Wolf’s Fox by Juniper Hart

15

The sight of him at the Ministry stole Catherine’s breath. She had not ever seen Luthor outside the doors of his lair in all of her recollection. The fact that he was there told Catherine she had a problem on her hands.

He paced through the pews, smoke puffing out of his nostrils as he moved, his human body ready to give way to the raging red dragon she had known for almost a century.

Oh, he’s mad.

Not that Catherine entirely blamed him—she had avoided his calls for nearly three months.

I shouldn’t have approached him so early on. Now I have a monster on my hands.

It was too late to do anything about it now but confront her problem head on.

“Luthor!” she called, striding toward him with a fake smile painted on her lips. “I can’t remember the last time I saw you outside of your home. I hope this is indicative of you and Arianna joining us with more frequency.”

He whirled around, his eyes glimmering with malice. As she had suspected, the dragon was furious.

“You haven’t been in contact since your visit,” he growled. “I’ve sent messengers, and you’ve evaded them.”

“Evaded?” she asked innocently. “I must have missed them. Things can get so hectic around here. You’d know that if you ever came in person.”

She smiled coyly but Luthor didn’t seem convinced by her explanation. “You said you knew where to find Ruthie Edwards.”

Catherine hid her true emotions and gestured for the oversized being to follow her. There were congregants hanging around, and Catherine did not want them to overhear the conversation. She had always been good about keeping her personal life and business life separate, but in this case, the two matters seemed to collide. The last thing she needed was someone to inadvertently mention to Nicholas that an incensed red dragon was at the hall, ranting about a white fox.

“Why don’t you step into my office?” she suggested. Without waiting, she sauntered toward the back of the ministry, feeling Luthor’s wrath behind her. “We’ll have more privacy in here.”

“Do not trifle with me, Catherine,” he growled. “Where is that white fox?”

She barely managed to close the door before he began to stalk around the interior, his rage white hot.

“Sit down, Luthor,” Catherine told him genially. “Can I fix you a coffee? A tea?” She casually placed her own body behind the massive desk and peered at him.

“No, I do not want libations! I WANT MY PROPERTY!” Luthor roared. “WHERE IS SHE?”

Even in the soundproof office, Catherine worried that his voice might be heard. She had almost forgotten the level of tyranny of which Luthor was capable. It reminded Catherine of her deceased husband.

And things didn’t end well for Bane with that attitude. Of course, I had three counterparts to help me take him out.

She scowled, folding her arms over her chest, muffling the sound of her rapidly beating heart.

“You might speak to your wife like that, Luthor, but I am not Arianna. Sit down!” she barked. Luthor glowered, advancing on her. He was not impressed with her manner of putting her foot down.

“I do not like being played like a fiddle, Catherine. I have a great deal of respect for this Ministry and Baneism, but I will not be cheated out of what is mine. Tell me where she is before I truly show my misgivings.”

Catherine felt her palms grow sweaty, but she maintained her stoic expression. She had no doubt that Luthor would follow through on his threats. She had kept him dangling too long, and now she had to pay the piper.

“We have yet to agree on a price,” she reminded him coldly. He stared at her blankly.

“What?”

Even then, Catherine knew she was playing with literal fire.

“I asked you how much Ruthie’s whereabouts were worth to you, and you never got back to me with a number. I won’t waste precious resources looking for this girl if you won’t recompense me. I have more important things to do than track down your missing girlfriends, Luthor.”

Luthor gaped, not backing down. Catherine realized too late that she had worded it all wrong.

“Do you mean to tell me that you haven’t been looking for her since you came to me?” he howled, his hands becoming fists at his side. The walls shook, and scales began to form along his skin. “You said you knew where she was! You made it sound like you were ready to deliver her!”

“Luthor,” Catherine said reasonably, changing her tone. “Of course I’ve been looking for Ruthie. I wouldn’t have come to you if I didn’t have an inkling of where she was. What do you take me for?” She batted her eyes sweetly. “You’ve known me for almost a hundred years. Do you think I would treat you so poorly? I’m a woman of Bane.”

To her relief, Luthor’s face relaxed slightly, but he remained standing and furious. If he was buying her words, they weren’t apt to hold him for much longer.

“If this is about money, I have it. Name your price. I want that girl. She’s mine. I own her, even if it’s been half a century.”

“Of course you do,” she agreed. “And I want nothing more than to get her to you.”

“Then I suggest you get on it!”

