Devan sighed as he looked at the hospital's grim room, how most of the walls had years of dust stuck to its paint, how some of the windows looked like mold was growing on it.
He hated hospitals, they brought horrible thoughts to his head, he hated their smell, the sounds and the atmosphere.
The doctors had told him he would be able to leave today, but Devan wasn't sure he wanted to, Devan would need to go back to his father, something he loathed to do, but if he did not, Matheo would be put in danger.
With a slow pace, Devan passed a hand through his hair, looking out the foggy window, if only there was a way around this situation, maybe he would be able to get out of his father's hands once and for all.
"You're the only one who is unmated, we need you to find an unmated kitsune."
His father's words echoed loudly in his head, perhaps he could counter this if he found his true mate, he wouldn't think twice about it and would happily claim them.
At this point he would even claim a kind shifter, only to escape his farher wrath, yet that idea seemed to scare him far too much.
And the issue still remained that he couldn't find his mate without his inner animal, he needed to get blood from someone of the same animal, that way, he could find his mate.
At least, that's what that witch had said, but perhaps she could still do it without the use of someone else's blood.
Devan sighed again, slowly standing up from his bed, he needed to go see that witch again, she owed it to him after her little trick, he had to find out what animal he was immediately.
With determination, Devan put on fresh clothes that Matheo had brought, taking in the nice sweet smell from it, it hurted him to have to give up ever dating Matheo, but this matter was of utmost importance.
"His safety is all that matters." He mumbled to himself before leaving the room, making his way to the help desk where he signed his release papers.
He was going to get his way with this, there was no other options for him, he knew time was ticking, his father would be after Matheo soon enough.
He didn't know exactly where she lived, but if he could get back to where he and Matheo had gone from, he could potentially make it there again.
-
Giuliana jumped when a knock echoed on her door, she knew it wasn't that cannibal again as it did not reak, her windows were all open after all.
She walked over to it and swung the door open, eyes locking with the handsome man that stood before her, she clicked her tongue opening her veil as she walked back to let him in.
"I didn't think you would be back." She said with annoyance, Devan rolled his eyes as he walked in, crossing his arms as he stopped in front of her.
"It's not like you were very helpful last time, obviously I'd be back for more help."
"No, I meant I didn't think you would be back considering how badly your father seemed to be wanting you back." She said as Devan stiffened, clear surprise on his face.
"My father came here?"
"Yes, now. If you'll excuse me, I have better things to do than waste my whole day on cannibals. Hurry your ass up. What do you want help with now, I already gave you a solution." She said as Devan shook his head, clearly he wasn't pleased with her answer.
"I will not kill someone for my own benefits, especially Matheo. I need to know my animal, you took blood from me... What animal is it?" He said as she rolled her eyes and sighed, shaking her head.
"It's not that simple buddy, I checked your blood and your friend's. They both are compatible but not the same, meaning your a canine but not a wolf." She said as walked over to her kitchen, she was going to need some nice relaxing tea, she knew this would become a long day.
"Alright... What types of canine shifters are out there?" He asked as Giuliana groaned, did this guy never get thought about the story of shifters?
Now that she thought about it, his upcoming and everything, his father probably never even bothered telling him even the basics.
"Well, we have the Maned wolf, though most of the shifters call them hyenas. Theres the kitsunes, the dingos and the wolves, aside from that there isn't really others aside from weaker foxes and wolf breeds." She said as Devan nodded, thinking for a moment, it was clear that the boy wasn't a wolf, they had distinctive features even as humans that weren't showing on Devan.
"Okay, how would we figure out what I am." He asked as she sighed, this one was a bit complicated.
"Well, basing it off that you were born from a cannibal and a kitsune, it is far more likely that your animal would be derived from one of your parents, since your father cannot be known, I would say that you are most likely some sort of fox or even a kitsune yourself." She said as Devan's eyes widened in what seemed to be terror.
"If I turn to normal... My dad will not leave me alone..."
"Why is that?"
"Because he will force breed me with someone... I just know it... He'll eat me once he is done with it." He said as Giuliana grimaced, feeling disgusted with the news he gave her.
"Not if you find your mate first, your body won't shift if you find a beta or an omega to yourself as well." She said as Devan gulped, thinking of his whole grim situation, she could see the dilemma on his face quite clearly.
"Alright... How do we narrow it down further, I don't know who the missing kitsune is. I probably cannot find him, so I need to find out what I am. I hope I am something else." He said as she nodded, pulling out a notepad and scribbling something off before giving it to him.
