Fox Fate Read online

  I yipped, once, loudly enough for Lara to hear me. She chuffed more loudly, and I heard all the wolves moving forward, converging on our place. I turned back to Celeste and flowed to human.

  Celeste turned to me then lifted her nose to the sky and tried to howl her victory, but the noise was muffled by the rabbit in her mouth.

  "Quiet," I told her, and she immediately stilled. "If you scare the other rabbits, it will be that much longer before Rebecca gets hers."

  She hung her head.

  "No, honey," I said. "I'm not mad. I'm teaching."

  Lara and Rebecca joined us, and a moment later, the rest of the wolves. Lara stepped forward, sniffed at Celeste, and chuffed proudly at the rabbit dangling from her mouth.

  I moved closer, then signaled to Scarlett. "Honey, you won't be able to carry it quietly. I want you to let Scarlett carry your rabbit. She'll give it back later."

  She didn't argue with me but stepped up to Scarlett and laid the rabbit at her feet. Scarlett chuffed and picked it up.

  "Celeste," I said, "Come here. We're going to talk for a minute, then I'll help Rebecca." My daughter turned to me and flowed into human, squatting down in front of me.

  "I caught it, Mommy Fox!" she said.

  "You did, but if Serena hadn't helped, it would have gotten away. It was a good, wolf-style hunt, working together, and I am proud of you." I let her chuff her pleasure for a moment. "But if you were hunting yourself, you would be hungry right now. Do you know why?"

  She looked down, a little embarrassed. I let her work it out.

  "No, Mommy Fox."

  "I've taught you to be quiet, almost as quiet as a fox, even though you're a wolf," I said. "How close do you think you can sneak up on a rabbit before it hears you?"

  "I don't know," she said after a moment.

  "Closer than we were?"

  "Yes."

  "A lot closer?"

  She looked up and smiled. "Yes, but Serena can't."

  Serena huffed, but it was probably true.

  "Scarlett can," Celeste added. That was probably also true. Of the adult wolves, Scarlett had truly taken to hunting fox style even to the point of hunting me that way from time to time. She wasn't as quiet as me, but she was uncannily quiet for a wolf. Of course I could still hear her heart beating from a hundred yards, but the rabbits couldn't.

  "There's nothing wrong with hunting wolf style, and when you're a little older, Mommy Wolf will be teaching you and your sister to hunt together," I explained. "But if you are hunting fox style, then what will you do next time?"

  "Sneak closer," she said. "But what will Serena do?"

  "She'll let you move ahead," I said, "but she can catch up in a single leap." I let her think about that. "Now, what have you forgotten to do?"

  She cocked her head, not understanding the question. I let her try to work it out, but I could tell she wasn't getting it.

  "Did anyone help you catch the rabbit, Celeste?"

  "Oh." She turned to Serena. "Thank you for helping me catch the rabbit, Serena." Then she rolled onto her back, offering her throat.

  Serena stepped over, accepting the offer briefly, then gave Celeste a quick lick.

  "Good," I said. "Rebecca's turn. Celeste, you'll stay with Scarlett now, and remember to be quiet."

  "Yes, Mommy Fox," she said, rolling over. She flowed to fur and moved to stand next to Scarlett. I knew Scarlett would take care of her for me, and I presumed the enforcers would keep an eye on them, too.

  I looked at Rebecca. I knew she'd have paid attention to everything I said to her sister. She was on her feet, and I could see the excitement. She was practically trembling with it, a little jealous that Celeste caught the first rabbit, but I was sure once her nose was full of fresh rabbit scent, she'd do what was needed. And if not, Lara would help her.

  I flowed to fox, swiveled my ears, and immediately picked up the sound of the other single rabbit, three hundred yards away. I crouched into a prowl stance and crept forward five steps, setting our new direction. I then waited for Rebecca to move into position next to me. Together, we set a path downwind of the second rabbit. Except for Serena and Lara, the other wolves held back a short distance, not wanting to accidentally ruin the hunt.

