Chapter 19

“Hey, Jack! Here’re those letters we was waitin’ on.” Fern leaned into the window to hand his Alpha the officially sealed and stamped letters. “I caught the courier just as he were pullin’ up.”

One was larger than the other, and it made Jack frown with a gnawing dread. Setting down the smaller one, he popped the wax seal of the larger one, glancing over the elegantly written document that explained all hostile field acquisitions were considered exile worthy offenses until the council had time to discuss and settle an unspecified issue.

“Well?”

Shaking his head sullenly, he shoved the paper back at Fern to keep him busy while he opened the one marked “Alpha Jack Radkial.” Hardly did he breathe until the end. Setting it down, he looked so troubled that Fern perked and hooked his elbow over the edge of the window to lean in but he didn’t get the chance to speak before Jack sucked in a breath.

“Yeah, this were ‘bout Anubis,” he answered Fern’s unasked question grimly. “I’m required ta ‘pear ‘fore the council in a week. Anubis gotta come ‘long.”

Handing Fern the letter, the Head Beta’s brows drew together tighter and tighter until his whole face was wrinkled up in a snarl. “What!?” he barked in outrage. “‘Feral an’ muzzled?’ ‘Under control?’ The fuck is this?”

With an angry breath, Jack set his head back against the wall. “Go get ‘im.”

Returning the letter to him, Fern spun away, snarling to himself. Staring at his ceiling, Jack had several entirely too long minutes to gather his thoughts before he heard Fern and Cloud going back and forth as they returned, Anubis towering behind and Nova practically trotting to stay close enough to hear them.

“Lemme see that letter!” Cloud demanded, snatching it away to read it to herself before she shook with fury. “He ain’t a animal!”

“That’s what I were sayin’,” Fern agreed indignantly.

“Settle down,” Jack snapped. “I said bring me Anubis an’ ye bring a party.”

“But, Jack,” Cloud returned, “I’m Alpha, too. I got a say...”

“It says ‘Alpha Jack’ on it, dun it?” he retorted sharply, glaring between them. “‘Sides, there ain’t nothin’ worth sayin’ over it. That’s what the council wrote, we kin all read it. We kin be so outraged it could blow out our ears, but showin’ up any other way’d put us in bad graces with the council. So drop it, an’ git!”

Ears back, Cloud let out an angry snort and shook her head. “It’s just awful.”

Hunched over to lean his head through the window that his shoulders were too big for while the others walked away slowly, he was quiet until Jack was ready to speak.

“Whatever this is ‘bout, Anubis, I won’t let ‘em spin it like it were somethin’ ye did,” he assured softly. “I wish I could say this were a stern talkin’ to an’ a slap on the wrist, but they wouldn’t ban field takin’ if that’s all it were. This gonna be a fight.”

“I told you I would give my life for this pack.”

Jack gave him an unamused glare. “Stop it. Dyin’s the easiest part o’ livin’. I need ye here to do the hard work.” Sucking in a breath that made him wince, he shook his head slowly. “‘Sides, this ain’t that sort o’ fight. It’s the verbiage sort.”

“The pack that neighbors my brother’s tried to have him hung,” Anubis opened up quietly after a silent moment.

Jack perked and peered up at him. “Are ye serious? What happened?”

“They sent letters to Khade’grr claiming Caesar had threatened their lives because he wouldn’t let them assault any of the women, and he showed up. He was ... quite upset that they wasted his time.”

Jack smirked, scoffing humorously. “Ahh, Khade’grr. If ever there were a man ta follow to the ends o’ the earth.” He looked up at Anubis. “An’ I’ll take this ta the ends o’ the earth if that’s where it’s gotta go. We’ll play this like they want, much as it infuriates me, but I got the feelin’ we can make this work fer us.

“Now, we got a week. I’ll, uh, do my best ta heal up a bit more in that time, an’ least this means we ain’t gotta worry ‘bout the fields, so that’s one worry off my mind. Both o’ us should try not to stress over it too much cuz there ain’t nothin’ ta do ‘bout it ‘til then, a’ight?” After Anubis nodded, he settled back down into his bed. “I’ll have Fern get yer Rankin’ done. I want ‘em to see it. Now, send ‘im back over here, an’ go, uh, do somethin’ not useful so I don’t gotta give ye more rank.”

