Wolf Ways (The Madison Wolves Book 9) (45 page)

But then the door opened. The room filled with wolves and one little fox. Michaela bounced over to us, shifting into her human form.

“Oh, you are totally spoiling her. Iris you big sponge, that’s more than enough.”

“I don’t mind,” I said. I leaned over and kissed Iris on the forehead. “She’s very sweet.”

“That she is. But she’s going to stir herself so you can clean up the fur. It’s time for snacks, then bedtime.”

* * * *

Portia checked on me before going to her own bed. She was going to just pop in and out of my room, but I said, “Portia?”

“Yes?”

“I’d brush you any time you want.”

“I’d like that, Zoe.”

“Get some brushes,” I said.”

“I will. Are you all set?”

“Do I get a bedtime hug?”

We hugged for a while, then she released me.

“Thank you,” I told her.

“For the hug?”

“For being so good to me.”

“You’re welcome.”

* * * *

Angel and Scarlett took me for a run in the morning. It was only about ten minutes, and they were both breathing hard when we got back, but it was magical, truly magical.

Helping Michaela with her program was fun, fun and fascinating.

She and I also had gone over the proposal for the photography classes. There were still more hoops to follow, so of course, the kids hadn’t all rushed out and bought SLR cameras, but she’d encouraged all of them to bring something. And so I taught introduction to photography for an hour on Friday and Saturday, and we did a couple of outings to take photos.

We made time to go kayaking. I talked to Michaela about that.

“I can stay home.”

“You don’t want to go?”

“I love kayaking. But-”

“But you don’t want to hold us back.”

“Right.”

“Zoe, you’re going to just have to accept your limitations.”

“I do, Michaela.”

“And accept the help we offer.”

“You would tow me?”

“Not me. Monique. Or any of the other wolves. We’re going to outfit your kayak with a tether, and when you want a tow, you just pop over to the back of someone’s kayak and attach it. You might want to warn her first, of course.”

“I’d be embarrassed.”

“You shouldn’t be. Zoe, if you really, really can’t stand it, you may stay here. But this is important, and I think you should bite the bullet and just get used to asking for help.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes. You shouldn’t make Monique tow you the entire time, and I presume you would still paddle. Rather than just assuming someone is going to tow you, ask for a tow and see who volunteers.”

“All right, but if you guys tow me out there and leave me miles from home, I’ll cry like a baby.”

She laughed.

And so, that was what we did. I started out paddling, but once we had gone a little while, I said, “All right. I love this, but if we want to go faster, someone can tow me. Otherwise this is a great pace for a human.”

I had five offers immediately, and after that, the kids fought over who got to tow me to the point that if we came to a stop, someone would paddle over, release me from whoever was already towing me, then ask someone to attach me to her kayak.

It was — like so many other things these kids did — very sweet. Who would have thought it? Sweet, thoughtful werewolves.

The wolves also got in the habit of running me everywhere. Unless we were all going at a slow pace, anyway, suddenly there would be a wolf on either side of me. They’d grab my arms, count to three, and we’d be off. It surprised me the first few times they did it, but I loved it from the beginning, and I ended every run laughing with joy.

Then I saw them doing it with Michaela, too. She bitched the first time, but the kids ignored the bitching. I saw Lara laughing, and I thought perhaps she had put the kids up to it.

I teased her a little about it. “Weren’t you telling me to ask for help when I needed it.”

I got a glare and a grin for that comment.

There were two other notable events on the trip. I’ll save my conversation with Elisabeth for a moment and talk about the other.

* * * *

“Where were you?” I asked Portia. “You disappeared.”

It was Saturday evening. Dinner would be soon, and I was in my room taking a little break.

Portia didn’t answer. But she looked shell shocked.

“Portia? Are you all right?” I got off my bed and moved to her, looking into her eyes.

“I’m fine,” she said in a small voice. Slowly she focused on me. “Zoe, I need to talk to you.”

“All right,” I said. “Does this conversation require a beer?”

“No. Champagne, perhaps.”

I pulled her to the bed, and we sat down. There was a chair, but I didn’t like it, and I’d been sitting on the bed.

“We can trust you, right?”

“You’ve been trusting me. Yes, Portia. Of course.”

“This is a pack secret. Zoe, this secret is almost as big as the big one you’re keeping.”

“I won’t tell, Portia. You know that.”

“Promise.”

“Promise. You don’t have to tell me.”

“Yes, actually. The alphas told me to, but I can’t stress the secrecy enough.”

“I won’t tell a soul. Is it something I’ll want to talk to Michaela about?”

“Probably not. Once I tell you, you’ll understand whom you could talk to and whom you can’t. And you’ll know not to talk about it to anyone else.”

“All right. I promise, Portia. I’m not a blabbermouth.”

“Good. We know that, but I had to be clear. You know how most wolves take time to shift between fur and skin?”

“Yes. But not all of them.”

“Right. I’m pretty fast, taking two or three minutes. That’s pretty standard for most wolves like me. But you noticed the kids — and even Cassie’s parents — take a lot longer. Young kids can take a half hour.”

“Michaela’s pups are instant.”

“Yes, they are.” She paused. “I want to show you something.”

She began unbuttoning her shirt.

“I’m not sure we have that kind of relationship, Portia.”

She colored and laughed nervously. It was cute. But she stripped entirely naked, then knelt down-

-and from one blink to a next, she was a wolf.

I stared at her, then clapped. “Oh Portia!” I climbed from the bed and hugged her. “Oops. I should have asked.” But she turned her head and licked me, and I thought that meant it was okay. I hugged her quick once more then sat back on the bed.

