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Report:

Case File - The Savage Dark

Reporting Agent: Code Name - Jack "Savage"

Affiliation: Unknown

Current Whereabouts: Unknown

Agent Status: Unknown (Active)

Recording Continues:

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"There is a saying among bunnies: 'Don't ignore the rabbit for fear of the fox.' Words to live by."

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Relaxation was a matter of opinion, Judy realized as she stood under the shower, letting the hot water beat into her fur. The pleasantly high water pressure did its best to massage the tension from her muscles, penetrating to the skin as she rolled her head forward to focus the forceful stream on her shoulders and neck for a long moment. She was not unhappy. The night before having removed any possibility that she could be unhappy, at least in the short term. After being ravished against the wall of the apartment - an act that she had initiated herself when the stress and need had combined to a lust that had surprised even her once the door closed - she remembered the blush that had heated her ears when, after withdrawing from her, he set her on the floor and tugged her blue uniform pants back up over her hips. The self-satisfied smirk on his face when he did this and the wild gleam in his eyes told her that he rather enjoyed the lewd act of trapping his seed inside of her. Compatible as a species or not, he certainly had no problem making it clear that he had just marked her. The fact that it caused a little shiver of arousal to race through her was telling. At least she had managed to hold it back until he turned to look around the apartment they had been assigned. There was no reason to make him think that she was completely at the mercy of her attraction to him.

Even if she was.

Exploration that had ended almost instantly for her when she found herself in the largest bathroom she had ever seen, complete with an inground bath that looked large enough to hold half a generation of bunnies. In hindsight, calling Nick had been a quick way to find themselves in said bath with her legs wrapped around his hips and his teeth at her throat in only the best of ways. That was where she learned that relaxing in his lap, his knot locked inside of her, hot water soaking into her fur at every angle was one of the most enjoyable and relaxing things she had ever experienced. Which was saying a lot given their current situation.

Afterward, they took a great deal of time after that soaping, grooming, and exploring each other's bodies in non-sexual ways that had her wanting to wallow in the simple intimacy of it all. Somehow it was revealing, being wet in the bath together. The way their wet fur clung to their bodies allowed her to see and feel every toned muscle of his predatory build as she ran her paws over him without a bit of shyness in her. She had never considered a fox's build before like she did his. Unlike larger predators, he would never be thick across the chest or have bulging muscles that were so powerful they could be seen through the pelts of even a winter coat. He was sleek and swift, and after his time in the academy certainly stronger than he had been during their first meeting. His muscles held lean strength, allowing him to move almost as fast as she could while making it easily possible for him to pick her up with one paw.

She still tried to tell herself that this didn't arouse her, even if she failed to convince herself. And it wasn't like his being physically stronger was the point. She could still take his orange ass down in the ring more often than not. But there was something crazy hot about how easily he had pinned her to the wall with his large, crimson paws between her legs...

At this point, she had been forced to direct her attention to another subject before desire sparked again. Or sparked further. Not that he helped when he announced that it was his turn to wash her and requested that she turn around to face away from him. Swearing that she wasn't in heat anymore didn't seem to make much of a difference to either of them. After her less than pure thoughts about his body and paws, it took less than five minutes of those same large but amazingly gentle paws on her soapy fur to have her turning to brace her paws on the edge of the bath with her hips raised to his muzzle level. After she glanced back to see him staring at the twitch of her tail with a lusty grin, they went right back to where they started.

It was afterward, during their second bath, that his eyes returned to normal, though somehow she no longer found that to be nearly as important as it had been before. She wondered if perhaps he was getting used to the change in his state of mind when he was savage because he showed no sign of real change. His temper was even, he spoke normally, and he didn't seem jumpy or paranoid. This led her to think that perhaps it was the lack of possible threats that gave him this calm state of mind and allowed her to conclude that if a cure couldn't be found, she was going to take him to the deepest part of the most remote forest to live out their lives peacefully. There had been a time when giving up her life as a ZPD officer would have seemed impossible, unbearable. But now her only real concern was not losing Nick and she was determined that nothing in Zootopia would take him away from her while she was still breathing.

