JKnight97 A/N:

So, it's been a while. RL has been keeping us both busy but we've managed to clear some major hurdles and write a short (over five thousand words) chapter to boot. To our readers, thank you for your patience. My friend is now enjoying summer (lucky bum) while I no longer have my licensing requirements hanging over my head. This means we may (italics mine, RL permitting) have more regular updates in the near future. For now, we hope you'll like this brief (not our usual ten thousand behemoths) update.

In this chapter, we're introducing a new concept. Send us info about your OC and we'll write them into the story. This chapter's guest zoosona is that of one of our editors, DancingLunarWolves. If you want to get to know more about him, this is his URL: https / www dot deviantart dot com/dancinglunarwolves/art/Dan-L-Wolve-665899261. The next chapter will be the other half of our wonderful editorial team, Stubat007. Cimar has been promised a special role for a future chapter.

Leave us a note in the comments in AO3, or send us a PM in FF, DA, or in Discord.

NightWolf0179 A/N:

Here we are, once again! New chapter, new day, and all that. XD

Been a while, but that seems to be the norm. We are working hard to get these out to all of you as fast as we can, but it is rather difficult. Life is full of surprises and I am realizing that now more than ever (either that or my life has just become more unpredictable). Nonetheless, we've persevered, and behold! Predator and Prey, chapter 9!

This one was an interesting challenge. We're coming up with a lot of this as we go, including the history, the timeline, for everything (including the collars). It's gotten to the point that there are a lot of things we have to consider and recall before we can implement many of our ideas. But I like that. Having a story so complex (at least for me; my writing has never been as large and ambitious in scope as it is now) is something I'm taking pride in. It takes a lot of time to make sure you not only get every last detail right and in line with the timeline, but to come up with an interesting story to hold up that timeline.

I was particularly happy when I got a review commenting on how well JKnight97 and I did on the history back when we first began this little project of ours. I'm honestly extremely proud of that portion and it really put a smile on my face when I read that comment. It truly was hard to get that right. Usually, history lessons like that can be boring and can really hurt a story, especially when it is normally better to show and not tell those sorts of things. But I believe it was necessary in this case and with all of the work that was put into it, that review really makes it worth it in the end.

Seriously, the reviews you guys are giving us really makes all of this worth it. Writing isn't easy and when you are so dedicated to getting every single word just right, like JKnight97 and I, it becomes something far more difficult and time consuming. But I love it, and I am glad you guys are joining us on this ride.

We'll be starting the next chapter soon, but first I need to help edit something else JKnight97 is working on. He's been working so hard on this story and I want to return the favor by lending a hand. But once that is over, him and I will start again and try to get the next chapter out as soon as we can!

Thanks again for taking the time to read our story, and thank you to our editors, DancingLunarWolves and Stubat007, for their keen eyes! I swear, the things we miss is embarrassing sometimes. XD

And now to address our reviewers:

Cimar: Thank you again for such high praise. Stu and Bonnie's story will be fleshed out in more detail in the next chapter.
InTheLionsDenOnDA: Thank you for the good luck wish as it has paid off. Unfortunately, the slave-running escapades of Stu and Bonnie Hopps will be in next chapter yet.
J Shute Norway: The art of Ocerydia was Stubat007's gift to us. We are blessed to have a generous and wonderful editor like him onboard. As for looking for Mama Wilde, you are unfortunately reading our minds which is a violation of the Inter-Galactic Charter Amongst Higher Beings. Please stop or else we will need to send some persons in black suits over to have a chat with you.
AStoryTellerBook: I'm glad we are still able to pull off a surprise, now and then. We hope to continue to do so in the coming chapters.
Daniel+Kim+Hansen: Thank you very much. It's comments like yours that is food for our souls. We promise to keep the story going until its inevitable conclusion.
Daria102205: Thank you for the comment. We hope you'll like this one as well.

Enjoy!

Disclaimer: All characters are owned by ©Disney except for original characters created by us. Any resemblance to actual persons or mammals, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

"We, who are prey, swear to uphold
Our glory over those of fang and claw
For we are the superior race
Whose destiny it is to rule over them
Their lives, we hold in our paws
Let them fear us."

