100 The Mansion (2)

After placing Iris down, Kyro went to pack some stuff. She saw him collect a couple suits, white shirts, which meant that he was serious about this. He wasn't going away just for an afternoon, but at least the whole next week.

'Why do I have such a foreboding feeling about this…' She wanted to feel as excited as he expected her to be, but with her unpredictable transformation, she simply couldn't. There was a chance that she wouldn't transform in front of his parents, but somewhere in the vicinity of the house, and what then?

She wouldn't be able to return to the house, and they might even call the police on her for entering private property. And then all hell would break loose with her not having any identification documents.

'Should I then do as the girl in that one fanfic story? Just make him breakfast and write a note pledging my life to him if he can accept a fox that's randomly changing into a human?'

She looked up at the ceiling and scoffed. 'He'd never believe me. If it was some kind of otaku, maybe, but Kyro… He's way too entrenched into that real-unreal business! Not once did he even consider that maybe the girl he saw was a ghost… or he just imagined her…'

With a defeated sigh, she went to look for Lucifer. No matter how much she thought about her situation, she was in troubled waters, and there was nothing that she could really do. This was the second day after the transformation, and she hadn't turned back once.

The cat was lounging on the sofa's backrest. Again. 'Do you ever do anything else?' Iris asked him in disbelief, but received no reply. Out of boredom, she decided to once again try climbing up like he did.

Her attempts this time weren't any different, but she somehow felt that she was closer to reaching her goal. Just a little bit more, and she would reach the top. But that little bit more was not that easy to reach.

She once crashed down so loud that Kyro even came out of the bedroom to check what was happening. When he asked what was wrong, she ignored him and continued with her practice.

Kyro didn't interrupt her right away, but after some time, he caught her and brought to the carrier. "This is Lucy's transportation, but he's traveled a lot before and can stay calm while I drive. You, however, I'm not so sure."

Iris sent him a chilling glare for this lack of trust, but entered the carrier without much resistance. At least this time she knew where they were going. It wouldn't end up in a catastrophe like before.

The drive was quite long, so she fell asleep after her exercise and only woke up when the soft hum of the car suddenly stopped. Sleepy-eyed, she raised her head and looked around, but as a fox in a carrier on the backseat, she couldn't see anything besides the interior of the car.

Kyro opened his car door, and Lucifer jumped out after him, leaving only Iris behind. She could hear them walk not too far away and be welcomed by an older woman. Her voice was warm and bright, clearly expressing her joy for having Kyro over.

"What about Queen? Why is she not around?" he asked suddenly, and Iris wondered who in the world was this queen.

The woman laughed. "You won't believe it, she actually found a suitor among the local families and often goes out to play with him."

"Queen?" Kyro asked in disbelief. "Didn't she deem it unworthy to even look at others of her breed?"

"Oh yes. I was going to surprise you when she got pregnant, but now you came early and spoiled the fun. I wanted to see if you'd rush over the instant I told you she was with pups."

"How could I not… Queen with pups…" He shook his head. "Anyway, have you prepared Queen's old room as I asked? I have a surprise for you as well."

The woman didn't say anything more, so she probably nodded, and Iris heard footsteps coming her way. 'Did they finally remember me?'

The door to her right opened, and an aged face came into her view. The woman wasn't exactly pretty, not anymore anyway, but she looked kind. Her features weren't stunning or eye-catching, but soft with laughter wrinkles near her mouth.

"Is this it?" she asked, pulling the carrier out.

"Yeah, but don't release it yet, I'm not certain she won't run away," Kyro answered, standing nearby with a smile on his face.

'I promised I won't,' Iris told him with a pout, but only the woman saw her.

"What a cutie!" she exclaimed, pushing her fingers through the gates to reach for Iris. "Is it my name day gift?"

'What?' Iris' heart rate rose instantly, and she turned to look to the side, straight at Kyro. 'If you dare…'

Kyro chuckled and took the carrier away from the woman. "I thought I celebrated your name day a month ago when I was here last?"

"Your present was so perfunctory I thought I was gonna die from embarrassment, couldn't show it to a single neighbor! What am I supposed to do with that set of glasses? Look at them on display?" She waved her hand in annoyance. "But the fox…"

"I'm not gifting you a pet just to show off! Stop acting like Gale!"

His mom's eyes narrowed on him. "Are you sure he even exists? Why have I never seen him before?"

"You haven't seen many of my colleagues," Kyro said, dismissing her concerns as they entered the house.

Or well, the better word for it would be a mansion. It was freakin' huge. From her carrier, Iris couldn't even see where it ended on either side. She couldn't see its top, either, just a balcony overlooking the front from the second floor.

"I've seen Jimmy and Marge, I've met Chris a couple times, and I even caught a glimpse of the mysterious Jane once. I know all your friends but that Gale person, and you supposedly have been friends with him the longest." The woman took a couple faster steps and stopped before Kyro face to face. "Had the rumors really been true back then? Are you just too afraid to tell your parents, thinking we won't understand? You know you can trust your mom!"

Never having seen Gale, some kind of rumor, a bachelor who's not married but has a secret he can't tell his parents—didn't all of this point to a single explanation? Iris couldn't resist looking up at the man carrying her. Could it be that he and Gale…

They were close, so it wasn't out of the question, but wasn't Gale the womanizer of the century? She could clearly remember them talking about Gale sleeping with Sheila, the temptress that had come for Kyro later, and neither had found it unusual.

'Just what kind of relationship do you two have?'