Those thoughts ran through her mind when she turned the shower off. Their morning had been no less amorous than their afternoon in the bath. A hungry fox's long tongue doing all sorts of wickedly amazing things to a bunny was one hell of a way to wake up and had quickly washed away the idea of worrying. It hadn't occurred to her until after that he might have been doing the same for himself; removing the ability to worry in a situation where they couldn't do anything but. The newness of their relationship, and the passion that came with it, was the perfect distraction. But the shower had given her time to think and her thoughts were focused on one thing now.

She quickly toweled off and didn't bother with the fur dryer, slipping on his uniform shirt before stepping into the main room. Her nose twitching as the scent of food reached it, the towel paused halfway down one ear when she considered the kitchen and saw him there, standing in front of the stove while something sizzled in the skillet. It wasn't what he was doing that caught her eye. It was the fact that he was wearing black slacks and a crisp white shirt while he did it that made her wander closer to him. She opened her mouth to speak when his ears twitched and he turned to face her with one of those 'Hey Carrots' grins on his muzzle; the kind that showed the white tips of his sharp canines and had secretly been making her belly quiver for months. And a shirt that had yet to be buttoned. And a black tie that remained untied and hung on either side of his fully exposed cream-colored chest and belly. And he hadn't even bothered to button the pants, which was not fair with the way his fur thickened just a bit before vanishing into the waistband. That she could see the lump of his sheath simply combined with the entire image of him and left her more than a little weak-kneed and unsteady on her feet.

Whatever she had been thinking of saying turned to gibberish in what was left of her mind as the rush of attraction fried everything that was coherent and remotely intelligent.

"You all right there, Carrots?" he questioned, moving away from the stove to slide one paw under her muzzle and tilt it up towards him. The grin didn't fade when he bent low to slide his lips over hers and she found it very unfair that he seemed perfectly calm and collected while she was trying to find the switch in her mind that would reset her ability to speak. That search for her voice was cut off when he deepened the kiss, her eyes falling closed when his tongue lightly traced over her lips until she supplicated and sank into him. It was slow and soft, but sensual and hungry at the same time. It was also, she realized when he drew back to look down at her with adoring green eyes, something that she wanted every morning.

Not just the kissing or the sex or seeing him half-dressed and insanely hot in the morning. All of it. Coming out of the shower knowing that he was going to be there somewhere. Seeing him in the kitchen making what her nose told her was one of the dozens of different types of sausage available in Zootopia. Seeing him get dressed in the morning, and undressed in the evening. Making plans to for what to eat, where to go that night. Curling up beside him on the couch to watch TV, or talking about the day's work _without _having to dread knowing that once it was time to go home, their homes were separate. She watched him as he turned back to make sure that the food didn't burst into flames with a sway in his tail, these thoughts running through her mind.

She knew exactly where she wanted to be.

"Marry me, Nick."

Having been in the process of flipping one of the sausage patties, the sudden jerk of his entire body caused him to yank his paw back. The patty hit the ceiling, leaving behind a greasy stain before it fell to the tiled floor with a wet slap. Neither of them noticed it, her gaze on him even if he hadn't turned to face her yet. His ears were pinned to the side, his tail now low to the ground, and the paw holding the spatula unmoving for a long moment before. She felt a little sick, a lot nervous, and perfectly certain in what's she'd proposed even if she was as surprised as him that the words had come from her muzzle.

Oh God, I just proposed to him.

"Ha, funny, Fluff," he said at last, and without turning to look at her he set about the task of cleaning up what his reaction had caused him to drop. "That's just the night of amazing love-making talking."

