Strays: A Romantic Fantasy Adventure

“What if you fall in love with him and you leave me?” Ren whined, hanging from the fox demon with his arms over her shoulders, face pushed into her hair at the back of her neck, body jutting out as he walked awkwardly behind her. “I’m weak. I’m poor. I have no power. All the things you hate.”

Sakura sighed miserably. She had thought that she was giving the man a dose of his own medicine, but she had quickly come to regret it. She had failed to take his needy and jealous disposition into account, and she was paying for it now, tenfold. The humiliation she felt as they made their way through the den in this manner, the towering angel practically dragging behind her as he complained and moaned loudly about his heart broken feelings. All the stares and back handed comments they were receiving.

She had vowed that no one would even notice they were here, but the man was making sure that each and every member of the den was uncomfortably aware of their existence.

She definitely made a mistake coming here.

“Maybe I should have betrayed The Guard,” Ren continued miserably, laying his woe on thick. “Sure, they would have flayed and burned us alive, but at least we would have died together. Is that what would have made you happy? I can make it up to you, it’s never too late. There’s a pond over there and I can just...”

“Okay! Off! Get the fuck off of me!” The demon smacked at the angel’s head until he retreated away from her constant barrage of blows. She turned to him, looking up at his desolate expression. “Listen. I need you to get it together. Can you do that for me?”

“I don’t know. Maybe. What do I get from this?”

Sakura chewed on her cheek in irritation. There was always the option of just leaving Ren behind, but that would leave her alone with Yuki, and she had at least enough self-awareness to realize how bad of an idea that was. She needed Ren, and he knew it, so she was going to have to play his game this time around if she was going to get anything done. “I’ll do something nice for you if you stop all this.”

“Something nice?” He perked up, his brow raising expectantly.

“Not that!” she snapped. “But I’ll tell you how pretty you are or some bullshit. Okay? Let’s just get this over with for Ivy.”

A few moments passed as he considered the offer. “Alright. I’ll take it. But you better tell me how I’m the prettiest. Even prettier than Ivy, even though it’s not true. I want you to make me believe it.” The angel spun on his heels and sauntered off in higher spirits.

The fox sighed again before jogging to catch up him. “We’re going to the north end. I’m sure the tunneler isn’t that far of a walk from there at this point.”

“Why are we leaving so early?”

“I don’t know.” She shrugged, not giving much thought to the behavior of others. “It’s not everyday that a tunneler plows its way into your village. Maybe he’s just excited?”

Ren glanced at the woman bopping along beside him. “I bet he is. Who wouldn’t be?” He knew that he sure was. It had been years since the two had gone off together in order for the demon to do what she did best, and he couldn’t wait.

Sakura looked up at him with a grin, knowing exactly what he was thinking. “You ever seen a tunneler?”

“Yeah. That was the pest that got Zero the third time he died.”

Her grin quickly slipped away as her eyes widened in horror. “Oh, fuck.”

“Yep,” the man agreed simply with a nod.

The silence fell heavy between them as she chewed her cheek, hesitating on what to say. “How’d you handle that?”

“Not as well as I could have,” he admitted with a small, bleak smile.

Sakura felt that old, familiar sinking feeling, and she wanted to reach out, the way she had done countless times when they were younger. To bring him close, and to give to him what only she could.

But as Ren faced forward, the gloom turned to delight. “Oh wow,” he breathed, catching his first glimpse of the silver fox. “Is that him? He’s so handsome. No wonder all those women are so worried about you stealing him away. He has power and looks. What a combination.”

It was impossible for her not to laugh, letting it go the way he had. “Maybe if you play your cards right, he’ll choose you as his mate.”

The angel gasped, his eyes brightening with hope. “Do you really think I have a chance?”

“As good as any.”

“Oh! What an honor that would be. To be the mate of an alpha.”

Yuki stood there, watching the woman that he had been expecting and the man that he hadn’t.

Sakura blew past him with Ren in tow, throwing her hand up and pointing forward. “Let’s go. I’ve got a deal to keep.”

The alpha fox quickly fell into step with the pair. “I thought the man was supposed to be with his mate.”

“He is,” the vixen informed dryly. “This is a different man.”

The angel smiled down at the other fox demon. “Hi, I’m Ren. I just follow her around. No big deal.”

Yuki was at a loss for words. None of this is what he had expected, and he didn’t even have time to compose his thoughts or expectations. Not with the woman in front of him practically gliding through the trees, her attention solely focused on what was before her, while the two men had to keep up.

Suddenly, the woman stopped, her nose in the air. “Your map sucks. The tunneler is closer than it should be.” She twisted her head, her ears twitching. “Just wait here.” And she was gone into the branches of the trees and beyond.

The other fox stepped forward, intending to follow but was held back by a hand grabbing the back of his shirt.

