Sly as a Fox {Book One}

Chapter 12

Chapter 12

A/N: The image above is of Willow's dad, Cadet.

Cuddle

verb

-to lie close and snug; nestle

-to curl up in going to sleep

Blithe

Why am I doing this again? Blithe asked himself as he hopped up the steps to Willow's house, adjusting the collar of the shirt he wore to be more presentable. Tiffany had given him the address Willow had given her last night and forced him to go after his mate. Blithe clenched his jaw as he thought back to the conversation he had with his sister.

A Few Hours Prior; The Rest Of Blithe & Tiffany's Conversation

Tiffany's face dropped in horror at his words. Blithe almost instantly regretted them, but, at the same time, he knew he had to say them. It's not like she or anyone else in his family wasn't already thinking what he had just said.

She blinked her eyes as her brain fully absorbed his last sentence, for once in her life stunned into silence. He shook his head at himself and at the situation in general. How did he, of all people, end up like this? She took in a sharp breath and her voice shook as she held back sobs, "Maybe because Mom was trying to show us - all of us - that we need to get over that. You do realize that there are bad Lupos just like there are bad Volpes, right? And, plus, you need to put yourself in Willow's shoes," the mention of her name stung his heart, "and see how we look to her! Our species are nothing but stuck-up, rich bastards that go around harassing her species, even killing them senselessly!" Blithe visibly cringed at that, knowing exactly what she was referring to. "She's not used to the attention and social structure of the pack like we are!"

Sitting up quickly, feeling threatened by her words, Blithe spit out without hesitation, "Yeah, but I mean, come on! To us, her species are nothing but low-life criminals! They're lying, scamming, cheaters who don't give a damn about anyone but themselves! Don't act like it isn't true! It's not like it wasn't crossing your mind or anyone else's mind when I paraded her through the kitchen! We've seen it ourselves!" He got up off the bed and stood to his full height to intimidate his sister to back off.

Tiffany continued without even batting her lashes to tell him what he needed to hear, even if it wasn't what he wanted to hear, "And we've seen it ourselves just how arrogant and downright brown-nosed our own species can be! Every species has some set of mold we all want to break! Not all humans are smart, not all Orsos are football players, and, dammit, not all Volpes are criminals!" She huffed out the remaining air in her lungs in frustration. Through his anger, he still noticed how adorable his baby sister was: she honestly looked like a black-haired Barbie doll. From the time they were kids, he had always tried to protect his baby sister and he wanted to try and protect his mate, though he didn't properly know how.

Blithe didn't know what to say to that. His mouth opened and closed like a fish as he racked his brain for an arguing statement, and she smiled smugly at his reaction to her, "Ha! I'm right and you don't even know what to say!" She childishly stuck her tongue out at him and squinted her eyes.