Judy didn't feel let down by his attempt to laugh it off because it was such a poor attempt. Even though she still felt the roll of nervousness in her belly, she could see the jerky twitch of his tail and the effort he put into forcing his ears to stand upright again; she could hear the tremble in his voice when he'd dismissed it. Hell, she could hear his _heartbeat _now. Her ears perked towards it, the quick, hard beat so strong that it was almost violent. When neither of them said anything for a moment, she watched him place his paws on the counter and lean forward a bit. She knew what was happening when he drew a deep breath, released it slowly. She could take his cue and laugh it off, make it a joke. But she couldn't decide which one of them she would hurt more if she did something that cowardly.

"I'm sure it has something to do with it, yes," she agreed as she pulled his uniform shirt closer around her chest without taking her eyes off him. "That doesn't mean I don't want to marry you."

"You don't want to marry me, Judy," he said, at last, speaking slowly as he tried to calm himself. When he turned away from the counter to face her finally, the savage green eyes that met hers confirmed what she thought about his heart rate. And like before, it didn't cause the same feeling of dread that it would have only the day before. There was no anger on his face now, just a fear that made her heart ache when he placed his paw on his chest. "Look at me!"

"I am," she said, her eyes moving over his face for a long moment as she tried to calm her own heart. The long, predatory muzzle, ruffled orange and cream fur, green eyes that were full of emotion beyond the savagery. He was so amazingly handsome, even if he shouldn't have been to her. And that was a part of the point when the surprise and self-doubt on his face became fear and maybe a little hope when his ears raised towards her. "We both know what this is. We've both said it, and we both mean it. I love you, Nick. I am in love with you."

"Judy," he began softly when her voice trembled, but she cut him off by placing her paw on the tip of his muzzle.

"And I know it's not just a fear of losing my partner or even my lover," she continued, stepping into him until her face was pressed into the thicker fur of his chest ruff where she could take in the scent of fox. Her fox. "This is what I'm afraid of losing. All of it, especially the things we haven't even shared yet. Falling asleep beside you with your muzzle between my ears and waking up in the morning with you inside of me as the first sensation of the day. Walking into the kitchen to see you cooking half dressed. Dressing at the same time, leaving for work together, coming home to crawl into bed together or just falling asleep in front of the TV after eating crappy microwave dinners. I want to take you to Bunnyburrow and show you off to my other brothers and sisters. I want to see gray fur on your ear tips so I can make fun of how old you've gotten. I want everything, _Nick. _And I know that's why I've been so afraid of losing you. I know that I have everything I'll ever want in life right in front of me, and the thought of you being taken away terrifies me. I..."

Her voice trailed off when his paw slipped under her chin and tipped her muzzle up so that his could meet it. The kiss was long and slow and through the course of it, she found herself drawn against him, into his lap when he sat where he was. Surrounded by the warmth and scent of him, she felt that she knew his answer and struggled to ease the ache in her chest during the little breaks in the kiss. Breaks during which she smiled at him like an idiot and sniffled slightly when she realized that tears were rolling down her cheeks. His eyes were a fascinating and beautiful combination of happiness and a savage sort of pleasure as they moved over her face before he tipped his muzzle to her cheeks. She closed her eyes and tilted into the gentle slide of his tongue over her fur, letting him brush away the tears as she pressed her fingers into the thicker fur of his chest.

"So what do you say, Slick?" she questioned, her voice soft when his tongue brushed the corner of her mouth. "Kissing me brainless isn't going to rescind the proposal."

She could feel the quick rhythm of his heart against the palms of her paws as clearly as she could hear it when he pulled back to look down at her. Maybe it was her heart, actually. It was beating so fast she was almost light headed when he took on of her paws in his and pressed their palms together. She didn't have to look at them to realize how small her paw was compared to his; her fingers barely covered the pad at the center of his palm, a good mirror for how small she must have looked nestled in his lap as she was now. Vulnerable and exposed to the predator that she knew would never hurt her.

