by Robin Roseau
“Yes. I could have done this if I had neglected the pack, but we couldn’t have this place and not have pack lands too.”
“So you took care of the pack, and the pack took care of us.”
“Elisabeth sold her inheritance from father to make this happen.”
I glanced over at her, and she was smiling, but looking worried. Angel and Scarlett looked nervous, too.
“Stay here,” I told Lara. “Enjoy the view for a minute.”
I left her standing there and walked to stand in front of my three friends. I moved into their personal spaces, my tiny little fox looking up at them, and looked at them fiercely.
“This is the most beautiful house I have ever seen, and it could not be more perfect.”
Elisabeth’s eyes darted briefly to Lara.
“She agrees with her mate about the beauty of the house but fears her sister paupered herself to make this happen, and she is upset.”
“I hated the grocery store chain. Absolutely hated it. I let it run itself, and it wasn’t going anywhere. Lara you know I hated it. Father left it to me because when I was a child, I liked working the soda fountain counter, so I was always asking questions about it. But I hated being upper management. Good riddance. And now I don’t have to manage your share anymore, either.”
Lara turned around. “But Elisabeth-”
“Hush,” she said. “I don’t spend a dime on anything. I got a very, very good price. I am still, by almost any standards, a wealthy woman. I have enough money to start a new business, if I want to, but frankly, I don’t see how I can possibly devote attention to a business and be head enforcer at the same time. And I love being the head enforcer. It is what I was born to do, and you know it.”
“But-”
“And this is where I want us to be,” she said. “I love it up here, too. The parcel I am buying for myself is smaller, and we are separated by Vivian, but it’s a short run, and we’ll put a road across all the properties so we can travel without using the highway. I have enough money to buy that land and build the house I want for it, and I will have your shares from the grocery stores as my nest egg. I will invest it carefully. Pack will lose my tithe. Tough.”
I looked at Angel and Scarlett. “Did you pay anything you couldn’t afford?”
They looked uncomfortable.
“You will go to college!” Lara thundered in full alpha mode.
They both cringed, but then they stood up straight. “The papers you signed made Hadley Smith the executor of our escrow accounts,” Angel said.
“I’m going to kill her!”
“Hush,” I said. “Let her explain before you fly off the handle.”
“I don’t want a doctorate,” Angel said. “Scarlett and I will get our four year degrees. Hadley made us keep enough in our accounts to pay for a four-year program for me and a master’s degree for Scarlett. Alpha, I have already talked to the head enforcer-”
“No!” Lara said.
“And she has indicated she thinks I would make a fine enforcer. Your mate also thinks so.”
“You knew about this?” Lara thundered, turning to me.
“Calm down, Lara, it’s bad for the babies. No. It was something I said yesterday, with how well she was helping with me. I could see how she was leaning. Now, let them finish.”
She growled.
“Hadley let us use the rest to buy some of the land. Our money went into a general fund, we don’t own a specific piece, but we have an agreement that we will be allowed to build our own home here. So we helped buy land. Land we love.”
Lara turned to Scarlett. “I know you think you know who designed the house, Lara. You are wrong. I designed it.”
Lara stared at her.
“Not alone, of course,” said Scarlett. “Clearly, he helped me. I told him what I wanted, and he helped me with all the engineering choices, and helped me solve some of the problems. I didn’t donate a dime to the house itself, but it’s my design.”
“You designed this?” Lara asked in a small voice, and then pulled Scarlett into a tight hug. “Honey, it’s beyond beautiful.”
“We started with a list of requirements, and we had the site survey. I did a lot of drawings, just rough things. I knew right where I wanted the deck, and we worked backwards from there. I couldn’t have done it alone. I didn’t know anything about mechanical systems. My first several designs were laughable. But he told me what was wrong with them, and I refined, and refined. He said I have the natural artistic eye, but I need to learn the engineering.”
“Lara,” I said quietly. “An architect is not a doctorate level program. Now, you are going to stop being a poop and thank our friends.”
I stormed out of the bedroom and went to the common closet. I took Scarlett’s clothes, and I carried them to her bedroom. Then I went back and got Angel’s. Then I emptied the dresser drawers, moving them into place. They finally stood in the hallway to see what I was doing.
“No, Alpha,” Angel said. “No.”
“Yes!” I said. “There are enough other rooms. This one is yours.”
Then I did the same thing with Elisabeth’s clothes, moving them from the common closet to her room.
“There,” I said. “Much better. That was the only flaw.” I grinned at them, then I scowled at Lara. “I have not heard you say ‘thank you’. Do I need to teach you your manners like I will be teaching the babies in your tummy?”
