Wolf Ways (The Madison Wolves Book 9)

by Robin Roseau

“I have to call Ember ‘Lady Ember’.”

  Ember spoke up. “For how long, Connor?”

  “A week.”

  “And what happens if you forget?”

  “You get to add a day,” he said.

  “Does anyone notice what he just called me?” she asked.

  The wolves began to laugh.

  “So you mean for eight days, Connor,” Ember said with a smile. “I agree with Zoe. I like this game. Even if I owe her forty-five minutes against her sentence.”

  Michaela turned to me and gave me a sharp look.

  “Hey,” I said. “Portia said it was legal.”

  “Not that. I’m just wondering how many you caught.”

  “Ember, Kaylee and…” I looked around. “You know, I didn’t get his name, but he wrote it down.”

  “It was I.”

  I looked over and saw Nick, Scarlett’s dad holding up his hand.

  “Oh. And Nick. I only recognized a few of you in your equipment.”

  “You mistook me for a wolf?” he asked.

  I shrugged. “Except for Michaela, you’re all bigger than I am.”

  “All right,” said Michaela. “Who else?” She looked around. “Rory, we haven’t heard from you.”

  “My bribes were boring,” he said. “I won’t say whom, but one of your students tried to get me to agree to a date, but I begged off. Ten years is a little too big a gap.”

  “Ah, I was wondering when someone would mention being ‘forced’ to accept a date. Without Nora here, I wasn’t sure what would happen. Raise your hand if you owe a date.”

  I looked around. Four of us had our hands up. A moment later, I heard a growl, and when I looked over, I saw Elisabeth glaring around the room. But Lara put an arm on her hand and whispered to her.

  I shrugged. I wasn’t hers anymore, and I could date if I wanted to.

  Michaela settled her gaze on me. “Zoe. Did you have other interesting bribes in addition to dates?”

  “Yes.” I looked at Monique. “Is my bribe to you private?”

  “No, go ahead,” she said.

  “Monique wants help picking out a camera and learning how to use it,” I said. “And I owe two dates, and I don’t even know either person. But at least I met one of them.”

  “What do you mean, you met one of them?” Michaela asked.

  “One of the dates is to someone here. For the other, one of your students got me to agree to a date with someone she picks. We placed a few stipulations.”

  “I hope one of those stipulations was your date should be an adult.”

  I laughed. “Yeah. And female.”

  “Well, you’re trying to be cryptic, but half the people here know who caught you, so we can make guesses.” Michaela turned to look at Portia.

  “Hey, it wasn’t me,” Portia said. “I figure I already have a two-week date with her.”

  That was worth some laughs and a couple of catcalls.

  And more glares from Elisabeth, but I ignored her. Mostly.

  * * * *

  Michaela appropriated my company for dinner, telling Monique to sit with her friends and releasing Portia from watching me until it was time to go home. She leaned over to me and asked, “Harper asked for a date?”

  I nodded. “Is she nice?”

  “Exceedingly, and she has the most amazing daughter.” She paused. “Make it a good date, Zoe. You both deserve a nice time, and you both could do far worse.”

  “Matchmaking again?”

  “Always. I won’t interfere.”

  “I told her she might have to wait until my sentence is over.”

  “No,” Michaela said. “You have no driving privileges, but if Harper agrees to pick you up and drop you off, she can have you tomorrow night, if she wants. Otherwise it will have to be next week or some time after that. I’ll let her know. Well, assuming that’s okay with you. It’s your date. But Portia will be with me.”

  “Do you know what she likes?”

  “Harper? Not a clue. I’ve never seen her date and couldn’t have told you if she preferred men or women.”

  “I’m not sure you can judge by this. I think it was the first thing that popped into her head. It’s just a lark. But that’s okay.”

  “Well, keep an open mind. She’s one of my favorite people. You’re going to like her.”

  “I will.”

  “Now, this other date… I saw Elisabeth had you, but I can’t imagine she asked for a date.”

