Fox Revenge (Madison Wolves #5) Read online

  "So those are reasons they didn't need to go elsewhere. Does that answer why they stayed?"

  "No. That was another discussion," Lara said. "The two of them pulled together a meeting with me, Elisabeth, and their parents to talk about school."

  I was immediately offended. I was their teacher. I should have been involved.

  "Do not get your back up," Lara said. "They started out stating they would attend Madison. They pointed out they were adults and were free to make their own decisions. They were informing us of their decision as a courtesy, not seeking permission."

  I had been a bad influence. They were both learning from my independent streak.

  "They carefully laid out their arguments for how they could achieve an excellent education here and why they weren't going anywhere else."

  "And those reasons were?" I asked coldly.

  "First, they want to attend together." I could understand that. "And second, they stated you had given up so much to come live with us and that you shouldn't have to give up two of your closest friends."

  I stared at Lara.

  "No," I said. "No! They should have gone to the best school they could!" I suddenly felt terribly guilty.

  Lara reached for me and pulled me into her arms.

  "Listen to me," Lara said. "It's not about the school. It's about the experience. A good architectural school would have helped Scarlett, but she'll get a good education here, and no school will give her as much as she'll get working for Kevin Cassidy."

  "Prestige matters to clients," I said.

  "She designed our new house in Bayfield," Lara said. "She couldn't possibly find a way to earn more prestige than that. She's not quite nineteen, and the most powerful members in the pack want her involved in their projects."

  She didn't have the experience to run solo on those, of course. But she had a great eye and was very clever.

  Cleverness she was learning from me.

  "Was this a mistake for them?" I asked.

  "No. I wouldn't have seen it as the best path, and they took all of us by surprise. But they are right. Scarlett is going to be a brilliant architect. Kevin's biggest concern right now is figuring out how to keep her with his firm when she has enough experience to start her own. He'll probably have to add her name on the front door. And Angel is begging Elisabeth to be on your security detail."

  "She's not ready for that," I said.

  "Not alone," Lara said. "But if she's there, maybe you won't ditch them all the time. That makes her singularly suited. I would feel better knowing you won't ditch an inexperienced Angel than knowing from time to time you'll lose Elisabeth and Karen."

  "You don't play fair," I told her.

  "You knew that when you married me," Lara said, agreeing with me.

  I cuddled another moment then pushed away from Lara.

  "Hey!" she said. "Come back here! I have plans for your body, but I don't want to chase you around."

  "You'll have to hold your plans for ten minutes," I said. I disappeared into the closet and pulled clothes back on. When I stepped out, Lara frowned at me.

  "You want me to pull those off?" she asked.

  "In ten minutes. Don't go away. I promise I'll be right back."

  I slipped from the room.

  "Michaela!"

  "I'll be back, Lara," I said.

  "Take someone!"

  I sighed, returned to the room, and phoned Elisabeth. "I wish to make a walk across the compound. The alpha is ordering an escort for me." I glared at Lara, who was smiling because I was obeying her order.

  "I'll meet you at your front door," Elisabeth said. "Please wait with Karen and Eric." They were Lara's guards for the night and would be downstairs.

  Elisabeth only took a couple of minutes. She entered the house announcing herself and looked at me. I crossed to her and we stepped back outside.

  "Do you know where Scarlett and Angel are?" I asked her.

  "No," she said.

  I pulled my phone back out of my pocket and hit the speed dial for Angel. "Where are you?" I asked her.

  "My bedroom," she said.

  "Alone?"

  She laughed but didn't answer.

  "You have two minutes to finish whatever you're doing," I said before hanging up.

  Francesca's house was a short walk, one of a cluster of houses on the south side of the compound. On the way, Elisabeth asked me, "What's going on?"

  I looked over and smiled. "I just needed to say something to Angel and Scarlett. This will be brief. You really didn't need to come."

  "Perhaps you don't understand the concept of a protective detail," Elisabeth said.

