by Geonn Cannon
“Wolves, Milo,” Dale said. “I’m going to need wolves.”
#
The hardest part of the plan would be getting into the building. Dale had never been to the GG&M offices, but she had a feeling it was pretty much the same as countless others she’d visited in the past. The front entrance was a solid wall of glass which pretty much only reflected a mirror image of the sidewalk. But, parked across the street, Dale could see enough to determine that there was a sprawling tile floor, a reception desk, and a bank of elevators. She also watched dozens of people enter and exit, anonymous drones in suits who were deep in conversation with each other or their phones. Most people approached the desk, signed in, and waited for the go-ahead to approach the elevators.
Paige, Owen, and Benji were in the backseat. Milo was sitting next to Dale in the front. Everyone but Dale wore matching blue jumpsuits. Dale had gone home to change into a more appropriate outfit and, now that the building was busy enough to suit her purposes, she took out her phone and dialed the main number of the building.
“Patkanim Building, how may I direct your call?”
“Hi, sweetheart,” she said, giving her voice a sweet lilt with an exasperated breathiness. “This is Sheila Flowers calling from Seth Wheeler’s office up here at Grayson Carruthers?” She’d gotten the names from the website but hoped saying so many so quickly prevented any of them from sticking in the man’s mind. “Listen, we had a little going away party for Sara Beth up here, you know like we do, but the darn thing just got so out of hand, and we don’t want to put any strain on the custodial staff, so Mr. Lewis, what he did, he just called up a private cleaning company to come in and tidy the place, and he wanted me to be sure that I gave you the head’s up, but here’s the thing, I just plumb forgot!”
“Uh--”
“I’m really hoping they aren’t milling around downstairs already!”
“Uh, no, I don’t see anyone--”
“That’s so fantastic! They should be there at any minute, and Mr. Lewis and Mr. Wheeler and all of us here at Grayson Carruthers would appreciate it if you would just be a dear and send them straight up, okay?”
The receptionist said, “We, uh, we’ll send them up.”
“Fantastic, thank you, sweetie, you’re a doll.”
She hung up. She looked at Milo, who was stifling a laugh behind her hand.
“Shut up, it’s a character. And it works.”
“No, I like it.” She twisted to look into the backseat. “Ready?”
Owen said, “You kidding? You think I came to America so I could do internet searches and play detective? I want to have some fun.”
“Okay, then,” Dale said. “Let’s go.”
They got out of the car and crossed the street as they moved into position. The wolves formed a straight line with a slight curve. Milo was in the lead, followed by the boys, with Paige in the rear. Dale was right behind Owen’s shoulder, using his bulk to block her from sight as much as possible. They moved quickly when they entered the lobby. It was a few minutes before noon, and it seemed like half the building was leaving for lunch.
Milo raised her hand, lifting her chin to the front desk. One of the receptionists noted their maintenance uniforms and waved them past; he had more important things to deal with than a cleaning crew. Milo gave him a finger-gun in thanks and led the group toward the elevators. Milo hit the up button. When the car arrived, they waited for it to empty before they got onboard. A woman in a business suit started to get on with them, but Paige put a hand on her shoulder.
“Hey,” she said under her voice, employing the best American accent she could muster, “take my advice. Don’t get in a confined space with these sweaty pigs if you can avoid it. Catch my meaning?”
The woman looked at Owen. He pretended not to notice her as he grabbed the crotch of his jumpsuit and tugged for a better fit. Benji snorted and subtly picked his nose. The woman retreated.
“I’ll take the next one,” she said.
Paige winked at her. “Good call, sister.”
The doors closed. Dale stepped forward while the wolves moved to the back wall. She pressed the button for GG&M’s floor and held it down even as the doors closed. It was a simple trick to turn any elevator into an express, and now they wouldn’t be interrupted before they reached the law office. Behind her, she heard the jumpsuits being removed. Don’t look back, she told herself. It was like a car accident, only not entirely terrible. Milo and Paige were both beautiful women and, at this moment, were standing naked behind her. The fact Owen and Benji would also be naked helped her fight the temptation to sneak a peek.
