The Queen Of Tricks

The Fox's Fight

Without a sound I walked up the stairs, all the way to the top floor. To the apartment that held a sleeping Alpha.

I didn't bother knocking.

Silently, I stalked to the bedroom. The door didn't creek as I slowly opened it. Cassar was sprawled on his back, his blankets barely covering him.

I glared at him as I walked to the bed. His dark hair was stuck to his face, his mouth slightly opened as he snored. His black shorts the only thing covering him.

Before I could get beside him, his eyes snapped open. Instantly he was on his feet in front of me.

His eyes were confused and drowsy when he saw who had sneaked into his room. "Vienna?"

He was about to say more, but I didn't let him.

Before he could fully comprehend what was happening I shoved him. Hard.

His body slammed against the wall.

I put my hands around his neck. His eyes widened slightly when they met mine. A bone-chilling growl ripped from his throat, my own low vicious growl challenging his.

He forced my hands off his neck, grabbing me by the shoulders, turning our bodies so I was shoved against the wall. My back ached from the impact.

He glared into my eyes before his eyes widened to the size of saucers, noticing my eyes were not blue. "You're not a wolf."

"You got that right," I growled, slipping under his grip. I jumped throwing my arm around his neck.

He staggered back, almost falling to the ground.

He swerved, grabbing my feet from under me.

He didn't see my leg as I swung it at his face.

With a roar, he dropped me. I gracefully landed on my feet. Backing up slightly I walked closer to the door.

As expected, he charged at me. Just before his body hit mine, I jumped out of the way. He almost lost his balance as he ran right into his living room.

From there my nails turned to claws and my teeth shifted to my foxes canniness. Cassar's eyes were wide when he saw the killing calm in my silver eyes.

Our breaths raged, as we stared at each other from across the room. From there it only got worse.

I ran at him, he braced himself for my attack. Me hitting with the force of a cannon and him dodging faster than a bullet. We tumbled to the grown, breaking the desk that sat in his room.

I pounded his face. As if I weighed nothing, he threw me onto the floor beside him. In no time, were back on our feet.

It was dance. I would go left, he would go right. We parried, lunged, and thrashed.

Before I knew it we were both shooting down the stairs, neither of us landing on our feet. I felt the metallic taste of blood coming from my lip as I bit down. Cassar's upper arm bleeding from where I had dug my claws into his skin.

Landing in a tangled mess I quickly jumped away from him, standing up, back in position. He mirrored my actions.

I bitter laugh escaped my lips. "Did you think I wouldn't notice?"

Cassar's brows knit together. "Notice what?"

"The blood-tie?" I hissed dangerously.

It almost looked like he gulped. "Listen Vienn-"

"You said I wasn't trapped." My eyes blazed.

"I didn't want to trap you here, but you gave me no other choice." He fumed.

"So you cage me like an animal?" I shouted at him, my voice growing hoarse.

"You're sure acting like it." He yelled at me.

"That's because you gave me no other choice but to kill you."

I ran at him again.

We barreled into walls, knocking down doors. Furniture broke wherever we went. I kicked, punched, clawed, I did everything I could to break him.

He did everything he could to block my blows. Most of them he managed to avoid, but some were well planned. Every time I laid a trap, he fell for it. Those were the only times I actually made contact.

But he never attacked me. He never tried to hurt me. That only made me angrier.

The least he could do was fight back.

We cursed each other every time we touched. I tried to draw blood, he tried to hold me still.

Every time he was able to get his arms around me, I was able to wiggle out of his grip. Once I was free, I would land a sickening blow somewhere on his skin.

Eventually he was bound to get lucky, I just hoped he would be dead before the opportunity would strike.

Cassar and I were in a completely different part of the house by the time I heard footsteps pounding against the floor. Harlen's scent hit me.

She stared at us in surprise as we continued our dance. She looked like she was still half asleep. She was about to take a step towards me. To stop me from attacking her Alpha.