"You'll be stuck with me for the rest of your life," he warned her gently, though she could see the playful happiness in his eyes when he said it.

"I'm pretty sure I'm already stuck with you for life, and I'll just have to learn to deal with it," she replied, pressing her nose against his when he leaned closer.

"I'll get on your nerves."

"You already get on my nerves. I still want to marry you," she huffed softly, making him laugh when she darted her muzzle up to kiss his nose.

"What about your parents?"

"They'll come around," she murmured, nestling her mouth over his lightly for a feather light kiss. "I know you're not supposed to rush these things, but you're stalling."

"I would never," he said, his muzzle curved into a lazy, pleased grin. She heard the swish of his tail wagging over the floor behind them. "Just making sure that you understand what you're in for when I say yes."

"Just say it, before I bite you," she said, rolling her eyes a little even though his words caused a surge of blissful happiness that made her fight back more tears.

"Promise? Because I sure do." When she smacked his chest, he grinned toothily before snapping his teeth at her. Once upon a time, that might have startled her. Now it made a little shiver run all the way down into her belly because she knew exactly what those teeth could do.

"Yes, of course I'll marry you," he said finally, both paws moving up to cup her cheeks as he looked down at her. His expression was warm and serious, happiness all but written on his face in the high set of his ears. Happiness that was mixed with more than a little uncertain wonder. "I spent most of the morning trying to come up with a way to bring up moving in together when this is over. You jumped over three steps there, Carrots."

"Three steps?" she grinned and reached up to take his paws from her muzzle so she could press her face into his chest again. Surround in the scent of him, she breathed in until it almost hurt her lungs before a hot release of her breath caused him to shiver when she burrowed in. She understood that she was wallowing in him and knew it was sappy and silly. But she couldn't bring herself to care as the endless concern and fear was covered by a deep contentment with his answer fresh in her mind.

"Three steps," he confirmed, the hum of his voice in his chest causing her to shiver slightly before she raised her eyes to look at the underside of his muzzle. His head was tilted back, offering her easy access to this throat. "Though skipping steps seems to be our thing. We were supposed to move in together, like normal couples. Decide if we can stand being together pretty much twenty/seven. We haven't even really been on a date yet."

"We're far from a normal couple. And you can't possibly expect me to believe that the Gazelle concert wasn't a date."

Grinning softly, she angled her muzzle to press her chin under his muzzle and against his throat. She felt him go completely still when she did this, his paws resting on her shoulders as he held his breath when she slowly rubbed her scent mark into his fur. Deeply, with slow strokes that would reach the skin as she felt his heart rate increase again when she brushed over the beat of his pulse. He was aware of what it meant, aware that any bunny that crossed their path would know exactly why the fox smelled like a rabbit. If she had her way, the mark would never fade.

"Carrots. I love you," he murmured softly, and she went as still as he had when he lowered his muzzle to brush his nose against her ears lightly. The low rumble that rolled through him felt so base and possessive that it caused a shiver to race down her spine as she slipped her arms around his neck. Tipping her head to the side lightly so that her chin was rubbing against his shoulder, she offered him access to the same. She released a little sound of simple contentment when he pressed the edge of his muzzle against her throat and slowly ground his own scent into her, the sound of his tail quickly swishing over the ground again making her grin. The scent of fox and flowers eased her further even as the feel of his large paws sliding down the small of her back, cupping her bare rear, excited her on a very different level.

"I love you, too, Nick," she whispered, her paws moving to the back of his head, sliding her fingers around his ears as she encouraged him to continue. The fact that her paws tightened in a possessive way all her own was deepened by the husky tone that followed. "My Fox."

As the warmth and contentment started to heat into something darker and more erotic, the marking continued. His paws molded to the full curve of her rear to squeeze and draw her tighter against the growing bulge in his pants. The sound that escaped her this time was soft and feminine, filled with the growing need.