The elevator bell dinged. Dale finally glanced back and confirmed she was sharing an elevator with four wolves. She smiled at them and faced forward as the doors slid open.
Three young women were stationed behind a tall desk under the golden letters of GILLES GIRARD AND MOREAU. The one in the middle brought her head up as smoothly as a robot and grinned.
“Gilles Girard and Moreau, wh--” Her carefully constructed façade shattered. “Oh my god!”
Dale ignored her and strolled out of the elevator. Milo and Paige ran ahead of her, heads low with growls echoing through their bared teeth. Dale’s pace was casual, hands in the pockets of her finest long coat. She was wearing a purple dress - one Ari had gotten her for Hanukkah - and knee-high leather boots. Her eyes were hidden behind dark glasses. She kept her chin high and her shoulders back as she followed the path cleared by Milo and Paige.
Behind her, Benji and Owen were taking part in a little destruction. The receptionists shrieked and fled as Owen leapt onto their desk. He sent pen cups and blotters flying. Benji threw his head back to howl and it echoed off all the glass until it sounded like an entire pack. Lawyers emerged from their offices only to curse and run. Milo chased a few of them. Paige had cornered one man who had climbed up onto a desk to escape.
And there, the corner office. Dale was almost to the door when it swung wide open to reveal Cecily Parrish. She looked at the destruction before zeroing in on Dale as its source. Her lips curled, a sneer that didn’t quite achieve the grace of a smile, and she moved to intercept.
“Miss Fr--”
Dale said, “Shut the fuck up. What about this situation led you to believe you get to speak first?”
One golden eyebrow rose. She almost looked impressed.
“You came after my family. I never had much of a family, and neither has Ariadne. We’re all each other has ever really had. And you’re trying to take that away from us. That is a very dumb thing to do, Cecily. I spent some time being sad, but I’m done with that. I’m done crying and wondering how we’ll ever get out of this. You know why? Because we don’t give up. Not on each other. We called our business Bitches because the men of this world have tried to use that word to keep us down. We decided it’s not an insult anymore. Because we don’t give up. Once we get our teeth in you, we don’t let go. Not for anything.”
The wolves gathered behind her, all four harmonizing in a single growl that filled the office.
“Ariadne once told me to be careful around you. I’m only human, after all, and your power would work on me no matter how hard I fought it. And she was right, Cecily. I’m standing here right in front of you, and all I can think about is how badly I want to fuck you over. So get ready. Because I’m not going to let you decide the game anymore.”
She let the silence linger between them.
“Now, is there something you would like to say to me?”
Cecily chuckled. “Well, I must--”
Dale slapped her. She slapped her so hard that the impact reverberated up her arm and made her hand tingle when she dropped it back to her side. She curled her fingers into a fist so Cecily wouldn’t notice how badly it was shaking. It might have gone unnoticed anyway. Cecily’s eyes widened while her pupils grew narrow, and a red flush spread across her cheeks. She looked like a cartoon character.
“I said you could talk. I didn’t say I’d
listen.”
She turned and walked away just as casually as she had entered. Cecily took one step in pursuit, but Owen - the largest of the wolves - stepped in front of her. He lowered his head and raised his shoulders. The threat was clear in his eyes, and Cecily wisely didn’t challenge him. Dale walked back to reception, where the women were still pressed hard against the far wall.
“Sorry, ladies,” Dale said as she pressed the call button. “I know you’re just doing your job.”
The elevator arrived. Fortunately, it was the same one they had taken up so Dale could retrieve the jumpsuits. They had been willing to leave them behind if necessary. Milo let out a quick, loud yap to let Owen know the elevator had arrived, and Dale held the door until he came bounding in. Dale smiled at the receptionists again.
“Word of advice, ladies? Look for a new job.”
The doors closed on their terrified faces.
