“She’s a fox.”

“Yes she is.”

“She’s not a human.”

“Correct.”

“She’s a fox.”

“Dude snap out of it, seriously you are creeping me out!” Sehun says utterly annoyed by Kai still freaking out.

“Do we tell the guys? How do we explain how she is right now? The Hyungs are going to kill us.” They had been contemplating this the whole trek back to the house.

“Let’s just say she ate at the fairies’ and went straight upstairs to do her homework, that way you can take her up there and we won’t have to say anything.” Sehun plans surprising Kai. Sehun already doesn’t want to tell his Hyung’s.

“Seriously, they are already pissed, we transformed and caused them to freak out and look for us just to have us tell them we sensed something but it disappeared. You know they will probably be able to tell we are lying, why not just tell them?” Kai wasn’t even thinking about hiding this from his Hyungs but Sehun seemed keen on not letting them know.

“Look Kai, we know what it’s like to hide our true selves and I know she has been doing the same. Would you want the first people you trust with your secret to go blabbing about it to all their friends? I figure the only person we need to tell is Luhan only because he WILL know we are lying, and we should have the Elf  Hyungs’ come look at her as well.” Sehun grunts as he readjusts Natsume on his back. She isn’t heavy she just is really hot and kind of sweaty. Sehun knew he had to have the elves look at her, his usual instinct is Lay but given the circumstance he wants to keep who he tells to a minimum.

“I don’t think that will be necessary man.” Kai states nudging Sehun to look ahead.

In front of the bar stood all of the Elves and surprisingly Luhan as well, as if they had already suspected how this would go down. Luhan did look confused so I know they haven’t told him anything yet.

“We will take it from here boys, thanks for bringing her home safe.” Donghae says trying to take Nana from Sehun who couldn’t find it in himself to just hand her over.

“Let them take her Sehun.” Luhan says snapping the boy out of his defiance.

“You can tell Luhan what happened only, but I see you already had that intention.” Siwon says giving the boy’s head a soft pat. “The Fairy Queen is inside, please greet her properly, you’re brothers are entertaining her as she waits.”

“What the hell is going on you two?” Luhan interrogated them both regarding what had happened when all they were supposed to do was pick her up and bring her back with them. As they explained what they knew and how they had been attacked by a Collector and all that followed Luhan’s eyes seemed to grow larger and larger.

“You’re telling me you two Maknaes came across a Collector by yourselves and managed to escape? What did you show him?!” Luhan’s gaze on them became intense as he knew the consequences of being caught by such a disgusting monster.

“Honestly we didn’t even get a chance to show him anything other than that we were wolves, all of a sudden it went completely dark as if we were no longer in the forest but a black void of nothingness, until a blue flame guided us out. Once everything went back to normal all we saw was the Collector screaming at nothing like he was in a trance.” Kai explained.

“No not a trance, Natsume said he was in an illusion and it wouldn’t last long. Look Hyung, that girl saved our butts, she stopped us from having to fight and use our powers just to keep him from being more interested in us. The thing is he was saying he was looking for a bigger prize than we would be. Just because she is a fox? He had to be looking for something else. Maybe whatever caused that darkness?” Sehun recalls as he keeps seeing the frightened look on Natsume’s face as she ran with them.

“Interesting, you said a blue flame?’ Luhan asks with a pondering expression. “I think I might know why he thought she was such a prize. Follow me you two and remember that this is between us, don’t tell anyone else, Elves orders.”

“I wasn’t planning on it.” Sehun says eyeing Kai.

“Me too, me too ok? Geez.” Kai whines sighing at Sehun’s grump face.

Following Luhan, they find themselves in the library of the Elves, it’s more like a small nook in the corner but hey a place with books is a library right?

