Fox Revenge (Madison Wolves #5)

by Robin Roseau

  "What's wrong?" she said, alarmed.

  "Nothing. I promise. Nothing is wrong. Everything is absolutely fine. I promise. You two, tell her I'm not lying."

  "She's not lying!" they both yelled.

  "All right," she said. I listened as she climbed the stairs. I could tell when she reached the bedroom and closed the door.

  "Sit down. I need to ask you permission to do something without telling you what it is."

  She laughed. "That's going to be tricky."

  "Do you trust me?"

  "Yes."

  "Would you trust that I would never, ever cheat on you?"

  "Of course. Michaela, what is going on?"

  "Would you trust Elisabeth?"

  "What the fuck? Michaela?"

  "We're not having a sex romp, Lara."

  "It sounds like you're asking permission for one."

  "No, I'm asking you if you trust us."

  "Of course I trust you, but now I wonder if I should."

  "You're just teasing," I told her.

  "I guess."

  "I want to teach Elisabeth something, and you aren't going to like the method. But you are going to be ecstatic with the results. Will you trust me?"

  She didn't say anything for a while. "Am I going to smell sex on any of you?"

  "No."

  "Will you still smell like the same soap you used this morning?" She was asking if I would require another shower.

  "Yes, but I am going to have a little of Scarlett's and Elisabeth's scent on me, just as if we'd been hugging a lot."

  "All right," she said cautiously. "There is no way the three of you would concoct something this ridiculous without a good reason."

  "Thank you Lara. We'll be another hour or two."

  "I love you, Little Fox."

  "Maybe later you can show me again." She laughed before hanging up.

  We stared at each other after I set the phone aside. "All right then."

  I had Elisabeth shift into fur, then I slipped out of my clothes, cuddling in behind her. I shifted quickly back and forth several times.

  "Feel anything?"

  She chuffed.

  It took a half hour, but eventually Elisabeth was shifting with me, and then she was shifting instantly, the same way Scarlett had learned. When finally we were all dressed again, she was grinning broadly.

  I called Lara. "You may come here and we'll show you what we've done, then we can all go to lunch, or we'll come there."

  "On my way," she said. "If I smell air freshener or sex, there will be hell to pay."

  We exchanged endearments before hanging up. I turned to Elisabeth. "The enforcers may come inside for a while, if you prefer, but they need to go back outside for this conversation."

  "Agreed," she said. "Let's wait upstairs. I could use a drink."

  We waited patiently for Lara. Elisabeth asked Serena to play hostess, so Serena passed out soft drinks then recruited Rory to help her make up a small snack for everyone. Karen asked, "What's going on?"

  "Lara is on her way," I said. "We're going to talk to her, then we're going to lunch."

  We made small talk until Lara arrived. She pulled up with Emanuel and Eric as her escorts. Elisabeth sent all the enforcers outside, then we headed downstairs again.

  "Sniff away," I told Lara. I held my arms away from my sides.

  "I trust you," she said.

  "Do it anyway," I told her. "That way if you are tempted later, I won't be offended. This way you're doing it because I told you to. Sniff all of us."

  So she did, starting with me. I knew I still smelled faintly of her, perhaps even slightly of our lovemaking from the early morning. I would have smelled of soap and shampoo, my own scent, of course, then Scarlett and Elisabeth. I would also smell faintly of the foods I had eaten. Lara sniffed carefully then sniffed Elisabeth and Scarlett.

  I didn't even ask her if she was satisfied. I took her hand and pulled her to the sofa. She tried to curl me into her arms, but I said, "Maybe you want to watch the demonstration first."

  "All right."

  Elisabeth and Scarlett pulled off their clothes, then Elisabeth said, "Three."

  Scarlett said, "Two."

  Elisabeth said, "One."

  And Scarlett said, "Go."

  And then both dropped into their wolf forms.

  Lara's jaw dropped, then she began howling with glee. She hugged me. She bounced over and hugged Elisabeth and Scarlett. Then she pulled me into another hug with the four of us.

  "How?" she asked finally.

  "Let's shift back," I suggested. "We'll explain."

  Lara sat quietly and listened. I let Scarlett do a lot of the explanation, although I explained what it felt like to teach them.

