by Robin Roseau
“I’m so much trouble.”
“It’s fine. I don’t actually spend much one-on-one time with my cousin, so the drive back will be nice.”
Planning
Elisabeth and I continued to see each other. I didn’t see her Monday or Tuesday — she didn’t attend the open water dives with us. Instead, Angel and Scarlett were the only assistants. I thought it was odd that we had so many for the pool sessions but only two for the open water portion, but Karen told us it was typical to only have one assistant with a class this size, and that we’d had so many in the pool primarily because the alphas and Elisabeth had wanted to swim with us.
I partnered with Kaylee on Tuesday and Monique on Wednesday. Both of the girls doted on me. I was the weak human, after all.
I could have carried my gear. Honest, I could have.
We all passed the class — and had a great time doing it. We finished the dive, then Karen led us on a leisurely trip through a small section of the lake, just giving us more time swimming underwater. Then she gestured, and we all surfaced, letting our BCDs support us as we bobbed in the water.
“We’re heading back to the beach next. How is everyone for air?” We were all good. “All right. Zoe, we’re going to do something a little different. We’re going to assist you.”
I eyed the distance to the beach. “I can swim that fine, Karen. Or am I holding everyone back?”
“I know you can, and no, you’re not. This is training for Monique and Angel. We’re going to descend back to the bottom, then they’re going to each take an arm and help you. You can relax and enjoy the trip.” She paused. “This is a required exercise if you’re going diving with our alpha. If there is ever trouble, Michaela wouldn’t be willing to leave you behind, so everyone needs to know what to do.”
I felt bad they needed to plan around me, but they invited me, and it wasn’t my fault I wasn’t like them. Yet again, I had to remind myself. I nodded understanding.
“We’re going to simulate a real emergency. We’re going to swim in a direction I set, then I am going to give an emergency signal. Monique is going to grab your arm, and you should let her. She’s going to start helping you to swim faster. Angel may not be at your side when this starts, but she’s going to swim over and grab your other arm. I want you to relax. Don’t try to help; you’ll burn through your air if you do. Just accept the ride for what it is.”
I nodded.
“All right,” Karen said. “Regulators in, clear the water, and then let’s descend.”
The regulator was the piece that went in your mouth. I’d been holding mine as we talked, so I stuck mine in my mouth, purged the water from it so I wouldn’t get a big breath of lake water, then began letting the air out of my BCD. Together, we all sank to the bottom.
Karen made sure everyone was ready then set a course. I had no idea whether it was towards the beach or not. Monique and I swam together, a foot or so above the weedy lake bottom. She found a fish hanging out in the weeds and pointed to it, so we stopped and looked at it for a moment.
Then suddenly she grabbed my hand and pulled so my arm was outstretched. She began swimming, one hand holding my wrist and her other in my armpit, helping me along. I looked ahead and saw we were following Karen.
A few strokes later, someone else grabbed my other arm, and I looked over to see Angel swimming on her side facing me. I let her have my arm, and she tucked in immediately next to me. Soon I found myself pulled along, both arms straight out from my sides, a werewolf pulling me along. As Karen had suggested, I relaxed and enjoyed the ride.
It was actually pretty fun, and I couldn’t believe how fast we were moving. Even without the gear, I couldn’t remotely swim this fast.
The water grew shallower and we surfaced. Angel moved underneath me, still pulling me along, but she released my hand for a moment. She was right underneath me, and she reached up and pulled my regulator from my mouth, making sure I realized she was doing it. Then she slipped my snorkel into place. I blew hard to clear the water, and then I was breathing through that. She moved back to my side, switched to her own snorkel, and we finished the trip to the beach that way.
They didn’t stop handling me once we reached shallow water. We came to a stop, and Karen was there.
“Zoe, let them do what they want,” said Karen, standing up in front of me.
