by Robin Roseau
“All right,” she said. “I believe that all stems from distrust in our motives, and that’s probably our fault for initially misleading you.”
I nodded. “I’m sorry,” I said.
“I don’t blame you,” she said. “Zoe, are you willing to admit the situation was strained for all of us?”
“Of course.”
“Has anyone said or done a thing since to suggest there is any continued subterfuge?”
“No.” But I looked around. “But I wish Lara would have admitted the truth about this apartment.”
“What truth?”
“Oh please. We both know it’s bugged to the rafters.”
“Have you found bugs?”
“No, but they could be embedded in the walls or the lamps or something. I presume my phone and computer are both still bugged as well.”
“Has Gia stopped by and run a scan?”
“She did once. I held a GreEN meeting here. She was by the next day.”
“Did she find anything?”
“She said she didn’t, but I wouldn’t expect her to tell me about her own bugs.”
“Well, you’re wrong. The pack has not bugged you. There is a location trace on your phone and laptop, but nothing to tell how you’re using them. And for the record, there are the same traces on my computer and phone to go along with whatever the hell it is Elisabeth keeps sewing into my clothing.”
I wasn’t sure I believed her. In fact, I was sure I didn’t.
“Zoe, I know all this is intimidating. But you’re safe.” She really stressed the last word. “Now, speaking as your alpha, I expect you at every pack play night and every Wednesday dinner unless you’re specifically told not to come.”
I looked down yet again. “Yes, Alpha.”
“I want you to think about what I said. And I want you to try to give us an honest second chance, Zoe.”
I nodded slowly.
“Now, speaking as your friend, I want you to please accept the other offers you receive. That is not a command.”
I looked up but didn’t respond.
“Speaking both as your friend and your alpha, I want you to fit in. You aren’t going to fit in if you don’t start trying.”
I nodded again.
“This is important, Zoe.”
“I understand, Michaela.” It was, by and large, a lie. I didn’t understand why she professed to care, but I presumed it was all part of keeping an eye on me.
“Good. Now, as for matchmaking… Do you find Elisabeth attractive or not?”
“She’s stunning!”
“That she is,” Michaela agreed. “All the wolves are, but she and Lara are the best. I could watch them for hours. Sometimes, when we’re running…” she trailed off. “I’m not going to tell you whom to date. Should I tell Elisabeth to stop asking?”
Yet again I looked away, considering my words carefully. “I don’t know what to do,” I admitted finally. “I was falling for her, Michaela. But it was all a lie.”
“You were lying to her?”
“She was lying to me.”
“Actually, she wasn’t.”
I looked back. “Of course she was.”
“Not about how she felt about you.”
“Michaela, the only reason she asked me out was so you could spy on me.”
“The first date, that’s true, and it continued to be true to a lesser extent. But she didn’t lie to you when she expressed her feelings.”
“I’m just a human. What could she see in me?”
“Passion. Intelligence. Wit. Strength.”
I scoffed.
“Zoe, you went on a date to a secluded location on the night of a full moon with a woman you knew was a werewolf.”
“And I was scared out of my mind.” I looked straight into her eyes when I said it.
“For part of it,” she agreed. “But you did it. You did it because you trusted her when she said you were safe. How could you do that, but not trust her when she said she likes you? How could you do that but not trust me when I tell you that she likes you?”
I stared at her. She was right. She began to smile. “Got you on that, did I?” and I nodded, returning the smile. “Good. If you don’t expect to loosen up and start accepting her invitations, tell her to stop asking. Otherwise start accepting. Anything else isn’t fair to either of you.”
I nodded. “I have to think about it.”
Michaela returned the nod. “I wasn’t expecting this part of the conversation to last this long. I’m also surprised no one has tried to break down the door. We’re going to be interrupted, but let’s keep going. This part of the conversation will be more fun.”
Then Michaela drank more of her water, smiled again, and asked cheerfully, “So, do you know how to scuba dive?”