A growing need that was brought to a sudden, terrible halt when someone knocked on the door.

Her annoyed groan was as loud as his growl when she collapsed into him, her breath escaping her with a final huff as she nuzzled into his neck. The real world had to come back eventually, she knew. And it wasn't as if they had been interrupted the afternoon or night before or that morning. It was pure, unashamed greed that had her wanting to shoo whoever was at the door away so she could lose herself in Nick again. Despite his annoyed growl, the fact that he didn't seem at all tense told her that maybe he understood the same thing. Even if that didn't cure the thick throb she still felt against her bare rear. A small chuckle escaped her, and his followed it shortly even if it held a rougher edge as he lifted her gently to set her on her feet.

"I'll get the door," she said, purposefully buttoning his shirt as she looked down at him with a slow smile pulling at the edges of her muzzle. "You finish breakfast. And don't forget that there is a herbivore in the room, Mr. Fox."

She took the time to adjust the name tag that read 'Nicholas P. Wilde' while she watched him. The look in those savage eyes as she proudly presented herself in half of his uniform was seriously tempting her to crawl on top of him again and let whoever was at the door keeping knocking until she was satisfied. But with another grin and a turn, she wiggled her tail as she headed towards the door. She gave a surprised shriek, laughing when his paws seized her hips and dragged her back just far enough for him to bite her still exposed butt right next to her tail. Fighting back the moan that threatened to join the laughter at the feeling of those teeth sliding through her fur, she swatted Nick and that savage grin plastered on his muzzle away. Tugging the shirt down over her tail to cover her offended backside, she made her way to the door while he returned to the abandoned breakfast.

Some part of her was still trying to process the fact that he was her fiancé now when she reached the door and swung it open. Some of that good mood went away the moment she saw Jack standing at the door, looking mildly annoyed. Though it lifted again when the male bunny, now dressed in a dark gray suit, black shirt and faded purple pattern tie, closed his mouth and tightened his grip on the briefcase he held as soon as he saw her. She wasn't sure what caused his nose to twitch rapidly like that: it could have been the fact that she smelled very clearly of an aroused bunny; or maybe the fresh scent mark of a fox on her; maybe both, combined with the fact that she was wearing Nick's shirt with Nick's name and absolutely nothing else. And amazingly, not a bit of it made her feel self-conscious or shy. A very small part of her wanted to walk through this underground base dressed as she was, but that small part of her was obviously insane and immature.

It wasn't that she believed Savage was jealous, either. If anything, she thought maybe the blatant and unrepentant display of her relationship with a fox just derailed him for a moment. A reminder of the first time they had met him, maybe. And that was a thought that made her grin when she realized that Wolford, who had opted for simple gray pants and white polo shirt, stood slightly behind the rabbit. His nose twitched as well, though his reaction was a knowing and pleased grin that made her give him a little wave before she turned away from the open door.

"I thought you were going to call before you came knocking," she informed Jack as she walked over to the closet that Nick had left open. The smaller items on the left side of the closet were clearly for her, and after a few seconds of searching, she found something that would suit her for now. The dark blue jeans and a red blouse tucked over one arm, she nabbed the black leather jacket as a last minute thought to fit her current 'Fuck it all' mood. Dropping these things from the bed, she didn't even need to tell the others in the room to turn their backs. One look from Nick had Jack and Wolford facing the opposite wall when she started to strip off his shirt. Of course, Nick didn't turn around himself. He watched her like she expected any wild predator might watch his next meal when she slipped the dark blue and hold from gray and white.

"I did call," Jack stated, one ear twitching towards the low rumble that rose from Nick. "I assume Wilde neglected to tell you. I was hoping that he would be calm before I arrived, but that doesn't seem to be an option at this point."

"Ah. Well, we did get sidetracked," she shrugged off the accusation in his tone and didn't blame Nick in the least for forgetting to mention the call. No doubt he had intended to share breakfast before spoiling her mood by letting her know that their time alone was coming to an end. The bomb she'd dropped on them both had sidetracked everything, if only for a few precious minutes.