-Chant of the Anti-Predator League

"Aaaahhh! Get away from me, you sick, crazy predator, you!" yelled Albert as he ran in fear through the underbrush, the thorns and brambles slowing him down as they caught on his clothes. He spared a hurried glance behind him at the large, elderly wolf with a crescent-shaped birthmark on his snout that was hot on his heels. His panicked eyes took in the collar around the canine's neck and the sharp fangs in his open mouth. His heart leapt into his mouth, causing him to redouble his efforts to no avail as the large mammal easily caught up in one large bound, his jaws snapping close with a terrifying click.

"Really, Master Albert," Daniel Wolve chided, as he picked up the young bunny with his paws, panting through his open mouth. "Playtime ended ten minutes ago and your father needs you. And I'm not the young pup I used to be." He grimaced as the bunny struggled against his grip. "You're making my job as this family's steward quite difficult."

"You'll never take me alive, you worthless pelt. Put me down this instant or else I'm going to report you to the police!"

"For what? Following your father's orders?" Daniel smiled gently. "Come now, young master. What kind of slave would I be if I didn't obey the orders given me?"

"Well, I'm ordering you to put me down!" The bunny pushed hard against the wolf, but being the tiny thing he was, it did nothing. Being held up in mid-air didn't help either.

"Ah, there seems to be something wrong with my hearing. That's the trouble with growing old. Your senses tend to dull with age. Be glad you're young, Albert, and that your bones don't creak like mine do when you're chasing after your friends and siblings. Why, if I had my way, I'd prefer eating your mother's fabulous pancakes, going fishing with your dad, and enjoying our species' monthly lunar dances. Alas," he sighed, bowing his head sadly, "current laws frown on such activities among prey and predator." Though, there were times when Stu and Bonnie were able to get away with including him when they went fishing.

He thought it best to not let Albert know that.

"Just put me down, you fleabag!" the young rabbit hollered. The old wolf merely shook his head, wondering who had filled this young buck's head with such filthy language. As he carried the lapine tucked underneath his arm back to the Hopps' home, his ears caught someone else's steps.

"Help! This savage wolf has me! Please, I'm scared!" Albert suddenly cried out. Daniel looked around, confused, as the bunny kit in his arms began to sob overdramatically.

"Who are you–" Daniel never finished his sentence, as he felt a slight sting in his left shoulder. The wolf dropped to his knees as Albert fell from his grasp. His body collapsed in a heap at the feet of the rabbit.

"You okay?" a tall deer said to the now smiling bunny kit. "Get over here quickly, away from that pelt." The deer arched an eyebrow at the gleeful expression on the bunny as he calmly walked over, but not before planting a kick in the prone wolf's side.

"Yep, about as good as I can be! How about you, mister?"

Just as the deer was about to reply, a large rabbit in suspender overalls and a baseball cap shoved him away from the fallen canine, knocking the dart gun out of his hoof.

"What the hell are you doing to Dan?" yelled Stu, as he bent over the wolf, removed the empty dart from his shoulder, and rolled him over. "Dan! Dan! Are you okay? Speak to me!" The only answer he received was the gentle snore of the sleeping canine, the soporific drug working exactly as it was supposed to, a goofy grin plastered on his muzzle.

"Just a minute!" The deer reached into his pocket and pulled out a wallet. "Inspector Hoofer! This wolf was attacking this kit and you're more worried about him? What's wrong with you!"

Balling his fists, Stu ground his teeth as he tried to calm down. "This wolf happens to be part of my household and he was doing what I had asked of him: to find my son and fetch him. Now, does my son look hurt to you? Hmm? Did this wolf look, in any way, like he was about to harm my kit? I'm sure he didn't."

"I was responding to the frightened call of a young prey," the buck replied haughtily. "I was simply following procedure. If there's anyone you should be angry at, it's your son for misleading me!" He pointed at the recalcitrant young kit who was whistling a nameless tune, his paws in his pocket, staring innocently up into the sky. "If you're going to file a complaint, I'll be happy to send you the bill for the sleeping dart. Those things aren't cheap, you know? Plus, spreading false alarms is considered a crime and is punishable by a fine, jail time, or both!" He angrily eyed Albert who suddenly cowered at the mention of jail.