I roared at her, but she didn't listen. Her mouth dropping when she saw my fox traits.

It was Cassar that stopped her. "Don't. I'm handling this."

"You don't seem to be handling it very well," Harlen growled. She looked over our bruised and bleeding bodies.

Gage appeared a few steps behind Harlen. He wasn't fazed when he took in our surroundings. "I told you the blood-tie was a bad idea."

"You formed a blood-tie?" Harlen snarled at her Alpha.

"You knew?" I snarled at Gage. My full attention stayed on the growling alpha.

"You thought that was a good idea?" Harlen shouted.

Cassar pursed his lips. "I don't regret it."

"Well you're going to once you are in hell, you barbaric bastard." With the final yell, I lunged at Cassar again.

Faking right, I jumped to the left, and jumped on his back. I wrapped my legs around his body bringing him crashing to the ground. The slam of our bodies hitting the ground thundered across the house.

Easily falling on top of him, I straddled his waist, pulverising his face.

He tried to cover himself, but my legs kept his arms trapped beside his waist.

Before I could hit him too many times, I felt two pairs of arms pull me off of the seething alpha.

I struggled against their grip, wanting to attack the alpha again.

Gage and Harlen's eyes were still crusted over from sleep, the syrup still affecting them.

"You need to calm down." Gage's soothing voice said from behind me. I glared at him, shrugging out of his and Harlen's grip.

I turned and went to lunge for Gage instead. He knew about the blood-tie, and he didn't do anything to stop it.

Just as I was about to knock him flat on his ass, I saw shining blond hair standing a few feet away. Right in my kill shot.

Slamming my foot into the ground I threw myself to the side, so I wouldn't hurt Gage's pregnant mate. In the process, I did something rare. I stumbled.

My head hit the wall with a crack, but just before I crumbled to the ground, I felt the tingling arms wrap around me.

My eye's slightly blurring, I struggled to get out of Cassar's grip. He just tightened his hold around me like a snake with their prey. His hands holding my arms in place. His legs separating mine.

We stood like that until my struggling eased. Both of us breathing heavily. My wrath slowly evaporating. My teeth and claws turning human again. My eyes flashing back to normal blue.

"Are you calm?" He asked slowly, eyeing me up and down.

"Yes," I said through a locked jaw.

"Are you sure?" He doubted.

"Yes."

"Last time you said you were calm, you were not calm."

"Just let me go you moronic baboon."

Slowly his arms lessened their grip on me. When I didn't make another move to hit him he took a step away from me.

We all stood in a giant sitting room, that had flat black leather couches along the outside. Most of the furniture destroyed.

I looked at the four people that watched me nervously, as if I would pull out a knife from my pocket and start stabbing them like Jack the Ripper.

I wouldn't stab them, only Cassar. Maybe Gage.

Gage stood in front of his mate protectively.

Rose's face was shocked, but I didn't find a trace of fear, her hand on her round belly.

Harlen's eyes darted around me, a small smirk playing at the tips of mouth.

Cassar looked me up and down, still waiting for me to attack him again.

"Vienna, are you okay?" Rose asked me softly. Concern was written over her face.

"I'm fine." I shrugged, the pain in my shoulder still throbbing. I hoped nobody noticed me wince.

I straightened my back, stretching my shoulders, and cracking my neck. Cassar also straightened his back, deciding I wasn't going to fight him again.

Just when his guard was down, I grabbed the last vase that was still standing and hurled it at his head. While he was distracted with swatting it away, I jumped back on top of him. The force sending us both rolling to the ground.

I heard Harlen sigh in annoyance.

We rolled on top of each other fighting for dominance, until finally I managed to elbow him under the chin, kicking him off of me.

We both laid beside each other on the floor, breathing heavily.

"Okay, now I'm done," I told everyone truthfully. My anger was still there, and it would be as long as I was blood-tied to the mutt, but at least I could control better.

Harlen, Gage, and Rose watched us cautiously from a safe distance away. We laid side by side for a couple of minutes until our breathing slowed to a normal rate.

