Outfoxed (The Fox Witch #1) - R.J. Blain Page 0,120
is a good catch, but I’m biased. If you don’t like him, get one you do like, just don’t follow my example. My example is expensive.”
According to her example, I’d become a Sandro-hunting fiend who wanted to help repopulate the Alley. While my fox thought this was a brilliant idea we should begin implementing immediately, I ignored her. Mostly. The Moretti family, including the subject of her desire, regarded me with open interest. Of the lot of them, only Sandro seemed perplexed by the discussion, not that I blamed him. I’d be perplexed, too, if I showed up to discover my mother had hoodwinked me—and paid me over a million dollars in the process. “That’s not how uncontested courtesans work, is it?”
Sandro’s father laughed. “It is how it works in this family, Jade. I made Stephani beg for years before we had Sandro. And since we enjoyed having the first one, we had a few more before I made her beg some more. And anyway, once Stephani saw what those assholes who dare to call themselves your parents were up to, she was determined to have you, so you’re stuck with us. If given her way, she’d rescue everybody. The system doesn’t really allow us to do that. But vixens are in demand and at high risk of being trafficked, and the way the assholes were setting up your bounty? They were planning on trafficking you, earning a percentage from every sale, separating you from your newborn, and selling you again. And because you’re a fox, you’d be ready for sale every winter. And since you’d be sold into the system by your parents, you’d have little to no recourse. We’re planning on locking the boy in the attic during the winter unless you’re genuinely interested in children. And we’ll be strongly recommending he invest in birth control and condoms.”
As nobody seemed embarrassed by the discussion, including Sandro, who limited his reaction to a patience-worn sigh, I said, “I’m pretty careful with birth control in the winter. As far as I know, it works. Or I’ve never had any children. And if you’re hoping I’m some pure maiden, well…”
Sandro walked to me and sat on the arm of my chair. “That’s really none of our business and makes no difference to me whatsoever. You can tell them no at any time, Jade. I had no idea what they were up to. Now, that said, I’m not going to say I can complain about their motivations. That’s exactly what people have been doing with vixens. They’re being trafficked because they’re currently being perceived as valuable for breeding purposes. And there isn’t even another way to phrase that. It’s purely to improve bloodlines to acquire more magic. The fox men have had it even worse. They’re passed around multiple times a winter, and they’re as wired to help raise their children as vixens. I’ve been researching fox hybrids, as I needed to know more about how to catch you—and keep you out of the trafficking rings once I realized that’s why your parents established a bounty for you. But then the bounty holder changed and went anonymous, which complicated matters.”
With a smirk, Sandro’s mother came over and patted her son’s cheek. “Of course you were. You wanted to know how to take care of your little vixen. You’ve been hunting her for years.”
“I was going to stand the bounty up because of that research, and I only pushed the uncontested courtesan contract to make certain nobody could force her into becoming a victim of a trafficking ring.” Sandro clacked his teeth together. “I won’t force a woman.”
In turn, Sandro’s mother pointed at her sons. “If you don’t charm your vixen sufficiently to have children, you have brothers. One of them will produce a child, and once you’re tired of running the family with your little vixen, you can hand the reins over to the most sensible of their kids. That part I’m not negotiating, as your father would kill me. View it as an investment for the family. Also, I don’t care what the default uncontested courtesan paperwork says. If you don’t want children, don’t have them. If you want them, I would very much like at least three little fox grandchildren to spoil.”
“You’ve lost your mind, Mother,” Sandro muttered.
“I have not. I’m just solving a somewhat complicated problem in a simple fashion.”
I forced myself to breathe until the urge to make a run for the door faded.