Jaguar (The Madison Wolves Book 12)

by Robin Roseau

  Michaela folded her arms, looking up at him.“In the dark of the night, six days ago, a heavily armed force invaded our land. One force attempted to secure the bunkhouses holding my students. The other force approached the main lodge. You perhaps caught a glimpse when you first arrived.”

  “I’ve seen photos,” he said.

  “They arrived with the intention of capturing any particularly small women and children or any small dogs. At the time, that description would fit a total of five individuals.Two are human and would not well suffer the trauma of such an event.”

  He didn’t respond to that.

  “Why?” Michaela screamed.

  “They deserved to die,” he said simply. Then he yelled as well,“They deserved to die for what they did!They were monsters, each and every one. They were monsters, preying upon the weak and defenseless. How many women have they killed? How many children disappeared because their parents angered the wrong people? They deserved it!”

  Michaela paused while the man panted heavily then asked,“Whom did you lose?”

  “What does it matter?”

  “Whom did you lose?” Michaela yelled.

  “My wife and daughters,” he said.“They were visiting my wife’s grandparents in Angola. Wrong place and wrong time.”

  “Botched kidnapping?”

  “Oh, no. Successful kidnapping. Bloody escape, however.”

  Michaela nodded.“I am sorry for your loss, Mr. Pruitt.”

  He said nothing. What was there to say? Michaela turned her back on him.“The aircrew were not members of Chasen.Why did you involve them?”

  “I had to convince Chasen there was a real extraction plan.He thought Dark Gorge was funding this.”

  “As best I can tell, you have paid out something over two million dollars. I don’t know how much you paid Chasen.”

  “They were to be paid for results.”

  “Where did you get the two million?”

  “I had some saved. The rest came from insurance on my family and a fresh mortgage on the house.”

  “Nice house?”

  “Yes. It had been my parents’ beach house.”

  Michaela turned around.“Who else was involved?”

  “No one.”

  The Fox folded her arms.“Your first lie.”

  “I take full responsibility,” he said.

  “Admirable. Look around, Mr. Pruitt. Do you really believe I can’t get my answers from you?”

  “Answers from torture are always unreliable.”

  “Carissa.”

  The Vampire stepped forward, and the man clamped his eyes shut. Carissa laughed. It wasn’t a nice laugh.“You don’t think that is going to save you, do you? First I will bleed you to, oh, half full or so. Then I’ll fill you back up with my own blood.”

  “You’ll make me one of you!”

  “No, no. I’ll make you into my pet. You’ll dieto answer my questions. If you make me do this, before we kill you, I will make you defile the graves of your family.”

  “Leave them alone!”

  “Answer Michaela’s questions, Mr. Pruitt.”

  “I rented helicopters,” he said.“But the people I used didn’t know what I was doing with them. They’re innocent in all of this.”

  “Who else?”

  “Car rental agencies, things like that. No one else knew what I was doing or why. I swear.”

  “Do you believe him, Carissa?” Michaela asked.

  “Actually, I do,” she replied.“But we really should be sure.”

  “Please don’t!” Pruitt said.“I don’t care what you do to me, but please don’t! Let my family rest in peace.”

  Carissa stepped closer.“Meet my gaze, Mr. Pruitt,” Carissa said.“Do so willingly, and answer the questions willingly, and we don’t have to do this the far more interesting way.”

  It took him a moment, but he looked down. Carissa caught him fairly quickly then asked,“Who else knew what you were doing?”

  “No one. The flight crew knew what you were, but didn’t know why I set this up. They thought it was a job; that’s all. The other people I used didn’t know anything.”

  Carissa pursed her lips then stepped away again. The man sagged while Michaela watched him.

  “We were very lucky here, Mr. Pruitt,” Michaela said.“Two wounded.”

  “Wolves?”

  “Yes,” she said.“And yes, they’re fine. As I said, we were lucky. You had no right to use us as your executioners. No one here had ever killed a human before.”

  “The vampires-”

  “Were not here,” she said.“While it may have been justice, you made me a murderer of men. Others here killed in defense, but no one here is going to sleep well.”

