Ten

Joe

"So you kissed him and he turned into a fox, not a frog?"

Joe glared at the tiny winged fae who was currently hovering at eye level with Marie. If he could talk—which he couldn't, in his current form—he would make sure the fae understood that he wasn't just any fox. He was a gumiho.

"Wrong folklore, Ashke." Marie crossed her arms over her chest and tipped her head to one side as she narrowed her eyes at the winged fae. "But you're perfectly aware of that, and I refuse to be baited. The only reason I mentioned the kiss at all is because we need to take into consideration all the possible triggers for the forced shape change. If a kiss turns a prince from a frog into a human, and true love's kiss can break any number of spells, it would have been remiss of me to leave out the fact that I shared a kiss with him right before he got stuck like that."

Hey now. Joe would have pouted if he'd been in human form. He was actually rather fond of his nine-tailed fox form. No need to refer to this adorable version of himself as that .

The winged fae, apparently named Ashke, held up his hands in a placating gesture. "I couldn't resist the opportunity to tease you just a little bit, Marie. You're usually the one getting us out of a mess. Imagine my surprise when you called me at dawn to help you with a problem."

Standing next to Marie, Kuro frowned. His expression matched the way Joe currently felt. Joe didn't particularly like being referred to as a problem, and he also didn't want to cause Marie any more trouble than interactions with him already had.

Joe met Kuro's gaze and felt sure he could guess at what his partner's line of thought was. This was one of those times where an animal form would be best complemented by some sort of telepathic ability. In the years that he and Kuro had been together, they had never discovered that sort of ability among either of their supernatural talents. It would've been convenient in the past, and in this moment it would've been invaluable. But no such luck.

As much as he liked his current form, the prospect of being unable to shift, potentially being locked away from his other form, was more frightening than he wanted to think about. But the thought was there, at the fringes of his awareness.

"I'm guessing you tried this already," Ashke ventured with a hint of caution that had previously not been present in his tone. "But did you kiss him again?"

Marie opened her mouth with what looked like an angry retort, but she paused. Then she blinked.

She was so cute. Really cute. Joe let his lower jaw drop open in his foxy version of a grin.

She looked at him, glanced at Kuro, then made eye contact with him again. Then she said, "I didn't kiss either of them in fox form."

"Wait." Ashke darted over to hover in front of Kuro, then zoomed in to Joe's face. It was a good thing the fae immediately withdrew back to his position at eye level with Marie, because Joe snapped in irritation. Seemingly unfazed, Ashke continued his thought. "So each of them has been in fox form since last night. We'll come back to kisses in a minute. But let's actually talk about the fox form."

"Yes," Marie responded slowly.

Joe watched her carefully. He didn't know her well yet, but she wasn't showing signs of defensiveness or even tension. He'd have done something about it if anyone was making her uncomfortable.

"You said you were alerted by your wards that a powerful spell was being cast," Ashke continued. "So you left the safety of your wards—which we will discuss later, because I have opinions about that and I'm sure Thomas will too—and found one of them forced into fox form, but not the one who is in fox form now."

"Correct." Marie glanced at Kuro, probably to see if he wanted to add anything to this summary.

Kuro only watched the fae. Joe would have snickered if he could. His partner had trust issues. Joe might have volunteered more, just because he liked to be part of any conversation. Kuro was the brooding, silent type. Hot, but not so great for brainstorming sessions.

Ashke was still going. "Sometime right before dawn the original person forced into fox form returned to human form and there was kissing and then there was a fox form transformation again, but not the same victim."

There was another reason Joe wanted to regain his ability to shape-shift at will. He'd like to repeat the kissing, not just in discussion, but in action. Marie had been a delightful kisser. He was sure she had enjoyed it, too.

"Essentially yes." Marie nodded, definitely unaware of what Joe was currently thinking.

Joe sat back on his haunches. He had new respect for Marie and her ability to communicate, because the fae had delivered all of that at pretty high speed.

"It could have been the kissing." Ashke rubbed his jaw as he seemed to be considering. "One way to figure it out is to kiss each of them now and observe whether they switch."