  "We're on pack lands," I said. "I think I am safe here."

  "I do too," Elisabeth said.

  "Then why are you here?"

  "Because our alpha is exceedingly protective of you, and I would rather be over-protective than under-protective."

  I sighed but bumped my shoulder against her to let her know I valued her company. "You know," I said. "There isn't a chance in hell I can be taken from pack lands."

  It was Elisabeth's turn to sigh. "Do I need to prove you wrong to convince you to accept your guards?"

  "It must be boring following me around all the time. It makes me feel guilty, so I stay home at times I would rather be doing something, just so the enforcers can have a break."

  She pulled me to a stop, turning me to face her. She studied my face. "Do you really?"

  "Of course," I said. "I know I'm a pain in the ass, Elisabeth. I'm trying to make it not entirely suck for all of you."

  "Will you listen to me if I tell you something?"

  "All right," I agreed.

  "We want you to live your life as normally as you can. We want you to be happy. We want you to feel as free as you are able. If any of my enforcers knew you were skipping activities just to give them a break, they would all be sad and maybe a little angry."

  "What about your lives?" I asked.

  "That is why we rotate."

  "This has got to be boring as hell," I said. "Nothing happens unless I decide to give you all a workout."

  "Good," Elisabeth said. "That's exactly the way we want it. Boring. Please, Michaela, if there are things you want to do, all we ask is that you work with us. But please don't skip them without talking to us about it."

  "Are you sure?" I asked.

  "Yes."

  "All right," I said. "What if I said I wanted to go to Bayfield Friday but be back in time for pack night on Saturday?"

  "I'd suggest two airplanes," Elisabeth replied. "The weather should be good. Will the alpha be coming?"

  "I won't go if she can't," I said. "I want to go for a sunset paddle, then spend Saturday paddling and fishing. Will there be room to bring Angel and Scarlett?"

  "Yes," she said. She paused. "You should take flying lessons and ask Lara to buy a third airplane."

  "I couldn't do that," I said.

  "In fact, you should consider learning to fly helicopters," she said. "The pack doesn't have a helicopter pilot."

  "Now I know you're kidding."

  I turned towards Angel's house and began walking again.

  "No. Seriously. We don't have a single helicopter pilot." I glanced over at her and she was smirking.

  "That's not the part I thought you were kidding about," I said.

  "I'm not kidding about any of it," she said.

  "Why do we need another airplane?"

  "We are currently limited to eight people. You have two pups coming along soon. That is going to stretch our ability to fly places."

  "I like riding in the plane with Lara though."

  She thought about it. "Then ask her to buy a six seat airplane. And learn to fly it. In fact, she should buy two of them."

  "Would we sell the two we have?"

  "No," Elisabeth said. "But maybe Angel would be a good pilot."

  "She has enough to learn right now," I said.

  "She can learn over winter break," Elisabet
h replied. "Please consider it. Do not worry about the money. Ignore that part and decide what you think is otherwise best. Then talk to Lara."

  We had arrived at Francesca's house as Elisabeth finished making her request.

  "I would like to get a license," I said. "That would be fun. Who would teach me?"

  "June."

  "All right," I said. "I'll ask Lara." I turned to the front door and knocked. We waited only a moment before Angel opened the door. She didn't look rumpled at all.

  "If that's how you look after sex," I said. "You aren't doing it right."

  Scarlett was immediately behind her and laughed. "We hadn't gotten that far," she said.

  I stepped into the house and looked at the two of them. Francesca and Gia were both hovering around. I apologized for barging in at this late hour. Francesca waved it off. Then I asked if I could be alone with Angel and Scarlett. Francesca invited Elisabeth and Gia into the kitchen for a cup of tea.

  Once we were alone, I turned to the two of them. They were standing next to each other, touching casually.

  "You didn't have to stay," I told them. "Lara told me all about it."

  "We wanted to," Scarlett said. "This is best for both of us. We get to be together. Angel gets to learn to be an enforcer. I get to design houses. We couldn't be happier."

