Fox Fate (3 page)

"Three hundred yards," I said very quietly. She chuffed.

I lifted my voice just enough. My voice wouldn't carry upwind to deer ears. "Portia and Scarlett, give the rabbits back. Portia, please keep Rebecca safe." I looked for Emanuel. He was watching me. I just glanced at Celeste, and he moved closer to her. He didn't need more than that. Scarlett was watching me, and I gestured her closer.

"You and Angel are leading this hunt," I told her.

She sat down, and I could see she was surprised.

Angel was on a wide protective stance, out of sight. I pointed. "She's there. Go get her, please. This was Lara's idea."

Scarlett didn't wait. She moved quickly but quietly and was back a moment later with her mate. They both stepped up to me, Angel puzzled. I brought Angel up to speed. "It's three hundred yards. I'll get you to one-fifty, but that's as close as I want to take us." My pups were with us, after all.

Angel shifted to skin, and her brow furrowed. "Alpha..."

Lara moved closer and shifted human as well. "Your hunt, Angel. You two are ready."

"I'll get us closer," I said. They could have done it from this distance, but I liked feeling like I was a part of the hunt, and the wolves seemed to enjoy the way I found the deer. We'd experimented several times over the years, trying to decide which hunting method was faster. Sometimes fox style was faster; sometimes wolf style was. It was nice they let me help.

I shifted back to fox, waited for Angel, then began silently prowling forward, the wolves following me. A few minutes later, I looked over at Angel. Everyone clearly had the scent, except perhaps the pups; their noses would be full of the rabbits they were carrying. I brought us to a stop, chuffed very quietly, then faded back towards my daughters.

It was clear that Angel and Scarlett were nervous. They had never given any of these wolves orders. But Lara nudged Angel, and Elisabeth stepped forward and sat down, waiting.

The wolves had their own communication style while in fur. It was pretty limited, and was based on human gestures. It was actually difficult for the average werewolf to fully understand human gestures while in fur. Some even found it difficult to pay attention to human speech while in fur, and one could have to talk quite firmly to get a furry werewolf to pay attention. Thankfully, we didn't have that problem on the compound.

It was Scarlett who got the conversation started, but she was good about it, setting it up for Angel to take over. Angel glanced at the pups and me and saw we were well protected, and then she gave out the assignments. She sent Rory and Eric around to the far side, kept Lara and Elisabeth closest, and then told everyone to go.

They all disappeared from view.

I used my eyes to keep track of the pups and my ears to track the fight. The pups both cocked their heads, listening, but I knew they would lose the sound until the final rush.

It took a few minutes for everyone to get into position. I think the deer smelled one of the wolves, as it began quietly moving north. But then Rory broke a tree branch, and the deer changed direction and practically walked into Elisabeth's jaws, sensing her after it was too late. It broke to run, but Elisabeth made a leap, bringing it down in a single bound.

A moment later she howled her victory.

I chuffed and began leading the way to the site of the kill, using my ears to make sure the pups were following me. When I looked over my shoulder, both pups were prancing proudly, carrying their rabbits. Emanuel and Portia were watching over them, and Serena moved to my side again. I nudged her with a shoulder, a small thanks for protecting my family.

By the time we arrived, the remaining wolves had clustered around the kill. Lara had her back to the deer, watching for her family, and she visibly relaxed when we stepped into view. I walked to her, sliding my body along hers in passing, then nudged Elisabeth in congratulations for a good kill. She nudged me back; I had found the deer, after all.

As hunting leaders, Scarlett and Angel could have asked Elisabeth to dress out the kill, but they were working on it themselves. That was perfectly fine as well.

We could have let the pups eat their rabbits themselves, but pack shares. While they were developmentally well ahead of human development, they still tended to guard their kills, and so I never let them get away with it. They were going to share their rabbits. I walked over to Celeste and took the rabbit from her mouth. She resisted me for a moment, but I growled in my throat, and she let go.

It was not my nature to growl; that was a wolf sound. My natural sounds of aggression were to spit and hiss. But the wolves understood a growl, and I could growl.

