by Robin Roseau
I got up and walked around to Greg. I hugged him and whispered into his ear. "Thank you for showing me what is important."
"My pleasure," he said.
I hugged Wendy as well, then I turned to Greg. "Greg, do you believe that the world catches up to people like this?"
"I believe he is a rabid animal who will get put down one way, sooner or later."
"If it is later, he is allowed to hurt other people in the meantime."
"That is true," he said.
I turned to Lara. "We have let these people take too much from us. I do not believe we should spend anything else on them. But perhaps a modest donation to Amnesty International or some other suitable charity is in order."
She smiled broadly and struggled to her feet, Elisabeth and Serena helping her. Then we were in each other's arms.
But I felt defeated.
Delivery
"Michaela," came Serena's voice over the radio. "Land. Now."
"What's wrong?" I asked.
"Land, come straight to the hangar. We have to go."
Then I heard Angel's voice. "Fly the plane, Michaela," she said. "Make this a landing to be proud of."
I set up my landing, set the plane down gently, and taxied carefully to the hangar. I killed the engine and started doing the paperwork.
Angel was immediately at my door. I had to open it for her, and she unbuckled my seatbelt and pushed the seat back.
"I have to do the paperwork," I said.
"I'll do it." She pulled me from the plane and thrust me at Serena. "Go. I'll catch up."
Then Serena was dragging me towards the waiting car. "Serena! Stop! What's going on?"
"It's the babies," she said. "Lara's water broke!"
Emanuel was already behind the wheel of the car. Serena practically tossed me into the car, following after me. "Go, go!" she said, slamming the door. Serena pulled my seatbelt around me and clicked it closed then sat down next to me and buckled in. "We're buckled!"
We made the ten-minute drive in three minutes.
We came to a stop in front of the school, which also contained a small medical center. Wolves don't go to human hospitals; there are too many pesky questions to answer.
As soon as the car was stopped, Serena opened the door, unsnapped both our buckles, then dragged me from the car. Emanuel ran ahead, opening doors, and Serena half dragged me into the school. We ran together to the medical center, bursting in through the doors.
Karen was waiting just inside the medical center. She pointed, and Serena dragged me in the right direction. We burst into the delivery room, and the midwife started yelling. "Scrubs!"
Serena pulled me back out and dragged me to the wash station. I began scrubbing up while Serena pulled a set of surgical scrubs over me. Then she took over washing my hands for me while I stood there like a child. When she was satisfied, she grabbed a sterile towel and thrust it at me. I'm not sure what that did to the sterility.
But it's not like the wolf pups were going to catch anything. They were werewolves, after all.
I dried my hands, then Serena shoved me back into the delivery room.
There were two midwives. Lara was already on the bed, looking quite calm in spite of the unusual position she was in, with her legs up in the stirrups. Elisabeth was there, looking nervous.
"Thank god," she said. "I'll wait outside."
"You'll do no such thing, enforcer!" I said. "You will wait here for your nieces. You know you want to see them as much as we do."
She grinned. "You're right. I didn't want to intrude."
I yelled at Serena. "Get Angel here! Where is Francesca?"
"She's making food," Elisabeth said. "You know how Aunt Francesca is about feeding people. Gia is helping her. Angel and Scarlett are already on the way. Vivian is coming, too. She wants to see."
"Everyone wants to see," said the midwife. "The alpha is having babies."
I crossed to Lara and took her hand, then kissed her.
"You guys are all worked up," she said. "Wolves have been having pups for a long time."
And then she made a face.
"What was that?" I asked. "Are you in pain?"
"Oh honey," she said. "Contraction. Calm down. Can someone get my wife something to calm her down?"
"How long?" I asked.
"Soon," said the other midwife, seated in front of Lara's open legs. "Very soon."
Angel barely made it in time. Serena kept everyone else out but sent Angel in, probably to help keep me calm. Then, a very short while later, the midwife was cleaning the first baby. She wrapped it up and offered it to me, but I pointed to Elisabeth. Elisabeth took the small creature, and I had never seen her look at anything so tenderly.
