Fox Afield (Madison Wolves)

by Robin Roseau

  Elisabeth and Gia together found my last trail, the one leading towards the lake. They both began howling as they ran, drawing the rest of the wolves towards them. As a group, they burst out of the underbrush at the side of the lake two hundred yards to my east, ran to the water's edge, then turned directly towards me. Lara looked up, saw me waiting for them, and put on a burst of speed, leaving the other wolves behind.

  I could tell from her erect tail she was angry, and she wasn't slowing down. I immediately rolled over on my back, offering her my throat. She bowled me over anyway. I tumbled, yipping in surprise and pain. She tripped over me, and we tumbled together, me yipping until we came to a stop, Lara's entire weight resting on me, crushing me. I immediately began whimpering, even before her mouth descended to my throat. She squeezed painfully, and my whimpers turned into a mix of yips and whimpers.

  She released my throat, but she didn't climb off me, and I was having trouble breathing. I continued to yip and whimper, but I couldn't breathe properly. I tried cataloging where I hurt. She had cracked at least two ribs, and I was having a hard time telling which of my other pains were real damages or simple bruises.

  Still Lara didn't climb off of me, and my yips faded into nothing but whimpers; it took too much air to yip. Elisabeth and the others caught up to us, and Elisabeth approached slowly on her own. Lara turned to her and growled a warning, but Elisabeth held her ground.

  I struggled to breathe.

  Elisabeth whined at Lara and crept closer. Lara's growl became more serious.

  "Alpha," came Brooke's voice. "Your fox can't breath. You need to let her up."

  I guessed that Lara and I weren't the only ones who shifted quickly.

  Lara turned to her and offered a growl that left nothing to the imagination.

  "Lara," Brooke said gently. "Listen to her. Listen!"

  I whimpered weakly and struggled for air.

  "She led us on a merry chase," Brooke said. "She told us to go run, and we wouldn't, so she made us run. She was safe the entire time, and she even kept track of us. She could have called us to her any time she needed to. She was safe. The only one hurting her is you."

  Lara took my throat again. I continued to whimper weakly underneath her, and then she slowly rose to her feet. She didn't release my throat until she had fully risen off me.

  I rolled onto my side and tried to breath.

  "Alpha," Brooke said. "She's hurt. She needs to shift and heal."

  Lara turned to her and began growling again. I couldn't deal with that and left it to Elisabeth. I focused on healing.

  I cried out as I healed my ribs, and Lara immediately turned to me, whimpering at me worriedly. Then she shifted and was kneeling at my side.

  "Oh Michaela," she said. "I'm sorry."

  I growled briefly at her. She needed to leave me alone for a minute.

  "Lara," Brooke said, "encourage her to shift so she can heal. Her leg looks funny."

  Lara reached for my rear leg, but I snarled and snapped at her, and she pulled back.

  "Honey," she said. "Oh god, I think I broke it."

  I growled at her. That explained why it hurt so much.

  I finished healing the ribs so I could breathe normally. Then I realized it wasn't my leg that was broken, it was my hip.

  I tried moving everything into alignment, but parts weren't moving, and I cried out.

  Lara was crying now. Brooke was circling around. "Alpha, I can help her if you let me. She's trying to align everything. We need to do it for her." She got on her knees and moved closer.

  Lara turned to her. "She can heal." Her voice cracked.

  Elisabeth lay down and began her shift. Brooke crept closer. I struggled to straighten my hips and cried out again. I couldn't heal them the way they were. They would heal crooked, and it would take a surgeon to break them properly again so I could heal straight. I couldn't shift, because they would begin to heal crooked. I needed to straighten them out.

  "Lara," Brooke said. "I can help her, but it's going to hurt her. She's going to scream when I touch her. You know this. You and I can't fight, Lara." If I screamed when Brooke touched me, Lara's reaction could very well be primal; she might see Brooke as hurting me rather than helping me.

  Brooke crept closer still, and I began to drag my body around. Lara reached for me, but stopped, and I dragged myself to Brooke, licking her hand once and trying very hard not to whimper.