  "Maybe Scarlett should have gone to Yale, but Michaela, I really, really want to be an enforcer, and I can't learn that anywhere else."

  "Staying together is important to us," Scarlett said.

  "Lara gave us keys to the house in Madison," Angel said. "We'll use it when we don't want to drive out here, maybe when there are early classes, finals, or what not. But we want to be here."

  "We're not just your friends, Michaela," Scarlett said. "You are also ours. We want to be here."

  I took two steps and pulled them into a hug. "Thank you," I said, kissing one cheek, then the other. They kissed me back and hugged me just exactly the way I liked being hugged.

  "We know it's been hard for you," Angel said. "You don't know what it means to us that you include us as friends. Everyone in the pack is amazingly jealous, you know."

  I laughed. "Sure they are."

  Scarlett punched my arm very lightly. "You know, she's not kidding, Michaela."

  "Asking to be your intern in Bayfield changed the entire direction of my life," Angel said. "It was the best decision I ever made."

  "And you made me brave enough to approach Angel," Scarlett said. "And helped show her it was okay to accept this type of relationship."

  "If you and Lara hadn't paved the way," Angel said, "I would never have been open to her." She kissed Scarlett quickly. "I have never been happier, and I can't imagine anywhere I would rather be, or any two people I would rather call my closest friends."

  I hugged them both again. "Thank you for being my friends," I told them.

  Then I pulled away. "Angel, Elisabeth told me some unexpected things on the walk over. Do you have any interest in learning to fly?"

  She immediately looked like a kid at Christmas. Scarlett laughed at her girlfriend's response.

  "How about you?" I asked her.

  "I want to know enough that I could help her," Scarlett said. "Maybe that means I should get a license, too. I don't know."

  "All right," I said. "I can't promise anything. You won't have time during classes, so Elisabeth suggested winter break."

  "Classes don't start for another two weeks," Angel pointed out.

  I laughed. "I don't think you can get a pilot's license in a week and a half. Oh, and I am going to Bayfield this weekend. I hope you two can come. We'll fly up Friday and return Saturday for pack night."

  "We would love to come," Scarlett said after a brief glance at Angel.

  "I haven't talked about any of this with Lara," I said. "I'll let you know tomorrow what I find out. Now, give me another hug." We hugged again. I thanked them again, and we exchanged another set of cheek kisses. I called for Elisabeth, and she escorted me home.

  * * * *

  "That was longer than ten minutes," Lara said from the bed. She was propped up with her laptop.

  "I'm sorry," I replied. "Elisabeth and I had an unexpected conversation, and then I spent more time with Angel and Scarlett than I had planned. I had just wanted to run over and thank them."

  "I thought that was it," she said.

  I slipped out of my clothes, then took the laptop from Lara and set it aside. I climbed into bed, letting her pull me against her. We kissed deeply, then I pushed away.

  "Now what, Little Tease?" she asked me.

  "Bayfield."

  "This weekend is pack play night," Lara said.

  "Friday afternoon until Saturday afternoon. Elisabeth said we can fly up."

  "All right," she said. "I would like that."

  "I want to spend some of your money," I said.

  She looked startled. I almost never tried to spend her money. "All right," she said. "Should I be afraid?"

  "Not immediately," I said, laughing. "I want us to buy two tandem kayaks." I put my hand on her stomach. "Our babies will be paddling before they're walking."

  She laughed. "We'll need little baby paddles for them," she said.

  I grinned. "Let the rest of the pack use the kayaks when we aren't. Please?"

  "Oh honey, of course," she said. "That's an excellent idea. Was that all?"

  "No," I said. "Um."

  "Spit it out."

  "Elisabeth thinks I should take flying lessons."

  Lara grinned. "So do I."

  I brightened. "Really?"

  "Yes. I think it's such a good idea that there is a old but well-maintained addition in our hangar."

  "What?" I asked with excitement.