“I know that there is a book in here on Foxes and the story’s about them. Here we are.” Luhan says finding the book he is looking for “I remember reading this book. Foxes are one of the rarest SN’s, facing the same issue our kind have. Most of the fox clans are gone today because of frightening legends that have caused humans to hunt them down without question, too worried about their own lives than the actual facts. The only place that still worships foxes is Japan, many of the old shrines still exists despite the decline of the old practices. Our generation has been ruined by TV and movies though I think this has saved us more than anything. Anyways I remembered this book after recalling the blue flame you spoke of, foxes use a blue flame to trick people into following it thinking it’s a will of the wisp that leads you to your fate. The fact that she can produce such an illusion means she must at least have more than one tail, which also means she must be over a hundred years old.” Luhan informs them.

“Wow wait, she’s an old lady?!” Kai gasps.

“Her young look could also be an illusion, we won’t know till we ask her but if she really is that old there is a possibility that the Collector wants her because she could potentially be a nine tails fox. Legend states that a fox with nine tails is almost a god, more wise and powerful than any other type of fox. This is why they were hunted, a nine tails fox can bring good luck and protection to a household, causing them to be captured and confined to a location. I think the history of SN’s class goes over part of this at school.” Luhan finishes hoping this enlightened the maknaes a bit.

“So the thing she has been running from for so long is the Collectors. She said she can’t even be who she really wants to be because if they find her, she and everyone around her would be put in danger.” Sehun says remembering the things she had said the night she had first seen him in his true from.

“She may not even be using an illusion, if she is really that old she is only a little younger than the youngest of the Suju Hyungs, and they age slowly as well.” Luhan guesses.

“I’m super tired and all this info and speculation is making my head spin. Let’s go to bed.” Kai slurs rubbing his eyes and yawning causing the same for the other two.

As they head to their rooms Sehun can’t help but stop and stare outside Natsume’s room. The sound of low whispers the only hint that the Hyungs are still with her. As he contemplates walking away the door slowly creeps open.

“Ah it’s you, come in.” Leetuek advises with no room for Sehun to object.

Once inside the room he sees Henry curled up in bed with Natsume, her eyes barely open. The only others in the room was Siwon, Leetuek, Donghae and Eunhyuk.

“What exactly happened to make her pass out?” Sehun inquires.

“Did she use an illusion?” Do you recall seeing a blue flame around you?” Henry asks quietly trying not to wake her. Sehun immediately explained what they had experienced.

“I see, than this lack of strength is due to putting three people into an illusion while also using her flame to conceal your escape. Creating such an illusion to the extent that you can’t even feel the breeze or smell the area is extremely dangerous. She must have really wanted to protect you boys.” Eunhyuk states looking lovingly at the girl.

“She really is just fine Sehun. As I’m sure you have guessed she is in hiding. It takes a lot of concentration for her to maintain her human façade. That coupled with creating another illusion for the collector has just worn her out. She won’t go to school tomorrow and I think you and Kai should stay as well. Oh shoot we need to inform her Majesty that Nana’s alright, stay with her will you? Donghae says as they all leave Sehun in the room with a sleeping girl.

He sits in the chair near the bed, stiff as a board. He doesn’t usually find himself alone with a girl, let alone in her own bedroom. Nana stirs just a little causing him to lean in to check on her. As he does her eyes flutter open, revealing glowing green eyes that he just can’t seem to look away from.

“Sehun?! Where is Kai, are you both ok? Did he get us?” She starts rambling on trying to get out of the bed.

“Shh we are all ok, no Collector. You are back home in your room, the Hyungs are just escorting the Queen home after she came here looking for you.” Sehun soothes her, finding he had moved to sit on the bed with her, gently rubbing her back in a calming circular motion.

“Thanks for getting us outta there before we did something really stupid.” Sehun sighs as he says this, trying to release the tension from the day.

“You were there to get me, if anything had happened to the two of you it would have been my fault, I don’t want to be protected all the time, I’m not a damsel in distress. I can protect you just as well as anyone else and I wouldn’t be afraid to put my life on the line for any of you. I would rather we all worked to protect each other and the people of this forest.” She sighs looking at her hands. Sehun could see doubt and uncertainty reflected in her eyes, like she had failed before to protect someone. He couldn’t take the feeling he had in his chest, the same feeling he gets when one of his Hyungs are hurting or sad so he did what he would normally do.