Chapter Fifteen
The next time Ari woke, Dr. Byrne was standing at a nearby table with her back to the bed. Ari tried to determine how much pain she was in without moving, but it turned out moving wasn’t necessary. She was in agony. The throbbing in her arm and head earlier had become a full-scale pulse. Worse than that was the sense of being hollowed out. Without Dale, without the wolf, she felt utterly alone in a way she’d never experienced. It was horrible, worse than the physical pain, and she couldn’t stop herself from sobbing.
Byrne heard her and moved to her bedside. “Hey. It’s all right. I know you probably feel like shit, but that’s because the drug did what it was supposed to. You’re safe for the time being.”
“You’re not going to yell at me again, are you?” Ari said.
“Now that I know what you were trying to do, I have a little more sympathy.” She began checking Ari’s vitals. “Picking a fight with Miriam Kunz is still one of the dumbest things I’ve ever seen in this place, but you wanted results. I can understand that. I wish you had come to me to find out if there was anything I could do.”
Ari said, “The whole point was to keep the wolf under wraps.”
“What, you haven’t heard of doctor-patient confidentiality? It applies in here the same as it does out in the world. You’re still my patient and I’m still your physician. I would have been oath-bound to keep your secret.”
“So you can’t tell me how many wolves are in here?”
“No. But there are a few. Gladys tells me what she needs to make the drug, I bring it in, and we give the shots to canidae inmates when they need it.”
Ari said, “Where do you get the ingredients? Your pack?”
“My... oh. No, I’m not a wolf.”
“You’re not?”
Byrne smiled. “Shocking, right? A human helping out wolves.” She shone a light in Ari’s eyes. “My father was a hunter. He told me all about the big bad wolf. He told me it was our duty to eliminate them. My father was also a racist who said the same thing about black people, Muslims, Mexicans... basically anyone who wasn’t white and Christian. So I kind of lumped all his anti-canidae rhetoric as the bullshit it was. When I was a resident, a man stumbled into my ER naked and scraped up from a fall through some blackberry bushes. My attending wanted a psych eval, but I knew what was happening. I took care of him. Got him home safely.” She shrugged. “After that, I did what I could to help any wolves that needed me.”
“That’s honorable,” Ari said. “For the record, I understand working with humans. My partner is a human, actually.”
Byrne stiffened slightly and looked at Ari with a different expression. Ari started to wonder if she’d said something wrong when Byrne finally snapped out of it.
“Sorry. But. You’re... you’re her?”
“Who?”
“The canidae who stopped wolf manoth?”
Ari said, “How do you know about that?”
“Every canidae knows about it, and the ones who come through here talk like you’re some kind of mythical Robin Hood figure. The wolf who loved a woman, who fought against the hunters and brought an end to wolf manoth without a drop of bloodshed.”
Ari remembered the knife sticking out of her mother, the very real fear that she might not survive the injury.
“That’s not entirely accurate,” Ari said, “but yeah, that was me.”
“You saved a lot of lives on both sides of that conflict.”
Ari said, “I had a lot of help.”
“You must have. But a lot of wolves are still appreciative of the part you played. In fact, it will go a long way in making sure Kunz doesn’t try coming after you again.”
“Why... oh, you’re kidding me.”
Byrne shrugged, smiling. “No group of people is all good. I’m sure you’ve met your fair share of bad canidae.”
“Yeah.” She lifted her arms to hug herself, and only then did she realize the restraints were gone. “Hey. You let me go.”
“Once I realized you weren’t psychotic or suicidal, I didn’t see any reason for the straps. Don’t prove me wrong.”
“I won’t.” She rubbed her arms and grimaced. She felt low-key nauseated, a general discomfort that settled in the hollow of her stomach. “Does it get better? I mean, does it get less horrifying to be separated from the wolf?”
Byrne looked sympathetic. “I wouldn’t know. It varies from one patient to another, but Gladys has been in here for over a decade. I don’t think she remembers what it feels like to be canidae. It’s tragic, but at least she’s come to terms with it. Others, like Kunz, never seem to get over it. She waits until the very last day to come get her booster. The wolf is always clawing right at the edges to get out. It’s part of the reason she’s so hair-trigger. A word of advice, don’t wait.”
