It was the end of October when he first appeared.
At the time, things were going rather smoothly for once in my life. I'd been dating Sean for about a month, and the tensions over him were dying down within my family. I knew that my father trusted him now. Michael wouldn't have allowed me to date him if he didn't.
But also, I knew that he and my aunt and uncle saw the benefit in me having Sean around. He would be my protector when they couldn't.
Not to say that Raphael was too happy over that one, but he did at least concede. My uncle was extremely protective of Raziel and I, so there was no surprise in the fact that he initially had objections to such a relationship when he learned of it.
For Raziel's part though, I was a bit surprised to see that he was making much more of an effort to get along with Sean then he ever had before. I could have guessed that he was facing the facts with all of this, but also, there seemed to be more of a brotherly connection forming between them. They fought frequently, but most of the fights were lighthearted and verbal, much like a pair of brothers might do.
I was happy enough to see that. In school and even outside, it was often the four of us hanging out together. Anna was also a fixture now. With the way things were now going, I didn't think that life could ever be as good as it had become.
That particular day, I'd just sat down in my last class with Anna and was looking over my notes. We had a quiz coming up, and I was feeling the stress now. I wasn't sure if I was anywhere near ready for it.
Math had never been my strongest point, and this whole Algebra thing had thrown me a curve ball. Sean had been trying to help me with it, but I still felt lost most of the time. I was just praying that I'd pass this quiz. My grades in this class weren't that good, and that sucked for my GPA.
I really hated that I had to take this class, but at least Anna was in there with me. Hence, I didn't have to suffer alone.
The bell rang, and class was started. I watched as the teacher handed out the quizzes with her usual speal of being quiet and making sure to complete the all of the questions in the next half hour. Looking down at the paper, I took a deep breath and hoped for the best. The good thing was that I did get some of this now, considering all of the time and effort that Sean had put into tutoring me on it.
But as I neared the end of the God awful thing, I suddenly heard the door to the classroom open. That was when the strangest feeling came over me.
I glanced up to see that there was a new student entering the room and walking over to the teacher with a note. His back was turned to me, but I could see that he was fairly tall with sweeping coal colored hair. He was dressed fairly nicely too in black pants and a casual white shirt.
The teacher looked up as he approached, taking the note and talking quietly to him. Then, she stood up to pointed to his seat.
I felt myself freeze almost instantly as he turned. I would've known his face anywhere.
Beside me, Anna had also been watching this new person that had come in. She wasn't very discreet about it either, following him with her eyes over to the seat near us that he'd been given. I didn't doubt that she was more than interested in knowing all about him. Anna was a busy body when it came to new kids.
I forced myself to turn away and look down at my paper. I knew I'd never concentrate now. Not when I was sure that a blast from my past had just walked into the room with us.
I had planned on getting up and leaving as quickly as I could when that bell rang, but unfortunately, Anna wasn't about to do so. As soon as everyone was able to go, she was up and going over to our new arrival's desk to talk to him.
"You must be new here. I don't remember seeing you before." she commented casually. Nope, there was nothing shy about Anna.
The boy smiled back at her. I was reeling slightly as he did. I couldn't even make myself walk over there to get her.
"I am, but I didn't think that anyone would want to talk to me this quick." he responded.
"Oh come on. We're not that unfriendly around here. I'm Anna Smith by the way." Anna chimed, offering a hand to him.
The boy took the invite and shook it, "Nice to meet you." he said, "I'm Zane Hedel."
I felt like my heart was about to stop as he said that. This just couldn't have been. After nearly two years, Zane had suddenly moved up here to Madison. It shouldn't have been possible.
Anna stared at him as he said that. I could see her eyes widen slightly. I was certain that she recognized the name. After all, she had been the only other person that I'd ever told about Zane.
I hurried over and grabbed her hand before she could say anything.
"Hey, we need to get going. Raziel's waiting for us, remember?" I said, making sure that I didn't look at Zane. Hopefully he wouldn't recognize me.
"Ah, you mean Raziel Renaldi? Are the two of you related?" Zane asked me.
Anna was quick to answer him, "Yeah, they are. This is Mia Renaldi, and she's his cousin." she told him.
"Come on Anna, let's go." I insisted, tugging her away before anymore could be said.
Of course, as soon as we were out in the hall, Anna was on me.
"Was that the same guy Mia?" she asked as we walked.
"It can't be. This has to be some kind of nightmare." I moaned, not looking at her.
I was trying hard to keep the tears from forming in my eyes. After all of this time, I thought that I'd finally gotten over him, and now he was back.