As she tugged the jeans over her hips, she found herself grinning like mad and repressing the desire to squeal like a kit. While buttoning them, she turned her eyes to Nick and found him still watching her. He seemed to have caught onto her own mood, sending a wink in her direction even as he flipped the reheating sausage that he hadn't sent flying out of the pan, off the ceiling, and onto the flood.

"I expected you might, which is why I brought this with me rather than taking you to the armory," Jack said, indicating the briefcase by swaying it out to one side. "It will save some time while you catch up with the rest of the world."

Because his tone was only half amused, she decided to let the little jab slide. It also helped that she knew they were not behaving professionally at the moment. If she were still in her uniform, still at the ZPD, she would feel differently. Would have behaved differently. There was no chance at all that she would flaunt her relationship with Nick in Bogo's face, for example. But they had both been forced into this situation by whoever had poisoned Nick and having no choice in how things moved forward was one of many things that was wearing on her as much as it was on Nick.

"Armory?" After tugging the blouse over her head, she glanced at the case that Jack carried, her ears perked in his direction as she crossed the room towards him. "You're arming us?"

"I am," he replied and noticing that her voice was closer, Jack turned to face her with a short nod as he carried the case over to the bed. "You are active agents under my care, after all. I do intend to peruse this case with your assistance, and I think we can all agree that someone willing to poison multiple mammals, including an officer at the ZPD, can be classified as extremely dangerous."

Nick joined them beside the bed as Jack tapped the code into the keypad on the face of the case, holding out a small plate with some of the sausage and two pieces of toast. She grinned when she took it, rather liking the idea of trading off breakfast duty when they didn't feel like loading up on sugar. She sniffed the sausage once before nibbling on the edge, finding that it was some tasty tofu based vegetable blend. A blend that didn't smell or likely taste nearly as good as the salmon patties that he had on his plate. She gave a little smirk in his direction, to his surprise reached up and dropped her nibbled-on patty on his plate before swiping one of his. The look he gave her when she popped the salmon into her mouth and chewed slowly was a speechless surprise and a hint of arousal as she swallowed it down and picked up her piece of toast with an innocent blink up at him.

"We don't know how dangerous, however. As such," Jack continued, pretending not to have noticed the exchange as he opened the case to show the contents. "We will be using both high-velocity tranquilizer pellets and live ammunition. I know that all members of the ZPD are required to train with live-fire weapons for SWAT engagements. These will all be familiar to you."

Looking down into the case, she saw the guns in the padded gray foam molding and what looked like shoulder holders tacked to the underside of the case lid. There were five pawguns. The three with the longer barrels and in-stock silver cylinders she recognized instantly as the tranquilizer guns, one sized for each of the three of them. The two firearms, one clearly larger for a medium sized predator such as Wolford and the other small enough for her to handle easily, were black semi-automatics with two spare magazines for each underneath. Her eyes narrowed when she realized that there was no third live-fire weapon in the case for Nick, and it caused her stomach to tighten in anger as she turned her gaze to Jack.

"No, there is no gun for Officer Wilde," he said, his expression calm as he looked to the fox. "You of all people should understand why I can't just give over a lethal weapon, Wilde. Given your violent intentions towards the weasel and the reality of how easily you can turn to the savage state of mind, it would be foolish to give you means to attack your targets from a distance with lethal force."

The good mood was gone now as she looked up at Nick. His eyes were normal again, his face calm and blank on the outside, his ears calmly upright. But she could see the minor irritation in his eyes at the words; irritation that seemed to stem from the fact that Jack was right.

"I get it," he confirmed, shrugging it off when he stepped over to the case and took the tranquilizer gun meant for him, plus the shoulder harness. "I'll just have to shoot you before I maul you. Seems like an effective way to keep me under wraps."