They rolled me over so I was sitting on the lake bottom. Monique moved down and yanked my fins off. She held them out, and someone took them. In the meantime, Angel took my mask from me, handing that off as well. In the process they both had ditched their own mask and fins, and then they stood up, still wearing their gear, then bent down and pulled me into a standing position.
Then they half dragged and half carried me up the beach until we reached the picnic tables. I ran along with them, but it seemed like my feet barely touched the sand.
It might have hurt, but Angel had one hand on me and one on the bottom of the tank, keeping everything from bouncing too badly. Finally we came to a stop.
“Good,” said Karen, walking up behind us. “In a real emergency, you might have to ditch the gear. Let’s go back and see how quickly you can get all three of you out of your tanks.” She looked around. “Scarlett, Connor, as they ditch gear, manage them so the equipment doesn’t get abused. Leave your gear here.”
And so I found myself escorted back down to the water. “We’ll do this in about four feet of water. I think that will be easier than shallower.” Karen handed my mask back to me, and then Monique was helping me into my fins.
I felt like a rag doll, pulled this way and that. They basically dragged me out to six feet of water, then we turned around. I let them tow me closer, then the two of them were pulling off their own equipment and mine. The other wolves gathered up the equipment as they yanked it all off. Then we were running up the beach again, a wolf holding each arm.
I felt embarrassed by all of it, but Karen said, “Good. And Zoe, we did the same exercises with Michaela.”
“She bitched,” said Angel, laughing. “Elisabeth told her to shut up, and she shut up.”
I thanked Monique and Angel for taking care of me. They were both grinning. Monique was practically bouncing with glee. When she stepped away to help with the gear, Angel moved closer.
“I remember when they started letting me take on enforcer duties. It was a really big deal.”
I looked after her. “Now it’s Monique’s turn.”
“Yeah. I don’t know if Elisabeth talked to you about this or not. She and Lara are both really good about not telling their mates things they should.”
“We’re not mates.”
“Perhaps not, but you know what I mean,” and I nodded. “A lot of this is training for Monique. You need to know if an enforcer lays hands on you, just let us do what we want and don’t fight us. Just cooperate. Can you do that?” I nodded. “But she needs to be used to this. We need to know she’ll do the right thing. So on this trip, there’s going to be more of this, and we probably won’t be warning either of you. If suddenly she starts handling you like that, you let her. We’re giving her training.”
“All right. How will I know if it’s a real emergency?”
“It doesn’t matter. You’re going to just do whatever we tell you. Aren’t you?”
I looked at her for a moment. “Yes, Enforcer.”
She smiled. “Good. Your job is to remain as calm as you can, especially underwater. If suddenly we’re acting like there’s an emergency, don’t suck down all your air.”
“Got it. Are you going to be my other enforcer?”
“I don’t know. We’re not anticipating any trouble at all, so they may decide to give me training alongside Monique.” She paused. “If I were going to guess, I think you’ll get one of the others, maybe one of the guys, maybe Portia.”
“Portia is on Michaela.”
“Enforcers sometimes have to escort you to the bathroom. I don’t think you want Rory or Eric watching you.”
“Um. No.”
She smiled. “So you might get Portia.”
I nodded.
A minute later, Karen gathered us together at the picnic table. “Congratulations. Of course, you all passed with flying colors. Very well done. Monique and Angel, we’ll debrief a little later. I want to discuss how we can make that go faster. Zoe, stop trying to help. Just let them handle you. I know it’s unfamiliar to you, but they know what needs to happen, and you probably don’t.” I nodded.
Karen talked to us a few more minutes. Then we packed up the SUVs and drove back to the compound.
* * * *
“Congratulations,” Elisabeth said, pulling me into her arms.
“Thanks,” I said. “Do I have input on who will be invading my privacy on this trip?”
She laughed. “We’re wolves. There is no privacy.”
“Head Enforcer, I would like to know who you intend to have manhandling me.”
“Other than me?”
“Yes, other than you.”
