He switched off the headlights as soon as he dove into the woods, since he saw well enough at night without them, and rolled the vehicle along the dirt road while chewing on some ham he’d gotten straight from the deli counter. But the smoky flavor of the meat couldn’t switch off the buzz of annoyance at the back of Yev’s brain. Maybe he should have ignored dignity and fucked Radek after all. This one time.
The brat had pissed him off, though. Coming over under the pretense of an apology, only to bring a dead mouse instead of cake, and saying spiteful words about Yev’s age when the boy was gagging for his dick. Maybe Yev would have let him finish the sucking if it wasn’t for the swelling at the base of his cock getting too obvious.
But what was the point of those musings now, when that chance had gone out of the window?
‘Where do you want me?’ Radek had said, all shivery and needy.
Yev slammed his hands against the wheel. “Fuck!” He’d jerked off so hard when the boy had left and was still left dissatisfied. But what was he to do about it now other than masturbate again? The satellite Internet available at the lodge was patchy at the best of times, but maybe he could watch some porn online tonight?
He was about to speed up to get home sooner when a sharp, raspy cry reached his ears. A fox, no question about it, but since he’d already passed the farm—surely a wild one. He’d have ignored it, as it was hardly the first time he heard similar sounds, but the animal repeated the call over and over with such frantic intensity Yev ended up switching off the motor.
A howl followed, and he was positive it came from somewhere close. By the time he slid out of the truck, the cries were back, even more torrential, as if the fox hoped someone would come to its aid. Strange behavior for an animal that usually refrained from making noise whenever it was hurt, for fear of attracting other predators.
Yev zipped up his jacket, put on thick gloves and went off the road, into snow that covered his legs up to the knees when it dipped under his weight. The calls came from somewhere beyond the hill, and he made his way up between the naked trees sticking up toward the starry sky like needles stuck in a pillow.
The scent of fur and blood hung in the air, making Yev exhale in frustration. He could hear the animal panting and yowling long before he saw it. Even in the dark, the brilliant ginger coat was easy to spot on the white background. Sadly, so was the blood. The fox’s cries turned into whimpers when it looked up at him, but it couldn’t cower or run, because its black paw was caught in a nasty snare.
Shit.
Fuck.
Fucking poachers. In his forest.
Yev slowed down, surprised when, instead of freezing in hope it might be overlooked, the animal raised its head and barked louder, as if desperate to get his attention. That was… definitely a first.
“It’s okay,” Yev found himself saying as he approached, taking slow steps to ease the animal’s anxiety. He might have been far stronger than the small thing, but he still didn’t want to get bitten. “I’ll open those snares. Just keep still.”
Did the fox nod? Yev wasn’t sure, but it did stop moving.
“It’s gonna hurt, little one,” Yev whispered and kneeled in the snow. He grabbed the rusty metal, expecting teeth sinking into his thick gloves, but the small canine whimpered, ears flat against its head.
When Yev pried the snare open, the fox let out an ungodly screech, but instead of darting off, it stared at Yev before falling over into the snow. So that was that. Yev sighed and stroked the fluffy fur, surprised by how soft and clean it was for a wild animal’s. The paw was twisted in an unnatural direction, showing raw meat and bone, but the fox’s heartbeat was steady. The poor thing must have… fainted.
He stilled, staring at the snare meant for a much larger animal, then at the poor little thing. It took him only half a second to make up his mind.
Goodbye, peaceful evening, hello emergency vet.
But that was okay. People had to eat, he understood that and was no vegetarian either, but leaving traps like this was both lazy and barbaric. The fox’s life came first, but once he was done, he would come back here and track down the bastard who’d left the snares.
***
Karolina let out a strangled sigh, pushing stray hairs away from her face with her forearm. She hadn’t said anything yet, but Yev knew it was coming—the bad news he'd anticipated throughout the drive to Sanok.