“But—you’re in human form!” Sage cried.
Red scoffed, gesturing with his hand. “Why are you acting all surprised? Just ‘cause you’ve never seen my human form doesn’t mean I don’t have one. Anyways, forget about me. Your buddy’s hurt.”
I whirled towards Remington, who was still laying on his side. He groaned as we kneeled by him.
“Remmy, how bad is it? Can you get up?” Sage urged.
To my relief, Remington pushed himself up on one foot. “My pride’s hurt worse than my body,” he muttered. “That’s twice that I lost a fight against a gods-damned deer. No offense, Morgan…”
Morgan chuckled happily as he nuzzled Remington’s cheek. “You were so brave. Thank you.”
Remington’s eyes shone as he smiled back at him.
“And Ashe is all right?” Hugo asked.
Len propped up the baby in his arms, cuddling him closely. “He’s fine. Not a scratch on him, thank goodness.” He laughed softly. “He has no idea what’s going on, so he just went to sleep.”
“That’s my boy,” I praised as I ran my fingers over his hair.
As Morgan shifted to human form, I noticed that he didn’t get away unharmed from the fight. He was covered in scratches and sore-looking areas that would bloom into bruises. But he didn’t care about that right now. He reached for Ashe, and as Len handed him over, Morgan’s face turned calm and joyful. His eyelashes fluttered shut and he sighed as he held our baby. I couldn’t help but smile too.
“If we’re all tired, let’s stay the night and rest,” Hugo suggested.
Morgan shook his head. “No. I’d prefer to go home.”
Hugo smiled in understanding. “Me too. Sage, help me carry Remington.”
The black wolf groaned before shifting into human form and being hauled up by the two brothers. “Sorry for being a burden.”
I ruffled Remington’s dark hair. “You’re no burden. You saved us tonight. Thank you.”
His cheeks flushed. “C’mon, let’s go before I drown in sap.”
“Dad? Daddy?” Lupa asked suddenly. “That guy.”
We glanced down at Lupa. She pointed straight at Red. He stood with a hand on his hip, fiddling with his messy auburn hair.
“Oh, right,” Sage said. “What’re we gonna do about him?”
All of us looked to Hugo. The coldness I expected to see on his face wasn’t there. He seemed calmer, and a little tired. I didn’t know if it was because of the fight, or because he was tired of being filled with so much anger.
Before Hugo spoke, Morgan walked towards Red and put his hand firmly on his shoulder.
“Thank you for your help,” Morgan said, smiling. “Again. I don’t know if Rock would’ve given up the fight if you hadn’t arrived. That idiot fears losing his antlers to a hunter than anything else.”
A telltale grin spread over Sage’s face. “You could say he fears losing his antlers more than anythingelk. Get it?”
Everyone let out a loud groan except Red, who snickered. “Not bad. A little forced, but I’ve heard worse.”
Sage gasped and brightened up. “Thank you! At least someone here appreciates my jokes.”
Red shuffled his feet and ducked his eyes in an unusually shy gesture. “I’d be able to appreciate ‘em all the time if I could, uh, join you guys…” He said the last part in a low mumble.
With pleading eyes, Sage whirled towards his older brothers. “C’mon, Dax. Hugo. Please?”
“It’s fine with me,” I said with a shrug. “It’s up to Len and Hugo.”
Red’s pining gaze fixed on Hugo. If he was in fox form, his tail might have been wagging slowly in appeasement. I watched my brother with bated breath, waiting to hear his final verdict.
