Chapter 54: The Fox Hole

Another night settled over the pack house. The living room had been cleared of the usual clutter so Stark could run the first real dreamwalker lesson. Lir sat cross-legged among them, quiet and watchful, while Remi leaned against the wall with his arms folded. The pack members formed a loose circle on the floor.

Stark’s voice stayed calm and even, and was smooth yet deep in a strange way.

“Tonight is only recognition,” he said. “I’m going to reach for each of you in turn with the lightest touch of influence. Your job is to notice the moment it starts. Don’t fight it yet. Just feel the difference between your own thoughts and something that doesn’t belong.”

They meditated. The room grew still except for brething and the occasional shift of fur on the rug. Stark moved from mind to mind with careful precision. One by one they learned the faint, oily sensation of a dreamwalker’s attention sliding against their thoughts. By the time the lesson wound down, even Kiran could pick it out.

The second the formal practice ended, the little red fox’s restlessness returned at full strength.

He crawled straight into Remi’s lap first, arms looping around the fennec’s neck, tail swaying hard.

“You’ve been staring at me all night,” Kiran purred. “Wanna do something about it?”

Remi’s ears flicked. He set both paws on Kiran’s waist and gently pushed him back an inch. “Maybe later, fox.”

Undeterred, Kiran slid off and made for Lir. The leopard watched him come with an expression that already said no. Kiran still straddled his thighs, hands braced on Lir’s chest.

“You’re seriously the hottest leopard I’ve ever seen,” Kiran whined. He hooked a claw under the waistband of Lir’s pants and tugged it down just far enough to bare the sharp cut of muscle along his hips. “Look at that V. That’s criminal. You can’t walk around like this and expect me not to try.”

Lir caught his wrist and removed it without heat. “I don’t do sexual things. Find someone else.”

Kiran pouted dramatically, then turned his sights on Stark.

The young deer raised an eyebrow as the fox climbed into his lap next, careful of the short velvet antlers.

“I’m mostly into women,” Stark said, though he didn’t immediately shove him off. A small smile tugged at his mouth. “But I’m enjoying the enthusiasm. Maybe if you play your cards right.”

That was all the encouragement Kiran needed. His eyes lit up.

“I want to feel these,” he said, reaching up to brush his fingertips along one velvet-covered antler. “They’re so soft. I’ve jerked off to antler stuff in Muzzle Magazine more times than I can count.”

Stark’s smile widened a fraction. “Who said it’s MY mouth that will get filled? Maybe I’ll have my paws on your ears someday. SOMEday ... and maybe.”

Kiran made a high, delighted sound in his throat, clearly happy with either option.

Before he could escalate further, Remi stood and stretched. “We’ve got night rounds. Lir?”

Lir rose smoothly. Stark eased Kiran off his lap and followed. The three newcomers left together, Stark climbing the side stairs toward the roof bed he preferred, Remi and Lir heading out into the dark for whatever business Dante had assigned them.

The door clicked shut. Only the original five remained.

Roan fixed Kiran with a flat golden stare.

“You need to stop pressuring the new people,” he said. “Not everyone who stays under this roof wants to fuck the pack. Read the room.”

Kiran rolled his eyes and flopped backward onto the rug, still half-hard in his shorts. “They’ll come around. Everyone does eventually.”

Roan’s jaw tightened. He had clearly reached the end of his patience.

“Bedroom. Mine. Now.”

Kiran blinked. “What?”

“Get on my bed. Spread eagle. Arms and legs out. All of us will be in shortly to fuck the brattiness out of you.”

Kiran’s ears shot up. His throat worked as he swallowed. “All of us?”

“Yes,” Roan said, voice calm and final. “All of us. You have five minutes to get spread and mentally prepare. Clock starts now.”

Kiran stared at him for one more second, then scrambled up and bolted down the hallway toward the master bedroom, tail bottled and face already flushed.

Roan stepped into the bedroom and shut the door behind him. Kiran was exactly where he had been told to be: on his back in the center of the big bed, arms stretched toward the corners, legs spread wide. His white-furred balls rested soft and round between his thighs, pert and tight in the cool air. His red cock stood hard against his stomach, already dripping a clear string of precum onto the fur of his belly. His tail lay flat against the sheets, twitching with nerves and excitement.