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In the Shadows of Dalmatia

Night had given way to daylight and the wolves showed no signs of leaving the beach.

My concerns became justified when the six soldiers, all wearing light chain-mail shirts, on the beach began piling wood and building a bonfire. The wind carried their voices and I caught snippets of their conversation, enough to make it clear that they had gotten word of a storm and were on duty from the local authorities to look for cargo and survivors. Considering there were manacles dangling from chains slung over the saddles of their horses, chances are they considered cargo and survivors to be one and the same.

One of the soldiers, who wore a light chain-mail shirt, guided their horses away from the beach. Despite the thickness of the dirt and rock above my hiding hold, I could hear the echoes of their hooves beat on the dirt. Letting them graze, most likely. They were going to stick around for awhile.

These wolves were provincial light cavalry and would be well-versed in thinking like scouts. If they caught wind of me, there'd be no chance of getting away, not without a horse. Even if I had one, I wouldn't bet money on me.

So, I waited. When the sun came up, I kept on waiting. I listened to their bawdy songs and incessant howling; I tried to learn as much as I could about their mission and how long they intended to stick around for, but to no avail.

When the tide went out, I grew afraid. The sands and rocks suddenly seemed to stretch on for miles, getting to the cave I was hunkered down in wouldn't take any effort to discover.

In my panic, I felt the desire to surrender quiver in my gut, pretend to be just a random survivor of a shipwreck: they'd arrest me and sell me to the first bidder, where I could plot my escape.

But no, that damned eye of mine! I felt it chafe against the inside of my eye-socket for the first time in months. My craven feelings grew so bold that I felt like taking it out and hiding it, but I knew the wolves would search me thoroughly, with their paws and likely their cocks as well.

A crab chanced upon my hiding hole and I picked him up. The crab angrily snapped its claws, unable to reach me and escape from my grip.

I waited for the wolves to make enough noise and the moment came when one started bragging about his sexual conquests, howling with glee as he described all the vixens he knotted. I dashed the crab against a rock until it stopped moving and sucked out its meat.

By this point, another one of the wolves had begun to admonish the Casanova for possibly having created a wolf-fox mutant and it took all my effort not to shout at the superstitious wolf for being so ignorant. Instead, once they started growling I cracked open the crab's claws and chomped on the last bits of meat.

My stomach was full but my throat was desert dry. There was nothing but seawater here, which was returning with the tide. I almost wished I was a feline, having heard the rumors that they can drink saltwater, which I never confirmed during my time in Africa. I was going to die of thirst if the wolves didn't get me first, which would be a more noble end than being a prisoner.

Night had fallen again and I waited, counting in my head without pausing for a second, until it was midnight; having no clear view of the moon to read. I kept watch on the wolves as they switched shifts between standing on guard and resting, while one always kept an eye on the horses atop the hill. That's where my opportunity laid.

While the wolves were distracted, lost in conversation, I emerged from my cavern, slipping around a rocky bend further away from them, careful so as to not make so much as a splash while I navigated the waters. There was nothing beyond the hill bottom except for more cliffs and the waters grew misleadingly deep around the ones further on. I had no choice but to execute my plan here.

Using my claws and feet, I grabbed at footholds and slowly began ascending the side of the cliff. It was far easier than expected, considering my condition and the fact that I had never done this before, my dull claws being just curved enough to latch onto some rocks that jutted out.

Stopping just before the top, I peeked my muzzle over. The horses were there, sleeping upright along with one wolven soldier up here, who was joining them in slumber, sitting on a tree stump with his head nodded over.

Kill the wolf, calm the horses, steal one, I thought to myself as I grabbed a conveniently placed rock and crawled onto the grass, creeping up behind the dozing soldier. Simple as that.

The soldier's skull split open like the crab's shell and I gently guided him to the ground where he would rest for eternity. A few of the horses snorted but did not seem to stir from their sleep.

Things were going very well, naturally, that was not to last.

One of the wolves from the beach howled before crying out, “A survivor! Get down here, bring the tools!"

I looked at the pile of chains lying on the ground by the soldier, along with the horse's saddles. The horses had woken up by now and were more than a little peeved to notice a strange fox lurking around them and started shrieking and kicking.

