Fox Revenge (Madison Wolves #5) (9 page)

I did. I lost her the first time, but I shifted back and tried it again, and she shifted with me. Then I pulled her human again. She laughed. "That is so weird. My turn."

She shifted wolf, leaving me behind. "Lost me, I'll join you." I shifted to fox and waited. She shifted human, losing me.

"Try going slower," Scarlett suggested. "It was a good thirty seconds the first time she did it with me."

Lara shifted back to wolf then did a slow, uncomfortable shift. I knew she wasn't bringing me with her. She tried it several more times, finally giving up. "I don't have a clue what I'm doing."

"Both of you try," I told Scarlett and Elisabeth.

"Not with you!" Lara said.

I laughed. "Fine. With whoever."

"I'll try with Lara," Elisabeth said.

They spent ten minutes at it, both of them trying. Nothing. Then Scarlett tried with Lara. Nothing.

"How old are wolf pups when they learn to shift?" I asked.

"Typically a year or two," Lara replied.

"My kits could shift with me fresh from the womb. I could draw them with me, and they were shifting on their own after a couple of months."

"It might be a fox thing," Lara said.

"Or a mother thing," I suggested. "Do we want to bring Serena into this? Or Francesca? It may be you'll be able to teach our pups, Lara. Or it may be that I will. Would you be okay with that?"

"Oh wow," Scarlett said. "We could have newborn wolf pups."

"Oh," said Lara. "Yes, I would like that very much."

"You two know the politics," I said, meaning Lara and Elisabeth. "I've tossed out ideas."

"I want to think about it," Lara said. "This is too big to screw up." She looked at each of us sternly, settling on Scarlett last. "You must shift slowly for now. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Alpha," she said.

"Let me think about it for a day or two. I think I'm going to let you try to teach Angel, but for now, no shifting like this with her."

"Yes, Alpha."

She looked at me. "You will not teach this to anyone else without my direct order."

I stared her in the face. "I am alpha too."

"Promise me."

"I am alpha too, Lara. Aren't I?"

She hesitated. "Please."

"Of course I won't," I said.

"Then why the hard time?" she asked.

"If I am part of the decision process, I am less likely to chafe from it. I am trying to train you to think that way, too."

She laughed. "All right." She turned to Elisabeth. "Slow shifts."

Elisabeth nodded. "It's going to be hard now."

"A few days. I might want to make something up about elaborate rituals and blood magic or something."

The rest of us laughed. "Which must happen under the full moon," I added.

"And requires a sacrifice," Scarlett said.

"Yes," I said. "You must shave your entire body, void of all fur, and then be drawn near death from silver poisoning."

"Oh god," Scarlett said. "And then you're going to make Elisabeth and me go through the ritual, aren't you?"

"Or look like we did," Lara said. "And it's going to be horrible enough people aren't going to want to do it."

"Don't make it deadly though," I said. "Make them eat horrible stuff. But maybe not the silver poisoning."

"Brussels sprouts," Elisabeth said, making a horrible face.

I laughed. "What's wrong with Brussels sprouts?" I asked. "Fried up with some bacon and onions. Num. Now I'm hungry."

"Sushi?" Lara asked.

"Steak house," Scarlett asked. "Please?"

I laughed. "Sure," I agreed.

Over lunch, the other enforcers had questions. We deflected them individually until Lara growled. "Enough," she said. And that was the end of that.

Lunch was nice. Lara ordered chicken for me and steak for her then asked if someone would order the fish and share a little bit. Serena offered. We had a pleasant if somewhat awkward meal.

* * * *

Lara mulled it
over for three days. She talked privately to Elisabeth and me, both individually and together, but still wasn't sure what to do. On Wednesday night as we were getting ready for bed, we talked about it again.

"Do we want to ask the council?"

"No," she said. "I don't want to be forced to teach any of them. I'm not sure I want to teach Karen."

I studied her carefully. "Are you afraid of challenges?"

"Frankly, yes."

"Not even Vivian?"

"She would feel obligated to share it with the rest of the council."

"I'm sorry," I told her.

"For what?"

"It's going to be impossible for Scarlett and Elisabeth to hide this forever. If I hadn't taught them, you wouldn't be backed into a corner."

"I am very pleased you taught them," she said. "It presents a problem, but some day Elisabeth's ability to shift instantly is going to save someone's life."

"Scarlett can't hide it forever from Angel," I said.

"No," Lara agreed. "And I can't ask Scarlett not to teach her. It might save Angel's life sometime."

She picked up the phone and called Elisabeth. "My room."

Elisabeth was downstairs and came up right away, closing the door behind her.

"I would like your honest opinion," Lara said. "Angel, Serena, Emanuel. No one else."

Elisabeth instantly understood all the arguments. "What is our story?"

"People might figure
it out if the sample is small enough," I said. "They saw me shift under Scarlett, and then we made a big deal of it."

"They're going to think it's sex with the fox," Elisabeth said. "She won't be safe."

"Add Francesca to the list," I said. "And tell everyone we don't know. Suggest it's the water at Bayfield and maybe we'll be able to get people to go up there more."

Lara laughed. "Yes on Francesca. And we just don't know. Agreed?"

"Yes," Elisabeth said. "Agreed."

"When?"

Lara sighed. "Now. I won't be able to sleep."

"Angel and Francesca tonight," I suggested. "Serena and Emanuel tomorrow."

"All right," she said. "Call them, Elisabeth."

"Bring Scarlett too," I said. "I want to see if she can teach Angel."