Then I patted it and said, “Her girl.”

She growled at me. It was a playful growl, but a growl nevertheless.

“Oh come on, it was a joke. But I wouldn’t mind. I could scratch your itchies.”

Instead, she shifted back into her skin; it was instant as well. When she looked at me, she was grinning. She hadn’t stopped grinning by the time she was dressed. Then she joined me on the bed.

“Do you understand?”

“No. You’ve been shifting slowly to hide your ability?”

“No. Um. That’s where I was. Learning how.”

“You just learned?”

She nodded. “They taught Monique, too. Lara’s going to get shit from the pack council for that, but they taught Monique, anyway.”

“Congratulations, Portia. It is congratulations, isn’t it?”

“Yeah. Zoe, you might not understand, but this is a big deal. It’s a really big deal.”

“Rory and Eric shift slow.”

“Rory is really slow for an enforcer,” Portia said.

“They haven’t taught them? They’ve been in the pack longer.”

“I need to explain a few more things. Do you know how advancement works in the pack? Like how you become alpha? Or how you join the council?”

“Lara’s father was alpha. It’s inherited?”

“Lara’s father was alpha. It’s not inherited. It’s earned.”

“So, like, she moved up the ranks?”

“She did, but that’s not how you earn it. You kill the previous alpha.”

“What?” I screeched. “She killed her father?”

“No. She killed the alpha who killed her father.”

I stared at her. “That’s horrible!”

“Yeah, it is. It’s an old tradition. That’s how you get on the council, too. It doesn’t have to be a fight to the death. And there are members of the council who wouldn’t survive a challenge, but no one would dare challenge them because the pack would kill them for disrupting the organization. Do you understand?”

“Not really, but sort of.” I shook my head. “I’m sorry, but that’s a little barbaric.”

“It’s a lot barbaric.” She paused. “Zoe, when I joined the pack, I promised I had no political aspirations.”

My eyes widened. “You promised not to challenge Lara?”

“Well, I promised not to challenge Elisabeth. I don’t know if I could beat her. I don’t want her job. I can’t tell you how much I don’t want that job, and I really don’t want Lara’s job.” She paused. “I want you to think about a challenge fight when one of the two people can shift instantly to fur.”

“You’re stronger in fur?”

“Yes. A strong male wolf in skin can beat a weak wolf in fur, but a strong wolf in fur always beats a wolf in skin. Do you see?”

I nodded. “They’re afraid Eric and Rory would challenge Elisabeth?”

“No, but they’re both immature for their ages.”

I thought about it. “Angel and Scarlett are instant. And the pups. Elisabeth. Karen. Lara. Serena. And now you and Monique.”

I thought through the implications.

“Michaela’s the teacher,” I declared.

“You’re too damned smart for your own good. Zoe that is a pack secret times five. Do you understand? People know we can shift quickly, and we know of other wolves that do, as well. But you cannot talk about Michaela teaching us. Not with anyone.”

“I won’t, Portia. You know that.”

“Again, I had to be clear.”

I nodded. “There’s a little more. They didn’t teach you sooner, and they just taught Monique. But they haven’t taught all the students, and not even Eric and Rory. Are they going to be mad?”

“I don’t know. That’s not my problem. Can you figure out why they taught Monique and me?”

“It has to be a trust thing.”

“Yes.”

“Well, I’d trust both of you. It’s hard to believe they trust a 15-year-old before two adults though.”

“Eric and Rory are both very solid in a fight, but male wolves have to deal with everything there is about being male plus everything about being a wolf. Those two have as much power as they can handle gracefully, and they both know it. It’s easier for a woman.”

“We have our own hormones. Well, I do.”

“I do, too,” she said. “And I produce a lot more testosterone than you do, but nothing like what the guys produce.”

“How do you feel about it?”

“I was stunned when they offered. So was Monique. Did you hear the howling?”

“I heard howling. I can’t recognize voices. I didn’t know it was her.”

“She must have shifted back and forth a dozen times, jumping around the room and shifting. She’s not very good at that yet. None of us are as graceful as Michaela. I’m going to have to practice. You saw I had to crouch down. Lara isn’t as graceful as Michaela, but she can shift in a jump.”

I hugged her and laid my head on her shoulder. “Congratulations, Portia. I’m happy for you.”

“It’s going to make everything so much easier,” she said. “It takes a lot of energy, so if I do it too much, I’ll get low blood sugar and have to eat someone.”

“That’s not funny!”

She chuckled.

“But being able to shift to human and talk, then back to fur…” She shook her head. “It’s going to take getting used to. All my life, I’ve had to shift slowly, and now in one night, it’s instant.” She leaned against me for a moment. “It’s going to take time to absorb.”

“I imagine.”

She turned to face me again. “I want to tell you one more thing.”

“Okay.”

“As soon as we were done, the first thought I had was, ‘I can’t wait to show Zoe’.”

“Oh Portia,” I said. “I’m touched. I’m glad you did. I’m so excited for you.”

“I wish we could teach you,” she said. “I’m sorry.”

I shook my head. “I’m just happy to be included.”

“You weren’t before.”

“No. I was scared. I’m not scared now, and it’s because of you.”

She smiled. “I’m glad. I like having you around. Does this mean the next time I show up on your doorstep, you’ll open the door and smile?”

I laughed. “Yes.”

“Good.”

“Did you want to help me make dinner?”

“You’re not going to make me eat bean sprouts, are you?”