Where Foxes Hunt with Wolves - K.A. Merikan Page 0,100

busy nightclub. “I was scared,” he admitted in a hushed voice.

“I know. I’ve been carrying this with me, but it’s a freaky idea that you might not like so I didn’t talk to you about it yet. But… could I tag you?”

Radek glanced over his shoulder with a frown. “Tag me? What?”

A flush spread across Yev’s face as he looked away, which was completely ridiculous considering Radek was still in bondage, and had Yev’s dick up his ass. He opened a small plastic box and showed him a steel tag that resembled something that might be attached to a wild animal for research.

“If we put this on your ear, you wouldn’t be an anonymous fox, even if you transformed.”

Radek got choked up for no reason at all and had to take a few deep breaths before he could speak. “No, I’d be tamed, and everyone could recognize it. That’s so thoughtful, Yev.”

The firm body behind him relaxed, and Yev gently unwound the scarf tying Radek’s arms together. “Don’t worry. I’ll take care of you.”

Once he was free, they settled into a hug, and Yev’s strong arms made Radek feel invincible even though he had so many problems and responsibilities to deal with. His eyes were closing already, but he still took his time admiring the steel tag in his hand.

He belonged to Yev.

Chapter 19 – Yev

Yev wanted to see the tag—earring—again, but the lovely red hair kept getting in the way, like a silk curtain stubbornly falling into place and blocking him from his favorite peepshow. It didn't help that Radek had put on a blue woolen cap, which covered his ears, but Yev’s patience was growing thin, and he pushed some locks out of the way so he could see the small cuff attached to the flushed, tender flesh. He was driving the truck at a snail’s pace anyway.

He’d lapped up all the blood caused by the piercing, but seeing it in place still made him salivate, as if Radek were prey. And in some sense he was—prey willing to roll over for him and let him bite off as many chunks of meat as he wanted.

He took care to lick the bite marks so they healed well, but this cuff marked Radek for good, and Yev had to stop obsessing over it because it was there for Radek’s safety, not to tell the world the freckled boy belonged to Yev. Not at all.

Just like the mating bite shouldn’t have been about it, but it oh-so had been.

Yev’s chest constricted with unexpected pain when he inhaled and once again smelled the confirmation that Radek’s scent had not changed since last night. He still wasn’t Yev’s true mate, and maybe it was high time to stop with the useless fantasies. Before last night, Yev could have dismissed what he’d been told—that only women could undergo the physical changes that altered their pheromones and made the couple two halves of a whole—but he’d tried the mating bite with Radek, and nothing had happened.

Yev hadn’t planned it, even though no man before Radek had ever felt so perfectly aligned with Yev’s needs. In that moment of absolute pleasure, it had felt right to follow his instincts, but it turned out that just like the two of them couldn’t have a baby together, they couldn’t become a mated pair. Whether it was the will of the Moon-Eyed God, or pure biology wasn’t important.

That was that. End of story.

He’d have to lock up his pain and loneliness deep inside and live on, pretending they weren’t there.

Radek blinked and smiled at Yev, pulled out of his thoughts. “Should we tag Coal? It’s not like he goes out, though.”

“He could run off if one of us forgot to close the door,” Yev said, sliding his hand to Radek’s nape, which was hot under the scarf. He shouldn’t have been getting used to Radek’s presence or the comfort it gave him, but it was hard to deny himself those moments of weakness when the boy was so close.

“Watch the road.” Radek laughed and pointed at the windshield. “I can see their house. Is it weird that I got attached so fast?”

Yev’s heart picked up pace, but seconds later, he realized Radek was talking about Coal, not him.

“No. I think it’s normal. He’s very cute,” he said with a small smile as they took a turn down a very narrow road covered with deep snow, toward the newly-built house on the edge of the forest. Made of wooden