"There's no need to go there," Stu sighed. "He's just a kit who needs some talking to… especially with my belt in the woodshed, bent over my knee," he angrily eyed his son who began to sweat profusely. "Just… why are you here?" He asked exasperatedly, turning back to the deer. "I don't take too kindly to strangers coming in unwelcomed and shooting my workers. You said you were an inspector. Well, I thought I had already gotten everything inspected. What are you here for?"

"Gotta check your wolf's collar. Can't have these things malfunctioning or next time your son will be in danger if this wolf gets a hankering for rabbit." The deer bent down and plugged in a small monitor to the collar around Dan's neck with a cable. The screen lit up with the collar's battery power and the information it had been logging ever since its activation.

"Keep it up and I might just have a hankering for venison, Hoofer." Stu angrily balled his paw at the deer's clear bigotry. "It's mammals like you that are the cause of the problem. You're stupidly biased against these innocent predators. I've been around them for most of my life and they've never attacked me or any of my children. Do the inspection and get off my property."

The buck was about to retort but Dan suddenly began to stir. Nervously unplugging the cable, he quickly backpedalled from the large wolf. "I'm done here, but I strongly suggest you replace that collar with the latest model. The regulators on these old ones are temperamental and sometimes don't work properly. The predator might not even get shocked at all."

"Yeah, yeah," Stu muttered as he waved off the retreating Inspector. "As if I'm going to spend for something just to make sure they get shocked. It's an outrage that they are even required to wear them at all!" Stu knelt down next to the wolf as he stirred. "Hey, Dan. Taking a nap on me, eh? This is a first. I'll have to tell Bon about this." He weakly chuckled. The wolf just groaned and squinted his eyes. "Yeah, okay, maybe not the best time to joke. Are you hurt?"

"I'm… just tired. So very tired." He yawned. "What happened? Where's Master Albert?" His paw scratched the spot in his shoulder where the sleeping dart had hit.

"Don't worry about Albert, he's here. Let's just get you inside, first, and then we'll talk." Stu said as he helped him to his feet.

"But Master Stu–"

"Stu," Stuart corrected, "Please, for the hundredth time, just call me Stu. Will you ever stop calling me Master? We're family, Dan. I've known you ever since I was just knee high to ya," he warmly smiled. "Don't understand why you started saying that in the first place. I'm no Master."

"It's the law," the canine sighed. "And I don't want to cause any trouble for you."

"Trouble's a part of life. There will always be trouble. What matters is that we don't let trouble change us. We don't let something change who we are. So please, just Stuart. Stu would even be better."

"How about Stuart Little?" Daniel grinned, his eyes lighting up as he patted the elder buck on the head. "You're certainly small enough."

Stu groaned at the wolf's attempt at humour. "Keep that up and I'll be sorely tempted to put a muzzle on you," his jocular tone betraying the mock threat.

"Ah, please no, Massah! Anything but de muzzle. I be a good slave wolf, I be!"

"Shut up, Dan," Stu chuckled as he playfully shoved his canine companion who quickly returned the favour, sending the smaller mammal staggering. With a playful gleam in his eye, Stu quickly recovered and tackled the older mammal; engaging in a bit of a wrestling match. The wolf tried to retaliate until Stu found his weakness.

"Mercy! Uncle! I plead 'Uncle'!" cried the laughing wolf as he found himself on his back once again, his hind paws kicking about uncontrollably as Stu mercilessly tickled his tummy.

"Stuart Virgil Hopps! What are you doing rolling about in the dirt? And where is Albert?"

"Oh! Hey, honey bun! I was just–"

"Don't you 'honey bun' me, mister! I send two grown mammals out to fetch a small kit and I find both of you acting like a couple of five-year olds! Honestly, that's no way to behave!" The matriarch of the Hopps' household bore down on the two of them, a dangerous look in her eye.

Running a sweaty paw around his collar, Stu meekly replied, "Uh, sweetie, I was about to–"

"His ticklish spot is right here, Dan," she pointed out as she poked Stu's side. Stu leaped a good three feet into the air the moment his wife touched his sensitive side.