“Well its super late so I’ll see you, hey huh?!” Natsume was interrupted by Sehun scooting under the bed sheets and getting in a comfy position. He patted the area closest to his chest, inviting her to cuddle in.

“Come on, I can’t shake this feeling of needing to be here so get comfy and let’s go to bed.” He says without any doubt or uncertainty and she can’t help but relish in that feeling as she, albeit hesitantly, snuggles into his chest.

“Good night Nana.”

“Good night Sehun.”

It didn’t take long for Sehun’s warmth to lull Natsume into a peaceful slumber, one she doesn’t get too often. Just as Sehun feels himself also falling asleep the door to her room slightly opens and he strangely hears a low growl escape his throat.

“Hey calm down we just wanted to check on her one more time before bed.” Siwon says as he and Donghae stay at the doorway.

“I see she is in good hands. She doesn’t usually sleep that well, especially without the incubus’s help. She must already trust you a lot, don’t ruin it ok?” Donghae states with a glow of his eyes at Sehun.

The sun shining in from the window hit me straight in the eyes causing me to squint and turn to the opposite direction hoping to get a few more minutes only to find it almost impossible to move.

“I know we both went under the blankets so why does it feel like I’m trapped under this blanket?” I wondered remembering that Sehun fell asleep in my room last night.

As I finally adjusted to the light in the room I looked in the direction of my clock only to have it blocked by someone’s head. Pushing up I notice that it’s already almost noon and the Hyungs must have thought school was a bad idea today. Before I am able to get up I feel a pair of arms pull me into a warm chest. Ok this is Sehun so who the hell is in front of me.

“Morning Beautiful.” I hear as I look forward to see that stupid grin, only it looks less annoying and more genuine than it ever has.

“Who let you in?” I hear the very husky voice of Sehun, who obviously just woke up, in my ear.

“I let myself in, all the other guys got to go to school and I didn’t want to be alone so I looked for you, only to find your bed empty. I followed your scent and here you were cuddling with our little fox. I was super tired so I cuddled in too. I ‘m sorry if that wasn’t ok, I just wanted to be with you both.” Kai says almost like a puppy and I can’t help but think I’m talking to the real Kai not cocky Kai from school.

“I’m not angry with you at all Kai, next time just get under the covers, I don’t like feeling trapped.” I say as I attempt to sit up only to be hindered by Sehun’s arms that still haven’t let go of me. He seems to notice this and pulls his arms back to his sides, a slight blush on his cheeks.

“Do you guys want lunch? Seeing as it’s way too late for breakfast I can make us something.” I say as I head across the room to the bathroom. I’m honestly surprised by the behavior of all three of us, we are getting along like friends that have known each other for a long time. I wasn’t uncomfortable with Sehun’s touch or Kai’s closeness, that and I have never slept that long without the Incubus, I usually only get an hour or two at most. As I finish up in the bathroom I exit to get a change of clothes.

“Wow I didn’t think all that was under those boy clothes Nana.” Kai smirks at me from my bed. Sehun not in the room anymore.

“Come on leave her alone to change…..Kai lets go now!” Sehun says stopping mid-sentence as he peeked in from the doorway to see me in nothing but a sport bar and boy shorts. I was so lost in my thoughts I wasn’t paying attention to what I had on, not that it’s any worse than the long shirt I took off that I wore while we slept.

“Why does this all seem so weird yet not at the same time?” Sehun pondered aloud.

“You mean like we just slept with a girl, the both of us, but we honestly just slept? I was more shocked to find her in your arms when I came in. But no matter how I looked at you two it felt so innocent. I know we are pretending she’s a pack member but she is starting to feel like a real one to me.” Kai states finding that if he had found Sehun like that with anyone else he would have never seen it as innocent, let alone join the two without even thinking and still feeling like that was the most normal thing in the world.

