by Robin Roseau
We then spent our time on the house, turning it into a shared home. I had, from time to time in the past, moved in with a girlfriend or had a few move into my small apartments. But I'd never had someone make such changes to her own home for me.
We set up the spare bedroom as an office for both of us, Portia requiring far less space than I did. I really liked sharing the space with her. The main floor room she'd turned into an office became the spare bedroom. It was small, but it would work for the occasional guest.
We moved my photos around the house until we were both pleased. That was actually fun, as Portia let me order her around. "No, not there. Up a little. Down a little. It's crooked." I teased her a great deal, and she knew I was doing it.
And then when I carried it too far, she set the piece down and chased me around the house until she caught me. I got tickled into complete submission.
I loved it.
She made me vow the most outrageous things before she stopped tickling.
During one of the painting sessions, I told her about my conversations with Monique and Ember. When I explained about movie night, I felt guilty.
"I should have asked you, but it sort of came up."
"I disagree," she said. "I love the idea, and I am very happy to let you manage our social life."
"So you like movie night? How do I know when you're going to be available?"
"There's a schedule," she said. "Things will come up, sometimes on short notice. A few times a month, I get a call to appear at the alphas' immediately or to meet with either Elisabeth or Serena. Sometimes I am needed for only a few minutes, perhaps to discuss something, perhaps to give the fox an escort across the compound."
"She needs a guard here?"
"The answer to that depends upon who you ask. If you ask her, the answer is, 'I rarely need any guards at all'. If you ask Lara or the enforcers, and we want two with her at all times."
"That would put a crimp in lovemaking."
She smiled briefly but didn't otherwise acknowledge my joke.
"My point is this: when I get those calls, I drop what I am doing and take care of it. You understand."
"Of course."
"This is something we don't complain about, Zoe. It is the role of the enforcer to disrupt her life so that our alpha and her family can have as normal a life as we can arrange. Michaela tends to feel guilty that her life requires us to sacrifice, and so she sacrifices to reduce the intrusion on our lives. None of us are happy when we find out she's been skipping things she wants to do, and if she ever heard any complaints, she'd do it even more."
"I'll never say a word, Portia."
"It can be hard not to mutter. I never admit to a bad night of sleep, and I make sure I never sound like I was sleeping when answering calls from her."
"I understand. So, about movie night. Friday?"
"This Friday is currently free," she said. "The alphas intend a quiet night at home. There's a Bayfield trip next weekend."
"Field trip for the kids?"
"No, just the family. To Michaela, that also means Angel and Scarlett. I'll be going; I don't know if you're invited. But if not, you can still have movie night."
"I want Monique to invite dates; it would be awkward if she had a date and you're not here."
"Well, I don't expect you to be a hermit when I'm not here, but the choices are yours." She paused. "However, I will want to know where you are, and I'm a little controlling about that. I'm sorry; I can't help it."
"It's fine," I said.
We discussed movies for a while, and we made arrangements. "What about food?" I asked.
"Make a vegan pasta dish, and I'll cook up some protein the wolves can add," she suggested. "Or we can order pizza. There's a wolf-owned place that delivers here."
"It won't be vegan. I can make something for me and you guys can order pizza or make something."
"Whatever you want, Zoe," she said. "I should warn you. Word about movie night will get around in about fifteen seconds."
"Would it bother you?"
"We're very, very social," she replied. "I don't know how I would feel if my house was a revolving door the way Lara's is. Maybe it would be okay, but I've lived alone for a long time. But having friends over is fine. However, I want you to make more friends than just the students."
"Well, we'll start small," I said. "Monique and a date, Friday."
"Right."
* * * *
It was during another break when I told her about Ember.
"That's a sad story," Portia said. "Michaela is her official guardian. That took legal wrangling, but Hadley Smith is exceedingly good."
"Do any of the kids have jobs?"
"No. Michaela works them too hard, and one of the requirements of her program is complete devotion to their studies, even during the summer."
"What do they do for pizza money?"
"Their parents fund them."
"Well, what does Ember do?"
"I presume Michaela gives her a little spending money. I don't know."
I hadn't told Portia about the camera conversation. I decided to sit on it, but if Ember wanted to join my photography class in January, I would find a way to include her.
* * * *
We rushed on Wednesday to finish everything we wanted to do on the house. I would spend some time moving things around and making little touches, but by late afternoon, the last of my photos was where I wanted them; the walls were all a different color. And those few things I had to make the space mine were spread around.
Portia and I stood in the office, looking around, our arms around each other. I laid my head on her shoulder. "Everything has been so fast," I said. "I'm still catching up."
"I know. Me too."
We shifted so she was behind me, her arms around me. I leaned backwards into her.
"I love your strength, Portia. I love knowing I can lean against you, and you'll always hold me."
"I like holding you." She bent forward and brushed her cheek along mine.
"I like when you do that. Do I smell more like you afterwards?"
She sniffed at me. "You smell like me all the time."
"Do you smell like me?"
