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***Again, formatting got messed up, for some reason when I convert from PDF's it doesn't translate well. *shrugs* Anyway, have another one.***

IN THE SKIES ABOVE FIREBIRD, REPUBLIC OF NAVAJO

2326 HRS

The ancient C-130 cargo plane buffeted lightly in the turbulence. The lights of Navajo?s capitol city twinkled beneath them under a cloudless moonlit night. Technically, the big aircraft was on approach into Cielo Harbor Airport. Currently on board there were 2. But soon there would be 1.

Daniel Yote checked his watch and nodded to his co-pilot. Rory nodded in return and turned a dial on the autopilot as Yote climbed out of the captain?s seat. Yote exited the cockpit, and briskly walked to the rear of the aircraft, to a small 6x12 storage container. It was the only thing occupying this behemoth cargo compartment. Daniel removed a large duffle bag and dumped its contents on the floor. It contained a large oxygen tank, ammunition, a parachute pack, and a mask. As well as some other sundry items. Yote turned to the interphone mounted in the rear of the aircraft. The familiar "Ding" sound echoed through the empty fuselage.

In the cockpit, Rory retrieved the receiver and put it to his ear.

"Dominoes Pizza."

"Yeah right." Came the coyote?s voice over the other end. "You ready?"

"Ready as I?ll ever be. We?re at 15,000 feet and descending. Hopefully that?s enough not to blow this piece of junk up. I?ll see if I can bleed off some more speed. Good luck and don?t get dead." And with that, Rory set the phone back in its cradle, then brought the thrust levers to idle. He said a silent prayer for his friend as he slid his oxygen mask on.

Yote chuckled as he replaced the receiver. He quickly donned black fireproof gloves, hoisted the oxygen tank on his back, and snapped the mask in place over his snout. After ensuring that the oxygen tank was working, he moved over to 2 large red levers at the rear of the aircraft. He pushed the top one up and to the right, and a loud klaxon began to sound. He pulled the bottom lever in the opposite direction. There was the sound of hydraulic motors whirring as the rear cargo ramp was lowered. The relative quiet of the cabin was now replaced with a deafening roar of the outside world.

Yote double checked his parachute straps, took a deep breath, began running to the rear of the plane, and jumped out into emptiness.

FT. MC DOWELL, NAVAJO

THAT SAME TIME

Natalya again scanned the clear night sky with her night vision scope. The only thing she saw was commercial air traffic on their way to the airport, and so far all the radio transmissions she was monitoring were routine. She turned the scope to face the one road leading into the compound, but it was empty. None of the roving patrols had reported anything either, and they were among the best of the Iron Wolf Brigade. Natalya shrugged.

Maybe he isn't stupid enough to try and break in here after all. Her attention shifted to the bound and muzzled female coyote in the room with her. She returned the wolf?s stare with one of anger and contempt.

Who am I kidding? She smiled and brought the scope up to her eyes again. Natalya was looking forward to the final showdown with Daniel Yote

Yote tumbled uncontrollably in the aircraft?s wake for a few seconds before stabilizing. He took a deep breath into his oxygen mask and checked the GPS unit strapped to his wrist. He was right where he was supposed to be. Yote glanced back at the airplane that had disgorged him and was happy to see that it was still intact, still making its scheduled landing. Hopefully with the darkness, no one would notice that the rear cargo ramp was lowered.

