When you're body is unable to move.

When you no longer have control over your body. 

That's how Nathaniel feels at this very moment.

Stuck in a little ball of depression, paralysed at the sight of his almost lifeless daughter, lying on a hospital bed. On one hand, he's ecstatic, over the moon, happy for once in his life, because now he knows she's safe, but is it worth it? On the other hand, guilt, sadness, anger, hatred towards himself for allowing his little girl to be tortured for so long, and for it to happen right under his nose. 

They should've known it would be the scummy b*stard. His suspicious behaviour over the course of the past 10 years should've made it as clear as day that it was him who captured Noelle. But the Highlands were too oblivious to see it. They were too nice, giving him too many chances, giving him the upper hand, but not anymore. 

Her fox, such a beautiful auburn shade. It looks as though the evening sun had been brought down to earth and placed over her skin. Even with all the scars and bruises she looks flawless. They could only imagine the pain she must have been feeling. They could only imagine what it would be like to be held captive for over 10 years, abused, hurt, belittled, thrown around like a rag, shamed. They could only imagine what kind of torture she went through, but Nate knows he won't allow her to go through it again. 

Flashback:

"Papa! Where are you?", Nathaniel heard his 7 year old daughter yell. 

"In here!", he answered from the kitchen, where he had gone to grab a cup of water. He heard her little footsteps, indicating that she was close by. 

"Finally, I found you! The boys were going on about vampires, and they said that everyone here is a vampire, does that mean I'm a vampire too?!", she asked with an abundance of enthusiasm. Nate mentally cursed at the boys for mentioning their species to her, when she's clearly too young to understand it. 

"Well, you see-", 

"Wait! I don't want to be a vampire! They're scary, and have like, really sharp teeth. What if I bite my tongue on accident, and my fangs make a hole in my tongue", she gasped at the thought. "-And, they can't go in the sunlight, and I love the sunlight, oh papa, please, I really don't want to be a vampire. How can we reverse the spell-."

"Noelle", he stopped her from continuing. She paused, taking a deep breathe, and staring up at her father.

"You aren't a vampire, little one", he reassures her and she sighs in relief. 

"You are something way more special", he proceeds and she looks up at curiously. He picks up her petite frame and places her on one of the kitchen stools, so she wouldn't have to crane her head upwards anymore. 

"You're a fox", he states, earning a confused look from her. 

"How do you know?", she asked. 

"We found out when you were about 5. Count Dracula, the most powerful vampire that ever existed had come to visit, since he grew up in this kingdom. It was the first time he saw you, and he instantly knew that there was something special about you. One thing about Count Dracula, is that he can predict the future, that's one of his super powers, we all have superpowers. He told us that you were a fox, and a very powerful one at that", he explains as she stares at him in awe. 

"Did he tell you anything else?!", she asked hopefully. 

"Nope, he refused."

"So I'm a fox, and I have superpowers", she repeats, still in shock. He chuckled at her. 

"Yep."

"Yay! That's wayyyy better that a vampire. Foxes are orange and fluffy, and have really cute paws", she celebrates, happy with her newfound species. 

Back to present time:

The doctor had finally left the room, after what felt like a lifetime. He was holding his clipboard tightly, his hands trembling and he inched closer to the brooding men. Easton, Nate, Alexander and Theo had instantly stood up, awaiting the news. The doctor cleared his throat. 

"Well, I-I did an examination of her whole body. A-as you can s-see, there are a l-lot of scars and bruises, and quite a couple a-are very deep. The reason w-why she's really small is because I'm guessing t-that she's only shifted once or twice in the past. For foxes, the l-less you shift, the smaller you are. I gave her a trim, since s-she really needed it, and I cleaned most of the cuts. But the b-bad news is that her human form is going t-to take much longer to heal. Foxes heal much faster. So until her fox properly heals, she won't be able t-to shift back", after his really long explanation, the men all sigh in relief, glad that she isn't dead. 

"So will she wake up?", Easton asks to make sure. 

"Of course, she should be up any minute now. She had passed out due to exhaustion, not because of her injuries. She's a survivor, that's for sure", he reassures them. 

"Can we go in?"

"Yes, but one at a time. Too much noise can trigger and scare her", the doctor answered. 

Easton wasted no time in standing up and making sure he was the first one in there. Pushing past the doctor, he opened the door and made his way towards the hospital bed with no hesitation, his hands aching to go through her fur once again, his body aching to be close to hers again, his beast aching to connect with her soul again.