But at the same time, something odd nagged at the back of my mind. There was something that seemed off about Zane to me. Something that didn't feel like it was really him. Maybe that was some wishful thinking, but I seriously doubted it. Something wasn't right about all of this.
By then, we were finally coming out to the parking lot. I worked hard to compose myself as we got out there and saw Sean and Raziel waiting by their cars. They seemed to be talking, which was a good thing to see. One never really knew if things would continue to stay civil between them. Raziel was still making it his point to tell Sean what he thought of him here and there. Sean took it in stride, although he usually gave as good as he took.
"It's about time you two got out here. Did Ms. Lance make that test run later than the bell?" Raziel asked us.
"No, thank God. Anna just decided to start talking. That's all." I answered, working hard to sound normal.
Thankfully, Anna played along.
"I was just being friendly. There's nothing wrong with that." she protested.
Raziel rolled his eyes, buying our story.
"Yeah, except when you know you're supposed to be somewhere." he complained. He glanced at his watch, "Come on. We're gonna be late if we keep waiting around here."
"Okay." Anna sighed. She flashed me and Sean her best smile, "Have fun tonight!"
Well, that one was mostly for my benefit, considering what had just happened, but I was still grateful.
Sean shook his head as the two drove off in Raziel's Lexus, "Sometimes I wonder about that girl."
"She can be different." I agreed.
I took a quick, discreet look around us, but didn't see any sign of Zane. Thank God. I didn't think I could handle it if he showed up and there was any kind of confrontation between him and Sean.
Sean didn't notice me doing this as he opened the door to his Jeep for me to get in.
"So, who was she talking to in there? It did take a while for the two of you to come out." he commented as we got in.
"A new kid. You know how Anna can get when she sees someone new." I answered. I was doing my best to act normal, but still ended up fidgeting a little.
Sean looked concerned as he saw that, "Are you okay?"
I quickly shook my head, "I'm fine. My brain's just a little worn out from that test. That's all." I assured him.
I couldn't make myself tell him the truth about all of this. Things had been too good in the last month for me to risk messing it up with this complication. Even my family accepted Sean completely now. That had been a big step in the right direction.
Of course, there had been some questions about a fox being part of our family for a while. The whole thing had put Gabrielle and Raphael a little on edge. But they also knew about what had happened before. Before Sean's bad side had been broken, he had tried to kill me. They were afraid at first that he may attempt to do the same thing if that side somehow arose again. But Michael was convinced that it wouldn't.
"We'll give him his chance." he'd told them, "Mia has her wings, and she knows how to take care of herself. Besides, I don't believe that fox would ever be able to harm her now either."
I knew he was right. As much as I cared about Sean, I still had my survival instincts too. I wasn't going to let Sean hurt me.
But also, I was certain that he never would either. Sean was a very good person at heart. He'd just needed help with his other nature. It wouldn't happen again.
Thankfully, thinking about this kept my mind off of Zane's suddenly appearance during the ride to Sean's house. I was going there to have dinner with him and his mom that evening.
But as we went inside, we were both surprised to see that Sara had company. I stopped short behind Sean as we came into the kitchen. A man was sitting at the bar near where Sara was preparing dinner. He had black hair much like theirs and a pale complexion. But when he looked at us, I realized that he had golden eyes.
He smiled as he saw us, "Looks like they made it."
I recognized his voice right away when he spoke. It was the fox named Manake. He'd returned to our world to visit. Only now, he looked almost like a normal person, just like Sean.
Sean returned his smile, "I didn't know we were getting your company this evening as well Manake. It's been a while since you've come back to this side."
He took my hand and led me over there, wear the two of us sat at the nearby table. I didn't mind seeing Manake again, although I hadn't expected to see him playing human. He looked so young, yet Sean had assured me before that he was an elder fox. I wondered if all of these foxes were like this.
"I'm aware of that, but I have my reasons as well. It's been a while though since I've seen the young lady as well. How are you?" Manake greeted me.
"I'm okay." I lied, "But I'm a little surprised. You look just like a normal human, except for those eyes."
Manake shrugged, "I could change them to a normal human color if I wanted to, but I see no need in this household. After all, I've known Sara since before Sean was born, and Sean certainly knows I have nothing to hide in what I am." he told me.
"This is true. Manake's always been around when it's suited him." Sean agreed.
"And he's quite nosy too. But most foxes are. It's just their nature, and something you'll come to learn when you're around them long enough." Sara added.
"It's one of our faults, though if Sage hadn't been so nosy that one night, you wouldn't be here now." Manake pointed out.
"That's true, but Sage always was one to stray from what you all considered normal too." Sara reminded him.
