Bounded

03

Chapter Three

What it takes to be a fox

Third Person’s Point of View

The house is them for a reason.

It took everyone who was living in the place to understand why Laurence had a splurge on the location. His parents are nothing but clear in telling him that they should pose as ordinary people, and not everyone has access to buying a larger house than what they would claim as average. Even Fate’s mother was confused with the purchase.

But her father is nothing but firm about the decision.

Not only was the house massive and could really indicate that they were rich, but they were in such a very luxurious part of the town. Fate is nothing but worried but soon comes to understand her father’s objective in buying the house.

To their expensive mansion lies a room that could see through the outside. The view stretch for miles, having the sight of the sun as it would peek and escape from the world. It has a vast space, nothing but such rough floors were inside it.

Larry, the father of Laurence, had to escape from the house to see that room, and soon enough, he realized one thing. Despite the room filled with nothing but glass walls, there was something about it that restricts others from seeing the inside.

From the second that Larry had seen the room, he knew that Laurence had ordered Silvester to put this room into perfection. He wouldn’t have been surprised that Laurence wanted everything to make his daughter happy.

“Oh, my heavens!” Fate grinned, beaming in joy as she had seen the place. Her mouth hangs ajar as the area reflected the forest and the underground soil; it made her want to jump around and venture through it all. “This is why I love my parents!”

Laurence made sure that her daughter’s fox could still have a release from her shell every once in a while. Fate had tried to shift into her room, but just like how her mother had reacted in being constricted in such a bland place, the man was aware that she would go nothing but crazy.

So, in order to keep her safe, he made sure that the fox could shift and still feel like it’s roaming through the forest without actually having someone to spot her. Normal fox has it easy, but they were both arctic fox, giving them such a white glow and very easy to spot from the outside view.

Fate does feel very wary venturing in this place, as she was not sure of the area around her. The forest could be filled with rogues or hunters, maybe even some trap for rogues. It would take months, perhaps even years for her to know those locations, and unfortunately, her fox could not handle being restricted for that long.

“Your father could be lovely sometimes.” Jane grinned as she opened the lights. The very sight of the room was already making Fate’s fox jump around inside her. From the days of being isolated solely on her room that was not allowed to have any source of light inside, it was enough that she really did shift before their eyes. Both of her grandparents chuckled, shaking their heads at the fox. “Could not settle more than a second, little one?”

It had only jumped around and sprinted through the ample room.

Foxes have a skill, as Silvester had put it.

They were finding it difficult to understand how vague he was making everything to be, but soon enough, they got the concept. For some, it is not surprising that a creature in the paranormal realm could have something other than shifting as their main focus on being something that is not quoted as usual.

In human terms, it was close to having powers.

Foxes do not have powers that are as strong as what a vampire would have, but they were something that does make them unique than most. It took Silvester a lot of years to open up that his wife has the power of fire, and while she could not breathe or physically make fire by her hands, she would get into a temperature in which she could burn someone.

Fate’s mother has the power of ice, while Fate was different.

None were sure what her powers were, even Fate is not actually aware of her real skills. No matter how much she researches about it, it seemed really vague and nothing could actually explain what she has. They all stilled as they saw her sat in the middle of the room.

“She’s doing it again.” Larry all but whispered to his wife.

She nodded, watching in nothing but awe as the fox had sat in the middle, looking into the forest as it had closed its eyes. There is some distance expression written before her eyes, the glow in her fur was growing intense. Ever so slowly, Jane smiles as the trees were dancing along with the wind, and the forest seemed nothing but brighter.

“Do you think she controls the weather?” Jane had asked her husband.

The man smiled, looking back at her. “I do not know, but it does make it hard to see that she is hiding all of this. If her power could be accustomed to nature, she could help a lot of packs who have dying crops and infested lands.”