  "This is a pack secret," she said as soon as we were done.

  "Yes, we discussed that. Scarlett wants to teach Angel. I don't see how we can prevent it."

  "We'll need to talk to her first."

  "I want to teach Serena, Karen and Emanuel," Elisabeth said.

  "Not Rory, Eric, June, or Gia?" I asked.

  "I want to teach Serena and Karen," she said. "And Serena will want to teach Emanuel."

  "There are things we don't know," I pointed out. "We don't know if anyone can teach other than me. And we don't know if the person you teach must be particularly close, emotionally. The four of us are emotionally very close. That might matter. Or it might not make any difference at all."

  "I bet it matters," Lara said. "I bet you need some connection."

  "If so, then I bet I could teach Angel and maybe Francesca, but that's about it."

  "I think you've 'taught' enough," Lara said. "My tolerance for this will have limits."

  I laughed and snuggled into her. "Yours," I told her. "Whatever you say on this, Lara."

  Elisabeth smiled at me. She had told me that turning submissive would help Lara with her jealousy, and so far she had been right.

  Lara turned my chin to face her. "You shift under me all the time and have never forced me to shift."

  "I've never tried."

  "Then that's what I want to try first," she said. "Strip."

  I laughed. "So romantic." But I slipped out of my clothes. So did Lara.

  "Shift," she ordered. I did, then she grabbed me and rolled me onto my back, lowering her weight over me. I shifted back to human.

  "We didn't have to do it this way," I said.

  "You and I are doing it this way," she said. "Do not argue with me. We are shifting to fur, then you will try to shift us to human. If it doesn't work, then I will try to shift you."

  I nodded and shifted back to fox. Lara shifted to wolf, settled herself over me, and I concentrated on drawing her back to human.

  I shifted slowly, and when I was done, Lara was human, stretched out on top of me.

  "Oh that was weird," she said. "Try to pull me into an instant shift back to wolf."

  I did. I lost her the first time, but I shifted back and tried it again, and she shifted with me. Then I pulled her human again. She laughed. "That is so weird. My turn."

  She shifted wolf, leaving me behind. "Lost me, I'll join you." I shifted to fox and waited. She shifted human, losing me.

  "Try going slower," Scarlett suggested. "It was a good thirty seconds the first time she did it with me."

  Lara shifted back to wolf then did a slow, uncomfortable shift. I knew she wasn't bringing me with her. She tried it several more times, finally giving up. "I don't have a clue what I'm doing."

  "Both of you try," I told Scarlett and Elisabeth.

  "Not with you!" Lara said.

  I laughed. "Fine. With whoever."

  "I'll try with Lara," Elisabeth said.

  They spent ten minutes at it, both of them trying. Nothing. Then Scarlett tried with Lara. Nothing.

  "How old are wolf pups when they learn to shift?" I asked.

  "Typically a year or two," Lara replied.

  "My kits could shift with me fresh from the womb. I could dra
w them with me, and they were shifting on their own after a couple of months."

  "It might be a fox thing," Lara said.

  "Or a mother thing," I suggested. "Do we want to bring Serena into this? Or Francesca? It may be you'll be able to teach our pups, Lara. Or it may be that I will. Would you be okay with that?"

  "Oh wow," Scarlett said. "We could have newborn wolf pups."

  "Oh," said Lara. "Yes, I would like that very much."

  "You two know the politics," I said, meaning Lara and Elisabeth. "I've tossed out ideas."

  "I want to think about it," Lara said. "This is too big to screw up." She looked at each of us sternly, settling on Scarlett last. "You must shift slowly for now. Do you understand?"

  "Yes, Alpha," she said.

  "Let me think about it for a day or two. I think I'm going to let you try to teach Angel, but for now, no shifting like this with her."

  "Yes, Alpha."

  She looked at me. "You will not teach this to anyone else without my direct order."

  I stared her in the face. "I am alpha too."

  "Promise me."

  "I am alpha too, Lara. Aren't I?"

  She hesitated. "Please."

  "Of course I won't," I said.

  "Then why the hard time?" she asked.

  "If I am part of the decision process, I am less likely to chafe from it. I am trying to train you to think that way, too."

