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Airy vented her fury at Esseff.

"That was too close, Maker damn it! This land is crawling with Wolves. We're climbing back into the hills."

Esseff agreed with Airy that their discovery and capture had been a perilously close event, but he did not agree that they should alter their course. The local pack had stumbled upon their tracks and begun pursuing them. All of the Fox's cunning and guile was needed to convince the Wolves that it was just he and Mislei traveling to Border Pack. By stalling, duping and distracting them, Cat was able to lead the others out past the edge of their territory. The incident left him apprehensive but still confident they had a realistic chance of stealing through to their goal.

"All paths are dangerous, Princess, but some are more hazardous than others. If we retreat to the hills and then head south into Rikifur, as you desire, it is true that we will encounter fewer Wolves. However, we will contend with many more miles of territory controlled by the anti-royalists before we reach your supporters. It's a poor trade. If the anti-royalists catch you, they will kill you, and neither I nor anyone in this group will have the power to stop them. Here, I have some influence among the Wolves. They know me and trust me well enough. I just proved that by saving us all. If we are captured in Wolf country, I can win our freedom. If we are captured in Rikifur..."

The Fox spy left the obvious implications of that thought hanging in the air. Airy glared back at him but couldn't rebut his argument.

"Princess, learn the correct lesson from this instance: follow the Fox if you want to live."

Old prejudices are hard to discard completely. Jak was a Wolf and her lover, but Airy was finding it difficult to generalize her relationship with Jak to trusting Wolves in general. Trusting the Fox was difficult for the same reason. He was a predator. Oddly, Airy had come to rely on Cat enough to seek her support.

"What's your opinion, Cat? Can we get though safely?"

Cat had no idea, but she wouldn't admit to it. She had been cooperating with Esseff and Mislei to select safe paths, but even with three expert scouts, they were finding it increasingly difficult to elude capture by the Wolves in these more densely populated lands. According to Esseff, Rikifur was close, which was good, but it meant the Wolves that lived here were always on high alert for strangers. Further, she knew nothing of the geography ahead of them until she saw it with her own eyes. Cat relied upon the Fox nearly as much as Airy did.

Thus far, Esseff had been true to his word, guiding them through the least inhabited regions, avoiding villages and well used trails. During her scouting expeditions, Cat found numerous routes that the Fox could have selected if he wanted them to be discovered, but he always chose the safest paths. It was still possible that he was leading them into a trap, but she had no evidence upon which to base that suspicion and plenty that implied he was legitimate.

Her dilemma was determining whether he was cunning and trustworthy or conniving and duplicitous. Esseff was too good at disguising his motives and hiding his secrets for her to decide. For the moment, she agreed the Fox's course was best, so she continued to keep his secret and advocate for him.

"Ve must be more careful and leave no tracks. No more hunting and fishing. Eat rations only. Do that, and it is possible, I think."

If Esseff had been worried about Cat's support, he showed no outward signs of anxiety awaiting her response, or relief when she bolstered his argument. Jak detected no lie from the Fox. The combination was enough to convince Airy to let the Fox remain their guide.

"Very well. We go your way, Esseff, but we do as Cat says. We have been too careless, and that nearly cost us. Everyone do your best to leave no tracks and erase what you do make. How much farther is it?"

"Ten days at most."

"Then let's be on high alert for just ten more days. Everyone can relax when we are safe among my people."

Cat wondered if she was doing the right thing by withholding from Airy and Jak what she knew of Esseff's plans. She told herself that it wasn't guilt or obligation that gave her concern. She owed nothing to the Rabbit and cared nothing for Rikifur or any other nation. Keeping Jak safe from the Princess' bad decisions was all she cared about besides herself, but relying on the Fox was equally dangerous. Self-preservation impelled her to seek assurances that she was prudent trusting Esseff, so during the subsequent week, Cat found excuses to spend more time interacting with the Fox hoping to learn his secrets. It was a futile exercise. He revealed nothing new of his state of mind except for an annoying sexual attraction to her that she repeatedly rebuffed. Though she was flattered and intrigued by his attention, it was Jak she wanted for a lover, not some conniving, little descendant of a Wolf cousin.

Was Esseff completely unsuitable? She was unsure. He was neither ugly nor poor company. Despite being short, he was fetching in a suave and urbane way. Esseff's conversation was always interesting, and most laudably, he knew when silence was worth more than words. There was nothing wrong with him. He just wasn't Jak, and Cat had not yet given up hope of claiming the Wolf for her own. Despite Jak's protestations regarding his fidelity to Airy, Cat knew their Wolf-Rabbit romance was doomed in Rikifur. Jak could ignore the reality until the Princess dumped him to pursue her crown. When that happened, Cat would be there to console and comfort him. Then, Jak would be hers.

Until that day, she considered the Fox and his merits as a temporary lover. There was no doubt that he wanted her, but did she have any interest in him? He had said when they first met that they had much in common. She supposed that was true. He was cunning, competent, secretive and ruthless. An aura of menace and peril surrounded him. Perversely, those latter negative traits intrigued her most.

Musing about the spy aroused her mildly, but the nocturnal behavior of his dangerous companions stimulated her more and left her yearning for some physical company. Cat had begun spying on the minions after Glic rejoined the group for the same reason she kept a close eye on Esseff; she didn't trust them and wanted to ensure that they were not up to anything wicked. It turned out they were, just not in a way that threatened her or any of the others.

