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From time to time, Avelyn stole glances at the three werewolves she was seeing for the first time. Kevin was Max’s Beta. For some reason, she had always thought that Caleb was his Beta, so she was extremely surprised when Max whispered into her ear that Caleb was only a Delta. Kevin was a tall, handsome man, with a lean body, shoulder-length blond hair he always kept tied in a low ponytail, and a soft, rather long beard. Avelyn had never been into blonds, but she had to admit Kevin was quite a hunk. Ryan sat next to Jocelyn, his Alpha. Another surprise there. Avelyn could have sworn that a she-wolf like Josie would only accept another she-wolf as a Beta. Ryan was a mountain of a man. His brown hair was cut military style, and he had a deep, white scar running from his jaw up to the corner of his right eye. He spoke little, and when he did, he mumbled the words, making it impossible for Avelyn to hear him. Of course, the other werewolves heard him just fine. Karl’s Beta, Matt, sat between his Alpha and Ryan, and he was the most unexpected appearance in the dining room. He was quite short, slim, and he looked younger than everyone else at the table. His fiery red hair reminded Avelyn of a mop, and the ridiculous amount of freckles on his white nose and cheeks made his eyes sparkle in the greenest shade she had ever seen in a werewolf. She couldn’t take her eyes off him, and she kept wondering why in hell’s name a powerful Alpha like Karl would choose this perky, cheerful fellow as his Beta.
“Since Josie here was so kind to mention that you were supposed to be a fox-bride, do you mind if I ask you something?”
Karl’s question took her by surprise. “No…” From the corner of her eye, she saw Max set his fork down and pat his lips with the white napkin.
“I don’t think this is the right time,” he said.
“It’s nothing serious, I promise.”
“No, it’s okay, Max,” Avelyn said. “It doesn’t bother me.”
“Can you tell me a bit about these… communities?”
“The werefoxes’ communities?” asked Avelyn confused.
“Come on, Karl! What can she tell you that I haven’t already covered in my reports?” Jocelyn said annoyed.
“Actually, Miss Avelyn,” intervened Matt, Karl’s Beta. “We’re more interested in the relationship between the Alpha foxes and the rest of their pack.”
“Their earth, you mean,” Avelyn corrected him.
“Earth, sure.”
The classes she had enjoyed most at Alma Venus were the ones on the shape-shifters’ culture and folklore. She loved discovering and studying the differences between them. It was wrong to think that if they could all shape-shift into certain animals and then back into humans, they were similar in any way.
“From what I’ve learned, the relationship between an Inari and his or her earth is usually quite relaxed. The werefoxes are not as traditional as the werewolves or the weredragons, and for them the established ranks are not as important as, say, honor or wisdom. The members of an earth often see each other as equals.”
“See?” said Jocelyn. “Nothing you didn’t know.”
“What about the tails?” asked Karl. “Doesn’t a higher number of tails give the Alpha more power and superiority over the earth?”
“Yes and no.” Avelyn took a sip of red wine and tried to choose her words carefully. She wasn’t sure how she could explain this part to a werewolf. “First of all, you have to know that a Kyubi hasn’t been born in more than a thousand years.”
“What’s a Kyubi? I’m confused.” Jocelyn didn’t like to admit she couldn’t exactly follow Avelyn, but she didn’t want to be left out either.
“A Kyubi is an Inari, or an Alpha, as you call them, with nine tails,” Avelyn explained. “They’re more of a legend, it seems. Today, the wisest and most powerful Inari in the world has only five tails. His earth is somewhere in Alaska.”
“The Inaris in the Urals had either one or two tails,” mused Jocelyn. “Does this mean they’re not very dangerous?”
“As I said, the number of tails doesn’t mean much. A fox-shifter can have three or four tails and never reach the knowledge or skill to use them. Yes, a higher number of tails will make them more influential, and an Inari with at least two tails will probably never be challenged by anyone in his ea
rth, but learning how to use their tails is an entirely different story.”
“There is a way they can use their tails?” asked Matt, curiosity and excitement dancing in his beautiful eyes. He turned to Karl: “We had no idea! We thought they were just a sign of power, or something.”
Karl turned to his brother. “Max, I told you earlier that I liked your bride, now I think I love her.”
Avelyn blushed and looked down to her plate. She could feel Jocelyn’s eyes throw daggers her way, but that was nothing compared to the weird sensation that everyone at the table was staring at her. Christine patted her knee under the tablecloth, a sign of encouragement. Everyone had stopped eating, except Ryan, who was already digging into the second course.
“You see,” continued Avelyn, suddenly eager to help them. She didn’t know why she was doing it. It was clear they were hoping she would tell them something useful that would offer them insight into the fox-shifters’ culture or reveal something they could use against them. Maybe it was Karl’s impeccable behavior that made her feel like she belonged. Maybe it was Matt’s bright eyes, or Jocelyn’s scowl of dissatisfaction. She didn’t know. “Just like the werewolves have a thing for the full moon and the weredragons for the solar eclipse, the werefoxes are somehow connected to thunderstorms and lightning. It is said they can use their tails to create jolts of electricity, and the more tails they have, the more powerful they become because their electric attack is stronger. But it takes years of studying the ancient texts and even more years of practice to be able to make the tiniest lightning by rubbing their tails together.”
“Fascinating!” said Karl. “Max, why didn’t you ask her these things?”
“I didn’t want to get her involved in this madness we’ve started. We don’t even know what we’re after. Avelyn doesn’t need to worry about these things.”
“Yeah,” said Jocelyn and rolled her eyes. “Let me translate that for you, Karl: he didn’t trust her.”
“Josie, why would you say something like that?”