"My face hurts." Cassar moaned.

I couldn't help but bark out a laugh, then I hissed in pain. "My whole body hurts."

"I think you broke most of my ribs."

"It hurts to laugh."

"You had to shove me down the stairs?" He looked over at me, his cut lips twitching to the side.

"You really had to drag me down with you?" I asked, wincing at the goose egg on my forehead.

"Yes, or you would have killed me." He was right.

"I was just getting even for the rock incident."

"This is not even." He gestured to our mutilated faces and his destroyed house.

"What can I say? I play to win." I grinned. "And you could have avoided all this if you just let me go."

"I'm not going to let it be that easy for you."

I nodded my head. "That's fine. I like a challenge."

We didn't talk for a more minutes until his face turned serious as he looked me in the eye. He whispered, "You're a fox."

"Well, shoot," I said, staggering to my feet. Cassar doing the same. I readied my fighting stance again. A little wobbly this time. "I'm ready."

Most shifters hated other shifters. Just the idea of having a fox on their territory would send an Alpha into hives. It was one of the reasons I was so desperate to keep my secret. I didn't want anyone to find out while I was still stuck here.

"I'm not going to fight-"

"If you are going to kill me, at least sever the blood-tie, so I have a chance of getting away."

"Vienna-"

"If you succeed, just burn my body. I don't like the idea of bugs crawling inside my carcass."

"I'm not-"

"Don't worry about telling anyone. The only people who need to know will find out through the rumour mill." I rolled my shoulders, skipping side to side.

"Vienna," Cassar shouted, effectively getting my attention. "I am not going to kill you, or fight you."

"Ahhh," I nodded my head. "Getting someone else to do it, smart."

"No one is going to hurt you," Cassar assured me.

I searched his face, trying to see if he was telling the truth. When I knew that he was being honest, my shoulders sagged in relief. "Oh thank goodness. I'm too tired to stand, let alone fight again."

"You won't have to."

"Wait," Excitement bubbled in my chest. "If you're not going to kill me, does that mean you're going to let me go?"

"No," Cassar said, destroying my hope with a flat look. "Just because you are a fox does not change the fact that you are my mate."

I groaned loudly, throwing my head back. "I'm not your mate."

"Vienna." He warned.

"You're being ridiculous. As we already established, I am a fox, and foxes don't have mates! We have partners, chosen partners. And I sure as hell didn't choose you." I pointed at him.

He growled at me. "You might not have chosen me to be your mate, but the Goddess did."

"The Goddess is gone Cassar. Don't be delusional."

We glared at each other, trying to get our points across. Both of us refusing to break eye contact and yield.

The other three wolves just stared at us, shocked at the revelation.

"How long have you been a fox?" Gage asked quietly.

"Shockingly, " I said sarcastically. "My whole life."

"But how did you hide it from us?" Rose asked, ignoring Gage's idiocy.

I put my finger to my bloody lips. "Foxes secret."

Harlen rolled her eyes.

No one said anything after that. Cassar stared at me with an intense look in his eyes. It was making me uncomfortable.

"You know," Rose looked at me kindly. "I'm not surprised."

We all looked at her weirdly.

She just shrugged her shoulders. "You are nothing like a wolf."

Cassar looked me over. "She's right, but you are also not entirely fox-like either."

I gave them all a sly grin, showing them my fox side. "I'm a good actress."

I had perfected the art of pretending to be someone else a long time ago. They weren't the first creatures I had tricked into believing I was something else. I had even tricked a group of bears into believing I was one of them.

"But how?" Gage asked me. They were all looking at me with weird looks, going over each of my features. They were trying to figure me out, too bad they never would.

I debated on what I should say next. Deciding the little bit of information couldn't hurt I grinned at them. "It helps that a jaguar taught me everything I know."

I knew the information would surprise them. It's very rare for different shifters to aid other shifters, especially when one of them was a fox. Not many people wanted to help a fox out, we were branded as thieves. Why would you invite a thief into your home?