  “I’m going to sleep just fine, Michaela,” I said.

  She turned to me, paused, then nodded.

  “Anna is a guest,” Michaela said.“She should not have had to help us defend our lands. She should not have had to do the things she did for us. We may not be human, Mr. Pruitt, and humans may think of us as monsters, but we’re not monsters. We are people. We’re upstanding members of our communities. We run businesses and we’re methodical in paying our taxes. We police our own and ensure they do nothing to attract the attention of law enforcement. Two of our enforcers served with great distinction in the United States armed forces. Both later worked for organizations not that different from Dark Gorge, fighting to help protect people who need protection.”

  The man closed his eyes, but he said nothing.

  “You have destroyed our serenity,” Michaela continued.“You have disrupted the education of my students, each one of which deserved for this to be a happy time. They are teenagers, Mr. Pruitt. Teenagers. I grieve for your family, but that is no excuse for what they have now experienced at your hand.”

  “I’m sorry about that,” he said softly.

  “Did you think about any of that?” Michaela asked.“Or did you think only of your own vengeance.”

  “Itwasn’t vengeance; it was justice!”

  “Maybe so,” Michaela agreed. “But I do not take kindly to becoming the hand of justice against my will. I do not care for it at all.Answer my question. Did you think about any of this?”

  “No.”

  “Did your vengeance skip anyone?”

  “Probably, but if so, Iwould never find them. How many did you kill?”

  “Only six,” Michaela said.

  He snapped his gaze to her.“What?” he screamed.“You didn’t kill them all?”

  “Calm down, Mr. Pruitt. We gave the rest to Carissa and her family. Their deaths will simply take a little longer than the rest.”

  At that he smiled and said,“Good. You may do whatever you want to me. I don’t care.Please don’t defile the graves of my family.”

  “We could have been hurt badly, Mr. Pruitt. Do you think your death is enough?”

  “If you didn’t have a half hour’s notice, your head enforcer is incompetent,” he said.“Chasen wanted to arrive by air.”

  “I bet that was an interesting conversation,” Michaela said.

  “Furthermore, I made sure you would be on high alert.”

  “How did you accomplish that?”

  “I made sure you heard the Sikorskys were for use in Wisconsin.”

  Michaela walked away, then paced for a few times. She finally turned back.“Do you have any regrets at all?”

  “I am sorry for the pain I caused your students,” he said. Then, his tone somewhat harder, he added,“The rest of you can handle it.”

  Michaela pointed to Zoe.“My friend is human,” she said.“She has already had her own trials associated with joining a werewolf pack. We were forced to rely on her in ways she found deeply, deeply frightening.”

  “If she can handle werewolves, she’s fine,” Pruitt said.

  “Apologize to her!” Michaela screamed.

  “Michaela,” Zoe said.

  “No!” Michaela yelled.“Apologize to Zoe Fleming. Sh
e didn’t need your crap on top of her own nightmares. I couldn’t be more proud of her, but she didn’t deserve what you did to her.” Then she screamed again,“Apologize!”

  I wasn’t sure he was going to do it. He stared at the ground before slowly looking up to meet Zoe’s gaze.“Ma’am, I didn’t mean to hurt anyone here. I’m very sorry about that.I really am.”

  “Apologize to my students,” Michaela said.“This was to be a happy time, our last trip here before our regular program was to begin in the autumn.”

  Pruitt looked over at the assembled teenagers.“Is it a good program?” he asked.

  The students looked amongst themselves, and then Iris and Lindsey stepped forward together.“The best,” Iris said.

  “We are sorry for your loss, Mr. Pruitt,” Lindsey added.

  “Thank you,” he said, his tone subdued.“I am sorry about the hurt and fear I brought you.”

  I thought the girls would say something, but I detected a gesture from Elisabeth, and so they stepped back with the others.

  Michaela stepped up to him. The two studied each other. Finally Michaela turned and looked at her wife.“Lara?”

  “Do you want me to make this decision, My Love?”

