Fox Run (2 page)

"Damn it!" she yelled, her free hand flying to the bite on her neck. She shook me again. "Stop it, Michaela!" She shook me again, and I yelped and whined, struggling and trying to bite. "We just want to talk to you. Stop it!"

By now, I was frightened into a full panic, the scent of wolf filling my nose, and I hurt. I yipped and struggled and tried to bite her again, but she held me at arms length and let me wear myself out.

As a were, I have a lot of endurance, and I was very scared. She let me struggle for what seemed like a very long time, but was probably only several minutes.

"Give her to me," one of the other males said. "I'll make her settle down."

"No," the woman said. "She's just scared. I'd put her down, but I don't know how long it would take to catch her again if she decided to hide." Then she turned me around to face her, and I tried to bite her arm.

"Stop it, Michaela!"

Her words weren't really penetrating. Fox was in full control, and all I could think of was escaping and hiding from the big bad wolves.

"Take her to the bathroom, Alpha," I heard. "Nowhere to hide in there."

"Good idea," the woman said.

Still at arm's length, the woman carried me deeper into the house and into the downstairs bathroom. It was only a half bath. She looked at it for a moment and turned me to face her.

I almost got her face that time. She cuffed me for my attempt, and I hung limp for a moment, dazed.

"I'm sorry," she said, "I didn't intend to hit you. Please stop struggling, Michaela. I know you're scared, but please stop struggling. You must have a second bathroom. This one is too small."

I glanced up for a moment, and she smiled.

"Of course. Upstairs."

I hung limp from her hand as she carried me upstairs. It took her a moment to find my bathroom. It was actually through the bedroom. She carried me inside, then closed the door and turned me to face her again.

"I am going to put you down. I am nearly out of patience. Do not bite me again."

She crouched down, lowering me, and my rear feet found purchase on the slick floor. She set me down gently, her hand still in my neck, then held me there. I stayed still, passive. She could snatch me back into the air at a moment's notice, and I was tired of being carried by my scruff.

It hurt.

Then her fingers relaxed, and I immediately scampered away from her.

My upstairs bathroom is a luxury for me, one of my few luxuries. In addition to the toilet and shower, there was a large tub that I could soak in for hours. There wasn't, however, anywhere to hide. I ran to the furthest corner of the room from the wolf, then turned around and glared at her.

She stood straight, leaning against the door, and crossed her arms. The bites I'd given her had already healed, but blood had dripped into her clothes and was smeared on her arm, one hand, and her neck. I hadn't put up much of a fight, but at least I had drawn blood.

There was only one door to the bathroom, of course, but there was also a window. It was closed, but I glanced at it, wondering if I could break it as a fox.

"I would catch you before you got that far," the woman said. "Can we please not go through all that again?"

I glared at her and backed more deeply into the corner.

She sighed. "Shift back, Michaela. We'll talk, and then we'll leave you alone."

I yipped at her, angry and frightened. They had invaded my house, uninvited. They had broken my window. She had hurt me, and the other one tried to kill me. And she thought I wanted to talk to her?

"I'm sorry we frightened you," she said quietly. "Frankly, it didn't occur to me that you would be afraid of us."

She was crazy, right?

She chuckled. "I know. It should have. Five big mean wolves, and you just a fox."

I glared and yipped at her, spitting. I wasn't "just" an anything.

She held up her hands in surrender, smiling without showing her teeth. "I didn't mean it like that, Michaela. You're a fine fox, sleek and beautiful."

Well, she was right. I was sleek and beautiful. I calmed down a little.

"I only meant your size," she added. "That's all. You're a fine fox, Michaela. Shift back so we can talk."

If she thought I was going to shift in front of her, she was definitely insane.

I spit at her.

I hate wolves.

She sighed. "We're going to talk, Michaela. You have nowhere to run. The sooner you shift, the sooner we can talk. The sooner we talk, the sooner the wolves leave your den."

I paced back and forth, staying across the room from her. She stood there calmly, watching me, her arms crossed. I turned back to face her, looking up into her face, right into her eyes. I didn't shrink away when she tried to stare me down.