"We made a baby," I whispered to Lara.
"We did," she said. "Now we're making another one."
It wasn't long, and Angel was holding the second little baby. The midwife helped Lara, and then I climbed onto the bed next to her. Elisabeth slipped to Lara's side, holding the baby for her to see. Angel came to my side.
"Lara," I said. "Look. We made two beautiful babies."
"Yes," she said. "We did."
Elisabeth moved her baby to Lara's arms, and Angel gave me the second baby. "Hello, Rebecca Angel Burns," I said.
"Hello, Celeste Elisabeth Burns," Lara said.
I stared into the beautiful faces of our two little babies.
Then my face grew troubled.
"Lara," I said. "We have a problem."
"I know," she agreed.
Instantly we had the attention of everyone in the room. I looked at Angel. "Are you sure this is the second baby?" She nodded.
"And this is the first baby?" Lara asked Elisabeth. Elisabeth nodded.
"Lara, mine doesn't look like a Rebecca."
"And mine doesn't look like a Celeste."
"Yours looks like a Rebecca," I said.
"And I think you're looks like a Celeste," Lara agreed.
I stared into the face of the baby I was holding. "Hello, Celeste Elisabeth."
"Hello, Rebecca Angel," Lara said.
Elisabeth and Angel switched sides of the bed. "You really named a baby after me?" Angel asked.
"Yes," I said. "But you better not play favorites."
"I couldn't possibly," she said. "They're both so perfect."
"This one looks like a trouble maker," I said.
"So does this one," said Lara.
"They got that from their Mommy Fox," Elisabeth said.
"Damned right," I agreed.
"Honey, don't swear in front of the babies," Lara said. "You know they start picking up words at an early age."
Pups
Three days later, I picked up Rebecca from her cradle, holding her close for a moment, then handed her to Elisabeth. Then I gathered up Celeste. Along with Lara, we all moved down the stairs.
Francesca was waiting at the bottom of the stairs, and I handed her my baby. I slipped out of my clothes and wrapped a blanket around me. Francesca carried the baby outside for me. Out in the grass a large, comfortable hammock waited for Lara, the babies, and me. Serena and Karen helped Lara into it, and Elisabeth handed her Rebecca. I climbed into the hammock next to Lara and accepted Celeste from Francesca.
Lara and I cooed at our babies, then I allowed Scarlett to take the baby from me. Karen took Rebecca. Then, slowly, the two babies were shown around to the assembled pack. Not everyone had made it, but there were hundreds of wolves, all wanting a peek at the new pups and their mothers.
The babies began to fuss, and suddenly Lara found her arms full. I pulled a blanket up for a little modesty, which amused Lara.
"Don't let them eat too much," I said. "Just a little."
"I know," she said. "You've told me."
"I'm sorry," I said.
People clustered around, then moved on, making room for the next.
"Who is taking photos?" I asked Elisabeth.
"Practically everyone," she said.
; "All right," I said. "That's enough milk for them. Give me Rebecca."
Lara looked down, found the right baby, and pulled her away from a plump breast, handing me the squirming baby. I pulled her to my arms, holding her against my chest. She sought out my breasts, but I wouldn't have any milk for her.
I cuddled my baby and cooed at her, then looked at Lara. "She'll get sick if she eats too much, honey." Lara pulled Celeste from her breast, and the baby began to complain. Angel was holding a pacifier, which calmed the baby at least for a few minutes. From past experience, we knew it wouldn't last.
Celeste liked her milk.
Lara covered herself, holding the baby and cooing. I burped Rebecca. She gurgled happily and clutched my hair.
I looked at my little baby cradled in my arms.
"Lara," I said, my eyes surely shining. "You made such beautiful babies."
"We made beautiful babies, Little Fox," she said.
"Yes," I said, laughing with joy. "We made beautiful babies. Pictures."
"Everyone in the pack is taking pictures," Angel said. "Just do it."
