Page 35 of License to Kill

The harsh fumes of gasoline warned me the humans had come to my mountain earlier than I expected, but it wasn’t a human I found on the trail.

I hated wolves, especially the unnaturally large ones. My nose confirmed the dark animal was a male, and he wasn’t that much larger than me. If he wanted a fight, I’d fight. I bared my teeth, twisted my ears back, and ducked my head to protect my throat.

I remembered how I hadn’t been good enough for the Fenerec, how I, a fox, would never be good enough for them.

I hated wolves.

Chittering a warning, I side stepped, and the male followed my every move. If he wanted a fight, I’d give it to him. I lunged, snapped my teeth at his nose, and reared up so I could bring my claws into play, claws I’d sharpened on stones while digging my den. I yanked out a tuft of his fur, startling a yip out of him.

When he recoiled, the scent of his astonishment strong in the air, I turned tail and ran through the trees. The wolf behind me howled, and others answered.

A lucky fox could outrun a wolf, and I had the advantage of knowing the terrain. I weaved my way through the trees, hit my top speed, and charged down the mountain. The wolf behind me howled again, and in his voice, I heard his frustration.

I headed for the farm and its long fences, taking advantage of the human-made trails to add distance. I hated wolves, but if they wanted my den, they were welcome to it.

It wouldn’t take me long to find another mountain and another place to call my own. My plan to relocate would have worked if the wolves hadn’t caught my scent and trail and insisted on following me.

The sun rose, and I heard the pack call behind me, and when the wind blew behind me, it carried the strong scent of wolf and spice. By noon, I slowed to a staggering walk, panting in my effort to catch my breath.

Despite running as long and fast as I could, the wolves pursued. Far beyond my normal territory, I couldn’t rely on my knowledge of the area to guide my path. The woods thinned, and I heard the distant rumble of car engines and the honk of horns.

Civilization. I bared my fangs and searched for shelter, somewhere I could defend.

All I found was a wide river, and snow and ice encrusted its shore. I dipped my paw into the water and shuddered. It wouldn’t be long until it froze over, too. Wolves slipped through the trees and cornered me. The glassy surface of the water promised drowning depths.

With my routes to escape cut off, I could fight or attempt to swim.

The water would welcome me, but it wouldn’t let me go. Once I entered its domain, I wouldn’t be leaving again. The cold certainty of it settled over me.

Panting wolves surrounded me, and they watched me with bright golden eyes. Their unnatural coats, of all colors and patterns, promised they were Fenerec, which ensured I wanted nothing to do with any of them.

I hated wolves, but I hated the ones who pretended to be men the most.

I chose the water over them.

I could fight the water or I could fight the wolves. One battle I could handle, but both at the same time spelled my defeat, especially when I had to fend off several, each one determined to sink their teeth into my fur. The river clung to me, weighed me down, and made it easier for the wolves to secure a grip on my scruff and drag me to shore.

Every step of the way, I snapped my teeth, dug my claws into the rocky bank, and jerked my body in my efforts to free myself. They held on tighter, two of them biting the back of my neck to keep me from escaping.

The rest of the pack watched me struggle until the last of my strength ebbed, and I hung in the jaws of the two wolves restraining me. I panted, staggering in order to get my paws under me.

I recognized the brindled white and gold wolf, and I bared my fangs at her approach and flattened my ears. Chittering threats wouldn’t work, not on her. Nothing would.

With no skulk and Jake having chosen a proper wolf bitch over me, I had no one to help me, so I remained silent. They had made it clear I wasn’t welcome in their pack.

Why couldn’t she and her wretched wolves leave me in peace?

She approached, breathing in my scent. I waited until she came within reach to strike, snapping my fangs over her nose. She yelped, and her cry startled the wolves holding me enough I broke free, retreating into the water. Displaying my teeth, I went belly deep into the river.

When Jake joined his mother, his fur the rich chocolate brown and gold I remembered, my chest tightened, and the ache stabbed so deep the water couldn’t numb away the pain.

Did they want the divorce papers signed so badly they had to hunt me in force? Hadn’t the slow and steady shifting of the seasons been enough to teach them I didn’t want anything to do with them anymore?

They had won. Why did they have to bother me?

When I escaped and found a new den, I would remember being alone in the woods far surpassed solitude within a crowd, unwanted and unneeded.

Then I remembered what Mellisa had said. Fenerec mated for life, and the only way he could take the bitch better suiting him was to get rid of me first. I retreated deeper until the water flowed around my throat.