  “She wants a conversation.”

  “Ah. Well, I won’t spoil that. Are you going to be okay?”

  “If she doesn’t browbeat me.” I paused. “I’m not really ready to be alone with her, but I suppose I owe her.”

  “She owes you at least as much. Portia said it wasn’t her. Monique asked for help with the camera. I didn’t see who else caught you.”

  “Monique caught me twice.”

  “Ah ha!” she said.

  “I thought she was asking for a date for herself. I was a little shocked.”

  Michaela lowered her voice. “She may have been.”

  “What?”

  “She’s had quite the crush on me.”

  “I had noticed.”

  “She may be transferring her affection.”

  “Oh god. Michaela, she’s really sweet, but she’s a kid.”

  “I think it’s fine, but maybe I’ll talk to her. Make a point of calling her a friend. It will be fine. She’s a good kid, but she sometimes feels like an outsider. She’ll outgrow that as she becomes more accepted by the enforcers. But she lived in her sister’s shadow for a long time, and at school she’s not in the science program. All the kids are good kids, but there’s a distinct difference between being in the science program and the enforcer program. So she kind of holds on to people who treat her well.”

  “Should I back off?”

  “No. It will be fine. She probably doesn’t realize she’s doing it. I’ll handle it.”

  I studied her profile for a moment. “You work hard.”

  She glanced at me with a smile. “Thank you for noticing. So you enjoyed that last game?”

  “Yeah. I think next time we should play it twice.”

  She laughed. “That’s a popular request, but you’ll realize you’ve got quite a few bribes to pay off. You weren’t caught as many as some. I, for instance, was caught seven times.”

  “Did you catch anyone?”

  “Hell no. If we played in the trees, it would be a different story.”

  “So is the reason we don’t play twice is because you don’t want to?”

  She laughed lightly. “No. We don’t want to overplay it because this way makes it the crown for the day.”

  “I wanted to catch a few more.”

  “We all want to catch a few more. You caught three. That’s good on your first day.”

  “I only caught two. Someone else shot Scarlett’s dad, but no one was claiming him, so I did.”

  “Well, that’s still good.” She paused. “It may have been Angel, who suddenly realized that demanding a bribe from her wife’s father might not be prudent.”

  I smiled. “I don’t know. She could have asked for embarrassing Scarlett-as-a-baby stories.”

  “I bet she’s heard all of those.”

  During the movie, I got placed next to Lara, with Portia on my other side. While we waited for the movie to start, Lara leaned to me. “I’m glad to see things are going better for you.”

  “Me, too. Lara?”

  “Yes?”

  “Do I have to worry about your sister? I heard her growling.”

  “No. Ignore that. That’s her… inner spirit trying to catch up to reality. She’ll be fine.”

  “It’s hard to ignore when she growls at me.”

  “She wasn’t growling at you. She was expressing displeasure with whomever was bold enough to ask you out. I presume my mate already found out who it was and will talk to them to make sure they know it’s safe.”

&n
bsp; “You know her well.”

  “She has her fingers in everything.”

  “I heard that,” Michaela said from the other side. “If you want your fingers in me, you’ll be careful.”

  Lara leaned the other way and kissed Michaela.

  I didn’t know anything about the movie we were seeing. It turned out to be a cheesy action movie, and around me, I heard the wolves heckling.

  “They should let us do the action sequences,” I heard one of the kids say. “Now that would be a movie!”

  I had to admit, I’d pay to watch that.

  * * * *

  Later in the car ride home, I said, “Why was everyone so tense in Key West but so relaxed today?”

  “We’re home,” Portia explained. “We’re not at war with anyone. And we had so many wolves there, someone would have to be truly insane to try anything.”

  Later before climbing into bed, Portia asked for her hug. We held each other for a long time.

  “Will you tell me what you really were going to ask for?” I asked her. “You didn’t ask to be on opposite sides for hugs.”

  “No, I am not going to tell you, and I don’t want you to keep asking, Zoe.”

