Fox Blood

by Aimee Easterling

  Whether Gunner’s life continued after today, however, was apparently up to the neighboring alphas. So I was relieved when a third voice spoke up, calm and measured and apparently on my side.

  “Easy for you to say when your clan has been at odds with the Atwoods for generations.” So we had at least one supporter on this council. It was good to know...and that fact made it easier for me to walk on past the community hall’s main entrance, nodding at Yuki to separate our paths as I continued following the evidence of my nose.

  Because the sulfurous reek was strong around the front of the community hall...but it emanated from above rather than from within. Without the need for words, Yuki padded silently along a fire escape leading up the west face of the building while I mirrored his movements on the opposite side.

  The climb was simple, even in human form. Near the top, however, I hesitated, letting Yuki draw ahead of me.

  Because he was my ace in the hole and the solution to the dueling compulsions in my belly. So I hung back as my human bait stepped toward Oyo, giving him time to prepare the path so I could turn my former charge over to a fate worse than death.

  THE WAIT WAS AGONIZING. So I occupied myself peering through a dirty clerestory window into the meeting space below me.

  Gunner. He was the first thing I saw, and for long seconds the only thing I had eyes for. My never-to-be mate was bound and gagged atop a raised dais, naked save for the ropes that encircled both body and chair in a complicated arrangement I assumed was meant to contain him even if he attempted to shift.

  Gunner’s attention, however, wasn’t on me, or even on the alpha werewolves arguing beside him. Instead, his gaze was trained upon Atwood pack members huddled together in the main section of the hall.

  Or, rather, upon the males and children huddling while females stood around them with weapons at the ready. The guards included Elizabeth, Becky, plus several other shifters I’d met in passing. They weren’t protecting their clan mates, however. Instead, the females were preventing rebellion as ably as Gunner’s ropes and gag currently restrained him.

  Had the Atwood females gotten so angry with the pack’s misogyny that they’d risen up against their mates, fathers, and brothers? Or was this just another indication that Oyo’s powers were far greater than I’d originally supposed?

  “Oyo-chan.”

  Yuki’s murmured endearment drew my attention away from the odd disloyalty of the Atwood females...but not before I saw them react to a word they shouldn’t have been able to hear. Elizabeth, in particular, nearly swiped her sword across a neighbor’s belly as she raised one arm as if to soothe an aching forehead. Beside her, Becky—who I’d never seen wield a sword before—winced and sliced apart the top of her boot.

  So Oyo was manipulating my pack mates just as I’d suspected. Was manipulating them...and had almost lost her hold in surprise at being discovered by the male she’d once considered more than a pawn.

  This was evidence enough for me...but apparently not sufficient to relieve my magically fueled debt to Oyo. Because my feet still refused to move as I fingered the shard of magic Sakurako had provided. Instead, I waited as the other kitsune spoke.

  “You came for me,” the female whispered. And from the rustle of movement on the rooftop, I suspected she and Yuki were engaging in a hasty embrace of greeting.

  “I will always come for you, Oyo-chan,” he assured her. “But I knew you were clever enough to hold your own.”

  “Clever.” Her laugh was a fox’s bark, short and almost painful. “Was it clever to kill that werewolf? Edmund? Edward? Whatever. I thought he was Mai’s enemy, but his death only made matters worse. And now look what’s happening....”

  There. That was the admission I’d been waiting for, the confirmation that Oyo had been poaching on my pack bonds, using my debt to manipulate those who cared about me.

  And yet...I remained crouched on the snowy fire escape with head bowed, trying to think of another solution. Trying to think of a way out that didn’t involve turning Oyo over to Sakurako to mate herself to death.

  Because, yes, the black-furred fox was both a manipulator and a murderer. But she’d also been raised as the pawn of my grandmother, trained to fixate the attention of a harem of human males in an effort to steal their power. In her shoes would I have been any more ethical? Would I have been any less desperate to escape?