"Is Gia here?" I asked.
"Right here," I heard Gia's voice.
"Where is Francesca?"
"Everyone is here," Rory said. "Do it."
"All right," I said. I looked into my baby's eyes, then pulled her to my chest, cuddling her closely. I felt for her. I felt for her wolf. I began my own shift, feeling for my baby.
Her wolf was elusive, hiding from me. But I am Fox. No wolf can hide from me for long. I found my baby's wolf, and I said, "Hello, come with Mommy Fox," and then I was a fox.
And my baby was a wolf.
"She's beautiful!" Scarlett said. "Look at her. Oh my god, she's so cute!"
Rebecca tried to bite my nose. I curled my lip at her and she sat back on my chest, looking at me.
Then there were hands taking my baby away from me. I whimpered for a moment, but Angel said, "Let me hold her, please, Michaela."
And I chuffed and shifted back to human. "May I have Celeste now?"
Lara handed me Celeste. I cooed at her and cuddled her, and then I found her wolf. Her wolf was also hiding, but I found her, and I said, "Come to Mommy Fox." And then the fox was holding the small wolf pup.
Elisabeth took Celeste from me. I whimpered, then chuffed and shifted back to human again.
"Grass," I said. "Help us down to the grass."
Strong arms pulled me from the hammock, and Lara too. Then we sat in the grass, an open circle of wolves around us. Angel handed me my baby, and I set her in the grass and said, "There is Mommy Wolf. Rebecca Angel, can you walk to Mommy Wolf?"
I steadied the little wolf. She looked around for a moment. Then Lara called her. She listened first, then she sniffed. Then she took her first stumbling steps to her mother.
Elisabeth handed me Celeste. I kissed her nose then set her in the grass, pointed to Lara. Lara called to them both, and moments later, two wolf pups were crawling into Mommy Wolf's lap.
A moment after that, Mommy Fox was kissing Mommy Wolf.
I have never been more in love.
December
December arrived. The pups were growing. They hadn't learned to shift on their own yet, but I knew it would be soon. We had no shortage of help raising them, and I frequently had to beg to play with my own babies. Even diaper duty didn't seem to discourage anyone, not even the boys from my classes.
Kaylee and Thomas seemed especially pleased to no longer be the youngest pack members in the compound.
Angel and Scarlett finished fall classes, earning straight A's. I was so proud of them.
I insisted on continuing all my physical training. Bare-handed I couldn't beat Karen or Elisabeth, and no one ever expected me to. My reactions were faster than theirs, but not sufficiently fast to make up for their weight, strength, and reach. When sparring with them, the matches took as long as they did only because they had to hold back to avoid hurting me. In a real fight with either of them, I would be toast.
With the other enforcers, I could hold my own for a longer period of time, but I just couldn't do enough damage to any of them to actually win a sparring match.
But no one wanted to face me with knives. I was deadly with knives. Elisabeth and Karen were a challenge for me, and I had to be very careful with the other enforcers, but one on one, I could take any of them with my knives, and even up to three of them was possible, but not consistently.
"We know what to expect," Elisabeth said when I grew despondent. "I warned you."
"I know," I told her. "Don't worry about it, Elisabeth. Just keep training me. It helps, okay?"
I got better with Karen's sniper rifle, although I wasn't remotely as good as she was. It took patience, but I bought my own; no one knew about it. That was tricky.
I finished my pilot's license. It took some foxy subterfuge on my part, and a few tears to boot, but I convinced them to let me go flying alone. I then behaved myself until a flight in December. I made an extra foray, then called Lara from a small airport in western Wisconsin.
"Where the hell are you?" she asked immediately.
"I'm so embarrassed," I told her. "Please don't yell."
"Are you all right?" she asked, her tone softening immediately.
"Yes," I said. "Please don't make me tell you what I did."
"Where are you?"
"Platteville," I replied.
"You weren't supposed to be there, Michaela."
"I know," I said in a small voice. "I got lost."
