by Robin Roseau
"I'll make a deal with you, Alpha."
"Listening."
"Submission in the bedroom does not imply submission in the rest of my life. You will not take away from me control over my own choices."
"That will be difficult for me," she admitted.
"If I'm not worth the effort, then you're not very serious about making this work for both of us."
"All right, little fox. But you must agree to be patient with me."
"Agreed. So, ready for me to start that tickle fight?"
She laughed, then slid her hands down my arms and clasped my wrists. "We could just go straight to the final conclusion." She shifted her weight, pinning my arms to the bed by my sides, and moved a leg on top of me.
"We could," I said. "But if I don't get at least a little fun my way, first, I probably won't be able to enjoy it when you have yours."
She laughed and released my wrists. When I pushed her onto her back, she let me. I climbed on top of her and took her wrists. She very complacently allowed me to move her hands above her head. Then I lay myself along her body, my head just under her chin.
"This doesn't feel like a tickle fight, Michaela," she said. "You smell nice."
I moved my hands from her wrists to her strong shoulders. "Will you leave your hands there for me for just a minute?"
"Maybe not a whole minute."
"I don't need a whole minute." I kissed the underside of her jaw. "Lara, please don't jump this to sex tonight. I still want to be courted. All right?"
"All right."
"So, I'm about to surprise you. Are you ready?"
"I don't think it's a surprise if you tell me you're about to tickle me, Michaela."
My head was still under her chin and my hands on her shoulders. I dug my hands in and shifted. Once shifted, I lay on her chest, my furry belly pressed against her, my forepaws still on her shoulders, and my muzzle right over her throat. I opened my jaws and quickly pressed them against her neck.
She reacted instantly. She growled, grabbed my scruff, and pulled me off her. Immediately I found myself on my back, my feet in the air. I was expecting it and lifted my chin, offering my throat to her. She didn't wait, diving her head down to my throat and opening her mouth wide.
I waited two seconds while pinned on my back before I whimpered. Lara lifted her mouth from my neck then kissed me.
"You are a very sneaky fox," she said, laughing.
I shifted back to human and lifted my chin. She kissed my throat, and I wrapped my arms around her. "Now I've had my teeth on not only Elisabeth's throat, but yours too."
Giggling, we cuddled in and slept.
* * * *
In the morning I went downstairs with her. While she and Elisabeth were eating their breakfast I stepped over to Lara and interrupted, making a point of looking at her throat critically.
"What are you doing?" she asked me.
"My fox teeth are pretty sharp. I wanted to see if I'd left any marks."
Elisabeth howled with laughter.
Lara gracefully pulled me onto her lap and kissed me. Then with Elisabeth watching, I lifted my chin and accepted a kiss on my throat. When I looked over at her, Elisabeth was smiling at us.
"Do I get the entire story?" she asked. "I know she didn't submit to you."
"She obediently lay on her back when I told her to and then let me lower my head to her throat."
Lara laughed. "There are some important details missing in that version of the story, I think."
"I imagine there are," Elisabeth said. "Now we've both had that little fox's teeth on our necks, sister."
"She is far too clever for her own good," Lara admitted. "That's one of the things I love most about her." She kissed me again while I clung to her. "I need to go, Michaela. I will send a car for you for dinner. Dress nice."
"That will be difficult," I said. "As I don't have any clothes here beyond the ones Gia bought me. Furthermore, you suck at courting."
"I do not suck at courting!"
"You ordered me to dinner. I am pretty sure courting involves invitations, not orders."
Elisabeth laughed. "You are so screwed, sister. Are you sure you want this one? She's a lot of work."
"I think she's worth it," Lara said. That felt really nice, and I pressed myself against her more tightly, burying my face against her neck. "If I feel your teeth, little fox, you will be on your back in the courtyard with the entire pack watching and my teeth on your neck."
"Just holding," I said. "I would love to go to dinner with you, but it has to be casual."
"We'll talk about the car tonight. And other things."
"You don't owe me a car."
"We do. We'll discuss it tonight. Why didn't you call me yesterday instead of storming off?"
"No phone. I haven't replaced mine yet because I've been confined to the compound. No cash, no credit cards, no ID, no purse. I need to get to Bayfield so I can start fixing that. They know me at the bank, and I can start there. I wanted to do all that today so I was ready to go back to work on Monday."
"All right. Dinner tonight. Car shopping tomorrow. I hope you will stay overnight tomorrow night. It's pack play night. You can drive your new car to Bayfield on Sunday."
"All right," I said. "But only because you asked nicely."
* * * *
I spent the day with Francesca, Jason and the kids. We started in the biology lab, and I taught them about pollution and studying the effects. I kept the lecture short, then together we tested the water. I showed them one sample that was full of bacteria, and Angel asked, "Why do we care about bacteria. It's not a threat to weres."
"Maybe true," I said. "But I work for the human government. And the humans care."
Scarlett raised her hand. "Ms. Redfur, I care about the bacteria. My Dad is human, and I wouldn't want him to get sick."