Joe gave a sharp bark and let all nine of his tails wag. He'd wanted to suggest that in the first place, but Marie had been so upset by his shape change she had immediately called for reinforcements.

He hadn't been happy about that, and he imagined Kuro wasn't, either. First, the two of them had looked out for each other for so long, trusting anyone else to help solve their problems wasn't something that came easy for them. Second, the immediate response Marie had gotten to her call for help served to remind them that she had a support network and other people to rely on. She didn't particularly need them in her life.

Kuro's hand dropped down on Joe's head between his ears, then ran down his back and smoothly over a couple of his tails. Joe leaned into the comfort of his partner's touch and curled into Kuro's arms as Kuro gathered him up against his chest.

"I'm open to trying another kiss." Kuro's chest rumbled as he spoke, and Joe had no qualms about rubbing his face into his partner's chest.

Marie made a sound of protest deep in her throat, which made you wonder what other sorts of sounds could be coaxed from her. "It wasn't a kiss that turned you into fox form in the first place. And there wasn't a kiss before you turned back."

Oh ! Joe wiggled in Kuro's arms. He looked from Marie to Kuro then back to Marie again and turned his muzzle up to lick Kuro's face in a long swipe from his jaw all the way up to his temple.

Marie gasped and Joe looked back at her excitedly.

Kuro turned his face into Joe's fur and muttered, "Was that really necessary?"

Marie's eyes were wide as she looked at them both. "Kuro did give me a quick lick on the cheek. But a lot of time passed before he turned human again."

Joe leaned toward Marie, trusting Kuro to keep him from falling. Instead of stepping forward to close the space between them and Marie, Kuro wrapped his hands more firmly around Joe. Joe growled in frustration, because he couldn't reach without either Kuro or Marie moving to eliminate the remaining distance.

"Would you be willing to allow him to give you a little kiss?" Kuro growled and added, "A much smaller lick than the one he just gave me."

Joe whined. He would have waited for her to tell him it was okay. He wasn't about to just indiscriminately lick her without permission. Besides, Kuro had totally licked her without permission in the first place. It was Kuro who owed her an apology.

Joe did his best to give Marie the most hopeful look he could manage. Marie giggled, and his heart leapt in his chest at the sound. He liked the sound of her joy, the pink flush in her cheeks, and the sparkle of amusement in her eyes. Sure, the fear of being trapped in just one form was still hovering at the edge of his thoughts, but he was glad he was able to be a part of bringing a smile to her face. It made him feel good.

Marie pulled out her phone and swiped it a couple of times. "Let me just set a timer on this so we know exactly how long it took if this works."

"Good idea," Ashke said, doing a little flip in the air.

Kuro remained where he was standing, holding Joe. Marie turned her attention back to them. Joe thought he detected a hint of nerves in her posture before she closed the space, so he waited. She met his eager gaze with a smile and gave him a little nod.

He did his best to keep his enthusiasm under control, but he had to admit he was wiggling a little in Kuro's arms as he leaned forward and gave her a little lick along the jawline.

He drew back, watching her for her reaction, his ears up as he listened carefully for any delightful noises she might have made. It wasn't that he expected her to be particularly responsive to him in this form, but it'd be nice to get confirmation that she wasn't repelled by him, either. He hadn't seen or smelled any sign of a dog, cat, or bird, or any kind of a familiar in her apartment or on her person. It was entirely possible she was only into plants and not particularly fond of animals at all.

She regarded him with wide eyes, her lips slightly parted. After a moment she huffed out a breath in a way he was starting to recognize as amusement from her. She looked him straight in the eyes and asked, "Is it okay if I pet you?"

Was it okay? He gave her his widest foxy grin and a nod.

She reached forward with one hand, her fingertips touching the fur on the side of his face uncertainly. He turned his head into her palm to encourage her, and when she curved her fingers to give him scratches around the base of his ears, he let his eyes roll back. Bliss. He rolled in Kuro's arms so his belly was up and he let his head loll back into her hand so she could continue scratching around his ears or reach for his belly, or hell, she could pet him anywhere and he'd be very, very happy.

All in all, experiments with Marie and Kuro were turning out to be pretty good. He personally was optimistic about the outcome.