  Like I had with Celeste, I stopped short of the rabbit, but this time I only closed to about thirty yards. The undergrowth was thinner, and I was worried the rabbit would see us. The wolves all had the scent, and I made sure Rebecca was pointed in the right direction. I leaned over to her and chuffed into her ear.

  She began moving forward, one careful step at a time. Serena stayed with me, and Lara let Rebecca step ahead.

  It was Lara that made the noise. Rebecca had been as silent as I would have been, closing to just over ten yards from the rabbit. It's back had been to us, but it stood up, turned, and bolted. Rebecca set off in pursuit, Lara bounding ahead to try to cut if off.

  I flowed to human. "Please help them," I said to Serena. She chuffed and set off at an angle.

  The rabbit gave Rebecca a real run. Serena and Lara both had a few opportunities to finish the chase, but they simply cut the rabbit off from escape, and then Rebecca made a good pounce, bringing it down. It was a close thing a few times, the rabbit nearly escaping. That happens sometimes, even for me, and it's an important lesson, but I was glad we wouldn't be teaching it today.

  I yipped twice to call the other wolves closer, then stepped forward to find my daughter proudly holding her rabbit. I chuffed happily at her, then shifted into human form. Rebecca shifted too, still holding the rabbit, which was a mistake, and she dropped it, then began trying to spit out the fur in her mouth, whining. Lara offered a wolfy chuckle.

  "Oh baby," I said. "I've done that, too."

  We waited for her to spit the fur from her mouth. The other wolves arrived before she was done, some of them chuckling. Celeste was plastered against Scarlett's side, watching her rabbit carefully. I smiled.

  "All right, Rebecca," I said. "Good hunt, but did you learn something?"

  "It ran, Mommy Fox," she said.

  "It did," I agreed, "and then it was a wolf style hunt. Do you know why it ran?"

  "It heard me."

  "No, darling, it didn't. You were as quiet as a fox."

  She cocked her head. Lara knew what had happened and was feigning indifference, but I knew she felt guilty. I let my baby think about it for a minute. Then she turned to Lara.

  "It heard Mommy Wolf!"

  "Yes, darling, it did. It's not Mommy Wolf's fault though. She's a big, strong wolf, and she was creeping as quietly as a wolf her size is able. Sometimes, no matter how quiet you are, the rabbits will hear you. Sometimes they run. Sometimes you catch them, sometimes you don't. This time, Serena and Mommy Wolf were able to make sure you caught it, but sometimes they will get away. Now, thank Serena and Mommy Wolf for helping you catch your rabbit."

  She did that, first in human, then shifting back to wolf and giving them each a quick lick. Serena accepted her thanks, then there was a shifting around, and I had Serena next to me, letting me know she was back on duty watching over me. I leaned over to her and quietly thanked her. She chuffed at me.

  I looked at Lara, then searched around, looking for Elisabeth. "Head enforcer," I said, "Someone needs to carry Rebecca's rabbit while I find a deer."

  Elisabeth walked to Portia and bumped her. Portia, in turn, walked over to Rebecca, licked her once, then stood over the rabbit and waited for permission to pick it up. Rebecca didn't understand and pounced on her rabbit, guarding it.

  "Rebecca!" I said firmly. "Tell Portia she may carry your rabbit. And pack shares! Pack always shares."

  Rebecca immediately rolled onto her back, offering her throat to Portia. The enforcer accepted the offer for a moment, then chuffed and picked up the rabbit.

  "All right," I said. I worked my ears. I heard no deer. "This might take a little while. Rebecca and Celeste, you will stay with Portia and Scarlett. Remember to be quiet and behave. You may s
hare your rabbits once we've caught a deer, and then we'll play on the way back home."

  They both chuffed. After that, I didn't worry about it, leaving it to Lara and the enforcers to manage everyone else, including the pups. I turned west, shifted back into fox, and moved forward.

  No one crowded me, although I had Serena just off my left flank and Lara off my right, just far enough behind me to avoid distracting me. It took me fifteen minutes to find a deer, which was longer than usual. I was going to have to talk to Lara, or perhaps Francesca. We were perhaps depleting the deer faster than we had historically. I fixed on the sound, adjusted our path, and brought us to three hundred yards downwind. I could tell the wolves had the scent, and I drew us to a stop, turning to Lara. I shifted.

