by Geonn Cannon
Milo stepped forward and let her mask of humor fall. “You’re going to ruin her life, not to mention Dale’s life, out of pettiness? You’re honestly going to let her spend years in prison just because she had the audacity to say no to you? Is your ego really that fragile?”
Cecily didn’t blink. “Ariadne Willow is not the only pawn in this game, the game this firm has been playing for over a century. There are others who were told there would be consequences to their actions, who made the correct choice and now see proof that our threats were not hollow. She’s serving as an example to those souls who are now convinced we do not bluff.”
Milo looked past Cecily. She could see people in the office watching the exchange. “So who are they? Vampires? Zombies? I don’t want to be racist, but that freckle-faced motherfucker right there is screaming leprechaun. Ay, boy-o, she after yer lucky charms?”
“Are you finished, Miss Duncan?”
Milo took a step forward. She locked eyes with Cecily again. “Canidae don’t bluff either, Miss Parrish. You know all that stuff about alphas is bullshit, right? We don’t operate like that. We’ll defer to our elders and our strongest members, sure, but we’re all equal. Until one of us is threatened. Then the entire pack rallies around her. And we go after the predator who so stupidly tried to take us on, and we sink our teeth in, and we don’t let go until it’s lying bloody on the grass behind us. That’s what wolves do. So you take real good care, now. Think about which lesson you want your prisoners to learn.”
She turned and jabbed the elevator call button with two fingers.
“What we’re doing to Ariadne Willow is the termination of a dance. Our lives briefly became entwined, and this is simply how we unravel the knot. What we do to you, Miss Duncan? That will be simple spite.”
Milo stepped into the elevator and faced Cecily again. She smiled and pressed the lobby button.
“I withdraw my application to work for you. I’ll move to America, and my job will be taking your bony ass down. Have a nice day.”
The elevator doors closed as she smiled and waved at them with her raised middle finger.
#
When Ari arrived at the gym, she found a familiar face running on the treadmill. Elise Gilpin, one of the women escorted into jail with her. Elise smiled and waved without breaking her stride. Ari scanned the room but didn’t see anyone else.
“Gilpin, right?” Ari said. “Car theft?”
“Among other things. You’re Willow. Murder.”
“Alleged murder,” Ari corrected.
“Right.” Ari had no idea if Elise was there for the canidae meeting or just happened to be working out. She didn’t know how to ask without being obvious. Flashback to being in a bar and trying to figure out if the blonde at the other end was flirting or commiserating. “So, uh... you... uh...”
Elise said, “I’ve only got a few more minutes if you need the machine.”
“I’m... yeah, okay. I can wait. No rush.”
Kunz came in, followed by Frankie and another inmate. The new woman was older, with long white hair and the wide-eyed stare of a crone in an animated fairy tale. Kunz saw Elise and hooked a finger over her shoulder.
“Out.”
Ari said, “Wait, c’mon. She only has a few minutes left.”
Elise was already punching in a command, her stride slowing. “Thanks, Willow, but I think I’d rather cut it short and head out.” She stepped off the treadmill and retrieved her towel. She looked at Ari’s bruises. “Come with me. We’ll grab a bite to eat. Somewhere that isn’t here.”
“Appreciated,” Ari said, “but Kunz and I are pals now.”
Elise didn’t look convinced, but she obviously didn’t want to risk getting on the hulking woman’s bad side. She stepped around Ari and quickly fled the room. The inmate Ari didn’t recognize shut the door but remained close by so she could keep watch though the windows. Kunz walked to the butterfly press and sat down on the bench.
“You’re going to want to spend as much time in here as possible if you want to keep those cheekbones. You aren’t getting your normal workout running through the woods every couple of nights, you aren’t burning through calories to transform, and the drug kicks your metabolism in the butt. Add all that up and you’ve got a recipe for a new spare tire.”
“Thanks for the warning,” Ari said.
“By the way, do you know Henning?” She pointed at the woman by the door.
Ari nodded a greeting. “Willow.”
“I know who you are,” Henning said, keeping her eye on the hall. “And I know what you did.”