Cursing silently, I gave the horses a wide berth and left the clearing, not even bothering to check and see who washed ashore. The horses were too agitated and would be too easy to track, so I didn't bother trying to steal one.

Instead, I silently slipped away from the hill and into the woods, kicking my tracks away as I went. That wasn't my biggest concern though, it was the fact that I smelled like a brined fox and even a damned human could have tracked me by scent despite me being downwind of the wolves.

The woods were sparse and didn't provide nearly as much cover as I wanted, but they were rocky and sloped upwards, hopefully giving me a chance to escape their horses once they realized something was up.

I thought I was alone, but I was too busy running to hear the tell-tale snuffling of a predator deeper within the woods.

“Dear Marco!" a voice cried out from downwind of me. “You survived!"

It was a wolven voice and of all wolves, it had to be Ekrem. By now, he had to have known we were in Alphate territory and he had every reason to betray me and surely his sensitive nose had picked up on fellow wolves nearby.

Yet he didn't howl. This did nothing to alleviate my concerns though, all it meant to me is that Ekrem had something more sinister in mind.

“I think your game's up, Marco!" Ekrem's voice bounced off of the trees and I tried to locate him with my ears. “We really had a fun thing going here, didn't we?"

Somewhere downwind of me, that's all I could tell from his voice. Scent tracking was out of the question, but I sniffed at the air regardless. He could be lurking behind any tree, just waiting to pounce and do whatever it was he intended to do with me.

“What do you mean?" I whispered back, mindful of the wolves not far behind.

“It's all over! The Alphate's captured everyone from your motley crew and divided them into slaves, ransoms, and executions. Alpha Aokus himself is likely going to be personally fucking your little fennec by the end of the season."

“Taj would tear his knotless cock off if he tried," I hissed. Ekrem was a snake wearing a wolf-skin and I didn't believe him for a second. He was trying to distract me, I could tell. Occasionally the dull pad of his feet scraping against dirt could be heard off in the distance, growing closer.

“The Alpha is also looking for you and I gotta say, his intentions are really out there, even for him!" Ekrem continued and my ear twitched as a branch snapped. He was slightly to my right, still a fair distance away but could charge and be atop me in three seconds if he tried. “He has an alchemist who claims he can turn a tod into a vixen with a potion and the Alpha wants to do that to you so he can breed you. You're finally going to get your wish: a fox, well, half-fox, atop the throne of the Alphate, isn't that wonderful?"

He was definitely trying to gross me out, distract me from the fact that he was closing in. Aokus was an incompetent and impotent Alpha but he wasn't this deranged from all accounts I heard. I snorted and gagged, trying to get Ekrem to think I was affected.

“You're gonna make a great mother, Marco, popping out beautiful little cubs for the Alphate-te-te-te-te-te...FUCK!" Ekrem snapped erratically and growls echoed through the woods. Canis, did he have rabies? The outburst quickly left him and his voice went as soft as silk. “Of course, if you sit down and have a talk with me, just you and I, maybe we can work something out. Sit down! Have some mushrooms!"

I pretended to look the other way and out of the corner of my eyes, caught a naked, white wolf dart from one tree to another. At this point, I noticed the clusters of red mushroom with white spots littering the area, some having chunks missing that suspiciously matched a large canine's teeth. This explained a lot, not only was I dealing with a vengeful wolf, I was dealing with one who was so out of his gourd that I might look like a sizzling platter of pork.

“Just lay down and I'll join you," I had to resist the urge to twitch my ear and give away that I knew exactly where he was. His voice suddenly flew into a small song. “We'll fly away back to Greece, you and I!"

“No," I shrugged and turned away, walking back towards the beach, “you can take your disturbed fantasies and go paw yourself off. I'm leaving."

Having turned my back towards the wolf, he sprung from his hiding place and leaped forward, his maw wide open, fangs glistening with saliva. I was ready for this and swung my fist straight into his big, black nose, knocking the wolf to the ground, howling in pain. Ekrem's white muzzle was stained with wet, red blood.

“NO!" he howled in alarm. “NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

I heard a distant howl returning his alarm. The sober wolves were coming now, along with their horses and their swords.