This would be the first time that I'd heard a little more of how Sage and Sara had met years before. I'll admit that it had made me curious.
"Is that how you met him?" I asked her.
"Yes. Sage saved my life that night. I don't think I've ever truly understood why, but he did, and I guess you could say that things just eventually went from there." Sara answered.
Manake shrugged, "As stated, Sage was one of a kind. Although this renegade here certainly takes after him. How many times have I helped to bail you out now?"
I looked at Sean, "Renegade huh?"
Sean took it in stride, "It's been my nickname with him for a while now. He claims that I cause as much trouble as my father did." he admitted.
"Really? You certainly don't act like you could do that anymore." I noted.
"He hasn't for quite a while now, but I'd say that's more thanks to you little lady. You're the best thing that's ever happened to him." Manake told me.
So, I'd at least won another fox's approval. Obviously, Manake was the one who kept an eye on Sean since his father had died. It sounded like they had been friends for a long time too. It made me wonder what he thought when Sage first decided to love a human woman.
"Don't embarrass her, Manake. I told you that you had to be nice if you wanted to stay." Sara chided him.
"I am being nice. I just told the truth." Manake retorted. But at that time, he also looked back at Sean again with a more solemn expression, "Also, there is something else I wanted to speak with you about. It seems that there's another in our mists again."
I saw Sean sit up a little, "Another? Here in Madison?"
"It's part of the reason I came back here. I wanted to see if the rumors were true. From what I'm sensing, it seems that they are. He's made his way here." Manake replied.
"Who?" I asked, feeling a little bit lost.
"He heard about it, didn't he? You realize that this could be bad now Manake, and not just with us." Sara spoke up. She was doing her best to hide her fear.
"Wait a minute. You're not talking about that fox, are you?" Sean asked him.
"Afraid so. He's finally decided that it's time to find you." Manake replied.
So they were talking about another fox. That's what I'd suspected, though I didn't like the reactions I was seeing. This one obviously wasn't as friendly as Manake was.
"My apologies from dropping this on you when you were hoping to have a nice evening with your love, but you should be wary now. You know what his reputation is, and more than likely, he's going to try the roundabout approach first with those you're considered close to here." Manake continued.
"But he must realize that the Renaldis are here as well. He wouldn't be stupid enough to try something against them." Sean reasoned.
"Does my dad or uncle know about this? If there is another fox around here that's going to cause trouble, they'll probably handle them." I finally spoke up.
I knew that Sean was right about these things with my family. We wouldn't let anything happen if we could prevent it.
"Yes, I did inform Raphael Renaldi of it. I figured it might be better to go through him first, even if Michael is considered the head of the family. Raphael has apparently always been the one who handles such troubles first." Manake told us.
That was true. Raphael was more of the enforcer in our family. Michael had admitted that to me. He usually left such things to Raphael because he tended to be so good at resolving them. He didn't always eliminate threats, but he made sure that things stayed safe enough for us and those around us.
"Have you seen any sign of this fox?" Sara asked.
Sean shook his head, "No. There hasn't been any sign of another fox around this area recently."
I suddenly remembered the strange feeling I'd had when I'd seen Zane at the school. Sean had not been there, and I didn't seen Zane before we had left. But was it possible? Could Zane have actually been a fox this whole time? The very thought disturbed me.
"Don't let your guard down just because you haven't sensed him yet Sean. Sage and I taught you that a long time ago. All foxes are tricky, but the older generations are even more so, and this one may not be a nine tail, but he's been around for a few thousand years. He knows all of the tricks, and he knows how to lure those around him into a false sense of security, so use caution." Manake warned him.
"Understood." Sean agreed.
Sara then tried to change the subject, "All right. Now that we've gotten that out of the way, why don't we drop it? I really don't want to make this a bad evening." she suggested.
"Of course. You don't mind if I hang around, do you?" Manake asked her.
"No." Sara replied, "You know that I always look forward to your company."
The rest of our evening went by smoothly. Sara fixed a nice dinner, and everyone seemed to be trying to forget about the whole thing with the other fox showing up.
But I still wondered about it in the back of my mind, and the more I did, the more I began to doubt what had happened that day. Something inside of me just knew that the guy I'd seen in that class was not Zane Hedel, the boy that I'd once loved back in Miami.
But if that was true, then how could this fox make himself look so much like him? What would the purpose be in him doing that, and how would he even know about it in the first place?
For as much as all of this bothered me, I decided not to tell Sean about it. Instead, I felt like it would be better to mention it to Michael first. Even if I had to come clean about Zane to him, maybe he could answer my questions about how this fox could look just like him, and why.
