Star-crossed Royals

Chapter Seven

After a quick shower to mask the smell of what she had just done, twenty agonizing minutes go by as Akiko paced back and forth in her bedroom. After calling Yuri, she thought it would comfort her a bit to get out of her office into the more intimate space of her bedroom, but it just further reminded her of how alone she was in this foreign country. While Yuri was her best friend, she literally only had Yuri and Hattori here 6,000+ miles away from everything she had ever known. No, she had him she thought suddenly. Flashes of what had just occurred down the hallway led her to touch her lips involuntarily as if she could still feel his kiss there.   

“Ugh…this is what got me into this mess in the first place,” Akiko silently chastised herself.  

Her pacing resumed as if she were determined to wear a path through the center of her floor. She checked her phone every thirty seconds waiting for some confirmation that Yuri was almost there or had finally gotten home. She heard the sound of Yuri’s motorcycle roaring down the road and then into the driveway. She didn’t understand his obsession with his new toy, but he had insisted on getting it when they got to America. Since this was his first real taste of freedom, she wasn’t going to begrudge him his own indulgences even if she didn’t understand them.  

Once the roar of his bike’s engine subsided, she could hear Yuri and Hattori’s heated discussion outside. A few minutes went by, but she wanted to avoid Hattori right now. So, she stayed inside growing increasingly more impatient.  

“Tell Hattori I said to leave you alone and let you inside,” Akiko projected to Yuri. 

“Uh, what the f**k is going on? Why is Hattori screaming about the wolf being here?” Yuri returned as he came into the house. 

“He needs to learn his place. I’m tired of him questioning me,” she said her tone defiant, even in their heads.  

She heard his audible sigh as he came up their stairs towards her room. “You know he hates being told what to do, even if it’s you.”  Yuri walked in the door, a worried expression on his face.  

“I’m fine Yuri. We just have a lot to talk about after today,” Akiko said to settle him before they continued. She didn’t mean to scare him, but she had honestly forgotten that she’d banished Hattori outside. It hadn’t crossed her mind that he’d be there to intercept Yuri.  

“Sit,” she told him motioning towards the bed. She couldn’t sit herself; the nervous energy was palpable. 

“After we got home and you went out,” Akiko trailed off a bit before continuing, “the wolf showed up outside the office window.” 

Glimpses of Jamie easily picking her up to put her on the wall near the window flashed through her mind, but she mentally chastised herself and refocused on the conversation. 

“You remember how I told you that I was feeling weird when he showed up this morning? The almost electric feeling?” 

“Yea, so what? We talked about it, you were probably just freaking out because of him showing up out of nowhere,” Yuri replied even more confused now.  

“No, it wasn’t Yuri. It meant something,” Akiko said, her voice barely above a whisper. 

“What do you mean it meant something?” he asked exasperated at this point. 

“Have you ever thought about what Kaen would feel like if the other person wasn’t a kitsune,” she replied looking at him and meeting his eyes for the first time.  

Yuri blanched white as the color suddenly drained from his face. He immediately thought of the descriptions he’d always been given. It felt like fire. The intensity, specific feeling, etc. all felt different depending on the couple bonding, but it was always a feeling of being consumed in flame. He’d grown up with Akiko and his clan his whole life, so he’d never been around other shapeshifting races except Akiko’s friend Nekomi. He couldn’t stand her, so he’d never really talked to her outside of polite small talk if Akiko left them alone together. It had never crossed his mind that the bond could feel differently.  

“You’re not saying...” Yuri said switching to talking with their mental link to keep this from being overheard by Hattori, even if he was outside.  

“Yes,” she replied in kind. “It just happened. I told him to come inside so we could talk. No one else knew he was outside yet, but I felt it. I think after meeting him this morning, I was more sensitive to his scent. Once he was outside, I could smell him, and my fingertips were tingling then it spread.’’  

“I sent Hattori away to talk to him. He doesn’t know about us or what happened Yuri. I can see it in his eyes that he isn’t lying to me,” she continued looking pleadingly at Yuri now.  