I didn't know that was possible. So I asked, "Who here has a human family member or friend?" I raised my hand. Several hands went up. "So we care because we have friends and families we care about. But even when we don't know anyone personally who might be affected, we should still care."
"Why?" Asked Derek.
"Because we all want the world to be a better place. And pollution makes the world a worse place."
I think they understood that.
Finally, though, we got out to the field. They already understood what we were doing, so I ended up with a lot of little helpers, and I sent them collecting more data and samples than I would normally get. I didn't know that I would use all of it, but it was good practice for them.
Francesca said, while we were watching the kids scurry to do my bidding, "We should check everything immediately around the compound, too. It's our home, and it would be great experience for the kids to monitor the standards over time. Would you talk to the alpha about setting up a formal program?"
"I'll bring it up over dinner."
The kids turned out to be real help, and we finished much faster than we'd been on Thursday. Angel and Scarlett had been especially helpful with all the other kids, and I appreciated what they did.
As we were wrapping up and getting everyone into the cars to head back to the compound, Angel asked if she could talk to Francesca and me for a minute. "Mom," she said. "You know I like the sciences."
Francesca smiled proudly at her daughter.
"I bet I could keep up with my other work for school even if I didn't attend classes."
Francesca's smile evaporated instantly.
"Wait!" she said. "Hear me out, Mom." Then she turned to me. "I want to be your assistant." She turned back to her mother. "I'll do all my homework and take all the tests."
"Angel," I said gently. "I live in Bayfield. That's a long way from here. I couldn't come get you every day. I couldn't come get you very often at all, because I don't come down this far very often at all."
"I could," she said hesitatingly, "Maybe live with you."
I glanced at Francesca, judging her body language. Sh
e wasn't rejecting the idea.
"Maybe not all the time. Maybe part time. One week in Bayfield, one week back here. Mom, you could buy me a car. I have my license. I could drive back and forth myself. Or maybe the alpha would let me go with her when she goes up."
"The alpha is not your taxi driver, Angel," Francesca said sternly. "We will not be asking her to provide transportation for you."
Angel turned back to me. "I am sixteen. I will do whatever you tell me, even when I don't like it. I'll do all the gross jobs you don't want to do as long as you promise to teach me everything you can. And take me kayaking."
I laughed at that.
Francesca said, "Angel, I think we could talk about this, but we're not at all sure Ms. Redfur wants an assistant."
They both turned to me.
I thought about the issues. I actually kind of liked the idea. I liked Angel, and her excitement was infectious. "I don't have any money to pay an assistant, Angel."
"I wasn't expecting you to pay me," she said. "It would be like one of those, you know, unpaid internship things."
"I have a great deal of leeway when I am in the field," I explained. "But I spend one to two days in the office. I would need to talk to my boss about that."
"We could not do this without the alpha's approval," Francesca said. "But if she were to approve, she can probably pull some strings to make sure there is no problem from your boss, Michaela."
I thought about the difficulties in having a teenage wolf living in my house.
"I have deep misgivings about a teenage driver driving six hours each way, especially with winter coming." I looked at Francesca. "That's my biggest concern. I would be responsible for deciding whether it was safe for her to drive home, and I am not sure I'm qualified to judge for her when the weather is less than perfect."
"Actually," said Francesca. "Angel is an excellent driver and has a good head on her shoulders. I would trust her to use her own judgment. If the roads are unsafe, she knows not to drive on them. If she drives into bad conditions, it would be her mistake, not yours. Remember, she is a wolf. It is very difficult to kill one of us in a car accident. She is not as delicate as a fox, Michaela."
"I have two other concerns," I said. "Teenagers are messy. My house is small."
"I'm not," Angel said. "I am a total neat nick. You can see my room at home. And I keep it like that because it is important to me, not because Mom makes me. In fact, I'll probably drive you crazy, because I'll probably clean the entire house."
"And that is a problem, why?" I asked, smiling.
"You might get upset when I steal the plates off the table before you finish eating. Gia hates it when I do that. But I can help around the house and run errands and stuff."
"If we do this," Francesca said. "You will also do the grocery shopping. Using the credit card I give you." Francesca looked at me. "I don't believe you want the responsibility of paying the grocery budget for a teenage wolf."
I laughed. She was right.
"All right," I said. "My last concern is, what if it doesn't work out? I am used to living alone. What if it bugs me having someone in the house all the time? I am used to things being very quiet. Maybe you're loud, or maybe want to talk when I don't."
"Then we'll address those issues like adults, and if we can't make it work, then at least we tried, and I'll still have learned something in the meantime."
"But you will hate me if I send you home."
"Not if you treat me like an adult," she said. "At least we'll have tried it. Even if we only do it a few weeks. I bet you have a backlog of work because you've been gone."
I looked at Francesca. "She's good."
"She is. What do you think?"
I looked at Angel. "If your mother approves, and the alpha approves, and my boss approves, then I am willing to give it a trial go."
"Yes!" Angel said, jumping into the air and pumping her fist. "Mom, say yes. Say yes. Say yes!"
"Yes," said Francesca. Angel went nuts with glee, garnering significant attention from the other kids.