Mislei and Glic were lovers, and their love play was sadistic and violent even by Cat's standards. Dominance and submission was a common theme, but pain appeared to be the true constant. At first, she wondered if Esseff participated in their romantic encounters, but the older Fox never joined or gave any indication he was aware of their naughty trysts. Long after Cat was satisfied the pair wasn't sneaking off conspiring with Wolves, she kept watching them anyway. It was easy enough for her to find them. Each night shortly after everyone else had gone to sleep, the teens left camp and found a secluded place to carry out their affair. It was always dark, but with her superior night vision, she found it easy to spy on them.

Cat suspected the two were putting on these displays at least partially for her benefit. They were too clever at sneaking about and remaining unseen to leave themselves so easily exposed and vulnerable. Was it their intent that she should join them? Though their tastes incited a morbid curiosity within her and left her stimulated, she had no desire to make their act a threesome. Instead, their performances had succeeded in pushing her subtly closer towards the only available male in their party, Esseff. Perhaps that was their intent. Cat didn't care. Reminiscing about three of their more recent exploits was making her horny and craving relief.

The first time she had caught them alone together, Glic was strangling Mislei as he mounted her from behind. Her ankles and wrists were bound. She was helpless, and the vigor that he was putting into the murderous rape was extremely realistic. Mislei's choking gasps and frantic struggles to escape made Cat certain some treachery or falling out had occurred between them. If Cat had cared whether either of them lived or died, she might have intervened. Instead, she watched dispassionately. The male humped his companion roughly as his paws squeezed tighter around his victim's throat. In a surprise twist, while suffocating and on the verge of passing out, Mislei's whole body suddenly shook from a violent orgasm. Glic then released his hold on her neck, and she collapsed unconscious to the ground.

For all Cat knew, the female Fox was dead, but Glic yanked her head up by her hair and roughly slapped her snout until she revived. Without any consideration for her recovery, he repeated the process at least three more times until he relieved himself inside of her. Though his knot had parted her sex and wedged itself inside, his seed leaked between her legs and oozed onto the forest floor.

It quickly became evident that Mislei had enjoyed the experience. The smile that graced her snout was no less incongruous with the preceding events than the cuddling and loving licks they shared as they lay together afterward.

In the second encounter Cat recalled, the roles of dominant and submissive were reversed. Glic was tied between two trees with his arms stretched taut and his hindpaws barely in contact with the ground. Mislei was sodomizing him with a polished wooden dildo. Because one of her paws was clamped firmly around the base of his swollen cock just below his knot, he was unable to ejaculate. His pleas for release were not only ignored, they incited her to bite him as a punishment. Bloody mats of fur covered much of his body by the time she ultimately released her grip on his aching cock. Copious gouts of sticky cum spewed forth as she stroked his shaft in time with the thrusts of her stick in his abused tailhole until she could milk nothing more from him. She untied him and lay beside him on their discarded robes and clothes. Glic expressed his appreciation for her torture by kissing and holding her tightly.

Tonight, Cat had just finished watching the third and most violent of their trysts. It began as a brawl. Scratching, biting, punching and kicking, they used all their strength and speed to try to beat each other into unconsciousness. Cat had participated in enough fights to know that neither was holding back. Every blow was real and dealt with intent to harm. However, this ended, they would both be bruised and hurting for days.

Glic was the aggressor again intent on raping Mislei, but rather than run away, the female was standing her ground and fighting back. When she managed to land a punishing kick to his groin, Cat thought Glic would lose interest and abandon the assault. Instead, he recovered from the staggering pain and tackled Mislei. In the ensuing wrestling match, he managed to tie her wrists behind her back with his belt.

Keeping her pinned face down with the weight of his body, he spread her legs and worked himself to an erection. After spitting a bloody gob of saliva onto the end of his cock for lubricant, he parted her buttocks with his paws and entered her tailhole. Over several minutes of violent thrusting, his knot became large and swollen. She screamed, as he forced it into her anus several times, never gently, until he came inside of her. Still rigid, he flipped her over, pinned her arms with his forepaws and repeated the act in her vagina, once again filling her with his sticky seed. For his last assault, he straddled her head with his knees on her arms. She tried to kick his face but he pinned her legs to his sides with his arms and made her swallow his entire cock. Not until he emptied himself a third time down her throat did he finally relent and release her from her contorted position. As usual, affectionate caresses and contentment with each other's performance followed.

As Cat wandered away from their post coital cuddling, she remembered how her brother's tastes mirrored what she had just witnessed. Cat had been a victim of his rough affection numerous times after she had matured enough to be of interest to him. He was less violent than these two but still loved to inflict pain and humiliate others - behaviors that had never appealed to her. Pretending willingness had been her way of avoiding the consequences of his wrath. He was always more gentle when he thought she was enjoying sex with him. Yet even when he was as kind and tender as he could be, the suffering was never eliminated. The forced incest always left her with a hollow feeling of shame and betrayal. He should have been her protector, not her tormentor. Leaving him had been for the best. Cat held no regrets about that decision. Her life was better now and her future was hers to make, so she suppressed the gloomy reminiscing of her life in her brother's care and focused instead on the recent displays by the Fox minions that had been so pleasing to watch. It had been many weeks since Cat had convinced Jak to massage her to orgasm in the moose pond back in Storfay. It was even longer since she had made real, if forced, love to him in Asearth. The lengthy celibacy left her hungry for a companion of her own.