The coyote free fell for about 2 minutes, all the while aiming his body at his destination. At an altitude of 300 feet, he yanked hard on the ripcord on his shoulder. The Aerazur LALO (Low altitude, low opening) parachute deployed immediately, snapping him into a straight position. Yote used the few seconds of gliding he had to unsnap his oxygen mask and pull the quick release tabs on the tank. His next task was to attach the AN-PVS7B night vision goggles to the plastic mounting bracket on his helmet. Finally, he felt for the Heckler and Koch MK23 pistol and attached suppressor in the holster strapped to his thigh. Through the green hue of the night vision goggles, Yote picked out his landing site. As he pulled the risers on his chute, and flared for a landing, he could only pray that there weren?t any soldiers on the ground. He landed with a thud, rolling head over heels a couple of times before coming to a stop. Yote ranked the release strap on his shoulder harness and the black parachute tore away from his body. He ran quickly to retrieve it and hurriedly stuffed the nylon canopy into the oversized parachute bag. It wouldn?t do him much good to sneak all the way into the compound, only to have the whole mission scrubbed because some vigilant guard found a fluttering parachute.Yote unsnapped the retention lock on his holster and double checked his GPS. As expected, he was about 2 miles from the compound building. He gently pulled the pistol from his holster and crept slowly towards his destination.

Even though it was several thousand feet in the air, the drone of aircraft propellers was hard to miss. Natalya grabbed her night vision binoculars and scanned the sky intently. She noticed a medium sized airplane on the prescribed approach path to the airport. It looked a lot like a military transport plane. Natalya watched this aircraft intently, paying close attention to the rear of the plane. She saw what might have been a person, or a piece of debris fall away. Natalya zoomed in as far as the piece of electronic equipment in her paws would let her. She could almost make out a humanoid shape. Her fangs spread into a sinister grin. I knew it.

She turned to the female coyote who was tied to a chair in the room with her.

"Looks like your boyfriend is coming to save you after all. Unfortunately for him, he may not live to see you again."

Taylor Latrans snarled and thrashed violently in her bonds. Natalya?s lips parted into a sinister smile, the moonlight glistened off of her pearly white fangs as her eyes met the coyote?s. She reached for the radio on her belt.

"Alpha to Iron Wolf pack. Be advised we may have a coyote problem. Orders are to neutralize and capture! Any wolf who fires on the coyote will answer to me."

There was a flurry of replies as each pack leader acknowledged. Natalya turned her attention to her captive.

"It would be cruel of me to never let two lovers such as yourselves see each other one last time. Besides. I think I?ll get more enjoyment from slowly killing him as you watch."

Daniel Yote checked his GPS unit. He was right where he needed to be, although still a good 2 miles from the compound. Hindering things was the presence of several patrols in the area. Yote could sense that they were in a heightened state of alert. Fortunately his sharp hearing allowed him to avoid the soldiers. No sense in triggering a firefight with a heavily armed wolf pack. At least not with the weapons he had in his possession.

He noticed several sodium vapor lights about 100 yards to his right. Looking at his GPS again, he noticed an "H" with a circle around it. A helipad. There was a good possibility that if there was a helicopter there, it would be guarded. Yote decided to investigate anyway. It would beat walking the 2 miles.

The young Iron Wolf soldier paused as he lit a cigarette, and then turned his attention back to the lightly forested area beyond the helipad. Apparently there was some coyote that was supposed to be attempting to sneak his way into the compound. The wolf chuckled to himself at the thought. Everyone knew that a coyote didn?t stand a chance against a wolf pack. They were weak and ill equipped to defend themselves. And the Iron Wolf Brigade was the most elite infantry regiment around. Surely any invader would quickly find himself at the mercy of the pack.

The sound of snapping twigs snapped the wolf out of his reverie. He snapped his head in the direction of the noise, reaching for the G36 slung across his chest and bringing it to the "low ready". His concern instantly faded when he saw his pack mate step around the nose of the Mil Mi35 Hind F helicopter.

"Hey, you got a smoke?"

"Dog, I almost just shot you!"

"Relax. It?s probably just another drill. Even coyotes aren?t stupid enough to break in here. Besides" He jerked his thumb towards the helicopter.

"They can?t fly these things anyway. Now give me a smoke."