“I wouldn’t do that,” Ren warned thoughtfully. “She’s not fun for most people when she’s mad. Just let her do what she needs. She’ll be back soon.”

The alpha had so many questions, he could hardly keep track of the whirling in his mind. Everything was happening so fast that it was difficult to pinpoint a single thought. “Who are you?” Was the first thing that fell out.

“I’m... Ren.”

“Why are you here?”

“Because… I follow her around.” Ren had thought he had already established these things.

Yuki closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. He needed to think clearly, and the man next to him was making it very difficult. “How long have you followed her?” How quickly could he get rid of him?

The angel observed the fox’s carefully concealed agitation and smiled. “Since we were little kids. I found her after she left the den, and my uncle raised us.”

“In the Northern Mountains?”

“Those are the ones.”

This may not be as easy as Yuki had hoped. “I’m going to go find her,” the fox told him, just to have the angel grab his shirt again.

“Trust me. I’m doing this for both of our benefits.”

He pulled away from the taller man, repulsed at his willingness to allow a woman to go out after a pest on their own. “How can you let her go alone? Do you have any idea how dangerous tunnelers are?”

The angel shrugged, not all that concerned. “Well, I normally go with her, but she gets shy around new people and wanted me to stay back to keep you company. And yes, I do. I also know that she’s killed two of them.”

“With your help,” the fox assumed.

“No, on her own. The first one was when she was thirteen, and she snuck out to kill it. We warned her not to, but that woman never listens to anyone. She’s stubborn as hell and once she puts her mind to something, there’s no stopping her. It’s admirable, but at the same time it’s been a real hassle for me lately. Anyways, my uncle was pissed. She ended up running until…”

Sakura dropped down in front of the angel, slapping her hand over his mouth. “You talk too much.”

Ren gently pulled it away, entwining his fingers through hers. “I like to think I talk just enough.”

“Of course you do.” She pulled her hand free with a roll of her eyes. “Let’s go.” Without wasting a single moment, she was back in the trees, forcing Ren and Yuki to follow.

The silver haired fox watched the woman leading them, her feet only grazing the branches before going on to the next. Her long, cherry tresses billowed behind her, unleashed and untamable, as her gaze stayed steady and true.

It was like witnessing a storm roll in.

Natural.

Doing only as it pleased.

She began to slow before coming to a stop on a wide branch high above the ground. Below, a trail of upturned earth and plants came to an abrupt end at a large mound of freshly turned dirt.

Yuki stared at the sight below them.

It was much closer than it had been the night before. Uncomfortably close to the den.

She had been right.

Sakura looked through the branches, the sun barely having moved from its spot high in the sky. A groan rumbled from her throat. It was going to be a long, slow day. “We’ll wait here until night,” she stated.

“Sounds good.” Ren dropped down, pushing his back against the trunk and stretching out. He yawned before opening his arms wide, beckoning the woman into their embrace. “Wanna nap with me?”

“Nap by yourself. I have shit to do,” she grumbled as she sat at his feet, her legs dangling over the branch, swinging back and forth. A nap did sound nice, and Ren always did make a comfortable resting place. But she was a woman on a mission and had no time for life’s simple pleasures. She watched the pile of dirt intently as she held her hand out to the angel.

“You’re missing out.” He handed her the bag and shut his eyes.

Sakura dug through the leather bag, pulling out an apple and crunching into it.

“That was mine.” His eyes still closed.

“You can have the core.” She took another bite.

Ren grinned slightly, but didn’t say another word.

The silver fox stood there, looking between the ground and the woman.

“Why are we up here?” he asked. The pest was right there, and sitting around was just wasting time. They needed to be on the ground, where it was.

“We’re waiting.” Another bite.

“In the trees?”

Sakura glared up at the alpha, peeved at being questioned over something she’d successfully done before that he had failed to figure out for himself. “Yes, in the trees. Let me guess. You and your buddies went clomping around in the dirt, and then act surprised when it doesn’t want to come out and play.”

She was correct.

But he’d never admit it.

“Then what’s your plan?”

“You’re looking at it.” She turned back to her target, taking another bite of the apple. “Tunneler’s ears are sensitive, and they can feel the vibrations in the ground and the air once they surface. They’re also skittish, so they’ll stay hidden until the vibrations go away. Trees absorb those vibrations so they don’t go into the ground, so the tunnelers feel safe. Their heads are incredibly hard, but there’s a small soft spot in-between their ears. It’s easier to get at if you’re higher up. Once night comes and everything settles down, it’ll come out to look for food. Until then, we wait.” She finished the apple, sticking the remains back into the bag before pulling out a chunk of salted meat and ripping into it.

Yuki stared at Sakura as she feasted and observed the ground closely. He closed his eyes, exhaling lightly, before sitting next to her.

What a difficult woman.

But difficult didn’t mean impossible.