Fated: Hare and the Spirit (Pack of Heirs Book 6)
Fated: Hare and the Spirit
Pack of Heirs Book 6
Hawke Oakley
Contents
Hawke’s Newsletter
1. Leveret
2. Animus
3. Leveret
4. Animus
5. Leveret
6. Animus
7. Leveret
8. Animus
9. Leveret
10. Animus
11. Leveret
12. Animus
13. Leveret
14. Animus
15. Leveret
16. Animus
17. Leveret
18. Leveret
19. Animus
20. Leveret
21. Animus
22. Epilogue: Leveret
Also by Hawke Oakley
Copyright © 2022 by Hawke Oakley
All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author's imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
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One
Leveret
There were four—wait, now five—children crawling on my head.
Literally.
Peals of laughter pierced the air as my five nieces and nephews turned me into a living obstacle course. The only reason my head wasn't crushed was because they were in their animal forms. Azure and Celeste, in their wolf and fox forms respectively, slipped off the back of my skull. Their soft paw pads couldn't find purchase on the round surface. Autumn, the bear cub, sat more on my shoulders. She carefully threaded her claws through my hair, braiding it. Next to her was Annabelle, the beaver kit. Her human-like fingers gave her an advantage when it came to braiding hair. The girls were helped by Jace, who in his mouse form, also had dexterous little paws.
"Stop moving," Autumn admonished the canines. "You're ruining Uncle Lev's hair."
Azure and Celeste tumbled into the grass. They were a blur of black and red fur as they wrestled.
"Pass me that, please," I heard Annabelle say in her small voice. Then I felt Jace's tiny fingers grab a chunk of my hair and move towards Annabelle. "Thank you."
A cute bear snout appeared in my peripheral vision. "You're the best model, Uncle Lev," Autumn said cheerfully.
"You're the best hairstylists," I said.
All three of them giggled.
A moment later, a fox butt landed on my head. Celeste's bushy tail thwacked her cousins as she wagged it playfully.
"Hey, no fair!" Azure cried. "Magical wings are off-limits."
"Says who? I was born with them, so they're part of me," Celeste said proudly.
"You weren't born with them," Azure argued. "That scary spirit gave them to you after."
From the corner of my eye, I saw the black wispy edge of Celeste's wings. At first, the sight of a fox kit with shadowy wings surprised me, but I'd long since grown used to it. That was just the way my niece was. She happened to be blessed by the dark spirit, Animus.
Why? I didn't know. Not even her parents, Quinn and Farley, knew for sure.
But there must've been a reason. People—and spirits—always had reasons for their actions.
Celeste blew a raspberry at her cousin. "They're mine and I get to use them, so there."
Azure made a grumpy face. "I wish we were near water so I could use my magic spirit powers."
"Me and Jace don't even have magic spirit powers," Annabelle said.
I couldn't tell for sure, but I thought she sounded a little sad.
"It's okay, Annabelle. You’re perfect without magic spirit powers," I said, hoping to reassure her.
"Thanks, Uncle Lev."
I wasn't the best at comforting my family, but I always tried.
"Well, Jace got a magical sword for omegas. That's pretty cool," Azure pointed out while scratching his ear.
Jace was the youngest of all my nieces and nephews, so he didn't understand the whole sword thing. He just thought he got to play with a special toy when he was older.
"Yeah, and Animus made that sword, too," Celeste said, sticking out her chin.
Azure snorted. "Just 'cause he gave you wings doesn't mean you have to stick up for him all the time. The guy is evil."
"No, he's not!"
"Is too!"
"Is not!"
Before I knew it, the wolf and fox tussled. I wondered if it was a canine thing. My twin sister, Lupa, was also a wolf shifter, and she was quick-tempered and outgoing, the total opposite of me.
Although the fight wasn't serious, I knew I should break it up. But if I physically separated them, that meant I had to get up. And if I got up, that would ruin my unfinished braiding job. I didn't want to undo all of Autumn, Annabelle, and Jace's hard work.
Instead, I used the most powerful tool in my kit—my voice.
"Guys," I said calmly.
Instantly, the tussling stopped. Azure and Celeste blinked at me, like they were surprised I'd interfered. They slowly untangled and shook out their fur as a kind of emotional reset.
I understood. I needed emotional resets sometimes, too.
"All done," the hair-styling girls announced.
"Aww done!" Jace chimed in.
They leapt onto the grass so I could sit up properly. I patted the back of my head, feeling braids of various lengths and sizes, tied up with long bits of grass. My hair only reached the bottom of my neck, so I thought they did a great job with the little material they had to work with.
"I wish I had a mirror," I said. "I'd love to see my new hairstyle."
Autumn happily gasped, showing off her big bear teeth in the process. Annabelle picked up Jace and hugged him, careful not to squish her mouse cousin.