“I know what you mean, that was the same reason I didn’t leave her last night, you know how we feel inside when any of the Hyungs are hurt or sad, I felt that from her and found myself wanting to comfort her in any way I could. I feel so confused but at the same time I don’t care because it felt right.” Sehun confesses.

“Hey maybe she will became a real member of the pack once everyone knows what she real is and there is less animosity between her and the Alphas. I mean I’ve seen the guys act and pretend to be nice, never letting anyone know they weren’t being sincere but they didn’t hold back their dislike for Natsume or at the very least their dislike of having to take care of her.” Kai contemplates hoping that things will get better between the pack and Nana so that they all can see that she isn’t bad at all.

“ I know she wants to tell them the truth, I think she is afraid of being rejected or pissing off the Hyungs more because her telling them is her admitting she lied to them which Kris Hyung already warned her about and yelled at her for it, although so did you and now look where we are at.” Sehun smirked at Kai.

Just as Kai was about to smack that smirk off Sehun’s face Nana came downstairs.

“I never want to see that smirk on your face again, it’s bad enough I have to see it on Kai’s.” Nana frowns as she comes into the kitchen area.

“Jongin.”

“Huh?”

“You don’t have to call me Kai like everyone else, you can call me Jongin, my real name.” Kai says very seriously to Natsume.

“Ok I will, if that’s what you want me to call you.” Nana responds has both Sehun and Kai stare at her with smiles, feeling that the closeness they are creating with her is a good thing, they just have a few more obstacles to overcome.

“Hey Nana, I know this is abrupt but I was wondering, do you plan on telling the rest of the pack your secret? We didn’t tell anyone, well except Luhan but we kind of had to.” Sehun asks her as he and Kai settle into the table in the kitchen watching Nana move about the kitchen making whatever she could with the available ingredients.

“I have been thinking about this for a while, Kris thinks I’m a liar and in all honesty I am, but there is a reason why I have to hide myself. I’m sorry if that pisses him off but I’m sure you guys have things in which you have hidden from me as well but I don’t go around calling you out for it. I plan to not tell them, like you two I hope to get closer to the rest of the pack and open up to them when I feel I can.” Nana tells them hoping they will be able to accept this answer.

“Ok.” Sehun and Kai say in unison.

“That easy huh?” Nana frowns, a shocked look on her face.

“Listen, we understand that it’s hard to just tell someone the truth, especially after you already covered your tracks in hopes to keep it that way. We will do our best not to tell anyone besides Luhan but if I were you I would inform Lay about it as well. Knowing what you are could help him if anything serious ever happens, he should know that if you are hurt you have more tolerance than a human would and he doesn’t need to get to you immediately.” Sehun says with Kai nodding along as he spoke.

“Ok I will, thank you for understanding, the both of you are being so mature about all this and I truly appreciate it.” Nana says with a big smile that the boys can’t help return with their own.

As they sat there making ideal chit chat as Nana cooked they noticed certain aspects about her that they hadn’t before. As boyish as she was she was still very feminine and they weren’t sure if it was the fact that she was acting more girly than normal or if the recent events had cause them to see her in a different light. Whatever it was they were glad and they couldn’t wait for their Hyungs to see it as well.

“Alright Lunch is served.” Nana says snapping the boys out of their thoughts. “I think I will make dinner for everyone today, what do the guys like?”

“Oh pretty much anything, surprisingly we aren’t that picky, what did you have in mind?” Kai asked.

“I was thinking of some chicken gyoza would be good, with rice and maybe some vegetable springrolls. I will make the filling and the wraps and you boys can fill them and close them, how about it?”

“Sounds great, let’s eat and watch a movie and then we can get started.” Sehun says taking his and Nana’s plates to the couch.

As the rest of the Pack returned home they found Kai and Sehun curled up on the couch asleep.

“How do they do that with so much noise downstairs at the bar?” Xiumin says hating and admiring the boys at the same time.