  "Lara," Brooke said. "Elisabeth doesn't shift as fast as we do, does she? She's shifting to try to help, but Michaela is hurting. I can help her. We can wait for Elisabeth; you can do what Michaela needs us to do for her; or you can let me do it."

  Lara was crying. She kept reaching out for me then pulling her hands away again. I glanced over at Elisabeth and saw it would be another couple of minutes before she finished her shift.

  "Michaela," Brooke said gently. "We can wait for Elisabeth. I don't dare touch you yet. Can you hold on?"

  I licked her hand then lay in the grass, panting and trying to control my whimpers.

  "I'll tell you what I see," she said. "Your hips are crooked. Something is broken or dislocated, but I can't tell what without touching you. Your back might be broken. You might have a broken leg. I can't tell that, either, without touching you."

  She looked me over from a couple of feet away.

  "The rest of you seem fine. Your chest looks normal and your front legs seem fine. I don't see any blood, and you're not coughing up any."

  I lifted my nose to look into her face.

  Brooke glanced at Elisabeth. "She'll be done in another minute," Brooke said. "Stay with us. Once she has shifted, we'll decide how to do this in a fashion that your mate doesn't kill us."

  I licked her hand again.

  I glanced at Lara. If I were in human form, I'd be yelling at her. She was kneeling over me, but not touching, and she was staring at my hips, crying.

  "You shouldn't have run," Lara said.

  "This isn't her fault, Alpha," Brooke said. "It is yours. She was playing with us. She had the situation well under control, and she even offered her throat to you. Do not blame her. Now you are going to get yourself under control so when your enforcer and I do what we need to do to help your mate, you don't kill us."

  I whimpered my agreement.

  Brooke spoke soothingly to me after that, ignoring Lara. Elisabeth finally finished her shift.

  "For fuck's sake, Lara!" she yelled. "What the hell is wrong with you?" I looked over and saw Elisabeth dragging Lara away from me. "I will handle this, Lara."

  Lara let Elisabeth drag her away.

  "You three," Elisabeth said, addressing Serena, Karen and Gia. "You are going to keep the alpha away from us. She is going to go insane in a minute."

  "No," said Lara. "I am not." Her voice was calm. "Elisabeth and Brooke, please help my mate."

  "She's going to scream, Lara," Elisabeth said. "You know what we have to do."

  "I know," she said. "I know."

  "You three," Elisabeth said. "Try to stop her if she comes after us. Brooke, if she comes after you, you run."

  Then Elisabeth was kneeling beside me, looking at my broken body. "Michaela, can you hear me?" I raised my head and whimpered. "Your hip is definitely broken and out of alignment. I can't tell about your back. I think we should try to move you into alignment first and assess. Yip once if you understand."

  I yipped weakly.

  "Honey," she said. "It's going to hurt. You need to stay with us. And I know you're going to scream, but you know how Lara is going to react."

  "Have you done this before?" Brooke asked quietly.

  "No."

  "I have."

  "Lara will kill you," Elisabeth said. "She might not kill me."

  "Let Brooke do it," Lara said.

  "All right," Elisabeth agreed. They moved around until Brooke was kneeling over my hips.

  "Michaela," she said. "I need to slide my hands under your hips. It is going to hurt. I am sorry."
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  I felt her hands at my sides, then she slid them down until they were ready to slide into position. I whimpered once, and then she moved and twisted my hips in one smooth motion.

  I screamed, and when I was still, I heard Lara sobbing.

  "I can't tell about your back," Brooke said. "Your right leg is broken. I think your left is whole. Can you move your left leg just slightly?"

  I moved, and it hurt my hips, but I could move my leg.

  "Okay. It shouldn't be too bad. Your hips aren't quite aligned properly. I got them close, but I think they need a little more adjustment. And your leg isn't aligned either. We can align them before you shift."

  I growled as fiercely as I could.

  "She doesn't need to shift," Elisabeth said. "She can control what she heals."

  "Excuse me?" Brooke asked.

  "Michaela, do you want to heal your hip before your leg?"

  I yipped once.

  "Can you straighten your hips the rest of the way while you heal it? If not, Brooke needs to align it further."

  If I could see what I was doing, I could straighten it. But I couldn't see. I whimpered.