“No. I’m afraid not.”
“Can you swim?”
“Very well.”
“Do you have an interest in learning to scuba dive?”
I frowned.
“Does that mean ‘no’?”
“It means it’s an expensive hobby I can ill afford, one that is best enjoyed in more tropical climates than Wisconsin. I know people dive the lakes here, but that only holds the most mild of interests to me.”
“So there are impediments. So let’s say you could afford it, and furthermore let’s say you won an all-expenses-paid tropical vacation, and the others on the trip were going diving. Would you want to dive with them?”
“Of course,” I said. “That would be fabulous.”
She smiled. “Are you able to check your photograph sales immediately, or is there a delay?”
“I can check immediately,” I said. “I get email.”
“Perhaps you should check.”
“Right now?”
She nodded.
I climbed to my feet and retrieved my laptop. I’d been ignoring my email earlier while working on the letters for GreEN, so I fired up the mail program. A moment later, I saw I had email from my sales web site. I opened it and stared.
“I believe that takes care of whether you can afford it,” she said.
“Alpha?”
Michaela smiled.
“Why did you do this?”
“More matchmaking,” she said, and the smile extended into her eyes. “And because I truly do like you and enjoy your company. Now, I am inviting you as a friend, not your alpha. According to your schedule, you’re free this weekend.”
I nodded.
“Are you telling me ‘no’?”
I shook my head.
“Can you tolerate Karen’s company?”
I thought about it and didn’t answer her.
“She’s our dive instructor. You can learn from one of the human dive schools if you just can’t be around Karen, but I’d rather you learned from her. She’ll keep you very safe, Zoe.”
So I nodded.
“Good. Your diving lessons begin Friday afternoon at the compound and extend through the weekend. There’s a lot of bookwork, which is what you’ll do Friday. You’ll start doing pool activities on Saturday and Sunday, so bring a suit and towel those days. And you’ll need a checkbook Friday to pay for the materials. You can afford it.”
“I’ll be there.”
“Excellent. There are things you need to buy that are fitted for you. Karen will call you. You’ll need to go this evening or tomorrow. You can afford them, too.”
“I thought scuba gear was very expensive.”
“It is. You don’t need all the gear. Just a few things. The rest can be rented or borrowed. If you like it, and if it looks like you’ll be going with us on a regular basis, we’ll find a way for you to get your own, but it might take a few wagers with your girlfriend.” She smiled when she said that.
I laughed nervously. The wolves liked their wagers.
“I’m not going to start dating her just so she’ll buy me things,” I said.
“I wasn’t implying you would, Zoe,” Michaela replied. “Did she really
hold you on her shoulders while she ate you?”
I colored immediately. “Michaela!”
“Did she?”
I nodded and then buried my face in my arms. “That is such a crude way to put it.”
She chuckled. “I suspect there are a variety of reasons to start dating her, Zoe.” She chuckled again.
At that point, there was a firm knock at the front door accompanied by the buzzer ringing.
“Cheese it!” Michaela said. “It’s the fuzz!”
I couldn’t help it. I laughed then stood up.
“No, no,” Michaela said. “I’ll handle this.” She stood up gracefully — she did everything gracefully — and headed to my door. I heard the door open, and then a moment later, my apartment was filled with very large, irate-looking wolves. I finished climbing to my feet.
It seemed like half the enforcers in the pack were there. Elisabeth moved straight towards me and pointed. “You sit.”
Reflexively, without even a glimmer of a thought, I sat down. But from behind her, Michaela said, “Leave her alone, Head Enforcer.” She reappeared with Serena and Angel flanking her.
In the meantime, Portia, Eric and Rory began to search my apartment.
“There’s no one here, Head Enforcer,” Michaela said.
Elisabeth turned on her. “Then we won’t find anything when we make sure.” She said it coldly. “Alpha.”
Michaela put her hand on her hip. “Are you questioning me, Head Enforcer?”