"Yes, but not as much as the other way around. Um."
"Oh, this is going to be good."
"It's a wolf thing."
I pretended to be upset. "Tell me. Right now."
She chuckled. "Do you believe that tone is going to work for you?"
"Yes, it is. Tell me. Or else."
"Or else what?"
"Or else I'll make you eat soy burgers."
She laughed. "Care to attempt a threat you can actually enforce."
"Um." I stamped my foot. "Tell me!"
She laughed.
"Please?"
"Of course, Love. I am a dominant wolf. I don't have scent glands in the same way a cat does. But every time we touch, I mark you with my scent, anyway."
"Intentionally?"
"Well, I touch you intentionally. But it's a mating thing and just happens. Anyone who gets remotely near you will know you're scent-marked."
"Did Elisabeth do that to me?"
"You tended to smell like her, but not the same way. Her wolf didn't decide you were mated."
"So Michaela smells like Lara?"
"The pups, too. And Scarlett like Angel."
"Well then." I stood up on my toes and brushed our cheeks together. Portia chuckled. "I wouldn't want it to wear off."
"It's not going to wear off, but you may brush against me all you want."
* * * *
A while later, we headed to the alphas' for Wednesday dinner. Monique caught me the minute we walked in the door. "Portia, may I borrow your mate?"
"Of course, Monique."
The girl dragged me to her bedroom. Once we arrived, I asked her, "What's up?"
"I want to show you the photos I took. I'm not satisfied for Monday, but I'm not sure what to do. My model said we could have another photo s
hoot."
We sat down on the floor, our backs against her bed, and she flipped her laptop open. A moment later, she was showing me her photos.
"You got Eric to model for you?"
She grinned at me. "He was flustered. It was funny."
We flipped through the photos. She had done well for a beginner, but there were some basic problems, too.
"All right. Monique..."
"Before you say anything, I want to say something."
"All right."
"I want you to be honest. I want to get better, and if you're not honest, I won't get better."
"How honest?"
"Brutally. I can take it."
"All right. I'm not going to find every little thing wrong. I'm going to point out the main things, and then when you take more, it gives you a little bit to fix at a time."
"Okay."
"First, pick the five you think are the best." She did that, and I thought she'd done a passible job of it. I might not have made the same choices, but explaining why not would be difficult.
"All right. First, all of them have a consistent problem. It has to do with lighting. Do you know what it is?"
She shook her head.
"You took these right after school, didn't you?"
"Tuesday," she said.
"It was a bright, sunny day."
"I thought that would give the best light."
"It gave you too much light," I said. "The shadows are harsh, and in many of them, he's squinting."
"I-"
I patted her hand. "Everyone thinks more light is better. But direct sunlight, except early morning or late evening, is too harsh. So that's one problem. I'd wait until evening. You'll get much more interesting colors that way. Next." I pointed. "Do you see how these areas are in deep shadow? You need to use fill light. Remember how I bounced light? Sometimes you can get your subject to hold the reflector for you, or you can use an assistant. When photographing outside, you'll almost always need to do this for the best photos. You can go out to YouTube for examples."
"But you don't do that for animals."
"Eric isn't an animal, at least not in that sense."
She nodded. "What else?"
"Last thing," I said. "The background. Look, Eric has the frame of a door growing out of his head. And in this one, it's the antenna from the car. Over here, he has a tree branch growing out of his arm."
She stared at the photos.
"There are two ways to deal with this. You can use a narrower depth of field so the background blurs out. Or you can move your subject. This is why portrait photography is always in front of some sort of drop cloth. You can also try to fix it with editing tools, blurring out the background, but that's an art in itself. I like to get the photos as close to right and not rely on Photoshop tricks."
She nodded.
"Now, you did some things right. You framed close, but not too close. You didn't chop off any heads. You can always crop the photos, but you can't uncrop."
We talked for a few more minutes. Then she put her computer away and hugged me.
"Are you having fun?"
"Yeah! I did a nature walk, too, but I'm not ready to show you yet."
"Good. Now, are you coming Friday? You haven't told me."
"Yes. And I have a date!" She squealed that part.
"Cassie?"
"Yeah. We've gone for walks, and I went for a walk with Val, too, but I haven't had any real dates yet. Should I buy her flowers or something?"
"Oh gosh," I said. "You know, I wouldn't. And don't worry about stuff like that. Just try to have a good time. Try to make sure she has a good time. Don't force it."
"How will I know if she wants me to kiss her?"
"Another question I can't answer. You know what my rule is?"
"What?"
"I don't go on a date if I'm not willing to kiss good night, and I assume the same thing with the people I'm with."
"So I should assume the same?"
"Uh huh. That doesn't mean a make-out session. It means a sweet good night kiss. She may want more, she may not want that much, but if you go a little slow, if she isn't interested, she'll either pull away or offer something else to kiss."
"Like a cheek?"
"Right."
"Do I hold her hand?"
"Yes. It's a date. You don't want to maul her, but touching is expected. Heck, you're wolves. You touch all the time."
