by Robin Roseau
"Are you thinking, Michaela?"
I closed my eyes. "I don't know, Serena. It hurts."
"What hurts, honey?"
"My mistress is hurting Lara, but I have orders against letting her come between us. She is coming between us. Make it stop, Serena."
"Michaela, Carissa is not coming between you."
"She is. I can smell Lara's grief!"
"No, honey. Open your eyes and look at your mate."
My eyes popped open and I lifted my head to look at Lara. She was watching me.
"You are not used to your current sense of smell," she said, "and you do not know how to read subtleties. But you have long experience listening with your ears and watching with your eyes. What do they tell you?"
"Lara is angry."
"Yes, she is. What does Lara do when she is angry?"
"She kills the one who made her angry."
"No, honey, she does not. That is what you do. Lara does something different. Do you know what?"
"She-" I thought about it. "She wins."
"Yes, she wins. What you are smelling isn't grief, it is determination."
I thought about it. I wanted to look at Serena to see if she was lying, but she ordered me to look at Lara. That order was competing with the order to think for myself, and I began to tremble in frustration."
"What is wrong now, honey?"
Lara moved, still watching me, and my eyes tracked her.
"Oh, Michaela, you may now look wherever you like," Serena said.
I collapsed to the bed and slowly turned to look back at her.
"Determination? It smells like grief."
"Michaela," she said, "I can teach you the different smells, or you can choose to trust me. To me, it does not smell like grief. Your enhanced fox nose is still no match for a wolf nose. Will you believe me? I have never lied to you, honey."
I closed my eyes. "I trust you, Serena."
"Serena, do you have her?" Lara asked.
"She'll be fine," Serena said. "But I want you to cancel most of the orders you gave her."
"She'll run."
"Michaela," Serena said, "Will you run if Lara cancels all the orders she gave you?"
"No," I said after considering it. "But watch me carefully."
"Trust her, Alpha."
"Michaela," said Lara. "I cancel all the orders I have given you."
I felt some of the tension ease. I opened my eyes and looked at Serena. "Thank you."
"Tell me what orders you are following."
"Obey Lara, Elisabeth and Serena. Go with Lara. Tell if I can't answer a question. Stay in North Carolina. Obey my mate. Do not let Carissa become a wedge between Lara and me. Make myself comfortable."
"Alpha," Serena said, "Please call Carissa and let me talk to her."
I listened as Lara made the call. It rang twice before I heard my mistress's voice. I immediately sat up and stared at the phone.
"Michaela's head of security wishes to speak with you."
"Put her on."
Lara handed the phone to Serena, and I continued to stare at it.
"Carissa, my name is Serena."
"Yes, we have met."
"I am taking care of Michaela, and she is suffering from too many orders. I would like you to cancel all of them except the ones to obey Lara, Elisabeth and me. We'll take it from there."
I heard background noises, and then it grew quieter. A moment later, Carissa said, "Put her on."
Serena handed me the phone. "Mistress?"
"Michaela," she said, "You will obey Lara, Elisabeth and Serena. I cancel all other orders I have given you."
I began to tremble, the urge to run to my mistress nearly overwhelming.
"Michaela," Serena said immediately, "Remain on the bed."
I froze.
"Give me the phone," she ordered, and I handed it to her. "We've got it from here, Carissa. Thank you."
"I am sorry for this."
Serena hung up and returned the phone to Lara.
"The woman is a snake," she said. "I don't trust her. She has been manipulating us from the beginning."
"She is a very powerful vampire," Lara said. "Manipulation is what they do."
"No," I said. "She has an impeccable reputation."
"According to whom?" Lara asked.
I clamped my mouth shut.
"Michaela," Lara said.
"Do not make that an order, Alpha," Serena interjected.
"Why not?"
"She would tell us if she could. Either the vampire glamoured her, or there is only one person she would trust to tell her that."
"Greg," Lara said. Twenty seconds later, I heard Lara speaking into her phone, saying her first name and a lengthy list of numbers.
I closed my eyes again and relaxed. Serena had ordered me to make myself comfortable, and so I did.
Lara's phone rang, and I heard Greg Freund's voice.
"Greg," Lara said, "Have you spoken with Michaela in the last week?"
"Has she told you I have spoken to her?"
"No."
"Is she with you?"
"Yes. Have you spoken with her?"
"Is there some reason you aren't simply asking her?"
"Greg, you are being evasive. Would you care to explain in broad terms the sort of reasons that would cause you to be evasive with me?"
"I tend to be evasive when I am asked questions that may impugn the privacy of another client, Lara."
"If you had not talked to Michaela in relationship to another of your clients, you would have been able to say 'no'."
"I cannot think of any other reasons why I would need to be evasive," he replied. "Speaking, of course, only in broad terms."
"So if I asked you direct questions about another client?"
"I would not be able to answer you without permission. I would warn you that if you persisted, I would be forced to tell the other client you were asking questions about him or her."
I opened my eyes, looking at Serena. I opened and closed my mouth several times, not quite able to speak.
"Alpha, hang on," Serena said. "Michaela, tell me the orders you are currently following." Once I had she relaxed. "Michaela, think for yourself."
