"Do you have to go?" Elena asked softly as they lay tangled together in her bed, alone at last. Jake had shed his leather armor—the same one he'd worn in case things hadn't gone as planned—and his coat rested carelessly in the corner, a reminder of the world waiting beyond these walls.
"Yes," he murmured, his voice low against her ear. "I can only be gone for so long before people start to question."
He buried his face in her hair, breathing her in. His tail gave a slow, rhythmic wag with each breath, the soft thump against the bed the only sound in the stillness. Her scent—warm caramel, her favorite—wrapped around him, soothing and dangerous all at once.
Elena sighed, brushing her fingers along his stubble. "Aren't you a shadow mage?" she whispered. "Can't you be a little more mysterious? Slip in and out as you please—use it as an excuse to stay here with me more often."
Jake smiled faintly, his breath hot against her neck. "If I could, I would never leave," he said. "But even shadows have to return to the dark, eventually."
She let out a soft, unbidden sound as his breath brushed against her skin, and her arms wound around him, holding him close as if she could keep the moment from slipping away.
Jake chuckled softly at her reaction—his fox, his paprika, his lover. "You know," he murmured, tracing slow circles along her back, "I could just slip into the shadows and escape right now."
Elena tilted her head, her voice playful but edged with affection. "If you do, I won't kiss you next time we meet."
He snorted, amused, but said nothing more. For a long moment, the room was filled only with the sound of their breathing, Jake's tail thumping against the bed, and the gentle rhythm of two hearts trying to memorize each other.
"I love you, Paprika," he said quietly, his gaze softening as she melted against him. Her face nestled into his chest, the warmth of his body seeping through the thin fabric of his shirt. She breathed in his scent, pine and smoke mixing in perfect balance.
"I love you too, Fluffy," she whispered, smiling against him. He sighed, half in exasperation, half in adoration.
"Elena," he said, his voice low. She groaned softly, already knowing what he meant. He had to go—and they both knew how rare this kind of peace would be once the world called them back to their duties, to their fight against corruption and chaos.
"Fine," she breathed, then looked up suddenly. Before he could speak again, her lips met his—urgent, hungry, full of everything words couldn't say. He kissed her back just as fiercely, the world narrowing to warmth and breath and heartbeat.
When they finally parted, their foreheads rested together, both of them panting. Jake laughed quietly. "You sneaky fox."
Elena's smile turned mischievous. "You deserved it."
Then, with a sudden shove, she pushed him off the bed. Jake landed with a startled humph, and her laughter filled the room like music.
Jake stood and shook his head, a faint grin tugging at his lips. "Well, I know when I'm not wanted," he said, his voice warm with mirth as amber eyes met gold.
"Just go—do your duties," Elena sighed, watching as he began fastening his armor. It was sleek and fitted, built for speed and precision, covering only his vitals, forearms, and shins.
"Yes, my lady," he replied with mock solemnity, giving her an exaggerated bow once he'd thrown on his heavy leather coat—its pockets packed with all manner of tools a man like him might need.
Elena shook her head, smiling despite herself at his ever-present flair for drama.
Jake stepped to the window, moonlight tracing the edges of his coat. Before he leapt into the dark, he glanced back, their eyes locking one final time.
"I love you, Elena," he said softly.
"I love you too, Jake," she whispered, watching as he vanished into the night—swallowed by shadow, leaving only the faint echo of his smile behind.
~~~~~~
Pan's tail flicked as her panther eyes watched a figure with wolf's ears and tail jump out a window and vanish in the night. She had made a delightful discovery. Aries will be delighted to learn that the Fox and the Wolf were more than working together.
~~~~~~
Jake met Audrey, Shawn, and Dan in his office at Lockvry Manor beneath the underground city, maps and papers spread across the table as they planned their next move.
"Who controls District Van?" Shawn asked, leaning over a map of Altor.
"Aries Malanor," Jake answered, sighing as he rifled through a stack of reports. They were chasing evidence, but Forrest kept slipping through every crack—he was a slippery, weasel of a man.