Naturally, foxes had always helped the wolves before they had begun experimenting on them. They were gentle creatures, one that is made to ease the tension in the forest. However, the abuse of power that wolves had back in the day is nothing but destructive. They had claimed wars on this beautiful creature and soon enough, nothing but the passing tongue of their existence was passed on by generations.

“We should give her a moment,” Larry whispered, pointing to the door. “She will take hours before she gets nothing but tired.”

Jane nodded. “I suppose she has.”

The two had left their granddaughter in her room, solely practicing her skills and gathering all her excitement into being able to run around the are without the fear of being caught by anyone.

A small smile gathered on the fox as she tilted her head.

Her skill is fun.

Maybe she should try making it quite more durable. Her eyes glinted as she focused on the forest floor, a force so strong inside of her had relieved, like one that wanted to escape from her. She easily closed her eyes, preparing herself before opening them.

Her eyes glinted into a different color, as she was unaware of what she was doing to those surrounding her. Even still, she will soon realize just what her powers are.

.

.

“Stop right there.”

Maverick frowned as he looked back at his brother. There was nothing but a pause before he holds him, the gust of wind was harsh than most than what they were used to. Maxwell has his eyes growing wide to what he had seen, surprised to see something like that would have happened before his eyes.

“Is a storm brewing, brother?” He asked, clearly confused.

Clayton only frowned, looking at the direction of the wind. It was weird to see it coming in such an odd direction. He was sure that there was no storm coming, and the way that the wind was bustling does not seem like it was warning them for a storm.

“Clayton?” Maverick questioned.

The man only shook his head. “No. I do not think that a storm is brewing in this rate and that gust of wind.”

“But that seemed weird.” Maverick frowned.

He nodded. “Maybe a fae inside this forest is practicing their skills, unaware that we are visiting. Even still, this is their land so they could do everything that they wanted.”

Clayton only smiled to see his brothers nothing but jumping around to his words. He should have known that his brothers would be excited about seeing a fae. They were always shy and would not show themselves until it is necessary. Even for him, the only reason he could picture what they look like is that his aunt had told him how she had seen them.

“Can we see some fae? We are finally seeing some fae? I want to see!” Matthew, the youngest one of them, had walked out of his tent and jumped around, gathering to Clayton with a smile in his face. “I want to see a fae, I want to see a fae!”

Clayton only kneeled to see him, rustling his hair. Even if Matthew was used to getting what he wanted, the little kid was still aware that there are things that cannot be handed to him. This was one of them. Even if Clayton wanted to see one, he could never force them to show themselves.

They deserved more than that.

“Unfortunately, little man. We can’t do that. Fae folks are generally shy and they do not show themselves to people very often, we cannot gather them for your entertainment.”

“Oh.” The young man nodded, bowing his head. “That’s right. We also feel uncomfortable when someone wanted to see us shift into our wolves, I am sure they feel the same.”

“There you go.” Clayton smiled, proud of how he was making sense of everything now. He easily stands up to see the source of the wind.

The fae could get terrified upon knowing they were there, so he had told his brothers to gather their stuff. Since they did bring a lot, it was taking some time to gather everything and carefully put into the carriage. Every once in a while, he would take them out for some bonding time. Naturally, since he has a busy schedule, he would push some to have some time with them. It seemed like his brothers were aware of his problems, letting them form their own plan without his knowledge.

“Clayton, why does everyone force you to find your mate?” Maxwell asked, clearly letting his plan out of the open. It seemed like the three of his younger brothers were feeling this way so he had no other choice but to sit in the wood and look at them. But before he could say something, someone had already beat him out of it.

“They’re all making your wolf go-” Matthew stilled, raising his hands close to his face as he forms them into one that would resemble a claw, closely baring his teeth in the most appealing manner. “Grrr, grr,” he said, making everyone smile. Letting his hand fall, he met the eyes of his brother. “Like that! It makes me sad because you’re always smiling in front of us and they’re making you growl.”

Clayton only chuckled. “There is no need to worry about me.”