The wolf reached into his ammo pouch to retrieve a cigarette. Before his pack mate could reach for it, there was a loud popping sound and his head snapped back. He crumpled to the ground, unmoving. The other wolf froze in shock for a second before registering what had happened. Before he could act, a powerful paw clamped around his muzzle and forced his head back. There was a searing pain in his neck and he quickly lost his strength and collapsed, with his assailant gently laying him on the ground. As the wolf?s vision faded to black, he turned his head to look at his attacker. Much to his surprise, he was staring into the smirking face of a coyote.

Daniel Yote removed the serrated titanium knife from the throat of the wolf and looked pitifully at the body. His eyes were fixed in an expression of surprise and anger.

"Well, you did sign up for the wrong side." He said to the dead wolf.

Yote dragged the two bodies into the guard shack hopefully no one would notice what had happened until it was too late. He fished the pack of cigarettes out of the dead wolf?s pocket and lit one up.

"These things?ll kill ya. But I guess you don?t need to worry about that anymore." Yote chuckled, grabbed a radio from the soldier?s belt, and strode out the door to the parked Mil-35 attack helicopter.

The Mi 35 "Hind F" was a dinosaur of a helicopter, built by the Soviet Union years ago. It was designed as a flying armored personnel carrier, with guns, rockets and missiles, as well as the capacity to transport a fully loaded infantry squad. It was the mainstay of lupine aviation. The helicopter could fight its way through enemy armor, insert the soldiers riding in back, and fight its way out again. Yote smiled. It would be perfect for what he had in mind. He unsnapped the canopy and climbed into the gunner?s seat. Luckily for him, the Mi-35 could be controlled from either seat. He slammed the canopy down and latched it into place, and began the process of starting the engines. They coughed and sputtered a bit before roaring to life, followed quickly by the rotor overhead. In less than 2 minutes, the huge helicopter gently lifted off and skimmed the tops of the trees as Yote piloted it to his destination.

Natalya again surveyed her surroundings with her binoculars. All indications from her troops was that all was clear. She began to suspect that maybe she was seeing things earlier. She stepped outside on the balcony to get a better view, when her ears picked up a rhythmic thumping sound from the south. She turned the binoculars towards the direction of the sound. Sure enough, one of the Iron Wolf attack helicopters was speeding its way to the compound, all of its exterior lights blazing. The massive helicopter thundered overhead and began lazily circling the compound, descending a little with each pass. Natalya thought that it looked like a landing profile, or even an attack run... Suddenly a thought entered her mind. She remembered that Yote was an accomplished helicopter pilot. As the deadly helicopter settled into a hover above her, its pilot waved at her.

"SHIT!" She swore aloud and scrambled for her radio. Before she could reach it, the helicopter?s lights winked off. Then all hell broke loose.

In the helicopter?s cockpit, Daniel Yote completed his survey of the target area. He concluded that Taylor was probably being held in the elaborate 2 story cabin at the far end of the compound. His suspicions were confirmed when Natalya appeared on the second floor balcony. Well, he would just have to be really careful. Yote flipped the switch to arm the Mi-35?s weapons. He scanned over his available armaments. The Hind F carried 1200 rounds for its 23mm cannon, 40 S-8B anti tank rockets, 12 B-8v20 fuel air explosive rockets, and 8 AT-6 Spiral anti tank missiles. This particular Hind was indeed "loaded for bear."

Or wolf. Yote chuckled as he selected the arming switch for the S8 rockets and fingered the trigger. He delicately aimed the helicopter?s nose at what appeared to be a large fuel tank for the multiple humvees arrayed around it. There was a WHOOSH as the rockets left their launch tubes. Seconds later there was a massive fireball as the tank exploded. Yote then brought the nose to bear on the double wide trailer what he had guessed was the headquarters building for the Iron Wolf soldiers and launched two AT6 missiles. The trailer bowed outward as it exploded, ripping it in two. Then he launched missiles at another building, destroying it. The wolves? humvees were powerless to stop the marauding helicopter as they too, were caught in a hail of rocket and cannon fire. In an instant, another building fell prey to the helicopter?s missiles. On the ground, it was chaos. A few of the wolves fired their personal weapons at the helicopter, some ran away and were cut down my machine gun fire, and still others were trying to discern why one of their own helicopters was firing on them. Several pings and cracks on the canopy wind screen made Yote turn to look out on the ground. What he saw he found mildly amusing. Soldiers were desperately trying to bring the Hind down with their small arms. He admired their courage. It was stupid, but brave. Yote again selected the 23mm cannon and opened fire.

