Where Foxes Hunt with Wolves (Folk Lore 2)

“Help!” he screamed at the top of his lungs. Fear didn’t care that he was too far from both the village and the forester’s cabin, and neither did the werewolf, whose huge teeth closed on Radek’s left leg, keeping it in place so abruptly Radek lost his balance and fell forward, saving his head from hitting the ice and snow in the very last moment.

A scary unnatural numbness clutched at his calf, but as Gray shook his head, attempting to tear the flesh, Radek found himself kicking back to get the beast off him.

“Help! Help!” he cried, but the werewolf growled in anger and effortlessly pulled him off the road, into the snow.

The flashback to being caught in snares was so intense Radek was there again, trapped, in pain, watching the broken bone stick out of his furry paw. Only the sharp metal teeth digging into flesh had been replaced by wolf fangs.

He would not allow this. He was not losing his leg, nor his life.

Fueled by adrenaline, Radek grabbed the werewolf by the ears, kicking him with his knee as the beast growled and threw him around like a rag doll.

He barely registered the other four paws hitting the snow, but the brief moment when Beige landed on top of Gray and knocked him off Radek was enough to roll away from the punishingly strong jaws.

Yet as Radek tried to rise and put his long legs to work, heat jolted all the way through him, and his clothes grew around him at top speed. His joints rearranging didn’t even hurt this time. His body knew what to do before his brain did. He might be missing one paw, but in comparison to these beasts, he was tiny and stood a chance if he chose a smart path through the woods.

All that mattered was to get away.

Get to Yev.

Chapter 21 – Yev

Yev split another piece of wood and threw it into the wheelbarrow. It was cold in the open shed, but the work had still compelled him to remove his coat and complete the chore in just a thick sweater.

He put the axe away and grabbed the handles of the barrow, pushing it toward the front of the house. His gaze wandered to the road to Dybukowo the moment he could see it, and he chastised himself over it. He didn’t have much time left with Radek, and while he was positive they could work something out, meet up from time to time, he shouldn’t have allowed himself to form the kind of attachment that had him missing the boy after only three hours.

They were spending too much time together. But how were they not to if Radek lived with him? Besides, Yev was a lonely pack animal who needed companionship.

Yeah, that had to be it. He simply wanted someone to chat with. Like any normal person would in his place. It wasn’t like he could have conversations with Coal, no matter how cute the black fox was. Even talking to Ember had been different because he’d known deep down that Ember understood the words.

Maybe there was nothing to worry about after all?

He barely registered the rustle of the bushes, because the heavy snow kept falling off branches now that it had gotten a bit warmer, but the frantic tap of small paws made him turn. Before he understood what was going on, Ember jumped onto the barrow, and then straight into his arms.

The scent of fear and blood sobered Yev just as Burian shot out of the bushes, his eyes almost as red as the stains on his muzzle.

He got cold, then hot as he glanced at Ember and saw the blood matting his fur around the torn flesh. Holding the boy to his chest, he stepped forward and roared. The mountains cried out with him, and Burian froze, his large wolf body sinking lower.

They eyed each other for long seconds, but as Olek dashed into the clearing as well, Burian was already shifting. Ember whimpered, hugging him with those tiny paws Yev would sometimes kiss all over.

“Hand him over, Yev. What the fuck is this? I can still smell your seed on him!” Burian snarled, his nakedness making him no less menacing. Scars of all the battles he’d fought in the past marked his muscular, stocky form, but Yev had authored some of them, and he would not be intimidated, even though his secret had been discovered. With the truth laid bare, his mind rushed, not knowing where to turn to minimize the damage.

Still, in this tense moment, facing against his two brothers, he could not ignore the frantic shivers shaking his lover and pulled the small, furry body up, quickly licking the fresh wounds in a bid to accelerate healing.

Burian stepped back, his neck tensing as if the tendons there were about to break through skin. Olek kept to the background and didn’t make any attempts to cool their tempers like he usually would.