Kuro chuckled. "So the timer is set. I wouldn't be averse to another kiss."

Marie was still petting Joe, her fingers buried in the fur around his neck. "Aren't you concerned that a kiss might change you back into fox form?"

"A kiss from you would be worth the risk," Kuro stated.

Joe lifted his head to look up at his lover. Damn, that was good.

The pink deepened across Marie's cheeks and spread up and back to the tips of her ears. "I don't want to force you into a form you didn't choose."

Also good. This witch. She might just be too good for this world. Okay, he was already sure she was too good for him, and he was absolutely, without a doubt, aware of the generous amount of narcissism he had going on. So if he was thinking Marie was too pure for him, then Kuro for sure was thinking she was out of his league. Which was totally ridiculous.

Therefore, it was absolutely reasonable to want her for the two of them. She was obviously responsive to each of them, so they needed to resolve this situation as quickly as possible and get back to wooing their witch.

"But it doesn't bother you?" Kuro asked in his serious and quiet way. "That we both have a nine-tailed fox form?"

Marie shook her head.

Laughter like mellow bells broke the tension between the three of them, and Ashke spoke. "She's worked with the Darke Consortium for years now. She spent plenty of time with Thomas in his human and his wolf form. Werewolves are way scarier than foxes."

Joe growled. Either he or Kuro could take on a werewolf one-on-one, any day. Werewolves tended toward packs, though, and that's where their greatest power was—both in strength of numbers and pack magic.

Marie shot a sharp look at the winged fae. "You're deliberately leaving that open to interpretation. There's mischief and then there's causing people unnecessary grief when they don't know each other very well. Cut it out, Ashke. I've had a little too much drama in my life recently and absolutely will kick you out of here for deliberately instigating miscommunication."

"Don't forget, witch. You called me." There was still laughter in Ashke's voice, but there was also a hard edge to his words now.

Marie nodded, her gaze steady. "And I'm regretting it."

Joe let out a soft whine. As much as he wanted her attention, he didn't want to be the reason she encountered friction with her colleagues and friends. The fae might be tiny, but his kind of magic was dangerous. Take away the mischief and he could make all of their lives a whole lot more miserable.

Kuro cleared his throat. "It never hurts to reinforce one's safety precautions with an added layer of protection, especially when the magic is of different kinds. It's good that you're here."

The tension held taut for another heartbeat, then Ashke zipped over to hover in front of Kuro.

"I like you, fox," Ashke said. There was a pause and then a sigh. "And I like Marie. If I test newcomers in her life, it is out of affection for a friend."

Joe perked up, ears forward. His encounters with the fae were fairly limited, and most fae he'd dealt with had been aloof and pretty damned arrogant. This was probably the closest he had ever heard one come to an apology. Marie's eyebrows had lifted. Joe thought it was a good bet this was the closest the winged fae had ever come to apologizing in her presence too, or at least to someone outside of their cool kids consortium club.

"While we've got an experiment going and we're not going to take the risk of testing it the other way…" Ashke zipped around in a circle and returned to hover in front of Marie at eye level. "I can investigate the area where fox number one encountered the other witch."

Joe gave a short bark. This time it was Marie who glanced at him and seemed to catch onto his prompt. "Someone brushed past Joe just as he was returning to Kuro last night. He was right on the street below us, a couple of blocks away. If there's any residual magic where Kuro was, I'd be interested to know if there is any from that encounter with Joe as well."

"And whether the magical signatures are similar. Gotcha." Ashke bobbed in the air and then darted out the window that was cracked open for him. The fae paused outside. "My barrier is layered outside your wards, Marie, so you can leave the window open if you want. But Thomas would insist you close it."

Joe suppressed a growl. Based on what Marie said earlier, there wasn't a thing between Thomas and Marie, but Joe would really appreciate some clarity on exactly who Thomas was in Marie's life. Werewolf or no.

Marie tugged the window closed, which irritated Joe more. He tucked his nose in between Kuro's arm and chest to hide his discomfiture. His reaction was petty, and while he owned it most of the time, he didn't want to be that way around Marie right now.