  She laughed. "All right." She turned to Elisabeth. "Slow shifts."

  Elisabeth nodded. "It's going to be hard now."

  "A few days. I might want to make something up about elaborate rituals and blood magic or something."

  The rest of us laughed. "Which must happen under the full moon," I added.

  "And requires a sacrifice," Scarlett said.

  "Yes," I said. "You must shave your entire body, void of all fur, and then be drawn near death from silver poisoning."

  "Oh god," Scarlett said. "And then you're going to make Elisabeth and me go through the ritual, aren't you?"

  "Or look like we did," Lara said. "And it's going to be horrible enough people aren't going to want to do it."

  "Don't make it deadly though," I said. "Make them eat horrible stuff. But maybe not the silver poisoning."

  "Brussels sprouts," Elisabeth said, making a horrible face.

  I laughed. "What's wrong with Brussels sprouts?" I asked. "Fried up with some bacon and onions. Num. Now I'm hungry."

  "Sushi?" Lara asked.

  "Steak house," Scarlett asked. "Please?"

  I laughed. "Sure," I agreed.

  Over lunch, the other enforcers had questions. We deflected them individually until Lara growled. "Enough," she said. And that was the end of that.

  Lunch was nice. Lara ordered chicken for me and steak for her then asked if someone would order the fish and share a little bit. Serena offered. We had a pleasant if somewhat awkward meal.

  * * * *

  Lara mulled it over for three days. She talked privately to Elisabeth and me, both individually and together, but still wasn't sure what to do. On Wednesday night as we were getting ready for bed, we talked about it again.

  "Do we want to ask the council?"

  "No," she said. "I don't want to be forced to teach any of them. I'm not sure I want to teach Karen."

  I studied her carefully. "Are you afraid of challenges?"

  "Frankly, yes."

  "Not even Vivian?"

  "She would feel obligated to share it with the rest of the council."

  "I'm sorry," I told her.

  "For what?"

  "It's going to be impossible for Scarlett and Elisabeth to hide this forever. If I hadn't taught them, you wouldn't be backed into a corner."

  "I am very pleased you taught them," she said. "It presents a problem, but some day Elisabeth's ability to shift instantly is going to save someone's life."

  "Scarlett can't hide it forever from Angel," I said.

  "No," Lara agreed. "And I can't ask Scarlett not to teach her. It might save Angel's life sometime."

  She picked up the phone and called Elisabeth. "My room."

  Elisabeth was downstairs and came up right away, closing the door behind her.

  "I would like your honest opinion," Lara said. "Angel, Serena, Emanuel. No one else."

  Elisabeth instantly understood all the arguments. "What is our story?"

  "People might figure it out if the sample is small enough," I said. "They saw me shift under Scarlett, and then we made a big deal of it."

  "They're going to think it's sex with the fox," Elisabeth said. "She won't be safe."

  "Add Francesca to the list," I said. "And tell everyone we don't know. Suggest it's the water at Bayfield and maybe we'll be able to get people to go up there more."

  Lara laughed. "Yes on Francesca. And we just don't know. Agreed?"

  "Yes," Elisabeth said. "Agreed."

  "When?"

  Lara sighed. "Now. I won't be able to sleep."

  "Angel and Francesca tonight," I suggested. "Serena and Emanuel tomorrow."

  "All right," she said. "Call them, Elisabeth."

  "Bring Scarlett too," I said. "I want to see if she can teach Angel."

  It took them twenty minutes to arrive. They were all in bed. Scarlett knew what was going on but didn't say a word. My bedroom was growing crowded.

  "Scarlett," I said. "Show them."

  She grinned. "Yes! Can I teach her?"

  "You can try," Lara said. "Then if that doesn't work, Elisabeth and I will each try. Then we'll try with Francesca, then let Francesca try."

  "Try what?" Francesca said.

  "Watch," Scarlett said, dropping her clothes quickly. "Don't blink. Three, two, one." And she was a wolf.

  "Oh shit!" said Angel. She threw herself on Scarlett. "That was amazing. I'm so jealous you figured it out first!"

  Scarlett shifted back.