Natalya watched the one sided battle with a mix of horror, shock and rage. Yote was making short work of the most experienced and elite troops in the Commonwealth. She had definitely underestimated the coyote. Natalya had expected him to come running with his tail between his legs to save his girlfriend, maybe put up a little bit of resistance, but that?s why she had the Iron Wolves...

The ground shook as another building in the compound exploded. She knew that the soldiers had portable surface to air missile launchers in the barracks building, but that had been one of the first structures to go. Until then, they were completely at the mercy of one pissed off coyote and an armored attack helicopter. Natalya?s mind raced for a solution. Her guard force was being decimated and it would only be a couple of minutes before Yote turned his attention on her building. She tried to concentrate among the sounds of explosions, cannon fire and screams. She tried to recall what she knew about the Mi-35. It was an attack helicopter pilot?s dream, almost impossible to shoot down without the aid of an antiaircraft missile. It was armored in all the critical points except...

Suddenly, Natalya got an idea. She raced downstairs and unlocked the large gun safe in her room. She rapidly removed and assembled her M82 .50 caliber sniper rifle and snatched a box of ammunition from the shelf. Hefting the mammoth weapon in her arms, she bounded back up the stairs, into another room with a window that faced the compound. As she suspected, Yote was emboldened by his distinct advantage and kept the Mi-35 in a hover as he picked apart the remainder of the compound?s defenses. Natalya slapped the six inch long magazine into her rifle and sighted in on the helicopter?s rotor hub. She smiled at her sudden fortune.

"Attack helicopter 101, Danny boy. Always keep moving"

Yote again selected the machine gun and surveyed the destruction beneath him. Whatever security force the compound had was either dead or dying. Yote almost felt shameful, ruthlessly eliminating anyone and anything in his path. He turned his head toward the large house. Natalya had disappeared from the balcony, he presumed to go hide somewhere.

Suddenly the helicopter began to rumble and shudder. A warning buzzer sounded in the cockpit as the shaking increased. Yote looked up through the canopy. Even though it was night out, he could see gray smoke billowing from the rotor mast. There was a tremendous screeching sound as the rotor ground to a halt. Yote didn?t have time to react as the powerless helicopter began to spin and fall out of the sky. Fortunately for Yote, he was only 50 feet above the ground, so the helicopter remained relatively intact as it plowed into the dirt. Yote quickly unsnapped his harness and tore his helmet off. He grabbed the emergency handle and pulled. There was a small explosion as the canopy was ejected from the crashed helicopter. Yote grudgingly pulled himself from the helicopter and jumped out. He yelped in pain as he hit the ground, obviously he had injured his leg and back in the crash. He was able to walk though, and picked up a dead soldier?s G36 rifle as he made his way to the house. A few of the wounded soldiers tired to engage him as he went, and Yote simply finished them off with shots to the head. He stood at the front door of the house, which had been left open by the security troops. He couldn?t hear anyone inside. He cautiously stepped into the foyer and allowed himself a look around.

The house was eloquently decorated; the walls were an ivory white and were adorned with artwork. Above his head, a giant chandelier bathed the entryway in soft light. There was a staircase to his left, decorated in marble tile, and the house smelt pleasantly of tropical air freshener. Yote perked his ears and listened intently. He didn?t hear anything or anyone. He sniffed the air. There were many scents in the air, most of them lupine. He caught a hint of Taylor and an even stronger hint of Natalya.

"Well well, I see you?re still alive. Yet again. This is becoming quite a nuisance."

