Chapter 4 The Day I've Had - Alden's POV

Alden

When I woke up this morning, I knew I would come to the Harvest Festival. I had planned on stuffing my face until I couldn’t eat another bite. I would admire the pretty lights, wander through the craft stalls, and enjoy the magic shows.

And I had done exactly that for approximately five minutes before I saw her shop.

The moment I did, I knew there was something I needed to take care of. I needed to see her and settle things once and for all. But the last thing I ever expected was to be turned into a fox by rogue magic on one of the most magical days of the year.

The door slammed shut behind us as she smuggled me out the back of her shop under her cloak. For several seconds, she didn’t say a single word to me. All I could hear was her ragged breathing as I bumped against her side.

I had never been smuggled out of anywhere before. I had most certainly never been smuggled out of a bakery while disguised as a fox. And I had never, in all my years, been carried by my fated mate while she apologized to a kettle.

A whistling kettle at that.

My life had taken a rather unexpected turn.

I pushed my nose out from beneath the cloak. “Are we safe? It’s getting too hot in here, and I need to breathe.”

Poppy jumped at my sudden intrusion into her escape. “Do you have to do that?”

“Do what?” I asked quietly.

“Talk.”

I stared up at her, my gaze narrowing into slits. She looked down, then at the path ahead.

“You are the one who turned me into a fox,” I stated plainly.

“I didn't mean to, and I said I was sorry for doing it,” she whispered. “Now let me get us to my grandmother’s cottage.”

“That does not make it better,” I murmured, keeping my voice low.

Though I could have shouted and let the guards know where I was, I just couldn’t do that to her yet.

She frowned at me before glancing toward the bakery. The muffled voices of my guards carried through the walls behind us.

“She's not here!”

“Search the kitchen!”

“Check the back!”

Poppy's arms tightened around me. “I’m so sorry.”

There was something in her voice that made me look up again. She wasn’t saying it because she was afraid of being caught. I was certain that she was saying it because she genuinely felt bad for turning me into a fox.

I shifted against her arm, trying to get comfortable despite the fact that her cloak was wrapped around me like some sort of prison.

“You have apologized several times, and I’ve told you I will accept it, but only on the condition that you change me back.”

“I know that,” she said, glancing back again.

“So, please stop,” I muttered. “I don’t want to hear it again.”

Honestly, I hated the pain in her voice when she said it. It was starting to drive me mad.

“Why? Shouldn’t I apologize a thousand times?” She asked, her voice coming out ragged because of how quickly she was walking. “I turned you, the Lord of the Autumn Court, into a fox.”

“I feel as though I should be the one comforting you, and I don’t know what to do about it,” I murmured.

Her eyebrows lifted. “Why would you comfort me? You’re the fox.”

“I am aware of what I am,” I huffed.

“Are you telling me that I shouldn’t feel bad because I turned you into a fox?”

I thought about that for a moment, trying to figure out the best way to answer this. My gaze drifted to the trees above us, watching the leaves sway in the slight breeze. They were bright orange this time of year and absolutely beautiful. I sighed, wishing that I could be enjoying the festival as I planned.

But no. I was a fox in my fated mate’s arms.

“I’m telling you that panicking will not change anything. It does you no good.”

She stared at me for a long moment before glancing ahead. A quaint little cottage was up ahead. “You sound just like my grandmother.”

I wasn’t sure whether that was a compliment or an insult.

“She sounds like a smart woman.”

Poppy nodded. “Oh, she was.”

I watched her gaze focus on the cottage ahead again, but there was a sadness in her eyes that hadn’t been there before.

“You truly miss her, don’t you?”

Poppy swallowed, her throat bobbing. “Every single day.”

I didn’t know what to say to that. For all the years I had known her grandmother, I’d never considered what her absence would mean to Poppy. I’d been so focused on settling the matter between our families that I had never stopped to consider the person she left behind.

Perhaps I should have.

I shifted in Poppy’s arms. “When did she die? I never heard the exact date.”

“Two years ago,” she murmured.

“And you’ve been here alone since?”

She nodded again, barely able to look at me. Tears lined her eyes, and she blinked them back. “My grandmother raised me, so this was always home. I never knew my parents, which is…unusual for us, as you know.”

“It is rare. Where did they go?”

Poppy’s fingers tightened slightly around me. “I don’t know.”

I lifted my head, my brow furrowing. “Why don’t you know?”

She shook her head, sighing heavily. “My grandmother never talked about them. Whenever I asked, she would tell me that some things were better left in the past.”

My brow slowly rose. “That sounds suspicious.”

“I thought so too.”

She went up the steps with ease and then reached for the front door. “We weren’t followed, but everyone knows where I live. It won’t be long, so we must hurry.”

The door creaked open, and Poppy quickly slipped inside before kicking it shut behind us. She turned, locking the door and taking a breath.

I raised my head from beneath her cloak, taking a look around her home. It was small and cozy, with a fireplace and plenty of fuzzy throws.

I could almost imagine myself here with her, cuddled up on one of the couches with the fireplace roaring. The logs would pop, and we’d have hot chocolate in our favorite mugs.

Then reality rushed back. Why was I thinking of that?

I was a fox. A fox who had been turned by the woman who was supposed to be my mate. This wasn’t how any of this was supposed to be.

Poppy moved farther into the cottage; a half-finished blanket rested in a basket. There were several small candles arranged on the mantel. It wasn’t fancy, but it felt so warm.

Little touches of her were everywhere.

I jumped down from her arms, landing on the floor with ease. “Nice place you have here. Did you decorate?”

“Oh, um, yeah,” she murmured.

I made my way to the picture on the table and hopped up, resting my paws on the edge. Poppy was standing next to an older woman whom I recognized as her grandmother. Both of them were smiling.

There was something about the way I saw Poppy that caused an ache inside me.

She looked happy.

I glanced her way, watching her head to the kitchen. She began searching through cabinets and looking around.

“Who took this picture?” I asked absentmindedly.

Poppy looked at her shoulder, her brow furrowing. “What?”

“This picture of you and your grandmother. Who took it?”

“Oh,” she said, her gaze growing distant. “Someone from the village.”

I looked back at the picture. “You look so happy.”

“I was.”

The way she said it made me glance at her again. She had stopped searching the cabinets, but her gaze remained on the picture.

“My grandmother was everything to me, and now she’s gone, so all I have is that bakery.”

Something tightened in my chest. I had spent years thinking of that bakery as nothing more than the place where her grandmother had made our family’s lives considerably more difficult.

I had never stopped to think about what it meant to Poppy.

“It must be difficult,” I said quietly.

She shrugged, though I could see the sadness she was trying to hide. “It’s all I’ve ever known. My grandmother taught me everything. She taught me how to bake, how to use my magic, and how to take care of myself.”

She glanced around the cottage. “And now I’m supposed to figure everything out without her.”

I wanted to tell her she didn't have to do it alone, but the thought surprised me.

“If you are anything like your grandmother, I’m sure you’re going to be fine,” I murmured. “Now about that book that will change me back.”

She laughed and looked at the cabinet. “It’ll be a few more minutes. I’m still looking.”

“Well, we must hurry. I don’t think you want me to stay as a fox forever.”