⚝Φ☽♰Owned♰☾Φ⚝

Chapter 12

Nova shifted to her human form and shrugged.

Ethan: Okay.

Ethan sat up, groaning softly and putting his hand on his back. Nova got off the bed and stood next to it.

Ethan: Where are we?

Karl walked into the room, holding two plates of food.

Karl: Morning, Ethan.

Ethan: Karl.

Karl: Nova here saved you. You should've seen her fox form. It was as big as a fucking building, her tail, ears, and front paws were black and had stars in them, she had black markings on her face, her eyes were glowing. It was a sight to see.

Karl handed one of the plates to Nova and the other to Ethan.

Ethan: Really?

Karl: Yeah.

Ethan: That's interesting.

Nova started eating her food, in small bites. Karl and Ethan kept talking about things Nova had no interest in. Her mind wandered back to the castle, how quickly Bela changed, how all of them were trying to kill her, how she had to use her last resort. It was a lot for her and took a lot of energy to do that and make it to the factory without passing out.

Over the next few days, Nova helped Ethan find his daughter, fight Miranda, take down the megamycete, and go back to Ethan's home and meet his wife, Mia, in the states. Ethan had let Nova stay with them, saying it was repayment for helping him. Mia had taken an immediate liking to Nova, treating her like a daughter. Rosemary, Ethan's daughter, stuck to Nova like glue, crying whenever Nova was gone longer than a minute. It was cute, seeing the child cling to the fox girl so much. When Rosemary got older, she didn't stop clinging to Nova. Ethan had registered Nova to school when Rosemary got into middle school and high school, both for protection and for Nova's betterment.

Nova always got stared at, by staff and students, because of her ears and tail. People thought they were fake at first but when they kept twitching and flicking, they all knew they were real. Rosemary was more of the quiet and reserved type but she never went anywhere without Nova.

Rosemary: Seriously, you are cute as fuck. Any girl here would love to be with you.

They were at lunch, sitting in a more quiet part of the campus. Nova wasn't eating, just sitting and enjoying the silence. Her ears were up, her tail curled around her. She still didn't speak, not even a noise, but the Winters family got used to her way of communication.

Rosemary: Maybe you should try and get a girlfriend. You know how many girls look and whisper about you? Too many.

Nova's tail flicked and her ears flicked up and down.

Rosemary: I know what happened in Romania affected you but none of the girls here are like the Dimitrescu sisters.

Nova's ears went down at the mention of Romania. She still had nightmares about it. She sometimes woke up in a cold sweat, breathing fast, her heart beating fast. Some of her nightmares were too real, too vivid.

Rosemary: Or you could stay single. I know you like your privacy. I'm just saying you have the potential for a girlfriend.

Nova looked down then up at Rosemary. Her forehead mark still hadn't gone away and her fur was still the galactic way but her hands had turned black and her nails were very sharp and she had to wear gloves because of it.

Rosemary: I'm not lying. You do have the potential.

Nova's right ear twitched when a fly buzzed by, making her freeze. She still had that trauma response of freezing at any buzzing sound. Ethan helped her when he was around and had told Rosemary how to help when she got like that.

Rosemary: Hey, it's okay. It's just a regular fly.

Nova closed her eyes and calmed herself down, her ears going down. They spent the rest of lunch talking, more like Rosemary talking and Nova giving either an ear twitch or tail flick in response.

When the bell rang, they walked back to the school building. Ethan and Mia had made sure they had the same schedule so neither was alone, mainly for Nova since she was assumed to be mute and Rosemary was the only one who understood her. They had math class next, one of the only classes Nova didn't have an A in. She was good at math, but the teacher didn't like her, either because of her fox features or because she was so quiet and Rosemary had to answer for her.

Rosemary: Mr. Sanderson doesn't seem to like you. I don't understand why, you're a nice person and really good at math.

Nova's left ear twitched and her tail flicked. She was liked by a lot of the staff and students, either because of her ears, tail, looks, her smarts, or her quietness but Mr. Sanderson and a few other teachers didn't like her. She didn't know why. She didn't do anything to make them not like her.

Rosemary: Oh, well. It doesn't matter. Everyone else likes you.

Rosemary put her arm around Nova's shoulders, giving her a sideways hug. Everyone knew the two of them were basically sisters, if not having more of a mother-daughter like relationship since Nova was a lot older than Rosemary. A few girls in the halls looked at Nova, blushed, and started talking excitedly to each other. All the girls in the school adored her ears and tail and loved her forehead mark, thinking it was hot and cool.

Her mark had changed a little. It was still a cross, but it had a white star in the center, two red stars above the two black crescent moons, which still faced outwards, and it had a red cross in the center. The crescent moon on the top point was still there, facing upwards, but it was white now. It went down the bridge of her nose, stopping just above her nose. She still had the red dots in the corner of her eyes but they went under her eyes now and her eyes, still crimson, were more vibrant but dull at the same time. It's hard to explain.