CHAPTER 243: CHAPTER 243 - [K] FOCUS, FOCUS, FOCUS!

"The soul... what do you mean?"

"I mean that I was in my world and then woke up here. Inside an... at least momentarily deceased woman known as Helene Duskpaw, who had... what I believe to be a heart attack. Her soul was simply nowhere to be found."

Blinking at her a few times, I look down at the concrete floor and hold my head. Talk of souls aside, it is not unheard of for people to have a heart attack... officially ’die’ by the usual definition of required cardiac activity for many minutes... and still be revived because the brain takes longer than that to ’die’.

Yes. That makes a lot more logical sense than the first thing I thought of. Which is that fantastical movie Claire made me see about a Zombie finding love. She’s too... warm bodied to be one of those, anyway.

But I don’t think she is making anything up, even though she could. At the very least, she fully believes she is not Helene. And that is enough for me.

"So you died and... swapped places?"

"Perhaps. I don’t know what happened to my real... my original body. But I’m here now, with access to her memories. Ever since the moment I opened my eyes to three werewolves continuing to taunt her into accepting a mate bond dissolution."

"...Did you?"

She looks slightly startled and confused by what I ask... and though my voice roughens, I repeat what I want to know. Just in case. Since she is telling all this new ’truth’ to me. It doesn’t hurt to hear her say it.

"Did you break your bond with him?"

Her confusion deepens, but not in the way that seems like she is trying to hide something from me. Just... just confused. Well, that’s... something we share?

"It is broken on my end. Always has been. But for Helene... I still said the words he wanted - the one you people use to revoke your contracts with your Lunar Goddess. Just in case. However, *he* is still connected to her soul wherever it is, somehow."

Hands find her hips as she poses in a sort of triumph that makes me take a step forward again and close the distance. I also... want to hold my hands there. Focus.

Mate.

...Focus. Count to ten. Count... to ten.

"But not me, thankfully! No one deserves to be bonded with him. Not... even Helene. Ignorant, unlucky girl. May she find a measure of calm in her next life."

"Citra... so you... then... no, I don’t even know what to ask first."

"Taking it from the top is usually a good idea. Or the beginning, step by step. I’m not running away or making you chase me right now, so you should probably ask whatever you want to know."

When she says ’right now’, it was like stamps that said [Void] were pressed all over certain questions I had. Yet, it was my own hand altering those... mental request forms. Because they can wait.

Her pregnancy is something I won’t touch, as I believe we’ve already... come to some sort of unvoiced conclusion there. It also seems like one of the least important things to worry about in the next months.

While I am not sure how long she has been pregnant, it will probably be well after the solstice before the child will be born. What she is trying to do here by bringing me here and telling me this is to *focus*.

"You’re telling me you’re from another world entirely."

On the danger, not that!

"Yes. I also was not a werewolf there. But I was what we called a shifter. Similar thing but... different. In very key ways. Notably, that I was not a wolf. "

Simple, direct. No attempt to soften it or make it easier to believe.

"A... shifter. And a Princess?"

"Royalty of the Fox Kingdom. Bred and born, raised and regal. It is why you may have noticed that I have a proclivity for showing my ego when faced with any attempted authority that tries to rule me here."

Her voice remained steady, but I caught the tremor in her hands when she clenched them into fists. Truly, I’d once thought that it was just the fact that she had been bonded to another wolf that made her like that.

And now it also makes more sense... and less sense. But most importantly...

"...Fox?"

Her hands unclench as she chuckles and lets out her held breath. The glow of her eyes faded, leaving only the beautiful light gray once more.

"That’s the second time you’ve... well I guess last time at the pool it was plural? Anyway, yes. I was born as a fox and learned to transform into a human form... from that of a beast. It is how shifters work in my world, unlike here."

"Oh."

Overwhelmed in a different way than back then, I really don’t know what to say. I’m not very familiar with every mythology, but the symbolism of foxes is something I researched since I share my last name with the creature.

Divine. Messengers. Related to Fertility and Transformation, spiritual as much as physical. I won’t say that it’s the only reason I wanted to raise the level of care for our pregnant pack members, but feeling the connection was a big reason my company moved into that field.

Their role as tricksters in a lot of cultures also comes to mind. Because they are smart and can learn to deceive their hunters or their prey. Like by laying misleading trails, pouncing from afar, and a certain variety can even... climb trees.

"Oh."

"I feel like I’m providing a lot here to you tonight... far more than I intended to when my text brought you over. But-"

"Thank you. For telling me what you have."

She squints at me and frowns, before looking over to the side and away from me. Is it because I interrupted her? She turns back sharply just as I raise a foot in the air.

"Well, your good manners aside, I want to be clear that this is not about me trying to get closer to you. I’ve just come to like your city a little bit. And I’m starting to realize that having someone else who knows what I do could... save more people."

"Is that what this system chose you to do... warn people?"

"No. Well, actually I don’t know why it chose me. Or chose Helene, rather, since in its interfaces it lists her name..."

Frustration crept into her voice. But for some reason I have this feeling. Like it is less about the mystery behind it and more about the lack of recognition from this... whatever... is in her head.

"Does it make you do things?"

I find myself growling out before really thinking deep about it. Somehow very upset at the possibility. Of my... of Citra being controlled by anyone.

"Hm? It does give me Tasks, but I’m not sure they are mandatory. They tend to be things I would have done anyway or was already doing. Like it... just wants an excuse to reward me, honestly."

...Huh? That should make me feel better. But that last line just makes me even madder?

Maybe because I want to reward her too.

If she’d just let me.

But I can hold on a little more. Try to. Because I thought she was worth it, even before she told me a word of this.

"What is it you think I should do with this information, Citra?"

Behind her back, the shipping container appeared again. But this time she turns and opens the door. Inside I can see the shelves, the stored items... and a bed? A big bed. Room enough to-

"...Prepare? Like I’m trying to do. Because you’re an Alpha. You have people depending on you. And all I know that I can depend on for sure is myself."

Of course, with a tongue so dexterous... she’s really good at harsh, piercing phrases when it decides to sharpen.