Page 77 of License to Kill

The rest of the pack charged through the forest after a straggler, and they converged on the largest doe, one of them taking hold of her hind leg in his jaws and dragging her to the ground before the rest of the pack finished her off.

Then, behaving more like wild animals than dignified humans, the pack snapped their teeth at each other while establishing who’d get to eat first. I seized my doe by her neck and dragged her away from their posturing. A smart scavenger ate before other predators could take the food, and I wasted no time going for the doe’s legs and feasting on my favorite parts. Fresh meat worked wonders, and I gulped down my meal, pausing every now and then to lick the blood off my muzzle.

Sometime after I’d graduated from the forelegs to the haunches, Jake came over to visit, and I chittered threats and barked warnings at him to drive him away from my hard-earned dinner. Mocking me with a canine grin, he stole a bite and hopped out of my reach. I choked down another swallow and barked a warning at him again, drawing the attention of the other wolves.

Unfortunately, I also drew unwanted attention.

“What do you think you all are doing?” Pauline Thomas demanded.

There was no way in hell I’d share my doe with the bitch, and I whirled around and chittered threats of how I’d rip her fucking face off if she came anywhere near me and my meat.

Jake dared to approach, and he gently seized my scruff with his teeth. I took that as an invitation to test my luck and lunge for his mother, forcing him to hold me back or risk her face becoming part of my dinner.

He weighed a great deal more than me, serving as a convenient anchor so I could display my ferocity without making it more than a few inches.

Jake’s father laughed and stepped out from behind a tree. “You should be grateful our son isn’t angry enough with us to let his fox pick another fight with you. Mason, did the pack bring the doe down for her?”

I yipped at the implication I couldn’t hunt on my own.

One of the wolves shook his head.

“Good. Finish your kills, then one of you idiots can explain what is going on here. I mean, it’s obvious one of you decided on a rather simple solution to a certain problem plaguing us. It seems foxes are, indeed, compatible with packs. You’ll need to teach her how to control herself and teach her to stop yipping through the pack bonds, Jake. While you’re at it, if you could remember the pack bonds aren’t your personal romping grounds, we would appreciate it.”

I chittered at the implication I was a problem plaguing them, struggling to break free of Jake’s hold on my scruff to tear a few bites out of Sebastian’s leg. Using every muscle in my body won me a few inches, and Jake grunted, reared up, and wrapped his paws around my throat so he could secure a better hold on my neck.

“Vicious little thing today, aren’t you?” With no sign of fear, Sebastian approached, crouched in front of me, and rested his hand on the top of my nose, taking a firm but gentle enough hold of me and checking my ears with his other hand. “All right, Jake. Let her go. If she tears into me, I deserve it, but I’d rather look her over without you scruffing her. And if she gets by me and takes a few chunks out of your mother, I’m sure she can cope with having a few bruises in the morning.”

Jake released me, and I plowed into his father with a startled yip. Sebastian grunted, fell back, and snatched a handful of my fur to keep me from falling off his lap. “There’s a girl. Settle down, and you can go back to your dinner after I have a look over you.”

I cast an uncertain gaze in Jake’s direction, and he licked my nose.

Asshole wolf.

Jake’s father took that as permission, and he ran his fingers through my fur, prodding at my chest, sides, and spine before checking my ears again. He also checked my teeth, and I chittered a warning at him.

“You’re going to need a lot of physical therapy to get back into shape,” Jake’s father announced. “You’re severely underweight, your fur is patchy, and your teeth need work. Hopefully, you’re like a Fenerec and they’ll recover with a better diet, but we’ll see.”

I flattened my ears.

Jake’s father shoved me off his lap and pointed at my doe. “Eat that, and you may as well try to eat another one if you can stomach it, and that’ll be a good start. The rest of the mutts can hunt McDonald’s. Jake, get your ass shifted so you can explain what’s going on.”

Jake shook his head and sat next to my doe with his ears turned back and showing his teeth in a silent warning.

With the choice of staying near Jake’s father or retreating to my doe, I snapped my teeth and chittered another warning before tearing a strip of meat from my kill and gulping it down before it could be taken from me.

“Jake,” his father warned.

Jake growled, lower in tone than usual, and his body language implied he’d make a violent point if pushed.

While he postured, I ate, contributing a chitter now and then if one of the wolves came too close. I finished as much of my doe as I could before my stomach complained, and I tossed a scrap to Jake to indicate he could have a share and stepped to the other side of the carcass. Jake didn’t take his eyes off his parents and ate my leftovers, stripping the doe of anything of use and leaving the rest before resuming his standoff.

I settled beside the doe and gnawed on her foreleg to get at the marrow, flicking an ear back while waiting for them to figure out what they wanted to do. One by one, the other wolves departed, returning human and dressing. Mason carried our clothes. “He convinced her to come home, and they destroyed their living room. She went a little crazy after she was brought into the pack and shredded their couch. They broke a lot of their furniture during the dominance contest, so they’ll be kept busy at home. Since she lost, she has to move back to Baltimore, enroll in therapy, and potentially return to the FBI, although not in CARD. She’ll crack. Maybe in a few years. That means Jake heads back to the violent crimes division, too. Without two certain individuals interfering with either of them.”

“Interfering?”

Mason raised a brow. “He ditched you when she was sent to the hospital, followed her to her apartment, ditched his Inquisition-tracked phone, and lured her home. Would that have been necessary without interference?”

Sebastian sighed. “Don’t bother arguing with him, babe. He’s right.”