"I'll talk to the alpha at dinner," I said. "And my boss on, I suppose, Tuesday."
"She'll have a credit card," Francesca said. "She will pay all her own expenses with it and buy groceries for both of you. She is very responsible, and if she wants something that I may not approve, she will call me. It is not your responsibility to police her."
"What about, um. Social opportunities?" I asked.
"She can socialize with her pack," Francesca said. "Is that a problem, Angel?"
"No, Mom."
And, just like that, I had a minion. I liked the idea.
* * * *
Even though I was dressed casually, Jason drove me to dinner that night in the limousine. I thought it was silly, but I was touched when I climbed into the back and there were flowers waiting for me. I cradled them during the drive. We kept the divider open and talked during the drive.
Dinner was at another pack restaurant, a casual barbeque place. Lara was waiting on the sidewalk when we drove up. She offered a quick kiss on the sidewalk and drew me inside. We took a place in the corner, and she let me have my back to the wall again.
"Does it bother you having your back to the room?" I asked.
"Not particularly. You're doing so much better around the wolves, but I know we still make you nervous."
"I am getting better. I barely hesitated when we stepped in." I glanced down at the menus sitting between us. "Do you like ordering for me?"
"I love it. May I?" I nodded.
I decided right then that I enjoyed letting her take care of me, as long as it was on my terms. I told her that and she laughed. "I like it, too. Even when it's on your terms."
I asked about her day. "I am caught up," she said. "All emergencies averted. May I come to Bayfield with you on Sunday and spend a few days?"
"No. But you may ask again after I have had a few days of down time. It's all been very intense and I need to let it all settle, like digesting a heavy meal."
"So a heavy meal for you is three chicken wings instead of two?"
"Exactly."
We smiled at each other, and I set my hand on the table, waiting for her to take it. She did, and that felt nice.
"We have things to talk about," she said.
"We do. I have two that you probably don't know about."
Her face clouded. "Did I do something else wrong?"
"No, I think you'll like these. They are for the alpha. Let's do the personal stuff first."
"All right. Car. You lost yours due to pack business. Do we need to argue that?"
"No. There are fine points, but no."
"You can't report it for insurance. Please don't ask."
"All right."
"Pack policy is that we ensure our members. We do not allow anyone to take a loss of this nature without reimbursement. Will you accept that the pack must reimburse you for the loss of your car?"
"I'm losing this argument. I don't like losing arguments, Lara."
"It's not an argument. It's an explanation."
I nodded acquiescence.
"Now, you could argue that your car was getting on in years, and that the most we owe you is replacement cost. I am going to suggest that the pack owes you a whole lot more than a car due to what you did for us and what you went personally through to do it. So I am going to propose that you allow us to buy you a new, proper car, suitable for your needs, as well as some future favors as yet undetermined."
"That was vague."
"I may want to upgrade your house. Finish the basement. Put in an apartment over the garage. Add a security system."
"If I tell you no?"
"It's your house. We will discuss it."
"Does discuss mean ram it down my throat?"
"No. I will explain what I want and why. You will not say no because you are refusing the expense. If you say no, it's because you don't want whatever it is I want. Maybe you don't want the basement finished. Maybe you hate s
ecurity systems."
I thought about it. "As long as you aren't going to just start doing stuff to my house."
"Whenever we come to visit, if there are things that are broken, I am going to ask someone to fix them."
"I can take care of my own house."
"I know you can, but it gives the guys something to do and it makes me feel good."
I laughed. "All right. But it's my house."
"Your house. What kind of car are we buying tomorrow?"
"I hate saying this. An SUV."
"I thought so, but why do you hate it?"
"The crappy mileage. But my job requires me to be able to go off road. I need something that can haul my kayak and I sometimes have to haul a small boat trailer."
"So a small SUV with a rack for a kayak-"
"Two kayaks."
"And a trailer hitch. Best mileage, but good off road performance is important."
"I don't go hill climbing or intentionally looking for mud, but I hate getting stuck."
"Any other features?"
"I hate ABS brakes." She laughed. "I don't care about style, but not white. And I don't want something you're going to freak out if I scratch it up. Because I will. It's a working vehicle, not a show vehicle."
Lara smiled. "I thought this was going to be a fight."
"I have to keep you guessing."
"We have several pack members who are auto dealers. Do you mind if we use them?" I shook my head. "All right. What did you have for me?"
I told her first about Francesca's desire to monitor the environment in and around the compound. "That is a good idea. Will you submit a budget to me?"
"You mean tell Francesca you liked the idea and tell her you asked for a budget?"
She laughed. "Will you please run the program, Michaela?" She smiled. "It would be your tithe to the pack."
I stared at her, not believing she suggested I owed tithe to the pack. Finally I said, "I am not yet acknowledging that I owe tithe to the pack. I will prepare a proposal. If it is accepted, we will discuss tithe at that time."
"Agreed."
Then I relayed the conversation regarding Angel.
"Wow," she said. "I didn't see that coming. As alpha, I deeply approve. As your friend, I have to ask, are you sure?"