Yote?s head snapped up in the direction of the voice. Natalya stood above him, leaning on the top railing, looking down at him. She was still sexy as ever, clad in her ever present bodysuit. The polished leather gleamed in the light. Yote allowed himself a second to take in her well toned form. Without warning, the wolf hoisted herself over the railing, and leaped over, her boots making a loud thud as she landed.

Yote raised the rifle in his paws, but Natalya was expecting this. With her left paw, she knocked the barrel of the weapon away and kicked out, her boot striking Yote in the jaw. He yelped in pain and dropped the rifle. Quickly regaining composure, he jumped back out of her range and pulled his pistol from his thigh holster. He quickly brought it up and fired twice. Both bullets found their mark, but to Yote?s chagrin, they simply rebounded off of her armored suit.

"Leather reinforced with a Kevlar tri-weave." She explained. "Great for motorcycle riding and being shot."

Yote tossed his pistol on the ground and brought his fists up to his face. Natalya cocked her head and gave him a confused look.

"Really?" She asked incredulously "You really want to go paw to paw with me? Come on, Yotie, save yourself the embarrassment and just give up."

Yote said nothing, only stepping forward, ears flat with a slight snarl. Natalya gave a disgusted sigh and got into her own stance. Yote threw the first punch, which the wolf dodged. She retorted with a spinning kick, which caught the coyote on the side of his head. She quickly followed with a kick to Yote?s ribs, followed by swift punch in his stomach. As he staggered backwards, Natalya slammed her shoulder into Yote?s solar plexus. Yote let out a whoosh as the air was forced from his lungs. Natalya wrapped her arm around his chest and slammed him to the ground. Yote saw stars as his head smacked the floor. Natalya knelt down and grabbed the tuft of fur on the still stunned coyote?s head.

She pulled him up to his knees and pulled his knife from its sheath with her free paw. There was the sound of ripping fabric as she sliced the straps of his tactical vest and pulled it away. Natalya allowed herself a slight purr as she admired the coyote?s muscled back. She looped her arm around his neck and dragged him into an adjacent room. She spied a length of nylon climbing rope and snatched it up. She released her hold after making sure that he was still too weak to fight back.

"Now, I was just going to kill you, quick and painless. But since you?re being such a BITCH about it, I?m going to kill you slowly. And I?m going to make your girlfriend watch. And then I?m going to kill her just for the aggravation you caused me."

Yote was beginning to regain some of his strength back, but Natalya was an expert in this field. She forced him back on the floor, rolled him on his stomach and straddled him, pinning him down with her legs. She again allowed her eyes to take in his form. He was still as sexy as the day they met. She considered giving him one last "ride", smiling broadly at the thought.

She quickly and expertly bound Yote?s wrists, then grabbed him by the head fur and pulled him to his knees.

"Go ahead and struggle, Yotie." She cooed mockingly, scratching the coyote?s ears.

"You?re sexy like that."

Natalya landed a few more kicks into her captive; just to squelch any notions he may have had about trying to fight her again. She roughly hauled him to his feet and dragged the half conscious coyote up the stairs to the room where Taylor was being held. Natalya roughly threw Daniel on the concrete floor at Taylor?s feet.

"You really need to teach this idiot how to fight." Natalya sneered "He goes through this whole „hero? thing to rescue you, taking the trouble of massacring a whole company of the best combat troops in the Commonwealth in the process, only to get his tail handed to him at the one yard line."

Taylor looked down pitifully at Daniel, who only groaned weakly as he rolled onto his back. She rolled her eyes and shook her head.

"It's awfully romantic of you to storm the fort and rescue me, but I think the initiative is lost when the rescuer needs rescuing too." She gently placed a foot paw on Yote?s shoulder and shook him gently. Daniel only managed a weak smile in return, looking into her eyes. If they were both going to die, at least they would die together.

"So Natalya. You have both of us. You haven?t killed us yet. What are you waiting for?"