Smiling warmly, Anubis left him and was soon replaced with another black face that fit a whole lot better in the space. “Yeah, Jack?”

“Make sure Anubis got his rank beads ‘fore the weeks over. They ain’t gonna be as pretty as what he came with, but I want the council to see ‘em. An’ ye know, speakin o’ rank, think it’s time for Denver to have one, too. Talk to Cloud ‘bout it for me. Boy deserves it.”

Hesitating a second, Fern smiled and nodded. “Yeah, yeah he do. I’ll get on it.”

Wiggling down a bit to get more comfortable, Jack looked up at his Head Beta with a tired expression. “An’ Fern, ‘less it’s real important...”

Brow pinching together with brotherly concern, Fern nodded at him. “Yeah, Jack. I got thin’s.” He grinned wickedly before he left. “Good thin’ fer ye I won’t be fuckin’ yer bitches while yer out, but Silver might!”

Fern wasted no time in getting Anubis through his Ranking. It wasn’t entirely unlike a Ranking ceremony among his own people, but there was a great deal less competitiveness and posturing.

It had surprised Anubis when Denver stopped at the door and wished him a good time.

“But I thought you’d be there?”

He had fidgeted harder than usual, ears down. “W-Well, ye know, the men, they talk ‘bout things I-I don’t like talkin ‘bout, l-l-like fuckin’ the women an’ s-stuff. It just ... mmmakes me real uncomfortable.” Then his face was bright. “But I’ll, uh, I’ll be ‘ere when ye get out!”

It had made perfect sense to Anubis then, and it made even more sense as the men sat around naked, brushing the same sweet smelling oil through his cleaned pelt and boasting of their adventures and relations and giving each other a great deal of crap over it. Iron Gale and Garth had the unique positions of taking no crap, for as Iron Gale put it lovingly, “my dick gets stuck in this bitch, an’ I look in her eyes, an’ she straight makes me forget how to deflate.”

Fern sighed dramatically with a dreamy smile. “Yeah, that happens ta me with Baxter.”

Iron Gale poked the brush at him. “Now I know we told ye he can come ‘ere anytime he wants. Would be a bit weird with a deer ‘round, but no weirder than this fella!”

They all nodded their heads with murmurs of agreement.

Fern smirked and shrugged. “I know, an’ he knows. Hell, his herd said the same thing ‘bout me. Guess we’re just comfortable with it fer now. Gives a spice ta my life, eh?” He waggled his brows suggestively with a wicked grin and the men chuckled. Placing his elbow on Anubis’ shoulder to lean against him, Fern tilted his head towards him. “‘Sides, now Denver ‘n’ I got this godly hunk to play with, ain’t that right? Oh shit, Anubis, are ye alright?”

Just like that, it had hit him. Right about when Iron Gale had made his assurance to Fern, like a light switch, he had realized how normal discussing it had become. How normal it had all become. A deep ache had grown like a hungry black hole, the weight of its gravity pulling in his chest until he could hardly breathe. Sucking in air with a ragged gasp, he struggled to keep the gravel of his voice steady. “Uh, just ... just Terra would’ve ... really liked it here. She was ... never allowed to talk so openly. They always ... called her a freak.”

The men flashed each other glances from the corners of their eyes, but every expression was one of concern.

“Aw, shit, Anubis,” Fern said softly, putting his hand on his shoulder. “She’s watchin’ through the trees an’ the grass. She went back ta Mother Nature an’ that means she’s all over.”

Anubis shook his head slowly, staring at his hands. “Actually, she’s ... probably still alive. At least, I hope she still is.”

“Didn’t ye say...?”

“She survived the ambush,” he replied in a thick murmur. “She showed up in my room. I got to hug her one last time before everything ... came crashing down. I told her I hoped she ... she found someplace she’d be happy. But instead, I found it, and I have no idea where she is or how to tell her. I feel like that’s what makes it worse ... that I know, but there’s just nothing I can do about it.”

