Wolf Women (The Madison Wolves Book 10) (6 page)

I realized she was right.

"I also think, but we would need to discuss it, that she would like to foster some of Michaela's students."

I looked over my head and nodded. Portia caressed my face.

"That has been one of the limiting factors to the number of students we take," Lara said. "For now, I ask these questions to give you and your mate opportunities for discussion, and I will offer one more. Your house is too small for what we just discussed. What would you like to do?"

"In the spring," Portia said, "I would like to break ground on building a new home. Is there a place we may do this, Alpha?"

"Yes," Lara said.

"Scarlett, wherever you are," Portia said. "I wish to hire you to help us design the house."

"Really?" she said. I looked over in time to see her head pop up from another pile, and I realized Angel's head was in Michaela's lap and Scarlett's had been in Angel's. "I'd love to."

I was a little surprised she made these decisions without consulting me. She bent over and whispered, "We will design and build it together with our own hands."

"I will only support this plan," Michaela called out, "If I am allowed to help."

There was laughter.

"We would love any available help," Portia replied.

"Then we will discuss this option in the coming weeks," Lara said. "I will require a reasonable plan for the cost of this home, but so far, I fully endorse what you have decided, Portia."

"Thank you, Alpha," Portia said.

"All right. If you want to run, get shifting," Lara said. "There won't be a hunt tonight, just a nice run."

I looked up at Portia. "Running?"

"I'd like to blow out the fur a little, and I wouldn't mind a little attention later."

I smiled. "I'd love to. I'll wait here for a while, but if I'm not here, I'll be home, waiting for you. If I go, I'll take your clothes with me."

Neither Monique nor Ember had moved, and Portia could wait until it was time.

"What are you two doing?" I asked.

"I'll run," Monique said. "Zoe, my mom bought the camera. I know you and Portia have plans or something..."

"Work it out with Portia," I said.

"I don't know your homework load, Monique," Portia said. "What would you like to do?"

"Could I come over tomorrow after school?"

I looked up at Portia and nodded, so she said, "Yes, but call us. We might be running errands and have to do it after dinner."

"Okay. Thanks."

"Ember, are you running?" I asked.

She looked over at me. "May I stay here with you, Zoe?"

"Of course you may, honey," I said.

So the four of us stayed that way for a while. Then as the wolves finished shifting, Monique and Portia got up. Portia whispered to Monique, who ran off and returned with some blankets. She slipped one under my head and then arranged another one on top of me.

"Thanks, Mom," I said, and she laughed.

They both undressed and shifted, then shook their fur out. Portia leaned over and licked me, and then they were running.

Ember hadn't released my arm the entire time. I was a little surprised. First Monique, and now Ember. Iris and Lindsey had sort of adopted me, too, and the boys had been sweet.

"Sleepy, Ember?" I asked.

"No. Do you mind?"

"No. This is nice. Thank you for helping me feel welcome."

We lay quietly. I wanted to know what was going on with Ember, but I wasn't sure how to ask.

"The stars are pretty," she said. "Did you know that some of them are entire galaxies?"

"I did," I said.

"Have you seen those pictures from the Hubble Deep Space Telescope? They pointed the camera at a seemingly empty place in the sky and took pictures, and it's full, full, full of galaxies, too many galaxies to count."

"Yes, I've seen those. They're beautiful pictures."

She lay quietly for a while before she said, "Monique's mom bought her a camera. That's what she was talking about."

"Yes."

"Like yours?"

"Kind of like mine. Not as expensive."

"Yours are expensive."

"To me, frightfully."

"Is Monique's expensive?"

"Not if she bought the one I recommended. Not cheap though, either."

"How much?"

"Maybe six or seven hundred."

"Oh." She grew still. "I guess I can't take your photography class."

"Your mom can't afford one, huh?"

"I don't have a mom."

My gut reaction was to pull her into my arms and hold her, but in a way, I was already doing that.

"You live with your dad?"

"He took off years ago. I don't remember him. Mom said he was a total asshole."

"What happened to your mom?"

"She was human," Ember said. "He got her pregnant and never told her what he was. Imagine her surprise when I shifted to wolf the first time."

"Oh my god." And I wondered if the reason she was here with me was because I was human and so I reminded her of her mother. I was okay with that.

"She was a drug user and thought it was a trip. But after I did it a few more times, she realized it wasn't the drugs. She remembered my dad was from up here, and so she stared calling every Klein in the book, looking for relatives. She asked if they knew Clay Klein and described him as 'particularly hairy'. She found my uncle. So she put me on a bus and told him to pick me up at the bus station."

"Oh honey."

"No, it was best. She couldn't take care of me. Young wolves need structure. I was turning really wild, and I didn't understand what was happening. And it hurt. It really hurt. My aunt and uncle took me in. But they have their own kids."

"You live here now."

"Yeah. Michaela and Lara said I may stay as long as I want, and I study really, really hard in school."

"What about your aunt and uncle."

"I haven't seen them since they dropped me off last year."

I thought that was terrible, absolutely terrible.

"Did they adopt you?"

"No. I suppose I still have a mom, somewhere, if she didn't die. But I was seven, and I haven't heard a word."

What kind of mother puts her own daughter on a bus and never sees her again?

"Well," I said, "Now you have lots of mothers. You have Michaela and Lara and all the enforcers and me. Don't you?"

"I do?"

"Yes."