“Okay...”
Frankie said, “It can be tough in here even with the drug. Losing your wolf is going to take its toll on you the first time.”
“The first time is a bitch,” Kunz said, “no pun intended. It’s like going cold turkey on the hardest drug you can imagine. You can go a couple of days thinking you’ve got it beat and then bam. Most of us can go a week or two without transforming and we barely even notice. But the third week, there’s an itch. There’s that itch of something that needs to be done. Like a bill you forgot to pay or you forgot to turn off the oven when you left for work. By the fourth week, even though the drug makes sure you can’t transform, your body is going by its normal routine. It knows something is supposed to happen but hasn’t. I figure that’s how most ladies realize they’re pregnant even before they miss their period. Our bodies know when something fucked-up is happening.
Ari said, “Am I going to have more fits in the middle of the night?”
“Nah, probably not. You can deal with it during your waking hours to help take the edge off. That’s what we’re here for. To help you. Exercise helps. It tricks our brains into thinking ‘well, maybe I did go for a run today’.”
“And drugs,” Henning interjected. “Drugs help.”
Kunz shrugged. “Yeah, if you want drugs, you can get drugs.”
“I think I’ll steer clear of the drugs.”
“Smart,” Kunz said. “Basically we’re a support group. Like AA, but without the higher power stuff. We don’t want to be ‘sober,’ but since we’ve got no choice, we might as well help each other out. We can’t get official support from the prison because we can’t tell them what we’re abstaining from, so we meet up in secret whenever we can.”
Henning said, “It helps us remember we’re not alone, even if we’re not with our pack.”
Frankie said, “But we’re looking for something more specific from you.” She leaned forward, staring hard at Ari. “We’ve all been locked up in here, taking that drug, for years. So you’ll have to remind us.” Her expression wavered, just a little, and Ari could see the desperation behind her eyes. “What’s it like to transform?”
“It’s been so long, man,” Kunz said wistfully. “Remind us what we’re missing.”
“Okay...” Ari sat on the bench press. “Uh, well. A lot of times it just happens. There’s not a real urge or instinct, you just feel it creeping up on you. It used to hurt me a lot because... well, it’s a really long story about that. But lately it just feels like sliding off a wetsuit. It’s not that being human is uncomfortable and neither form feels more right than the other, but it just feels good to let the wolf out.”
“Like taking off your bra at the end of a long day,” Henning offered.
Ari smiled. “Yeah. That’s how I describe it to my girlfriend.”
Henning said, “Wouldn’t she already know?”
“She’s not canidae.”
Henning and Frankie looked at each other. Kunz furrowed her brow. “The wolf who stopped the hunters really was banging a human? I thought that was just a rumor.”
Ari said, “No. And we’re not ‘banging.’ We’ve been together for... wow, five years. We’re in it for the long haul.”
“But with a human?” Henning said. “I know people have their kinks, but damn.”
“How could she possibly understand anything you’re going through?”
Ari said
, “She doesn’t have to transform to understand. The pain I was talking about? She’s the one who figured out how to make it go away. When I go for a run as the wolf and get too far away from home, she’s the one dragging herself out of bed at two in the morning to give me a ride home. She used to give me massages after a bad transformation when my muscles hurt so badly I could barely stand up. I don’t care that she’s human or has never run in the woods as a wolf.”
Kunz said, “I guess I can’t judge. I’ve never had a relationship like that. Maybe I should start hooking up with humans.”
Henning said, “Over my dead body.”
Kunz blew her a kiss. Henning sneered and went back to keeping watch.
Ari said, “I don’t think it’s really sunk in yet. I’m not going to transform for at least six months. Even if my people outside figure something out and get the charges dropped, I’ve taken the drug. Is there any way to flush it out of my system?”
“Sorry,” Kunz said.
“Right. And if my people can’t fix this, then I might be in the same boat all of you are. I can’t imagine forgetting what it’s like to be the wolf.”
“I’d start trying to picture it real hard, wild woman,” Kunz said. “It’s about to become your reality.”
