Out foxed, p.24
Out Foxed, page 24
She watched as he very gently took Malcolm into his arms, nothing but pure love and pride written across his face.
“Hi there, Mack,” he said, using the nickname he’d fondly given him upon his birth. “I’ve missed you.”
“Glad to see you guys could make it.” Rane’s hands landed up on her shoulders, giving a gentle squeeze. “Was he a lot of trouble?”
“Nah.” Deck shoved his hands into his pockets and rocked back on his heels. “He was good for the most part, but he did have a few episodes. The last one took a while to get through.”
“Oh, no.” A hand flew to her mouth as she tiptoed to look at their car. “Is he okay?”
“He’s napping,” Trace said, hardly paying attention to them as he pretended to bite Malcolm’s little fingers. “It sure takes a lot out of him.”
The ‘him’ they were referring to, was the orphaned bobcat cub named Ezra.
Rane had first met him in North Carolina, and after she heard about the poor kid’s situation, they mutually agreed he needed to come home with them.
It took a while to find him, though. Nearly a month passed by before Rane successfully caught his scent, and they finally found him wandering the Blue Ridge Mountains in Virginia.
It was difficult for him to leave behind his bobcat family, but he came around to the idea when they promised he could come back and visit whenever he wanted.
Trace and Decker had been more than eager to help out in any way they could, so they volunteered to take Ezra with them on all of their outings, just so he could stop and say hello to his old family.
Rane had hinted around to the idea of wanting to adopt him, and she didn’t disagree.
Malcolm was welcomed into the world by two loving parents, two incredible uncles, grandparents who were over-the-moon for his arrival, and a big brother.
He came with his own complications though—Ezra did. He was so used to being in his bobcat form, that it was hard for him to adjust to life as a normal little boy.
And it got stranger, she discovered, when they realized he may have appeared to be twelve-years-old, but his mind was much younger.
They had never heard of such a thing, so they returned to the dyadthrope clan in search of answers; they’d gotten quite close to the dyadthropes since their first encounter.
Rane had been so nervous about facing them again, especially Awinita’s father. But it shouldn’t have come as a surprise to learn he’d anticipated his daughter’s death.
He’d always known about her impending sacrifice—Awinita had known, too. And she still shifted into a swan in order to save Trace’s life.
For that, she would always be grateful to them—to her.
The dyadthropes were incredible people, really, and they knew so much.
It was Awinita’s father who finally gave them the answers they needed when it came to Ezra’s unique situation.
A little-known fact was that any shifter who spent long amounts of time in their animal form, did not age at the same rate as their human counterpart.
It was a common practice among the dyadthropes; some were able to adjust to human life, while others chose to live out their lives as something else.
They’d gone over the math several times, and with what little information Ezra could provide from what few memories he had of his parents, he would have been born in 1989.
Helping him stay in his human form seemed to send his system into some sort of malfunction, because the kid didn’t seem to be growing at all now.
In fact, he appeared to be going in reverse.
The tantrums were like that of a two-year-old, and they always ended with destruction.
Not even a week after bringing him home, he’d gotten upset because he couldn’t figure out how to turn the television on, and Henley walked into the living room to find the couch, curtains, and carpet torn to shreds.
It took a while to get him to calm down, too.
She could only imagine how scary it was for the poor boy, to live in a world he really didn’t know, with people he didn’t know. But they were doing their best to show him love and affection; they wanted him to know he was cared for.
Awinita’s father said Ezra’s journey into manhood would eventually regulate his growth, but if her calculations were correct, they still had another eight years to go.
In the meantime, they could only support him, love him, and teach him what it meant to be human.
She had so desperately wanted to do the same for Dimitri.
The little wolf crossed her mind quite often, and she hoped he was all right, wherever he’d ended up.
Maybe they would cross paths again one day.
Her feet carried her swiftly to Trace and Decker’s car, and she peered inside to check on their little bobcat.
She was surprised, however, when she found not only one boy, but two.
“Um...”
“Yeah, about that,” Decker started slowly, appearing by her side. “Remember how we said we were going to take a trip to Wyoming? You know, just to see some sites and let Ezra have a fun time?”
