17

Dove

The worst part was that I knew he was right. The blood tests confirmed Fated pairings through genetic testing, compatibility. It was faster than traditionally-found Fated mates when a female goes into heat for the first time after some time to bond.

"What's wrong?" Kairos asked the moment he entered the dorm with Enko. I sat on the ledge of the window, looking out at the campus.

"Nothing," I said, turning my head away from him as I frantically blinked away the tears.

"Dove," Kairos said with a warning tone as he approached, his hand resting on my shoulder. "What happened?"

"Seven..."

"What did he do now?" Kairos demanded, looking annoyed and pulling out his phone as he prepared to handle it just because I said his name.

I reached up, touching his hand to stop him from dialing.

"He told me the truth to the questions I asked him. That he doesn't feel we're Fated. He rejected me." I'd practiced what I was going to say all day if it came up, but still my voice cracked on the last few syllables, tears welling up.

Kairos reached forward, pulling me upright and into a hug. "Seven rejected himself because of his flaws. It had nothing to do with you. In time, he'll come around."

"His flaws? He's been clear how he feels about me."

"Dove, we're still trying to get to know each other. I'm not in the position to tell his story, but he's had it rough. Seven needs you. It's hard for him to build trust, and he's not level-headed right now. He's prone to feral thoughts."

Enko froze at the words, as though still ashamed of what had happened the day before. His fists were already healed. And the medical wing of the academy was one of the best in the world. I had no doubt Vince would heal, too, especially with the help of his foxfire magic.

"Vince had it coming for touching our girl, Enko," Kairos said after seeing Enko's reaction.

Our girl? My heart almost burst out of my chest.

"I know. He's lucky I left him alive." Enko's back was to us, but I could hear the pain in his voice.

"We're all enslaved to our feral instincts right now. We'll get through this together," Kairos said, glancing between us. "All of us. Even Seven."

Enko tossed his shirt corroded with demon blood into the trash, the glimmer of his muscles catching my eye. "Speaking of, what are you going to do about Seven?"

"That's not for you to worry about, Enko," Kairos said sternly.

"He was supposed to be keeping an eye on her today," Enko snarled. "Do you see him around?"

Kairos snorted out a laugh, "That's the point of Shadow, isn't it? He could be listening in right now for all we know."

My eyes flicked around the room, as though I might catch a glimpse of Seven. Had he been watching me all day? Is that why I ran into him in the shrine?

After cleaning up, we headed out of the dorm down to the ground level.

"Aren't we training?" I asked as we passed the gym.

"You have your appointment today with us," Kairos said, knowing my schedule better than I did. I nodded, remembering seeing the paperwork.

We entered the medical wing of the academy, sterile white against fluorescent lights and the stench of disinfectant. I hated it. It always brought me back to that hospital the year before.

After signing in, we sat in the waiting room. I cupped my hands together tightly into a knot on my lap, keeping my back straight and my body still.

Kairos and Enko were called first, both going in and coming back out quickly. And then my name was called.

"Dove Hawthorn," the assistant in the white lab coat said, gesturing me through the swinging doors and into a long hallway full of patient rooms. She directed me into one of them, where a phlebotomist was hovering over a tray with needles and syringes.

I sat down and he scrubbed at my arm with an alcohol swab, taking the blood with expertise. Relief washed over me—I wouldn't have to see the healer this time!

When he finished, I jumped down from the bed with a crinkle, he glanced up, checking my charts. "The healer will be just a moment," he said before snapping the door shut behind him.

I slumped back onto the plastic bed and watched the door with dread.

The healer, a Life kitsune, arrived, the same one who had seen me the week before. She had curly brown hair and a tight serious face.

"Dove," she began, flipping through her clipboard. "Have you decided what you're going to do?"

I shook my head and the healer sat down, giving me overly sympathetic eyes.

"The longer you take to decide, the worse things are going to get. The hellfire char is spreading, much like an aggressive cancer."

"There's less pain," I argued.

"Your nerve endings have suffered tremendous damage. You can no longer feel that pain, but the damage is there. Without treatment, you may only have months before you can no longer walk."

Treatment. When really what she meant was surgery that could leave me paralyzed, if not dead anyway. Few Life kitsune were powerful enough to even perform the surgery. Not to mention that there was no way I could ever afford that treatment in my lifetime.

"Last week I didn't have my Fated, now I do. That means I could have a fox form too."

She pursed her lips skeptically, her eyes filled with pity. "Even with a fox form, this needs surgery. I'll give you some more time, but I want to see you again within the month. Make an appointment on your way out."

Thankfully, the healer was busy, leaving her no time to micromanage my appointment. Kairos and Enko were in the waiting room, standing up the moment they saw me and we exited the medical wing and back to our dorm, none the wiser.