Fox Play Read online

  "Not true. We teach our cubs to hunt the very animals you use for prey."

  I looked away. "I'm sorry," I said. "I didn't know. I'll stop."

  "We do not want you to stop, Ms. Redfur. We do not begrudge you the small amount you eat or hunt. You are a very polite guest. I am seeking to answer your question, not come to a solution."

  "Yes, I understand," I said.

  "The food and game is not worth mentioning. There are some pack members who begrudge this, but they are the very least of us, and if it were a real problem, there are very easy solutions. However, you also consume manpower, and that is a larger problem."

  "Sir?"

  "Specifically, the enforcers assigned to protect you."

  "I don't understand. There are no enforcers assigned to protect me, but if there were, I wouldn't accept them. The alpha knows that."

  "When you are deep in pack lands, that is true. That is also normally true most of the time. It is not true when you accompany the alpha places that may be of questionable safety."

  "They are there to protect the alpha."

  "Since last summer, we have doubled the forces that accompany her."

  I felt panic rising again. "Why?" My voice cracked.

  "Because of threats against you."

  I looked to the far end of the table. "Lara?" She nodded. "From your own wolves?"

  "No," she said. "From neighboring packs interested in a fox hunt."

  My panic returned in full, and I began looking around wildly for escape.

  "Mr. Berg, may I have a moment?" Lara asked. I didn't see his response, but suddenly she was beside me, pulling me into her arms. "Breath, honey. You are safe here. Breath." She pulled my head against her neck. "Breath, you are safe."

  I clutched at her, her strength driving away my panic. "I'm sorry," I told her.

  "Shhh," she said. "You are safe. No one here wants to hurt you. You're safe."

  "I'm never safe, Lara!"

  "Yes, you are. Right now, you are."

  Slowly I finished calming down.

  "I'm sorry, Mr. Berg," I said finally. "Bad memories."

  "You are very remarkable, Ms. Redfur. It is quite all right."

  "I'm so embarrassed."

  "No need. Alpha, perhaps she would be most comfortable if you stayed with her." Lara nodded.

  "When did the threats start?" I asked.

  "How long have you lived in Bayfield, Ms. Redfur?"

  "Almost nine years. I heard it might be safer here. The alpha-" I looked at Lara. "The previous alpha had a reputation."

  "Then the threats started almost nine years ago. You, and all the lesser weres living in our territory, have been under our protection since the current alpha's father declared our territory a safe haven for all weres."

  I looked up at Lara. "That night at the club?" I was referring to the night of my first date with Lara, when I had graphically demonstrated I wasn't as safe amongst her wolves as she thought.

  "We are aware of that incident. The alpha's policies are not always communicated as clearly as they need to be," Mr. Berg said. "I would prefer you not attempt a repeat appearance at that locale, but the weres of the Madison pack are now more completely aware of pack policy."

  I took a deep breath on my own, then shoved my face into Lara's neck and took two more. I stood up straight and said, "I'm all right now. I'll be all right, Lara."

  She squeezed my hand and returned to her place.

  "Mr. Berg, is there more? My car, the trips back and forth between here and my home?"

  "The car was appropriate compensation for the situation and is not a factor," he said. "The monetary cost of your travels are paid by the alpha's personal funds and are also not an issue. The aircraft belong to her and are not pack resources, either, and the pilots are paid by her as well. The enforcers that accompany her, or who sometimes accompany you, are pack resources, but they tend to volunteer. It appears they enjoy the trips."

  I smiled. I had friends in the enforcers.

  "Thank you for explaining," I said.

  "Do you understand what I said earlier about how you defy the authority of the pack?"

  "Yes sir." I didn't offer anything further.

  "I believe you understand the problem then, as well as can be explained. I will state clearly, we would not be concerned if it weren't for the reactions these issues are causing, and we would prefer a solution."

  I nodded. "Are you expecting me to offer one, or were you going to tell me what I must change?"

  "We have discussed solutions. The first is for you to return to Bayfield and stay there."

  "No," I said in a very small voice. "Please don't make me do that."

  "No one in this room likes that solution. It is crisp and clean but does not take into consideration your relationship with the alpha. This isn't the first relationship we would have chosen for her, but is the relationship she holds dear."

  "Thank you," I said.

  "Furthermore, we feel you are an intriguing if somewhat vexing addition to the pack, notwithstanding your assistance last September. Indeed, the alpha has asked for you to be more involved in pack dealings, but the council cannot allow an outsider to take part in pack business. We would not have accepted your involvement last September, but you did what you did without pack involvement beyond Elisabeth's company, and you handled yourself amazingly well."

  I nodded, not trusting my voice.

  "So, at least until the problems become significantly bigger, we are not banishing you."

  "Thank you."

  "We would at this time like an explanation of something, Ms. Redfur. The alpha reports she has, from time to time, suggested she considers you a member of the pack. She has also, from time to time, suggested you should bow to pack authority. She also suggested you begin paying tithe. You are somewhat vigorous in denying these suggestions. We would like to understand why."

  "May I address tithe first?" He nodded. "I can't afford it."