Cat wanted Jak now, but he was a future opportunity. Being a creature of the present, Cat resolved to find and test the Fox. He typically stayed close to Airy, letting Cat and his minions do the scouting. He claimed he was protecting the Princess and answering her questions about events and politics in Rikifur, but Cat knew he was spying and fishing for information and secrets. It was his forte. Airy and Camorra worked together to pry as much information as they could from the wily Fox, but Cat was convinced they were always on the losing end of the exchange.

Certain that Esseff was busy badgering the Princess as usual, Cat began walking back to camp. She didn't get far before she found him looking for her. Luck was with the Fox today if this was another of his pathetic attempts at seduction. Esseff was unknowingly on the verge of success, though he wouldn't come by it easily. Teasing was a favorite pastime for Cat. She planned to savor the experience of tormenting him by rebuffing his advances as scathingly as she could until he was so discouraged, he withdrew to nurse his bruised ego. Only then would she give him what he sought.

Something was different tonight, though. Nothing about the Fox's demeanor expressed his usual infatuated yearning. Instead, he was serious and pensive. He grabbed her paw without asking and began leading her back towards the location where the pups were recovering from their bout of sex.

"Come with me please, Cat. The time for a decision and a test of trust and loyalty is upon us. We need a private place to talk."

Surprised and curious, Cat followed wondering if they would stumble upon two young Foxes. Was he planning a foursome? When they arrived, the site was vacant, though the scent of their ardor lingered in the air. Cat suspected Esseff had orchestrated this evening's events so he would know where to find her alone. Being manipulated enraged her at first, but she found it impossible to be mad at someone who was so very good at what he did.

"Vhat conniving are you up to now?"

"The most dangerous kind, I am afraid. I have been less than truthful with the Princess. You know that. I have been honest with you. I hope you know that also. There is a reason for both. Convincing the Princess to cooperate and negotiate with the Wolves has always been a goal of mine. I had honestly hoped to deliver her safely among her devotees before beginning that conversation. Fate has conspired against us, though, and my backup strategy is needed. Cat, I need you to help me let the Wolves trap and capture the Princess."

Instantly, Cat suspected the trap was meant for her. She chastised herself for being foolish enough to be distracted by thoughts of romance. Mentally and physically, she prepared herself for a fight while endeavoring to appear outwardly calm. If Esseff meant her ill, he would not expose himself to her alone. He was smart enough to count on her good sense to know that the minions were undoubtedly still about, but the clearing reeked so strongly of them she couldn't tell where they might be hiding.

"Vhat do you van't from me?"

Esseff smiled.

"Exactly what you are giving me: a chance to explain. Thank you for not acting rashly to my use of the word 'trap'. Thank you for not killing me."

"There vill be plenty of time to kill you vhen you are done talking."

"That's why I enjoy your company so much. Foremost of your many charms is your sense of humor."

"I do not joke."

Esseff appraised Cat. She was taut and expecting trouble. No sense of playfulness softened her attitude.

"Very well. No idle talk, then. Though we are only a few days travel from our goal, we have no chance of avoiding the Wolves that live between the Princess's supporters and us. Conditions in Border Pack have changed since I last traveled these lands. There are more patrols, and no route is unguarded."

"Bunyic vas foolish to believe your deceptions. I vas not. You have known all along ve could not pass safely here."

"No. Not known, suspected. I honestly have worked to steer us clear of the Wolves, but I developed contingencies for this situation. It's a slight setback and wasn't my preferred outcome, but I am not unhappy with this turn of events."

"Because you vin even if Volves kill her?"

"No. That is no victory."

"I bet Volves vill reward you plenty."

"Stop mistrusting me."

"Vhy? Vhen did you become somevone else?"

"Ok. I deserved that, but doubting me is counterproductive. I want the Princess to talk to the most important Wolf chiefs and form an alliance with them. I want her to be Queen of a reunited Rikifur. How can any of that happen if she is dead?"

Esseff was likely being truthful and wanted what was best for all. Cat could see that, but would the Princess? Cat cared little for the Rabbit's forgiveness, but Jak would follow his heart and mirror Airy's hate if Cat sided with the Fox. Losing Jak was not something she was willing to risk.

"You are betraying her, and you vant me to betray her also. No. I von't do it."

Her stubbornness frustrated Esseff but also made him thoughtful regarding how the Princess would perceive their involvement in her capture.

"She will certainly see this as a betrayal at first. In time, she may come to see the wisdom of it, or it may be that she'll never forgive you or me. Either way, it is absolutely necessary."

"For Whom?"

"For her."

"Then tell her this yourself and stop vasting my time."

"That won't work. The meeting I propose will be personally dangerous for her, and she is unprepared to approach this decision rationally. Despite having her own pet Wolf, mistrust of Wolves is bred into her from birth. She would rather take a longer way around and risk capture by her own people, even though they are more likely to kill her. I want to prevent that because it doesn't benefit me at all. I am honest with you when I admit I do this for selfish reasons. I am not trying to deceive you. I want you on my side because you are convinced of the rightness of what I propose, and because it benefits you and the Princess. You must choose now if you will help me or follow the Princess to certain doom. We can travel no farther in this direction without being discovered."