“Really?” Maxwell, the oldest of the three had frowned. “It seemed like you are really worried about it to always cause some chaos in the pack. Ten had told us that you had damaged a lot of vases in your room that mother forbids you to purchase another.”

He smiled softly. “That is because people are not sure if I have the same fate as our father. You are all aware that our mother is a human, and the only reason she could marry a man with such status is that they are mates.”

Maxwell frowned. “I thought that is how mate works?”

“On wolves, yes.” He chuckled, looking at his brothers. “You are all not aware of the past of the Kings. No Alpha King has a mate, except our father.”

“That’s impossible.” Maxwell frowned.

Maverick nodded. “They all got married.”

“Look! A rock!” Matthew grinned, showing the rock that he had found. Clayton smiled, grabbing his seven-year-old brother and putting it close to him. Since he still had not reached the age of shifting, he still is not aware of this talk.

Clayton nodded, looking at them. “All wolves have mates when they are born, that is right. However, due to the greed and abuse of power that the old Kings had in their reign, there is a curse put on those who would seat on the throne of the King.” He smiled as soon as they see their eyes twinkle, nothing but amused into hearing something that would inject something that would involve nothing but mages and power. They are really something else. “As a successor win and claim his throne, it would also mean that the wolf is offering his mate to the witches. All those who had married royalty had married solely on power. Back then, they call it reaping.”

“Did grandma participated in that?” Maxwell questioned.

Clayton only nodded his head. “Yes, but she knew that she was our grandfather’s mate before she had accepted the claim. Just because, she would also offer the link in order to join the reaping. It would ensure that both who would rule the Kingdom had no connection.”

“But our grandparents love each other.” Matthew frowned.

“They did.” Clayton smiled. “Because they made it work. Father told me that maybe, the act of love that his parents have let him have a mate of his own.”

“Then you’ll have a mate.” Matthew grinned.

He nodded, his heart hammering by the words. “I do hope so, little man.”

A small frown etched on his lips as the wind was getting a lot stronger. He quickly grabbed his two brothers as he let his back accept the damage. There was a soft surprise printed in his face as he felt a burn on his skin like someone had whipped him from behind.

Whoever is causing this, was not aware that they could hurt people.

“Keep still, everyone. Do not move away.” He said, huddling them forward. “This is different than earlier. It could hurt you.”

Every s***h of the wind was hurting him, letting him grew to confuse what was happening, aware that this was never the case before. A soft whine came from his brothers, having him grab them tighter as he growled loudly. It had caused some vibrations on the floor, shaking the forest to his anger.

Then it stopped.

He easily ducked down, looking at his brother. “Are you okay, Matthew?”

“My rock flew out.” He sobbed, looking behind him with such soft eyes. “I did not even have a chance to say goodbye.”

Clayton only shook his head, wondering why he did not expect that. Gathering his brothers, they all gathered to the carriage as he looked through the view. Nothing but trees were here, so the fae folk could really cause that. But why are they practicing their winds that could pierce through the skin?

It does make him wonder.

Fate only quivered in fear of what she had seen. Despite her not hearing the loud growl from the King, she did saw a great aura into the forest. It was nothing but raging red aura, enough that it was engulfing the forest. She had easily stopped to what she was doing, terrified that someone could see her.

But she could only see nothing but trees.

Who did that aura come from?

Quickly morphing to her human self, she gathered herself in the bathroom as she remembered the horror of that aura. She had seen the way that her father had grown angry and his aura never raised to the air or engulf the whole pack. Even her mother had never reacted in that nature.

What could have caused something that will pull such a rage?

Damm.

She hopes that she did not f**k up.

.

.

The next day started as usual.

Fate did not feel any pressure inside of her seeing that her fox is not generally calm into having to experience being out in the open. Even still, she was always worried about that aura. A part of her was terrified that something so strong was living on the forest floor. Could a fae be in that area and she pissed it off?

Could her power let them be aware of where the wind was coming from?

“Fate!”