Silver leaned into the corner of his vision with a smile. “Naw, see, that’s the best part. Means someday, she’s gonna come lookin’ fer ye, an’ yer stuck here, so that should be easy.”

“Yeah,” White Toe interjected with a grin, trying to brighten the mood, “cuz if we could track ye down, shouldn’t be too hard for ‘er.”

Anubis’ brow knitted together with a perplexed frown. “What?”

“Oh, yeah! Iron Gale an’ I were the ones who tracked ye down when, uh, well, when ye took Nova.”

Iron Gale nodded, his gruff voice solemn. “Yeah, we was ‘er escorts when Khade’grr called fer ‘er to show his engineers what she meant cuz guess ‘er letter weren’t so clear fer ‘em. Then he said he weren’t gonna send nobody to go after ‘er, so we went after ‘er.”

“Oh, yeah. Omma woulda killed us,” White Toe added hurriedly with a hint of genuine panic and there was a subdued snicker among them.

“We had to spend most o’ it on foot,” Iron Gale continued. “But then so did ye, an’ we was catchin’ up, but ye made it to the base ‘fore we could. Soon as we saw it, we went runnin’ straight back to let Khade’grr know.”

“Well, ye huffed most the time,” White Toe sassed him.

“Hey!” he barked back. “I’m near a elder! I were doin’ pretty good all thin’s considerin’!”

“How did you avoid the soldiers and other packs?” Anubis glanced between them in disbelief.

White Toe and Iron Gale looked at each other and smirked.

“Ye guys never look up!” White Toe bragged with a smug grin.

Giving a small nod of agreement, he pondered a moment, trying to process it all. “So it ... really was all my fault.”

“Uh ... yeah, s’pose it were, kinda. But, we don’t regret it. We’re glad Nova were so persuasive.”

“Ah, admit it, Iron Gale,” White Toe replied, “she’s too cute with ‘em pup eyes an’ none o’ us kin say naw.”

Even Anubis nodded along to that before changing directions to shake it a little. “Honestly, I think the part I regret the most now was that I didn’t make Terra stay. But, I was certain that was going to be the end.”

“Kinda were, in a way. End o’ that awful place!”

“Yeah, an’ if yer sister is alive, it’s a good thing fer ‘er to be outta there too! Now she’s free to be findin’ ye!”

Fern grinned. “Ha, yeah, an’ that day she do, she’ll be a Radkial, too!”

“Oh fuck, we’d have 3 Wogtal!” Silver marveled in horror.

“Three an’ a quarter!” Iron Gale added with a chuckle. “Fletcher just won’t let that ‘part Wogtal’ go!”

It made Anubis smile and the others chortle. “Well, he does have the spirit of one.”

“Oh, so then that makes ye part Aroogar!” Eli offered, all the heads nodding along with murmured agreement.

Pursing his lips at first as he thought on that, Anubis smiled. “I can’t think of higher praise.”

The days were slipping by so fast. It didn’t help that sleep was fleeting and rife with images Anubis had hoped he had escaped. Only when pure exhaustion took him was he able to find any rest, however briefly.

Finding him passed out in bed after lunch, Denver left him and joined Nova waiting outside. “Sorry, Nova. I, uh, I d-don’t, uh, don’t think it’d be smart to poke ‘im now, heh!”

Giving a playful pout, she smiled at him. “That’s alright. He seemed real tired this mornin’. Thanks fer checkin’.”

As she walked away, Denver perked to his name, spinning around to find Fern standing above him on the mound of dirt on the other side of the hall entrance.

“Hey,” he started once Denver had hurried up to him eagerly. “Ye, uh, wanna go for a walk with me?”

Tail wagging, Denver nodded. “Oh, uh, sh-sure!”

As they walked, Fern looked down at him with a warm smile and slid his hand into his to interlock their fingers. Denver beamed up at him, getting a little closer. “What’d ye w-wanna talk ‘bout?”