“They helped me a lot and I’m sure they are just extra tired.” Nana explains coming up from downstairs with food in her arms. “I made you all dinner as a sorry for being such trouble lately, please come eat once you are ready.”

“Did she just smile at us?” Kris asks, he would have thought her to be spiteful after the way he had talked to her the other day.

“I told you she wasn’t as petty as you thought Hyung.” Kyungsoo says as he and the rest continue to their rooms to change out of their uniforms.

“I think Kyungsoo is right too Kris, I know with the exception of the maknaes we really haven’t tried to get to know her very well and we do tend to give off a don’t mess with us attitude. She is supposed to feel safe around us and all we are doing is making her feel like a problem yet she is still being nothing but nice to us. I think we need to make an effort too.” Suho discusses with Kris. He understands why Kris is so hesitant but enough is enough. In his eyes she has proven that she is pretty damn trustworthy, and Suho hates seeing the reflection in her eyes when she thinks no one is looking, it reflexed rejection and Suho doesn’t want to be the cause of such a heartbreaking look.

“I know I know, I didn’t even mean to lash out at her, it was more like I was annoyed with her “I’m ok” attitude than anything else. Even after my horrible attitude she smiles at me with the promise of food, I bet this sounds strange but I can’t help but be happy that she didn’t give me the cold shoulder. I will try to have another chat with her tonight, make up for my rudeness and hopefully we can get past this awkward behavior and be friends.” Kris says honestly. I part of him had hoped she would ignore him and give him the cold shoulder, more of a reason for him to ignore her right back but here she is being nothing but nice.

When he went looking for Sehun in the morning the Suju Hyungs told him that the two maknaes and she would be staying home and that Sehun was in her room with her and he didn’t find it weird or suspicious and just left without even thinking to make sure they weren’t being inappropriate. The feeling just wasn’t there, no matter how hard he tried to find her annoying or a problem she seemed to fit everywhere, and that’s what really annoyed him, as the Alpha he can tell when things are out of place or wrong with any of his brothers, but when she is around it doesn’t feel like she shouldn’t be there, the problem is that she makes them feel complete, like a missing piece to the puzzle. They are an unusually big pack as it is so to have a female human come along and fit right in struck him as wrong.

“Ok just don’t make her feel cornered when you do ok? I don’t think it dawns on you how strong your aura is to everyone, especially humans who just feel suffocated by it. Even if she isn’t a full human she could have a strange reaction so watch how domineering you get when you do talk to her.” Suho chides him even though he is younger than Kris. He and Suho have discussed the fact that maybe she isn’t an ordinary human and could be some type of SN that is half human or more but still has the blood of an SN in her, causing her to seem like a weird mix of both human and SN.

“Hey are you guys going to wash up and change for dinner?” Natsume asks coming out from her room to see them standing just inside their room chatting away.

“Yup just discussing some school stuff, we will be down shortly.” Suho says with a big grin, one she returned before heading downstairs.

"I’m excited for you all to eat dinner tonight, Sehun and Jongin told me how much you guys can eat so I made plenty for everyone to fill their bellies.” I say as I set the food down on the table after bringing it up from the kitchen.

“Yup she made so much there might be leftovers to pack for lunch.” Kai says nodding along as everyone starts pilling food up on their plates.

As everyone eats and talks among themselves I can’t but help feel like I’m being watched. Someone keeps glancing at me but I’m not sure who but I ignore it and have small conversations with a couple of the boys. Dinner was pleasant and everyone seemed to enjoy it and got plenty full. After Kyungsoo helped me clean the dishes we had tea and watched some of the boys play video games. Once it was almost 1 in the morning the few of us that were still up went to our rooms to go to bed.

“Are you sure you don’t want at least one of us with you?” Sehun asked with Kai next to him outside my room.

“I don’t want your Hyungs questioning our behavior and thinking I’m using or playing you two. Go ahead and sleep in your own beds tonight, I will be just fine.” I say to the two of them.