  He smiled. "We would never ask you to pauper yourself for the pack. We're aware of your finances, or can make assumptions based upon your position as a public servant. However, you perform a variety of duties for the pack, for which you are not paid. Specifically, you are operating the environment monitoring program, you are overseeing a pack member as a professional intern, and you frequently teach at the school. We would need a somewhat more formal review, but it is likely these activities would more than suffice as tithe."

  "Then why is it an issue?"

  "Because it would need to be formal, so that if it ever arises as a complaint, we may say that you tithe in the same fashion as an enforcer or as Francesca does, by providing duty to the pack. But it would need to be a formal acknowledgment."

  "What happens when any of the things I do is cancelled? If I have agreed I owe tithe, then suddenly would I need to start paying from my salary?"

  "Yes, but might I suggest two things. First, that is unlikely to happen. Second, if it does, there are always solutions. As I said, tithe should never be a hardship, and the pack would never allow it to become one."

  I looked at Lara and she nodded reassuringly.

  "All right. What happens if Lara and I have a fight?"

  "And end your relationship?" Mr. Berg answered. "And I presume that also means you would no longer be a constant presence amongst us, reminding young wolves of who you are. Then, if tithe were the only issue, that would be the end of the need."

  "I will accept my responsibility to tithe," I said.

  "We'll come back to that," he said. "We would like your reasons for the other issues."

  I stared at him, suddenly realizing where this was going. "It has all been a smoke screen. You want me under your thumbs. No!"

  He sighed. "That was the perfect opportunity for you to reign in your overly-hasty responses," he said. "If you can avoid other similar outbursts, perhaps we can ignore this one."

  It wasn't going to change my reaction later. "My apologies," I said. I wasn't at all so
rry.

  "Ms. Redfur, why do you deny membership in the pack?"

  "It would be a death sentence, Mr. Berg."

  "That seems like a dramatic response, Ms. Redfur. Would you care to explain?"

  "I am a fox. We are not given to either accepting or seeking positions of dominance. We are, shall we say, free spirits. That is completely opposite the position of wolves, who seek to know their place in the pack hierarchy, and who compete actively to hold or improve their positions. I don't even know if I can explain myself. But as a fox, I hold deeply the principle, give me liberty, or give me death."

  "So you can not accept the alpha's dominance?"

  "That's not it exactly. I am also a fox. Small and delicate. Even your teenagers could kill me with a casual blow. Lara and Elisabeth have both cuffed me as gently as they could, and it is the most I can accept. I'm sure everyone knows about my two concussions last year."

  He nodded. "Go on."

  "I could not accept being at the bottom of the wolf pack. I couldn't! My spirit wouldn't take it. Lara, I am sorry, but if that is what you are asking, I can't do it. You know that."

  "I'm not asking that, little fox."

  "I could not be part of the dominance positioning. I can't be part of any of that. Lara has had to find creative ways to publicly chastise me when my independence goes too far in public, because she knows how easy it would be to break my bones from even the lightest contact. And even then, she only does it when I am too obnoxious in front of pack members, and she is worried it will lead to behavior issues with other pack members. She knows if she pushes me too far, I'll run. I can't help it. It is who I am. I can't change that any more than I could expect you to offer a little fox your throat."

  "So it is not the pack you are rejecting, Ms. Redfur? It is this issue of dominance, of free spirit, and the legitimate concerns for your safety you would have."

  "Yes sir. That is correct. It is already exceedingly difficult for me to allow Lara her dominance, and admitting I'd follow Elisabeth's orders under highly dangerous situations was past what I was willing to promise, but I did it anyway."

  He frowned. "You say you do not want to be part of the dominance hierarchy, but you do exert authority over pack members. We listened to a detailed report of a kayaking incident involving Rory, one of our enforcers."

  "I was responsible for everyone's safety, sir. And the alpha specifically told everyone to let me handle it."

  He smiled. "Thank you, Ms. Redfur. You have explained yourself as well as I believe possible." He addressed the other wolves. "Does anyone else have further questions before we proceed, or perhaps concerns to address?"

  No one spoke up.

  "Alpha, shall we proceed as discussed?"

  "Yes," she said. "Thank you, Mr. Berg."

  He turned back to me. "Ms. Redfur, we would like to invite you to become a permanent member of the pack with all rights and responsibilities of a pack member."

  I started at him and was about to speak loudly, but he held up his hand.

  "We have considered the issues you discussed. Lara and Elisabeth had explained these issues already, but we wanted to hear them from you, and I believe you offered clarity they could not. You would, by and large, be outside the pack dominance hierarchy. You would have no more or less authority than you have now. You would be responsible to discipline only by the alpha herself or occasionally her head enforcer." By that he meant Elisabeth. "The only significant change from your current position is that you would publicly acknowledge the dominance of this council and the individual members. And of course, the alpha. Your relationship with her in private is between the two of you."

  "So any of you could give me an order, and I would have to accept it?"

  "Yes. That is the public answer. And from time to time, we would do just that, primarily for political reasons. This can't look like lip service. You may also find that the enforcers would become more likely to issue you direction, and you would be expected to follow it. It would be rare and would almost always be in relationship to pack security."

