Lucy Caldwell suffered a disaster in her childhood - her house was burnt, which turned fatal for her parents. She grew up in a children's house with other orphans. She could never forget the fire incident and was sure her parents were murdered, so she wished to investigate the case when she grew old enough. Lucy, like all the other children, frequents a Spirit School, where children are taught to control their inner spiritual energy. When they reach 15 years of age, they befriend spirits that reside in the vast Spirit Forest in East Land and receive the Bond Item - an object from the spirits which permits to summon them whenever in need. Each person is able to form a bond with a single spirit. However, there are certain spirits that never approach humans, are known as man-eaters and have marked severe borders on their territory, eating anyone who trespasses on them. Such is the clan of the tailed foxes - the Huli. Lucy has already reached 15 years, so she goes to the Spirit Forest with her classmates to befriend a spirit and bond with them. However, while sitting around a bonfire and listening to her classmates' scary stories, she remembers the dreadful day of how her house caught fire in past, and, worked-up, runs off into the depths of the forest to cry off her anguish. But as elders often say, dense forests are definitely not a place for little children to run around, for the danger lies in every corner, as Lucy soon comes to realise...

The Guardian Spirit (The Guardians of Nine Heavens, Book 2)

 Dusk fell. Lutecia had cried a lot even after finishing her dinner. Finally, she sat up on the bed and wiped off her remaining tears. 


 She heard the door creak. She picked up her big bunny ears in fear. Her dreadful fox husband stepped in. They were husband and wife now and got to sleep together... Ah, not only sleeping beside a fox! 


 The man looked down at her with his icy blue eyes. The bunny’s nose began fearfully twitching as she watched the fox, with her ears on the alert. At her frightened little rabbit pose, Yuehong faintly chuckled and pulled a big carrot out of his sleeve. Lutecia widened her eyes. Her ears bent slightly as she felt the delicious fragrance of the carrot. 


“Here, this is for you, little one,” Yuehong said. 


“T... Thanks.” Lutecia took the carrot. 


 The fox took a seat on the bed beside her. Lutecia shivered a little, but then braced herself and bit the carrot. Her eyes brightened – she had never eaten anything more delicious! She felt the red-nailed manly hands touch her and glanced up at the fox with a start. 


“I know it might be hard for you to adjust to the life with us tailed foxes, so I shall clarify some details to you.” he softly caressed her on her light blue hair. “I am the master of the whole household here. You might have heard of me as Lord Huli Yuehong, Blood Moon Fox, or Celestial Fox Lord Huli. I am the only nine-tailed fox there is. As you might know, nine is the maximum number of tails for any fox. That means the one with the nine tails is the strongest. Other than that, I am the_” 


“You are the king of all spirits, my lord, and the master of the Transformation Force – the third biggest force along with the Birth and the Death which are controlled by the high angels.” 


“I’m glad you know. Well then, as long as you are my queen, you are not to bow to any fox here, and neither any other spirit, for being my wife, you are the queen of all spirits. If there is a case of anyone’s bullying you, you can straightly address me, and your oppressors shall be punished. You will have absolute rights in this palace. But remember – your father and I have formed a treaty. No matter how numerous your rights are here, you mustn’t forget that you remain a hostage too. So, if your father breaks the treaty with me, I will not hesitate to eat you for breakfast.” 


 He smiled and casually fanned his face as if nothing. Lutecia widened her eyes in horror. She covered her face with her hands and began crying: 


“Aww, I didn’t mean to scare you, little one! I’m sure your father loves you enough as to not sacrifice you for his selfish desires. Well then, I’ll be going now... Oh, and one more thing – I never sleep, but instead transform into a white Yin fox at night. So, you don’t need to worry – I will not eat you in your sleep.” 


 He chuckled and walked out, leaving the bunny princess dumbfounded – how did he know what she was thinking about? Once the door closed, she fell back on the bed and began sobbing hysterically – that fox was such a meanie and such a scary one... He indeed intended to eat her up! 


My stepfather never cared about me. He won’t even bother worrying about me. He will freely sacrifice me for his selfish desires! 


 Thus, crying and sobbing, she soon fell into a deep slumber.


Chapter 28: The Fox Husband