Fox in Wolves den...

The car slowed surely... pulling into a corner.

Kai felt his stomach knot as they turned onto a long, private drive lined with black iron gates. Beyond them, a towering mansion loomed against the snowy night, its windows glowing faintly like watching eyes.

Kai pressed his fingers tightly together, trying not to look as nervous as he felt. He glanced around.

“This is a mistake,” he murmured. “I should go....this isn't my world."

Alexander, sitting beside him, gave a soft chuckle. “If it was a mistake, you’d be gone already. Many people make mistakes. Many too stupid to realize mistakes are like scars. The more mistakes you make the harder they are to conceal."

The door opened before Kai could answer. A man in a dark coat held it politely, his face expressionless. Kai hesitated — and then, against every screaming instinct, he stepped out.

The cold hit him hard, but it wasn’t what made him shiver.

Inside the mansion, everything was sharp edges and silence. Marble floors, high ceilings, dark wood polished to a cold shine. A world far above anything Kai had ever touched. The wealth...the influence...the Power...he could feel it all.

He followed Alexander through the hallway, feeling like an animal who’d wandered into the wrong territory. Like a fox accidentally throwing themselves into a wolves den. A dark wolves den...

“Sit,” Alexander said softly, motioning to a black leather couch near the fireplace. His pale eyes caught Kai’s like a net. “You look like you’re about to bolt. We can't have that now can we?"

Kai clenched his jaw but sat, his back rigid. He felt like his jaw would crack from how toghtly he was clenching it. His eyes holding something darker than Alexander's if that was possible of course...

Alexander poured himself a drink something dark and expensive-looking. He leaned against the table, watching Kai the whole time.

“You’re not from here,” Alexander said simply. “That much is obvious.”

Kai didn’t answer.

“Why Moscow?” Alexander pressed, voice smooth. “People don’t just… land here by accident. Especially not cute young adults like yourself. You're just figuring out the world and you throw yourself into its pits? Quite idiotic ..."

Kai swallowed hard. “I had to leave Japan.” His voice cracked a little on the word had.

Alexander’s eyes flickered with something perhaps curiosity, maybe. Or hunger or even obsession. Kai felt like the man was familiar. Those eyes seemed so familiar yet so far at the same time it was driving him mad.

“Family trouble?” Alexander guessed quietly. “Or something worse? Perhaps something bloody? I have a few guesses. Not all of them are saintly."

Kai looked away, jaw tightening. He wasn’t here to spill his past. He just needed to survive, find work, start over. But now, somehow, he was sitting in front of Moscow’s most dangerous man, and he didn’t even understand why.

Alexander took a slow sip of his drink, studying him over the rim of his glass studying Kai like Kai was an object...a piece of art to be observed.

“You look delicate,” he said softly. “Like you’d break easily. But I don’t think you would, Kai. Foxes are tricky. perhaps too tricky for their own good..."

Kai’s heart jerked. He knows my Name!?

Before Kai could speak, Alexander added calmly, “I had someone check. You’re not the only one who can disappear into a new city, you know. calm down kiddo."

Kai’s mouth went dry.

Alexander smiled faintly, setting his glass down. “Relax, little fox. I’m not here to threaten you. Not yet. I wouldn't want to get my hands bloody."

Kai sat frozen, heart pounding in his ears. Not yet!? What the hell did that even mean!? Is he going to kill kai later!?

Alexander walked over, slow and smooth, and reached out his rough fingertips brushing a lock of Kai’s orange hair behind his ear. Kai managed to glimse a few tattoos on his hand but only managed to make one out. it was a small eagle. Kai was confused but didn't comment on the tattoo.

“You ran a long way to get here, little fox. But running is only gonna tire you." Alexander murmured. “But you should know something.” His eyes sharpened, almost fond. Why.... “Wolves always notice when a fox steps into their den. Especially a fox so pretty...and fragile. enough to break by just a flick of a man's finger...”

Kai shivered, not sure if it was fear or something darker curling in his chest.

For the first time since leaving Japan, he realized something dangerous.

He wasn’t running anymore

He was caught....caught too quickly...

The fire crackled softly, the only sound in the room.

Kai sat frozen on the leather couch, every muscle tight, unsure if he should speak, move, or run.

Across from him, Alexander Volko poured himself another drink, the glass glinting amber in the dim light. For a long while, he didn’t speak he just watched the fire like it held secrets only he could read.

Finally, Kai couldn’t stand the silence anymore. He had to say something. Anything.

“Why me?” he asked softly, voice barely above a whisper. “Why pick me up? I'm no one. I'm nothing to you, sir."

Alexander’s eyes flicked to him, sharp and pale. But instead of answering, he let out a quiet, humorless laugh. It was dark...

“Do you know what it’s like,” Alexander murmured his voice and expression as hard as steel, “to build everything you have from nothing?”

Kai swallowed hard. His throat tightened.“…No.” he managed to choke out but barely.

Alexander sipped his drink, then set it down carefully. “I grew up on the streets, Kai. No father. A mother who disappeared when I was young... probably dead of course, though no one ever told me... I learned early that kindness was a weakness. You either bite first, or you bleed...from the bite of your enemies. Your foes."

Kai felt his heart thump painfully. He hadn’t expected this...a glimpse into the man’s past, raw and unpolished.

Alexander leaned back, eyes narrowing slightly. “You remind me of someone I used to know. Someone soft, out of place… someone who didn’t belong in the cold.” His voice lowered. “I couldn’t save them...."

Kai’s breath hitched. His heart felt even heavier than before. Like a weight he couldn't understand...

Alexander tilted his head, watching him closely. “So when I saw you walking past my building, alone, looking like you wanted to disappear yet I wondered. If I reached out, would you run? Or would you stay?”

Kai’s chest tightened. He hadn’t known anyone was watching. He thought he’d been invisible, just another shadow on the street. Perhaps meant to be gone? Now... everything will change.

Alexander smiled faintly, but it didn’t reach his eyes. “You stayed, Kai....you didn't run. You weren't so scared of the flame instead you leaned into it...like a child..."

Kai’s fingers trembled slightly against the edge of the couch. “What… what do you want from me?”

For a moment, Alexander didn’t answer. His gaze softened, almost thoughtful, but there was still steel under the surface.

“I don’t know yet,” Alexander admitted quietly. “But you’re here now. And I think you’re just as curious about me as I am about you. Perhaps...i want to protect you...to understand you. But to do that you must understand me too. And I'm a hard man to understand, little fox. Perhaps too difficult for my own good..."

Kai’s throat tightened. Was that true? Was that why he hadn’t run?

The firelight flickered between them, painting shadows on the walls. Like the shadows were taunting both of them.

“I’m not here to hurt you,” Alexander said softly but coldly. “But I won’t let you leave easily either.”

Kai’s heart pounded. He didn’t know if he was afraid… or if something in him wanted to lean closer to the man instead of running away?

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