“I don’t know that it even matters if he knows or if he is a really a danger to us. If you’re trying to tell me that you think you’re bonding with him…” Yuri said his inner voice fading as he tried to grasp the implications of what they were talking about. 

“I don’t think, Yuri,” she said a bit forcefully.  

“How could you know? Wait, are you saying?” 

“Yes, that’s what I’m saying. We kissed. We’re bonded. We spoke like this once it was complete. Then we…” she couldn’t finish as she looked at the ceiling, her face a bright red from embarrassment. 

“YOU SLUT,” Yuri said immediately, throwing a pillow at her.  

“You don’t understand! The bond is so intense Yuri. It felt like a sudden bolt of lightning tore through my body, but instead of pain it felt like it lit every nerve in my body,” she tried to explain.  

“So, you’re telling me that you’re bonded to this wolf? Not only to a wolf but he has purple eyes like he did when he slaughtered our people? Do you realize that they’ll stop at nothing to kill him now? I will have to give my life to your parents, so will Hattori. We promised them we’d keep you safe, and I don’t think they’re going to agree that what just happened is exactly safe,” he said with the worried expression returning to his face now.  

“Yuri, I love you. You’re my best friend, and I will never let my parents ask you to do that, no matter their opinion on tradition and shame. I know what this could mean for us and you. He annoys me, but Hattori is like an older brother to me. I won’t let him die either,” she said, her response in an even measured tone. She had practiced this while she waited. She refused to let anyone get hurt, especially when neither she nor Jamie even had control over their bonding with each other. They felt what they felt, and they were fated to be mates. Yuri wouldn’t die for her, at least not for this.  

“I need you to trust me Yuri,” she continued, “He and I talked, his name is Jamie by the way, and we both agree that we need time to explore this and figure out what this means for each other. We have to figure out how to tell our families. I also have to figure out where he fits in with the wolf that came to Japan. This doesn’t work if you can’t keep it quiet though. The moment Hattori finds out, he’ll run and tell my parents. Then they’ll make him kill Jamie.” 

As she said the last sentence, her heart dropped into her stomach at the thought of Hattori standing over Jamie, his blade slick with blood. Having just met Jamie, she didn’t know that she could be so attached so quickly. This bond was so intense that she really had no frame of reference for it. What she’d been told was not an adequate description of the depth of her new attachment. Jamie was a part of her now, and she wouldn’t let anyone take him from her, no matter who they were. 

“I don’t want to hurt Hattori, but I will not let him hurt Jamie,” Akiko added her eyes a blazing emerald.  

Akiko’s sudden declaration sent chills down Yuri’s spine. She’d had flings with boys in the past, but she’d never cared about them. He’d always been there to usher them out a window, run interference with Hattori, or be an alibi if she snuck out. This was incredibly different. She had just met this boy, but he could tell that she meant what she said. She would hurt Hattori to keep him from hurting Jamie. While Hattori was skilled in combat, so was Akiko. Hattori probably wouldn’t stand a chance. 

“What are you asking me to do?” he asked trying to clarify what she wanted. 

“Give me until the end of the semester. Let me try to come up with a plan and let Jamie and I explore this. I’m begging you, Yuri. I need this,” she pleaded. Yuri paused struggling with his responsibility to Akiko’s parents and his friendship with her.  

“Ok, I’ll give you the semester, and we can talk about it again in December. Please don’t make me regret this,” he said, giving in. He knew it was inevitable. He always gave Akiko anything she wanted, and she would do the same for him. This was important, and he’d never forgive himself if he ignored her when she really needed him.  

“What I really need to figure out is why I’m feeling this electricity when the wolves are around. It can’t be Kaen, but she bonded with him and is feeling the same thing I am. I just thought it was a reaction to them or something,” Yuri silently mused to himself. He had kept to himself earlier that he was sharing this electric feeling, but it was nagging at the back of his mind given the new information she’d given him. He was pulled out of his inner musings by Akiko. 

“I, uh, need you to do it again. I know we said never again, but he…finished in me.”