She frowned, looking at the source of the voice to see Somi bouncing around like a little girl. A smile was printed into her lips as she seemed happy, more than usual. To now have a friend that she could greet in the morning and actually bond with was new to her that it was making her nothing but glad.

“Good morning.” She smiled, casually taking her seat with a soft sigh. “How did you do with last night’s assignment?”

Somi only shrugged. “I let my brother help me, so I did pretty well.”

Wow.

Imagine having a good connection with the King, someone you could just knock after some doors, and have him physically teach you things you need at school. Fate was aware that the man was claimed to be intellectually bright. However, she just couldn’t ask Somi that without being too obvious.

“Are you sure that no one will notice that he answered your papers?” Fate questioned.

“Hey!” She pouted, crossing her arms. “My brother will never do that. He had grabbed me some examples and taught me that, watch me solve my actual assignment and corrected some of my techniques.”

“Why wouldn’t he just solve the problems?” Fate frowned.

“My brother does not like easy things.” Somi smiled, her eyes were shining as she talks about the King that it makes her wonder about the royal family. From what she does hear, the family is the most potent force that the palace has. It was the only thing that she does fear about the family. For the succeeding years, they were the only family that lasted three generations in the palace. None of the competition could back them down or destroy them, and the coven is very supportive of the family. A proud expression was printed on Somi’s lips. “He told me that if he does solve things for me, it will not last long before I depend on him with everything. My brother believes that the main thing that can give us more experience is making mistakes. So he welcomed that in my life since he claims that I am still young.”

Fate chuckled, doubting that the King ever did anything wrong. “Does he learn what he knows by his mistakes?”

“Yes.” Somi grinned, nodding her head. Fate needed to catch her own breath by the surprise, not aware that the King had his faults. Not realizing her surprise, Somi continued her words. “Father made sure that my brother could still have some childhood, so he made some hefty mistakes. My parents did not help him to solve them, only some nudge for his decisions. It’s the reason why he believes in his own skill because that’s how he grew up.”

Her brother was the same. Kun was treated quite unique in some terms but when it comes to his own mistakes, their parents never meddled. They would ask him how he reacted in his doings and he would always know when he made such mistakes. It has taken him some time before he realized what he needed to do.

Fate always worries about her brother and claims that her parents are being nothing but tough on him, but she was surprised when Kun thanked both of them for letting him decide on himself.

She smiled. “My brother is the same.”

“You have a brother?” Somi asked, looking back at her with awe.

Fate chuckled, nodding her head. “I have three older brothers.”

“I have three younger brothers and one older one!” Somi seemed proud as she gathered to tell her. Fate had to bite her tongue to say that she was aware of this, gathering nothing but the happy expression in her friend’s face as she had listed them by hand. “Actually, it is very hard to amuse them. They have their own kind of space and I do not know how I can have more time with them.”

Fate frowned. “Are you only close with the-” a small gulp form in her words as she almost mentioned about the King. Correcting her words, she continued. “With the eldest?” she asked.

“No.” Somi chuckled. “I am close with the three, but they have their own special space, and we rarely have some time where I can play with them. Especially Maxwell. He has this game where you fight in the arena and-”

“Alcadian Glade?” Fate questioned.

Her eyes sparkled. “You know it?!”

“Yes, my brothers and I play it religiously. I can teach you some skills to defeat him so you could lengthen your time with him.” She advised.

Seeing nothing but the smile printed in her friend’s lips. As much as she does not want to get involved with the royal family. She sees nothing of harm teaching her friend to have some pointers in having a stable connection with her brothers. Since Fate is the youngest of the bunch, her brothers did everything to have her attention.

So it is not harmful to teach some to her friend.

“Thank you so much.” Somi frowned, grabbing her hand as her eyes glistened into nothing but gratefulness. “You don’t know how much I wanted to trample in his face as I won a game!”

Fate chuckled, amused to how the game can always gather the part of the person who will crave nothing but their need to trash talk their opponents. Then again, it what makes the game fun and exciting.