Cat concurred with Esseff's assessment of Airy's likely choice of actions if given this news, but Cat was not ready to accept his suspicious offer. Unlike Jak, she had no definitive way to tell if he was lying other than that he was speaking.

"And if I choose not to help you? Vhat vill you and your pups do?"

"You expect me to threaten you with death if you say no. I think you are clever enough to suspect that Mislei and Glic are hiding about to kill you if you refuse me. It is true that they are watching to protect me if they can, but they have no orders to harm you otherwise. Whatever you decide to do, you have my assurances that you may walk away from here unmolested. If you think the Princess is right, I will return to camp with you, advise the Princess of the situation keeping nothing secret, offer my advice for her to surrender herself, and live with whatever decision she makes.

"She will decide to avoid capture, and it will end badly. I don't know if she will be so rash as to try to sneak through the rest of Wolf country or not. If she does, we will have an encounter with the Wolves that will become a bloodbath, and our side won't win. If she goes east into the mountains again and south as seems to be her preference, she will be captured by the anti-royalists in her own country. That is certain death."

"You can't be sure either of those options vill end that vay."

"Oh, yes I can. The anti-royalists in Rikifur know they are caught between two enemies: the armies of the priests and the Wolves. They patrol the border constantly. Nothing gets through. We can't cross hundreds of miles of well patrolled country uncaught."

It was obvious from her posture and body language that Cat was unconvinced. Esseff pressed his case harder.

"We can't get through unnoticed on this side either. You have to understand, Cat, that here in the Packlands so close to Rikifur there are no Wolves like Jak. The enmity between Rabbits and Wolves flows in their blood. Hatred built on centuries of strife is way of life that isn't easily overcome. The Princess' supporters have been driven over the river into Wolf territory, and they occupy land without permission making tensions between Rabbits and Wolves worse than ever. They are effectively at war with each other.

"The Princess will fight rather than surrender when she is discovered. You know she will. She is rash, headstrong and impetuous. Those traits were well known and established in her before her disappearance. She hasn't changed much."

Cat kept silent, but Esseff saw in her expression that she agreed with his assessment of the hot-tempered princess.

"The Wolves will happily kill her and anyone traveling with her just because she is a Rabbit. They won't stop to ask for names and consider the advantages of taking her alive. Airiphryone must be taken to the chiefs with me present as a neutral intermediary to make the case to them for keeping her alive. All of this must be done under controlled conditions so there is no violence. If the Wolves know who she is, escort her to their leaders under their own terms with the Princess and Jak safely restrained, then there will be no violence.

"The Princess needs the help of the Wolves to have any chance of recovering her throne. The Wolves need her to protect them after Rikifur emerges from this civil war. I can make them both see that. It is imperative that they talk and negotiate. You must choose whether you prefer my approach or hers to their first meeting."

"You make many assumptions. Vhat guarantee is there that the Volves von't kill her anyway?"

"I cannot guarantee success if you choose my way, but I can guarantee failure if you choose hers. I also pledge to try my best to save and protect all of you even if you ignore my advice and choose another path. I cannot offer more than that. Again, I ask, whom do you trust to lead us to success in this, her or me?"

Cat was conflicted. Most of her life had been mired in a selfish existence of survival and revenge. Since she began her journey with Jak and Airy, she had saved their lives several times and inadvertently developed feelings of responsibility for their safety. At first, it felt like weakness, but denying that it was pleasant was impossible because the feelings gave back to her life a worthwhile significance that had been stolen from her as a kit. To say she was loyal or felt friendship for the Princess was ridiculous, but altruism, even when a byproduct of self-serving actions, was transformative when practiced long enough. Months ago, she would have suffered no angst over this decision, but deceiving Airy like this now felt wrong. Airy would certainly see this as a betrayal even though Cat was satisfied that Esseff was being truthful, and that his plan was the best path forward. Cat wondered why she cared what the bunny thought. She told herself repeatedly that Jak was the reason. Jak would agree with Airy, and what he thought was important to Cat.

"You are treacherous little dog, foxy. This trap was set weeks ago when you first found us. Don't bother denying or admitting it."

"Believe what you will. I have explained all that I can. What is your decision? Like it or not, the Princess and her followers' fate are in your paws."

That was the crux of Cat's dilemma. Whether she liked it or not, she had become responsible for the others. Survival was always her first priority. Trust could be repaired, but the dead were dead forever. Her mind was made up. She would do what was needed to save everyone.

"I agree to help you let Volves capture the Princess alive. I have two conditions, though."

A broad smile and barely contained aura of joy betrayed Esseff's excitement. Her acceptance was the key to his success. He was prepared to do nearly anything to ensure her cooperation.

"Name your conditions."

"First: I am allowed to stay free. Only the others are taken as prisoners."

"Easy enough. Agreed."

"Second: I vant you to make love to me."

Stunned, Esseff found himself in the unusual state of being caught off guard with nothing clever to say in return. After blinking stupidly several times with his mouth agape, he managed a clumsy reply.

"You do? I mean...yes. I accept your condition. When?"

Her paw reached out to tug at the drawstring of his pants.

"Right here and now."

Esseff made no move to stop her. He had no desire to stop her. His pulse raced with excitement, but he couldn't prevent himself from questioning this unexpected gift.

"You've been rejecting my advances for weeks. Why now?"

