It was something that she had learned only after she started living with Kevin. Lilian had been incredibly shocked to discover that neither of those were accepted practices in the human world. Not only did the yōkai world not have any laws against such practices, the number of manga she read where human males had harems, some of which involved their own sisters, were quite numerous.
“Is that why you haven’t let me join you?” asked Iris.
Nodding, Lilian said, “Kevin doesn’t like the idea of having a harem, so I… I have been thinking of ways to bring the subject up delicately.”
Iris turned to face her. “But you will bring it up, right?”
“Yes.” Turning as well, Lilian stared at Iris with the most serious look she could muster. “But I have a few rules regarding this, and you will follow them.”
Iris didn’t hesitate. “What are they?”
Lilian held up a hand. She stuck out a single finger. “Rule number one: I will do my best to convince Kevin, but if he says no, that’s it. You will not bring this up ever again.”
Iris winced. “Kinda harsh, but okay.”
“Rule Two.” Lilian held up a second finger. “If Kevin says yes, then you will follow whatever rules he sets down.”
“I… I suppose I could live with that,” Iris reluctantly said.
“Rule three.” Lilian held up a third finger. “Here are my rules. You will not be able to do anything to either myself or Kevin, unless we have given you permission. That means if I say ‘don’t kiss me,’ you won’t kiss me. Same thing as Kevin. If he tells you not to do something, you stop. Also, you will only be allowed to join us in bed when we give you permission.”
“By join you in bed, you mean have sex, right?” Iris asked. “I can still sleep with you?”
Lilian bit her lower lip, then nodded. “I think that’s fair… and I… don’t dislike sharing my bed with you.”
“Yes!” Iris pumped a fist in the air. “The sexy shenanigans can finally commence!”
“That’s only if Kevin agrees,” Lilian corrected.
Iris leapt to her feet and grinned, eyes brimming with a joy that had not been present on her face for over a decade. “Whatever. I’m sure he’ll agree if you’re the one bringing it up. I can finally join you two in bed!”
“I wouldn’t be so sure about that,” Lilian muttered as Iris began dancing around the balcony. However, seeing how happy her sister was, Lilian decided not to tell her what the odds of Kevin agreeing to this were. After how much Iris had gone through to rescue her, she wanted the girl to be happy, even if it was fleeting.
After all, twenty years ago, she had made a promise with Iris: whoever got a mate first would let the other join them. She just hoped Kevin would be receptive to such a relationship.
***
“Achoo!” Kevin sneezed.
“Bless you,” his mom said.
“Thanks.” Kevin rubbed his nose. He hoped he wasn’t coming down with a cold.
Mother and son sat on a bed, staring at each other. It was a very nice bed. Very large. The dark blue comforter was soft and the many pillows were reminiscent of fluffy clouds. This was purportedly his new bed, which his mom had bought after buying this condo. His new bedroom was quite nice. While it didn’t have any furniture aside from the bed and a nightstand, it felt at least a dozen or so square feet larger. Not that he had time to admire it right then.
“Is there anything you want to tell me, Kevin?” his mom asked.
Kevin looked away. “No. Nothing.”
“I see.”
His mom ran a hand through her hair. There were dark bags under her eyes and her shoulders were slouched, like she hadn’t gotten much sleep these past few days.
“You really have nothing to say? Nothing at all?”
“Nothing that I know of. Are you asking me about something in particular?”
“Maybe.” His mom narrowed her eyes at him. “Perhaps you would be willing to start by telling me how it is that an entire family of kitsune have come to live with you?”
Kevin’s eyes widened. “What do you—”
“Don’t try to lie, Kevin.” His mom held up a hand to forestall his obvious lie. “I am already aware of the yōkai world. I’ve known about it since long before you were even born, as a matter of fact.”
Kevin needed a second to truly grasp his mother’s words. “So, then, you knew…”
“That Lilian and Kotohime were both kitsune?” His mom finished for him when he trailed off, snorting. “Of course, I knew. Kotohime may have done an excellent job at presenting herself as a mostly normal human, but your mate was horrible. The number of times I caught her with her tails and ears out when I visited back in September were too numerous to count. And even though she would always hide them when she noticed me, it was always too late by then.”
“Why didn’t you say anything?”