  But there was no other solution available to me. My hard-earned protection for Kira was ticking away by the second. Meanwhile, beneath us, the neighboring alphas converged upon Gunner, the same enforcer who had beaten my partner now slicing through his gag carelessly enough to leave a line of red running down Gunner’s cheek.

  “Explain again why you believe this pack is salvageable.” This was the voice of the Atwood-friendly alpha, but from above I could see how tired even our supposed ally was growing of the debate.

  “My mate is a kitsune.” Gunner’s voice was hoarse and scratchy, as if he’d said the same thing half a dozen times previously. “She is not responsible for this problem. If you’ll let her return, she’ll stop the problem in its tracks.”

  “Or cover it up.” This was the alpha most obviously against us, and beside him the third pack leader nodded his head in agreement. No, I couldn’t trust these werewolves to come to the appropriate decision and save Gunner.

  So, without allowing myself to think about what I was doing, I hopped onto the rooftop, strode fox-silent up behind Oyo, and slapped the frigid shard of magic into Yuki’s waiting hand.

  Chapter 33

  Oyo was deeply entwined in the arms of her lover, but my grandmother had been right—she sensed the shard of magic the instant it touched him. Struggling to free herself, her eyes met mine for a split second...just as Yuki thrust the magical dagger directly into his beloved’s breast.

  I’d thought I was prepared for this eventuality. After all, Sakurako had assured me this was only a magical neutering, not a death blow. But I still flinched at the horror on Oyo’s face as she realized that the man she loved had conspired with the woman she’d trusted in order to take her down.

  Light flared around her body as fox ears sprouted from the top of a still-human forehead. The sulfurous stench deepened as Oyo cringed down over her belly, moaning as she was caught in the worst sort of shift.

  “I thought you loved me,” she cried...or at least I guessed that was what she was saying. Because vulpine teeth were now sprouting past lips that had been plump and human a moment earlier. Her words were almost irreparably slurred.

  Then Oyo could speak no longer. The flare of light shrouded her, shrunk her...and settled into a golden collar encircling the throat of a black-furred fox. At the same time, the rotten-egg aroma was abruptly and entirely gone.

  Beneath us, the meeting erupted into shouting followed by the unmistakable metallic clangs of swordplay. Oyo’s hold over my pack mates had faded the instant she was separated from her powers and I needed to get below as quickly as possible to make sure neighbor werewolves didn’t do anything terrible in their haste to regain the upper hand.

  But, instead, I stood frozen by the tableau before me. Watched and listened as Yuki proved that Oyo wasn’t the only one who had been broken by my grandmother’s heavy-handed control.

  “I love the mistress,” Yuki answered coldly. “And I loved you when I thought you might one day be the new mistress. Unfortunately, it looks like that will no longer be the case.”

  Then he turned away as if Oyo was nothing, never mind the fact that the fox he ignored was scratching so frantically at her collar that it spun around and around her throat without stopping. In half an hour, she’d be raw and bleeding. But Sakurako had assured me Oyo would never get the restraining circlet off.

  And, given the certainty of his job’s completion, Yuki simply didn’t care about the agony he had left behind. Didn’t even reach out to calm Oyo’s scratching to prevent future pain to the shifter he supposedly cared for. Instead, he strode over to the fire escape, prepa
ring to guard my pathway to the ground.

  This was the pack I was willingly walking into. This was the pack I’d chosen as my own.

  For Kira’s sake, I reminded myself. Then ignoring my own squeamishness, I snapped a lead onto Oyo’s collar. “Let’s go,” I told her as I followed the male down.

  BY THE TIME WE REACHED the door at the front of the community hall, the interior had become a battleground with no clear evidence of who might win. Atwoods outnumbered the invaders by a wide margin, but only the sword-bearing females seemed willing to do more than protect themselves.

  Instead, it was as if the command Gunner uttered three days earlier—fight only with swords—had gone into effect with a belated vengeance. Which gave our enemies an extreme advantage as they pressed in against the ring of females now intent upon safeguarding rather than containing their family and friends.