Audrey scribbled notes, then let out a frustrated breath. "Why do we have to do this by the book? Why can't we just sneak in and kill the bastard?"
"Because the fluffy there wants to please his fox," Shawn said, jabbing a thick thumb toward Jake. Jake growled, muttered something about kicking the short man, and Audrey only chuckled as she wrote more.
Dan, all broad shoulders and silent presence, dominated one side of the room as he studied a more detailed map pinned with dots—restaurants, trade shops, warehouses. "When are we supposed to receive the Youngs' shipping manifests?" his deep voice rumbled.
"Tomorrow, if Gellen keeps his word, Elena'll send a copy," Jake said, though the lead he was following had gone cold once again and returned to the same dead end. He crumpled a page and tossed it into an overfilled wastebasket.
"We need something solid. Damn it." He rubbed the bridge of his nose and leaned back, his tail flicking in annoyance.
Audrey flipped through a stack of bills. "Forrest had Aries's help, that much we know. But the Pact between One and Five—those loopholes make it impossible to tie them directly. Damn thing's a legal fortress."
Jake chuckled at the irony of the situation. Those loopholes were specifically made so the King couldn't directly involve a Head with an above-ground crime. He knew that putting Aries on the list was basically useless, yet it helped take the gaze of the crown off of him.
"Forrest must have help besides Aries," Shawn said, moving to another pile of documents and spreading them over the map. Jake joined him. "The problem is they're too clean. Too ordinary." He tapped a column of names he himself had compiled—captains, crews, business histories.
"These people look like honest merchants. That's the cover. Forrest didn't build this alone." "Forrest Young didn't build his operation alone," Jake muttered, his fingers tracing a complex web of lines on a map of the southern coast.
"He has protectors. Enablers. Gellen was one. We need to find the others. The ones who look the other way when his ships dock, who lose the paperwork, who ensure the city watch is conveniently patrolling elsewhere."
Shawn's eyes caught something. "Aye," Shawn grunted, tapping a thick ledger. "And it's not just coin. The man has dirt. He's blackmailing someone, or several someones, high up. No way he operates this brazenly otherwise."
Jake's golden eyes gleamed. "Then we find the leverage. We become the bigger threat." He pointed to a name on a shipping manifest that was given to him by a paid mercenary.
"Captain Orin Hale. His ship, the Sea Serpent, has made three trips to disputed waters in the last year, all coinciding with a dip in Young's reported 'textile' imports and a spike in his gold reserves. He's our in."
"So we grab the Captain? Make him talk?" Shawn cracked his knuckles.
"No," Jake said, a slow, predatory smile spreading across his face. "We're not thugs. We're businessmen. We make him a better offer."
He'd told them before: his endgame wasn't merely to topple men like Forrest; it was to remake the Underground into something less lawless and more leverage—legitimate trade, reliable contracts, power that didn't rely only on blood and blade. These three—Audrey, Shawn, Dan—weren't just muscle. They were the few who believed in the idea enough to stand beside him.
"Audrey," he called to her. She appeared next to him as Jake read more into Captain Orin's file. He had one file made for each captain the Lockvry family had dealings with, along with suspected captains' other families that had dealings with them. It was an ever-growing and shrinking list.
"I need you to pay a visit to Captain Hale's family. His wife enjoys the races. His son wants to enroll in the Royal Academy of Navigation. Be… persuasive. Make it clear that his continued loyalty to Forrest Young is detrimental to their future comfort and prospects. Then, offer him a new employer. One who pays better and asks fewer… morally complicated questions."
Audrey's single visible eye crinkled in a smile.
"With pleasure." She walked out the door, and two of their spies dropped down as soon as she walked out the door and followed her.
Jake smirked. His spies were true masters of silence; even with Jake's lycanthrope hearing, he could barely detect them.
"Creepy bastards," Shawn muttered, shuddering when he realized two of their own were sitting in wait outside the door without him knowing.
"Just be thankful that I started their training program and that they our on our side." Jake chuckled.