Catherine smiled thinly, her mind racing.

It had been three months since she had approached Luthor, but her plans had not gone as she intended. Luthor had been Plan B, and Plan A was taking much too long.

Nicholas should have gotten Ruthie pregnant by now. How much more time am I really going to give him?

“I’ll have to do some invoicing,” Catherine said vaguely. “And we’re certainly closing in on her whereabouts. The minute I have her in my clutches, I’ll hand deliver her to you, all right?”

Luthor’s scowl deepened, but his shoulders settled slightly. “How has she managed to hide so well?” he demanded. “Who helped her escape?”

Catherine exhaled slowly, not wanting him to see how unnerved he had gotten her.

“I suppose those are the details you can learn when she is back in your hands,” she offered. “But I have to ask—what will Arianna have to say about the arrival?”

It was a risky afterthought, but it paid off. To her mild amusement, Luthor balked before puffing out his chest. It was no secret that his wife was a petty, jealous woman, although Catherine could not imagine why anyone would want to keep a being like Luthor.

“I am the master of my own house,” Luthor announced, as if he were trying to convince her. “Like Bane Konrad, I will take as many wives as necessary to breed a stronger bloodline. A mere fairy will not produce the kind of offspring that a white fox can. I shouldn’t have to explain that to you.”

His arrogance was astounding, and for a moment, Catherine considered calling the entire matter off. Even her business acumen had some boundaries, and leaving Ruthie Edwards in this man’s hands seemed to be pushing the borders of decency.

But she belonged to him first, Catherine reminded herself. And fair is fair. This is only business.

“Go home where you’re most comfortable, Luthor,” she told him gently. “I’ll be in touch by the end of the week.”

“You have until the full moon to produce her, Catherine, or else there will be consequences.”

Catherine rose from her chair.

“You should stay for the services tonight,” she said, hoping that he would not take her up on the offer. She had already spent too much time in Luthor’s company. He couldn’t leave her airspace fast enough.

“Arianna is lost if I am not there,” he growled, spinning to leave. Catherine knew that his desire to return home had more to do with himself than his wife. There was a reason that no one had ever heard of Luthor: he was an agoraphobe who took great pains to keep his existence in the shadows. The fact that he was out at all was stunning to Catherine and spoke of bad things to come.

She watched the dragon disappear out of her office door without so much as goodbye, her mind whirling in his absence.

When she was sure she was alone, she picked up the phone and dialed out. As always, the call rang until the expected voicemail almost answered. To her surprise, Nicholas responded.

“What is it, Mother?” His voice was cold and deadpan.

“You know exactly what I’m calling about,” she said, her own words just as even and cutting. “Is she pregnant yet or not?”

Nicholas scoffed.

“For such a pious being, Mother, you’re beginning to sound an awful lot like a pimp,” he fired back. Catherine tensed.

“You should watch the way you talk to me, boy,” she snarled with uncharacteristic fire. “You have no idea what I do for you.”

“I’m not mating with Ruthie to satisfy some perverse deal, Mother,” Nicholas growled.

His blunt response angered her. She had suspected he’d lied to her when she’d turned Ruthie over to him, but to hear him say it point blank was a slap in the face.

“You will honor the deal or suffer the consequences, Nicholas,” she said flatly. “You don’t want to test me.”

He snorted belligerently. “Do your worst, Catherine, but stop calling me. There’s no deal.”

The phone clicked in Catherine’s ear. He had hung up on her. Ire sprang through her veins. That foolish, stupid boy. He could have had the entire world at his feet if he’d only just listened to me.

A cold sweat touched Catherine’s hairline. She knew what she had to do. If Nicholas wouldn’t come through for her, she would have to recoup her losses in other ways. It was just business, even if Nicholas wasn’t apt to see it that way.

Three months was plenty of time for him to impregnate Ruthie. If he won’t hold up our end of the deal, I have no choice but to give the dragon what is rightfully his.

It didn’t make Catherine feel good. She had no doubt about the abuses that Ruthie would endure at Luthor’s hand. It was likely why the girl had escaped in the first place.

Would I have left Bane if the opportunity had presented itself?

It had been so long ago, and so many lifetimes had passed. Catherine wasn’t the same girl she had been when she had fallen for Bane Konrad’s charms.

No, she thought firmly. I’m stronger for it all. And Ruthie will be, too.

It didn’t hurt that Luthor would pay handsomely for the fox. It was a win-win for everyone…except perhaps Nicholas.