Taking a deep breath, Fern looked around before replying. “Well, I ... had a long talk with yer brother.”

Denver’s shoulders slumped and he looked down. “Oh.”

With another breath, Fern seemed to have difficulty getting the words out. “He were under the impression that I ... ain’t always been as good o’ a partner as I could be, an’ that I ain’t ... always had yer happiness in mind, an’ ... he may o’ had a few good points.”

Denver’s head snapped up to look at him. “Well, I-I-I don’t think ye’ve been a bad partner.”

Nodding slowly, Fern gave him a little smile. “Good, I’m glad, but ye also ain’t ever had nothin’ to compare to. ‘Sides maybe Baxter.”

Again, Denver looked down, his ears laying back. “Well, I-I-I know ye love ‘im more than me.”

Fern stopped in mid-stride and turned to look at him in disbelief. “Is that what ye think? Is that how I make ye feel?”

Blinking in surprise, he scratched at the back of his neck nervously. “Oh, w-w-well, it’s just, uh, well, y-ye say thin’s ‘b-b-bout ‘im that ye d-don’t ever say ‘bout me.”

“But, I say thin’s ‘bout ye that I don’t say ‘bout ‘im, too!” Fern hurriedly explained. “An’ ... an’ there’s thin’s I say ‘bout Jack that I don’t say ‘bout either o’ ye, an’ I know Jack’ll never give. That’s the whole fun o’ it!”

With a pensive breath, he took both of Denver’s hands. “What Baxter an’ I’ve got is somethin real special. It’s always been this intense, tingly kind o’ ... explosive love. Like fireworks. But, fireworks don’t last an’ the show’s always gotta end sometime. We both gotta wake up, an’ go on with our lives cuz when it comes down to it, he ain’t gonna howl with me, an’ I ain’t gonna spar with ‘im. We just ain’t compatible like that, an’ I think that’s what gives it that spice, that we know it ain’t s’posed to work, but we make do.

“Maybe ... maybe I ain’t always got that with ye, but I think that’s the best part. Maybe there’s no big show, but that means there’s no end. It means yer gonna be there next to me when I wake up, an’ ye’ll howl with me fore bed, an’ I don’t gotta go on with my life cuz ... ye are my life. It’s that warm kind o’ love that makes me happy to be home. That kind o’ love that ... home could be anywhere so long as it’s with ye. An’ Baxter don’t make me feel like that.”

His eyes blurry with tears, Denver’s tail wagged, and he slipped his arms under Fern’s to hug him tight. “That just made me feel real special.”

Holding him close, Fern nuzzled the top of his head. “Good. Cuz that’s how I want ye to feel, always. But, I ain’t done with what I wanted to say. I just didn’t want ye ever thinkin I loved Baxter more than ye. I just ... love ‘im different, that’s all.”

With another breath, he glanced around again and started walking slowly once more before continuing. “When ye was a pup, I shoulda let ye grow up like all the other pups. It weren’t fair that I’d go after ye an’ keep ye ‘way from bein’ a pup just cuz I were ... scared o’ losin’ my chance o’ havin’ somethin’ here ... o’ havin’ someone. My reasons been pretty selfish, an’ that were what Long Fang were so mad ‘bout- that I didn’t just want ye safe, but that I wanted ye safe fer me. I ... I realize now it weren’t fair to ye, or even to ‘im, but I can’t take none o’ it back now. All I can do is try to be better ‘bout it now.”

Stopping again, he turned to face Denver. “When I thought ye’d run off cuz o’ me, I near panicked. Then ye found me, an’ I hear ye stood up to a skaowl, an’ even Anubis when ye thought he’d hurt Jack! I woulda been scared ta death ta do that!”

The boy blushed, fidgeting nervously, though there was the hint of a smile to the corners of his mouth. “W-W-Well, I, uh, I really were,” he admitted softly.

With a little smile, Fern put his hand on his shoulder. “Course. Anybody woulda been. But, ye still faced the fear, an’ that’s what made me realize ... yer a good boy but also a big boy, an’ I really don’t gotta worry so much ‘bout ye takin’ care o’ yerself an’ more worried ‘bout helpin’ ye grow to be a man.”

