He purred in what seemed to be a cat’s laugh, then bounded ahead.
I followed, quickly shaking off the aches in my body. To run alongside Xander beneath a clear blue sky with the wind streaming through our fur was magical. I purposely nudged him with my shoulder as we ran and he purred in amusement and did it right back to me. There was a crystal quality in his eyes, like the fog in them had disappeared, unclouding his vision. He seemedhappy. And that made me happy, too.
In my hurry last night to trail Xander’s scent, I didn’t pay attention to where I’d gone, or how far away I was from the grove. I was glad to see we weren’t too far away. We stood on a hill a distance from the grove, but I could easily see it below us.
“We’d better get moving,” I suggested.
But we only got halfway down the slope before someone bit my tail.
“Ow! What the hell?”
If Xander wasn’t a few feet ahead of me, I might’ve assumed it was him teasing me or something, but he whirled around immediately at my cry.
I spun to see the familiar red face of a fox, whose teeth were still sunk into my fur.
“Red?” I exclaimed. “What are you—let go of me!”
Xander prowled up to him and demanded, “Is there a reason you’re biting Sage?”
Red let go. I quickly whisked my tail out of his reach and puffed it out in irritation. Great, now it was covered in fox slobber.
“That’s what you deserve for disappearing like some kind of moody teenager,” Red grumbled.
“What?” I yelled.
As if to purposely tower over me, Red shifter to human form. His red hair blazed in the sun. “Morgan told everyone you needed time alone to—y’know—but then you never came back!”
Annoyed that he was looking down on me, I shifted too. I crossed my arms. “Youwere worried about me? What are you, my dad?”
“Not just me, we were all worried, kid,” Red said, sticking a finger at me. “And don’t change the subject.”
“Kid? Okay, you arenotold enough to be calling me that.”
Red waved a hand dismissively. “Whatever. It doesn’t change the fact that you didn’t return from your hormone-fuelled night out.” He glanced sideways at Xander, looking him over before returning his scolding glare to me. “Don’t make us worry like that again.”
“Maybe you all shouldn’t worry about me like I’m some kind of toddler,” I replied irritably.
Red scoffed.
Before I could respond, Xander shifted and asked, “Is there a problem, fox? Because I don’t like the tone you’re using with Sage.”
Red’s eyes flicked up at the taller Xander, who had put his hand firmly on my shoulder in the meantime.
“First off, the name’s Red. Don’t forget it. Second—” He paused and put his hands on his hips. “Actually, I decided I’m not going to pick a fight with a cat who could use me like a toothpick.”
I rolled my eyes. “Xander’s not gonna hurt you, Red.”
“How do I know that? He showed up the other day and nobody could really vouch for him except you, andsort ofRemington, and I don’t even know if he likes the guy.”
Xander frowned.
I piped up, feeling crabby all of a sudden. “I don’t think you of all people should be talking. The pack didn’t trust you for a long time. Hell, I was one of the ones whodidtrust you! And I laughed at your jokes!”
Red met my eye for a while, then sighed. “Gods, you’re right. I sound like some kinda nag, don’t I?”
“Yeah. You do.”
The sly grin I was used to seeing on Red’s face returned. He looked pretty embarrassed. “Sorry, Sage. I guess watching the kids all the time turned me overprotective. Yeesh.”