"I am in mood now and you are here. Vhat more reason is there? Are you in mood, naughty little puppy?"

After teasing the cord loose, Cat pulled the top of his pants from beneath his sword belt and let them fall to the ground exposing his loose linen and the knives he kept strapped to his legs.

"That's certainly helping me get there fast."

Cat paused with her paws hovering near his waist.

"There is more to my second condition."

"What is it?"

"You must please me if you vant my cooperation."

"I can do that. I'm flexible and adventurous. Tell me what pleases you."

"No. You claim to be clever spy. Figure it out."

That was unanticipated. Recruiting her to work with him had seemed like the logical first step before trying to seduce her. He didn't mind doing those tasks in reverse, but now he had to consider carefully the implications of her condition. It was often difficult to discern when Cat was playing from when she was deadly serious. Like the small semi-domesticated cats that roamed the towns of his homeland, there was always the danger of being scratched and bitten when you rubbed their bellies. A contented purr could transform into savage rage without warning.

Caution was definitely warranted. It was best to believe that she was serious and would withhold her help if he failed. More than that, he had to assume she would kill him, suspecting he was a liar who would eliminate her as a threat to carry out his plans anyway. That was a sobering thought that left him with no options. Since he was dead whether he lost her game or refused to play, he had no choice but to accept.

To win, he needed to unravel her psychology and closely held emotional secrets. He reflected on what he had managed to learn of her from observation and conversations with her traveling companions.

Her love for Jak was obvious, at least to Esseff if not the others. The handsome Wolf was the only one of the group that she ever treated with anything approaching respect. No one had spoken to him of Cat's obsession, but Jak had to be aware of it. The Wolf, though, had shown no signs of returning her affection. Perhaps, Jak was so fixated on serving the Princess that he was oblivious to Cat's attention. The Wolf was certainly closer and friendlier to the Princess than to his fellow predator.

Esseff wondered whether Jak and Cat had been intimate. It was irrelevant, but her attraction to Jak was enough to give Esseff hope. Fox anatomy was very similar to that of Wolves. At least his appearance and equipment wouldn't work against him. The crucial uncertainty was why she was attracted to the Wolf. What about him potentially filled her needs? Was it a purely physical attraction or was it emotional? Discovering that was his challenge.

Jak was brave, honest, loyal, strong and experienced. Esseff had experience aplenty, both at lovemaking and with life in general. Jak's other qualities, though, did not come naturally to the Fox. A youth spent scrounging the slums for food and protection had bred into him a different set of traits. Who did she want, a scoundrel or a hero? His life depended on the answer.

As if that task were not daunting enough, he was further hobbled by his lack of knowledge of Cat mating practices. In the West, there were only unfounded rumors concerning Cats. None of her kind had been seen for hundreds of years. Everything he knew about them was based on myth and anecdote, so like a blind man desperately trying to hop from boulder to boulder across a stream, he would have to proceed cautiously poking and prodding as he went hoping not to fall in and drown. Anxious tension was the worst mood with which to enter love play, but he was determined to maintain his wits and succeed.

"Very well, my love," he said as bravely and charmingly as he could. "We shall do it your way."

Unfastening his sword belt, he stopped with the knot partially untied.

"You are stronger and faster than me. I dare say you are a physical match for most anyone that I have met. Therefore, I am yours to have as you wish."

Cat finished untying his belt and let it, the sword and the dagger hanging from it fall to the ground. Squatting slowly on the balls of her hindpaws, she removed the daggers strapped to his legs. Her snout was even with his groin. Slowly, she unwrapped the cloth wound about his loins exposing him completely below the waist. Inhaling and exhaling slowly, she sampled his scent. Warm, moist breath swept over his sheath. The erotic tension of that simple act brought the black tip of his cock out of the protective cover of its furry sheath.

"Jak's is red," she said matter-of-factly. "Are all Volves red and Foxes black?"

"No. Most foxes are red and similar in shape to Wolves. Black is an unusual color."

"You sound like expert. How many Volf or Fox cocks have you seen?"

Esseff laughed with a trace of nervous embarrassment. He was bisexual and had played with many male Wolf and Fox partners. Would Cat think that was erotic or disgusting? There was only one way to find out, but he would approach the subject obliquely.

"Enough. They aren't always discrete in their mating, especially the low ranking males when they find a willing low ranking female or even when there are no females and just other low ranking males."

"Do you enjoy sex vith males?"

She cut to the truth quickly and surprised him with her intuitive grasp of such matters. That was a valuable skill for a spy. Esseff wanted her on his side now, more than ever.

"Would that be a problem for you if I did?"

"No."

Cat rose to her full height, her head well above his. The end of Esseff's snout nearly touched the tip of the nipple of her small right breast.

"You say I may do as I vish vith you. Clever, but I am not so easily tricked. You must figure out how to satisfy me. I'm vill not make that easy by doing your vork for you."

Over the past few weeks, everyone in the Princess's party had worked hard to keep their secrets from Esseff. Some were more successful at it, but they all let details slip occasionally. Uncovering hidden knowledge was his life's trade, so it didn't take him long to discover that they had unusual clothes and equipment that was beyond anything that could be made in Rikifur. A reasonable first assumption was that these marvels were crafted in the lands of the East, but even Jorveth was uncertain how they were made. If he didn't know, then no one from his country did. The most logical alternative was that they were Maker made. Airy and the others claimed they had found the items, but Esseff wasn't convinced. Some greater truth was being kept hidden. Had they met a Maker? It was fantastical to think that such beings existed and walked the Earth, but his instincts kept drawing him back to this conclusion.