Reaching into his pocket, he opened his hand for Denver to see. His eyes grew wide with a gasp. “Rank beads! F-Fer me? But, these are Omicron...”

Fern nodded. “Yeah, well, I feel like I ... kinda stole a rank from ye cuz I never encouraged ye to do any better, an’ kept ye from yer chores an’ such. I know ye’d take on more responsibility if I weren’t the one convincin’ ye not to.” Then he grinned deviously, waggling his brows. “Plus, I thought it’d be funny if ye was higher rank than Anubis...”

Denver thought it was funny, too, strutting out to meet the Dire after his Ranking in the females hall. He utterly beamed with pride and sass until Anubis felt the need to remind him of his place with a tight grip on that braid the entire time.

A week could take a lifetime. Then, in the blink of an eye, that eternity can come screeching to a halt.

The morning was vivid and clear with that sweet chill of autumn. Gathering around the truck, the pack was wishing Anubis luck and encouragement. Smiling down at Nova holding his hand, Anubis perked and felt the pocket of his kilt with a mild panic.

“What’s wrong?” she asked.

“My letter!” Anubis replied to her softly. “I forgot my letter to Caesar.”

By the time he was returning from dashing off, Jack had hobbled over to the truck. The pack wished him good health and strength while Berry, River and Soot fussed ceaselessly, trying to convince him to at least take his doctor with him. Rather than perturbed, he found it entertaining and kept them annoyed with off handed quips under his breath until all three women could deal with him no longer and threw up their hands.

With a victorious chuckle, he noticed the letter in Anubis’ hand. “That’s for yer brother, right?”

Anubis looked down at it. “Yeah. I was hoping to send it a while ago but ... well, I guess someone can send it after this council.”

“Yeah, ye will,” Jack retorted sharply.

“Ha, hope ye told ‘im all ‘bout us!” Fern chuckled as he started to get into the truck.

“I did, actually. I just ... wish he could meet you all.”

Jack perked with an idea. “Well, maybe he can’t meet us, but he could see us! Yeah? Yeah! We ought to get a pack photo, eh?”

It didn’t take very long to gather the rest of the pack once the word was out that it would be a pack photo. Nova ran off to bring Veka with Parval in her arms. He had doubled in size by now, as large as those who were several months older than him. Anubis could not help but to take him in the crook of his arm, nuzzling his soft belly to make him wiggle and whimper. Kneeling to the side between Veka and Nova with Fletcher on one shoulder and Arrow on the other, it was the only way to tell his great void among the crowd as he all but vanished, save for the line of his grin and glow of his eyes.

“One for us, an’ one for yer brother!”

Handing him a dark glossy square, Anubis watched in wonder as the image came into existence before his eyes while the pack slowly dispersed.

Once the only ones left were those who were going along, Jack turned to discover Nova holding Anubis’ hand tightly, already giving him her most pleading puppy eyes. Fixing her with a stern look, he shook his head. “No, Nova...”

“Please, Jack! Please let me come ‘long!”

Glancing up at Anubis, his expression softened and motioned with his head for her to approach him. Standing before him, she tried again, but he was still unmoved, placing a hand on her shoulder. “Listen, Nova. I’m gonna bring ‘im back, alright? I promise ye, but ye know low ranks ain’t allowed in council.”

“I swear I’ll be quiet! I won’t...”

Jack shook his head, gently stroking her, following the curve under her ear and along her jaw to cup her snout. “Ye an’ I both know they’re gonna say somethin’ that’ll make ye see red an’ yer sweet, fiery heart just won’t stay in yer chest. Yer stayin’ Nova, an’ that’s what it’s gonna be. He’s gonna be back for dinner, alright?”

Lowering herself defeatedly, she nodded. After a last kiss and hug, Anubis got in the back with Iron Gale and White Toe while Fern started up the truck and Silver shut the door for Jack, leaning into the window to wish them luck.