I truly wished to kill Ekrem or hand him over to Laurent as promised, but I didn't have time to finish the job nor did I even know if Laurent was alive, so I swung my foot straight into Ekrem's fuzzy, white balls and got moving.

Ekrem was about ten feet behind me when he finally reacted to my kick and yelped louder than any canine I'd ever heard before.

I don't remember how long I ran for or in what direction. I couldn't stop and think for a moment, I would duck below a branch, scramble up a slope, and roll down a hill without even comprehend, taking into account that such an obstacle existed. It was just me, my legs, and the promise of freedom.

And the whole while, I could smell them growing closer. Their scents blew downwind: the wolven musk and the smell of dried grass and feces from the horses. The noises: howls, whinnies and hoof-beats. They were getting closer, closer, closer…

For a moment I was a kit again, following my parents as I ran for my life from the wolves during our escape from Pest. Mother was carrying Sophia, too little to run by herself, and Father...he was far ahead of all of us.

A wolf was chasing after us, a horrifying wolf clad in heavy armor who howled with joy as he chased us down. He had his sword sheathed and his claws reaching out for me, he wanted me alive: as a prize, a pet, or...worse…

Now, just like then, I was saved by a steep ravine. Back then, I could feel the wolves claws scrape at my scruff before I went tumbling down; this time I was far further away but it spirited me down to safety.

It was a smooth drop, except for a rock that my shoulder bounced off of while I rolled down. Aside from a few scrapes and scuffs, I landed at the bottom in a small, thickly wooded area by a pond. I wasn't hurt, so I immediately jumped to my feet and headed for the pond, hoping for a moment to be able to rinse myself.

The ground shifted underneath me, I only noticed the web of ropes on the ground and the sharply bent over tree before it was too late.

In an instant, I was embraced by the ropes and snapped into the air, suspended in a net upside-down. Once the shock had worn off, I began chewing frantically at the ropes for a moment before I went silent.

Standing on the top of the ravine were the silhouette of two wolves atop horses, staring down at the valley below them.

Had they come to gloat over their prize? I kept silent, hoping that this was all some kind of coincidence, having gotten trapped in some hunter's snare. Perhaps they wouldn't see me in the dark, nestled in the top branches of the trees…

“...smells like he went down there..." I heard from atop the ravine.

“...too distant..." another voice spoke, suddenly getting muffled by the whisper of leaves, “...steep, too damn steep...not worth it..."

“Least we got that tod, huh? He'll make us a killing in the city."

The two laughed but they didn't leave, lingering and once again telling tales of their sexual prowess, drinking talent, and tales from previous skirmishes. One of them got off his horse and started to piss down the ravine, I could smell the wolf marking his territory. My head started to go light and I was afraid to try and right myself for fear of alerting the wolves.

“...worst battle you ever saw?" one of the wolves asked.

“...fuck, that'd be when we got raided in Carpathia by that crazy fucking fox, Marco!" the other wolf laughed. “Canis! He destroyed our supply line and burned our stockpile, we had to retreat three days straight eating nothing but what we could steal from the local foxes, which wasn't much! Ate nothing but slavemeal bread the whole time! If I ever..."

My head was floating now, there was no hope of avoiding the inevitable. I was going to take a nap whether I liked it or not.

Hopefully I'd wake from it.

“...waking..."

A nebulous voice carried me from my sleep but I still felt like I was floating, harshly rocking back and forth.

“WAKE UP!"

My shoulder collided with the ground and pain pulled my eyes wide open. Before I could get my bearings, cold iron wrapped around my wrists was yanked and I was forced to my feet.

A chain ran from my wrists, trailing towards the paw of a rider atop a horse. Dread filled my stomach, seeing a canine with dark gray fur on his back and I feared the worst, that I was in the bonds of the wolves and being marched to the Alphate, my final journey.

That concern was averted when the rider turned around and I saw a sharp, gold-furred muzzle stretching out from his face; a jackal.

“You're lucky, Marco!" the jackal yapped cheerfully, laughing as he gazed upon my naked form. “Very, very lucky!"

“Who are you!?" I snapped, rattling the chains hopelessly. “How do you know my name!?"

“Shit!" the jackal slapped his forehead. “Shit, shit! Used wrong word, let us start over, yes?"