And jaguars had talents of pretending. If foxes were thieves, Jaguars were actors. And now I was both.

Cassar sighed deeply. "I suppose you're not going to elaborate?"

"Nope." I said popping the P.

Cassar gave me his unnerving stare again. His eyes boring into mine. "One day Vienna, you are going to tell me all of your stories."

I laughed in his face. Like that would ever happen.

It was a good time to make my exit. Try and get some sleep before the night was completely over.

"On that note, since you're not killing me, and you're not letting me go any time soon. I'm going to bed. Running and fighting all night, really tires you out." I sang, then I let my voice become deeper, more serious as I walk by Cassar, my eyes blazing, voice threatening. "Don't think we're done with the whole blood-tie thing either."

With that I continued out of the room when Cassar called behind me. "This doesn't change anything Vienna."

I flashed him a wicked grin. "It changes everything."

I sauntered down the hallway heading to Cassar's office.

My limp from the previous night, barely noticeable.

The same two guards still watching the door. When they heard me coming, their backs stiffened and they stood up straighter. They each moved a step closer to the door.

I stood in front of the identical males, sizing them both up. They looked like the perfect guard dogs. More Doberman, then wolf.

The one kept looking straight ignoring me, while the other quickly took in my bruised face, flinched, then looked away.

It had only been a couple of hours since my fight with the Alpha. Thanks to my shifter healing, the damage wasn't too noticeable.

Though Cassar had never actually hit me, which had only angered me more, tumbling down stairs and bashing into furniture still did a number on me.

We were both black and blue with scratches all over our faces. Nothing worth scaring, especially since the wolfs-bane on my ring had worn off. Why they called it wolfs-bane when it affected every kind of shifter always confused me.

As bloody and bruised as I was, I still looked ten times better then Cassar. He might not have hit me, but that didn't stop me from hitting him. Multiple times, and I didn't regret a single punch.

I told Cassar and the rest of them that I was going to go to sleep. Truth was, as exhausted as I was, I had barely slept since my three day nap. I didn't know why, but something about this place refused to let my fox relax.

I sat on the rocking chair for hours trying to figure out what to do next.

My secret was out. They know I'm a fox. Thankfully they didn't know I'm the Silver Fox, or I think the alpha would be changing his tune pretty quickly.

Since everyone knew I was a fox now, or they would all know soon. There was no reason I had to pretend to be a wolf. No more hiding my flashing eyes or changing my scent.

I also thought about how to break the stupid blood-tie.

I had only heard of two ways to break a blood-tie. The first one, being Cassar releases me himself. That didn't seem like that was ever going to happen.

The second way was Cassar dying. That sounded pretty good, but complicated and messy.

There had to be another way of breaking the blood-tie, I just had to figure out how.

It frustrated me how I couldn't use my contacts while I was here. I knew someone who would know, and I knew plenty who could at least figure it out.

Unfortunately I couldn't get in contact with them. Not without putting them in danger. That was a line I would not cross.

For now, I would focus my attention on Cassar. Try and get him to realise I wasn't his mate, and that I was bad for his pack. Force him into releasing me. Maybe while I was at it I could find some blackmail too.

Blackmail was always fun.

The best way to find out a pack's secrets was to get right in the middle of it. Which was exactly why I headed to the Alpha's office.

The sooner he found out I was bad news, the sooner I could get out of here.

Even from the hallway, I could hear a commotion happening inside the office. Every packhouse was soundproof because of shifter's heightened hearing. The Alphas office would no doubt be thoroughly insulated. But the yells still managed to escape through the walls.

If I could hear the fighting from out here it was definitely a heated discussion.

"Hello boys." I greeted the two brothers. "How are you doing today?"

They weren't very friendly today. Both wore identical stoic expressions.

"We have strict instructions not to allow you to interrupt any more of the packs meetings." His voice was clipped, short, to the point.

I raised my brows at him. "Oh, really?"