The near two hour drive was mostly quiet. There was some discussion when they came by the place they had been stopped by Red Paw’s group, but the rest of it was spent with Anubis staring off at the fields and woods they passed. Just ... thinking.

Pulling into the parking area, Anubis could feel all the eyes on him as soon as he stood out of the truck. Straightening his vest and kilt, he took a deep breath, stepped back and fell forward as his body shifted, looking down at his hands as they finished their transformation into paws.

Looking at him sadly, Jack’s gaze moved to the muzzle laying on the tailgate. Reaching out, he picked it up, holding the massive thing with both hands. “I ... I forgot how heavy this thing were. I even ... forgot ye’d worn it for a li’l bit there, an’ it weren’t even that long ago.”

Slipping his snout into it when Jack turned it over, he met his Alpha’s gaze. Looking down at him, Jack sucked in a breath and forced a smile. “Big ol’ pup. What ye lookin so glum for? Ye think this is yer funeral?” Anubis turned his gaze away while Jack let Fern finish hooking it on. “Naw, see, we ain’t like yer kind. This is a circus. A big show. Won’t be no teeth. Lots o’ documents an’ words. An’ in the end, I’m thinkin’ things’ll turn out alright. Dawson’s got a lot o’ sway cuz they’re big, but the Radkials got allies.”

White Toe smirked. “Well, least half the council’s related to granomma, an’ll vote how she votes most the time. She’s, uh, real persuasive.”

“An’ the Hammers always been Radkial allies,” Jack added as they started towards the council hall. “Never had no reason to compete cuz the river divided us. Maybe the Hammers got bad blood together, but that’s a mighty big vote for us, cuz most the packs ‘round ‘em’ll vote what way they do, too.”

As they approached the building, they could see Grr’siv with several council members and a very troubled look on his face. The expression only deepened when he saw them. The council members also saw them and tried to hurry him inside, but when he was close enough, he stopped and all but whispered, “I swear I didn’t have nothin’ to do with this, Jack,” before he was called away.

“Just tell the truth, Grr’siv,” he called after the other Alpha with a shake of his head.

Fern growled quietly, watching him leave with narrowed eyes. White Toe glanced at him with concern and a tight mouth.

Standing near the front double doors as the council members walked past, Anubis practically curled into a ball, his nose near touching the ground in an attempt to seem small and harmless. The breeze through the door brought a familiar scent that piqued his attention.

Escorted by 2 other women, Mother Meadow hobbled in slowly. Stopping in her tracks, she loudly sniffed the air and squinted towards Anubis. “Eh? That Anubis? Ye slouchin’ ‘gain, boy? Didn’t I tell ye not ta bother with that nonsense?”

Glancing at each other, Jack cleared his throat. “He ... ain’t slouchin’, Mother Meadow. He’s shifted, like the council ordered.”

“What!?” She let out a shrill bark, before shaking with fury and looked up at one of the women beside her. “Who the fuck ordered that!?”

Ears back, the two glanced at each other before the one she had turned to spoke up. “It were voted on, Omma. Ye didn’t show up.”

Mother Meadow staggered as though the words had been a physical blow, and she needed to lean on her cane. “An’ ... no one thought that might be a bit odd?”

Again glancing at each other, the same responded once more. “Well, ye was sleepin’, Omma.”

“Cuz I didn’t even know there were a council meetin’! ‘ave I ever missed one!?”

Shrugging, the other one tried to hurry her along inside. “Well, it were a informal vote, granomma, an’ it’s kinda late ta worry ‘bout it now. We need ta get in there.”

She did not leave quietly, a loud trail of profanities heard all the way inside. The five of them glanced at each other before smirking.

The sound of Fern’s fur fluffing up was enough to draw all their attention. Tilting his head back, a smug pair of amber eyes were looking down at him from intimately close behind him for he had turned his back to the door. The immense antlers were sharp and bejeweled, tinkling with delicate gold chains.

“Were ya even gonna come say hi?” the stag pouted.

Pursing his lips hard to avoid the smile tugging at their tips, Fern looked away with a shrug. “Well, I only been here a few minutes. I got this council to attend.”