She laughed. "A wolf wouldn't do that," she said. "I'm surprised you can." But still she didn't look away.

And then I looked pointedly at the door behind her. If she wanted me to shift back, she could give me some privacy. I looked back and forth between her and the door.

"I'm sorry," she said. "I don't trust you won't run." She looked pointedly at the window before looking back at me.

Frustrated, I turned around and lifted my tail at her, mooning her. She laughed. "You have spunk, Michaela. Now shift back."

I didn't have much choice. I turned sideways and began my shift. After just a few seconds I was lying on my side, a woman again, curled up on the cold tiles. I climbed stiffly to my feet, sore from being shaken about, then glanced at her.

She was holding my bath towel out for me.

"Throw it," I said.

She smiled and continued to hold it for me.

"Bitch," I told her. Her gaze faltered for a moment, but she shook the towel once, inviting me to step into it. I stepped sideways into it, and she wrapped it around me.

"Are we talking here in my bathroom then, me wrapped in a towel, wolf?" I asked sullenly.

"We can, if that's what you want, Michaela," she said. "Or if you promise to behave, we can step into the bedroom and you can get dressed first."

"I would prefer to be dressed," I said.

"All right," said the woman. "You understand I will need to watch you. I don't want to go through all this again. On two feet, I am faster than you are. And if you take the time to shift, I will catch you while you are vulnerable."

"You wolves are all alike," I told her.

"How is that?"

"Bullies."

She sighed. "I only want to talk to you, Michaela."

I glared at her. "Does it matter what I want?"

"No," she admitted. "It doesn't."

"So, like I said. Bullies. I won't try to run. As you have pointed out, it would be futile. You would just catch me again."

She nodded once, then opened the door and backed out, watching me. I followed at a distance. She glanced around the room, then backed away to the patio door, closing it.

"You may dress," she said.

"You're going to watch?"

"Yes."

"Fine." I spat it out. I crossed to my dresser, which gave me a view out the bedroom door into the hallway. Two of the males were standing there. I reached over and slammed the bedroom door closed. I heard chuckles from the other side.

As I dressed, I glanced at the woman. While a fox, I hadn't recognized her, not exactly. I should have, but I had been too lost in fright to think clearly. Now, with the time to think, I knew who she was.

Wolf packs are typically run by an alpha male. The alpha is not always the biggest or strongest wolf in the pack, but that would be common. Some packs are smart enough to follow the best leader, and the strongest males support the leader, even those males who could win a fight. Those are typically the most successful packs, as wisdom goes further than brute strength and fighting ability.

Rarely, a pack is ruled by an alpha female. This is almost always the surviving female of an alpha pair after some mishap has happened to the male half.

The Madison pack, however, was led by an alpha female who had never been mated. She was the daughter of the last alpha pair, and she had assumed leadership of the pack through intelligence and wisdom far more than brute strength. Oh, she had strength, and I dare say she could best most of the males in the pack. But certainly not all of them. No, she ruled the pack because the other wolves trusted and respected her.

Standing in my bedroom, watching me dress, was the alpha of the Madison pack.

I'd seen her before. She'd been in Bayfield in the past. She had always been distantly polite, never bothering me, but we had never spoken. I guessed that was to change.

I finished dressing in jeans, a light shirt, and tennis shoes. I ran my fingers through my hair. Assuming they left me alone, I would shower after they had left. I imagined for now I was a mess.

I turned to face the alpha. "So, what brings the Madison alpha to my door, and what right do you have to break into my house and handle me like an errant pup?" I spit out the last, angry with her. I wasn't a member of her pack, and alpha or not, I wouldn't submit to her. Not willingly.

"Perhaps we can go downstairs," she said. "I smell tea brewing."

"So your males have invaded my kitchen?" I asked. "Uninvited?" Have I mentioned how arrogant wolves are?

"If you had been a gracious hostess," she said, "this would have been much easier."

"If you had waited for an invitation," I spat back, "maybe I would have been in the mood to be gracious."

