"You want to meet her?"
Kit!Her black paws tapped a happy pattern on the floor as she danced.Kit, kit, kit, kit, kit!
Nathan hesitated. "You know, she was savaged by a dog, or a coyote, not too long back."
Her ears flattened against her skull, and she lifted a lip.No hurt kit!
"No, I didn't mean you would," he hurried to reassure her, burying his fingers in the thick fur of her ruff. "I meant, she might be afraid of you."
The furry ears raised, and her head tilted, as she apparently pondered the problem. The next minute, a perfect image formed in his head, of himself sitting on the sofa holding Jill, with Reyna seated at his feet. He stared at her in amazement.
"You can do that? Send me images too?"
In response, she sent a sense of smug satisfaction, and he sat back, staring at her. "Wow!"
Her nose nudged him, and he laughed. "Okay, okay."
Rising to his feet, he crossed the room, going to the corner where Jill sat. She didn't seem particularly fearful of the fox across the room, and she hopped eagerly toward him as he approached. Lifting her carefully... he'd stabbed his chin on her antlers more than once... he carried her back to the sofa. Seating himself again, he set Jill on his lap, his arms around her, both to make sure she felt safe, and so he could judge her response to the fox.
"This is Reyna, Jill," he told the little creature, knowing from experience that his voice soothed her. "She won't hurt you."
Reyna took a slow step forward, her head dipped downward.
Kit, she sent the baby animal wistfully, hoping the little one could understand. Would know she would never hurt her.
Jill... and Reyna huffed derisively at the name... extended her head tentatively, the nose wrinkling as she sniffed experimentally. There was no fear in her dark, bright eyes, only curious interest. Encouraged, Reyna took another step forward, waiting to see what Jill would do. When the baby's nose touched her, she wanted to dance in delight. She kept still, however, knowing that would startle the little wild creature. Instead, she nuzzled the adorable creature, her heart sighing,kit.
The kit made no objection to the nuzzling, so Reyna gave in to the maternal instinct driving her, and began to wash the kit's ridiculously long ears. Nathan began to laugh, and she paused a moment to grin at him and give him a quickheehee, before returning to her grooming. After a minute she jumped up onto the sofa, and draped herself so the kit was firmly between her forepaws, and began washing its head between the ears with vigor.
Nathan laughed. "It's a good thing I have long legs and a deep sofa," he told her, "or I wouldn't have room for both of you in my lap."
Mate,Reyna made a happy, contented sound.Kit.
He chuckled. Apparently shifters... or at least, fox shifters... ran on one-track minds. Who knew? He wasn't ready to think about the whole Chosen/mate thing right now. If he was honest, he could admit he was intrigued. He'd felt an immediate attraction to Harper, but at the same time, they had, literally, only just met. For now, he simply was not going to think about it, and just enjoy the experience of having a fox and a baby bunny with antlers cuddled in his lap.
He glanced down, to find that while he'd been cogitating, Jill had apparently fallen asleep, Reyna's chin snuggled into the soft bunny fur. Reyna, too, appeared to be dozing, her eyes mere slits. She woke up enough to give an approving thump of her tail as Nathan stroked her head, then she sighed and closed her eyes.
Chuckling softly, Nathan grabbed the remote from the end table... fortunately within arm's reach... and turned on the television, keeping the volume low. It looked like he wasn't going to be going anywhere any time soon.
Warmth surroundedher as Reyna drifted toward consciousness. Her head rested on something soft and furry, and memories of the kit flooded back. Her tail thumped against the sofa cushion as her eyes fluttered open to find Nathan smiling down at her.
"Did you have a nice nap?" His fingers stroked behind her ears.
Nap good!she assured him. She stretched, careful not to disturb the sleeping kit. The little one had snuggled deeper into her fur while they slept.Find mate, find kit. Safe.
"Think I could have Harper back now?" His brown eyes crinkled at the corners.
Reyna considered this. She wanted to stay with her mate and the kit, but Harper's thoughts and feelings pressed at the edges of her consciousness. With a mental sigh, she hopped down from Nathan's lap and padded down the hallway.
A few minutes later, Harper emerged, running her fingers through her hair to smooth it. A blush colored her cheeks as she avoided meeting Nathan's gaze.
Harper wished the floor would open up and swallow her whole. Her face burned as Nathan's amused voice broke the awkward silence.
"So... mates?"
She stared intently at a fascinating spot on his carpet, unable to meet his gaze. Her hands twisted in the hem of her shirt. "I'm so sorry about that." The words came out as a mortified whisper.
Reyna's smug satisfaction radiated through their mental connection. The fox had absolutely zero regrets about announcing Nathan as her mate to the entire world - or at least to Nathan himself, which felt just as catastrophic in this moment.