“We are doing our jobs,” Elisabeth spat. “I do not know why you must go so far out of your way to make it more difficult for us.”
I heard the enforcers moving through the two bedrooms and the bathroom, and it sounded like they were being thorough. I stayed on the sofa, trying to look small, but the heightened emotions in the room were intimidating.
Michaela impressed me. She moved right up to Elisabeth, well into her personal space. “I didn’t tell anyone to chase me around,” she said, looking up into her face. Way up. The dissimilarity between the two women couldn’t have been more conspicuous. Elisabeth stood something over six feet and was broad and powerful. She, along with the other enforcers, was dressed in a grey pantsuit and white blouse. They reminded me of the agents from Men in Black, although Linda Fiorentino hadn’t looked as good as Elisabeth did. She wore her black hair cut short and neat. In contrast, Michaela was five feet and was perhaps the most delicate woman I had ever met. Her vibrant, red hair was long and flowing, framing her sharp face a little wildly.
This tiny, tiny woman was standing up to the huge werewolf and not batting an eye. Looking at them, I found myself left wondering: which of them was most fierce?
Elisabeth glanced over at me then turned back to Michaela. “We’ll discuss this later.”
“No, Head Enforcer,” Michaela said, stressing Elisabeth’s title again. “We will not. I went for a drive. I didn’t do a single thing anyone else in this room is forbidden to do.”
The other enforcers, apparently having finished searching my apartment, reappeared in the living room, taking up what were clearly protective positions around Michaela. Eric stood near the hallway leading to the bedrooms. Rory moved to the window, checking it for security then watching through the blinds. Portia moved near the kitchen. Clearly she was worried my vegan food would grow legs and launch itself at the little fox.
“Serena and Angel didn’t deserve the tongue lashing they received,” Elisabeth said.
“You’re right,” Michaela said. “They didn’t. Apologize to them.”
“Excuse me?” asked Elisabeth.
“Well, I’m not the one who yelled at them. I presume it was you, but perhaps it was my mate.” She turned around and looked at Serena and then Angel. “On behalf of my mate, I apologize. I don’t know what she said, but it was out of line.”
She didn’t wait for a response but turned around to face Elisabeth again, her hand moving back to a thrust-out hip, and then she moved another quarter step further into Elisabeth’s personal space, staring up into her face.
“Of course,” Michaela added, “If they had listened to me when I said I wanted to run alone for twenty minutes, this wouldn’t have gotten out of hand.”
“You know those aren’t their orders,” Elisabeth replied.
“Then just maybe they should be given different orders.”
Elisabeth glanced over at me again. While her head was turned, Michaela flashed me the ghost of a smile, but her features were back in a scowl by the time Elisabeth’s gaze returned to her.
I realized Michaela was enjoying this.
“You could try working with us,” Elisabeth said softly.
At that, Michaela’s eyes flashed and narrowed. “I was angry.”
“At us?” Serena asked from behind her.
Michaela turned around and glared at her. “You stay out of this.”
“No,” said Serena. “I will not. Now, we should go home and discuss this with greater privacy.” Her eyes flicked to me briefly then returned to her alpha.
“There’s nothing to discuss,” Michaela said. She turned her back on Serena, facing off against Elisabeth again. “No one wanted me to go for a run alone, so I took a drive instead.” She smiled sweetly. “You should be happy. When Serena told me, ‘No’ to a run alone, I accepted her at her word.”
“We’re not playing this game here, Michaela,” said Elisabeth. “Serena, get her out of here.”
“Touch me-” hissed Michaela, “-and you’re all tasting silver.” She had crossed her arms in front of her, and her hands were on her wrists, her fingers underneath the sleeves of her blouse. I wasn’t sure what she meant, but everyone froze.
And Elisabeth took a full step backwards, away from Michaela.
“Do not get heavy-handed with me, Head Enforcer,” Michaela said in a cold voice.