  “Where to?” Yuki asked, his sword angling across to guard me rather than his own body. Together, we watched wolves in their prime lunge at Atwood grannies while Gunner’s best warriors snapped, feinted...then failed to fight back.

  This was going to be a slaughter if we didn’t shut it down quickly. So despite Yuki’s not-so-subtle wish for us to return to Sakurako’s secluded hideout, I told him the obvious: “I’m going to cut off the head of the serpent.” In other words, I intended to make the invading alphas call off their underlings by hook or by crook.

  And, to my surprise, Yuki didn’t even attempt to argue. “Sounds like fun,” he admitted. Then, glancing at Oyo and raising his eyebrows, he added: “May I?”

  It seemed cruel to place the collared fox into the arms of her former lover. But I wasn’t used to fighting with a living being tucked under one arm and I needed to reach Gunner ASAP. So I nodded...then lost track of Yuki entirely as I took a running leap onto the top of a banister that encircled one side of the room.

  From my elevated perch, I could see the invaders much better....and, unfortunately, could be seen by them as well. So I wasn’t surprised to be met by a wall of weapons at the far end of my raised pathway, proving that the Atwood tradition of swordcraft extended to the neighboring packs.

  “I don’t suppose you guys would like to let me through to talk to your alphas?” I called downward...then dove forward without waiting for a reply. Because at any minute the enemy alphas would realize they only had to threaten Gunner in order to make his entire pack—including me—submit to the boot poised atop our neck.

  Which would leave us in a worse bind than we currently suffered from. So I slashed and parried and noted that the five males I faced were good enough to overcome a lone swordswoman of any caliber if given enough time. Which meant I couldn’t risk disarming them gradually. I’d have to dole out more punishing blows and hope the injuries didn’t scuttle future reconciliation with neighboring packs.

  Or that would have been the case if two warm bodies hadn’t materialized at my shoulders. Elizabeth on one side, the male who’d snarled during our sword practice on the other. Neither one had a reason to help me, and Elizabeth had a very good reason to push me in front of a bus.

  After all, even though I hadn’t wanted anything to happen to her father, I had indeed turned out to be the reason for his death. But perhaps Elizabeth hadn’t yet come to that conclusion. Or perhaps pack was simply more important to her than personal grudges. Whatever the reason, she met my gaze evenly before she and her companion both dove into the battle so furiously I was able to slip around my opponents and ascend the stairs onto the stage.

  “You came back.”

  The enforcer who’d beaten Gunner stood before me, and I barely managed not to skewer him in retaliation for the pain he’d doled out. But this battle wouldn’t be won with a weapon. Instead, I let my sword trickle back into my skin while I peered over the enforcer’s shoulder and met the eyes of three neighboring alphas one by one.

  The males were glancing back and forth between me and Yuki, who held Oyo in his arms in a very visible spot at the other end of the hall. The visual aid was appreciated, so I used it. “I’ve collared the rogue kitsune,” I told the alphas, having to raise my voice almost into a shout to be heard above the battle. “Her power has been neutralized and she will be punished....”

  I’d intended to continue explaining then to move on to threats if necessary, stopping only when the neighboring alphas released their hold over all Atwood wolves. But to my surprise, Gunner was the one who answered, his voice rough, urgent, yet entirely clear.

  “No, Mai, you can’t do that. Oyo is under my protection. I refuse to allow you to trade her life for mine.”

  Chapter 34

  “Gunner, you have to trust me.”

  This wasn’t the time to explain the full extent of Oyo’s awfulness. I couldn’t mention my grandmother’s magic in front of the assembled alphas either, not if the goal was to assure our opponents that the Atwood pack was no longer under a kitsune’s sway.

  Especially since I could already see the three strange alphas turning against me. “This is your mate?” asked the fence-sitter, his face not giving away a single clue about whether my sword-wielding appearance had swayed him over to the other side of the fence.

  “Yes.” Gunner was firm, but his brow remained furrowed. Meanwhile, he neglected to back up my assertion that Oyo had been the one responsible for manipulating his clan.