“Tell me your concerns and I’ll take them into consideration.”
“If it’s just a guard when we’re in public, then I don’t care. But if they’re going to follow me to the bathroom, or if they’re going to be grabbing me during training sessions, I’d rather they were women.”
“If it’s a real emergency-”
“Then it’s an emergency, and if Eric needs to grab my ass to push me over a wall, he can grab my ass.”
Her eyes narrowed. “Did someone grab your ass today?”
I laughed. “No. I’m just saying, there’s a difference in limits. In a real, honest emergency, well, you do what has to be done. But there was an awful lot of pulling and tugging on Zoe today, and I understand there’s going to be more.”
She nodded. “We’ve already thought about that.”
“Are you going to tell me?”
“Yep.” She grinned. “Later. I need to confirm.”
“Did you hear what I had to say?”
“Yes, Zoe. I heard.”
“Thank you.”
She cocked her head. “That’s it?”
“Head Enforcer, I know you will take my needs into consideration. You have multiple priorities to balance, and I know you’ll do the best possible.”
She smiled. “Thank you, Zoe. That’s an amazing attitude.”
I bowed slightly. I didn’t think it was an amazing attitude. I thought it was pragmatic. But if she wanted to see it in the best light possible, I was fine with that. But I wasn’t done with my concerns. “All that being said, I wonder why it is I found out from Karen that I would need a security detail in Key West.”
“Um-”
“And I also wonder why it was I was bobbing in the middle of a lake before I found out I’d be involved in ‘save the feeble human during an emergency’ training.”
“Um-”
“I am unaccustomed to being a liability, and if I knew I represented one, I’m not sure I would have accepted Michaela’s invitation.”
“Zoe…”
I put a hand on my hip and looked up into her eyes. “Well?”
We were having our conversation right outside the alphas’ house. Everyone else invited for dinner had filed in when we arrived, but Elisabeth had intercepted me outside, and so we were alone, or had been.
Behind me, I heard the house front door open. “Are you two coming in?” Michaela asked. “Oh, oh. I know that posture.” I looked over my shoulder and watched as she descended the steps and walked up to us. “A certain Head Enforcer isn’t any better than her little sister when it comes to sharing important pieces of information?”
“I can’t comment on that,” I replied, “as I don’t know how your mate is about telling you the things she should.” I turned back to Elisabeth. “But my girlfriend was just going to explain a few things to me.”
“Um-” Elisabeth said. She looked between Michaela and me, then set her eyes on Michaela. “Help.”
Michaela barked a short laugh.
“You’re not helping, Michaela,” Elisabeth whined.
Michaela turned to me. “Are the answers to your concerns going to have an effect on my Key West guest list?”
I thought about it. “Maybe.”
She frowned. “Then let me guess. You’re perturbed over how you found out you’d have a security detail, and perhaps about the training involved.”
“A little, but those won’t affect my decisions, just whether I’ll be asking you where I’ll be sleeping.”
Michaela barked another quick laugh.
“However, I am a little concerned I am a liability, and if I am complicating things, I don’t know if I want to go.”
“Oh,” said Michaela. “No, you are not complicating things. You are providing some opportunities. I’ve been nudging the Head Enforcer to offer more training opportunities for some of the members of the enforcer program at the high school. With you going to Key West, it gives us an excuse to bring Monique.” She paused. “I won’t quite make this an order, but Monique would be exceedingly upset if we tell her she’s not going after all.”
I lowered my eyes. “Oh. No, we won’t have to tell her that. But what bed will I be sleeping in?”
“I had assumed Elisabeth’s bed.”
I cocked my head. “Was that your assumption last week when you invited me?”
She grinned.
My hand moved back to my hip.
“Oh, please,” Michaela said. “The two of you just needed a little kick start. But if it hadn’t worked, there’s still a place for you. If you really don’t want to share Elisabeth’s bed, I hope you’ll say so soon. Like in the next ten minutes.”