  "Three hundred yards," I said very quietly. She chuffed.

  I lifted my voice just enough. My voice wouldn't carry upwind to deer ears. "Portia and Scarlett, give the rabbits back. Portia, please keep Rebecca safe." I looked for Emanuel. He was watching me. I just glanced at Celeste, and he moved closer to her. He didn't need more than that. Scarlett was watching me, and I gestured her closer.

  "You and Angel are leading this hunt," I told her.

  She sat down, and I could see she was surprised.

  Angel was on a wide protective stance, out of sight. I pointed. "She's there. Go get her, please. This was Lara's idea."

  Scarlett didn't wait. She moved quickly but quietly and was back a moment later with her mate. They both stepped up to me, Angel puzzled. I brought Angel up to speed. "It's three hundred yards. I'll get you to one-fifty, but that's as close as I want to take us." My pups were with us, after all.

  Angel shifted to skin, and her brow furrowed. "Alpha..."

  Lara moved closer and shifted human as well. "Your hunt, Angel. You two are ready."

  "I'll get us closer," I said. They could have done it from this distance, but I liked feeling like I was a part of the hunt, and the wolves seemed to enjoy the way I found the deer. We'd experimented several times over the years, trying to decide which hunting method was faster. Sometimes fox style was faster; sometimes wolf style was. It was nice they let me help.

  I shifted back to fox, waited for Angel, then began silently prowling forward, the wolves following me. A few minutes later, I looked over at Angel. Everyone clearly had the scent, except perhaps the pups; their noses would be full of the rabbits they were carrying. I brought us to a stop, chuffed very quietly, then faded back towards my daughters.

  It was clear that Angel and Scarlett were nervous. They had never given any of these wolves orders. But Lara nudged Angel, and Elisabeth stepped forward and sat down, waiting.

  The wolves had their own communication style while in fur. It was pretty limited, and was based on human gestures. It was actually difficult for the average werewolf to fully understand human gestures while in fur. Some even found it difficult to pay attention to human speech while in fur, and one could have to talk quite firmly to get a furry werewolf to pay attention. Thankfully, we didn't have that problem on the compound.

  It was Scarlett who got the conversation started, but she was good about it, setting it up for Angel to take over. Angel glanced at the pups and me and saw we were well protected, and then she gave out the assignments. She sent Rory and Eric around to the far side, kept Lara and Elisabeth closest, and then told everyone to go.

  They all disappeared from view.

  I used my eyes to keep track of the pups and my ears to track the fight. The pups both cocked their heads, listening, but I knew they would lose the sound until the final rush.

  It took a few minutes for everyone to get into position. I think the deer smelled one of the wolves, as it began quietly moving north. But then Rory broke a tree branch, and the deer changed direction and practically walked into Elisabeth's jaws, sensing her after it was too late. It broke to run, but Elisabeth made a leap, bringing it down in a single bound.

  A moment later she howled her victory.

  I chuffed and began leading the way to the site of the kill, using my ears to make sure the pups were following me. When I looked over my shoulder, both pups were prancing proudly, carrying their rabbits. Emanuel and Portia were watching over them, and Serena moved to my side again. I nudged her with a shoulder, a small thanks for protecting my family.

  By the time we arrived, the remaining wolves had clustered around the kill. Lara had her back to the deer, watching for her family, and she visibly relaxed when we stepped into view. I walked to her, sliding my body along hers in passing, then nudged Elisabeth in congratulations for a good kill. She nudged me back; I had found the deer, after all.

  As hunting leaders, Scarlett and Angel could have asked Elisabeth to dress out the kill, but they were working on it themselves. That was perfectly fine as well.

  We could have let the pups eat their rabbits themselves, but pack shares. While they were developmentally well ahead of human development, they still tended to guard their kills, and so I never let them get away with it. They were going to share their rabbits. I walked over to Celeste and took the rabbit from her mouth. She resisted me for a moment, but I growled in my throat, and she let go.