She had another half dozen questions with me, all that were different ways of saying, "I'm nervous." Finally I said, "Monique, you're over-thinking this. Just pick her up, walk over here with her, hold her hand, wait on her, and have a nice time. Be yourself. You're a great person, and she likes you for who you are, not for who you want to act like."
"Are you sure?"
"Do you want a relationship based on a lie? Yes, I'm sure. Be yourself. You're perfect just the way you are."
She smiled. "Thank you, Zoe. You're right."
"You're welcome." I bumped my shoulder into hers then said, "I have something for you."
"You do?"
"I wasn't sure whether I should tell you. If you weren't going to be such a great enforcer, I'd be more nervous about telling you this."
"It sounds serious."
"It's not serious, not exactly. I am going to tell you something, and then you're never going to tell anyone I told you, unless you are directly asked."
She laughed. "All right. Promise."
I lowered my voice. "If you were to ask Ember out, she would say 'yes'."
Monique smiled. "She would?" I nodded sagely. "I like Ember. She's nice."
"Good," I declared. "Done here?"
"Almost." She hugged me deeply and kissed my cheek besides. Then she popped to her feet and pulled me to mine. "Now we're done here."
We arrived back downstairs and were there for about thirty seconds when there were two more teenagers on either side of me. Iris and Lindsey grabbed my arms and began pulling me towards the door. Before we even got there, Serena stepped in front and opened it for us. "Have a nice run," she said with a smile.
I was laughing before we made it to the trees.
They took me deep into the woods, and we didn't follow a path. Instead, we ran amongst the trees, dodging them right and left, and we even flew -- almost literally -- over a few downed trees, the wolves lifting me over as we approached.
I screamed a few times, sure they were about to run me into something, but they laughed and we went over or around all the obstacles.
Finally, somewhere deep in the woods, we came to a stop. They propped me against a tree and bent over. They were both panting, and I was still laughing.
Although my heart was pounding, too.
None of them had taken me through the woods quiet like that before. It had been quite the ride.
"That was pretty wild, girls," I told them.
"We mapped a route," Iris said. "You screamed."
"I did."
She turned and high-fived Lindsey.
"Is this just a rest break, or did you two want something."
"Both," Lindsey said. "Are you really teaching a photography class this winter."
"Yes."
"What do we have to do to get in?"
"Have a camera with the minimum features and sign up, I guess. Well, those are my requirements. Michaela and Francesca have final authority."
"What if we've never used a fancy camera like that?"
"Oh, that might be a problem," I said. "Hmm. What would I do about it?" I snapped my fingers. "You know, back in the compound there's a building. What's it called? It's on the tip of my tongue."
"The gym?"
"No, that's not it," I said.
"Barracks?"
"No, it has all these rooms."
"You're talking about the school?" Iris asked.
"School!" I said, snapping my fingers. "That's it. And in this school, don't adults stand up in the rooms, and kids sit down. And the adults... what are they called? Teacu
ps? Something like that."
"Teachers," Lindsey drawled like only a teenager can.
"Right. Teachers. And they talk about things the kids don't know. And the kids... What is that thing kids do with their ears?"
"Hear." By now they had their hands on their hips.
"No, no, it's an L-word. Listen! The kids listen. And they learn things."
"You could just have told us you were going to teach us," Iris said.
"Tell us," Lindsey said. "Do you know where the compound is from here? We can leave you out here."
I laughed. "Go ahead."
"I'm not bluffing," she replied. "We're six miles from the compound, and you don't know what direction it is."
"So? I'm not worried."
"You should be. It will be dark soon."
I reached into my pocket and pulled my cell phone out. I tried calling Portia while the two looked at me, their heads cocked. The call failed. I looked at the phone. "No signal?"
"Worried yet?" Lindsey asked.
I thought about it. "Nope."
"Why not?"
"Because Portia would eventually come find me. I'm pretty sure she won't have the slightest trouble following our scent."
"Damn it," said Iris. "We need better threats."
They both grinned.
"Were you even a little nervous?" Lindsey asked.
"Not particularly," I said. "I know how to walk a straight line, and I know I don't have to go more than two miles in any direction to find a road."
"Damn it," Iris declared again. "We really need better threats."
"Work on them," I said. "Girls, I hope you take the class. It's going to be a lot of fun."
"What if our families buy us cameras, but we don't like it?"
"Good question. Are there more outings planned between now and Christmas? Ones where I'll probably be asked to help?"
"Yes. Well, we have trips every month."
"Well, I'll talk to Michaela. We can work on some of the things with the cameras you have, even cell phones. If you like what we do that way, and you don't mind taking more time per photo, then you'll love what we do with real equipment." I paused. "I will also offer half-day sessions with me and one of my cameras, one or two at a time. That will give you the full experience."
"Really?" Iris said. "When?"
"I don't know. I'll let you know."
"We get first pick," Lindsey said. "It's only fair."
I laughed. "All right."