The vampires of this world, when they stopped pretending to be alive, were immediately obvious in their disguises. The third member of the red-eyed group was a perfect example of this. While the Cullens were still trying to pretend to be human, this non-young non-man was completely exposed. To me, this guy was a parody of humanity, with a face and limbs intact, but a body language that resembled a slightly nervous statue and an unusually charming voice.
Me?!
And to be charmed by a man's voice?!
Something was clearly wrong with this situation, but all it took was a glance and a wink from the fox to understand her message not to worry. Of course, I didn't stop worrying, but my nervousness was gone.
The weirdo didn't follow his fellow hunters, which showed the full extent of his camaraderie. But only Rosalie looked at him with annoyance. This is despite the fact that one of the ghouls can read minds, another can read emotions, and the third can see the future.
And Rosalie was clearly annoyed with me, not with him, but for some reason she refused to focus her gaze on me. And I wasn't imagining it in a desperate attempt to convince myself that my desires for her were mutual. No, we all made our way to their mansion, and she stayed close to me the entire journey, but she avoided making eye contact with me. Despite this, I was captivated by her scent, as I couldn't relax and let go of the spiritual magic in such a dangerous company. After all, it was the consequences of the strengthening that first revealed this strange connection with Rosalie to me.
Tomiko taught me how to consciously strengthen myself without the direct involvement of Omamori, and she did so almost at the very beginning of our training sessions, as it improved my regeneration and helped with my training. The power of the shield was separate, and I used it even without this kitsune magic. This magic brought my human body closer to the standard of a kitsune with each use, drop by drop. Nine tails goal is walking like crayfish to the Mars, of course, not even to the Moon.(author notes w. explanation in the end of the chapter)
This magic enhanced my sense of smell, and as the strange energy spread throughout my body, weird desires awoke. In fact, I looked in the rear-view mirror on the way and discovered that this state even changed my eyes from their simple brown color to a completely fantasy-like hue.
It was like I was a witcher, for real. I also had a flaming sword and an amulet, and all I had to do to complete the set, would be to fuck a sorceress on a stuffed unicorn.
At the same time, none of the ghouls suspected their new red-eyed friend of any perceptual tricks. Apparently, this was a rare power, I guess?
Even for me, this caused a dissonance, only because I had never found any of the men charming at all, and my mind simply could not fail to notice such a shift.
I chose to remain silent on this matter. I did not intend to go any further into this ghouls' lair than trying to free myself from a random promise backed by magic. I mean, I only just found out about the promise, but before that, my plan was to smile and wave as I walked away, rather than getting involved in any kind of confrontation. And the red-eyed guy didn't do anything wrong per se, he just defused the tension and pretended to be interested in their diet.
Tomiko had mentioned that yellow-eyed vampires drank animal blood, which only raised more questions and provided no answers. After all, both humans and ordinary mammals have red blood. Maybe their real eyes are actually golden, and when they consume the proper blood, it somehow enters their visual system. It's all a bit of a mystery, and there doesn't seem to be any logical explanation, especially considering the available evidence. I don't know much about them, and to be honest, I don't really want to know.
The only thing stopping me from telling this family to go fuck themselves is the fact that I'm still bound to Lillian by this verbal contract.
I patiently waited for the chatter to end, occasionally glancing at Rosalie, who was still frowning and clutching her husband's hand. Emmett was smiling at whatever she murmured to him, and I kept feeling quite jealous and frustrated, even tho I had no feasible right to it. Tomiko's presence was the only thing keeping me patient, as her tails began to scratch behind my ears and on my temples. She was comfortably perched on the top of my head, observing the entire group.
At some point, I realized that this dude had convinced Carlisle that he was serious about changing his diet, and the conversation turned to some friends from Alaska. That's when I heard Tomiko clearing her throat loudly.
All eyes turned to me, and I silently pointed to my passenger with both hands.
"I have a better idea!" The fox grumbled and snorted. "Why don't you invite your friends here? I doubt that Victoria was unable to escape our trap, because her power is to avoid danger. And she will definitely take revenge. She is extremely vindictive, isn't she, mister?"
Now everyone's eyes were on the red-eyed guy. Unlike me, he wasn't embarrassed by this, and he wasn't even trying to be - the asshole was clearly at ease when it came to social interactions. The vampire just shrugged and nodded in confirmation.
"What kind of trap is it?" Alice asked. "I didn't see anything!"
"You seem to be very comfortable around a bloodsucker who's already killed several innocents in this area," I interrupted, deciding to intervene.
Tomiko had a plan that I didn't understand, and I didn't like the idea of more vampires in Forks. I needed to warn them at least a little. It wasn't difficult to imagine another group of ghouls under the influence of this weirdo, and it's quite clear that this would undoubtedly lead to problems.
"You know," Edward broke the tense silence, still holding Lillian in his arms, which is why I avoided looking at them all the time they were in my vicinity. "I think this is a good idea."
"And yes," the fox remarked casually, finally releasing my head from her ass and jumping onto the armrest. "The Volturi know about us, and I even have Mister Caius phone number somewhere."
The name sounded ridiculous, but I didn't feel like laughing. What was that fox trying to get me into, and can I just go jump off a cliff to avoid it all?!