"Don't do that!" Stu gasped, breathing heavily as he wiped the sweat from his brow. "Bu-but I didn't actually lose Albert, did I? He was just–"

"Relax, Stu, I can see him hiding by the log over there." Dan chuckled. "He's never been out of my sight. Well, at least ever since I woke up."

"You nearly gave me a heart attack, Bon, I swear," he groaned. "Thanks, Dan. I'm a bundle of nerves. I should've been paying better attention."

"What do you mean, 'just woke up'? What happened to Dan?" Bonnie grilled her husband in alarm as she clutched his arm.

"Some inspector came by and thought Dan was attacking Albert. See this dart?" He grumbled, showing her the offending object. "Shot him with that; put him right to sleep. Should get rid of this before any of the kits mess with it." Stu rubbed his face. "I just don't understand why this is happening. Dan's never done anything wrong and he's being treated like a criminal wherever he goes. He isn't even safe on our own property! Of course, it didn't help that Albert caused a scene." He glared in the direction of where his son was hiding.

"Why was he even here? We've already been inspected for everything. Why, for once, even our stockroom got the green light earlier this year. Are they gonna start inspecting the height of my petunias now?"

"It's those damned collars; he plugged it into some device and checked something on it. No idea what for."

"That happened while I was… asleep?" The wolf shook his head. "Oh, I'm just loving this thing!" Sarcasm dripped from his voice. "Can we go back to the house? I'm still feeling exhausted."

"Sure, bud. Let's go. That includes you, Albert!" Stuart called to his son. "I love you, but you can bet you're in trouble."

"Unca Dan!"

The large wolf's eyes widened in horror as he eyed the small, grey bullet streaking towards him. He barely managed to keep his balance as the young doe collided with him.

"Judith Laverne Hopps! What did I say about being careful with Dan? He's not a spring chicken anymore!"

"That's all right, Bonnie," the wolf chuckled as he mussed the head fur of the bunny in question who was busy burrowing her head into his large paunch as she hugged his waist. "I don't mind her eagerness. I know that's the way you rabbits show affection."

"Still, you could get hurt," she persisted, noticing how much more grey there was in his once shiny black coat. "Getting old tends to make mammals like us a bit more breakable."

"Tish-tosh! She'd never do anything that would harm me. Isn't that right, young mistress?" he beamed down at the bunny who was eagerly hopping up and down in place.

"Unca Dan! You promised that you'd help me train to get into the BPD! I've been patiently waiting for you these last five minutes!"

"Now, now, young miss," he leaned down to boop her nose, "I always keep my promises, don't I?" Judy vigorously nodded her head at him causing him to chuckle at her antics. "Alright. Calm down. We don't want your head flying off now, do we? Unless you need me for anything else, Stu?"

"No, go right on ahead. You're the only one who can keep her under control. She's a pawful, that one." Stu smiled as the duo walked off paw-in-paw to the rear of the property where he knew the wolf had helped Judy build an outside obstacle course. The buck shook his head. He really didn't like the idea of his nine-year old daughter wanting to work in the Bunnyburrow Police Department. The elder bunny figured it was just something that caught her fancy. He was glad his best friend was there to humour her until she got over her phase.

Sighing, he turned to enter his house. Stu still had to deal with Judy's littermate whose hatred for predators surprised him almost daily.

"Bon… what do we do with him?"

The smell of a crackling fire filled Stuart's nose, reminding him of simpler times as he sat in his easy chair. "I know I say this each time, but I'll never understand why he's like this! We haven't taught him any differently from the rest of the brood, and when he's good, he's great! But mention the word predator and it's like he's flipped a switch. I swear, sometimes, I think he enjoys tormenting predators."

"I don't know, Stu. Dan's been here ever since his birth; Albert's always been exposed to at least one predator. He's been around Daniel more than some of his own siblings." Bonnie wiped some spilt milk off her coffee table. "Could just be a phase, Stu. Surely you remember your emo phase in high school?"

Stuart huffed. "That is not the current topic. We've got to do something about him, Bonnie; it doesn't feel right. The way he behaves, the way he treats any predator… it feels like it's more than fear. And what about Dan? Things are not going to get any easier for him. They're bad enough already; he doesn't need Al tormenting him on top of everything else."