"Those are our orders." He said like a good soldier.

"And who gave these orders?" I tilted my head in question.

"We are not at liberty to discuss." He stated.

"So it obviously wasn't Cassar," I smirked.

The fidgeting of their hands was the only tell that gave them away.

If it was Cassar they would have told me. He's the alpha, what he says goes. No one can argue with him, or a wolf can't argue with him. I personally beg to differ. But if Cassar gave the order, there would be no reason to hide it.

If someone else gave the order, and Cassar disagreed, they were screwed.

"Okay," I said rolling on the balls of my feet. "And there is no way I can convince you otherwise?"

They both shook their heads. The one male answering, "We have our orders."

"I want you both to know," I mussed. "I am getting into that room if it's the easy way or the hard way."

The two males shared a look. A silent agreement between brothers. They looked at me again, determination shining in their eyes. I respected that.

"I'm sorry, we have our orders." The first one repeated.

The other male gulped as my foxiest grin appeared on my lips. My eyes flashed. "The hard way it is."

It was respectable, but stupid.

Less then three seconds later, both males were laying face down on the ground. They were alive, but barely breathing.

I let the office door creak open. Cassar Salvaterre's office was large. On the far side of the room sat a wide old mahogany desk that held all sorts of things you would find in an office. A black spinning chair sat behind it. Two black chairs sitting in front of the desk. Black couches placed around the room.

The walls were a dark brown, while the far wall was a huge window overlooking the driveway. On the opposite wall sat a large bookcase, full of old dusty books.

On the back wall, sitting on display were weapons of all kinds. Knives, bows, even a few guns. Most shifters preferred using the old weapons, they were 'Honorable' apparently. Personally I preferred whatever would get the job done.

On the opposite wall, behind Cassar's desk, sat a stuffed stag head. The mount was so large it easily attracted the eye of anyone who came in. The beige antlers long and pointed. The stag's dark eyes seemed to fallow you wherever you moved.

"You know," I drawled confidently, gaining the attention of everyone in the room. "They say, the bigger your wall mount, the more you're compensating for."

Cassar gave me a sexy smile, his cheeks still heavily bruised. "I guess you need to do some research on that."

"In your wildest dreams, bud," I smirked at him.

Instead of growling as I expected, his smirk deepened. "Every night, babe. Every night."

"You and every other male I've ever met." I drawled, rolling my eyes.

His smirk turned into a frown.

I looked around the room, at the other wolves who watched us. Some were amused while others were not. It was definitely an important meeting, considering every pack member with a title was crammed in the office.

It wasn't hard to feel the tense atmosphere that coursed through the room. Every wolf was stiff, as if I had just interrupted a fight.

"Wow, you could cut the tension with a knife in here." I remarked.

"The way this meeting is going, it looks like someone is going to get cut." Harlen growled, glaring at some of the wolves who had not looked amused. "Maybe a few."

I couldn't help but glance at the wall full of weapons, guessing which one Harlen would use to skin the annoying wolves alive with.

Harlen saw my glance, smirking. She had probably already made that decision.

Before I could respond, the same sneering voice from the last time spoke up from one of the couches.

"Why are you here?" He hissed. This time I did turn to see who the voice belonged to.

He looked the same as he sounded. He was tall, all skin and bone. Everything about him looked scrawny and sharp. His face especially.

He reminded me of a sneering weasel. He had small beady eyes, a small pointy nose, a small sharp chin. Graying thin hair at the top of his head. He looked a bit like my own father. Acted like him too.

"I came for the meeting," I told him with an innocent smile on my face.

"This meeting does not concern you." He seethed.

"Considering this meeting is about her. I would have to say it concerns her, Alf." Harlen scowled at him from the chair in front of Cassar's desk. Cassar sat in front of her, a bored scowl on his face.

"She has no business being in this pack." He spat.

"She is our future Luna. This pack is her business." Harlen growled, standing from her chair in anger.