  “Will you tell me why you won’t tell me?”

  “No. No more questions on it.”

  And so I stopped asking, but I didn’t stop wondering.

  Harper

  Portia was long gone before Harper arrived. I wore one of my few dresses and heels, then took my time with makeup and hair. She rang the bell right at six, and I hurried to the door to get my first look at my date for the night.

  I should admit: I found all the wolves stunning, each in her own way. Perhaps that sounds trite, but it was entirely true. I opened the door, and this tall, striking woman stepped in.

  Oh, she wasn’t as tall as the enforcers, and she didn’t have the same physical presence they did, but I was reminded by just how impressive they all were.

  There were other differences. She wore her hair longer, not long, but longer, done in a loose braid. And her features were just a little bit softer than Portia’s or Elisabeth’s.

  But — like them — she had bright eyes. And — like them — I couldn’t help but be awed in her presence.

  Unlike Elisabeth, I discovered Harper had a quick smile, which she would lavish upon me throughout the evening.

  I decided then and there several things. First, I was definitely attracted. And second, I wanted a very comfortable tone for this date. And so, once she was fully inside, I stepped into her and gave her a warm kiss on her cheek, then held her, standing on my toes so our faces were pressed against each other.

  It was quite intentional, quite intentional indeed. I knew the wolves were sensitive to scent, and so I was both marking her and allowing her to mark me.

  “Hello, Zoe,” she said.

  I hadn’t really paid attention on Sunday, but she had a rich voice. I’m not an aural person; I cannot make sound effects or do impressions. And I couldn’t have compared her voice to someone more famous. But just those two words brushed over me, and I tingled to the gentle caress.

  “Hello, Harper.”

  “You look nice,” she said.

  “You do, too.” I smiled at her.

  She was wearing grey trousers and a white blouse; around her neck was a white gold pendant necklace. Her ears were bare, and she didn’t wear any rings.

  “Can we sit for a few minutes?” She gestured to the living room. “I’d like to talk to you.”

  “Of course.” I led the way. “Can I get you anything?”

  “No, no. Just a few minutes, then we can go.” She took a place on the sofa, and I intentionally sat at the middle, near her, not quite touching, but close enough to invite touch from her, if she wanted.

  She smiled again, and again, I returned it.

  “We don’t have to do this,” she blurted.

  “Do what?” I asked, puzzled. “Sit on the couch and talk?”

  “No. Go on this date.”

  “Are you dumping me before our first date?”

  She laughed nervously. “I sort of coerced you.”

  “Let me ask a question, and I want an honest answer. Do you want to go out with me or not?”

  “Um.”

  “Oh.” My features fell.

  “No, wait!” she said. “I don’t want to go out if you’re still…”

  I interrupted her. “Does it make you nervous that I’m human?”

  “It doesn’t make me nervous, but it makes me worried I make you nervous.”

  “Do I look nervous?”

  She looked me up and down carefully. “No.”

  “Do I smell nervous?”

  She laughed. “No.”

  “We’ve only met once. I was wearing ratty jeans, a ratty jacket, and a helmet hiding all my features. Are you disappointed now that you’ve gotten a closer look?”

  She shook her head. “No.”

  “Do you think I know wolves well enough that I knew what I was doing when I brushed cheeks with you?”

  That generated a real laugh. “Perhaps not entirely, but I suspect yes.”

  “Harper, do you want to go out with me?”

  “Yes.”

  “So do I.”

  She smiled again.

  “But-”

  Her smile froze.

  “I don’t entirely understand wolves. I don’t know how to judge whether you like to be the one in control.”

  “Does it matter?”

  “It matters in that it helps me to know how to behave.”

  “Why can’t you just be yourself?”

  “Well, because I’ve been through some turmoil lately, and I’m not sure who I am right now.”

  “Did you and Elisabeth break up because she is too dominant?”

  “No.”

  “So if I said that yes, I like being in control, that isn’t going to bother you?”

