‘Yep, try them out.’
Captain Brooks roars, spittle flying from his mouth before he charges. As he barrels at me, I take in his gait and see how he favors his right leg, so I shift my waiting stance slightly as he gets closer. His massive arm pounds down towards my shoulder from overhead and meets Lynx’s turquoise tail—mimicking a gorilla’s arm—to be blocked. With my hands free, I slash into his shoulder with my glaive, severing the tendons, rendering his right arm useless, and send my PMS needles into his left knee.
Spinning towards his bad knee, I kick out, dislocating it, and Brooks goes down. The only thing keeping him up is his left hand and his good knee. JP’s brown tail makes quick work of wrapping around Brooks’ face, blocking his airway with water, which causes him to jerk and claw at the tail, ripping some fur out.
“Oh, this should be familiar to you.” I purr. “Isn’t it?” I taunt. “Oh, you forgot about Mariann? Correct me if I’m wrong, but wasn’t she the favorite little bunny shifter of this pack?” I say loud enough for everyone to hear me. A few people repeat the name, and a commotion starts in the crowd. “She was one that no one knew that you had a hand in. You played it off that she drowned in a river.” I remove the water mask from his face and watch his face turn ashen for another reason. “I told you, I am your Vengeance today.”
His fire ignites once again as his nostrils flare and his muscles bunch to make another attack, but just as quickly, JP’s tail is at his face once more, cutting off his breath.
“You even offered to do the autopsy so the family didn’t have to go through it. Your report conveniently left out the S.A. that you put her through before you killed her. And you called yourself the beta!” I seethe.
Enraged, I use Knots’ tail to begin slashing into the gorilla’s thick, leathery hide, careful not to nick any major arteries. Before he drowns, I reluctantly remove the water mask, and Captain Brooks crumbles to the ground unconscious as the crowd cheers for a new reason.
“Was this Mariann part of your pack?” I ask, and the crowd grows restless as they cry for revenge. “Do you want a piece of your justice?”
“Yes! He’s mine!” many cry out.
“She was my daughter,” one woman yells. I spot her in the crowd and motion for her to come over with one of my tails.
“Do you accept my victory if I let you finish him off for me?” I ask her. I watch as her tearful eyes turn hard as she nods.
“Yes.” Her voice cracks, but she holds her head up high.
I turn to face the rest of the pack. “I formally claim my victory over Captain Brooks and my claim over Knox Cloak as my mate and Alpha.” I look over my shoulder at the unconscious shifter at my feet before turning back to Mariann’s mother. “Don’t make it fast. He didn't make it quick for her,” I remind her before turning and walking away.
It’s less than a second before I hear her scream in anger and punch him. I know it’s not following the shifter rules, but technically, I’m now a Fate and the only Kitsune. I don’t have to follow any fucking rules, but I was trying to play nice for my Alpha’s sake. Captain Brooks sealed his own fate with his transgressions, though.
I barely avoid getting trampled returning to my family as the crowd descends on him.
“Rez, you’re a fucking Kitsune.” Knox eyes me up and down as he checks out my tails.
“I know, pretty cool, right?” I grab hold of his arms as I get bumped and look over my shoulder. While most of the shifters are treating Captain Brooks like a punching bag, there are still the ones with the Rebel tattoos, and they are heading our way.
“I think it’s about time to go,” Lynx advises.
“What’s the world coming to when I agree with the kitty litter?” Knots mumbles.
“This way,” Knox takes my hand. “There’s an emergency portal on the other side of camp we can activate.”
Thank the old Fates, I thought we were about to take a dip in dead-ville.
CHAPTER 51
I’m a Natural… or a Fluke
Rez
Knox leads, and we follow as fast as we can down paths weaving between the trees. I spot a clearing and nearly cry out in relief until he skids to a halt, and I almost slam into his back.
“What’s wrong?” I ask, trying to peer around his back
‘Let me see,’Zareen says, before my eyes adjust to seeing in the dark. The sight is something I wish I couldn’t see. I’d rather be ignorant; I’ve heard it can be bliss.
“Maybe they are friends,” Lynx suggests.
Knox pulls me around and scoffs, leading us back the way we came. “Did you see who was in front, leading that mob?”
“No, was it Ed McMahon? I heard he used to give out money, and I could really use some to take a vacation from this Hell,” Lynx quips.