The evidence was so tantalizing: the blood red paw on Jak's chest and his remark about being the Maker's chosen one, Tigan's ability to make spectral images appear and disappear in the air at will, and the books that Camorra and Jorveth spent all their spare time reading. Camorra was too astute to fool, but Esseff had managed to distract and confuse Jorveth long enough to steal a look in his book. It was disappointing to find that the pages were blank, but it was also a revelation. The Horse wouldn't waste his time looking at nothing. What kind of book but a magical one revealed its contents to only one reader?

Even Airy and Jak's steel blades did not escape his sly scrutiny. The Princess kept a broken blade in her pack that was obviously made in Rikifur for the royal family. The royal seal engraved on the hand guard was easy enough for nearly anyone to recognize, but Esseff was as much an expert in steel weapons as anyone outside of Rikifur could be. That is how he knew the functional steel swords that the Princess and Jak carried were not made in Rikifur but elsewhere, and not by any mortal paws or hands if what they said about the metal working capabilities of the Easterners was true.

Those secrets were easy compared to achieving a basic understanding of the secretive and reticent Cat. The others were just as ignorant of her background as he was, so everything Esseff had gleaned about the feline was based on observation. The scars on her back were a clue of some kind. Who gave her those scars and when? It seemed unlikely to be any kind of deliberate self-mutilation. The scars looked to have been made by a Wolf. Was that a past lover, battle or rape? If it was from an assault of some kind, why did she love Jak? He would be the enemy. Was it because Jak was different from other Wolves? Jak didn't return her love, so why did she want him? Maybe he was over thinking that. The Wolf was handsome and charismatic. Who wouldn't want him? Esseff had made some subtle advances towards the Wolf with no more luck than he had with Cat until tonight.

That left him wondering: whom did Jak love? Was it some Wolf bitch from his home pack? Was it someone else in the party? Like a burst of lightning in the dark, the answer flashed into his mind spectacularly and with blinding brilliance. Jak loved the Princess and his love was requited. Esseff internally chided himself for not recognizing the truth sooner. Reflecting on the subtly affectionate way they spoke to and looked at each other made it blatantly obvious now. He chided himself for having missed it for so long. Esseff had only seen fighting and hatred between Wolves and Rabbits for so long; he had failed to imagine that any sort of friendship between them could be more than grudging acceptance and mutual respect. In the future, he would be more careful to consider the vastly improbable alongside the credible. Mistakes like that could get him killed.

Luck was still with him, though, and he was confident we was about to escape death's icy grip again, because now he also had Cat's secret. She wanted what Jak and Airy had, real love, not abuse. Vindictive and abusive herself, she would not mind dominating another, but he would find no success trying to punish or dominate her. Having known only casual and forced sex his whole life, and born and raised in violence and intrigue, he had no experience himself with romantic love. Where would he start? Lies and deceit were his usual tools to solve problems. Perhaps the truth was the answer.

"You are so very beautiful."

He tentatively licked at her nipple as he spoke. He was definitely not lying. Long, muscular and sensuous, her body was an artistic creation.

"I have never met anyone like you before, so bursting with grace, agility, strength and speed. Your Maker created the perfect killing machine, and yet, he draped his agent of death in the most exquisite guise."

Cat shivered from his praise, the touch of his tongue and light bites from his teeth. His paws stroked her slender flanks making her nipples harden in response. The true passion he felt for her began to show and prod against her taut thigh. She responded by rubbing slowly against him as he grew harder and longer.

"I wanted this; I wanted you from the first moment I saw you."

Cat's eyes were half closed in pleasure, but her vigilance over her surroundings never fully wavered.

"You vanted sex or my help?" she asked; her voice sultry with desire.

"Both. We are natural partners; bed or work, it makes no difference. There is nothing that you and I could not accomplish together."

"Again, do you mean sex or vork?"

"Again, I mean both."

"Then prove it."

With a sly grin, Esseff pressed his body against hers and gradually moved behind her while nibbling at her shoulders and neck. His paws wandered south across the rippling muscles of her belly until they found the warmth of her sex. Cat exhaled softly as he gently massaged the warm, moist, exposed flesh he found there. Squatting slowly, he lowered himself and her to their knees still stroking her sex. With his upper body, he pushed her forward into the traditional canine mating posture.

"Are you going to mount me?"

It was a simple question stated without anger or violent intent, but Esseff was instantly on guard. Mounting her had been his intent, but he reconsidered. The passion of the moment was making him revert to old habits. A unique approach was required. He had to be more inventive and act on the experience he had learned from others. Mislei and Glic had spent much of their youth in the brothels where they were taught myriad sexual secrets to please various clients' tastes. Most patrons were satisfied with quick sex. Some were violent. Some wanted to be abused. Stories the pups had told him of the rare clients who wanted to be pleasured slowly and tenderly came back to him.

"Perhaps, but not yet, my love. I have another application for this position."

Esseff sat down and pulled Cat's bottom towards his face. Their height differential was an advantage giving his tongue easy access to her sex.

"Just lay your head down on your arms, relax and enjoy."