I smiled, letting the order settle in. "Lara," I said, "Remind Greg he has permission to talk to me."
She relayed what I'd said.
"Then perhaps I should talk to Michaela," he replied.
Lara tried to hand me the phone, but I didn't take it. "Speakerphone," I said.
"I heard that," said Greg. "No."
Lara gave me the phone, but I pushed it away. "Tell him what's going on, then ask him to tell me anything else I need to know. Then give me the phone and step outside."
Lara talked to Greg, explaining without offering details we weren't allowed to share, and Serena turned me to face her. "Are you going to be okay?"
"I feel like I'm being torn in two, Serena. But you ordered me to stay on the bed, and I can't leave. I won't go anywhere, unless she calls me again. I won't be able to fight it."
She caressed my cheek, then Lara handed the phone to me, and all of them stepped out of the room. "Call us when you're done," Lara said.
I lifted the phone to my ear. "Greg."
"Michaela, I'm sorry. I didn't mislead you. She has an impeccable reputation. She is ruthless, but you already knew that. She will keep any promises she made to you, but she may be very, very literal in her interpretation. You are all wondering if she manipulated the situation, and it is entirely possible. She may have intentionally given Kristian orders he could easily interpret however best suited her purposes, but she may not have. She could have manipulated you, but she may not have. She asks a lot from her allies, but she also gives a lot. You may not like her methods, but she will not cheat you."
I listened, not saying a word.
"I'm done," he said after a moment.
Lara had ordered me to call them when we were done. I immediately raised my voice and called fo
r her. A moment later, the wolves reentered the room. I held the phone out, and Lara took it, speaking briefly with Greg before hanging up. Then she turned to me and said, "Michaela, tell me exactly what Greg told you."
I didn't want to tell her. She would become angry with my mistress. But she had ordered, and I could only obey. I repeated everything, word for word. When I was done, I buried my head in my arms, hiding from all of them. Serena crawled back onto the bed with me and said gently, "Please let me help you, Michaela."
I turned to face her, but there were tears in my eyes.
"Michaela," she said gently. "You are very smart. How do you think we should get Deirdre away from the house?"
"Easy," Lara said. "We're going to tell her what Carissa told us. Then we're going to tell her what Carissa did to Michaela. Finally we're going to keep her safe, and she's going to help us break the blood thrall."
I turned to Lara. "I can't help you against my mistress."
"She wants the fae woman back," Lara said. "We'll get her back."
"She doesn't want us using force. I can't help you force her."
"We won't force her," Lara said. "You get her outside, and we'll take it from there."
"Carissa said the vampire can detect werewolves, Lara."
"Then you'll have to lead her to us. Can you do that, Michaela?"
I nodded.
"Then that is what we'll do," Lara said. "Do you want to sleep now, honey?
I nodded again.
"Michaela," said Serena, "You may now get off the bed. Go get ready for bed and then come back. One of us will stay with you while you sleep."
Five minutes later, with Serena holding me, she ordered me, "Sleep now, Michaela."
I slept.
Enemies
I stepped out onto the field, nosing around as a fox would while I waited for Deirdre. The wolves would be moving into position two miles due west.
I was wearing a harness this time and had a letter from Lara to Deirdre. They hadn't let me read it, specifically ordering me to make no effort to learn the contents. I was told to deliver the letter. It was tucked into a pouch on the harness with the words, "For Aspen, Please Open" written clearly on the pouch. I could slither out of the harness if I needed to, but no one was sure how much I'd be able to say.
I hadn't been very articulate all day long. I felt torn in pieces. I was driven to go to my mistress. I was driven to please her, however, and she wanted Deirdre back. I was ordered to obey Lara and the others. I knew Lara intended to break the thrall, and I didn't want her to. I knew Deirdre wanted to give me to Lara, but I didn't want her to.
I wanted to be with my mistress.
But, deep, deep inside, my blood boiled, maybe only in one little corner, but my blood boiled.
Carissa had manipulated us. Rescuing Deirdre was my only chance for a normal life after this. Otherwise I would either die or be either her thrall or Lara's for a very long time.
Yes, deep inside, my blood boiled. She had offered friendship, and friends do not do this to one another.
I nosed around the field, remaining somewhat further from the house than I had before in case the harness was visible. It was largely hidden by my fur, but it was impossible to hide it entirely.
Dusk arrived, and a few minutes later, Deirdre approached me at the side of the field. This time, I waited for her. She stopped a short distance away.
"Were we going to talk?" she asked quietly. "I can give you the necklace."
I moved to her, and then she saw the harness. I turned so she could see the pouch with her note. She knelt down.
"This is very risky, Michaela," she said. But she opened the pouch and withdrew the letter. I sat back and watched her read it.
"Oh Michaela," she said partway through. "I am so sorry." She read it again, her lips tight.
She looked over her shoulder at the house, then back at me.
"When he calls, I will have to break my thrall to him. He will know the instant I do it." She looked over her shoulder then back at me once more. "If he follows, I can hold him off, but only so long. You will need to lead us."
I chuffed and stepped away. She straightened, and moments later, we were fleeing west.
