Fox Fate (5 page)

"It is a small thing," she said. "This vampire and I were once friends. She would take my call."

"Deirdre told me that there were others. Do you think you could tell her I was asking?"

"Of course." She paused. "Michaela, I am happy to call this other vampire, but I have two requests for you to consider. I will make this call even if you are unable to fulfill either request."

"All right," I said cautiously.

"First, I wonder if you would consider being my guest for a little fete planned here for All Hallows' Eve. I personally assure your safety, and you would be welcome to bring whomever else you liked. Perhaps I could meet your children."

I didn't respond immediately but then said, "I might like that, but I do not know how Lara would respond to the suggestion."

"Invitations go out this week. Would you be offended if I sent one?"

"No." I thought quickly, wondering whether I wanted to talk to Lara about it. I decided to be blunt. "You're not Lara's favorite person."

"Tell me. How's your sense of smell?"

I laughed. "You didn't tell me that would be permanent. My brain isn't built to interpret the signals it's receiving. I'll talk to her about it, Carissa."

"It would be good politics for her," she explained. "Next, will you tell me why you're asking?"

It was my turn to pause. "Not many know this, but I was once a mother."

"You're a mother now, as I understand it."

"I had two fox babies named Flora and Fauna," I said. "The father was one of those Canadian foxes you probably heard about."

"Oh, I see," she said. "When was this?"

"Perhaps a year or two before rumors of a fox hunter killing wolves in New England," I said.

"Oh Michaela," she said. "I'm sorry. But I feel perhaps you are telling me something."

"When my babies died, I vowed I would never bring another fox into this world."

"I don't blame you."

"Carissa, I'm considering a change of mind. I want to know if it's even worth thinking about."

Invitations

I eyed the envelope then glanced at Lara. She was studying something on her laptop, perched in bed. I knew she'd put it aside the moment I looked like I was ready to slip into bed with her.

I still hadn't decided if I wanted to mention Carissa to her. I decided to take a roundabout approach.

"I'm still not used to my enhanced sense of smell," I stated.

"Hmm?" Lara said, not taking her eyes from her computer.

"You know, the leftover effects from our trip to North Carolina."

Lara looked up and frowned.

"I suppose you hate how much faster I am."

"Why would you think that?"

"I'm harder to catch than I used to be."

She smiled.

"Do you still hate Carissa?" I asked.

"I don't hate Carissa," she replied. "This is an unexpected topic." She eyed the envelope in my hand. "What's that?"

"I haven't decided if I want to tell you," I admitted.

I knew that would get her curiosity going. She deliberately set her laptop aside. She had a little cubby for it in her end table, a recent purchase. She turned back to me. "What is it?"

"You wouldn't be interested," I said.

She slipped her feet out from under the covers and sat on the edge of the bed. I slowly moved further away from the bed but avoided looking like I was headed for the door. If we were going to play Catch the Fox, I didn't want her to feel rushed.

"Come here," she ordered.

"I don't think so," I said. "Really, it's nothing."

Lara stood up and began slowly stalking me. I put the sofa between us.

"Now, Lara," I said. "It's late, and I have to teach in the morning. We don't have time for your games tonight."

She chuckled. We always had time for those games.

She jumped over the sofa, and I barely evaded her, running around to the other side, laughing. She was about to jump back, but I held my hand out. "Wait."

"I don't think so," she replied but she didn't jump after me.

I paused. "I think when you see what this is, it's going to ruin the mood."

"What is it?" she said seriously.

"It's not what it is that will upset you," I said. "It's who it's from."

"Carissa," she said coldly, and I nodded. "What is it?"

"Are you going to get mad?"

"It depends on what it is."

I moved closer and held it out. She eyed it, then took it carefully. She pulled the party invitation from the envelope and quickly skimmed the contents. It was a formal invitation, engraved in an elaborate script on heavy paper.

Lara surprised me. I was listening to her heart, and it barely fluttered.

"Are you asking to go?" she asked softly.

