Fox Life

A part of Iris' mind was even more cynical than that, however. Had she even had her aunt? Or was it all a lie? The photos she had clearly showed that she knew about the life her father lived, and she had still hated him more than anything.     

"Come, let's go up," Kyro told her, and Iris looked up at him with a blank stare. What was he speaking about? "We're at our hotel. Come."     

He pulled her out, and Iris let him. Outside, the hum of the city woke her a little and she brushed her damp cheeks. With a lowered head so people wouldn't look at her weirdly, she followed Kyro into the elevator and to their room.     

Mila was still in Kyro's hands, with her little arms around his neck. She was sleeping like a little angel, but instead of calming Iris, the sight only brought her more pain. Had her father carried her like that too?     

She couldn't remember him at all. Neither him nor her mother. In the photos, she believed them to be her parents simply based on resemblance to her or her aunt.     

Inside the room, Iris saw Lucy lounging on the bed. He meowed loudly when she dropped beside him, startled by the sudden movement of the mattress.     

His cold glare reminded Iris that nothing was okay. She took out her phone, but there was a reluctance within her to open the file once more. Did she want to see those people and wonder what if again?     

"What happened?" Kyro asked, coming into the room after putting Mila to sleep. His sharp gaze instantly noticed Iris' death grip on the phone, and he came to sit by her side. "Can I?"     

What did it matter? Iris nodded and threw the phone at him. It would only be fitting if he also left after finding out just how messed up her family was.     

But that was a lie. She couldn't lose him, not right then. Her hands formed into fists as she watched him examine the photos. His expression was purposefully blank, not letting anything show.     

It pained Iris, though. Would he think she was a monster too? Shew drew her knees up and wrapped her hands around them as she looked for any giveaway as to what he was thinking.     

"Did you read through it all?" he asked in the end in a controlled voice. Iris could not detect a trace of any emotion in it.     

"Read?" Iris blinked a couple times at him. Didn't that file only have photos?     

She stole her phone back and scrolled upward through a wall of text. It showed up that after the first two pages of pictures, her aunt had written an account of something.     

A shiver ran through Iris when she thought about what it would contain. Woud it— A hand snaked around her shoulders and pulled her against Kyro's chest. She looked up to see him watching her with a gentle expression.     

"I'm here for you," he said, and Iris couldn't help tearing up. What had she done to deserve him?     

She nodded and turned back to her phone. With his familiar presence surrounding her, she looked to the third page of the document.     

[The reason I never talked about your parents is because that wound is still too raw, and I don't think it's ever going to heal. I can sometimes still see them before me, their last moments forever ingrained in my mind. And that's why I'm writing this. Anise would have wanted you to know their story, even if I wish it could be lost forever.     

For you to understand it all, I'll start from the very beginning. Your grandparents were researchers, and their parents before them. They were part of the group of people that started this whole human gene engineering experiment.     

When I was young, I was at odds with Anise, but that's how siblings are. We'd say we love or hate each other depending on which hour of which day you asked. We were perfect opposites you see: She was bright and cheerful, always optimistic and ready to help everyone.     

There wasn't a bone in her that would allow suffering of another, so parents let her go, but I was different. They saw potential in me and forced me to study biology and gene engineering deep into the nights. I hated Anise for not having to go through that and drifted apart from her even further.     

Mid high school, I was finally brought to the lab. I was introduced to the subjects and what was being tried on them. The very first experiment I witnessed was on Subject 3, your father. He was the strongest of the genetically engineered creatures, but it had been luck more than anything else that had resulted in his ancestors. Not once had the researches been able to replicate their success with any other human.     

After that, I saw that youth often, since he was everyone's favorite subject. But he didn't see me. Not once.     

That's why when a month after he ran away Anise brought me to introduce us, he didn't recognize me. I was too stunned to move after seeing him, unable to utter a word, but Anise didn't see anything wrong. She thought I was just surprised that she actually found someone she truly liked.     

When I learned that he took up the name Daemon Warren, I had wanted to laugh. That was the first time in my life that I thought that he might be more than just a common animal. But it didn't last. His actions throughout the meeting were those of a hunted beast that couldn't sit still for fear of its hunters catching up.     

After the meeting, I tried to talk sense into Anise, to change her opinion of him, but she never listened. No matter how much I tried to make her understand, she didn't care. She said she knew things about him that no one else would even consider as part of reality, but she still loved him.     

Two months passed like that. I knew the organization was growing desperate and tried one more time, but Anise shut me down. She said that their love would prevail.     

I have to admit that for a moment, I considered to just let her see for herself how it would all fall apart like a card house at the slightest breeze. But she was still my sister. I didn't want to see her broken beyond repair or worse.     

That night, I reported them to the organization myself. Then, I bribed and threatened people into allowing the two lovebirds to remain together. It would be our new experiment, to see how subject animals survive in the outside. On top of that, we'd get data if breeding between the two species is possible.     

In time, there was a private wedding and a child. Life seemed to be going great for everyone, but Fox-3 was never meant to have that. He was a subject, an animal. And soon, the car crash happened. I really don't know whether the fault lies with him driving carelessly or someone engineering the event, but it doesn't change a thing.     

If not for him, it wouldn't have happened. If Anise hadn't met him, she would still be alive.     

But you know what's the worst? The bastard actually survived. My sister was dead on the spot, but that beast had turned into his fox form and avoided the majority of the damage.     

He had changed back by the time the police arrived and then was sent to the hospital. Mad with grief and hatred, I had went to visit him before the organization could retrieve him back into the lab.     

He lay motionless in the bed when I came, staring at the ceiling with blank eyes. I couldn't stand it. My sister was dead and he looked as nonchalant as ever.     

To put some perspective into him, I took out a syringe. It wasn't anything special, but he recognized it as one from the lab. His eyes went wide and he froze. Then started laughing. He laughed so long and hard that police officers came to check in on what was happening.     

The beast lunged at me then. His leg was broken along with a couple ribs, so I hadn't thought he'd be any danger to me, but I was mistaken. I was certain I was going to die when he pummeled into me with all his weight.     

But the policemen came and pulled him away. They spoke something to him as I scrambled back in fear.     

There was a cock of the gun then. I raised my head to see him holding it aimed straight at me. One policemen tried to take it away from him, but the beast managed to take him hostage in a scuffle that lasted for no more than a couple seconds.     

"Anise…" he whispered then. His face contorted as he looked at me, but instead of hatred all I saw was immense anguish and loss. It was almost as if he was pleading with me for something.     

When I didn't say anything, too horrified and shocked to do anything but watch the events unfold, he laughed in a hollow voice. The sound tore even at my stone heart.     

Never before had I seen him like that. No matter what cruel and inhumane experiments we subjected him to, there was never defeat in his eyes. His will to survive was a legend among the researchers.     

But in front of my own eyes, I saw it die.     

"I'm sorry, so sorry," he whispered, but I knew the words weren't meant to me. His eyes glistened. "I can't, Anise, I'm so sorry… Our little, Iris… She… I can't. I just can't…" His voice broke then, and he hiccuped, choking on air.     

The other policeman thought to use that moment to wrangle the gun free of him, but Daemon pushed the hostage into his path. Then, before anyone could stop him, he shot himself.     

All I can say is that his end was swift. His tense muscles relaxed and his hand with the gun tumbled lifeless to the ground. I watched him fall back like it was in slow motion, every millisecond of it engraving itself into my mind. It's a sight I'll carry with myself for all eternity.]