"Well, it's not gonna take him that much time to investigate the two spots, but he's not going to be back in the next few minutes, either." Marie stood, shifting her weight from one foot to the other, and Joe got the impression she was a little uncertain as to what to do next.

Then she was moving past him and Kuro to the counter area where she had a sink and a small stovetop. Her kitchen gave the feel of the setups he'd seen from vloggers who lived in Japan or Korea or China. Neat and tidy, making maximum use of the very limited available counter space. There were a few key items that seemed to have permanent places on the counters, like a multifunction rice cooker and an Asian-style hot water dispenser. The dispenser was super convenient. One touch for a steady stream of hot water, no waiting for water to heat up the way a kettle would require.

"How about some ramen?" she asked.

Hell yes. Joe barked once and hoped she'd understand.

Marie laughed again. Happiness bubbled out of her easily, like she gathered it from everything around her and shared it generously. "Just to be clear, I mean having noodles together. I watch enough Asian dramas to know that could be construed as a different kind of offer."

An answering chuckle rumbled up from Kuro's chest. Joe tilted his head. If he'd been able to talk, he would've wanted to ask which Asian dramas she watched. He enjoyed a few, and so did Kuro. The two of them had a tendency to binge Korean dramas together. Kuro liked to follow the epic long dramas out of mainland China a few episodes at a time. Then there were the BL dramas out of Thailand. So good . There were plenty more from other regions, too. It was a topic of conversation to explore later, when Joe was able to shape change at will again.

Because he would be able to. He was going to think it into truth.

"I've got beef, chicken, and pork tonkatsu flavors." Marie opened one of her cabinets. "What sounds good to you?"

Joe gave Kuro a significant look. Normally it was Joe who made conversation and took the lead for flirtation. Kuro was going to have to step up.

Kuro glanced at Joe then looked away quickly, clearing his throat. "No chicken for the gumiho."

Marie turned with a package in her hand. "No?"

Kuro held Joe out, balanced in his palm with his fingers crooked to keep hold of Joe. Joe wouldn't be hurt if he fell to the floor from this height, but he didn't appreciate being held out like a plush toy.

Kuro replied to Marie. "He is a gumiho, a Korean fox spirit. In the far past, the cries and blood of chickens were used to ward off gumiho. So for his kind, chickens are repulsive, and consuming chicken is not a pleasant experience."

Joe flicked all nine of his tails. It was true and he felt a little uncomfortable revealing a weakness, but this was Marie and he felt certain she wouldn't exploit it. He glanced at her and realized she was reading the food packaging.

"Hmm, this says it only has chicken flavoring but it would be better to err on the safe side. I'll make one of the other flavors." Marie looked at Joe. "Preference for beef or pork tonkatsu?"

She held up one for a moment, then lowered it and lifted the other. She paused and repeated the motion. Joe waited until she held the pork tonkatsu up and lifted a paw.

"Pork tonkatsu it is." Marie smiled at him. Joe liked the way she continued to talk to him, not over him, like he'd suddenly turned into a domesticated canine. She turned her attention to Kuro. "How about you? No chicken?"

Kuro's answering smile was slow and heart-stopping. "I enjoy the taste of a lot of things, chicken included."

Joe tipped his muzzle down and nipped Kuro's thumb. Obvious innuendos aside, there was also no need to rub it in. Joe was Korean American and wouldn't ever know what everyone was raving about when they talked about how good Korean fried chicken was. Usually, Kuro was good about not eating fried chicken in front of Joe.

It was Marie's turn to clear her throat. "Why don't I just make three pork tonkatsus?"

"You do that." Kuro's voice was still doing that sexy, deep thing, and Joe growled.

It was one thing to flirt with their witch, but it wasn't like Kuro to get this intense when they were just bantering about food.

Food.

Joe stared at Kuro. Kuro hadn't hunted last night, because he was looking out for Joe. Sure, Kuro hadn't let himself go for as long as Joe had, but it had been longer than was probably wise.

Joe turned and ran up Kuro's arm, nipping his partner on the side of his neck this time. Kuro growled, finally tearing his gaze from Marie. Joe planted his paws on Kuro's chest and stared into Kuro's eyes.

No feeding on our witch.