“Because unlike some people in this world, I am not a racist bigot who hates others just because they’re a different species than me.” Kevin shivered at the dangerous edge in his mother’s voice. It was sharp, piercing, like a freshly polished blade. “So long as you knew what you were getting into, I saw absolutely nothing wrong with you becoming involved with a kitsune.” She paused to smile at him, her eyes softening. “And Lilian is a great girl. I can tell that she truly loves you, and I can see that you truly love her.”
“Yeah.” Kevin smiled as well. “I do.”
Mother and son shared identical matching expressions for all of two seconds before his mom’s face quickly became serious. Kevin saw this and he, too, schooled his features.
“Now then,” his mom began again, “you are going to tell me about everything that has happened to you, and I don’t want you to leave a single thing out.”
Kevin sighed, but he complied and informed his mom of the many events that he had been a part of since Lilian entered his life, including the many battles and life-and-death situations he’d found himself in.
What he did not tell her about was the many sexual situations that he had been in, including the ones that involved Lilian’s sister, Iris.
That was one topic that he would never discuss with his mom. Not in a million years.
AFTERWORD
Here we are at the end of the latest in the American Kitsune series, A Fox's Rescue, and I think it's been one hell of a ride. There's been action, comedy, romance, violence, and politics all wrapped into this massive journey that spans several countries. However, what I want to talk about in this afterward is not the story itself.
It's Iris.
Iris is easily my most controversial character. Some people love her, some hate her, some think she's hotter than Hades, while others find her disgusting.
My thoughts on Iris is that she's very conflicted.
Iris is a Void Kitsune, which means she can touch the unfathomable thing known as The Void, a sentient hunger that desires nothing less than the complete eradication of everything living. Part of Iris's personality stems from being a Void Kitsune. All Void Kitsune here “the whispers.” I've already told you about that in my novel, so I'll spare you the details here. Suffice to say, “the whispers” basically erode the sanity of Void Kitsune and Iris's personality is a byproduct of being forced to listen to “the whispers” every day.
However, I like to think that Iris is actually a really good person. Yeah, she's kind of a stereotypical sexy bitch, and she knows it, but she also took a spear to the gut for Christine, and then she went on a quest with Kevin to save Lilian from the most powerful Celestial Kitsune on the planet.
Speaking of Kevin, I'm sure you all noticed, but I've finally revealed that Kevin isn't quite what he seems. I don't want to say much about him. However, I think this volume did a semi-decent job of revealing that Kevin isn't just a regular high school student.
Back to Iris.
I plan on doing more to help develop Iris in what I hope are interesting ways. Her and Lilian are two of the most important characters in
the series, and her role will become even more important in later arcs that I've planned.
Hmmm...
I'm wondering if I should talk more. I feel like I had a lot more to say, but now that I'm here, I find myself drawing nothing but blanks. I guess I'll end this with some last minute thank yous.
I'd like to thank my editor, Crystal, for streamlining and making my stories better. I also want to thank my proofreaders for helping find the little mistakes that slip through the cracks. They do an excellent job of making sure my books have as few errors as possible.
I want to give another big thank you to Kirsten Moody. She's been my illustrator for the American Kitsune series since it started, and she's done an amazing job. Her illustrations are gorgeous. I think they're at least half the reason my books are appealing.
Another big thank you goes to my parents for their support. They know I write sexy harem stories inspired by anime. I get teased a lot, but they support what I do, which is important to me.
My last thank you goes to everyone who read this book. It's only thanks to all of you that I can do this, that I can keep writing. You've helped turn my dreams into something tangible, and I'm always my happiest when I find out that a new review was posted on Amazon or Goodreads by someone saying they loved my books. Without you, I'd just be some lonely loser living in his mother's basement instead of someone who can afford to pay for his own place. Thank you.
This is Brandon Varnell signing off.
Have you been turned on to Brandon Varnell's light novels yet?
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AMERICAN KITSUNE
Volumes 1-7: A Fox's Love, A Fox's Tail, A Fox's Maid, A Fox's Family, A Fox's Vacation, A Fox's Mate, A Fox's Revenge
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Follow Caspian's Journey to become a Sorceress's Knight in Arcadia's Ignoble Knight vol. 1-3!
ARCADIA'S IGNOBLE KNIGHT
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All Alex wanted was to become a hero...
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A MOST UNLIKELY HERO
Volumes 1 & 2
He was their best Executioner
THE EXECUTIONER SERIES
Volume 1: Succubus
Volume 2: Escape
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