Chapter Twenty
Monday night, Benji and Owen abandoned the pack in favor of a hotel. “It’s not that we mind sleeping on the floor,” Benji said, “it’s just that we can’t spend another day sharing two bathrooms with a half-dozen women.” Gwen offered to take care of the bill but they waved her off. Once they were gone, Paige glanced at Mia and something unspoken passed between them. Mia decided she was the one who would speak.
“The boys running out of patience brings up an interesting point. Something we need to discuss now rather than later.” She wet her lips to give herself a moment to ponder her next sentence. “At some point we need to go home. We have jobs, lives... we have three pack members who didn’t come with us who are probably clawing at the walls to see us again.”
Gwen said, “Of course.”
“We don’t want to just abandon you. We obviously don’t want to turn tail when Ari still needs our help. But we should think of a cut-off point.”
“That’s only fair,” Gwen said. “It would be reasonable that you could return home at the end of this week if we haven’t made significant progress by then.”
Mia nodded, looking relieved. “We absolutely want to do everything we can to help.”
“You have your own lives,” Dale said, finally chipping in. She’d been sitting at the wall between the living room and kitchen. “You dropped everything with no warning to be here when we needed you the most. Ari and I aren’t going to ever forget that.” She stood up and went to Mia, hugging her tightly. “Thank you.”
“If you change your mind about my offer, just give me a call,” Mia said, kissing the top of Dale’s head. “Hannah and I owe it to you.”
“You don’t owe me anything,” Dale said. “Slate’s clean.”
Milo came downstairs and paused when she saw the tableau in front of her. “What’s going on?”
Gwen said, “We’ve decided that if we haven’t made significant progress toward freeing Ari by the end of the week, you should all go back home. As much as we appreciate having you here for us, you shouldn’t sacrifice your lives for us.”
“Oh.” Milo looked at Paige, and past her at Tarun and Hannah in the living room. “I was kind of planning to wait until later for this conversation. But... uh... when everyone goes home, I was thinking that I would... not.”
Paige said, “What do you mean?”
Milo sighed heavily and looked at her feet. “I mean that more and more over the past few months, I’ve been wishing I was here instead of at home. I don’t miss my apartment at all. I don’t miss my job. Hell, my manager hinted that the job wouldn’t be there when I come back because I don’t have nearly enough vacation days for this trip. I didn’t care. I had to be here because there’s nowhere else I want to be.” She glanced at Gwen and quickly averted her gaze before she could read anything in her expression. “I’ll find a place to stay here in Seattle.”
Gwen softly said, “I think I know of a place with some vacancies.”
Dale said, “Oh, god. Ari’s going to be begging to stay in jail when she hears about this.”
Milo laughed and reached out to grab Dale’s shoulder. “Or she’ll break down the walls of the prison to run me out of the country.”
Gwen smiled clearly relieved at having the matter settled but also giddy at Milo’s revelation. “Well. Now that we’ve confirmed everyone’s schedule, perhaps we can focus on getting Ariadne out of prison.”
“I’m going to meet with Diana at lunch,” Dale said. “She’s going to introduce me to Ari’s lawyer. Want to come?”
Gwen nodded. “I like Diana very much. How is her wife?”
“Healthy. Responding well to the chemo.”
Gwen nodded. “I’m glad to hear it.” She checked her watch. “I’m going upstairs to freshen up.”
She left the kitchen and headed for the bathroom. She was almost there when she heard Milo behind her on the stairs.
“Hey. Hold on.” Gwen stopped. The upstairs was quiet, the doors standing open to reveal the various detritus of everyone who was camping out in the house. Milo caught up and leaned in close, her voice low because she knew everyone downstairs would be trying very hard to overhear. “I kind of dumped that in your lap without warning, right in front of everyone. I don’t want you to think I consider it a done deal just because you were backed into a corner...”