The wolf gave Taylor a confused look.

"What is this, a bad spy movie? You think there?s some elaborate death machine waiting for you two in which you escape at the last possible second?" Natalya picked Yote?s pistol up from the table she had set it down on and brought it inches from Taylor?s eye. Daniel?s eyes widened in fear as Natalya?s finger slid over the trigger.

And squeezed.

CIELO HARBOR AIRPORT

THAT SAME TIME

Rory gave a thumbs up and a salute to the MH-60 "pave hawk" helicopter. The coyote pilot saluted in return, and then rotated the nose of the helicopter as it quickly climbed away.

FT MC DOWELL

Daniel swore he jumped about 3 feet in the air when he heard the pistol?s hammer fall. To his surprise, the weapon didn?t fire. The firing pin fell on an empty chamber. Natalya?s fangs spread into a maniacal grin. Taylor didn?t flinch, didn?t show fear at all. In fact, she looked annoyed.

"As I was saying, there is no fancy death trap or anything like that. I?m simply debating which one of you I want to kill first. Seeing how you?re being so anti-climatic about it, I?m going to off your boyfriend while you watch." Natalya produced a short length of nylon rope.

"I?m going to choke my revenge out of you, Yotie. Then I?m going to use your pelt as a welcome mat." She hefted Daniel up to his knees and looped the rope around his neck.

"You?d better be sure this ti- ACK!" Daniel?s reply was cut off as Natalya pulled the rope tight. His boots scrabbled the floor as he struggled in vain to escape her grip.

"You know, it?s a shame." Natalya purred. "It?s a shame to waste such a fine hunk of meat."

Yote only gagged and coughed in reply, his vision was fading. Natalya?s grip was unrelenting. Taylor snarled and fought her bonds with all her might. She was not about to let her mate be taken from her like this. She let out a primal growl and pulled her arms. She thought she felt the knot loosen a bit. She tried it again. Come on, come on. Hang in there Danny

Yote gasped as he tried to take in air. His lungs were on fire; his vision was swimming with red fading to black. He would be dead in less than 2 minutes unless he did something. But he was too weak. With a defeated sigh, he closed his eyes and waited for the inevitable. Funny. He could have sworn he heard a helicopter. He felt a violent push and felt himself falling. His barely conscious mind was unable to grasp what was happening. Suddenly, he could breathe again.

Once Taylor got one paw free, the other one immediately followed. She turned her attention to Natalya and Daniel. She hadn?t noticed. With a primal snarl and growl, she charged the wolf, tackling her to the ground. Natalya released her grip on Daniel and tried to sidestep, but she was too slow. Taylor forced the wolf on her back and attacked with the only weapon she had- Her teeth.

Natalya let out a surprised yelp as the coyote bitch sank her fangs into the side of her head. She punched out, striking the coyote in her stomach and throwing her off. Taylor quickly shook it off and rushed the wolf again, this time dropping seamlessly into a Muay Thai fighting stance. Unlike her male counterpart, Taylor was well versed in paw to paw combat.

Daniel rolled on his side, his breathing returning to normal. Taylor and Natalya exchanged blow after blow, kick after kick, and neither one seemed to be ceding. Suddenly he heard that thumping sound again. Was that a chopper? Whose? The thumping grew louder. It was definitely a helicopter, and it was definitely hovering outside. Using every bit of his strength, he pulled himself to his feet. His wrists were still securely bound behind his back though, and that made things difficult. Yote turned his attention to the two females. They hadn?t seemed to notice.

Taylor?s balled up fist caught Natalya?s chin in a vicious uppercut. She yelped and fell to the floor, wincing in pain. Natalya knew the coyote bitch was closing in. She certainly was an admirable fighter. Natalya?s gaze fell upon the pistol she had dropped earlier. Before Taylor had time to react, Natalya snatched the pistol from the floor, rolled on her back and chambered a round.