The jackal cleared his throat and yanked my chain sharply, I had to fight to avoid falling face-first into some fresh horse droppings. He brushed aside a loose strip of white cloth hanging from the messy turban atop his head, “You're lucky, slave! Very, very lucky!"

“Cut the shit, how do you know my name and who do you work for?"

Pain lashed against my back and I fell to my knees, screaming. Thick paws grabbed me by the scruff, forcing me onto my feet, giving me no respite from my pain. Stumbling to keep up with the horse, I looked behind and saw a burly tan lion with a whip, wearing leather armor.

“Slave, is very impolite!" the jackal laughed. “Mistress will not like!"

“Mistress?" I asked.

Before I could get an answer, I heard a very jolly tune whispering through the woods, one that was very familiar.

“Salvia!?" I gasped.

Another lash of the whip cracked across my back but as I hadn't even had time to recover from the previous, I was already used to the pain and didn't collapse.

“Mistress Salvia!" the jackal sneered. “She will love you! You're lucky, slave!"

“May I speak..." I flinched upon hearing leather uncoiling behind me, “...master jackal?"

“Speak, slave!" the jackal laughed. “Slave speak amusing!"

“Mistress Salvia knows me, she needs to get in touch with General Vito, he will pay my ransom!"

“Up to Mistress Salvia! But first she make you kiss sex her, very fun, best job for slave!"

A large, white, dome-shaped tent came into view and I was dragged into Salvia's personal demesne. The pale-orange vixen herself was sitting on a cushioned chair in the back of the tent, attended once again by naked wolves wearing iron chains, some feeding her various fruit while others were playing the happy little song on their flutes.

Everyone in the tent looked miserable, except for Salvia who was smiling gleefully, her red cheek scar curling as I was marched towards her in shame.

“General Marco! What a surprise!" Salvia let a wolf place an apple slice in her mouth and she chewed.

“This has to be some kind of mistake, Salvia, I'm-"

“Stop!" Salvia said sharply and stood up, leering angrily at the lion behind me, who was seconds away from lashing my back again.

Sighing, I bowed my head, “Thank you! I was wor-"

“I like a little bit of impudence in a slave," Salvia grinned as she stepped towards me, taking the chain from the rider, gently running the links across her paw-pads. “Marco, Marco, what happened to you? Your eye! Your beautiful eye!"

Salvia tapped my false eye with her pointer claw, sending uncomfortable quakes through my skull.

“Admiral Philippe had it removed," I muttered. “Salvia, General Vito is expecting me and he's stationed in Foxen Dalmatia, he will pay for my ransom, I swear!"

“And we shall send out a messenger at once!" Salvia proclaimed proudly, just before pulling my yank and sending me falling onto the carpeted ground of her tent. Slowly, she pulled herself along the chain, drawing me closer until I was kneeling before her feet. Cupping her paw along my chin, she forced me to look up into her yellow eyes leering down at me from across her snout. “But it would be terrible practice to deny my merchandise to anyone who happened to stop by, wouldn't it? Imagine if you entered a store and the owner said, 'Oh, that rope on display there is reserved for someone else?' that would be a tragedy and I do not discriminate in who I sell towards, it's good business."

“Salvia, surely the good of the Republic means something to you," her claws idly stroked my cheeks as I talked. “I'm trying to set things right, fix the mess Philippe has left things in."

“Quite the contrary! A disaster for the Republic is a golden opportunity for me, as would one that befalls the Alphate or the Ursine Confederation! Banditry, refugees, war...all things to be exploited in my line of business," Salvia turned around, slapping me in the face with her brush and running its length across my muzzle as she walked away. I could make out the smell of violets just barely over the overpowering cinnamon that she wore to cover her scent. Despite her talk of professionalism, she was quite enjoying this in more ways than one. “I was worried for a bit when Philippe made peace with the wolves but his joint administration plan for Carpathia backfired extraordinarily. The Free Kingdom of Carpathia and the border regions are now so lawless that I've expanded operations, I'm set to be the biggest ransom broker in Europe at this rate."

“I can make-"

“Silence!" she whipped me with her tail three times, imitating a real lash with a smile. “If you want things to go your way, I suggest you start making yourself useful. Come!"

