Fox Fate (27 page)

"Yes, Lara. That doesn't mean I like it."

"Are you going to stop fighting?"

I huffed. I really wasn't happy. "Yes," I said in a small voice. "Except-"

"Let's talk about the enforcers laying hands on you."

"Okay," I said slowly.

"I want to share a secret with you."

"All right."

"This is very hush-hush," she said. "There are a few who suspect this, but no one knows."

"All right," I said again.

"Sometimes, not often, but sometimes, I make mistakes."

It was my turn to bark a laugh. "Was that an apology? That was a pretty crappy apology."

"I should have talked to you. We should have come to an agreement before leaving Madison. I shouldn't have been heavy-handed with you, although if we couldn't reach agreement, we shouldn't have gone."

I thought about it and agreed that was fair. "But what agreement?"

"If that had turned into a fight, I want your knives, Michaela."

"Really?"

"I don't want you on the front lines," she said. "You are best when you are fluid."

"Like our fight with the vampires."

"Right. If we're surrounded by enemies, I don't want you as part of the circle. I want you in the middle, and then you take advantage of opportunities, and you
temporarily
patch a weakness. You can't stop a charge, but you can sure do a lot of damage supporting the rest of us."

She'd never said anything like that before.

"But," she added. "One general."

"You."

"And if I am unable, Elisabeth, Karen, Serena, and Portia. After that, you."

"Ahead of the other enforcers?"

"Yes. But I want you to recognize that even Monique can stop a charge better than you can. If it gets down to the point that Monique is stopping charges, she is absolutely going to need your help, but she can do things you can't."

I huffed but then nodded.

"If the enforcers ever move you like they did at Carissa's, I want you to let them."

"They sometimes try to do that when they shouldn't. They sometimes need reminders I am Alpha. Are you telling me to back off? I don't believe that's what you really want."

"You knew they were doing what they were doing on my orders, Michaela."

"This summer, Elisabeth tried to forcibly haul me out of Zoe's apartment. Even she admitted she was wrong."

Lara grew quiet.

"I'll let them haul me off the front lines," I offered. "I will not allow them to haul me away from a battle. We fight together or we flee together. That's the deal I'm offering."

"Once they pull you from the front lines, you will remain where they put you."

"And they will take their hands from me."

"Serena is going to keep a hand on you, and you know it."

"That's not the same as preventing movement. My reactions are faster than hers. If something comes at me, I need to be able to duck."

"You're right." Then she lifted my lips to hers. It was a sweet kiss. When she released me, she said, "Now, let's talk about a run alone."

Running

I stood on the porch and fluffed out my fur. Beside me, Serena stretched, then shook her own fur.

She was a beautiful wolf, and I nudged her. In response, she gave me a quick lick.

I hated it when they did that, and she panted at me, a wolfy laugh. But then she nudged me before lying down. I nudged her back and then, with a quick bark of joy, I leapt from the porch and ran, full out, for the woods.

She didn't give chase.

I hadn't felt this free in a long, long time.

I ran a mile before coming to a stop, winded, but not so winded I couldn't control my breathing. I cocked my head, listening.

I heard the wind in the trees.

I heard the usual assortment of very late autumn birds.

Two hundred yards to my west, I heard a squirrel scampering up a tree, and then a second one, chasing the first.

I heard my own heartbeat.

I didn't hear a single wolf heartbeat. I didn't hear a single wolf moving through the trees and crushing the leaves. I didn't hear a chuff or a huff or a howl. The only breathing I heard was my own.

Other than a few small woodland creatures, I was the only soul for a mile around.

I knew further away there were wolves. Back at the house, Nora, Scarlett, and Shelton were watching the pups, and Serena was nearby as well. My mate and every other enforcer in the pack were out in these woods somewhere, somewhere near the edge of our territory.

Protecting me.

I knew that. But I also knew that here, I was alone. Serena, a mile behind me, was the nearest. I would have to travel miles in any other direction to encounter another wolf.

I could, if I wanted, slip away from all of them. They wouldn't even know I had done it, if I managed to avoid Gia's alarms. I wasn't sure I'd be able to do that.

And I wouldn't.

After all, I was home.

I fluffed out my fur again, and then I began running again.

I wondered if I could find my mate out in these woods. I decided I should try.

About the Author

A writer by avocation, Robin has a renaissance interest in many areas. A bit of a gypsy, Robin has called a few places home and has traveled widely. A love of the outdoors, animals in general and experimenting with world cuisines, Robin and partner share their home with a menagerie of pets and guests, although sometimes it is difficult to discern who is whom.

Robin can be reached via email as
[email protected]
. Robin's web site is
http://www.robin-roseau.com
.

Works by Robin Roseau

The Madison Wolves Series

Fox Run

Fox Play

Fox Mate

Fox Afield

Fox Revenge

Fox Dish

Fox Lost

Wolf Watch

Wolf Ways

Wolf Women

Fox Short Stories

Hunting Pups

Fox in the Water

Fox Rematch (set after Fox Mate and Fox Afield)

Fox Opponent

A Foxy Valentine

Other Books in the Madison Wolves Universe

Familiar

Seer

Seer: Thrall

Other Novels and Novellas

Blood Slave

Emergency Claus

Fitting In

Free to Love

Galatzi Trade

Galatzi World

In Custody

Lost in the Words

Privateer

Stark's Dell

Submission

Surprise

The Interrogation

Tresjolie

The Ski Bindings Shorts

Short stories of love and lust amongst the slopes.

Snow Fox

Short Stories

Cooking for Love

Southern Night

Captured by the Raptor (writing as Rosetta Robins)

Fox Fate

Copyright 2015 by Robin Roseau

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in retrieval system, copied in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise transmitted without written permission from the publisher. You must not circulate this book in any format.

This is a work of fiction. Names, places, businesses, characters and incidents are either the product of the author's imagination or are used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, actual events or locales is purely coincidental.

* * *

License Notes

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Table of Contents

Wedges

Running

School

Phone Calls

Invitations

Flight

Bourbon Street

All Hallows' Eve

Meeting

Part Two

Dispute

Easier

Panther

Dinner

Deirdre

Home

Discontent

Perspective

Running

About the Author

Copyright