There were days I was jealous of Lara's growl though. My mate could sound incredibly menacing.

I took the rabbit and carried it to Lara, setting it at her feet. I could eat from the rabbit myself, but my claws weren't sharp like a werewolf's. The pups' claws weren't sharp enough yet, either. So I left it to Lara to portion out one rabbit. Then I turned around and nudged Rebecca before looking at Elisabeth. I thought she might balk, but instead she proudly carried her rabbit to Elisabeth and set it between her feet. Elisabeth gave her a quick lick before setting herself to dissecting the rabbit.

We didn't share the rabbit with everyone. The wolves would rather have venison, anyway. But we passed out enough so the pups understood they were to share, and then we let them have the rest. Scarlett offered me a morsel of the deer as well, a perfectly sized snack for a fox.

We didn't eat the entire deer; we each just got a snack. We'd bring most of it to the compound, and it would show up in our meals for the next few days. I didn't worry about that but left it for the wolves to deal with. Instead, I waited for everyone to finish eating. Lara chuffed at me, and so I stood up, nudging each of my daughters to their feet, and set a path for home.

All was right with the world.

School

When I decided to begin college, I assumed I would take extension courses at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, the same school where Angel and Scarlett were attending. I could attend school at night. It would be a lot of work, but it wouldn't interfere with my job as a high school teacher. Standards were moderate, and even at such a late date, I wouldn't have any trouble being accepted into a program.

Instead, Lara meddled. She meddled heavily, and she did most of it behind my back. I didn't even find out she was doing it until I received a letter of acceptance to Griffon College, an hour's drive north of the compound.

"What's this?" I asked her, waving it at her after reading it. She was smirking at me.

"I don't know," she said, and I knew she was lying. "You tell me."

"I don't recall applying to Griffon, Lara, and I am pretty sure I missed their application deadline. What did you do?"

"Are you angry?" she asked carefully.

I thought about it. I wasn't, actually. "No. What did you do?"

She eyed me carefully, then answered even more carefully. "I submitted an application on your behalf."

"Uh huh," I said. "And they accepted a random application, a late application, without any ACT or SAT scores. Right."

"I submitted the application in person," she admitted.

She wouldn't have used intimidation, so that meant she bribed someone. "Tell me you didn't break the law."

"Of course not," she said.

"What bribe did you use?"

"I didn't bribe anyone!" she said indignantly. "I may have offered a modest charitable donation to my wife's future alma mater." She paused. "Please let me explain before you get mad."

"I'm not mad, Lara," I told her. "Why don't you want me going to Madison?"

"Michaela, what you do for the pack is important."

"What does that have to do with it?"

She paused again.

"I won't be mad as long as it remains my choice in the end. Was your bribe so large I don't have a choice?"

"No. I made a modest donation if they accepted your application and gave it fair consideration.  I made a somewhat larger promise if you and Serena both attend and they make a few considerations."

I narrowed my eyes. "What kind of considerations." I didn't want my wife to buy me a degree.

"Nothing you'll have a problem with."

"We'll see," I said.

"First, your security detail."

I'd actually worried about that. Serena wanted to take classes, but she wanted someone alert while she was paying attention to lectures. That meant I wasn't attending school alone. I was attending with Serena and at least one other enforcer.

"All right," I said.

"Next: Griffon is a little far to drive for classes."

"Yes?"

"They have a heliport on their administrative building," Lara explained. I began to laugh. "You have permission to use it."

"That's a little showy," I said.

"Some members of the administration and campus security will know it's your aircraft," she agreed. "But your classmates and instructors will not. You'll enter and exit via the administration building, and you should be able to do so without many prying eyes, especially if you disguise a little."

"What about bad weather?"

"Then you'll have to plan accordingly and drive," she said.

"What else?"

"Scheduling," she said. She paused. "Honey, I would prefer if you finished your degree in four years."

"Are you firing me from the school?" I asked. "How am I supposed to attend college full time while teaching?"

