Sly as a Fox {Book One}

Chapter 37

Chapter 37

A/N: The picture above is of Blithe's cousin, Raphael. Just imagine his right eye is yellow. :)

Trust

noun

-reliance on the integrity, strength, ability, surety, etc., of a person or thing

-confidence

Blithe's cousin came into view just as he tipped back a bottle of rum to his lips, the door that led down to the cellar open behind him. His eyes moved over to Blithe and he took the bottle away when he saw his cousin. "Blithe! Just the man I wanted to see," Raphael said as he walked forward to greet his family member.

It wasn't uncommon for shifters to be born with a body part that was either partially or fully shifted into their animal form and Raphael was no different. With his left eye the same dark brown as Blithe's and his right iris the deep golden color of his wolf form, Raphael was always able to stand out in a crowd. His lupine heterochromia was technically a birth defect, but it somehow suited him.

When they were little, Blithe and Raphael were best friends, often found playing as a trio with Brian, but after Lilith's untimely death, they grew apart. Blithe knew that his father always kept in touch with his nephew, but it wasn't much of a priority for Blithe after everything Raphael put him through in high school. One may think that having a family member go to your same school would be helpful - fun, even - but Raphael made high school even more of a hell for Blithe than it already was.

Raphael played varsity for three sports and was captain of the lacrosse team while Blithe struggled to keep his position on the soccer team. Raphael's popularity quickly went to his head and Blithe was an easy target as someone everyone knew was the future Alpha but who eventually quit sports to pursue art. To them, he was weak - especially for an Alpha - and soon Blithe's cousin had turned many members of his pack on him; and that was on top of the hatred he was already receiving from the Volpes in his school. For the most part, Brian helped protect his best friend much in the same way that Kyle and Serena protected Willow, but he couldn't always be there for Blithe.

And Blithe still had scars from the times he had to defend himself alone.

Monroe knew full well just how horrible Raphael had been to Blithe, but did little to stop it because it might "upset" his sister to correct her son and question her parenting. When Blithe did finally stand up to his cousin - the instigator for the constant tormenting in his high school career - he was punished by his father because "That's not how we treat family". Blithe was nearly disowned when he dislocated Raphael's shoulder and broke his ribs in senior year.

To look into those all too familiar eyes now was like looking into the eyes of an untouchable bully; that same smugness ever present in Raphael's features telling Blithe his cousin was aware of the effect he had on the young Alpha.

But Blithe wasn't the same kid he was in high school and he was the Alpha. Even with his father present, albeit a bit tipsy, Blithe cut his eyes to his cousin and growled so lowly, he could feel it vibrate down his arms, "Why the fuck are you here?"

Raphael laughed once and then looked back to Monroe in disbelief that this was how Blithe was greeting him. "Oh, I'm sorry, am I intruding or something?"

"Be nice," Monroe warned to neither wolf in particular with a mocking tone that spoke of his knowledge of just how deep the cousins' rivalry went.

Raphael offered the rum to Blithe and Blithe glared daggers at him in return. Withdrawing his hand from the new Alpha, he walked back to Monroe's immense desk and leaned back on it lazily. "Uncle Monroe invited me to come to the pack meeting tomorrow."