  I stared around the room. Lara and Elisabeth were grinning madly. The body language in the rest of the room was also positive.

  "May I ask questions?"

  "Of course."

  "Are there misgivings with this solution?"

  "There was discussion. Consensus was reached. That is all we will say."

  "Is there precedent?"

  "Yes. Francesca is a good example."

  "So when I am, for instance, teaching a kayaking class or running the environmental monitoring systems?"

  "You would have the authority required to run them correctly."

  "No one touches me except Lara."

  "No. No one disciplines you except Lara and Elisabeth. An enforcer may lay hands on you if you are not following direction during a, shall we say, stressful time."

  "Such as Francesca's threats to physically restrain me when I had a concussion?"

  "Yes. Or if you need to be carried from an active battlefield after refusing to run," said Lara with a smile.

  "May I have some time to consider this?"

  He frowned. "Do you have remaining concerns?"

  "I want to talk to Lara and Elisabeth when I know I am not about to offend someone who may be less forgiving of me."

  There were chuckles. "We need your response before the end of this council meeting," Mr. Berg said.

  "I see. So I'm on the spot."

  "Perhaps, Alpha, we could break for a refreshment. I personally could use time away from this chair."

  "Shall we reconvene following dinner?" Lara asked?

  "Excellent," everyone agreed.

  "May I ask one more question first?" I asked.

  "Yes," Mr. Berg said.

  "What happens if I decline?"

  "Then we will ask you to offer as many concessions as you can, but the underlying problem will not go away, and the next time we summon you, the offer will not be as generous."

  "I wasn't trying to negotiate," I said. "I wanted to know if this was an ultimatum."

  "It's not. Yet."

  "I understand, thank you."

  * * * *

  Lara, Elisabeth and I went for a walk in the woods. We walked quietly while I struggled with what was going on. They were both in top spirits but understood I was troubled.

  I led us to a clean, fallen tree I knew of and asked them to sit with me. I leaned against Lara and breathed in her scent, then reached out and squeezed Elisabeth's hands.

  "I smell horrible, Lara. I'm sorry."

  "You smell like you," she said. "You're fine."

  "Do I have a choice?" I asked them.

  "Yes, this is your decision," said Lara.

  "You both want me to agree."

  "Very much," said Elisabeth. "And your waiting like you did has actually put you in the best position you could be. Lara couldn't have asked for this offer for you, but because the council kept dealing with it, they compromised. They were willing to keep you out of the dominance struggles, but they all wanted you to offer your throat."

  "They're not asking for that?"

  "No," said Lara. "Publicly to me and to Elisabeth. And do not actively defy council or the enforcers, but the enforcers will get a quiet talking to with me."

  "No one hurts me."

  "No one," she said firmly.

  "You'll be safer," Elisabeth secure. "Ron -- Mr. Berg -- underplayed the political issues, but you would be solving a big problem."

  "Elisabeth," Lara said with a warning tone.

  "Cuff me if you want. She deserves to know, but I won't offer details."

  I looked up at Lara. "I'm a problem?"

  "Not you. You're the focus of a problem. It's not the same thing."

  "Are you asking me to change my behavior?"

  They both thought about it. "Do not publicly defy either of us," Lara said eventually. "Privately we can discuss."

  "Could you order me to move from Bayfield or quit my job?"r />
  "Yes, but I won't."

  "If you do, what happens if I refuse?"

  "Would you?" Lara asked quietly.

  "I don't know. I want to know what would happen."

  "If you wished to leave the pack, you would be allowed to do so. If you wished to remain a member of the pack after refusing something like that, you would be subject to discipline until you complied."

  I stared to cry. "You're taking my liberty."

  "No. You asked a hypothetical. I told you the hypothetical wouldn't happen, but you insisted." She paused. "You wouldn't have any less freedom than you currently have. I can already do that. I can already tell you exactly what I want you to do and exert whatever discipline I want if you defy me. And you can leave and never come back. This is no different. I don't do those things and I am not going to start."

  "What would happen if I defy a council member or an enforcer?"

  "If it were a dangerous situation, someone would force you to comply. They'll do that now, anyway. Afterwards, both of you would be subject to explaining yourselves to me. Right now, your status makes it very dangerous for an enforcer who lays hands on you, even for your own safety. That adds stress to them. If you accept membership, then they have somewhat more authority and can relax somewhat. Michaela, no one is going to start ordering you about or treating you like a servant."

  "But they could."

  "And you could leave."

  I thought about the implications. "If I agree, then what?"

  "A ceremony," Lara said. "During which, amongst other things, you would offer your throat."

  "To whom?"

  "Me and Elisabeth."

  "Not the members of the council?" My questions were becoming redundant, but I had deep misgivings, and I needed reassurance.

  "No. They wanted that, but I told them it would push you too hard. Everyone wants you to accept. A few did not want as generous of terms but were reluctantly swayed."

  "Thank you." They let me think about it. "Am I asking all the right questions?" I said after a while.

  "Yes. Michaela, please accept the offer. It is generous, and it won't get better. If you turn them down, some of them currently on the fence will not respond well."

  "One more question. Why couldn't you tell me ahead of time?"