Ari said, “I’ll take that under advisement. How long do I have to stay in here?”
“You can leave in an hour or so. I just want to make sure you don’t have any unexpected reactions to the drugs. I can prescribe you something for the pain, but you’ll have to come back to get each dose. You aren’t allowed to have pills in your cell.”
“That seems a little strict,” Ari said. “What is this, a prison?”
Byrne said, “You know, I’m starting to get that impression myself. Mostly it’s the guards and the bars and all the criminals.” She tapped her fingers on the foot of the bed. “I’m going to get out of here and let you rest a little. I’ll be back in about an hour to officially let you go.”
“Thank you, Dr. Byrne.”
“My canidae patients call me Dr. Val.”
Ari nodded. “Ari.”
Dr. Byrne - Val - dipped her chin in acknowledgement and shut the door behind her. Ari let her head sink into the pillow and closed her eyes. The weight of the air seemed unbearably heavy, and the silence... was it always this quiet? She could hear her own breathing. She trusted Gladys and Val, as much as she could trust two people she’d barely met, and she believed the wolf was still there but asleep. But she’d never felt so separated from it before. She’d never felt so utterly and completely human.
Since she was alone and no one would hear her anyway, Ari gave in to her emotions and allowed herself to cry softly.
#
The wolves in the back seat spent the ride back to Gwen’s place pawing at each other, but they were easy to ignore. They had transformed once they were back in the elevator, pulling on their jumpsuits while Dale held the button down again. No one in the lobby paid any attention to them as they walked out; one of the red flags on the plan had been the potential for Cecily to call security to prevent them from leaving. Apparently no one in the law firm wanted to confess they had just been attacked by a pack of wolves.
Milo called Gwen to let her know they’d gotten out of the building safely. Dale focused on the drive and was for once grateful for Seattle traffic. It kept her from thinking about the gauntlet she had thrown down. Standing in front of Cecily without flinching had taken every bit of strength she had. Now she felt like she had to vomit and pee and curl up in a ball and
scream, all at the same time. Milo reached over and patted her knee at a stoplight.
“You did damn good.”
“Mm-hmm,” Dale said, afraid to open her mouth.
“You okay?”
Dale nodded.
When they got home, Paige hooked her arm around Benji’s and practically dragged him out of the car. Owen followed them and left the door open behind him. By the time Dale got into the house, all three had disappeared upstairs. Dale looked up at the ceiling and then at Milo in the hopes for an explanation. Milo grinned and shrugged.
“Fucking.”
“What?”
“They got to run wild in an office and see you being a total badass. They might be human now, but the animal doesn’t let go easily. They have to burn off the excess energy. Sex is the best way to do that. And the most fun.”
Dale said, “But... I thought Paige and Owen were estranged.”
Milo went to the fridge to get a drink. “Yeah. And Benji is straight. I told you all this before, Dale, it doesn’t matter when it’s in the pack.”
“So why didn’t you go up with them?”
Gwen came downstairs, inadvertently answering the question. She hooked a thumb over her shoulder. “Is whatever is happening in my guest room a good thing?”
“Very good,” Milo said. “You’d have been proud of your girl here, Gwen.”
“I’m always proud of her,” Gwen said, pausing to touch Dale’s hand. “Are you okay, sweetheart? You look a little green around the gills.”
Dale said, “Adrenaline’s wearing off.”
“Why don’t you go...” She looked at the stairs and then pivoted. “Lie down on the couch. It’ll probably be less noisy down here for a little bit.”
“I think I will. Thanks.”
Gwen watched her go and then moved closer to Milo. “So it went well?”
Milo said, “Everything went like clockwork. It was a bit nerve-wracking when Dale was actually standing in front of the shrew, but I think she was so stunned that anyone would stand up to her that she didn’t think to lash out.” She grinned and lowered her voice. “Girlie also adlibbed a little. Gave Cecily a chance to talk and, as soon as she opened her mouth, slapped her across the face. I’d have applauded if I’d had hands at that moment.”