She yanked the chain again and I clamored to my feet, following her into the wide tent. A small, low wooden table was set up against the far wall of it with cushions littering a spot in the corner. One of the wolves playing the instruments eyed me with a look of pity, not mocking pity like most wolves would cast my way, but honest to Canis pity.

Salvia fell down onto the cushions and clapped her palms together, “Fetch me a drink, slave!"

Slowly, I walked over to the opposite side of the tent where a tray with a pitcher and clay cups sat. Salvia kept a tight grip on my chain, occasionally tensing it, choking me and reminding me of my current place. I was about two feet away from the tray when the chain ran out of length and Salvia refused to give me any slack.

“I need a bit more..." I whispered.

“Make do," she laughed, rattling the chain mockingly, “and make sure you don't drop anything, that serving set is imported all the way from the Dog Kingdoms in the East!"

It looked like it was made of plain, brown clay you could find in any marsh in the Republic. It didn't matter though, Salvia set the prices right now, so I reached out, arms shaking as my claws caught the edge of the tray and carefully, ever-so carefully, coaxed the tray onto my palms, heart-pounding as I saw the cups and pitcher shake violently the whole while.

Inhaling, I pulled the tray off of the desk and slowly turned around, bringing it back to Salvia who had a look of disappointment on her face. She could have just yanked the chain at any moment if she truly wanted me to be indebted to her but she had some sense of business honor, lucky for me.

Placing the tray on the table, I poured her some lukewarm, yellow ale into one of the cups and passed it to her, bowing my head respectfully.

Salvia took the cup from me and sipped from it, “Sit down and pour one for yourself, slave."

The floor was hard, lacking any of the fancy pillows that Salvia was sitting atop, but I obeyed. I grabbed one of the cups, prompting Salvia to slap me atop my hand.

“No, you're not to drink from that. I'm not about to trust a slave with the good cups," Salvia clapped and the jackal suddenly emerged from behind me and dropped a wooden bowl onto the table, which spun like a top very noisily until it came to a halt.

The bowl was shallow and it lacked a canal sticking out from the rim to make drinking it possible for a chimera such as me. A human might have been able to sip from this with dignity but ale was certain to spill out from my lips and that would no doubt give Salvia cause to be offended at wasting her gift.

“Well, go on then!" Salvia ordered. “Drink!"

Sighing internally, I poured some ale into the bowl and I swallowed my dignity, lowering my snout just above the surface of the ale and began lapping. The ale was crisp, light, and tasted slightly of citrus; it was very good but the dignity lost drinking it in such a manner was not worth it, not that I had a choice.

I had made Galip lap up water from a bowl once in front of my soldiers and we had all laughed. Right now, no one was laughing except for Salvia, not even the wolven slaves watching us or Salvia's foreign mercenaries.

Salvia's black nose twitched as she eyed me with a scheming look, “You would usually use lavender to cover up your scent, didn't you? Your natural musk is quite..." she took in a long sniff, “...exhilarating and the scents you've picked up on your travels...so exotic..."

I thought I smelled like salted fish at best right then and there, but I wasn't about to argue with the mistress. I caught a whiff of her cinnamon perfume again, “Thank you, your choice of scents is stunning, as usual."

“Why thank you, slave!" Salvia's tail swished behind her. Her scent might have been covered up but she was still letting some body language escape cover and there was no doubt she was aware of it. Salvia never let a single emotion let slip that she didn't carefully audit first. She reached forward and tapped me on the tip of my nose. “So polite! Perhaps the Alphate could use such a well-mannered fox at their court?"

“Please, don't..." I caught myself before I could finish that sentence, feeling ashamed at being reduced to begging. Salvia looked at me expectantly but I refused to finish.

“As I said, slave, if you make yourself useful I could take your wishes into consideration," she motioned towards one of the wolves, a brown one with floppy ears marking him as part dog. “That one there, he was destined to the mines after his family refused to pay his ransom, but he put in the effort to learn the flute after my last flautist offended me and he's very happy here, isn't he?"

The wolf-dog merely blinked, not stopping the song for a second.

“How..." I cleared my throat. I didn't want to beg but offering to help seemed less shameful, “...can I help you?"

Salvia shifted her legs, “Slave, which species gives the best oral?"

