Where Foxes Hunt with Wolves - K.A. Merikan Page 0,37

hyper aware that Ember wasn’t supposed to witness any of this, but what was he to do?

“Oh well. Maybe he can smell wolf on me.” Olek laughed and pulled a cardboard box that jingled as if it contained glass out of the bag.

Shut up, shut up, shut up.

It then occurred to him Ember had seen him feed wolves, and worry fogged his mind to a point where he couldn’t listen to what Olek was saying while he pushed the hay out of the way to reveal the hatch.

“What’s the code?” Olek asked, taking hold of the padlock, and Yev did his best not to look Ember in the eye.

“Mom’s birthday.”

“And speaking of Mom…” Olek smiled and pushed the box at Yev. Fortunately the fox was small enough to hold in one arm. “This is for you. She knows how much you miss her stew. It just needs to stay between us. Wouldn’t want anyone knowing we’re breaking the rules of banishment.” He rolled his eyes.

That simple act of kindness was enough to ease Yev’s heart, and he itched to give his brother a hug. But he wouldn’t do it. Seeking comfort in another male was a sign of weakness, and he already wasn’t the kind of son his father wanted. “Thank you. Tell her I miss her,” he said with a heavy heart, holding the jars of food with a sense of loss.

Yev missed his pack, even though its members often hadn’t treated him the way he deserved.

“I can’t wait for you to be back!” Olek yelled from the hidden cellar, where he’d gone to leave the small transport. “I’ve been suggesting a new enhanced fertilizer for the plants, and Burian keeps complaining that it’s not how ‘they’ve always done it’. I need some backup against him. Even Dad’s not that bull-headed.”

Yev snorted, rubbing his chin against the top of Ember’s head. The thing smelled way more pleasant than a real fox. He should have noticed something was way different about him, but looks could deceive even a werewolf.

“Ignore him and do your thing. You are the best of us anyway,” he said softly, listening to his brother moving around in the cellar.

He and Olek had never talked about Yev’s transgressions. It was an untouchable topic, and Yev loved his soft-spoken brother too much to provoke him into saying ugly things. So it hung between them like fog neither of them wanted to step into.

Olek came back up the ladder with an empty backpack. “Thanks. What will you do with the fox when it’s healed up?”

Yev instantly wanted to hug Ember more tightly. “Don’t know yet. Why?”

“You know why. Don’t get too attached to him. Dad won’t have that. The wolves wouldn’t like it either.”

It was time to end the conversation before Olek slipped in something more about wolves or decided to shift after all.

“Yeah, well, I’m not coming back yet, so it doesn’t matter. At least I have someone to keep me company,” Yev grumbled.

Any other time, he’d have invited Olek to stay for tea, drinking up stories from their village as if they were mead, but he couldn’t have Ember listen to any of this.

Olek raised his hands. “Fine. Maybe teach him to play cards with you then.”

Ember barked a ‘yes’, but Olek couldn’t know the meaning of the sound as he rushed off without a goodbye.

Yev exhaled and placed Ember on the ground, giving himself time to think as he closed the padlock and then covered the hatch with the hay.

“This needs to be a secret. Understood?” he asked softly, glancing over his shoulder to meet Ember’s gaze.

The fox nodded at him with a ridiculously serious expression. With his family, with the werewolves, Yev could communicate with much more sophistication than this when in wolf form. As long as they looked into each other’s eyes, they could pretty much speak straight to one another’s souls. In comparison, a nodding, barking fox was funny as best, and tragic at worst.

A gay fox at that. Little perv had been spying on him.

Yev scooted down and started rubbing his knuckles under the fox’s chin. “There’s a witch in this forest. I’ll take you to her, and I’m sure she’ll work out this problem of yours.”

Chapter 9 – Radek

Yev had driven them deep into the forest, and once they could no longer move by truck, he placed Radek in a mid-sized backpack and continued on foot, making his way across the black and gray landscape of moderate hills scattered throughout the