She complied as Esseff remembered what the little Foxes had told him about this act. He began by spreading her thighs apart with his knees and began nuzzling his snout against her buttocks. As if by accident, he occasionally brushed across her taint. Her body trembled slightly each time he did. When her steady breathing turned to sporadic gasps, he held the tip of his snout centered between her thighs a claw's thickness from her opening and inhaled her scent. Delightfully pungent, it demanded to be tasted. Like a rogue agent, his tongue acted of its own accord to caress the fleshy folds and deep valley it found there. A subtle, but continuous vibration of Cat's body accompanied by a purr signaled that he was doing well. When she began to push back against him insistently, he gave her a solid surface to rub against as he pressed his snout between her buttocks and probed inside with his tongue. Her tail wrapped itself around his arm then stiffened as she began panting and trembling.

Her orgasm was fortuitously timed because his cock was stiff against her belly creating a sticky mess of her fur as it was massaged by the rocking motion of her body. He could wait no longer to have her. It was time to go with whatever felt right and hope for the best.

Ceasing his licking and sucking, he sat and pulled her down so that his hips were under hers. Poised at the entrance to her sex, he hesitated. He wanted to experience very fold and curve of that warm passage letting the slow advance excite his senses as he progressed deeper until she rested on the swollen bulb of his knot. Cat had other ideas and impaled herself in one smooth motion. Esseff bit his lip and whimpered trying not to climax too soon.

Cat pivoted her upper body until she was upright. Silently, she turned her snout to one side. Her mouth hung open in a silent gasp. The terrible scars on her back were visible to Esseff, but they did not detract from her lithe splendor. Esseff traced the lean contours of her almost boyish hips and narrow waist. Rigid muscle lay under her fur. It was irrational and dangerous to make love to this deadly creature, but the delicate balance between leading her and letting her have her way created a tension that excited him beyond any sex he had previously experienced.

Esseff had successfully maneuvered her into a position of control. Her paws rested on his thighs as she began rocking her hips and grinding her pelvis. Each downward stroke put the most exquisite pressure on Esseff's knot. A copious flow oozed past the obstruction to soak his fur; whether it was his, hers or some combination he couldn't say. What did it matter? Her motion increased in tempo and intensity overriding such pointless speculation. All the while, her tail swished back and forth like a cobra looming over him preparing to strike.

Normally talkative even during sex, Esseff was silent throughout the experienced able only to breathe heavily as he enjoyed watching the supple body on top of him moving so gracefully and with such obvious pleasure. Cat was not silent; her purr steadily increased in volume until it was nearly a growl. Simultaneously, her tail slowed its snake-like hypnotic dance. Only the tip moved, twitching until it curled about his snout caressing it like a lover's paw stroking her beloved's face.

The tender moment lasted but a few seconds before her claws extruded like switch blades and dug painfully into his thighs. Pushing down with a sudden intensity that stretched her enough to allow his knot inside, her high-pitched snarl slowly grew in volume until filled the silence of the night.

The muscles surrounding her vagina were strong, but the automatic constriction around the base of his knot that he would have received from a vixen or a Wolf bitch was missing. Nonetheless, he was past her gate and swelling further as he built to his orgasm. Esseff howled reflexively and bit into her tail to silence himself as she lunged forward to her forepaws and knees. Her strength was impressive and irresistible. Rather than be dragged painfully by his jammed cock, Esseff gripped her hips tightly and was pulled upward as much by his arms as by his swollen member until he was on his knees again in the traditional canine mounting position. Her tail wrapped around his neck as she turned to meet his eyes with an expression that mingled great passion with feral desire.

"You're good, foxy boy, but bite on neck instead. Now. Hard!"

There was urgency in her voice signifying that this was critical. Desperate to please, he panicked. She was so much taller that he despaired of reaching her neck while tied. His hindpaws scrambled onto her calves, but he was still several inches short of her neck. Grabbing her shoulders, he hauled himself as far forward as he could and up on his toes, stretching his poor entrapped foxhood until he thought it might break.

She had insisted he bite hard, so he turned his snout sideways, opened it wide, bared his sharp teeth, and bit down until his fangs penetrated her tough hide. Her scream was loud, long and accompanied by a tensing of her muscles. Contractions within the core of her body alternatively squeezed and released his member making her orgasm a spectacular event to share. Esseff marveled at the strength and the energy of it.

There was no resisting his own orgasm under the violent squeezing he received as she milked him like a feral cow's teat. Each time her muscles relaxed their vice-like grip, his knot grew larger to fill the resultant void. The rhythmic constrictions lasted long past he had anything left to surrender. Only when he was near exhaustion from the endless draining did he think to unclamp his jaws from the back of her neck. Her orgasm faded quickly, and he became aware of other sensations besides his abused penis: the coppery tang of blood in his mouth, the fierce beating of his own heart, the sweat in his matted fur, and her loud, rumbling purr.

His body was beyond exhaustion. It took all of his remaining energy to stay on top of her. Her breathing returned to normal faster than his did, but she did not speak. Esseff hoped he had given the experience she wanted because he had nothing left to offer.

"I can't get off you, love. I'm trapped inside. I have no control over it."

"I know how Volf dicks vork. Yours is same."

"You have fucked Wolves before?"

Her silence made him nervous as he waited for her to speak. Cat was thinking of all the Wolves she and her brother had raped and killed, but most of all she was thinking of Jak, and how easily Esseff had filled the emotional hole in her soul that she thought only the white-pawed Wolf could satisfy.

