"Oh my...!"

Emily could barely believe her eyes. The five feet tall white lion that was standing in front of her was a sight to behold. Its glowing amber eyes were looking directly back at her and she could not move her own eyes away from it even if she wanted.

It started walking towards her with slow steps that made no noise at all. On the other hand, Emily felt something jumping inside her as she had a sudden urge to throw her arms around his neck and snuggle her face against his silky white mane.

She had a soft corner for animals and at the moment, she was facing a breathtakingly beautiful lion. How could she not be so eager to touch an actual lion especially when she knew that it won't hurt her?

"Shadow...?"

She called out his name softly as she raised her right hand towards his face but stopped before her hand could actually come in contact with his head.

The lion stared back at her in silence, patiently waiting for her to take the initiative and touch him. Seeing the eagerness in his alluring amber eyes, Emily finally gave in.

Her palm landed against the soft skin of his forehead and the lion instantly leaned into her touch, making her chuckle at his eagerness.

"You are so beautiful..." She murdered in a soft voice as her fingers trailed across the bridge of his nose and then to his chubby cheeks. She played with his ears and noticed the way he closed his eyes as if he was enjoying the moment just as much as she was enjoying it.

She finally stood up to move closer to him and when she was finally standing beside him, she let her left hand brush through his soft silky hairs. She took her time in appreciating his unique beauty before she finally stepped back to look at him with smiling eyes.

At the exact same moment, she felt something jumping against her legs, and when she looked down to find out what was going on, her eyes landed on the three cute little figures that were now wide awake and were running around her.

"Aww, look at these cuties." She said with a high smile on her face as she crouched down to rub the heads of the little treasures that were running around her in circles.

She noticed that all three of them had black eyes but what surprised her were the bright blue rings that were outlining their irises. She had never seen eyes like that before in her life.

"Give me your hand."

She suddenly heard Shadow's voice which made her turn her head towards the lion but instead of the beautiful beast, she found a handsome man standing there. He had shifted back to his human form and his amber eyes were back to their normal self, meaning - they were no longer glowing brightly.

"My hand?" Emily asked with confusion as she looked at both of her hands, not understanding what he meant.

"En!" The man just nodded his head in response as he also crouched down beside her and pulled her left hand in his own without waiting for her to follow his words and offer her hand to him.

He was very well aware that her mind used to take quite some time to process everything especially when it's an urgent situation.

"What are you doing? I'm not actually feeling cold.....OUCH! THAT HURTS!"

Emily suddenly shouted in alarm as she tried to pull her hand away from his grasp but failed when he refused to let go.

She watched first in confusion and then in shock as he put her index finger in front of three little cubs. Her fingertip was covered with her blood and the pups started liking the blood off her finger.

All the three pups/cubs took a small taste of her blood and by the time the last one licked her finger for the last time, there was no blood nor any cut left on her finger.

"What are they doing? What are you doing? What's happening?" Emily asked those questions rapidly as she inspected her finger to see if she could find a hole or something.

"Too many questions, Princess! Take a breath and relax. I'll explain everything." Shadow said as he watched the threat of a beautiful bond forming between her and the three little fox cubs.

Emily shut her mouth as she observed the little white cubs whose eyes were now glowing bright blue as a miracle was taking place in front of her very eyes.

Her eyes returned to her finger and she noticed the little blue carving that was forming on the tip of her index finger of the right hand.

"I-Is...Is this a...a familiar bond?" She asked as she noticed the same pattern forming on the front left paws of the fox pups.

"Looks like you are not really that clueless about everything," Shadow commented as he rubbed the ears of one of the little creatures.

"These are the babies of white spirit fox. Kaiden has chosen a beautiful and beneficial gift for you. Not only these will become close companions of yours but they will also be able to protect you in times of need. They are magical beasts with magical abilities which you will find out with time."

Emily was silent as she observed the little cubs once playing and running around. They were so young, probably just a few months old and they were so adorable that she wanted to pick them up in her embrace and shower them in her love.

"What about their mother?" She finally asked as she looked around the area to see if she could spot a bigger fox hiding anywhere inside the ice cave.

"She's dead," Shadow answered her question as he took out a brown packet from his cost packet and started looking for whatever he was hiding inside it.

"Dead? How?" Emily asked as she looked at her bodyguard, waiting for him to answer. She felt her heart filling with sadness for the poor babies.

"A white spirit fox dies the moment it gives birth to more than two babies. Since there are three of them, it means that their mother died the very moment they were born. Their mother transferred all her spirit energy to her babies so that they can stay safe in the wilderness until they are big and strong enough to protect themselves. It's a good thing that Kaiden found them and saved them from the cruel outside world. White spirit foxes are rare and their blood is used to extract many types of magical pills and elixirs. They will be safe now with you."

He took out the like green-colored grass from the packet and gave it to the pups who immediately started chewing on the grass as if it was the most delicious food they had ever tasted.

"This.....?"

Emily asked as she looked between the pups and her bodyguard with amazement visible in her eyes.

"They are spirit animals and that means they need food which is full of spirit energy. Even if these babies are foxes, it does not mean that they will eat only meat. They will eat anything as long as it is filled with spiritual energy. This forest is filled with hundreds of spirit plants, you won't have to struggle in the future to provide them with food."

Shadow explained as he signaled for her to follow him. It was already past three o'clock in the morning and even though Emily looked as energetic as usual, he knew that she needed to sleep.

Emily hurriedly gave the pups a last rub and blew them soft kisses before she stood up and followed behind her bodyguard. She was about to ask another question but he started speaking even before she could utter a single word. It was like he knew what she wanted to ask.

"This forest is not too big, only about the size of a football playground. I think Kaiden asked for the help of one of his witch or mage friends to create this little world for the pups. There are no other beasts in this forest, so you don't need to worry about their safety. Also, they are snow foxes, so they need to stay in the snowy area for at least six to eight hours every single day till they reach the third rank. Once they have broken through the third rank of spirit beasts, they will be able to stay away from the snow for two days but then they will have to spend at least ten hours in the snow to recuperate."

"Can you stop for a moment?" Emily called out in a small voice as she looked at his back.

Shadow turned around to look at the girl and realized that she was freezing due to the cold. It had also started snowing lightly and she was looking exhausted.

"I think I've received too much information today. And you are telling me all about taking care of the babies as if you are going to disappear in the coming morning. I'm tired..."

Emily complained as she looked at him with exhausted eyes.

A sigh left his lips as he moved closer to the girl. He crouched down in front of her with his back facing her before he spoke.

"Hop on! I'll carry you back."

***

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