  “Will you accept my judgment?”

  “Yes.”

  She turned to Carissa.“And you?”

  “This is your justice, Michaela.”

  “There’s been enough killing,” Michaela declared.“But I don’t know what else to do with him.”

  “No, alpha,” said the man behind her.

  She spun around.“What?”

  “You were supposed to find me.”

  “Well, that explains the rest, then,” Greg said.

  “The people responsible for the deaths of my wife and daughters are dead,” Pruitt said.“I don’t know how to count how many other lives they have ruined. I don’t know how many lives they won’t be here to ruin in the future. I am sorry for the pain I have caused you, but my soul will rest now.”

  There was movement, and then Kristian left Carissa. He came to a stop behind Michaela, his hands on her shoulders. I presume he spoke, but if he did, it was for her ears, and perhaps Carissa’s. After a moment, Michaela nodded, just once.

  Kristian stepped around her. He looked at the man and said,“I offer peace.” He captured Pruitt’s gaze, held it for perhaps fifteen seconds, and then he moved in. Fangs flashed and then buried himself in the man’s neck.

  Pruitt spoke once more. It was after Carissa moved forward. She broke his shackles and helped Kristian lower the man to the ground. He said simply,“Thank you.”

  Those were his final words.

  When it was done, Kristian slumped over the man for a moment. Michaela stepped up and set a hand on the vampire’s back.“Thank you, Kristian.”

  And then Carissa was there, kneeling beside him. She held him for a moment and then encouraged him to stand. She spoke quietly, and then she led him to the other vampires. As a family, they turned and walked regally in the direction of the lodge.

  Michaela turned to the body. She stood there for a while then finally said,“Head Enforcer, please see to it he is buried with his family. If his estate has no funds to do so, I will pay the expenses.”

  “We’ll take care of it, Alpha.”

  Michaela nodded then straightened and looked around. She turned and stepped to Deirdre and me, now standing together, the vampires gone. She caressed Deirdre and pulled her into a long hug. I received thesame, with a kiss on my cheek.“Thank you for being here.”

  “You are welcome, Michaela,” I whispered back.

  She slipped from me then turned around and walked to her students. She hugged each of them, one after another.

  Then she moved between the enforcers. They reach received a hug and cheek kiss. Angel and Scarlett received particularly long hugs. Zoe was with Portia and Ember and received her hug then.

  The Fox moved to stand before Greg. She held out a hand. Everyone from Lima received a handclasp and kind words. I thought she was about to leave it at that, but then she turned and pulled Wendy into a hug, and Greg after her.

  Finally she turned to her family, walking first to Elisabeth. The two hugged, and then she knelt down and held her arms to her daughters. They stepped forward and hugged for a long time. Finally she stood and turned to Lara, who simply put am arm over fox shoulders. They each held out a hand to their daughters, and the four walked away, several enforcers fanning out around them.

  Quiet

  Lima left that afternoon, providing transport for Mid-Star and Orlando Gillespie. I presume the helicopters made their way back to Texas, but I never asked. Nor did I ask how much Lima Consulting cost, but I thought perhaps the pack actually made a profit, by the time all was said and done.

  Not that the money was ever the issue.

  Most of the vampires left in the evening, although I saw Kristian and Michaela talking first. She gave him a hug, and the elderly vampire looked quite stunned by the experience.

  I never would have thought him to have a tender side.

  Carissa remained with Deirdre and me.

  It would be a mistake to call the following days“quiet”, but in comparison, they were. And Michaela was not one to let dust settle.

  * * * *

  “Anna.”

  I opened my eyes. Lindsey was crouched down in front of me.

  “I can’t believe you made it all the way into the room without waking me.”

  “Michaela has had years to teach us how to move quietly,” she explained.“She has us getting everyone up.”

  “Emergency?”

  “No. We have to finish the Science Olympics.”

  I laughed and sat up.“Seriously?”

  “Breakfast will be on the deck in a half hour. You have time to shower.”