I looked for Michael as soon as I arrived home, and found him sitting in the den, quietly looking over some things on his laptop. He smiled at me when he noticed me.
"Hey, how did things go?" he asked as I sat down beside him on the couch.
"It was nice. It wasn't just us there either. Manake came back and joined us." I replied.
"I figured as much. He's probably decided that he should keep an eye on Sara now." Michael said, closing the lap top and sitting it on the side table.
"I guess Raphael told you about the other fox."
"He did." Michael confirmed, "I can't say it's completely unexpected, though we really haven't had that many of them pass through here before."
"You're worried about this, aren't you?" I guessed.
Michael let out a long sigh, shaking his head, "I am. This one isn't like Sean and Manake, and given what Raphael's heard about him, this whole thing's giving me an ominous feeling." he admitted.
"What did he hear?" I dared ask.
Michael was quiet for a minute, but then relented on telling me. He may have felt that he didn't have much of a choice.
"I may as well tell you. I'm sure that Raphael is already warning Raziel too. While we had some trouble with Sean before, it's nothing compared to a full-blooded fox like this. This is one of them that apparently enjoys hunting. Basically, he came to Madison because there's something that he's after, and I believe that something is Sean."
"But why? Sean's not a full fox. There's no reason for him to want to go after him." I reasoned.
"One would think so, but I believe that there's more to this also that Manake doesn't want to talk about to us. Given Sean's father and his reputation, I'm sure that the possibility is there. But right now, I think we should focus more on our first challenge of finding it. No doubt he's hiding somewhere in plain sight. They usually do."
I thought over my words carefully before speaking. I had to watch how I said things when it came to Zane and my first relationship. After all, I'd never told him anything about all of that, and I usually told my father everything, so I approached the subject carefully.
"Hey Dad, do you think that Raziel and I would know it if we saw someone like that now?"
"More than likely. You both have all of your extra senses now, and usually all it takes is one look at them to know that something is off somewhere. But I'm taking it with that question that you think you might have seen something." Michael responded.
"I don't know for sure, but it was really strange." I admitted. I took a deep breath before continuing, making sure to keep myself in check, "When I lived in Miami, I had a good friend from an art class I took down there, but he moved away suddenly two years ago, and I hadn't heard from him since. But today in my last class, a new guy came in, and he looked exactly like him. I didn't know what to think, but when I looked at him, I felt like it really wasn't him, if that makes sense."
Michael took a moment to think it over, "It's possible that could've been him in a good disguise. But are you sure that he wasn't the same person?" he finally said.
"I'm sure of it. I knew when I looked at his eyes. He wasn't Zane." I insisted.
"If you feel that, then I'm sure that he wasn't. Foxes can change their looks to mimic others when it suits them, so it wouldn't be that unheard of for him to do so. But what worries me is that he obviously knew about your friend from before. That means that he was in Miami at some point and saw the two of you together. But it still doesn't make a lot of sense. Why copy that form and come to the high school? He knows that he can't challenge Sean there." Michael muttered.
"Manake was saying that he's very tricky. Maybe he somehow put two and two together and started planning something." I suggested.
It was all I could think of. This fox must have been using whatever opportunities that he saw fit.
Michael shook his head, finally looking back at me, "I don't know for sure. But I don't like this. I know the bad feeling that I got as soon as Raphael mentioned this fox to me, and I know to heed it when I get it. If this was indeed our fox, then we're going to have to play our hand very carefully. He's obviously using this ruse to lure you and others in, and possibly use you against Sean. It could turn very bad before it's over."
"You really think he'd hurt Sean if he got the chance, or hurt us?" I asked, although I feared that I already knew the answer.
"I couldn't tell you. The truth is that foxes can be very vicious, especially towards each other, when it suits them. But I will tell you that when Sean tried to attack you back in January, he did hold back a lot. This fox more than likely won't if he decides to go on the offensive. I hate to tell you dear, but you might have to deal with seeing something terrible happen before it's over." Michael warned me.
I knew in my heart that my dad was right, although I definitely didn't want him to be. But before I could say anymore, Michael spoke again.
"Mia, I think it would be better if you and Raziel are more careful at the school. If this new boy there is indeed him posing, then something's definitely being planned. But also, this might give us some insight to it as well. Keep your distance but let me know what you happen to see or hear."
"Okay." I agreed.
"Also, I think we need to take an additional step as well. Just give me a bit of time to set it all up. For now, though, don't mention anything about him to Sean if you haven't. He might take the offensive quicker if he finds that fox through you and finds out that he's posing as someone you once knew.".
"I get it. But what are you planning? You must have something in mind."
"You'll see soon enough."