Gwen put two fingers over Milo’s mouth. “No corners, Milo. You are in not trapping me in any sense of the word. In fact, when you said that, I wondered if maybe I had forced you into making the announcement somehow. Like maybe you thought I expected some kind of commitment. I’m happy with the way things are. But if I could have you here all the time? Of course I want that. I want that so much that I’m feeling guilty. Ari’s going through hell right now, and I have this whole awful situation to thank for finally getting you here.”
Milo smiled. “Glad I wasn’t alone in that thought.”
“We’ll both get absolution later.” She kissed Milo. “For right now, I’m just very happy at a time when I expected to be distraught.”
“Happy to help,” Milo said. Gwen started to pull away, but Milo grabbed her hand. “You said you were going to freshen up. That mean shower...?”
Gwen said, “Yes. The boys weren’t wrong about the bathroom being in high demand. There probably isn’t any hot water yet, but I can’t function until I’ve at least taken a quick shower.”
“Maybe I can warm the water up for you.”
“Millicent,” Gwen said warningly.
Milo growled and pressed herself against Gwen. “Mm, you know what it does to me when you call me that.”
“Who else can get away with it?” Gwen asked, well aware of the answer.
“Nobody, baby,” Milo confirmed.
Gwen linked their fingers and pulled Milo toward the master bathroom. “C’mere. Come warm up my water.”
Milo kicked the bedroom door shut behind them.
#
Dale drove to the restaurant Diana had chosen, pretending she hadn’t overheard Gwen and Milo having shower sex when she went upstairs to retrieve her phone. There was only a fraction of awkwardness to the situation, completely outshined by how ridiculously happy Gwen was. Dale remembered the first time she met Ari’s mother. She had been a cold woman, singularly-focused on her mission to destroy the hunters who threatened canidae. Dale had actually been frightened of her. Now, sitting at a stoplight, she looked over and caught Gwen staring out the window at a flower shop on the corner like a teenager planning for prom.
“Violets.”
Gwen looked at her. “What?”
“I think Milo would like violets.”
Gwen faced forward. “Green light.”
Dale rolle
d through the intersection. “I’m just saying that if someone were to get her flowers, I think you would be good with violets.”
“Thank you,” Gwen said. After a moment she sighed heavily. “Am I being completely ridiculous? This girl is Ariadne’s age!”
“So? You were young when you had her. You’re, what, mid-fifties now?” Gwen didn’t confirm or deny. “It’s not that huge of a leap. The important thing is that you’re both adults. You met her when she was in her late twenties, so it’s not like you’re a cradle robber. You’re both obviously consenting. I think it’s amazing you found each other.”
Gwen looked out the window again.
“Of course,” Dale said, “I’m the one dating a whole different species, so maybe no one should take my advice on what constitutes normal in a relationship.”
Gwen laughed and then sighed. “No one makes me feel the way she does, Dale. And when she looks at me, I can tell she feels the same. It’s not just her age. I never saw myself falling in love with a woman. I have no idea how I ended up in this situation.”
“You ended up in this situation because you took a chance,” Dale said. “Don’t think your way out of enjoying the benefits, okay? Just love each other while you can. I could have freaked out that I was falling in love with a werewolf, run home to Pennsylvania, and got a normal job at my daddy’s office. That would’ve been the safe thing to do. But I wouldn’t be anywhere near as happy. When in doubt, go for happy. You deserve it more than most.”
“Thank you, Dale.”
“No problem.”
The meeting was set up at Oliver’s Lounge, a swanky bar inside the Mayflower Park Hotel. It was only a few blocks away from the shootout where Dale saved Hannah’s life a few years earlier; she hoped that was a good omen. She found a place to park and let Gwen lead the way into the lobby. Ari was better at faking her way through the rich parts of town. She was born into wealth and, even though she turned her back on that life, part of her still understood how to interact with people who had the luxury of doing whatever the hell they wanted to do.
Diana and the lawyer were already seated. He was impeccably dressed, blonde hair left just long enough to appear expensively mussed. He was a small and wiry man in a three-piece suit but held himself with the bearing of someone who was seven feet tall with a hundred pounds of muscle under his jacket. He stood when he saw them approaching and extended one fine-boned hand.