"So does that mean you'll buy me a camera?" She laughed. Then she grew still. "It's not the same though."

"No, I suppose not. But if you ever need someone older to talk to, or just for hugs, I'm only a human, and I'm not very strong. You have to be gentle with me. But I give really good hugs. For a human, anyway."

"Thanks, Zoe."

We lay quietly for a good five minutes before I asked, "What are you thinking about?"

"I'm trying to think of good games," she said. "If I think of any, will you help me work on them?"

"I would love to."

"The keep away game was the best, but tag was funny."

"Yeah."

"And you liked paintball, too, but you didn't think you did well. Even though you shot me." She laughed.

"What?"

"Walking slow so I'd give in on helping you. I'm glad you did. That was fun."

"You know, I thought so, too. Now Portia wants to build an entire house."

"Will she let me help?"

"I'm sure she will."

"You two are perfect together," she said. "I never knew girls and girls could be together."

"How do you feel about it?"

"I think it's cool, but I know some people think it's wrong."

"Yeah, some people think it's wrong. Those people worry too much about what other people do and should be more concerned about taking care of their own lives."

She didn't respond to that. Instead she asked, "Are Monique and Cassie dating now?"

"I gave Monique some advice, and I am going to give you the same advice. I told her she should start to ask people out, boys or girls, but she shouldn't become mated with anyone yet. She's too young, and it's too easy to make a poor match at this age. I told her she should ask different people for a while. So I think perhaps she is going to ask Cassie, but then next week she might ask Dawson or Connor or you."

"Me?"

"Sure. If you don't want to go on a date with her, you don't have to, but you should be nice about it. Just say, 'No, thank you. I just want to be friends'. Nothing more than that is necessary. She'll be fine with it."

"What if... she asks, but she asks me to do something I don't want to do?"

"Then you tell her you'd love to go out with her sometime, but ask her to pick something else. And if it happens a second time, then you have to suggest something, or she might think it's an excuse."

"How do you know if it's a date or just hanging out?"

"You know, everyone wonders that. When I ask, I use the word 'date'."

"You ask people."

"I asked Elisabeth."

"Oh. You asked Elisabeth? Really?"

"Yep." I thought about it. "If you're not sure, you ask. You can say, 'Is this a date or friends?' Sometimes people mean a date but aren't willing to say it cause they're afraid of rejection. So they'll make it sound like friends, but really, they want a kiss at the end of the night."

"That's stupid. They should say what they mean."

"Maybe wolves aren't like that, but humans are totally like that. I was really wishy-washy when I was younger. I had all sorts of ways to ask a woman out without ever admitting I wanted a date. And you're right, it's stupid, but I was afraid."

"Of what?"

"Feeling foolish if they didn't like me that way. And what if I think they're gay, but I'm totally wrong?"

"Oh, that could be embarrassing." She looked up at me and grinned. "Is it as embarrassing as yelling, 'Portia! Portia! Portiaaaaaaaa!' ?"

I laughed. "Okay, maybe not as embarrassing as that. But I thought wolves didn't think that was embarrassing."

"We don't, but I'm smart, and you're human, and humans find everything embarrassing. That's stupid, too. I haven't even seen you naked, and we see each other naked all the time. Humans think it's a big deal. I bet you aren't embarrassed to see us in fur, but you look away when we're in skin. Why?"

"Um. God, I don't know, Ember. If you were raised by a human mother and didn't know you were a wolf, why aren't you more like me?"

"It was a long time ago and I don't remember very well. Zoe, do you have any tattoos?"

"Not a one. Do you?"

"No." She paused. "Do you know about bride ransom night?"

"Michaela explained it tonight," I said.

"I bet you think it's terrible."

"I think I have to think about it a lot more. I can understand it for wolves, but as a human, I don't think I'd do very well."

"We wouldn't really hurt you, like, we wouldn't break your hands or anything."

"What?" I shrieked. "You break hands?"

"Well, if she isn't begging, eventually. Or other things. I mean, she has to beg, or her groom has to pay anyway, but usually they wait until the bride begs. If the ransom is too high, he might still not pay. At least, that's what happened with one of my cousins. But we shift a few times, and it's all better."

"That's all it takes?"

"Yep. Want to see?"

"No!"

"Are you sure? You can break my hand, and then I'll shift. It hurts, but I'd show you."

"Now you're just teasing."

She laughed. "Yep. So, you know about bride ransom. And you've seen Michaela's tattoos. And Lara has tattoos, too."

"Michaela said hers are from her ransom nights."

"Yeah. Well, I hope my kidnappers make me take a tattoo. I want my skin bare until then, and then wear a tattoo for my new groom. Or bride. I haven't decided."

"When you're older, and you know for sure who would be kidnapping you, or at least some of them, find a way to tell them. If that's allowed. Is that allowed?"

"I don't know. But there isn't a bride ransom night police force, so who is to say it isn't?"

I laughed. "Good logic," I said.

"Are you and Portia going to get married?"

"She hasn't asked me."

"If she asks you?"

"I think she should be the first one to hear my answer."

"So that means 'yes'. So you'll have a ransom night. Is there anything you want them to do to you?"

"Foot massages, pedicures, facial treatments..."

She laughed. "I don't think it works that way." She changed her voice. "Portia, they're rubbing my feet. It feels so good. Oh god, it feels so good. Please pay my ransom so they'll stop." She laughed again. "Yeah, I don't think it works that way. What do you want them to do?"