Page 36 of Fire of the Fox

He glanced at me but didn’t say anything. If the silence wasn’t bad enough, his face stayed devoid of all emotion as he drove, making it hard to gauge exactly what was going on in his head.

I let out a nervous breath and leaned my head against the cool window. The passing street lights moved by in a blur, and I tried to make myself focus on something besides the past hours’ events. It hurt my head to dwell on what had happened.

Land Fae existed. Magical creatures with special abilities.

How could anyone easily cope with that?

They weren’t the only magical creatures, either. Water Fae were real, too. It was bizarre to think about. Did that mean vampires, werewolves, and mermaids were real? It felt like my whole world had been turned upside down in a matter of hours.

Daring to look at Rune again, my body relaxed some. He seemed calmer now that time had passed. He drove with one hand, staring intently at the road as he absent-mindedly played with the collar of his shirt. Looking at him like this, I thought he seemed approachable and less aggressive, but I knew that if I pushed the wrong button, that mask could easily turn dark. He wasn’t a normal guy. He was a freaking fox.

The reminder of who he was drew up the memory of the fox from the creek yet again. I chewed on my lip as the idea of Rune and my fox being the same person plagued me. The only similarity between the two was the fact that they were both Silver Foxes with golden eyes, but nothing else about Rune pointed to him being the fox. There was no injury to his wrist, which would’ve been his paw in fox form, and he didn’t have the necklace. Still, the uncertainty was driving me mad.

“Can-Can I ask you something?” I whispered.

He looked sideways at me, but he didn’t say anything.

I took a deep breath and decided to ask anyway. “Are you the fox I met that day at the creek?”

He sighed and rested one arm on the edge of the door. He planted his chin on his fist. “Maybe. Maybe not.”

I groaned, not wanting any half-ass reply after this day. “Why do you have to answer like that?”

He gave a slight smile. “It’s more fun that way. Makes it a mystery, and who doesn’t love a good mystery?”

I threw back my head against the headrest of my seat and huffed. “Well, Agatha Christie, it’s frustrating for me. Are you him? Or do you know him at least?”

He gave a noncommittal shrug. “I might know him.”

“If you know him, can I meet him?”

He looked me in the eye briefly before turning his attention back to the road. He shook his head and asked, “Why would you want to meet him?”

I pondered this and bit the corner of my lip. It probably was an odd request. Twirling a small strand of my hair around my finger, I said, “I don’t know. To see how he’s doing maybe. I would just really love to see him again. He, in a way, is special to me. He was like a beacon of light when I was in an overwhelmed place.”

Rune remained quiet for so long that I thought he was done with the conversation. He kept his gaze locked dead ahead on the road with his brow furrowed in deep thought.

My stomach turned in knots. Maybe I’d said too much?

Growing more embarrassed by the minute, I was prepared to let it go when he finally sighed and said, “He might be at the party in my hometown.”

My heart skipped a beat, and warmth flooded my veins. “So, you do know him?”

“Maybe. Maybe not.”

I rolled my eyes and fell back against the door in defeat. He wasn’t going to give me a straight answer, but that was fine. He said I’d get to meet the fox eventually. I couldn’t help but feel a little excited about that fact. It was a mystery to me why the thought of meeting him again made me so happy, yet it did. Maybe it was because of how he seemed to really care when I needed someone to listen. Whatever the reason, fantasies of what he’d be like flitted through my mind. I hoped that he was kind and warm, the way he’d seemed at the creek.

Then again, I didn’t even know if Rune was still going to let me be a part of this, so I might not even get to meet him. A bitter pang hit me in my gut at the thought. Sure, Rune had calmed down now, but that could easily change. What if his family was like that too, or what if they were even worse than Rune? It would be a nightmare, and that could put me in danger for all I knew. Akira, Bassel, and Marlow would be there, but they said that foxes were among the most powerful of the Animal Fae.

How could they protect me against a family of Foxes?

I shook the thought from my head and closed my eyes. There was still so much to think about, and I needed to figure out more about Rune and the other guys. Good thing I had roughly two months to sort through it. All I could do now was learn about them.

When we finally reached the mall, the parking lot was nearly empty. It was dark by now, so the only cars left were either employees’ or last-minute shoppers’. Rune parked next to mine. The sound of the idle engine was all that could be heard in the small space.

My eyes were glued to the asphalt next to my car. The rough gravel against my back flashed vividly in my mind, along with the rush of panic that had flooded my senses as Allen and the others attacked me. The aching sting of helplessness and rage were still there, simmering beneath all my emotions, begging to explode.

“Are you okay?”

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