  "Michaela," Brooke said. "It's a small adjustment, but it's going to hurt. Once I touch you, I will not stop until I think the bones are in place. As soon as they are, I will say 'heal' and you can start healing. I will hold everything in place as best I can. Elisabeth, can you hold the rest of her still?"

  "Michaela?" Elisabeth asked, seeking permission. I yipped once.

  Elisabeth moved closer, and her hands rested on me. Then I heard Lara moving closer; she added her hands.

  "Alpha, this is going to hurt her," Brooke said.

  "I know," Lara said. "Thank you for helping her."

  "All right," Brooke said. "Michaela, if you don't stop me, I am going to start in three... two... one." Then her hands were on my hips, and I screamed a fox scream. I felt bone shifting against bone, and she pressed firmly against me.

  "It's straight, Michaela. You can heal now. Please heal."

  I continued to scream and whimper, but I concentrated on my hips, and I felt the bones begin to knit. It took me several minutes, and my whimpers tapered off. Lara and Elisabeth held me down while Brooke held my bones in place. Then she was able to remove her hands. The three of them spoke soothingly to me the entire time.

  My hips healed as much as they were going to, and I lay on the ground, panting weakly.

  "I am going to check, Michaela," Brooke said gently, and then I felt her hands on my hips. They were going to be stiff and sore, but they felt whole.

  "I think you did it," she said. "Your leg is definitely broken. I think your back is fine. We can set your leg for you."

  I whimpered. I needed a minute.

  Lara and Elisabeth were still holding me down. I turned my head and grasped Lara's hand in my teeth, biting gently. She pulled away, and Elisabeth released me as well.

  I caught my breath then focused on the leg. I rolled, trying to sit up so I could look at it.

  "I know you can set it yourself," Brooke said. "But you used a lot of energy on your hips. It may hurt more, but it may be better to let me set it."

  I glanced at her then yipped.

  "Hold her down again," Brooke said. "Michaela, it will hurt."

  I felt her hands, then there was a grinding, and I began to scream. She shifted my leg, then held it.

  "Heal if you can, Michaela," she said. "It's straight, and the bones are in place."

  Through the pain, I focused on the leg, and I felt the bones knit. The pain receded slowly.

  I ran out of energy before my leg was fully whole, and I didn't think my hips were done, either. I lay on the ground, then began to shift to human, curling into a ball and whimpering as I finished. I lay there panting when I was done, the slowest shift I'd done in a while.

  "She's weak," Elisabeth said.

  "I need food," I panted. "Hot food. The leg won't support me, and I don't trust the hips yet. My back is fine, I think." I wriggled my toes. "Are my toes moving?"

  "Yes," said Elisabeth.

  "We can carry you," Lara said.

  "That will put pressure on my hip," I said. "Brooke and Elisabeth, can you carefully help me to my feet?"

  Brooke moved behind me. I reached up and wrapped arms around Elisabeth's neck. Then the two of them gently lifted me until I was standing on my good left leg with both of them on either side of me, my arms wrapped over their nearest shoulders.

  "The best choice for food is the lodge," Brooke said.

  "Gia and Serena," Elisabeth said. "Run ahead, shift, get dressed, find blankets, meet us at the lodge. Karen, you're on guard duty."

  Gia and Serena took off.

  "Lara," I said weakly. "Get over here where I can see you."

  Lara stepped in front of me, looking anywhere but into my eyes. "Look at me!" I ordered. She turned to face me fully. "This is your fault. I did nothing wrong. When I tell you to get proper exercise, you need to get proper exercise."

  Lara didn't say anything.

  "No," Elisabeth said quietly. "You offered. We declined. That is our choice, Michaela, not yours."

  I glanced over at her. "You make me feel guilty when I hold you all back. You can run around, just come back to me so I don't feel alone."

  "You make yourself feel guilty," Elisabeth clarified. "We were having a nice time."

  "You promised you wouldn't hide," Lara said.

  "I didn't hide," I said. "I just didn't think I would lose you. Twice."

  "Same thing," Lara said simply. "But I overreacted. I treated you like a wolf."