She was a little eased by the fact that Wolford was frowning as well, even when Jack directed him to take his arms from the case. She was last to take them, mostly because she couldn't decide if she wanted to be armed when Nick was only half as prepared as everyone else. Finally, the understanding that she wouldn't trust anyone else to protect Nick if it came down to it made her take the shoulder holster. While they armed themselves, Jack went on.

"There are a few things that we need to get done today," he said, helping Wolford adjust the holster to his body size while Nick and Judy did the same for each other. "There has been some intel gained from tracking the motions of Stoat and questioning those he's been selling Feral Blue to. He tends to stay in the Rainforest District, likely because it is easier to lose tails in the forest than anywhere else in Zootopia. But one of his clients has been more than willing to cooperate due to ties to the mayor's office and our promise to keep things quiet if he had anything worth knowing."

"And did he know anything worth knowing?" Judy asked shortly, standing in front of Nick, who sat on the bed let her help him with his tie now that they both had the shoulder-holsters and guns secured. They both knew very well that he didn't need the help but there was something intimate about it and sweet that he wanted her to tie it as much as she wanted to. Another thing that she wasn't going to give up. That she wouldn't let anyone take from her.

"He knew that Stoat frequents a club downtown. A place called Wallabies," Jack confirmed, turning to close the briefcase now that it was empty. "It actually seems to be the only place he goes aside from the streets and what he calls a home. We're trying to find his contact inside, trying to find out if it is the place where he gets the product, but so far we haven't had any luck. Once we find a way to infiltrate without being detected, we should be able to get a name, a face and then a solid body to question.

"Before we get into that, there is the question of this possible cure," he continued, wandering into the kitchen and opening the refrigerator to pull out a bottled water. She wasn't sure why exactly it felt like an invasion of privacy. This wasn't their apartment. They didn't have an apartment. She had her place, and Nick had his place, and until this was done they wouldn't be able to look for a place of their own. A place that belonged to them. Jack's unintentional reminder that this place wasn't theirs made her angry, but she pressed it back as she gently nudged the knot of Nick's tie up most of the way. "It seems to be effective, if the two test subjects it has been administered to are any indication."

Test subjects.

"Our expert on campus would like to have a little time with you before we administer the cure, Wilde," he continued, sipping from the bottle in his paw as he returned to stand beside Wolford. "He has some questions, and he wants to see the half-savage state. Maybe run some tests."

"I am sorry for this display. But I think everyone in this room needed to know how dangerous this situation is. How dangerous _he is."_

A display. Testing. No doubt that they would refer to Nick as another 'test subject' when he was out of earshot. Just another infected savage to shove needles into to test a cure that may or may not work. And worse was Jack. Not only had Jack already pushed Nick to become savage before to prove points and test theories, but now he made it more than clear that he trusted everyone else more than the fox. Disarming him, leaving him vulnerable while everyone else in the room was given the privilege of a proper firearm. Segregating him. Making him feel like less than the rest of them. Like he couldn't be trusted because of something that wasn't his fault. Because he was just a savage fox. It was dangerous thinking. She knew that it made Nick the liability in Jack's eyes. It made him the one who would be sacrificed if the chips fell the wrong way.

She wouldn't let anyone think of her fox as expendable.

The sound metal on leather was the only sound in the room and it drew all eyes to her seconds before all three males froze in place. Everyone, even Jack, was too surprised to speak when he found himself staring down the barrel of the gun he had just given her. The gun that she gripped in two perfectly steady, competent paws as she stared at him with burning violet eyes.

"I have another plan," she said, her voice calm even as the events of the past two days caught up to her. None of it was fair, none of it was _right. _She would not let Nick feel like he was less than the rest of them. Not again. She shoved the gun against Jack's nose, pushing him towards the chair beside the bed. "Sit down, Jack. I think it's time we talk as equals for once."