"Wow, that looks great!" Celeste cried, flapping her shadowy wings closer to get a better look. She looked at her fox paws. "You guys are lucky. I can't do anything with these. Except boop Uncle Lev."
I poked my finger against the tip of Celeste's wet nose to show her I was willing to engage. "Boop."
Celeste giggled and pressed her paw against my nose in return. "Boop!"
Warmth filled my chest. When my cousins all started having children, I wasn't sure about becoming the pack's impromptu babysitter. Taking care of kids was a lot of responsibility. I was nervous I wouldn't do a good job.
But I remembered my own childhood, how Uncle Red took care of us. Some of my fondest memories were playing with him. He was easygoing, always joking around. He'd make sarcastic remarks that flew right over my head, but I liked them anyway. He was always willing to spend time with me even though I was different from my other cousins.
I wasn't like Uncle Red at all. I didn't have his dramatic grandeur or his wild charisma. But when I took over his role, my nieces and nephews didn't seem to mind. They loved me the way I was. And I loved them, too.
A cheerful howl caught my attention. I'd recognize Lupa's voice anywhere.
I turned to look past the circle of trees surrounding the grove. The rest of the pack was hanging out further away, all chatting and catching up on the latest news and gossip. The only member of the family who was missing was Lupa, who accidentally scheduled a date on the same day as our family gathering. Lupa would never miss family time if she could help it, but she was showing up later than I expected.
"Aunty Lupa!" the kids cried. They all shifted into whatever form ran fastest and bolted over to her. I lagged behind. As much as I loved my family, it was a big crowd when everybody gathered in one place, and I didn't like crowds.
I shifted into my hare form, something I did when I felt overwhelmed, and hung back while everybody else greeted her. Despite being further away, my big ears easily picked up the conversation.
"Sorry I'm late!" Lupa said breathlessly, wiping the sweat off her brow. "You're not gonna believe what happened."
"What is it, baby?" Len asked. He and our other father, Hugo, stood closest to my sister. Even though Lupa and I were adults and not babies anymore, I thought it was cute that Len still called us by pet names.
When Lupa caught her breath, she exclaimed, "I found my fated mate!"
I froze.
I stood still, only the wind ruffling my fur.
"Oh, that's amazing!" Len cried, hugging her.
"We're so happy and proud, Lupa," Hugo said warmly.
The rest of my family all started talking over each other, asking her name, what kind of shifter she was and why she didn't come along to meet them.
"Her name is Hazel, and… she's actually not a shifter at all. She's a human." Lupa scratched the back of her head sheepishly. "That's why I didn't bring her. All of this is so new to her, I didn't want to scare her by introducing her to a million shifters at once."
There weren't a million of us. Including my uncles, cousins, nieces and nephews, there were only thirty of us. Lupa was always doing that—exaggerating.
I dug my claws into the ea
rth, trying to calm down. I didn't know why I was suddenly worked up, but I didn't want to be. I wanted to be happy for my sister. Yet, I couldn't stop the weight of discomfort pushing against my chest.
After navigating all the questions, Lupa caught my eye. She weaved out of the crowd and ran towards me. Nobody else followed. I was glad for that. I felt overwhelmed, and being swarmed by too many bodies would've pushed me too far.
I stayed in my hare form as a kind of self-soothing. Not wanting to be removed, Lupa shifted as well. She tilted her head, her wolf ears perking up.
"Hey, Lev! Did you hear?" she asked.
I nodded.
"Gods, I can't wait for you to meet Hazel. You'll like her. She's kind of quiet like you, except chubbier and with longer hair, and a girl, obviously. But she loves reading and knows lots of facts about animals. Isn't that cool?"
I nodded again. Sometimes I didn't want to talk.
"Still, I can't believe my fated mate is a human. That's wild. I always expected my mate to be a crazy shifter, like an alligator, or an okapi—I learned what those are from your books, you know—or even…" She paused for dramatic effect. "An amaranth snake. Get it?"
I knew she referenced a book from our childhood, but I didn't have any particularly strong feelings about it. Not right now.
"Now that I found my girl, and Starry's not interested in romance, I guess that takes care of all of us, huh?"
I looked at Lupa sharply. "What?"
A beat of silence passed. The two of us stared at each other until I couldn't take it anymore and I looked away. Then I noticed Starry coming towards us. She must've heard Lupa say her name.
"Is everything okay?" Starry signed.
Lupa shifted to human form to match Starry, leaving me as the only one remaining an animal.
My sister shrugged. "Yeah, I was just saying to Lev that we’re all paired off now. Or not paired off, in your case, Starry, since you're not into that sort of thing. Hey, did you know humans have a term for that? Hazel taught me. It's apparently called being 'aromantic.’ They have words for everything."