  I looked at her and said, "Step closer." She closed the distance between us, and I released my hand from Elisabeth's shoulder and caressed Lara's face. "I will accept that as a compliment. I heal better than a wolf, but I break more easily, too. Will you remember that in the future?"

  She nodded. "I'm so sorry."

  "I'll forgive you if you forgive me for scaring you. But you shouldn't have been scared, you know."

  "I know," she said.

  "Kiss me, then we can begin the fun of hobbling back to the lodge."

  * * * *

  The walk hurt, and in spite of the cool mountain air, I was sweating badly by the time we arrived at the lodge. Gia met us and wrapped me in a blanket before offering more blankets to Brooke, Elisabeth and Lara, in that order.

  "Set me on a couch," I said. "Feed me, anything warm. Gentle on the stomach is best."

  They led me to a sofa in front of a large fireplace in the lodge. Brooke and Gia headed to the kitchen. Elisabeth busied herself lighting the fire. Lara sat down next to me, still looking amazingly guilty.

  "Get that out of your system now," I told her. "Because I refuse to have the rest of the evening ruined by this. They're going to feed me. I'm going to warm up in front of this lovely fire. I'll finish healing, and then you'll take me back to our cabin and make long, slow, exceedingly gentle love to me. I want to taste you tonight, Lara."

  Elisabeth twitched, listening to me, but didn't say anything.

  Lara looked up at me, and the pain in her eyes was clear.

  "If you're feeling really guilty," I said. "You can make Elisabeth give me my house back."

  Elisabeth's back stiffened, but she didn't respond.

  Lara glanced at her sister. "Why should she suffer for my mistake?"

  I sighed. "It was worth a try."

  Elisabeth chuckled under her breath. She played with the fire, and I quickly became toasty warm.

  Brooke and Gia soon returned with food. I looked over what they brought me and went for the chicken. I ate as much as I could, let it digest for a few minutes, then gave it a little mental hurry through my system. As my blood sugar level began to climb back to normal, I concentrated on my hip. I eased the rest of the damage, smoothing out most of the remaining discomfort and returning the bone to wholesomeness. It would be stiff for a day or two, but otherwise it felt fine.

  The leg was easier,
now that I had energy. I finished then said, "I am going to shift a few times and try everything out." I didn't wait for anyone to respond but simply dropped the blanket, slipped off the sofa onto the floor, and shifted to fox.

  I prowled around the room for a minute, stretching everything out and making sure it all worked okay, then shifted to human, walked around some more, then back to fox, then finally back to human, wrapping the blanket around myself again.

  "Right as rain," I said. "A little stiff, but I am fine. Brooke, thank you."

  "You are welcome, Michaela." She glanced at Lara.

  "Don't worry," I said. "She's never going to do anything like that again. Are you, Lara?"

  "No," she said in a small voice.

  "Good," I replied. "Now, it's been a long day. Lara, if I make it back to the cabin before you do, you have to make Elisabeth give me my house back."

  I shifted back to fox and narrowly avoided Elisabeth bundling me up in the blanket. I yipped cheerfully and made a dash for the door before I realized Karen was guarding it.

  I thought perhaps she would keep me locked inside, but she laughed and opened the door widely. I dashed outside, Lara a good five seconds behind me.

  I didn't beat her, of course. It was a straight race, and she was much faster than I was, especially when motivated. She bounded ahead of me, dashed to the cabin, howled a quick victory, then bounded back to me. We finished my run to the cabin, side-by-side. I shifted to human as I jumped onto the porch, opening the door, and I folded myself into Lara's arms as she shifted human as well.

  "Kiss me," I ordered. "Now."

  She did.

  "Carry me to our bed," I said. "And then make slow, gentle love to me."

  And she did.

  * * * *

  I woke in the morning. I felt slow and stiff. Lara's arms were wrapped around me, and she slept through my climbing out of bed.

  I'd heard Elisabeth sneak into our cabin a half hour after Lara had carried me upstairs, and I wasn't surprised to find her asleep on the sofa. I moved quietly, gathering clothes and slipping out the door. I dressed outside, enjoying the view and the early mountain air.

  They were both breathtaking.