  "This is top secret," Lara said. She laid down the law. They both immediately agreed. Scarlett explained. I added a few things. Then Scarlett said, "May I try?"

  "Angel?" Lara asked.

  "Yes! Teach me!"

  We gave them a while. Angel didn't get even a glimmer. Elisabeth and Lara both tried with Francesca. Nothing.

  Lara turned to me and sighed. "Try with Francesca."

  I nodded and shifted to fox, then cuddled up to Francesca tightly. I shifted back to human and she chuffed immediately.

  "Damn it," said Lara.

  "No," I said. "This is good. We can control it better if not everyone can do it."

  "Yeah, but my jealousy is going to get in the way," she said. I looked at her and she was pacing, her eyes a little wild.

  "Oh for crying out loud," I said. I shifted to fox and then dragged Francesca to human.

  "Oh wow!" she said. "Take me back."

  I dragged her back and forth, slowly twice, then instantly twice. "A few more times," she said. I did, and then she said, "Let me try."

  It took her a few minutes, but suddenly she was a wolf. She howled.

  "Shhh!" Lara said. "Top secret."

  Francesca shifted to human. "Sorry." But her shift was instant.

  I grabbed a blanket and Francesca tried to teach Angel, who was still in fur. Francesca shifted with her several times, but Angel just whined or huffed. Francesca tried to drag Angel between forms, finally giving up.

  "I can almost feel it," she said. "I can feel her, that is, but I can't quite get a hold of her."

  "I don't even get that much," Elisabeth said.

  "Motherhood must have something to do with it. Francesca might be able to figure it out."

  "I don't know. It's really slippery. I can't get a hold of her."

  I thought about it. "Try, I don't know. Coaxing. Go slow."

  She tried a few more times. Nothing.

  "Angel, can you feel it?" Lara asked.

  She chuffed and huffed. "So a little?" She chuffed.

  "Alpha?" I asked. "Do I teach her or do we give Francesca a
few days? Maybe she'll figure it out."

  "If it's motherhood," Lara said. "Then I'll figure that out soon enough." She patted her belly. "Angel, do you want to wait for your mother to teach you?"

  Angel padded over to me and put her head on my knee. I looked at Lara, and she nodded. So I taught Angel.

  The first time I dragged her human she said, "Oh wow! That was completely different than what Mom was doing."

  Francesca sighed.

  "No, I think it was different because it was fox. More subtle. Wolves aren't subtle."

  "Francesca, would that help?" I asked.

  "No, I doubt it. I tried a bunch of different things."

  "All right." I grabbed Angel and forced her to wolf. Then human, then wolf instantly and human instantly. I did that twice more.

  "Enough?" I asked her.

  And she turned into a wolf in my arms. I laughed and stepped away. Angel pranced around the room, shifting back and forth several times. She finished as human and did her patented fist pump in the air. "Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes!"

  I threw a blanket at her, then she ran around hugging everyone.

  Angel put on her clothes and I asked, "How much longer do they have to keep this a secret?"

  "They can show off for the run tomorrow night," Lara said. "But absolutely no one spills the beans how. And absolutely no one shifts while in close proximity to anyone else unless it's a life or death situation."

  Everyone agreed.

  "This is a major pack advantage," Lara said. "We are not going to let the world know we can teach it, and we're not going to advertise we can do it."

  * * * *

  The next day, before class, I taught Serena. She spent the day trying to teach Emanuel. Finally I taught him immediately before dinner.

  Lara invited representatives from the council to dinner. Vivian and Ron Berg were able to come. We had a nice quiet dinner then invited everyone at the compound for a run.

  "No games tonight," Lara declared. "Everyone shift and we'll have a nice run."

  Everyone shifted with the exception of the instant shifters. Everyone was long used to Lara and I waiting, but they were puzzled about the rest.

  Then Lara nodded. The new instant shifters shucked off their clothes, looked at each other, and shifted to wolf.

  The pack turned into pandemonium. Lara let them make noise for a while then said, "Some of us seem to have acquired a new trick. We don't fully understand. Everything about this is a pack secret. We are not to talk about it. Period." She looked at Vivian and Ron. "We will inform the council in private. I don't care how, but this remains top secret."