Stepping to his side, Baxter acknowledged everyone before noticing the shadow within the shadows. “Hey, is that Anubis? What’s with the getup?”

Sighing indignantly, Fern replied. “Council demanded he be ‘under control.’ So here we are.”

Cocking a brow, Baxter shook his head with an eye roll. “Wolf politics,” he muttered with disdain before looking back at Fern. “Think ya can stay after?”

Again, Fern shrugged, that smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. “I dunno. We’ll ... see how this goes.”

“Well, if things go real good, ya can stay with me tonight, an’ I’ll drive ya home tomorrow. How’s that sound?”

There was simply no hope for Fern to hide the giddy grin that he tried with every ounce of his self control. Finally just giving in to it, he looked up at Baxter excitedly, his tail wagging close to his legs. “A whole night with ye?”

“Maybe even two?” He hinted with a waggle of his brow.

Considering it a second, Fern shook his head playfully. “I’ll ... think ‘bout it.”

Smiling at him, Baxter’s long neck made an elegant curve as he leaned down to murmur warmly in his ear, “I’ll even cook breakfast.”

Fern sucked in his breath, and his fur fluffed all over.

Jack made a sound of disgust and shoved him against the stag. “Ugh! Just say yeah! Yer ‘bout to have a orgasm standin’ there.”

Now in Baxter’s arms, Fern leaned against him, wrapping his own arms around the stag’s chest. “Hmm, is it gonna be wolf stew?”

Baxter touched noses with a wicked grin and waggled both brows. “Even better. How ‘bout buck balls?”

The groans of anguish came from all but Fern, his tail simply uncontrollable at this point. “I’m already starvin’!”

With a triumphant smile, Baxter gave him a quick kiss and wished them luck, flicking his tail at Fern with a wink over his shoulder as he left. Fern clutched at his chest and staggered a bit with a wistful sigh.

“What’d ye ever need me fer?” Jack teased. “Yer smitten. Might as well be on another planet.” Reaching up, he flicked Fern’s ear to make him yelp and wince.

“Hey! Oh, well, it’s simple.” He leaned over entirely too close to Jack’s face with a waggle of his brows. “Ye was my first love!”

He rolled his eyes in a wide and obvious arc with a fond smirk, but before he could reply, a woman’s voice made a visceral reaction in his whole body.

“How unseemly. A wolf with a deer. Though, who better to be queer than the queer.”

Anubis had never seen so many expressions happen all at once on a face like that. The roulette landed on a spark of realization, and Jack bristled.

“Grr’landra,” he growled, turning to meet the disdainful yellow gaze of a dark grey, tan and white woman with red on the lower half of her limbs. She was fairly tall for a woman and had a pompous tilt to her head in an attempt to look down at those around her, even if she had to look up. Wearing a squared dress with sharp angles, she had an ornate cane that was clearly for show. “An’ just like that, it all makes sense. Just waitin’ for yer chance, were ye? Can’t believe I didn’t think o’ it. Just didn’t think ye had that kind o’ sway. Who’s dick did ye have ta suck to pull this off?”

She bristled a little, nearly baring her teeth, but quickly recovered, her eyes burning a hole through him in her mind. “Should be holdin’ yer tongue with council members! I happen to’ve made my position on my own merit.”

Jack’s brows shot up, and he barked out a laugh. “Merit? Oh, that were s’posed to be a joke, right?”

“Keep it up, Jack,” she warned with a sneer. “Yer real hot with yer dog standin’ there. Let’s see how yer jokin’ by the end of this.”

Jack’s face snapped to stone, cold and indignant, leaning forward so he could glower down at her. “Bring it on, bitch. Ye turned my boys ‘gainst their brother, an’ then ye drag me out o’ bed to threaten my pack mate in a rigged council. Ye didn’t really think this were gonna turn out well for ye, did ye?”

Looking him up and down, she smirked. “Too bad. Skaowl are such majestic beasts, unlike that ... mongrel.” She eyed Anubis with disgust. “How do ye even live with it?”