“Thank you,” she said quietly, reaching for all of them. We made a big five-way hug there in the middle of the hallway.
“All right,” I said. “I think it’s time for breakfast, then someone said something about kayaking.”
A Few Years Later
I crept into Angel and Scarlett’s room, Lara and Elisabeth following quietly. There were more wolves waiting in the hallway.
Angel and Scarlett were to marry in two weeks. I was to be Angel’s maid of honor, and Abigail Lassiter was Scarlett’s. Tonight, there was to be a kidnapping.
I crept to Scarlett’s side of the bed. Elisabeth and Lara crept to Angel’s.
“You two can stop faking,” I said. “You woke up the moment I opened the door.”
Scarlett opened her eyes to look at me.
“Do you know why we are here?”
She smiled. “But you’re at least a week early.”
“And shouldn’t you be on my side of the room?” Angel added.
I looked across at Angel. “We’re not taking you tonight.”
She looked deeply disappointed.
“We’re not kidnapping you until next week. I didn’t want anyone to have to pick between you, so tonight we’re taking Scarlett.”
She began to smile.
“Angel, I don’t believe you can stand by while we take Scarlett, but I believe Lara and Elisabeth can handle you. They will drag you from the bed and hold you.” I looked at Scarlett. “They will, by the way, be in front of the window. I don’t believe you will find that a feasible escape route.”
She nodded.
“I am a non-combatant,” I said. “I will back into the corner behind me, and you should not touch me. I have silver and I’m not afraid to use it. But my hair is at risk, as I have orchestrated this.”
Scarlett began to smile.
“Scarlett, Lara and Elisabeth will drag Angel from the bed to pull her clear of you, and you may then attempt your escape the moment you feel her move away.”
“Questions anyone?”
“No,” said Scarlett. “Thank you, Michaela.”
I backed into the corner, well clear of the impending action.
“Do it,” I said.
Lara and Elisabeth immediately grabbed Angel and dragged her from the bed, tangled in the bedding, which they used to wrap her up. They dragged her backwards to the window and held her firmly.
Scarlett, naked, flew out of the bed, ran two steps towards the door, and spun around as the remaining wolves began to enter the room. She ran to the furthest wall, an interior
wall, and jumped, striking the wall with her feet first. She burst through the drywall, struggled for a moment, and barely missed being pulled back out by Karen and Abigail. Her head disappeared as Karen and Abigail began to climb through after her.
“Angel, that loud sound is what drywall sounds like when your lover kicks her way through it.”
There was another loud bang, then several more, following by swearing and a yelled, “Michaela!” from Scarlett.
“Angel, that was your mate discovering I have reinforced the walls of her escape route. Very clever, by the way, building that into the house when she had the house built.”
Then there was a creaking sound. I’m not sure anyone else would have heard it.
“That is the sound of a trap door being opened.”
There was a thump.
“And that was Scarlett dropping into the narrow space directly below.”
There was more banging, and then Scarlett yelled my name again.
“Oops. Those walls are reinforced, too. Lara tested them for me. Scarlett could get through, but not in the time she has.”
There was a bang and the sound of wood cracking.”
“Go, Scarlett!” Angel yelled.
“Ah she found the wall we didn’t reinforce,” I said.
There was more wood cracking, then a moment of silence, then a loud metallic clang from outside followed by Scarlett swearing at the top of her lungs.
“And that, Angel, is the sound of your mate discovering that Sophia and Ava were waiting by the cage we left in front of the only weak spot in the wall. The clang was the door slamming shut, presumable with Scarlett inside.”
I walked over to Angel, struggling in Lara and Elisabeth’s arms. I smiled at her.
“Angel,” I said. “We have your mate. The ransom is one million dollars, three major favors to each of us involved, and babysitting services on demand for the alphas. Will you pay this ransom?”
“I respectfully decline, Alpha,” she said to me.
“Very well. Lara will remain with you. Elisabeth will leave with us, but we have a wolf to truss first. Enjoy your evening, Angel. We will be in touch.”
I turned around and calmly walked out of the room, Lara and Elisabeth chuckling.
“Damn, she’s a cool one,” Angel said quietly. I grinned.
Outside, Scarlett was in the cage, slamming against it. Ava and Sophia stood next to it, making sure she couldn’t escape.
“Hello, Scarlett.”
“You!” she said. “You did this.”
“Your hair is safe, Scarlett. That was an admirable plan. I am impressed. But let this be a lesson to you. You can not outfox the fox.”
She grinned at me.
“I’m not trussed yet.”
“I had this cage constructed special for you,” I said.