"This isn't entirely about Albert now, is it? You wish you could help them all, don't you?" She eyed her husband as she spoke with a soft voice. "The Greys weren't your fault. They could still be okay, hun. I admire your compassion, but we barely even have the money to get Dan a new place in Deerbrooke. There are too many predators for us to help with the little money we have. But it all could turn out to be okay. We can't predict the future."

"Zootopia, Bon. Just look at what happened to Zootopia. I've… I've just got this feeling. Like something bad is about to happen. We need to get him out as soon as possible. You sure that house we found for him is good enough?"

"You're his best friend, you know him better than the rest of us. Or you could, you know, finally tell him what we're doing, make sure he likes it. That'll make his day."

"He won't want to leave us, you know that. He'll refuse. Always does. "

"What're you going to do? Force him?" She shook her head. "Can you blame him, though? Who does that wolf have left? It's just us, and he loves all of us with every bone in his old body. Would you really be saving him by sending him away? No one wants to die alone." She sat on the armrest next to Stu, wrapped her arm around his shoulders, and leaned her head against his. "He even cares for little Al, despite how that kit treats him."

"What would you do if it were me? If I was the predator in a country that hates me? Wouldn't you want to save me?"

She closed her eyes. "Stu… I'd want you to be happy."

With the house finally quieting down and the rumbling of close to six hundred pawsteps finally ceasing, Dan knew, even without looking out the window, that the sun had finally set over the hills. The Hopps family kept a strict regime that was like clockwork; tied to the movements of the stars above. Even Dan was a bit predictable in his old age, with the coming of night routinely seeing him make one final stop to the washroom before he lay down. It was one of the few chances he got to relax. As much as he loved his home, most days the neverending ruckus of a two-hundred-seventy-eight-strong rabbit household pounded into his head like a sledgehammer. He relished the deafening silence as the warren settled down for the night.

Stretching as he stood up, he made his way to the only washroom that he could stand upright in. He breathed in the strange mixture of rabbit, old wood, various perfumes and colognes that he had become accustomed to; its familiarity providing comfort that he was loved by a family of prey. At least most of them. He shook his head at the memory of the hurtful words slung by Albert earlier in the day. He wondered where the poison was coming from. Most of his other littermates were tolerant, civil, or loving, just like Judy. He smiled at the thought of the young bunny. Even though his bones ached at the end of the day, he still found the energy to spend time with her as she more than made him feel welcome. With her, there wasn't a doubt he was family.

The memory of the many wonderful times he spent with the young doe brought a warm sense of belonging with it. He sniffed as he fought back a tear. In so doing, he sensed something was off. His hackles rose as he took another long whiff of the air around him. All of the kits were supposed to be in their rooms, deep below his paws, but he could clearly smell Albert as if he were a few rooms away. The scent was possibly five, maybe ten minutes old. One thing he was proud of was that his sense of smell hadn't diminished despite his advanced years. If anything, he could easily distinguish each and every member of the Hopps family by their individual odour.

Worried as to what the little scamp was up to, he followed his spoor outside where Albert's scent mixed with several foreign ones that had never stepped paw onto the Hopps' property until now. Growing more alarmed with each passing second, he debated as to whether he should alert Stu to the intruders but was worried that someone may have kitnapped his young charge, leaving little time for inaction. Quickly making up his mind, he took off after the unknown intruders.

As he followed their trail, he didn't see any signs of a struggle. Could it be he had been rendered unconscious? Or was there something even more sinister a-paw?

The trail took him to one of the Hopps' many cornfields, this one being one of their larger ones. The corn towered high above the wolf's head as he crept ever closer with the scent he was following becoming much stronger with every few steps. It wasn't long until he could hear voices, too, if only faintly. Inhaling deeply, he tried to take stock of the other mammals' scents. More rabbits. A sheep or two. All quite young as well. He was careful to keep downwind of them as he tracked them.

In the dim moonlight, his night vision allowed him to easily see the shadowy figures as they gathered in a circle around a small boulder, flashlights in their paws. Dan could clearly see little Albert, completely unharmed, wearing an ominous smile on his face. The wolf shook his head in frustration. "Master Al, what's gotten into you?" he whispered, opting to stay in the shadows to watch the group before he made himself known.