“Yes...” She said slowly, quirking a brow.
“Keep in mind this was all Trace’s idea, okay?”
“Uh huh.”
“Well, Ezra was being fussy, so we decided to shift with him and just take a run up in the Rocky Mountains.”
“Go on...”
“And we may have stumbled upon a mama lynx and her babies...”
“And?”
“You have to believe me, Hens. It was the same situation all over again: another orphaned cat-shifter living among regular animals. He sensed we were like him and he immediately shifted. You should have seen him—he was so damn scared.”
“Oh.”
Her heart immediately went out to the little fellow, who was currently curled up against the car door, his little arms wrapped tightly around his body.
“Is he like Ezra, mentally?”
“No. I don’t think he’d been living with those cats for very long. But he’s been through some bad stuff,” he said sadly as he pressed a palm against the window and peered inside. “We had to communicate with him while we were shifted. His lynx had to do the talking for him.”
“I imagine so. He’s so young.”
“I know. We had to stop and buy a pack of pull-ups.”
“He does look really young. Awe,”—she pressed her nose against the glass and stared in at him. “Poor baby.”
He had the curliest black hair she’d ever seen, and his dark skin looked so smooth.
She fought the urge to pull him out of the car and cuddle him.
“He lost his entire family to the wolves, Hens.”
“He did?” She pulled back to stare at him, horrified. “What are they doing, killing off all the cat-shifters they can?”
“It goes beyond foxes and cougars. You heard what Rane said about the ursithropes in Tennessee, and what happened with Ezra’s family, too. They’re going after everybody. No one’s safe.”
The worry for her parents came back tenfold.
He must have sensed her concern though, because he wrapped an arm around her and pulled her close.
“We’re going to figure it out. Malcolm’s here now, and if what Cassius said is true, then—”
“I’m still trying to wrap my head around it, Deck. I’m not exactly thrilled my son is involved, period. I just,”—she sighed heavily—“What’s his name?”
“Cameron.”
“Cameron,” she echoed, chewing at her lip. “I wonder where he came from?”
“Alaska.”
“Alaska?! How on earth did he end up in Wyoming?”
“Alone,” he said sadly. “After the wolves attacked, he said he just ran as fast and as far as he could. His story is so heartbreaking, Henley. We couldn’t leave him there. He needed help. He needs you and Rane.”
“Taking in Ezra was one thing, but another? Decker, I don’t know...”
“We’ll take him.”
The smoothness of Rane’s voice made her body tingle with awareness, and she turned her head to see him and Trace standing a few feet away.
She wasn’t sure how long they’d been standing there and listening, but judging by the look on her husband’s face, she knew what he was thinking without hearing a single thought.
Even Malcolm seemed to agree as he stared at her from Trace’s arms, a small smile playing at his lips.
“We have the room,” Rane added. “And we’ll make more if we have to.”
“What, like Professor X does for mutants?” Trace snickered and glanced at his brother.
“If we have to,” Rane replied seriously. “If you’ve found another one, then that means there are probably more.”
“So many children being orphaned,” she said quietly, her eyes wandering back to Cameron again.
“We have to help them,” her husband continued, stepping up behind her. “There isn’t anyone else who can.”
“Not cat-wise,” Trace stated, circling around them and returning Malcolm to her arms. “That’s why we brought him back with us. These kids need a family. They need to be taught how to be human, and how to co-exist with their cats.”
“I reckon nobody’s better for the job than you, Rane,” Decker commented, holding a hand out for Trace to take. “You can be the Professor X of panthropes.”
Trace took his hand within his own and stared at his brother, hopeful.
“I’ll do it,” he said after a moment. “But we’re going to have to work together, for the sake of these kids.”
“Whatever you need.” Trace nodded eagerly. “We sort of decided we’re going to keep our eyes out for them now anyway. Who knows how many are just out there, waiting to be found?”
“Or don’t even know what they are,” she added. “Oh, Rane. Can we really do this, take in all these kids and raise them?”