"Yes. Many times. No knot, though. You are first."

Esseff wondered if she had enjoyed it and whether he had satisfied her. If not, he could think of many worse moments to die. Never before had he experienced sex so intensely. He yearned for more with her, but would not regret this failed attempt if these were his last breaths.

"I hope I did well and honored our deal. If not, then I beg to try again or ask that you make a quick end of me so I don't suffer. I would like my final moments to be filled with this euphoria."

She turned her head and regarded him with a visage of amorous contentment that supplanted her normal expressions of disgust and looming murder. The transformation startled him more than if she had been ready to kill him, and when she spoke, her voice was soft and gentle.

"Are you flexible enough down there to stand up and let me turn to face you?"

"Yes, but please move slowly. You are incredibly strong. I want to keep my masculinity together. You understand?"

"I can be gentle. Time for you to trust me, little foxy."

Esseff chuckled at her irony and slowly lowered his hindpaws off her thighs to the ground. The weight of his body followed, as did a tug on his crotch. Like a ballerina, Cat gracefully extended one leg, lifted it up, over his head as her body turned, and she rose with it. The entire movement was smooth, seemingly effortless and left her slightly crouched but standing in front of him. With equal ease, she squatted backwards dragging him with her to the ground where she lay with him on top of her. His head was cradled between her small breasts as she lovingly stroked his fur.

"You are good lover, foxy, despite being liar and scoundrel. I vill keep you. You have pleased me. I vill do as you asked."

Esseff nearly wept for joy, though the exact reason for his elation was a mystery to him. Was it because it allowed him to continue with his schemes or because she wanted him as a lover? He only hoped his judgment and good sense didn't suffer if it was the latter.

Capturing the Princess and her followers proved easier than Esseff hoped, though not entirely, as he had planned. He chose a narrow cleft through a rib of rock strata tilted upward by ancient movements within the planet's crust. A dozen wolf warriors were hidden on both sides of the narrow defile. Trusting Cat and the Foxes, Airy and the others followed them into the trap. To ensure there was no bloodshed, Esseff drew his sword and held it at Airy's back while Cat pinned Jak's sword arm and held her claws against his throat. That was the signal for Mislei and Glic to bring the Wolves forward. Even the rash and impetuous Princess was not foolish enough to struggle against such insurmountable odds. She and the others were quickly bound and roped together in a line.

Rage borne of betrayal consumed Airy. The duplicitous Fox was the focus of her ire, but her disappointment centered on Cat. Treachery from the Fox was a possibility she had wrestled with every day since they first met, but Cat's actions were a bitter stab in the back that left her despondent and wondering how she could have been such a fool. Airy had come to believe in her heart that Cat was one of them.

"Why, Cat? Why?"

"To save you from yourself."

Cat's answer was enigmatic and left Airy with more questions, but before she could ask them or probe Cat's motives further, a dozen Wolves surrounded her and Cat with spears held ready and arrows notched to their bows. Their show of force seemed excessive considering Airy was already restrained until she realized that they were all looking at Cat.

"Face first on the ground, Cat, with your paws on your back," barked a heavily scarred, gray and white furred Wolf. His name was Panther, and he was the leader of this party of warriors.

The double betrayal was a small source of satisfaction to Airy. Cat turned to Esseff, her face distorted by confusion.

"Vhat is this, Esseff?"

The Fox displayed equal bewilderment, but Airy was beyond believing that any emotion or words he expressed were genuine. Nevertheless, the Fox stepped forward to intervene. Three spears pointed at his belly before he finished his second step.

"Panther..."

The Wolf leader growled at Esseff but never took his baleful gaze off Cat.

"Don't interfere, little Fox. Chief's orders are to take everyone prisoner except the three Foxes. You can stay free as long as you mind your place."

"But that wasn't our agreement..."

"Your agreement means nothing to me. I follow orders. Just be quiet or I'll forget my orders including the one that says we're to take you all in alive. It's been law here for a long time to kill all strangers on sight, especially Rabbits. I think that extends to friends of Rabbits. Now shut up or you die!"

Though Panther's watchfulness over Cat had never wavered, he forgot the annoying Fox and shifted his full attention to her.

"I've got no more quarrel with you, Cat, than the Fox. We are all enemies of the cursed Rabbits in one way or another, or at least we should be. You can come easy and live at the Chief's discretion or die here at my paws. Choose quickly."

It was hopeless even for Cat to escape with so many weapons trained on her, though she could easily kill a few before they slew her. Memories of the Wolves who raped her and left her for dead so many years ago came unbidden to her mind. Tensing reflexively as her fight instincts began to govern, she was on the very knife's edge of attack when Jak's calm voice brought her back.

"Stand down, Cat, please. Don't throw your life away. They won't..."

"Enough!" shouted Panther. "You are a traitor to your kind, filthy dog, as deserving of death as that wretched bunny."

Jak closed his mouth and hoped Cat would submit. He was certain these Wolves were honest and would take them alive if they surrendered peacefully. To his enormous relief, Cat did yield and let herself be bound with the others and led away. Esseff and his minions were the only members of their party who remained unfettered; a fact that did not escape Cat and the others. Silence, resentment and fearful brooding tainted their march to Border Pack's village.

[END OF CHAPTER]