"To hell she is!" The male stood up as well, glaring at Harlen. Which was not a good idea considering Harlen probably ate males like him for a snack.

"Woah woah woah," I halted everyone. My eyes widened in disbelief and excitement. "Your name is Alf? Like the giant goat monster?"

"Alfred." The weasel man hissed.

My face fell in disappointment. "Yeah, you should stick to Alf. Much more classy."

"And this Fox is who you want as our Luna." He yelled at Cassar. The word fox sounding like a swear word on his lips.

Warning growls came from both Cassar and Harlen.

Alf pretended to ignore them, but I noticed the small beads of sweat on the male's thinning hairline.

"No, no," I interjected. "I agree with him. I would be a terrible Luna. Not because I'm a fox," I gave a pointed glare to the weasel. "I'm just not pack materiel. More of a lone wolf type, you know. Lone fox."

Alf looked like he was going to send another lukewarm burn my way, but Beta Nora spoke up first. When she spoke, everybody shut up.

"Foxes have their own version of a pack. A skulk I believe it is called." Nora said, referring to a foxes family group.

"We just call it a Fox Hole," I told her honestly. Skulk was an old term we stopped using a long time ago.

"That is a type of pack. There is not much difference." Nora said.

"Sure, but I ditched my Fox Hole when I was fourteen." I pointed out.

I didn't mention that technically I was kicked out, but I would have ditched them anyways.

"Why did you leave?" Cassar said, his face full of interest at the little fact about me.

"Because they clearly did not want her." Alf barked before I could answer.

"Well he's not wrong," I said.

An old angry female wolf yelled, gesturing at me with disgust. "Even the damn foxes did not want her. Why would we want their rejects in our pack?"

"She's got a point." I agreed.

"If she stays here, she will only steal everything we have and tear our pack apart," Alf said hotly.

"It's only natural that I do."

"She probably isn't even your mate Cassar. She's just tricking you into believing she is, so she can take everything you have built." Another wolf screamed.

"If it gets me out of here, sure." I shrugged my shoulders.

"Or maybe, Vienna actually is his mate, and is exactly what this pack needs." Harlen spat.

I laughed. "Now that is false."

Cassar just sat back in his chair, watching the exchange. Boredom covered every feature.

Harlen glared daggers at her alpha. "Why aren't you shutting them up? She is your mate."

"Exactly," Cassar said deadly. "It does not matter what they say. She is my mate and our future Luna. They can complain all they want. Nothing is going to change."

"Oh come on!" I cried. I glared at the weasel. "You couldn't be more convincing?"

"You see, it doesn't even seem like she wants to be here." Alf glared at me, pointing his bony finger at me.

I gave him an incredulous look. "You're just now figuring that out? I've been pretty much screaming it from the rooftops since I got here."

"Don't act like you don't want the Luna position. We know your plan."

"If I wanted the Luna position so bad, why would I waste my energy pounding his face when I could be pounding him against a wall to take it?" I scoffed sassily.

"I wouldn't mind that." Cassar grumbled, rubbing his hand over his bruised chin.

"You did that to his face?" A smaller female asked with a mixture of disbelief and horror.

"If you ask me, his face has never looked better," I smirked, eyeing Cassar's dulling black eye.

"What a male goes through for sex." Nora sighed.

"No. What a male goes through when he puts a blood-tie on me." I gritted.

Nora grimaced. "You trapped her with a blood-tie? Cassar, why would you think that was a good idea?"

Cassar stuck his head up like a stubborn child. "I don't regret it."

I walked over to his desk, pounding my hands into the wood. "You will, I promise."

"You gave me no choice."

"Now that is a load of bull-"

"Would you stop your flirting and get back to the matter at hand here?" Alf sneered, pointing to Cassar. "You are the Alpha. You are to put the packs interest first, so stop thinking with your head and start thinking with your brain."

Cassar gave him a warning glare, but he sat in his chair patiently. The comment didn't seem to bother him, but for some reason it pissed me off.