"How did you get lost?"
"Half the radios turned off," I said. I didn't mention that I had intentionally pulled the circuit breaker for them. "I'm so embarrassed."
"Honey," she said. "Is the plane okay?"
"Everything is fine now. A circuit breaker had popped. I think I might have snagged it or something. It was pulled out. I didn't figure it out until I got on the ground. Everything is fine now, but I needed gas and I knew you would be worried."
"Do you need me to come get you?" she asked.
"No," I said. "I'm filled up and will head straight home. I'm so sorry, Lara."
"Things happen," she said. "I'll call Serena. Elisabeth is with her, too."
"I'll come home and take my lumps," I said. "I love you, Lara."
I got back in the plane and flew home. I pulled up to the fuel pump and shut down. Serena and Elisabeth approached the airplane looking grim. I popped the door and climbed out.
"I'm sorry," I said immediately, staring at the ground. "I got lost."
They stepped up to me, neither of them saying anything. They stopped three feet away from me. I didn't look either of them in the eye. I brushed away a tear and stepped forward, straight to Serena. She didn't welcome me, but I stepped right into her, and she wrapped her arms around me.
"I'm sorry," I said again. "I didn't mean to."
"I know," she said.
"I think you should come with me in the future," I told her. "I was so scared." I started to shake a little.
"You're fine now," she said, holding me tightly. Elisabeth put a hand on my shoulder in comfort.
But that night, I began planning in earnest. I had some wolves to kill.
No one really thought I was going to let it go that easily, did they?
The story of Michaela's revenge continues in the next volume of the Madison Wolves series tentatively called Soap Dish.
About the Author
A writer by avocation, Robin has a renaissance interest in many areas. A bit of a gypsy, Robin has called a few places home and has traveled widely. A love of the outdoors, animals in general and experimenting with world cuisines, Robin and partner share their home with a menagerie of pets and guests, although sometimes it is difficult to discern who is whom.
Robin can be reached via email as [email protected] or found on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/robin.roseau. Robin will have a web site soon at http://www.robin-roseau.com.
Other Works by Robin Roseau
All titles available on Amazon
Novels: The Madison Wolves
Fox Run
Michaela Redfur is a werefox living a quiet life in Bayfield, Wisconsin. She has a quiet job that gets her out of doors and avoids the werewolves as if her life depended on it. Which it does.
That all changes early one morning when Lara Burns, the Madison Wolves alpha, introduces herself, much to Michaela's chagrin. Lara explains to Michaela that "we only want to talk", but when a werewolf comes knocking on a tiny, delicate foxes' front door, Michaela knows talking is the last thing in the wolfy mind.
This novel is 93,000 words and is the first in in The Madison Wolves Series.
Fox Play
Having now agreed to a commitment relationship, Michaela and Lara turn their attention to a new threat. Durian, alpha of the Chicago wolves, wants Lara's pack for himself in order to replenish his dwindling power.
In the meantime, Michaela faces her fears built from the past while struggling to find her place in the pack.
Fox Play continues the story first begun in Fox Run. This is a novel of 95,000 words.
Fox Mate
Michaela Redfur has been accepted into the wolf pack as their fox, and a wedding with Lara, the alpha, is in the planning. But being accepted into a close-knit clan is not simply a formality. There are rites of initiation and you know you are truly accepted when the dark and ugly is accepted along with the good.
In Fox Mate Michaela, the lone and orphaned fox, finds out how acceptance works - wolf-style: some rough play, lots of love especially when a pack- member is in need of help.
Michaela struggles to hold things together and find peace in time to save the wedding.
This is a novel of 110,000 words. The novel deals with traumatic issues from Michaela's past and contains some graphic violence and scenes that may be disturbing to sensitive readers.
Fox Afield
Lara and Michaela depart on their honeymoon, combining a vacation into an opportunity to practice diplomacy with another werewolf pack. Their honeymoon is interrupted by a frantic phone call to Michaela from an old friend.