James approached the Kitsune as calmly as he could so as to not startle her more than she already was. Her eyes were filled with fear as he stopped a few feet away and crossed his arms.

"I don't know what to do about you," he said gently.

"A-are you g-going to kill me?"

Shaking his head, he pulled up his Familial Bonds information. Tian and Grace had both been added to it, and yet Zenaria hadn't.

Familial Bonds

Luna Rys: Soulmate

Amber L'hito: Confidant, Protector, Flirt, Tease

Jamie Riclan: Sister, Enchanter Heart, Rival

Brandon Riclan (Mender): Brother, Soul Healer

Linda Silvertree: Sister, Crafting Heart

Tian Brusk: Trainee, Man of Hidden Intent

Grace Lo'vo: Toxicologist, Kindred Soul

Everest: Dragon Daughter, Kind Soul

Shadow Paw the Stalker: Companion, Leader of Arms

Strong Beak: Companion, Flock Leader, Confidant

Double checking the list, he confirmed she was indeed missing. "Why aren't you part of the family?"

Freezing in place, she appeared confused before her brows furrowed. "What do you mean?"

Going with the truth, he told her about his Familial Bonds skill and how she wasn't on it. "That's what's confusing me."

Lips parting, she blew out a slow breath. "Are you sure?"

Holding her gaze, he nodded. "I'm sure. You're also the only one that didn't jump at helping me, which finally made me realize how the others behaved."

How long have the others been acting eager? Is it something I'm affecting?

Head dropping, she refused to look at him. "I have my reasons…"

Stepping closer, he touched her shoulder and felt her shiver. "I don't need to hear your reasons. I need to know that you are safe and aren't going to hurt the family. I can feel you, Zenaria. You're scared and confused. Why don't you focus on getting stronger and see if you can't figure out if you want to join me. I'll do everything I can to see you flourish and strike down anyone that wants to harm you."

A shudder passed through her body before she wrapped her arms around herself. A moment later, a single tear dripped from the tip of her nose and he pulled her against his chest.

"Shh…Everything is alright, Zenaria." Brushing his fingers over her ears, he continued to whisper to her, "your past is your own, but you are family now. You asked what I would do if you were my sister, well the answer is, anything. Just tell me how I can help, and I'll do everything in my power to achieve it."

Pressing her face into his chest, she whispered, "you promise?"

"I do," he whispered back. "Take your time today. Do what will make you happy while you think things over. I'll keep checking on you, and if you need me, let me know. I'll drop everything to hurry to your side."

Nodding, she slumped against him, her soul relaxing for the first time. "You'll protect me no matter what?"

"Yes. If you have someone stronger than you that needs to die, let me know. No one touches my family. Especially since I just found another sister."

Pulling away, she met his gaze with watery eyes. "Why do your eyes glow?"

Frowning, he touched the corner of his eye. "What do you mean?"

"They're gold," she said softly. "Filled with power."

Blinking a few times, he didn't know what to think. Instead, he rubbed her ears. "We'll figure that out later. Why don't you go out and grow stronger. If you need me, I'll come running."

Pressing into his hand, she sighed and let his soul touch hers. For the first time, she felt comfortable with him.

"I'm holding you to that, brother."

Scratching her ears one last time, he stepped back. "I have research to do, but first I have one question."

Cocking her head to the side, her tail started to sway. "Yes?"

"What do you know about Tian and why he wanted to join us?"

Her tail instantly stopped as her eyes grew hard. "Not much, but I know how to find out more."

"I'll need you to after we finish down here. Something isn't sitting right," he admitted. "I don't like to be unprepared."

With one last nod, she left. Her soul was more powerful than others her level. If she continued at the rate she was going, she was going to be the most powerful of his family, apart from him. The question was why.

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Luna stepped up to his side as the kitsune retreated into the shadows. "Figure anything out?"

James nodded. "Enough. She's strong. Very strong. Yet scared of her own success. I'll need to prove that I'm there for her, which means less time with you and the research."

"I understand."

Glancing at his wife, he smiled. "Don't worry, even if she does have a fluffy tail, I'll try not to pamper it too much."

Scoffing, she punched his arm. "You don't get to do that for the others anymore!"

"Meh." Waving her off, he debated cutting his joking short, but ultimately decided to keep teasing the Fenrir. "Maybe I'll let her take your bath time."

A deep growl escaped Luna as she bared her teeth at him. "We can also find out if a certain part of you regrows or not!"

Covering his crotch, he stepped back. "Let's not be so hasty!"

Grabbing his ear, she started pulling him toward the building. Scrunching his face in pain, he pushed out with his soul and found Zenaria laughing at him. She hadn't gone as far as he thought.

***

Amber had Soul Shifted the moment they were dismissed. She didn't know if James noticed her still around with all of his attention on Zenaria, but it didn't matter. She heard his concerns around Tian and that's all it took for her to act.

Spreading out her soul, she found the man in question a few streets over, fighting a few different souls. With the world warped around her, she made her way through the Soul Realm and to her target.

Tian was swinging his greatsword precisely as a swordsman should. Every strike was meant to keep the foe at bay, if not cutting them down for getting too close. Limbs were sliced through, and blood painted the street as the man Siphoned souls into his.

What are your secrets, Tian.

