Page 21 of Foxes of Legend

“I’m fine. I’ve been on my own for a long time. You don’t need to worry about me.”

My two Fated mates watched me as I grabbed some clean pajamas and hid behind the unlockable bathroom door. As I let the steamy water of the shower rain upon me, staring up at the ceiling, a dark thought occurred, my heart skipping a beat.

How had Damon known my name?

13

Dove

The next day, Mr. Varma pushed us harder than before, my muscles protesting every movement. Brynn and I paired up to practice hand to hand combat. Vince leered at me from across the field and my skin crawled. But something told me he wouldn’t try anything with Enko and Kairos nearby. Bruises lined my arm from the night before, hidden by a thin black pullover.

Brynn took the seat next to me in Elements class. I snagged a spot close to Caleb, who still sported a black eye. I guess it was a rite of passage for new recruits.

I leaned over, whispering, “Hey, I’m sorry about that black eye.”

Caleb’s head snapped in my direction, his eyes going wide, moving away from me. “What? Are you trying to get your mate to beat me up again?”

“I talked to Kairos about it. He got a little defensive.”

“Kairos was trying to pull that fucking beast off me. Went completely fucking feral because he couldn’t find you,” Caleb said, shaking his head as he haphazardly shuffled all his belongings from the desk into his bag.

“Enko?” I said.

Caleb hurried away, taking the furthest seat possible away from me before directing his attention to the front of the room.

The professor walked in, tossing a stack of papers onto his desk.

“Good morning,” Mr. Fuller wore a gray suit that was the same color as his hair except for the stripe of red running through the center. I daresay it looked a bit skunky. “We are going to expand your magic. Now, there’s always late-bloomers. Please raise your hand if you still haven’t shifted into fox form yet.”

Everyone’s heads twisted like owls, but nobody raised their hand.

Mr. Fuller continued, “Come now, if I don’t know who you are, how am I supposed to help you?”

A few students raised their hands and I timidly raised mine halfway.

“It’s nothing to be ashamed of,” the professor said. “We’re going to start off today with a little guided meditation. Close your eyes, find the source of your magic. It’s often driven by emotion. Look deep within yourself, feel the power. Love, passion, rage…If you have a Fated, lean into that. Fated mates and our magical abilities come from the same place.”

I did as he said, but found darkness within, darkness that reminded me of my shadow mate who despised me from the moment he met me.

After class, I walked with Brynn until she suddenly asked, “Will you come with me to a party this weekend?”

She didn’t seem like the type to party, but the excitement in her eyes told me she wanted to go.

“Yes, we’ll be there,” came Kairos’ voice from behind me. “Hey, Brynn.”

Brynn fidgeted, as though shocked he knew her name. “Hi, Kairos.” She was a little more intimidated by Enko—who couldblame her? He was a freaking giant—but she gave him a small wave. Enko smiled, a gentle giant, and I couldn’t imagine him doing any damage despite his huge fists. Caleb must have been lying. His brother was Vince, after all. And I knew all I ever wanted to know about Vince.

Enko pulled me into a quick embrace and I melted into him. His fire element pulsed out heat. “Ready for training?”

I groaned, “But I already trained all morning.”

“Have fun!” Brynn said with a little too much enthusiasm, waving and going into the cafeteria.

Enko’s arm hung around my waist as we walked to an open area of the field, passing me a sandwich wrapped in plastic.

“We need to talk about last night,” Kairos said, crossing his arms as he faced down the two of us. “Where did you go, Dove?”

I’d dodged their questions that morning, so I stuffed a bite of the Italian sub into my mouth.

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