He cupped her cheek and stroked his thumb over her bottom lip, seemingly one of his favorite things to do.
“We can do anything as long as we do it together,” he said, giving her an award-winning smile. “Besides, it’ll be nice to raise a house full of cats.”
“Or a school-full,” Decker said, “X-Men style.”
“That, too,”—Rane rolled his eyes—“But maybe this is what we’re meant to do.”
“Maybe.” She rested a palm against his chest and locked gazes with him. “Cassius never mentioned anything like this to me.”
He kissed the top of her head and sighed.
“I believe this is a Benek thing, sweetheart, and there are just some things we shouldn’t know about until they happen.”
“I agree.” Trace cleared his throat and released Decker’s hand, causing the fox to give him a questioning look. “Speaking of things that shouldn’t be known until they happen...”
He fished something from his pocket and got down on one knee.
‘What is he doing?’ She asked excitedly as her hand grasped Rane’s arm. ‘Is he doing what I think he’s doing?’
‘I believe so,’ he responded.
Decker stood there, stunned, as the small black box came into view.
“Oh my Cassius,” he said in a breathy whisper.
“I know it’s not something we can legally make happen, at least not anytime soon,”—Trace smiled up at him as he opened the box to reveal a silver ring—“but would you do me the honor of being my husband, in the eyes of Benek and our families?”
“I...” Decker was in shock it seemed, as words escaped him.
“And we can move to California. They’ve got something going on there that allows couples like you and I to have the same benefits as married couples. And the world is changing,”—he added quickly, nervously—“I’m sure it won’t be much longer until we can be legally sanctified as husbands.”
The seconds ticked by, and Decker was still standing there, mouth agape.
‘Why isn’t he saying anything?’ She squeezed Rane’s hand as Malcolm cooed.
‘I think he just needs a minute.’
“Say something, Deck,”—Trace swallowed hard and laughed—“Do you...want to marry me?”
Just when she thought her best friend had gone into some sort of shock-induced trance, he released the funniest noise she’d ever heard and dropped to his knees.
He wrapped his arms around Trace and began laughing.
It was the happiest laugh she’d ever heard.
“Yes!” He cried. “Of course, I want to marry you! And I don’t care how long it takes for it to become legal,”—he grabbed his face and kissed him—“It’ll be legal to us, and that’s all that matters.”
“And—you’ll—move—to—California—with—me?” Trace asked in between kisses.
“Yes.”
Tears welled up in her eyes again, but this time, they were the happiest of tears.
She rested her head against Rane’s shoulder and sighed.
Trace slipped the ring onto Decker’s finger and kissed him again, matching his laughter as a tear slid down his cheek.
“I love you so much,” he whispered against his lips. “So damn much.”
“I love you, too.”
‘I’m so happy for them. I’m glad things worked out the way they did,’ she thought, peering up at Rane. ‘I love you.’
‘I couldn’t imagine my life without you, or Malcolm,’ he replied, brushing his lips over her forehead. ‘Or Ezra. And now we have Cameron...’
‘I know. We’ll give them the best life we can. It’s not going to be easy, but we can do it.’
‘As long as we’re together, Henley.’
She smiled broadly and turned to properly kiss him, her eyes fluttering shut.
‘As long as we’re together.’
The End
Did you enjoy reading Out Foxed?
Be sure to check out the Kadenburg Shifters Series next!
The Truth About Kadenburg (Book #1)
Return to Kadenburg (Book #2)
The Siege of Kadenburg (Book #3)
Kadenburg Revealed (Book #4)
Reclaiming Kadenburg (coming in 2020)
And wait – there’s more!
The Prairie Town Series
180 Days (Book #1)
90 Days (Book #2)
The Lost Days (Book #3)
One of These Days (Book #4)
Better Days (Book #5)
Acknowledgements
Thank you to D (Elle Vanzandt), my sister-in-law Barbara, and my Double Js (always!) for having so much faith in me.
To my readers and my street team – you guys are the best. I couldn’t do this if it weren’t for you. Thank you for wanting to read my books.
T E Ridener, Out Foxed