Frowning, Amber drew closer, knowing the man had no chance of detecting her. Only James would know she was around once she entered the Soul Realm. He was also the only one that could pull her out of it. Damn menace…

Once the fight ended, Amber watched Tian move to a bench and sit down. Wiping the blood from his face, he leaned back and looked toward the cavern ceiling. Parting his lips, he sighed.

Touching upon his soul, she found him feeling conflicted. She didn't know what it was over, but it wasn't anything good. If James was concerned about the man, then something obviously wasn't right.

Amber simply wanted to kill the man, but without James approving, her hands were tied. Not only would it cause him Soul Pain, but they would lose a member of their party that could be contributing to finding the research. That was top priority right now for everyone, apart from her.

She would beg forgiveness from James after the day was over. For now, she would follow Tian and discover just what exactly he was doing. The man felt slippery and sneaky. Cats didn't like snakes, and this was starting to feel just like that.

***

James was let go after nearly a minute of being dragged around. Luna giggled the entire time, knowing that she had won and he wouldn't keep teasing her. That didn't stop him from grabbing her tail though.

"You're playing with fire," she warned.

"Oh?" Running his fingers from the tip of her tail to the base, he blew a soft breath on her neck. When she moaned, he let her go and started walking away. "We have work to do!"

Growling, she chased after him. "I'm going to kill you!"

Laughing, he knew she would get him back later, but for now, they really did have more work to do. With their badges, they moved through the largest dome and continued to find small labs. There were so many of them that they started discussing if they were for individual researchers or teams.

Their theory was for individuals that mostly dealt with paperwork. From what he knew, the old humans should have been able to use electronics for most of their work. So, why were they using so much paper?

He didn't have the answer and highly doubted if he would discover it while randomly searching through notes. In fact, the few pieces he glanced over were more numbers and concepts he didn't understand. Many of them had graphs centered around gestation periods.

Was that about the Forsaken, or something else? He didn't have enough of the puzzle yet to figure anything out. It also appeared as though some of the reports came from different labs.

It wasn't longer than an hour before they left the large dome and ventured into one of the medium ones. This time, they found larger labs, and only a few of them. Annoyingly, they also found many more Forsaken that had to be put down. To their dismay, they also learned they needed a different badge to get into the labs.

His headache was growing with each passing minute as they started hunting down Forsaken, praying that one of them had the badge they needed. But with the holes in the walls, there was no guarantee that the badge holder was even still in the building. Out of the thousands of souls, the person they needed could very well be on the other side of the station.

After another hour of searching, they both stopped. "Do we call everyone back together again?" Luna asked.

"No," James reluctantly said. "When we stop for the night, we'll all talk about the problem. For now, we have three other medium domes to search."

"Can't we just go back to the inn?" Scooting closer to him, she brushed her tail against his stomach. "I need a bath."

Chuckling, he ran his fingers through her fur. "Are you trying to entice me into something?"

"Yes," she said without shame.

"I think I already promised Grace that I would wash her tail," he teased. "Then there is Zenaria, and then if the water is still nice, I can do you."

Another growl filled the air as she poked his chest. "I think you are taking this teasing a little far today."

Holding up his hands, he laughed. "Maybe you're right. But your reactions remind me of how much you love me. I can't help myself."

Resting her head on his shoulder, she sighed. "You're an idiot…"

Rubbing her back, he let the quiet moment take hold for a few minutes. Once they were both relaxed, he sighed and turned them toward the next dome. "We better keep working. And I need to check in on everyone."

Luna took the lead while he spread out his soul before following. The first person he wanted to check in on was Zenaria. After their conversation, he quickly found her pulling him against her in comfort. The opposite of her first reaction.

Making sure she didn't need him, he moved on, only feeling a slight sense of loss from her. Next, he checked on Mender and found him surrounded by soul energy. He was likely using his Consecration as a dozen monsters were trying to reach him. The moment the man noticed James, humor filled his soul before pushing James away.

Jamie and Linda were deep in their fighting, both filled with bloodlust and the sense of growing stronger. They too pushed him away forcefully for bothering them.

Tian was fine and seemed to be the only one actively finding research as his soul was filled with curiosity. Then James noticed Amber near him, only for her soul to be so distant that he knew she had Soul Shifted.

Wanting to chastise her, James knew she likely had a reason for following Tian. What that reason was would need to be discussed, but for now, James wouldn't stop her.

That covered everyone but Grace. When he found the skunk, he was nearly blinded by energy. A misty soul energy was surrounding her as over a dozen Forsaken were staggering around, trying to escape the mist. One by one, they died and Grace was filled with energy, tipping over into level two.

Checking Zenaria, James realized that the kitsune hadn't even reached level two yet. Just, what the hell had happened with Grace that she suddenly soared past everyone?

Frowning, he blinked a few times before pulling away. He really needed to take the time to talk with each person, one on one. If they ever needed to fight together, he would need to know what they could do.

Recovering from his search, he found Luna waiting for him with her arms crossed. Her brow was raised as she tapped her foot.

"Yes?" he questioned.

"If you are done checking on your other ladies, then we can get started."

Not wanting to take the bait, he simply agreed with her and took the lead. He needed to find a new way to tease her, and he might just have to recruit Grace or Zenaria to help him.

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