  It was not my nature to growl; that was a wolf sound. My natural sounds of aggression were to spit and hiss. But the wolves understood a growl, and I could growl.

  There were days I was jealous of Lara's growl though. My mate could sound incredibly menacing.

  I took the rabbit and carried it to Lara, setting it at her feet. I could eat from the rabbit myself, but my claws weren't sharp like a werewolf's. The pups' claws weren't sharp enough yet, either. So I left it to Lara to portion out one rabbit. Then I turned around and nudged Rebecca before looking at Elisabeth. I thought she might balk, but instead she proudly carried her rabbit to Elisabeth and set it between her feet. Elisabeth gave her a quick lick before setting herself to dissecting the rabbit.

  We didn't share the rabbit with everyone. The wolves would rather have venison, anyway. But we passed out enough so the pups understood they were to share, and then we let them have the rest. Scarlett offered me a morsel of the deer as well, a perfectly sized snack for a fox.

  We didn't eat the entire deer; we each just got a snack. We'd bring most of it to the compound, and it would show up in our meals for the next few days. I didn't worry about that but left it for the wolves to deal with. Instead, I waited for everyone to finish eating. Lara chuffed at me, and so I stood up, nudging each of my daughters to their feet, and set a path for home.

  All was right with the world.

  School

  When I decided to begin college, I assumed I would take extension courses at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, the same school where Angel and Scarlett were attending. I could attend school at night. It would be a lot of work, but it wouldn't interfere with my job as a high school teacher. Standards were moderate, and even at such a late date, I wouldn't have any trouble being accepted into a program.

  Instead, Lara meddled. She meddled heavily, and she did most of it behind my back. I didn't even find out she was doing it until I received a letter of acceptance to Griffon College, an hour's drive north of the compound.

  "What's this?" I asked her, waving it at her after reading it. She was smirking at me.

  "I don't know," she said, and I knew she was lying. "You tell me."

  "I don't recall applying to Griffon, Lara, and I am pretty sure I missed their application deadline. What did you do?"

  "Are you angry?" she asked carefully.

  I thought about it. I wasn't, actually. "No. What did you do?"

  She eyed me carefully, then answered even more carefully. "I submitted an application on your behalf."

  "Uh huh," I said. "And they accepted a random application, a late application, without any ACT or SAT scores. Right."

  "I submitted the application in person," she admitted.

  She wouldn't have used intimidation, so that meant she bribed someone. "Tell me you didn't break the law
."

  "Of course not," she said.

  "What bribe did you use?"

  "I didn't bribe anyone!" she said indignantly. "I may have offered a modest charitable donation to my wife's future alma mater." She paused. "Please let me explain before you get mad."

  "I'm not mad, Lara," I told her. "Why don't you want me going to Madison?"

  "Michaela, what you do for the pack is important."

  "What does that have to do with it?"

  She paused again.

  "I won't be mad as long as it remains my choice in the end. Was your bribe so large I don't have a choice?"

  "No. I made a modest donation if they accepted your application and gave it fair consideration. I made a somewhat larger promise if you and Serena both attend and they make a few considerations."

  I narrowed my eyes. "What kind of considerations." I didn't want my wife to buy me a degree.

  "Nothing you'll have a problem with."

  "We'll see," I said.

  "First, your security detail."

  I'd actually worried about that. Serena wanted to take classes, but she wanted someone alert while she was paying attention to lectures. That meant I wasn't attending school alone. I was attending with Serena and at least one other enforcer.

  "All right," I said.

  "Next: Griffon is a little far to drive for classes."

  "Yes?"

  "They have a heliport on their administrative building," Lara explained. I began to laugh. "You have permission to use it."

  "That's a little showy," I said.

  "Some members of the administration and campus security will know it's your aircraft," she agreed. "But your classmates and instructors will not. You'll enter and exit via the administration building, and you should be able to do so without many prying eyes, especially if you disguise a little."

  "What about bad weather?"

  "Then you'll have to plan accordingly and drive," she said.

  "What else?"

  "Scheduling," she said. She paused. "Honey, I would prefer if you finished your degree in four years."