It took them twenty minutes to arrive. They were all in bed. Scarlett knew what was going on but didn't say a word. My bedroom was growing crowded.

"Scarlett," I said. "Show them."

She grinned. "Yes! Can I teach her?"

"You can try," Lara said. "Then if that doesn't work, Elisabeth and I will each try. Then we'll try with Francesca, then let Francesca try."

"Try what?" Francesca said.

"Watch," Scarlett said, dropping her clothes quickly. "Don't blink. Three, two, one." And she was a wolf.

"Oh shit!" said Angel. She threw herself on Scarlett. "That was amazing. I'm so jealous you figured it out first!"

Scarlett shifted back.

"This is top secret," Lara said. She laid down the law. They both immediately agreed. Scarlett explained. I added a few things. Then Scarlett said, "May I try?"

"Angel?" Lara asked.

"Yes! Teach me!"

We gave them a while. Angel didn't get even a glimmer.
Elisabeth and Lara both tried with Francesca. Nothing.

Lara turned to me and sighed. "Try with Francesca."

I nodded and shifted to fox, then cuddled up to Francesca tightly. I shifted back to human and she chuffed immediately.

"Damn it," said Lara.

"No," I said. "This is good. We can control it better if not everyone can do it."

"Yeah, but my jealousy is going to get in the way," she said. I looked at her and she was pacing, her eyes a little wild.

"Oh for crying out loud," I said. I shifted to fox and then dragged Francesca to human.

"Oh wow!" she said. "Take me back."

I dragged her back and forth, slowly twice, then instantly twice. "A few more times," she said. I did, and then she said, "Let me try."

It took her a few minutes, but suddenly she was a wolf. She howled.

"Shhh!" Lara said. "Top secret."

Francesca shifted to human. "Sorry." But her shift was instant.

I grabbed a blanket and Francesca tried to teach Angel, who was still in fur. Francesca shifted with her several times, but Angel just whined or huffed. Francesca tried to drag Angel between forms, finally giving up.

"I can almost feel it," she said. "I can feel her, that is, but I can't quite get a hold of her."

"I don't even get that much," Elisabeth said.

"Motherhood must have something to do with it. Francesca might be able to figure it out."

"I don't know. It's really slippery. I can't get a hold of her."

I thought about it. "Try, I don't know. Coaxing. Go slow."

She tried a few more times. Nothing.

"Angel, can you feel it?" Lara asked.

She chuffed and huffed. "So a little?" She chuffed.

"Alpha?" I asked. "Do I teach her or do we give Francesca a few days? Maybe she'll figure it out."

"If it's motherhood," Lara said. "Then I'll figure that out soon enough." She patted her belly. "Angel, do you want to wait for your mother to teach you?"

Angel padded over to me and put her head on my knee. I looked at Lara, and she nodded. So I taught Angel.

The first time I dragged her human she said, "Oh wow! That was completely different than what Mom was doing."

Francesca sighed.

"No, I think it was different because it was fox. More subtle. Wolves aren't subtle."

"Francesca, would that help?" I asked.

"No, I doubt it. I tried a bunch of different things."

"All right." I grabbed Angel and forced her to wolf. Then human, then wolf instantly and human instantly. I did that twice more.

"Enough?" I asked her.

And she turned into a wolf in my arms. I laughed and stepped away. Angel pranced around the room, shifting back and forth several times. She finished as human and did her patented fist pump in the air. "Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes!"

I threw a blanket at her, then she ran around hugging everyone.

Angel put on her clothes and I asked, "How much longer do they have to keep this a secret?"

"They can show off for the run tomorrow night," Lara said. "But absolutely no one spills the beans how. And absolutely no one shifts while in close proximity to anyone else unless it's a life or death situation."

Everyone agreed.

"This is a major pack advantage," Lara said. "We are not going to let the world know we can teach it, and we're not going to advertise we can do it."

* * * *

The next day, before class, I taught Serena. She spent the day trying to teach Emanuel. Finally I taught him immediately before dinner.

Lara invited representatives from the council to dinner. Vivian and Ron Berg were able to come. We had a nice quiet dinner then invited everyone at the compound for a run.

"No games tonight," Lara declared. "Everyone shift and we'll have a nice run."

Everyone shifted with the exception of the instant shifters. Everyone was long used to Lara and I waiting, but they were puzzled about the rest.

Then Lara nodded. The new instant shifters shucked off their clothes, looked at each other, and shifted to wolf.

The pack turned into pandemonium. Lara let them make noise for a while then said, "Some of us seem to have acquired a new trick. We don't fully understand. Everything about this is a pack secret. We are not to talk about it. Period." She looked at Vivian and Ron. "We will inform the council in private. I don't care how, but this remains top secret."

They both chuffed.

Lara repeated the rules several more times, then said, "Let's run." She and I shifted right out of our clothes after loosening them, and Lara led us into the woods.

The following day was Friday. Ron and Vivian called an emergency council meeting.

"I have to teach!" I complained to Lara.

"Yes, but I need you there. I'm sorry. I don't like the timing, either."

Ever since the wedding, I had been attending council meetings seated to Lara's left with Elisabeth to her right. I normally sat quietly, preferring to counsel Lara and Elisabeth in private. I didn't care for the politics, but it was becoming evident I could be good at it if I tried. I really didn't want to be good at it.

"What time?"

"Ten," she replied.

"Fine," I said. "I'll get Scarlett to help with class."

"You can just hand them to Francesca," Lara said.

I grabbed my phone and called Scarlett. She sounded sleepy. "Sorry to wake you," I told her. "I need your help teaching school today. Do you mind?"