She was not a were and was slower than I was, but she was fae and had far more endurance than a human would have. I ran, and immediately behind me, she ran with me. She grew winded, but still she ran.
But then she stopped. "Michaela," she said. "He calls me, and he knows where I am." We were, at best, only halfway to the wolves. "I must break the thrall."
She began chanting, and then she began to glow.
Alone, in fur, I was going to be worthless in a fight. I lifted my nose to the air and began howling. I had the worst howl imaginable, and I didn't know if it would carry to the wolves. But then, a mile or more away, I heard Lara answer.
They were coming.
I turned back to Deirdre. She was trembling, but then there was a final flash of light, and she slumped, growing silent.
"It is done," she said. "But he comes. Run!"
We ran.
From ahead of us, I heard the wolves. I yipped twice, and Lara answered, a half mile away. But from behind us, I could hear something moving through the trees towards us, running as fast as a werewolf. I yipped in fear, and Lara howled. I heard the wolves increase their pace.
And then Lara was there, leaping directly over me, sailing past Deirdre, and skidding to a stop, growling menacingly along our back trail. I turned, and the vampire was thirty yards away, running straight for us. Lara met him, growling ferociously, and I screamed in fear. They tumbled away to the side, and then Karen was there. The vampire threw Lara from him, but Karen stepped in between, growling more loudly than I have ever heard her growl.
Lara flew through the air, smashing into a tree, but she bounce off it and threw herself back into the fight, side-by-side with Karen, facing off against Deirdre's vampire.
He hissed at them and tried to get past them, but they worked together, snapping at him, driving him back.
Then Elisabeth was there, and it was three dominant werewolves facing off against one vampire. They held him off.
Serena came to a stop next to me, shifting to human. In one fluid motion, she released my harness, and I flowed to human.
"My pack, Deirdre!" I said. "My mate. Our enforcers."
"Zane," she said. "I go willingly. More danger comes if I do not. Please let me go."
"You are mine!" He roared. He rushed the wolves, but they drove him back.
Serena had been carrying her own pack. She quickly pulled a tee shirt over my head and sweat pants up my legs, taking seconds. She added socks and tennis shoes then was strapping my knives in place. I skulked better as a fox, but if it came to fighting, I wanted my silver.
"Zane," Deirdre said, "I am not yours. I am my own."
"These wolves dare invade my territory! I will destroy all of you."
I stepped forward, but Serena grabbed me. "No!" she said. "Michaela, you will let us protect you. You may defend yourself only if necessary."
I turned to face her, the pain in my face evident.
"I'm sorry," she said. "They're more than a match for him. Come on." She tugged on my arm, and I let her pull me along backwards.
"Deirdre," I said, "Come on."
She backed towards us, and then I grabbed her hand.
"Keep moving for the car," Serena ordered. Then she shifted back to wolf.
We moved slowly, the vampire screaming at us and trying to get past the wolves to get to Deirdre, but they kept him away from us.
But then I heard noise from the west.
"Serena! There are more!"
She began growling, facing west. I drew two of my knives. We made it another thirty yards before I saw a vampire running down a hill towards us.
"Serena!" I screamed, pointing.
She launched herself at the new vampire, knocking him away from us, but yelping from the impact. Karen peeled away from the fi
rst vampire and jumped between Serena and the newest arrival, growling menacingly. Serena climbed to her feet awkwardly, then she shifted into human. "Keep moving!" she ordered. Then she flowed back and forth to wolf, then human, then finally wolf again, healing whatever had gotten hurt when she'd collided with the vampire.
"There are more coming," I said. I listened. "Three more, they're almost here. Let me fight!"
Serena jumped past me, between me and the oncoming menace, but she shifted to human. "Michaela, use your judgment in the fight." Then she was wolf again, growling loudly. Elisabeth drove Zane back, and Lara peeled off, taking the fourth corner of a box.
"Zane," Deirdre said, "These vampires invade your territory without your permission."
"The wolves brought them."
"The wolves fight them," she said. "They come to kill me. Protect your territory and drive them away."
Instead, he hissed at Elisabeth, but she flashed her claws at him, driving him back.
"They're here," I said, and three more vampires, two females and a male, came to a halt just outside range of Lara's and Serena's fangs.
Everyone froze for a moment, five vampires facing four werewolves, and inside the box formed by the wolves, Deirdre and me. The box compressed as Lara and Serena were forced backwards.
"Keep moving west," I said. I spun in a circle, watching the vampires, using my ears to track them.
Karen's vampire lunged at her, and she raked him with her claws, scoring a long set of scratches across his chest. They fell away from each other, and I rushed into the space, slashing with my knives and scoring cuts on his arm. Then Karen was there again, nudging me to the side, and I dropped back.
I heard movement behind me, and I spun, then dashed forward to help Serena and Lara as they were being harried badly by the three vampires. Lara scored with her claws, growling with her entire body. Serena yelped, a female clinging to her back, but I stepped forward and slashed with my knives, burying one in the vampire's neck. Serena threw her off, and I lost one of my knives. I slashed at the second one, and then Lara drove her fangs deep into his calf, and he pulled back.
I bent down to my ankle and drew a knife. I had one more spare.