Sparks flew once his rough hands made contact with her fluffy hair. He instantly felt at peace. 

Is this what tranquillity feels like? He spoke to Axel.

I wouldn't know, I haven't felt it in my whole existence, but this feeling is even better than what I had expected, he answered.

He couldn't even describe the way he was feeling at this very moment, reunited with his beloved after 10 long years of separation. Not a single word in the English dictionary is capable of even coming close to explain his emotions. 

Noelle seemed to relax once Easton stroked her fur, his touch calming down her racing thoughts. If only she could see him. What does he looks like? Has he dyed his hair? Does he still have that beauty spot under his eye, just like mine? Does he still have that scars running down his neck? No matter how different Easton looked, she would be able to recognise him any day. 

His eyes. 

They were something she'd never seen before. 

Smokey grey, with specks of brown that makes it looks like it a tornado was occurring in his eyes. 

Those could never change. 

He continued to stare at her in adoration and love, not caring about the other men who are dying to catch a glimpse of the fox. This was a moment neither one could ever forget. 

He leaned down towards her small face, nuzzling his nose against her snout, causing it to subconsciously twitch. Her scent was slowly returning, he assumed that he couldn't smell her before since she was close to death, but now that she's safe, he will finally get the pleasure of smelling her everyday. Coconut and vanilla. The best combination, he thought. 

He covered her face in kisses, wanting nothing more than to spoil her with love, affection and care. He deserves it. Someone as special and rare as her deserves nothing less. He took one of her paws in his hands, rubbing the back of it with his thumbs. 

"God, you're the size of a little pup, my love. We're going to need to fatten you up", he whispered in a surprisingly soft voice, remembering what the doctor said about too much noise. He chuckled at the end of his statement, feeling as if the broken pieces of his cold heart are slowly being placed back together like puzzle.

His chuckle died down however when he thought about why she's so small and skinny. She probably wasn't fed enough when she was captured. The thought alone brings tears to his eyes, but he pushes them away. She was literally skin and bones, but he'll make sure she's healthy once again. 

"It's in the past now, Elle. I won't let anyone harm a single hair on your head. I'll keep you safe, ", he spoke calmly and softly, not rushing his words, wanting her to understand everything he's saying. 

"At least now I can finally sleep in my own bed", he pauses to let out a low laugh. "I refused to sleep anywhere that wasn't your old bed. It still smelt like you, and that was the only thing that brought me peace. Even though it's tiny, I didn't want to change it, 'cause if I changed the bed, it would no longer smell like you. I'm surprised my back hasn't broken yet", he rants, not knowing if she could even hear him or not, but luckily she was, laughing to herself in her mind. 

"You're so silly, Easty", she spoke while giggling, but then frowned when she realised he can't even hear her. 

"It broke my heart whenever guests would come, and they tried to give them your room to sleep in. No one is allowed to sleep in there except me and you. That room is reserved for you, I'm not gonna let a stranger lay in it, no way in f*cking hell", he stated, a hint of anger in his voice. 

"I talk to you everyday. I look at your pictures, I laugh at how stupid we looked, I cried 'cause of how much I missed you, I smiled whenever I looked at your perfect face. I just hoped that you could hear me, in any way possible", he revealed to her. 

"I talked to you everyday as well! But I didn't have any pictures of us, but that's fine, my memories can never be taken away from me", she responded to him, her voice laced in enthusiasm, forgetting about all the pains in her body.

He smiled down at her, stroking her the fur on her face, removing the little specks of dirt. 

"We're also gonna need to give you a shower, my love", he laughed quietly, causing her to laugh too. 

She also agrees, since she barely earned the pleasure of taking a bath back at her captures house. They'd only give her a bath once a month, if she was being good. 

"I'm dying to see what you look like in your human form. Even Axel is going crazy in my mind, wanting nothing more than to take over and hold you, but for now, I want you all to myself. Axel is my beast, by the way. I finally transformed once I turned 16. I wonder what your fox's name is, either way it's probably beautiful."

"I can't take you out of here yet. You're still hooked up to this machine thing, but that's okay. I can sleep her every night with you, and I'll bring you breakfast, lunch and dinner. I'll bring you some of those brownies that my mum makes. I just can't wait for you to wake up. I'm so happy, my love, so f*cking happy. I love you more than anything."