  "A trainer airplane. The Mooney's are a little too much to use for training." The two airplanes Lara currently owned were built by a company called Mooney.

  I frowned. "But I know how to fly them already," I said.

  "Trust me on this one, Michaela."

  I settled against her. "I trust you, Lara. You're really going to let me learn to fly?"

  "You will coordinate with Elisabeth. You will agree to never sneak off to fly. You will accept any restrictions Elisabeth or June give you. Are we agreed?"

  "I presume those restrictions are related to my flying and not the rest of my life," I stated firmly.

  Lara sighed dramatically. "You can't blame me for trying. Yes, they are related to flying."

  I kissed her. "Thank you."

  "You're welcome," she said. "Are you done spending money yet?"

  "Um-"

  Lara laughed. "What else?"

  "Elisabeth thinks Angel should learn to fly as well. And I think if Angel is going to learn, Scarlett should too."

  Lara laughed. "Not while they're supposed to be going to school. Otherwise it's an excellent suggestion. What else?"

  "How do you know there is more?" I asked.

  "I know you, Little Fox," she said. "More importantly, I know your body." She caressed my side. "This is not the body of a relaxed fox waiting for her virile wolf lover to consume her."

  "Is that what you're going to do?"

  "Oh yes," she said. "Most definitely. The sooner I give in to all your demands, the sooner I can slake my thirst for your body."

  "Maybe I should wait until you are more deeply in the throes of passion before I tell you what else Elisabeth thinks."

  "I think you should tell me now," she said. "Unless you want me to bring up promises to behave again."

  "Elisabeth thinks you should buy more aircraft."

  "Oh, does she?"

  "She does. She thinks you should buy another airplane. Or maybe two airplanes. She wasn't clear. She mentioned a six-seat airplane. Or maybe two."

  "Oh she does, does she?"

  I nodded.

  "And what do you think, Little Fox?"

  "I think that you can't keep our babies in your tummy forever. I think car seats and baby supplies consume a l
ot of space. I think I want our baby sitters to be able to join us when we go places. I think I want to know we will always have as many enforcers as we need. And I think this all represents a problem to be solved. But I don't know what the proper solution is."

  Lara laughed at referring to Angel and Scarlett as our baby sitters.

  "If we buy one more airplane," Lara said. "June and Angel can each fly one. You and I can take the third."

  "What about when Angel isn't coming?" I asked.

  "Then you fly one, I fly one," she said.

  "I like flying with you," I told her. "I don't think that is going to change."

  Lara considered the problem quietly for a minute.

  "Is this spending too much money?" I asked her.

  "Not hardly," she said. "You wouldn't be up to piloting a six-seater for a while."

  "Are you?"

  "It depends on the airplane," she said. "But if I'm not ready now, I can be made ready." She smiled. "I'll get June looking for the right airplane." Lara pulled me into a kiss, then pushed me away.

  "Good lord, you still aren't done spending money!"

  "It's not me! It's Elisabeth!"

  "I am starting to understand why you took more than ten minutes," Lara said, but she was still smiling. "How many more of these are there?"

  "Just one."

  "What?"

  "Elisabeth thinks I would make a good helicopter pilot and points out the pack doesn't have one."

  Lara began roaring with laughter.

  "Is it that ridiculous an idea?" I asked, a little hurt.

  "No, honey, it's not ridiculous at all. She's been trying to get me to agree to take helicopter lessons for years."

  "Why haven't you?"

  She grinned. "Mostly just to vex my sister."

  "Why doesn't she just do it herself?"

  "She tried to learn to fly an airplane," Lara said. "She kept getting sick."

  "I can't imagine she'll want to ride in a helicopter with me. She hates letting me fly the airplane."

  "She wants a heliport across the road," Lara said.

  "Make her pay for it."

  Lara laughed. "The pack would pay for the heliport. I would have to buy the helicopter. Probably two helicopters."

  "One a trainer?"

  "Yes."

  "That sounds expensive," I said.