Starry blinked like she was deep in thought. She turned to me. "Leveret, I thought you don't want a mate either?"
My fur bristled. I had the urge to thump my foot, but I stopped myself.
"I never said that," I said quietly.
The women exchanged a glance.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to assume," Starry signed with a sympathetic frown.
"Yeah, I had no clue either," Lupa said.
I was confused. Why did they both think that? Did the rest of my family believe that, too? And if so, why?
After that baffling exchange with my sister and cousin, I was left with an uncomfortable feeling in my stomach. I didn't like being misunderstood, and I didn't like when people made assumptions about me. I'd never once said I didn't want a mate. It came out of nowhere.
When the kids were all tired out and everybody was heading home, I stayed behind. I wasn't ready to go to the cabin where my cousins and I all used to stay. Many of them had moved out when they found their fated mates and had children. It was nearly empty. I liked quiet, but it was too much.
I approached Len and grudgingly shifted to human form so he knew I was serious.
"Leveret," he said with his usual warm smile. "Did you have fun today?"
I did, but I veered away from small talk. I wouldn't be distracted.
"Lupa and Starry said they thought I was aromantic," I said.
My dad looked confused. "They said what?"
"Like how Starry doesn't want a mate. She doesn't want romantic love. They both thought I was like her. I don't know why, because I never said that."
"Slow down. Let's go sit and talk."
Frowning, I followed my dad to the edge of the grove. We sat in the grass together. I curled my fingers in it, stroking it like a big green animal. I was impatient for him to resume the conversation.
"Okay," he said with a sigh. "What did they say that upset you?"
"They thought I didn't want a mate."
"Do you?"
I frowned deeper. He just asked a question, but I couldn't help thinking he sounded surprised, too. That made me sad and disappointed.
"Yes," I stated. "Very much."
His brows raised. "I'm sorry, Leveret. I didn't know you felt so strongly about it."
I never got annoyed at my dad, but I was a little bit annoyed right now. My skin itched, so I rubbed my arm.
"Did you think I would be alone forever?" I asked.
"There's nothing wrong with being alone, if that's what you want," he said, tilting his head to look at me while I stared at the grass. "But clearly, that's not what you want. Right?"
I nodded.
"And it upset you that Lupa and Starry made an assumption that wasn't true."
I nodded again. My skin felt too itchy and uncomfortable. With a quick shake of my head, I shifted back into hare form and sank low to the ground.
"Did you tell them that it bothered you?" Len asked.
"No," I admitted. At the moment, I was too frustrated to tell him exactly what I felt and why. I didn't know the whole reason myself. All I knew was that since Lupa came home announcing she'd found her fated mate, I felt like I was being left behind. Like we were all in a race, and I’d come in last.
I didn't like participating in races. I preferred sitting on the sidelines and watching everyone else.
But it would've been better if I had a partner sitting beside me, holding my hand and watching, too.
Two
Animus
My inability to tear my gaze from these mortals was absolutely infuriating.
I was perched high up in a tree far away, hidden by leaves and shadows. My claws gripped the branch not for stability, but out of frustration. Because that's all these people did. Frustrated me.
I willed my body to be still so I didn't attract their attention. Even my long, flowing hair didn't move an inch. But I doubted I was a distraction anyway. Not only was I too far and too high up, but these mortals were so obsessed with each other that I wasn't even a speck on their radar.
This pact. This family.
Why couldn't I get away from them?
The better question was—what drew me to them in the first place?
I let out a disgruntled huff, sinking my black claws deeper into the wood. I watched as the older generation laughed, telling tales and remembering stories. Then there was the generation in the middle, the ones I kept running into over and over again. My eyes lingered on them for a while.
First it was that black wolf and the orca. That was when my dormant consciousness roused from an ancient slumber, and I was thrust into a confusing new world. The only thing I knew to do was find traces of my old life, back before everything went wrong. That meant finding Nautilus.
Of course, in the cruellest twist of irony imaginable, that stupid alpha wolf, Zakariel, was Nautilus's grandson. He’d inherited spirit magic.
Magic that was mine.
The anger that swelled up inside me didn't last. Even after waking up from my dormancy, crankier than a bear coming out of hibernation, I couldn't find it within myself to harm him. Not when I found out his omega mate was pregnant.
But that wasn't the end. It was only the beginning.
Next was that easygoing alpha fox shifter and his foulmouthed omega finch mate. When I found myself drawn to them, I assumed it was out of a thirst for revenge. An alpha fox in a cage full of omega finch shifters spelled trouble.
Yet the fox, Quinn, surprised me with his actions. He helped his mate, Farley, save the omegas who were trapped in that giant cage. My claws twitched remembering it. I'd barely had enough magic to destroy that building once and for all.