“Humans they say," I snorted, “personally I wouldn't trust having their teeth so close to my cock though."

“A thoroughly masculine response but I am not a male nor am I speaking from the perspective of one, so I shall clarify and ask again: which species gives the best oral to females?"

Before I could answer, Salvia pushed the table aside, sending the cheap clay cups crashing to the ground. They didn't shatter as dramatically as I expected but one chip did go flying across the tent. Salvia lifted up her skirt, showcasing her pink vagina, surrounded by white fur.

I obeyed without needing to be ordered, willfully taking on the role of a slave for the first time in my life. In fact, were it not for the threat of being sold to the wolves, I could almost say it was fun losing so much control to a pretty vixen like Salvia.

Pressing my nose up against the bottom tip of her vagina, I traced it along the T-shaped folds, hearing her shudder each time my cold, wet nose reached untouched flesh. Her scent practically invaded my nostrils; no longer guarded by her shield of cinnamon, the lusty scent of violet made itself clear. She wasn't in heat but she was certainly aroused.

“Good slave..." she hissed, clutching the scruff of my neck.

Salvia's thighs squeezed together as I stuck my tongue out, tasting her for the first time. It was salty with a slight bit of sweetness, quite delicious, only matched by Taj perhaps. I could tell by her moans that she was enjoying it as much as I was.

“Canis..." Salvia whispered, “...nothing beats a tod down there..."

“I'll bet..." I hushed back, pushing my nose past the fleshy portal and nibbling at the lower parts of her nether regions.

Her musk rubbed off directly onto my nose and I just about got drunk off of the scent. I could only imagine how good she smelled during heat and was partly wondering how long my confinement might be, so that I might experience her in the season.

Retracting my snout, I gave her vagina a long, slow slurp before nuzzling at it and gently chewing at the folds.

“Mmmm..."

Darting my tongue deep inside her, I began lapping just like when I was drinking out of the bowl.

“Ahhhh..."

Her grip on my scruff tightened and I picked up the pace, huffing deeply and sucking at her cunt. With the way she was turning into putty in my paws, it felt like she was the slave, not I.

My own cock was rock-hard and I reached back, peeling back my sheathe only to have Salvia's claws dig into my flesh.

“Keep your paws off your cock...slave!" Salvia snarled, growling in her chest. I obeyed and felt strangely aroused by this.

Silently, I continued, she was close to finishing, I could tell by how she spoke. I'd gone down on Taj before numerous times and I knew just how to pleasure a vixen with my mouth.

Salvia gasped and I gently nipped as her thighs quivered. I couldn't help but rut against the hard floor, her scent and the sheer pleasure of making a vixen squeal with joy were too much for my cock; even the collar and chain were giving me some sick pleasure.

Unfortunately, Salvia broke out of her orgasm just in time to choke me with the chain and that was a bit beyond my limits, instantly cutting me off from joining her in the climax.

“Naughty slave!" she mocked and playfully slapped me across the cheek lightly. Cupping my chin, she leaned down and licked me across the snout, slurping up some of her own fluids.

“I thought you liked slaves that were a little bit-" I choked as she pulled the chain again, “...impudent!"

“A little bit!" she repeated and pulled me down onto the cushions next to her. My snout was pressed up against her dress as she embraced me.

“If business is what you're concerned about..." I ventured, pausing to think carefully about my choice of words, “...if I were to be set free I could keep you in the loop about my campaign plans. You'd be able to prepare your business for expansion, so to speak, before the carnage truly starts."

“An intriguing proposal, but one I'm not interested in hearing at the moment."

She ignored any further protests from me that day, content to treat me like a fox-sized doll to snuggle

Two days of meandering chores and sensual servitude passed by. My role was mostly fun and games but I found that Salvia's job was anything but. She took an active role in managing the finances of her company along with records of where patrols and skirmishes might occur, the latter of which were exceedingly common in the Free Kingdom just above us.

For me though, it was almost like a small vacation. I could shut my brain off and spend the entire day waiting for an attractive vixen to bid me to pleasure her.

I don't know what pleasure slaves have to complain about, honestly!

That came to an end one morning when I was still under a bedroll with Salvia and I was roused asleep by one of her mercenaries hollering.

“GENERAL VITO HAS COME!"