Albert scampered up to the top of the rock, put his paw over his heart, and to Dan's surprise and consternation, began to recite an eerily frightening pledge:

"We, who are prey… swear... uphold
Our glory over... fang and claw
For... superior race
Whose destiny...rule over...
...lives, we hold in... paws
… fear us."

The wolf had to stop himself from growling as Albert and his cohorts chanted out loud. Even though he was unable to hear all the words, he was able to discern its sordid meaning and it made his fur stand on end. Once they finished, they resumed talking in hushed voices, making it nearly impossible for the old wolf with his weakened hearing to make out anything besides the odd word here and there. Daniel decided to creep a little closer, crawling on all fours to make as little noise as possible.

Though, he was also not nearly as light on his paws as he once was. He cringed and cursed under his breath as one of his paws cracked a stick underneath his weight, instantly gathering the attention of Albert and his little group. "Wh-what was that?" fearfully bleated one of the sheep.

At that point, the wind shifted and carried his scent to the group.

"Predator!" they screamed in terror as they scattered to the four winds, Albert blindly taking off in the direction of the river, leaving his flashlight behind. Growing increasingly annoyed at the situation he found himself in, Dan took off after the fleeing kit. "Master Al! Stop this nonsense at once!"

"Get away from me, you monster! Leave me alone!" Albert cursed back, darting through the tall grass, leaving only his long ears visible to the wolf behind him. He could barely see three feet ahead of him as he stumbled through the grass, but he felt exhilaration pumping in his veins that made him feel truly alive. The fact that he was able to make trouble for the old coot was like maple syrup on a fluffy stack of pancakes topped with whipped cream: delicious.

Gasping for breath, Daniel pleaded, "Albert, please! I'm too old for these shenanigans!" The aged wolf cursed Father Time for the burden that had been placed on him. He swore the young kit found a sick, perverse pleasure in his suffering, and his advanced age only made it easier for the little demon to take advantage of him.

Albert made a beeline for the river, knowing that if he could make it there, the old canine would lose his scent and then he could sneak back to the house without his father knowing. Then, it would be his word against a predator's. He was fairly sure no one would believe the old fool if he couldn't prove that he had been out of the house.

Albert was quite used to swimming in the river, but had yet to swim in this section of its waters, but he imagined it was as tame as every other part he had been in. Flushed with victory, he blindly rushed into the darkness once he smelled the river close by. He raced along the edge of the riverbank and jumped right in.

"Albert, no!" Dan yelled when he saw the young buck enter the water with a splash, his head hitting the tree root sticking out of the riverbank that even the wolf had trouble seeing amidst the darkness and moon-lit river. With no hesitation, he dove into the water as he spied the bunny's unconscious form sinking.

Gritting his teeth as his heart churned relentlessly in his ears like an overheated locomotive, he wrapped his arms around Albert and began to drag him back to the riverbank, the cold water biting at his skin as his thinning fur failed to protect him from it. Just before he was safely ashore, a high pitched beeping pierced his ears, warning him that he was about to get shocked. He tossed Albert to safety on the riverbank and prayed he'd survive the blow to his frail system. Whimpering, he squeezed his eyes shut as the sound continued to escalate in volume. He instinctively dove underwater to get away from it, but just as he submerged himself, he realized his error as the pain of a thousand needles stabbed at his neck, tightening every muscle in the wolf's body. The agony continued to stab at him until his heart finally gave out. The water's icy tendrils pulled his lifeless corpse further and further along the river as his body gave up its life-giving heat.

His final addition to the world bubbled to the surface and was swallowed by the unforgiving cosmos.

"I found his body about five miles downriver from where he had thrown Albert to safety," Stu sadly recounted, wiping a tear from his eye. "It was cold and stiff. I don't know if he drowned or if that damn collar did him in. The battery was drained when I found him. There were several metal barbs poking at his neck; the fur around them was burnt to a crisp."

"Is that why you never got anymore slaves after Dan?"