By now, both our backs were up. We had actually stalked towards each other, and I was looking up into her eyes. She glared at me with an alpha's glare, but I returned it in spades. I was my own alpha. She might be bigger than me, and she might be stronger than me. And she might scare the crap out of me. But I wasn't one of her pups, and damn! but I was not going to act like it.

"You are very brave for a tiny fox," she said gently.

I shut my mouth on my retort, studying her.

I had to admit, she was beautiful in a dark, feral way. She had short, black hair, deep brown eyes, and a muscular, athletic body. But she also had all the right curves, and as someone who hadn't been with a woman of any sort in a while, I had to admit she was attractive. To myself. I certainly wouldn't have admitted it to her.

"What do you want?" I asked her.

"Michaela," she said softly. "Let us go downstairs, sit, have some tea, and talk calmly."

I sighed. "Fine." I turned my back on her and stormed out of the bedroom. In the lead.

The alpha chuckled from behind me.

I glared at the males when I walked between them. They didn't try to touch me, for which I was thankful. I started down the stairs, the alpha immediately behind me, the males following her. When I got downstairs, the other two males weren't in sight. I glanced at the front door, but she said from behind me, "Don't."

I glanced up at her, two steps away, then turned to the right and proceeded down a short hallway to my kitchen. The other two males were there, including the one I had bitten. He glared at me from his post by the back door.

My teapot was waiting on the kitchen table along with three cups. I glanced and saw a fourth cup was sitting on the counter. And the last male had his head buried in my refrigerator. I glanced at me when I stepped into the room.

"Make yourself at home," I said. "Oh wait, you've already done that."

"There's no food in here," he complained. "What do you eat?"

"Mice," I replied.

From behind me, the alpha chuckled. "I rather doubt that," she said. "But I imagine you don't eat like a wolf, either."

I sighed. "Are you going to be here long enough I am obligated to feed you?"

"Not necessarily, but it would be polite," she replied with a smile. "The guys are hungry."

"Should have stopped on the way here," I replied. "There are excellent restaurants in town. The Rittenhouse serves an especially good breakfast."

"We would have," the alpha replied. "But we wanted to catch you before you left for the day."

I sighed. "Fine," I said frostily. "You! Get your nose out of my refrigerator and get out of my way."

The male who had been digging through my supplies backed out, chuckling, and he didn't even try to crowd me when I replaced him. I pulled out a pound of bacon from where it was hiding underneath the eggs and set it on the counter. I then pulled out eggs and milk and set them out as well. I glanced at the wolves, then from the freezer pulled out a package of breakfast sausage links, then I considered how much they probably ate and grabbed the frozen sausage patties as well.

I glanced over and saw the alpha taking a place at my table, watching me calmly. I turned to her. "I know you're the alpha. I don't know your name."

"Lara," she said. "Lara Burns."

"That one is Eric," I said, pointing to the one standing by the door. "The rest?"

"David," said the one who had been prowling through the kitchen. The other two were Jason and Rory. They already knew my name.

"David," I said. "Do you know how to cook?"

"Yes."

"Good." I tossed the tube of frozen sausage patties to him and pointed to the microwave. "Defrost that."

The alpha smiled at the way I ordered her wolf around.

David smiled at me and opened the microwave. I ignored him after that.

"You," I said pointing. "Rory. There is a storage room downstairs with an electric griddle on a shelf. Bring it up and be careful not to scratch the surface. The cord should be with it.

That one glanced at the alpha. She must have gestured something, but I didn't see it, and Rory found the stairs to the basement and disappeared.

"Do you eat pancakes?" I asked the room in general. I had no idea what wolves ate.

"I love pancakes," said the alpha. "And bacon. And sausage. And anything that doesn't grow on a bush."

I almost laughed. Almost.

I stepped past David and retrieved my box of pancake mix then dug out measuring cups and a mixing bowl. I set them on the counter and mixed up a triple batch. I heard Rory come back upstairs, and I pointed to an open place on the counter. "Set it there and turn it on to 350."