  * * * *

  She added events, and so there were two more full days of competition. That evening, the pack hosted a large celebration, and somehow Michaela had arranged for trophies. The kids were excited, and even the adults got into the spirit of things.

  There seemed to be too many people about, including a number of adults I didn’t know. With a beer in hand, I sidled up to Elisabeth.“New faces.”

  “Parents of some of the kids,” Elisabeth explained.

  “It’s Thursday, isn’t it?”

  “They took time off work.”

  “The lodge will be crowded again.”

  “No, it won’t,” she said.“The kids have set up tents, and the adults are in the bunk houses. Michaela keeps talking about building something for the visiting adults, but so far, we’ve been too busy.Anna.”

  “I’m glad I was here, Elisabeth.”

  “Yeah. Me, too.”

  I gestured to the fox,deep in conversation with a few parents I didn’t know.“She’s amazing.”

  “She never stops,” Elisabeth said.“Lara is the soul of the pack, but Michaela has become the spirit.”

  That was when I noticed Parker standing ten feet away, watching Elisabeth and me. I nudged the head enforcer, who proceeded to nod to the girl. She approached and said,“Anna? When you’re done speaking with Elisabeth, could I introduce you to someone?”

  “Sure,” I said.“Elisabeth?”

  “We’ll talk later, I’m sure,” Elisabeth said.

  And so I let Parker take my hand, which amused me. She pulled me across the field to a man and woman, talking to each other. I immediately figured out who they must be.“Mom,” Parker said.“Dad. This is Annabelle Delacroix. I told you about her.”

  I accepted handclasps.“Mr. Paine,” I said.“Mrs. Paine. Call me Anna.”

  “Oh,” Parker said.“They’re Mary Ellen and Conroy.”

  “It seems we’ve heard all about the cat from New Orleans,” Conroy said.

  “Anna was a hero,” Parker said.

  “I’m happy none of my friends was seriously hurt,” I said.“You should be proud of your daughter. She has done very well this summer.”

>   “So we have heard,” said Mary Ellen. She reached over and squeezed Parker’s arm.

  “I can’t believe how much I learned,” Parker replied.“And it was just one summer.”

  “It’s quite intimidating, when you think of it that way,” I said.

  “I love it.” She grinned.

  I spoke with Parker and her parents for a while. Then I mingled for a while until the food began arriving.

  I was starving.

  * * * *

  Michaela stood, moved into the center of the assembled people, and held up one hand. It took a little time, but here and there, I saw some of the kids begin to hold up hands, one in a clump here, two in a clump there, and as they did so, the conversations came to a stop.

  “Thank you,” Michaela said.“I hope everyone got plenty to eat, but there’s more if you’re still feeling a little peckish. I was starving and ate an entire half chicken breast.”

  There was laughter at that. I think I ate an entire chicken. The little fox ate half a breast.

  “We had a little more excitement this summer than we wanted, but everyone here was cool and professional. I am deeply proud of the kids. But I’d like all of us to stand, turn to the nearest enforcer you can see, and offer your applause.” The fox led by example, turning to where Elisabeth and some of the others were sitting. She began the applause. I stood, as did everyone else assembled, and we each offered our applause. Michaela let it die naturally and then said,“Thank you. Sometimes we forget why we have them. I really wish we could do without the reminders, but I am deeply grateful to each one of you.”

  At that, Elisabeth stood.

  “No,” said Michaela.“Sit down.”

  “Alpha Fox,” Elisabeth said.“I will have my say. You may listen now, or you may listen when I interrupt your awards ceremony.”

  Michaela huffed but made a grand gesture to Elisabeth.

  “The Fox was in the thick of it,” Elisabeth said.“While I regret the need, I was thankful I could count on her.” She began applause towards Michaela, who stood, saying nothing, but smiling. Once it died, Elisabeth said,“You will speak for the pack?”

  “Yes, Sister.”

  Elisabeth nodded and returned to her seat. Michaela turned a slow circle and then walked to Deirdre.“We would not have reached the bottom of this without this woman’s contribution. Thank you.” And she wrapped Deirdre in a hug while the rest of us applauded.