much else about this group. But, yes, Kit might be able to help us now," the beta pointed out.

"I can't believe he was with them. They must've taken him and so many others prisoner with the way he was talking about it," I commented quietly.

"But maybe we can free them," Joshua suggested just as quietly. "And even if we'll be in my pack, we'll still help. This is our problem now, too, especially if the Eye might target any other packs."

"Thank you," I said, smiling gently. "You're the best."

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Kit stayed in the infirmary for a few more days before he was allowed to leave. He stayed in the packhouse, though, because he was usually too afraid to leave. Within the next week, I visited him as often as I could. I had become a bit busy with my move, but I still made time for him.

He was really sweet and cheery once he opened up. His English had also improved quite a bit which was good. Today, though, he did come out of hiding to join me at the bakery.

"Is it good?" I asked the kitsune as he scarfed down another pastry.

"Mhm!" He hummed excitedly, chewing it down quickly to swallow and repeat. "Very sweet. I never had many sweets."

I laughed softly as he continued to devour the food I'd let him have. We were in a booth with Joshua next to me and Aaron seated across from us next to Kit. I wasn't quite sure why Aaron decided to stick around. Maybe he saw something we didn't. Or maybe he just felt like he had to given the special circumstances.

It did feel a bit weird not having the rest of the gang around, but it wasn't like they'd completely fallen off the face of the earth. We still hung out, even Erin. Erin and I were still trying to build our friendship back up again, and I wanted to think it was still going well.

"Kit, slow down before you choke," I warned him, but he didn't listen.

And that led to him coughing as he reached for the water we'd given him. As he was gulping it down, I noticed Farah walking by. "Hey, Farah, can you get us another water, please?" I asked her.

She walked over with a smile on her face. "Sup, Boss."

She noticed Kit and did a double-take, her eyes widening significantly. "Woah."

"Oh, you haven't met Kit, have you? Well, this is Kit. He's a kitsune we rescued. He's shy, though."

Kit looked up from his food and offered a shy smile. "Hi."

"Hi." Farah glanced away before awkwardly chuckling. "I'll get that water for you now."

She quickly left and I frowned at her odd behavior. "What was that about?" I wondered aloud.

"Maybe she's just not used to seeing someone who's not a shifter like us. It was quite a shock to us at first, too," Aaron pointed out.

"Yeah, you're right. It was a surprise," I agreed.

Kit ignored us to continue eating and the incident was soon forgotten as soon as Farah came by with the water and left to continue doing her job. It was true that Kit had received plenty of odd looks, even in the cafe. It wasn't often that we got to see a kitsune hanging around, after all. But Kit didn't seem to mind it. He was too focused on exploring his new surroundings to bother with the stares.

"So, Wren," Aaron suddenly spoke up. "How's the move going so far?"

I noticed Kit look up when he heard the question, but I ignored it and answered with, "Okay, I guess. My house will be taken care of by Alpha since it is pack property, so my main concern is packing with that department, but I'm still not sure what to do with the cafe. I don't want to see it disappear."

"You're leaving?" Kit asked, his eyes wide.

"I am. Joshua and I are going to live with his pack," I confirmed.

"No! You can't! I have too much fun with you," Kit argued.

I smiled. "I'm sorry, but I have to. You can always visit me if you'd like," I offered.

"Okay... promise, please?" He begged.

I nodded, holding out my pinky. "Pinky promise."

Kit scrunched up his nose in confusion. "Pinky promise?"

"Here."

I reached out to grab his hand and positioned it so his pinky stuck out like mine, then I intertwined them. "Pinky promise."

The kitsune giggled to himself and my heart warmed inside my chest at the sweet sound. He was so young, but still far older than any of us in terms of physical years. It was an odd thing to think about, but it didn't lessen the fact that he was adorable. How could The Eye hurt him like this? He didn't deserve any of that.

We pulled apart and Kit went back to eating his food. I sighed, resting my head on Joshua's shoulder. "You'll figure it out, I'm sure of it, "I heard Joshua whisper to me.

"I hope so. I just don't want to let go of the cafe just yet," I whispered back.

"Maybe you could give it to someone you trust? Have them run it, like a manager and stuff," he suggested.

I hummed. "That doesn't sound too bad." I looked up at him. "You're so smart."

"Happy to help," he said with a wide grin.

I went back to relaxing against him, watching our new fox friend lick his fingers of some jam while Aaron handed him a napkin.

I'd miss having moments like this, but I was also excited to experience new ones with Joshua. It was all so bittersweet. It both warmed my heart and also left a hole in my chest that couldn't be filled just yet.

If only the bittersweet moments had been the end of everything.

~~~

I apologize for being a day late, but I had some last-minute decisions to make regarding the last two chapters. I worried they'd be too long while still feeling rushed, or not properly set up what I want to happen in the second book. I think I did okay, though.

Now you guys won't have to wait long for the last chapter XD That sounds so sad, though. I don't want this to end just yet, but Wren and Joshua are still gonna be around for the next book(s?)

Stay tuned for more insanity and please stay healthy and safe!

Thank you so much for reading <3

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