Daniel saw what was happening. He yelled out as Natalya brought the now loaded weapon to bear on Taylor. He lunged forward as the first shot rang out. Taylor let out a shriek as the bullet impacted. She spun around and fell to her knees. Daniel dared not look, fearing the worst. But her whimpers told him that she was still alive. Seeing Yote charge across the room, Natalya deftly raised the weapon at him.

In an instant, the room was bathed in bright light and an extremely loud explosion. Daniel was blinded and crashed headlong into a wall. He heard the sound of heavy boots clomping on the floor, the sounds of a dynamic entry team. He also heard the sound of assault rifles being fired. In the deafening noise, he called out for his mate. There was no response. Then it was silent. He felt himself being hauled to his feet; the ropes on his wrists were cut and fell away. As his vision returned, he saw who had saved him. They were a squad of coyotes in military fatigues, obviously some elite unit. Two of them were huddled over Natalya, who lay sprawled on the floor in a pool of blood. His head darted frantically back and forth, looking for Taylor. As if to answer his question, one of the coyote soldiers held up a paw as he approached.

"The female „yote is going to make it. We?ve got her in the helo already." Yote looked at the soldier; he saw no unit patches or insignia, no name tags. Just black fatigues. The soldier seemed to sense Yote?s curiosity.

"We?re ghosts, sir. Desert Ghosts. Our helicopter will take you to Cielo Harbor; from there we have a civilian medivac chopper to transport you and your lady friend to the hospital. They know you?re involved with the government. They won?t ask questions. And neither should you." The coyote said with a slight smile.

"Well, umm... Thanks?" Yote replied.

"Nothing doing, brother. Nothing doing. Now come on. Let?s get out of here." Yote followed the coyotes up to the roof and into the waiting MH60. Sure enough, Taylor was already on board and beckoning him. He slid over to her and wrapped an arm around her. She gently laid her head against his chest and sighed deeply. The sun was beginning to rise over the Navajo Desert, filling the sky with a brilliant orange and blue glow. He nuzzled his head against that of his mate.

Today was a new day. Today Daniel Yote finally had something to live for.

Epilogue

Natalya slowly opened her eyes, squinting at the harsh light overhead. It took a minute for her vision to return and for her fuzzled mind to register her surroundings. She was in a hospital room of some sort, though from the looks of the walls it was no civilian facility. She tried to sit up but her body was wracked with pain in response- Obviously one or two of those rounds had found their way past her armored suit. She noticed a figure standing at the foot of her bed, and squinted to focus on the subject.

He was a tall, well built Lupine, with coat colors almost identical to the wolfess. He wore a very expensive-looking tailored suit and a very displeased expression.

"Welcome back to the world of the living, Natalya."

"Governor? Where- Where am I?" Natalya replied weakly

"You?re safe. Back in Cascadia. The coyotes wanted to give you the chair, but I convinced them to release you into our custody."

"I suppose I should thank you."

"I wouldn?t be so hasty. You have a lot of explaining to do. Do you realize how much damage you could have done if the „yotes had been able to question you? Our relationship is secret for a reason." The male wolf said with a low growl.

"I know, I screwed up. I underestimated Yote?s potential. And his connections. Give me another chance, and I will lure him to a place where he?s not so protected."

"You could see how I would be reluctant to give you a second chance, Natalya. However, I will grant you permission, as I wish to see that mongrel?s head on a wall even more than you."

Natalya gave him a skeptical look.

"Really?"

"Of course." The male replied with a slight smirk. "No one screws with the Alpha?s daughter and lives. If I had the means, I?d do it myself. But the closest thing I have is you. So. The original contract still stands. Once you are healed up here you are free to prosecute the target."

"Oh, I?ll prosecute him all right." Natalya replied with a grin.

"The method and manner is entirely up to you. I would advise you not to disappoint me again." The wolf said, turning to leave the room. "Good luck, Natalya."

Natalya smiled at the male as he blew a kiss at her.

"Thank you, father."