“Are you sure?” Sehun says in a low voice leaning in closer to me. “Donghae Hyung said you almost don’t sleep at all without the incubus’s help. It’s the weekend and we can stay in bed, are you sure?”

“We could sneak in later if that’s ok?” Jongin says to me as he raises his eyebrows at me.

“That would look even worse you dummy.” I says as I smack his shoulder.

“Ugh fine, good night Nana.”

“Night you two and thanks for everything.” I say as they smile at me with such gentleness I almost want to squeal, just a little.

As I turn to enter my room I feel that same feeling but this time it was accompanied by the sound of said person clearing their throat. Kris is just in his doorway.

“Can I talk to you for a second?” He asks.

“Sure what’s on your mind?” I say as I open my door for him to enter, as he closes his door behind him I can see Suho smiling from inside the room, ok maybe this won’t be about last night and this morning.

He comes into my room and seems to be assessing it, I don’t know a lot of personal items.

“When you move around so much personal items are left out for the essentials.” I say to him.

“I get what you mean, it isn’t easy moving from place to place, I’m glad I found a place to call my own when I had so many people to protect.” His eyes seemed to glaze over a bit as he said this. I could tell this was him trying to open up without really telling me his secrets.

“Listen Kris, I know that everything you do is to protect your boys, I don’t want to be the reason you lose that focus. I can’t ask you to spend your time babysitting me. I know this well, All I ask is that you trust me enough to know when to ask you for help and when I decide I can handle myself, just like you would to the rest of your brothers.”   I say hoping that he understands what I mean.

“ I will try, my temper is hard to control and being an Alpha makes it ten times worse. I can see how you actually care for the guys and I can tell you are trying not to cause any trouble. However the fact remains that the Hyungs that gave us a place to call our own asked us to watch over you and we want to obey their wishes as best we can. It’s not about you being a burden or a distraction, it’s about understanding that this is something we feel must be done right to repay the men that helped us out more than you can imagine.” He says looking straight at me and being more honest than I thought he could be.

“I understand you, I guess the best response I can give is that I will try my best to tell you everything I can and not make unnecessary situations that cause a misunderstanding. I just want to mention that just as you have things you don’t want to fully explain to me, I have the same and that may make things awkward but I want to be friends with you and become closer to you all so that when the time comes, I can fully explain myself but for now to make this more even as you told me something I could tell you were uncomfortable about I will do the same.”

“You don’t have to I think I understand what you mean, I was just upset before I didn’t mean to be such a jerk.”

“No I need to say it. I am lying to you about a lot of things, but right now I don’t feel it is time to tell you the truth, I feel that the moment will present itself on its own and I hope you are ok with that.” I say hoping to mend the little cracks we created the first day of school.

“I completely understand and I appreciate you being honest with me. I feel like I was being insensitive to you when I come from a similar situation and should have been more understanding. I let the leadership role take over me sometimes and I forget that everyone has their own crap to worry about.” He says and I feel like this Kris is the Kris that is just a man, not the leader of 11 other boys that have a region to protect and thousands of SN’s that rely on his protection.

“I think we just made up, let’s get along from now on and protect everything we can, together I say as I hold out my hand.

“Yes let’s do that.” He says taking my hand.

“Goodnight Kris, see you in the morning.”

“What was that? Like a spark ignited when our hands touched, that was weird.” Kris whispers to himself as he stares at Natsume’s closed door before heading back in his room.

Author’s Notes

Oh no way!! Her identity has been revealed, well to some but most importantly to you the reader! I have to admit I absolutely love foxes! I even know my state law and I can have one as a pet lol. This is the 13^th chapter and I can’t even believe I have made it this far so thanks so much to all of you that have liked, commented and upvoted, I really appreciate you guys putting in the time to not just read it but give input as well. I am having a little trouble with where I want to go from here but I don’t think it will take too long to find out so please look forward to the next chapter and seriously, don’t hesitate to leave feedback or ideas, even criticism because it is all helpful to me in making this a better story! Thanks again!

Natsume