Elias was sitting in a room at a warehouse dock in Chager city. His crimson eyes were glinting beneath the hood of his cloak. Around him, palace agents sent by the king and his trusted vanguard operated silently, their breaths misting the chilly air. Below then, the smugglers he had been sent to track worked feverishly, unaware of the predators that had been watching them long before they arrived.

Frozen carcasses of animals were hauled from carts, their bellies lit open tho reveal hidden compartments. Inside, glittering antiques like figurines, golden relics, ancient scrolls and other treasures were packed carefully. They were were disguised as parts of the animals and packed as meat shipments. In cages nearby, live animals twitched nervously, their bodies hollowed with contraband tucked beneath skin and fur.

Elias’s men raised their cameras, capturing every detail. Every record was evidence that would be used to condemn these men to life behind bars.

The smugglers were acting with confidence because they had secured the docks. They were supposed to be closed for maintenance work today. Only the bribed security guards were working. But those guards had been incapacitated, and Elias’s men disguised themselves to resemble the guards.

"Another boat has arrived." Someone said.

Elias leaned forward, looking through the glass window. From the information they had gathered, six boats would be transporting the smuggled wares. The seventh was unaccounted for. He looked at one of his men, a fox beast man behind a laptop. He was in charge of everything to do with technology and communication on this mission. "Durik, find out who the new arrival is."

Alex crouched beside Elias, eyes round as a saucers, "My lord....err, Timothy has some concerns. Lady Sienna clashed with Jacky Twindell. She struck her with a pan."

"I am already aware." Elias’s expression did not change. His gaze remained fixed on the smugglers, his voice calm, cold as steel. "As long as Sienna does not kill anyone, all is good."

Alex blinked, startled, "But...that is your mother’s cousin, or niece. I am not sure. Grace will not take this lying down. The council of elders will not be quiet. They will..."

Elias cut him off with a flick of his hand. "Grace is a fox that has lost his claws and teeth but still likes to hiss. I have enough dirt on him to bury the entire Twindell family. The council thrives in noise. Sienna thrives on defiance. Jacky Twindell insulted my wife. She should have expected the consequences for her actions. Let them collide. My current concern is with these smugglers. I saw a bronze fox head among the items that were stolen. Things that belong to my tribe have be retrieved."

The smugglers laughed as they stuffed paintings into frozen hides. One lifted a carved phoenix ring, mocking, "This small thing is worth more than a city apparently. And the royals will never know that it is missing. While they treasure the fake, we will get rich off the real one."

The palace agents bristled, but Elias raised his hand, signaling restraint. "Patience," he whispered. "We catch them in the act, not the shadows."

Another agent whispered, "They are preparing to move the first shipment. Should we strike?"

Elias’s eyes narrowed. "Not yet. Let them reveal their route and final destination. We need the chain, not just the pawns."

***

Back home, Sienna was still in the stables, touching a young foal that whinnied persistently. He was scared of the people as much as they were afraid to cause him harm accidentally. As Sienna stroked her muzzle, her mind raced. Crimes that could not be proven, wealth gained through blood and theft. 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

"You would think that people from that family would be cautious in all of their actions considering Grace Twindell’s history. Instead, they strut and throw their power in everyone’s face." She accepted a feeding bottle from Geo, and the foal she was touching started feeding greedily, as though as it had never eaten before.

Geo shrugged. "Grace’s crimes were many years ago and without proof, nobody can touch them. Besides, they have the Twindell legacy to back them up. Even if by some chance, Grace’s crimes are revealed, they have something to fall back on." His shoulders sagged. "These problems are not yours Sienna. You don’t have to battle Grace Twindell and reveal his crimes. In other words, leave battles of the generals to the generals."

She laughed. "Hey, I could be a general. If I had been around during Grace Twindell’s years of plunder, he would not be alive to tell the tale today."

His lips curled in a light smile. "You and what army?" The pan army?"

Sienna scoffed. "A bee army, silly. A pan army would not be very efficient against pirates who were not against killing. But bees on the other hand...perfect. The best part about theses bees is that they don’t die after stinging someone. So, they are the perfect assassins. Think about it. They can keep shooting stingers for as long as they have energy."

He took the feeding bottle from her. "Maybe you should try to recall how we captured the bees we have. Smoke is their weakness."

Loud footsteps came up behind them, and then they were shoved apart. "You two, keep a respectable distance." Grandma Byra said sternly.

Sienna frowned. "We were not even that close grandma." She straightened her back, taking another step away from Geo.

"Not according to your husband." The old woman said solemnly. "Elias is paranoid about your closeness."

While Geo rolled his eyes, Sienna laughed.

"Geo is my best friend." She claimed.

Grandma Byra snorted. "Does Mija know about this?" She shuffled a basket from side to another. "If the snake beast woman hears of this, she will eat the wolf in his sleep. Now, stop dawdling around the foals and come with me to sort out the tomatoes. That brainless Numia did not do it because she was busy clipping together pictures and videos of Corven Junior...." she gasped suddenly, the basket dropping from her hands.

Sienna was equally stunned to see the sight her grandmother was looking at. It was her cubs, faces bruised, clothes torn, sand clinging to their skin.

Her heart froze. "What happened?"

Ali’s little body was trembling and she burst into a loud cry.