  “And you believe she’s truly partnering with you rather than controlling you?” This was the neighbor whose apparent goal was to behead Gunner and take over at least a portion of his territory. “Then you should have regained control of your pack by now. Tell them to stop fighting...”

  “...And you’ll do the same for your wolves?” Gunner wasn’t an idiot so he didn’t trust the greedy alpha as far as he could throw him. Still, his attention remained riveted on me rather than on his opponent, sienna eyes searching my face.

  Gunner was buying time while coming to a decision, I realized. So I pushed as hard as I could to send information down our tether the way he’d once shared his own vision. If Gunner heard Oyo’s admission in my memory, then he’d stop looking for another solution that didn’t involve the redhead being punished for her past actions....

  But the tether—still obvious and visible with Elle’s blood empowering me—remained inert beneath my hand. And, finally, Gunner came to a decision without any additional information. “I’ll...” he started, only to be interrupted by a change in the sounds of battle echoing up to us from the floor of the hall.

  At first, I thought that the conflict between Atwoods and invaders had been settled. Why else would a lull be rolling across the crowd? Then I noted that the Atwood sword-wielders were still fighting frantically. It was their opponents who turned in a wave to face the doorway that I had recently come through.

  And no wonder when that dark rectangle was no longer empty and open to the snowy night beyond it. Instead, Ransom stood bold and tall in its center, innumerable well-armed shifters at his flank.

  Backup had arrived. Backup...or a deposed alpha ready to take his rightful place at the head of the clan he’d been ejected from. I shivered, hesitated. Gunner, in contrast, trusted his sibling implicitly.

  “Stand down,” he commanded his underlings. And as the wave of discarded weapons fell from the hands of my students, Ransom’s pack mates raised their own blades to take over the fight.

  Gunner had proven his control without giving our enemies the advantage. And Ransom had been the ally who made that parry work.

  “I’LL BE WATCHING YOU.”

  The least friendly neighboring alpha stepped past us as I slipped my sword through Gunner’s bonds to free him. And even though he should have been stiff and sore after hours without moving, Gunner rose as lithely as he’d leapt from the trunk of Old Red two days before.

  “The feeling is mutual,” my partner growled as I stepped around the pair of them to deal with my own problems. Where was she? In the midst of the Atwood reunion and enemy outflux, it took a long moment to fin
d the black-furred fox within the crowd.

  But there was Yuki holding tightly onto Oyo. I’d been half fearful that Kira’s ticket to safety would have escaped while my attention was elsewhere, or that Yuki would have changed his mind again, taken his lover, and run. But the duo instead waited just past the edges of the fighting...beneath a clock that promised I had only nineteen hours left before my sister’s safety ran thin.

  Nineteen hours and a ten-hour drive to fit into that window. Because the helicopter had departed immediately after dropping us off. Which left me so little time to spend with my never-to-be partner before leaving his pack behind for good....

  I turned back around just as the third and final alpha spoke to Gunner. “Our agreement still stands?” This was the pro-Atwood neighbor nailing down details of yet another alliance. Gunner clearly wasn’t done saying farewell to his uninvited house guests, so this time I turned my attention to Elle instead.

  “Can you watch them for me?” I mouthed, silently tugging on our tether to get her attention before cutting my eyes to Yuki and Oyo. I didn’t expect my friend to hear me, but comprehension dawned on her face more easily than it should have. Was this what it would have been like to be part of a pack?

  Sure enough, Elle was already pushing through the crowd toward Yuki and Oyo even though her mouth was now pinched into a straight line. She disagreed with my intention to turn myself back over to Sakurako. But apparently she was willing to assist me in the matter nonetheless.

  Then the community hall was emptying, enemy shifters leaving as quickly as they’d come. Meanwhile, wolves from both Atwood packs intermingled, spending a few precious minutes with one-time neighbors they hadn’t seen for several months due to the actions of their alphas.

  Which left Gunner and Ransom alone on the dais...well, alone except for me.