Where Foxes Hunt with Wolves (Folk Lore 2)

“You traitor! I told you to get rid of him, and you claimed it was done! What is this creature, huh?” Burian growled.

Radek’s blood tasted different in this form, but it was still sweet on Yev’s tongue, and he wouldn’t answer Burian until he was sure the boy didn't needlessly suffer because of the bites. He must have shifted after the attack, because if Burian had closed his jaws on the fox leg, the bone would have broken into tiny pieces.

Spreading his saliva over the punctures, Yev stared back. Because he would not flinch. Not because of Burian’s disapproval.

“That’s how it is?” Burian stepped closer with fire in his eyes, his neck stiff like a tree trunk. “I’m gonna rip that ginger bitch to pieces, so no need to heal him.”

Olek whined and closed his muzzle on Burian’s wrist, trying to pull him back, but only got a smack for it.

Yev gritted his teeth, his chest breeding fire he was about to unleash at the bastard who’d driven Radek to a frantic run. Who’d made him bleed.

“No. You will not,” he said through his teeth and gently placed Radek on the wooden bench by the door. But when Burian shifted his weight, trying to keep the boy in sight, Yev moved too, blocking the view.

Vapor left Burian’s mouth with each agitated huff. “The banishment was supposed to be a lesson. Someone else would have been put down for your transgressions, but Dad went soft on you and this is how you repay him? Keeping such secrets from the pack? If there are… werefoxes around or whatever he is, we should have been informed. And you sure as hell shouldn’t be fucking him. He saw the shed in the woods, and I told you to get rid of him!”

Olek whined, looking over at Yev with a hurt expression that revealed he remembered meeting Ember before, when he’d come over to deliver a fresh transport of pot. Yev sweated despite the cold when he realized his younger brother now knew the ‘fox’ that accompanied them to the hidden cellar had a human mind and understood what had happened.

Was he angry too? No, the lowered ears spoke of hurt, and seeing Olek, who’d always been more accepting of Yev than Burian, realizing he’d been betrayed was like having an icicle stabbed into his heart.

Yev would have tried to apologize and explain himself, but he could not do it when Burian was here, out for blood.

“It was an accident. He does not deserve to die for it.”

Endless seconds passed as they eyed each other, but then Burian jumped forward, shifting mid-air with a snarl and bared teeth ready to make red fur fly. Yev unleashed his beast too and shot up, squeezing his teeth on his brother’s throat the moment his clothes ripped at the seams.

The useless fabric fell to the ground, and Yev twisted in the air just before they hit the hardened snow. A hollow growl escaped Burian as Yev’s weight descended on his ribcage, but he wouldn’t give up and tore his neck out of Yev’s grasp. The taste of blood boosted adrenaline, and while Yev’s teeth ached from the pull, the ragged wounds on Burian’s neck called his inner animal.

Family or not, Burian would not be allowed anywhere near Radek.

Olek barked right next to them, but made the wise choice of not interfering. Radek’s high-pitched whines stimulated Yev’s rage. Burian said it himself—he’d smelled Yev all over Radek, and had still attempted to kill him. It would not only be murder but also a slap to Yev’s face. There was only so much indignity Yev was prepared to suffer for the sole reason of liking dick in his bed.

Burian scratched at him, his growls promising bloodshed, but the snow would not turn red at Yev’s loss.

With a furious howl, he rolled Burian over and bit his foreleg as hard as he could. The strong body under his went stiff, then thrashed when Burian opened and closed his jaws, trying to reach Yev.

Burian’s blood gave the air a stench of fury, but the few kicks he landed with his hind legs could not compete with the force of Yev pushing Burian down again and gripping the thick neck with his teeth as a last warning.

He could end this. Now. Get rid of his jealous, vengeful brother forever.

But they were still family, and Mother would have cried her eyes out if she lost her eldest.

Olek whined and pulled at Yev’s tail, but didn’t dare put force into it, only signaling his intent. It would be better for everyone if this didn’t end in death.

Burian eyed Yev, huffing out vapor with each angry breath, but eventually stilled and shifted into his human form in the ultimate admission of defeat.

Yev couldn’t deny himself growling at his older brother before he too transformed, kneeling in the dense snow. He briefly glanced over his shoulder, but Radek appeared fine and watched them from where Yev left him, his little body still shivering in fear. Yev barely contained his rage.