Where Foxes Hunt with Wolves - K.A. Merikan Page 0,77
won’t hurt you. I know, you’re in pain,” Yev cooed softly. He didn’t need to understand foxes the way Radek did to know the distress in the little whimpers.
He was preparing for a bite when he opened the cage and grabbed the little fox with patchy fur, but the animal was so subdued it didn’t even fight him when he pulled it against his chest.
Shit. Its breathing was so painfully uneven. And it stank so bad.
A frosty sensation danced down his back, and he pulled off his scarf, to wrap it around the shivering animal, whose one eye was a giant ball of puss that couldn’t still be functional. Fury danced in his veins when he saw the proof of what he’d known all along without even visiting this place, at all the remaining foxes he couldn’t rescue, as unfair as it was.
He avoided looking at the other cages on the way back, but as he burst outside, his skin felt dirty—not due to the ugly scent in the shed, but because this mindless cruelty was happening in the first place. It made him ashamed to wear this human skin.
“He needs…а a vet,” he said, meeting Radek’s eyes. Yep, he still had vertical pupils, but at least he hadn’t transformed in front of all the men conferring by the cars.
“Okay. Can we go now?” Radek was pale when he stepped closer and ran his fingertip over the ridge of the fox’s nose. “I’ll take care of you,” he whispered, and the sad little thing let out a whine, rubbing its muzzle, which, Yev now noticed, had bald patches, against Radek’s hand.
They walked across the yard as the entire staff looked on, anger and worry oozing from their bodies like the ugliest cologne. Yev didn’t bother to address any of the workers, and grabbed a backpack someone had left on the hood of his truck. Radek’s scent was faint on it, but still designated him as the owner.
Radek grabbed a jacket and some other clothes Tomek pushed at him too aggressively, but with the fox in his arms, Yev didn’t want to escalate the conflict, since Tomek did back off and seemed like the most dependable person of the bunch.
Once they were both in the truck, Yev passed the squeaking ball of black fur to Radek, and hit the gas to back out of this hellhole.
“Breathe. Breathe, Radek. You need to take care of him,” he whispered, speeding up, so no one would notice the visual changes happening to the boy.
Blood rushed to his head as he drove into the empty asphalt road and pressed on the pedal, eager to reach Karolina’s practice in Sanok as soon as possible.
But then Radek let out a fox-like shriek, and it was a lost cause. He trembled, and shrunk in a split second, the clothes he was wearing collapsing onto him. At least the black youngster had a soft landing into the empty jacket. Ember’s muzzle peeked out of the collar, but then he slid out of it as if it were his den and gave a loud mewl. When Yev reached out to him, itching to provide some comfort, Radek licked it, but then settled around the black fox, cushioning it from harm.
Yev slowed down to avoid too much shaking on the uneven road, but there was no point trying to help Radek shift back now. Even without speaking fox he could easily understand Ember was telling his new friend everything would be all right.
Chapter 16 – Yev
Radek snorted. “I just realized your last name means ‘wolf’ in Ukrainian. Hiding in plain sight?”
He was joking, but the insistent way he tapped his boot on the laminate floor spoke of stress. Radek had shifted back to his human form when they got to Sanok and had to change in the back seat. So at least this time it didn’t take a month, but Yev was still disturbed by the possibility of Radek shifting in some random moment and place.
He smiled and stroked his shoulder to offer comfort in a socially acceptable way. “It’s an old family name.”
Radek looked up at him with widening eyes. “Wait. You bit me. What if I now become some were… fox… wolfox?”
Yev shook his head. He shouldn’t have been finding Radek this cute, but he couldn’t help it. From the tip of his freckled nose, to the weird and random questions that spilled out of his mouth, Radek was just as cute as Ember had been.