"I don't know," I said. "Do you think you'd have a good time? You're responding more calmly than I thought you would."

"It would be good politics," she explained.

"I don't understand."

"With the other packs," Lara clarified. She sighed, then moved to the bed and picked up her phone from he nightstand. "Are you free?" she asked after a moment. "It's not urgent."

"I'm meeting with Karen and Serena," Elisabeth said. "I can be over when we're done."

"Actually," said Lara, "Where are you?"

"My place."

"We'll come there. We want to talk to all of you. We'll be there in a few minutes. Can you put on a pot of tea?"

"Yes, Alpha," Elisabeth replied. "We'll be here."

Lara hung up. I headed for the closet and pulled out clothes for her while she made another call. I didn't hear who it was this time. "How quickly can you be outside our house? Good. We'll see you then."

I came out and threw the clothes at her.

"Portia will meet us downstairs." She pursed her lips while dressing. "I wonder how big a security detail she'd allow."

I didn't want to admit I'd talked to her. "I'm sure she'd be flexible, but I suspect she has significant security."

"We'll bring our own."

"We're going?" I was surprised.

"We're going to talk about it, and then we'll talk to the council as well." She paused. "I wonder how far reaching this invitation extends. We're enforcer heavy on the council, and some of the other members are starting to mutter." She finished dressing, picked up the invitation, and we headed downstairs.

Angel and Rory had the night duty. We found them talking quietly in the living room. "We're stepping out," Lara said. "Perhaps an hour."

"Do you need an escort?" Rory asked.

"Portia is coming, and we're just walking over to Elisabeth's," Lara explained. After that, we stood around awkwardly for a moment until Portia announced herself at the door.

"Quiet night," she said in greeting. I turned to her, and it looked like she had dressed hastily. Still, I thought she would want to be involved in this conversation, and her expertise could come in handy. She led the way back out of the house, and once we were on the grass, Lara put an arm around my shoulder. It felt nice.

"Portia," Lara asked, "I haven't asked this. I should have. Are you pleased you joined us?"

"Yes, Alpha," she replied. "Ecstatic, actually. This is the longest I've lived in one place since I left the navy." She glanced at me but didn't say whatever she was thinking.

"Oh, go ahead," I said. "I won't be offended."

She offered a ghost of a smile. "Elisabeth told me you asked for me to be on your detail. Why?"

I glanced at Lara.

"Oh, go ahead," Portia said, sounding amazingly like me. "I won't be offended."

At that I laughed. "At first, I wanted to keep an eye on you," I admitted. "Once I grew to trust you, then I thought about moving you to the kids' detail, but I don't think you'd be as happy." I paused. "You may not understand this, but you make me feel the way Serena does."

"You're right; I don't understand."

"You make me feel safe, Portia," I said. "You're a wolf. I don't think you can understand. I used to be afraid all the time."

"I've seen you afraid," she replied. "You do what you must anyway."

"And break down afterwards," I said. I paused. "Has Elisabeth told you of my history?"

"Some."

"Ask her for the rest," I said. "Sometime when I'm not around."

By then, we had arrived at Elisabeth's house and were talking a few feet from the front stoop. Lara stepped forward, knocked twice, then opened the door. She stepped in first, glanced around briefly, then gestured for me to enter, Portia taking the rear.

I shook my head at the caution.

Elisabeth, Serena and Karen were sitting at Elisabeth's seldom-used dining room table. Elisabeth ate most of her meals with us. They stood up as we entered.

"Alphas," Elisabeth said in greeting.

"I'll wait outside," Portia said.

"No, Enforcer," Lara said. "We want your opinion."

"Elisabeth, do you mind if I brew a pot."

"Already done," she said, gesturing. "Herbal."

"Excellent," I said. "Thank you."

I appointed myself hostess, pouring tea for those who wanted. I ended up sitting between Serena and Lara with Elisabeth, Karen and Portia across the table from us.

"We're sorry to interrupt," Lara said. "And apologies for getting you out of bed, Portia."

They waved it away, but then Elisabeth asked, "What did the fox do now?"