"This is a list of kind shifters I know, they might be able to give you some blood if you tell them your story." She said with a bit of empathy in her tone, she knew how horrible it was to be used by family members, she just hoped that he would be able to stay away from the curse of family ties.
"Thank you, I appreciate it." Devan said before he hurriedly ran out of her house, making her sigh as she pulled up her phone, teary eyes as she regreted her next action, her hands were tied behind her back.
"Yeah... He is on his way now. You promise to leave me alone after this?"
"You've done well, I will no longer bother you."
The call hung up, making her sigh as she made her way to the door, tears falling down as she watched an excited Devan run in the distance towards what could potentially be his doom.
"I'm sorry..."
-
Matheo pouted as he stood at the hospital, nurses repeating to him again and again that the man he was looking for had already left hours ago of his own accord.
"Why didn't he call me?" Matheo asked again, making the nurse shrug, she wasn't to blame in the end, if he had left on his own, the nurse had no part in it.
Matheo walked out, looking up at his two friends with sadness, he didn't understand why Devan had just left without telling him.
"What's wrong Matt?" Narcia asked as she glanced to her mate who shrugged, unsure why their friend was looking so defeated.
"Devan has already left..."
"Oh, that's good. He must be feeling better." Liam said as Matheo frowned, a sad expression settling in his features.
"Why didn't he reach out to me..? I would have come get him..." Matheo said as his heart clenched, feeling nauseous all of a sudden.
He didn't like this one bit, part of him felt there was more to this than everyone seemed to be saying.
"Maybe he doesn't feel the way you do for him." Narcia said before Liam elbowed her in the ribs, making her growl before she quieted at the glare Liam gave her.
"No... She might be right, he never really confirmed his interest in me. I mean... There was that one time we... But I suppose that meant nothing to him." Matheo said as he sat on a bench that was near him, eyes watering as he looked at his phone.
"Maybe he just forgot?" Liam said in hopes of lightening the mood, making Matheo's eyes sparkle with hopes.
That it! He must have forgotten to let him know, maybe this was just all a misunderstanding that could be resolved with a single call.
Matheo quickly opened his contacts and dialed Devans number, but it immediately cut, saying the number he was trying to reach was out of service.
His eyes widened as his heart picked up the pace, why was his phone not in service? Was he in the woods? Or perhaps something had happened and the phone was now out of commission.
"Hey, relax Matheo. Maybe he just went to his house to get a change of clothes okay? It's no big deal." Liam said as Matheo nodded, rushing past his two confused friends as he made his way towards the woods, taking off his clothes before fully shifting.
He need to find out right away that Devan was okay.
-
Devan groaned as he sat down on his couch, his back relaxing into the soft matter as he looked at the list, he had seen these shifters at the university back when he was attending.
He didn't know how he could begin such a conversation with them, it would be crazy to just walk up to them and simply ask ask to drink their blood.
He was planning to head for them straight, but he couldn't just simply do that, it was ridiculous to him, it would be too embarrassing as well.
He leaned his head back, covering his eyes with his elbow as the paper fell to the floor, this whole situation was exhausting him.
He liked the quietness that his house gave him, despite how run down it was, he could calmly sit in peace and not worry about any noise besides the ones coming from nature.
Speaking of which, at that exact moment, Devan heard a loud husky howl, making him frown before standing up in a panick.
Had he started smelling again? Was that why a wolf had come near his home? Surely there was a reason for a shifter to lurk around.
A loud bang, followed by scratches on the door made him frown, why would the wolf be attempting to break in if it knew he was in there, wouldn't that ruin the attack?
In all honesty, just the howl had given away the surprise... Who was this wolf?
Devan walked slowly toward the door, hearing whimpers and harsher scratches, this wolf desperately wanted in.
Devan stretched his hand out, opening the door in a swift movement, seeing a large timber wolf waltz in, bluer than the sea.
The colors were drowning Devan into a spiral of admiration, the different shades that blended together made the fur look absolutely beautiful.
The wolf stumbled a bit, getting it's bearing before turning to look at Devan, its beautiful green eyes staring holes into the cannibal heart.
Devan was stuck in a daze, his heart thumping loudly in his chest as the wolf stood before him, its tail starting to wag before he was nuzzled into.
Devan immediately knew who this wolf was, making his face fall into a hurt, yet soften expression, having realized how much he meant to this person.
If only he hadn't come, maybe Devan could have moved forward with his project, he could've gone looking for a shifter to mate with.
It wasn't his original plan, but at this point, it was the one that sounded the least ridiculous and the most probable right now.
But he just couldn't bring himself to do it to him now.