She smiled. "Like I said: scheduling. Your classes would be Tuesday and Thursday afternoons beginning at one-thirty. You can leave at noon and easily arrive, even if you have to drive."

I looked at her. "What else?"

"That's it," she said. "You'll earn a proper degree." She paused. "And Griffon has a small but respected business school, so you can earn an MBA once you finish your undergrad, if you want."

"Who is going to teach my Tuesday afternoon classes?" I asked. "That's when I do labs."

"You'll have to adjust your teaching schedule," she said. "Did you know that Carrie Bent has a teaching degree?"

Carrie was the sister of James Bent, one of the council members. She'd been helping out with my summer program, and she'd been really good.

Lara paused. "Honey, you don't have to do it this way. You can attend Madison in the evenings the way you had planned. If it takes six or seven years, so be it. I am not making choices for you. I am only offering an alternative."

"You want me to go to Griffon."

She nodded. "And James Bent asked a favor for Carrie. She's happy with part time for now, but if we expand again, she wants to be the first in consideration."

"Do Serena and Elisabeth know about this?"

"I swore them to secrecy. Don't be angry with them."

"Lara, I'm not mad at anyone," I told her. "If you pressure me, I might get mad, but if you're honest that it's my decision, that's okay." I wasn't sure she believed me. "Did Serena receive a letter like this one?"

"Yes."

I studied my mate for a moment. "Make an appointment. I want to tour the school."

Lara smiled. "Is tomorrow at four too soon?"

"Awfully sure of yourself," I muttered.

"Michaela," she said, "I ask you to give it honest consideration. That's all."

And so, we visited the school. I'd fallen in love. The college president met with us herself, and we also met with a few of the department heads. We finished talking, and I asked for a few minutes to wander alone.

"Wander alone," meant with Serena at my side and the other wolves giving us somewhat more room.

"What do you think?" I asked her. "We talked about attending Madison, not here."

"It's a good school," she said noncommittally.

"Serena, I interpret the terms of a wager you won as meaning you have as much to say about this decision as I do. Please speak frankly."

She looked away, and I knew she didn't want to tell me.

"I'll tell Lara we'll go to Madison," I said after a minute. "We both need to be comfortable."

"No!" she said firmly. "Um."

"The truth, Serena. It's your degree, too. Where do you want to attend?"

"Here," she said. But she looked away again. I grabbed her arm and turned her to face me, which really meant I pulled myself around until I was standing in front of her again.

"Tell me," I said quietly. "Please, Serena."

"For years," she said quietly, "I vowed I'd get a degree. When I graduated from high school, I couldn't afford it. Instead, I became an enforcer, and back then it was one emergency after another. Things calmed down a little, so Emanuel and I married, and then Alan and Jeremy came along. They got a little older, things were quiet, and I thought maybe I'd find time, but then I became pregnant with Kaylee. Then we had more emergencies in the pack, and we're still short handed." She paused. "This is the only way I'll ever go to college, if I go with you."

"Oh Serena," I said. I hugged her. "But which school?"

"This one. Michaela, this one."

"Griffon it is."

All that was last year. I'd been working my ass off, but with help, I was keeping up with all my duties.

Sleep was overrated.

* * * *

"Clear!" I said out the helicopter window. I looked around once more, flipped a few switches, then hit the starter switch. Two minutes later, I lifted the aircraft into the air. "Wolf Run area traffic," I said over the common frequency used at our private airport, "Robinson five-five-nine fox-wolf is skids up at the heliport, north departure." The call out wasn't necessary, as there wasn't any traffic, but it was a good habit to apprise any other aircraft using our little airport.

I actually departed first to the south, using the road leading into the compound as a mini runway for the helicopter. While the aircraft could take off and land vertically, it wasn't entirely safe. If something happened to the engine, forward momentum could be used to ensure a safe landing in a maneuver referred to as an auto-rotation. In other words, it was safest to remain near the ground until we had more airspeed. The road was private, and Lara had cleared trees away from it, making it safer to use this way. But soon I pulled back on the collective, and the helicopter climbed into the sky.