  “That depends. Does my opinion count?”

  “Absolutely.”

  “Then no, I am quite happy with you in control.”

  “Good.”

  “But I have one more thing to say.”

  “Oh dear. This sounds serious.”

  “When I’m on a date, I like being touched.”

  “Good. I like to touch.”

  “We’re going to get along fabulously.”

  And then, tentatively, she reached out a hand and brushed the backs of my fingers along my arm. It was a simple touch, a very simple touch, but I closed my eyes and enjoyed it.

  My heart did a little jump. It was so strange, but it jumped just a little, just from her caress.

  “I have to warn you,” she said. “I’ve never dated a human woman.”

  I opened my eyes. “Have you dated human men?”

  She nodded. “And wolf women, but not very many. I’m not a successful dater.”

  “I find that hard to believe. You’re absolutely stunning, and Michaela tells me you’re one of the nicest people she knows.”

  “I tend to pick bad boys. The only good that has ever come out of it is my daughter, Sophie.”

  I smiled. “Perhaps I should impress you with my arrest record.”

  Her eye grew wide. “Arrest record?”

  I grinned. “You did know I’m an environmental activist, didn’t you. A tree hugger. We’re bad, bad people.”

  She laughed. “Yes, I believe you should tell me about your arrest record. Perhaps I will swoon.”

  I laughed. I was pretty sure if there was swooning to be done, it would be by me.

  She stood up then reached forward and helped me to my feet. I could get used to chivalrous wolves. “Do you have a jacket? It will be chilly later.”

  “Pashmina by the door,” I said.

  * * * *

  She took me at my word about the touch, and I felt the familiar touch of a guiding hand on my back. She led me to the door of the ubiquitous, at least for the pack, SUV.

  “I know,” she said. “
I bought it when Sophie was going on all of Michaela’s outings, and I wanted to be able to go and help out.”

  “A good reason for such a vehicle,” I said. “I don’t begrudge a modest SUV. It’s not a Hummer, and you have a good reason for it.”

  She handed me in, although I intentionally brushed along her as I climbed in. I felt quite shameful being so physically forward. But it felt nice; I couldn’t explain why. And I wanted to let her know I was comfortable with her.

  But then I realized I might be giving a bad impression, and so I grew quiet as she climbed in. We drove quietly, and then she asked, “Is something wrong?”

  “I suddenly realized I was being a little trampy.”

  “I wouldn’t put it that way. I would say you were telling me in no uncertain terms you are comfortable with me. I’m flattered. Please don’t stop. You’re very good for my ego.”

  I laughed.

  And so I turned in my seat so I was angled towards her, then reached out, setting my hand on her arm.

  We drove like that. She was a careful driver, rarely glancing over at me, but instead keeping her eyes on the road.

  “I need to talk to you about the restaurant.”

  “Is it a steak house?”

  She laughed. “No. Well, maybe. We actually don’t have reservations anywhere. I called around a few places I know. Everywhere has vegetarian dishes, but I’m told that doesn’t mean vegan.”

  “Harper, I can find something to eat most places, as long as it’s a full menu. They’ll have a salad.”

  “I wanted to take you somewhere nice,” she said. “I try to stick to the pack restaurants, and they tend to be steak houses. But there’s a pack Thai restaurant. It’s not much, but they have an entire section labeled Vegetarian on the menu. Will it be vegan?”

  “Yes, probably. Harper, please don’t stress about this. I don’t expect the world to bend to my ways.”

  “But…”

  “Harper, as long as it has a full menu, I’ll find something. Take me where you most want to go. Really, it’s fine. I’m not worried about the food, anyway. I want to get to know you. Take me where we can talk.”

  “All right,” she said.

  After that, we made small talk, just growing more comfortable with each other. I enjoyed her voice so much, I could listen to her for hours.

  Eventually we came to a stop in front of a small, Thai restaurant.

  “It’s not fancy,” she said. “But it’s quiet and the food is good.”