I turned back to Elisabeth. “Well?”
“Um. I. Um.”
“Yes?” I asked.
“I’m sorry. I should have talked to you.”
“Is this a case where you thought it was easier to ask forgiveness than permission?”
“Um.”
“I’ll consider that another way to say ‘yes’.”
“Um.”
I turned back to Michaela. “Seriously? She has a Harvard education, and that’s the best she can do? She’s a werewolf, for crying out loud, and she’s afraid of me?”
“She knows she screwed up,” Michaela said. “Furthermore, she knows she’s going to do it again. And the only example she has of a Burns sister screwing up like this is her own sister with me, and she knows how I respond when it happens.”
“How is that?”
“Badly. There is usually cayenne pepper involved.”
“Excuse me?” I asked.
“On my back trail to handle any enforcers who won’t listen when I say I want a walk alone.”
“Oh. So she’s not afraid of me, she’s afraid of pepper.”
“Yes, exactly,” Michaela said with a smirk.
“Well,” I said, “I am not planning any pepper. But I would like to know why she didn’t just talk to me. It would be her responsibility, right? Is there some reason she left it to Karen?”
“It is my opinion,” said Michaela, “that it would indeed normally have been her responsibility. And I find it unlikely she delegated her responsibilities to Karen. I believe she abdicated them. It is quite unlike my sister-in-law to abdicate any responsibilities at all, but it is quite like a Burns sister to fail to tell her mate something important.”
“I’m not her mate.”
“Semantics,” Michaela said. “Zoe you can press her for an answer, but I bet she lies to you if you do.”
“What?” I screeched. I looked at Elisabeth, “She better not get in the habit of lying to me or this relationship is over!” I fumed for about a second and a half, glaring at Elisabeth, then turned back to Michaela. “I am looking forward to the trip, but I believe I need a room alone.”
Michaela frowned. “Do you think you could hold your temper for an explanation?”
“I don’t know. My temper is suddenly awfully short.”
>
“Zoe…” said Elisabeth.
I turned back to her. I couldn’t thrust my hip out any further without it turning comical, and an arched eyebrow wasn’t enough escalation, and so I was left frustrated with no obvious way to express my emotions. “What?” I said curtly.
Elisabeth spent several seconds imitating a fish, no sounds coming out as she opened and closed her mouth.
Michaela put her hand on my arm. “Zoe, the reason she doesn’t want to tell you is because she’s afraid she’ll make you feel bad. And that’s also why she didn’t talk to you in the first place. And the thing is, she’s probably right. You shouldn’t feel bad, but you probably will.” She paused. “She was trying to protect you by not talking to you about it. Of course, she failed, but it was an attempt.”
“Protect me from what?”
“If she talked to you about it, she would have had to remind you that you are a human, which you would hear as quote only a human,” Michaela explained. “You are already over-compensating and feeling self-conscious about it, which while understandable, is entirely unnecessary. She didn’t want to add to it, so she did what the Burns sisters are famous for: she avoided dealing with it. And you could try to make her promise not to do it in the future, but I can pretty much promise you, she will.”
“Well-” I looked at Michaela then turned to Elisabeth. “That’s just stupid.” I wanted to punch her in the arm to punctuate my statement, but I remembered what she had said about using my words. So I stuck my tongue out.
Okay, it didn’t have the, well, punch my fist would have, but it made a statement nevertheless.
“True,” agreed Michaela. “But Zoe, being self-conscious about your species is stupid, too. We wouldn’t invite you if it were a problem.”
“I keep telling myself that,” I said. “So far, it hasn’t sunk in.” I stuck my tongue out at Elisabeth once more, then turned and hooked arms with Michaela. “Shall we go inside?” I asked sweetly.
“I need to know the rooming arrangements,” Michaela said.
“Do you think I’ll get a really good apology sometime before the evening is over?”