The cage was full size, seven feet high, three feet wide and six feet long. It was built over a steel platform, and there was a power cord extending out of the side and plugged into an exterior outlet of the house.
Karen and Abigail finally joined us, having crawled out of the hidden passage in the house. I stepped to the cage and flipped a switch. There was the sound of motors coming from the base of the cage, and the cage began to vibrate as the top of the cage began to descend.
“As you can see, the top is suspended above you by these remarkably large threaded rods, which are now rotating.”
Scarlett looked up, then lifted her head and tried to push upwards as the top descended.
“You can try, but Lara and Elisabeth helped to test it. They couldn’t hold it up. I don’t think you will.”
She dropped to the floor and tried to reach for the switch, but I immediately pulled out one of my daggers and stabbed at her. She snatched her head back.
“No no no,” I said.
“The lid goes down to one foot from the floor,” I said. “You can lie down now or wait until it shoves you to the floor.”
She looked at me wildly.
“I told you, you will not outfox the fox, Scarlett, but I am impressed at your efforts.”
“Michaela, don’t let it squish me!”
“I’ll stop it if you put your back to the cage and thrust your arms out behind you.” I paused the top. “Decide.”
“Will you bind my arms comfortably?”
“Well tape your arms outside the cage. We will come inside and bind your legs completely. Then if you promise to cooperate, we will allow you to place your arms where you want them when we bind you.”
“My hair is safe?”
“Yes.”
“I will cooperate.”
I smiled. “We are going to have fun, Scarlett. I love you so much.”
Details Not Retained
When I published Fox Mate, I told all of you that this story existed, but I wasn’t sure what to do with it. There are details from this story that didn’t survive future novels. In the intervening 15 months, I’ve tried to figure out what to do about this. In the end, I decided to present the story as I originally wrote it and tell you what doesn’t survive moving forward. There really isn’t that much.
Fox Afield actually happens prior to the events in this novel. In Fox Afield, an interpretation of some of the events could be read that the wolves know about Michaela’s chopsticks and belt. It is not expressly stated, but it is reasonable to believe they know. And so we have a continuity problem if the wolves don’t know about the chopsticks in this story. However, I would have to rewrite the story significantly to fix it, so we just have to deal with it.
The other issue is the house on the bluffs over Lake Superior. If you have read the remaining Fox novels, you know when they visit Bayfield, they stay on the land that Lara bought. The house that Scarlett designed doesn’t exist.
For a while, I kept my options open about this, but in the end, I decided — if nothing else — I couldn’t suddenly produce a bunch of expensive houses somewhere north of Bayfield. It just didn’t work. And so, that is a major rewind.
I have kept Scarlett’s artistry and love of architecture. Instead of designing the house on the bluffs, there are references to her designing the lodge on the land Lara bought, although it would have been with a great deal of help.
I will, someday, write Angel and Scarlett’s story, and when I think about their story, it starts at Scarlett’s ransom night. I probably won’t write about her night — or Angel’s — but you may believe that Scarlett was kidnapped exactly as she was in this story. Angel’s kidnapping will be somewhat different; the fox never stops thinking, after all.
You can count on the other details from this story. If you have read the stories in the order they were published, then yes, Lara is pregnant with twin wolf pups, and their middle names are Elisabeth and Angel. The tattoos become an important element in future novels, as does Michaela’s ability to heal.
And some of the events in this novel explain a few events from Wolf Ways, set several years later.
Robin Roseau
October, 2014
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]. Robin’s web site is http://www.robin-roseau.com.
Works by Robin Roseau
The Madison Wolves Series
Fox Run
Fox Play
Fox Mate
Fox Afield
Fox Revenge
Fox Dish
Fox Lost
Wolf Watch
Wolf Ways
Wolf Women (coming November 2014)
Fox Short Stories
Hunting Pups
Fox in the Water
Fox Rematch (set after Fox Mate and
Fox Afield)
Fox Opponent (coming October 2014)
Other Books in the Madison Wolves Universe
Familiar
Seer
Seer: Thrall
Other Novels and Novellas
Blood Slave
Emergency Claus
Fitting In
Free to Love
In Custody
Lost in the Words
Privateer
Stark’s Dell
The Interrogation
Tresjolie
Short Stories
Captured by the Raptor (writing as Rosetta Robins)
Cooking for Love
Southern Night
Fox Rematch
Copyright 2014 by Robin Roseau
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in retrieval system, copied in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise transmitted without written permission from the publisher. You must not circulate this book in any format.
This is a work of fiction. Names, places, businesses, characters and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, actual events or locales is purely coincidental.
* * *
License Notes
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Table of Contents
Author's Note
The Capture
Not Again