Stu nodded as he took his cap off and brushed his thinning head fur back. "You know predators faced intense discrimination back then. Earning a decent living was difficult. Some had no choice but to turn to crime in order to survive, which only created more problems for them.

"We were one of the few farms that willingly hired predators; in fact, we had one of the largest predator workforces in our county. We treated them with dignity, gave them fair wages, and honest work. They were a great help to us when most of you were unable to help around the farm like your siblings do now. More than that… every predator we hired was family to us.

" When the Slave Collar Law came into effect in Zootopia, it only made things easier for non-predators to further discriminate against them. By the time our government adopted it, all predators had truly become slaves.

"Before the Law came into effect here in Bunnyburrow, we helped all of our predator employees find homes outside of BunnyBurrow. Luckily, most of them had family and friends that helped them out. But Dan… Dan was alone. We were his pack, he'd say, and refused to talk about it any time we brought up the subject."

"Why, Dad?"

Stu sighed. "It's the way of his species. Wolves stick together and for a wolf to be apart from his pack means that he's been kicked out by them. Being a lone wolf is a death sentence. The loneliness eats at them until it kills 'em." Stu hung his head. "After a while, I realized how much I was inadvertently hurting him by trying to convince him to leave. We were all he had left and he was willing to lose everything, to become a slave in the eyes of our government and most of Bunnyburrow's citizens, just so he could stay with us."

"What about what happened with Albert that night? Did he say anything?"

The buck snorted. "As if! Didn't take a genius to figure out that Dan went looking for that rapscallion. Albert tried to lie to me but I discovered the traces of the other mammals' tracks on our property. Your mom told me that his clothes were wet when she went to find him the next day and she found some bloody rags in the dirty clothes hamper as well. I followed Dan's and Al's tracks to the river's edge where I saw the blood on the tree root sticking out along the bank. I suspect Al hit his head as he jumped in and Dan went in to save him. There was also a piece of Albert's shirt caught on Dan's claws." Stu stopped talking for a moment, looking out across the grass as he recollected himself. "Never found out who his accomplices were, but I wouldn't be surprised if he still hangs out with them to this day."

"Why'd you wait until now to tell me this? After all of these years?"

"Your mom and I thought it best not to get the family riled up against your brother, and we didn't have a certain daughter hiding a couple foxes in our barn." Stu chuckled weakly. "We were hoping Albert would grow out of it, but, it's only gotten worse," the bunny grimaced. "Those trips into town are becoming more frequent. I don't like the group he's hanging around with. But he's an adult now; his own mammal. We can't tell him what to do like he was a kit again."

Nodding, Judy stared in the direction of her home. The old wolf had been very important to her and, up until now, she knew very little about what had happened that fateful night he had died. She almost felt betrayed by her parents' decision not to tell them, but she now understood why they hadn't. "With so many kits, dad, you knew something like this was inevitable. No matter what you do, sometimes, kits just turn out bad." She stood up as she motioned him to follow. "I'm going to go cook them some food. They've been through so much, and while I'm not even sure if Nick will be able to eat anytime soon… I know Finnick will and I want to at least make them comfy. Think they'd like pasta?"

"Don't use the main kitchen. Use the one in this barn. Don't want your brother to get suspicious about you cooking predator food all of a sudden."

"Wait, we have predator food and a kitchen... a full kitchen, in this barn?" She tugged on her ears, the stress of today finally getting to her and giving her quite the headache. And she thought she was a rebel! Rubbing her temples once more, she cringed to think of what would happen once the adrenaline finally let go of her. Exhaustion was going to pile on her like a ton of bricks. "Where? How?"

Standing up, Stu silently beckoned her to follow him to the back of the barn. After moving some of the junk piled around an area, he revealed a locked cellar door. "Here," he said, brandishing a key. "This is the only one. Make sure you don't lose it."

"What else is down there, dad?" Judy asked, one ear half-cocked questioningly. "What else haven't you told me? Just what have you been getting yourself into? How much have you been hiding? You know how I feel about the way predators are treated in Bunnyburrow. Why didn't you let me in on this operation sooner?"

Not saying a word, the older rabbit bent down, unlocked the doors and signaled her to follow him.

Judy sighed and followed, ducking her head as she muttered to herself, "What have I gotten myself into?"