"She didn't throw this away," Lara said, sliding the envelope across the table to her sister. "Carissa has invited us to a Halloween party."

Elisabeth scanned the invitation then with a glance at Lara, handed it to Karen. "And you needed help telling her 'no'?"

"Maybe we should accept," Lara said.

"Seriously?" Elisabeth said. She waited for Karen to finish reading the invitation then took it back from her, reading it more carefully. "Why?"

"Politics," Lara said.

"I hate that word," I muttered.

Elisabeth gazed at Lara for a moment, then slid the invitation across the table to Serena. No one said anything while she read it, then we passed it down to Portia.

"I've tried to keep us out of the affairs of the other packs," Lara said. "Frankly, I've had my hands full here. We'd talk to the council before making a final decision, but I wanted to hear what all of you thought."

Elisabeth turned to me, but I stopped her before she could say a thing. "I will absolutely behave."

"Actually," she said, "That's not what I was going to say. But I know you will. I was going to ask how long you've had this before letting Lara see it."

"It arrived yesterday."

She reached across the table and took the invitation back from Portia, reading it again, then looked at the envelope. "Very formal, but it doesn't specify the important details."

"I believe Carissa would happily accept a reasonable security force," I said. "I also believe she would have security well in hand." I paused. "She might like to meet Rebecca and Celeste."

"If we're going to actually consider that, then Emanuel needs to be here," Serena said immediately.

Lara turned to look at me intently. "You would bring them?"

"I don't know," I said. "I wanted everything out there so we had as much of the picture as we could have." I paused. "I don't think we should bring them. But I think we should invite Carissa here to meet them. If, you know, we're actually establishing relations with her."

"I don't want a vampire on the compound," Lara said firmly. "But maybe we could arrange something else." She turned to Elisabeth. "Do you hate the idea?"

"Of having a vampire here? Yes."

Lara smiled. "Of accepting her invitation. I think it would be the six of us plus perhaps one or two members from the council."

"More politics?"

Lara nodded.

"Alpha?" Serena said. "Something I should understand?"

"Probably," Lara said. "I can't speak about specifics." Karen and Portia weren't on the council, so we had to be careful talking in front of them. "We've been taking over the council, a little at a time, but it has added up. It used to be just David and me, and then Elisabeth and me, and twelve of them. Then Michaela began attending meetings and is now a full voting member of the council."

"And then I replaced Mr. West," Serena said.

"Yes. Not only are we heavily represented now, but we edged out Michaela's biggest detractor and silenced the others. When I was first alpha, they got away with bullying me. I was new at the job and didn't have the confidence I do now, and they got used to that. Now they don't dare bully anyone or my mate has a chat with them."

I grinned. "Are they afraid of me?" I asked.

There were smiles. "They have respect for your silver," Elisabeth clarified.

"To make it worse, there are a few more I want to replace," Lara said. "They are very old school, and I don't find their involvement helpful. I would love to get Michele Lassiter on the council, but she'd never survive a challenge. I'm leaving two or three in place simply because I don't have replacements lined up."

"So inviting one or two council members to join us would play well with the rest," Serena summarized.

"Yes, and it can't be Vivian or Ron," Lara said. "They're deemed too close to us, especially Vivian."

"I don't want Albert Stein along," I said.

"He's one I'd replace," Lara said. "He was a good council member under Father, but he's completely out of touch these days, and he hasn't had an original thought in a decade."

"He asks questions," I said. "It's good to have diverse opinions."

"When was the last time he asked a question that mattered?" Lara asked. "Or said another way, would Michele ask better questions?"

That question wasn't even worth answering, and so I moved on. "So, six of us and two council members?" I asked.

"And their spouses."

"Ten total," I said. "You're proposing we entirely descend on Carissa."

"She has to expect a security detail," Lara said. "Four is actually small." She sighed. "I suppose your brain will go to mush if you call her to see how she feels about this."

"I think I could talk to her," I said.

Lara turned back to Elisabeth. "What do you think?"