You could have heard a pin drop. I shrank further back into the sofa.
And then Elisabeth’s posture changed, and she nodded. “My apologies, Alpha. You’re right. Are you ready to go?”
“Not quite. I wasn’t finished here. Everyone out. You can guard me from the hallway. You, Sister, will stay.”
No one moved until Elisabeth nodded. The enforcers filed out, Serena and Angel last. When the door closed, Michaela relaxed, lowering her hands.
“You shouldn’t make a threat you aren’t prepared to carry out,” Elisabeth told her. “You weren’t going to knife Angel.”
“If she’d laid hands on her alpha, damned right I would have,” Michaela said.
“What?” I screeched.
They both turned to me.
“I wouldn’t have hurt her,” Michaela said, “well, not too badly. They’d have disarmed me eventually, but there would have been blood.”
I looked between the two of them, my eyes wide. “You would have stabbed her? She’s your friend!”
“She would have healed,” Elisabeth said. “It wasn’t going to come to that. I was out of line, and Michaela was only reminding me of it. Alpha, I’m sorry.”
Michaela moved to her and offered a quick hug. “Forgiven. Now, I was just in the process of finalizing Zoe’s plans for her scuba lessons. They begin tomorrow afternoon. I was going to have Karen take her out to get the things she needs, but with you here, you can do it.”
And she grinned at me.
Damned matchmaker.
“She needs mask, fins, and a snorkel. Also make sure she has a sexy swim suit.”
“Michaela!” But she grinned at me again.
“In fact, make her model it for you.”
“Michaela!” I screeched.
In response, Michaela took three steps towards me then reached out and grabbed my hands. She pulled me to my feet and wrapped me in a hug. Reflexively, I wrapped my own arms around her.
The hug felt really good.
She held me for a minute before relaxing her grip, but then she slid her hands down my arms until we were clasping fingers. “I want us to be proper friends, Zoe
. This is important to me. I know things have been difficult, but I am being utterly heartfelt. I hope you can learn to trust me.”
She didn’t wait for a response but stepped away. “I’ll see you later, Elisabeth. Or perhaps not until tomorrow.” Then, chuckling, she headed for the front door, and a moment later I heard it open and close.
Both Elisabeth and I stared after her.
“Wow,” I said.
“Yeah,” agreed Elisabeth. “She has half the pack wrapped around her little finger.”
“Where do you all fit?”
Gear
Elisabeth turned to face me. We stared at each other awkwardly. “I’m sorry,” she said finally.
“For what?”
“We scared you.”
I lowered my eyes. “Do I smell?”
“You’re fine.”
I looked back up. “Do you want me to lie to you, too?”
Before she could respond, there was a buzz. She pulled her phone out, glanced at it, and sighed.
“Have to go?”
“No. Orders from my alpha.” Then her phone buzzed again. She glanced at it and chuckled. “And more orders for you.”
She turned the phone around and held it out for me to read the screen. She’d received two messages from Angel’s phone, but they were each signed, “Your Alpha”. The first said, “Invite her on a date tonight.” And the second was, “Zoe, tell her yes.”
We both sighed.
“What are you doing tonight, Zoe?” Elisabeth asked.
I stared at the phone, the looked up at her. “It appears I have a date.”
She looked away. “You.” She paused and looked everywhere but at me. “You don’t have to consider that an order.”
“Neither do you,” I replied. “Put your phone away.”
She glanced at me and then accepted my suggestion. Then she turned to me. I waited to see what she would do.
“Zoe, would you have dinner with me?”
“Carly’s?” I asked.
She laughed. “I have a partial interest in this lovely steak house.”
“Elisabeth…”
“Green Room?” she offered.
“I’d love to go to dinner with you,” I said. “I’m not in date clothes. What do you recommend?”
She moved closer, and I thought she was going to kiss me. Instead, she lifted a hand and ran it through my hair, then leaned over and sniffed.