Wolf Ways (The Madison Wolves Book 9)

by Robin Roseau

  We turned and looked out at the lake for a minute. Then they took my arms, turned me around, and we were running again. Elisabeth was waiting by the doors, and she held it open as we approached. The girls ran us all the way back into the lodge, then they held me while I caught my feet.

  I laughed and clapped my hands, then hugged them each again. “Thank you! Oh, you guys can do that to me any time you want to.”

  I knew around me the wolves were looking at me in amusement, but I didn’t care. I didn’t care at all.

  I turned to Portia. “I thought we ran fast on Sunday, but that was nothing. How do you guys hold yourselves back?”

  The wolves laughed. “It’s not easy,” Lara said.

  “It’s damned hard,” Connor said. “Begging your pardon, Alpha.”

  “No, Connor,” she said. “You’re right. It is damned hard sometimes.”

  “And you’re faster in fur?” I asked.

  “Yes,” Lara said. “Although not for a long run. That lookout is about a half mile. If it were further, the girls would have been winded.”

  “A half mile? It couldn’t have been more than 30 seconds.”

  “A little over a minute,” Iris said. “We had to go a little slowly with you.”

  “We’ll take you for a longer run tomorrow,” Portia said with a grin. “If you can stand it, ask Lara and Elisabeth to do it. Then you’ll really fly.”

  “All right,” Michaela said. “You guys start shifting. I want my run.”

  The kids immediately began peeling their clothes off, then lying down, some on furniture, some on floors, and they began their shift. Bertram and Gretchen looked between the other adults and the kids, and then they lay down and began their own shifts.

  I moved to stand next to Portia, still grinning.

  “You’re not shifting?”

  “We’re going to brush Iris together, then I’ll take a run after. We’re going to show Monique tomorrow sometime.” She paused. “I need to speak with the alphas. Do you mind?”

  Not at all.

  She moved to talk to Lara and Michaela, and a moment later, Elisabeth and Serena joined them at the side of the room. I moved over to Angel and Scarlett. They both turned to me and smiled.

  “We’ll take you for a run whenever you want,” Scarlett said. “You liked that?”

  “It was… I keep using the same word. Amazing.”

  “Yeah,” Angel said. “I wish we could pull you in our fur, but the pace wouldn’t work, and it would hurt our back to carry you. I’m sorry.”

  “Don’t be. I’m just happy to be here.” And I realized I was.

  “So you’re all right?” Angel asked.

  “Yeah. I was shaken up by those cars. I was so afraid I’d have to do something, and I didn’t know what.”

  “You’re a good driver,” she said. “But if you’re ever in a situation like that, and Portia tells you to ram someone, you do what she says.”

  “It will be hard.”

  “I don’t care,” she said. “If she tells you to run over a mother pushing a stroller, you run that mother over. Portia probably knows something you don’t.”

  “It’s not a mother at all. It’s really a CIA agent, and in the stroller is another agent with wolfsbane?”

  She laughed. “Something along those lines, yes.”

  In ones and twos, the wolves began to stand up in their fur. It would take another ten minutes for the slowest to finish. But I asked, “Will you two help me learn who is whom?”

  “Sure,” Angel said. “Whom should we start with?”

  “Monique.”

  Angel pointed. “She looks a little like Karen, but not as big. Yet, anyway. Her head is a little narrower, and she has a little more white.”

  I looked around. Karen was actually three colors, a base of black with both white and silver. So I looked and pointed.

  “Yep. Next?”

  “Iris.”

  “She’s still shifting. She’s all black with just a white patch on her chest and around her eyes.”

  “Does Kaylee look like her mother?”

  “Sort of. Same colors, but she’s much more delicate.”

  “Is she done?”

  “Yep.”

  I pointed.

  “Very good,” Scarlett said.

  “Ember.”

  “I bet you can guess.”

  There was one wolf that, if I hadn’t known better, just on her name, I would have thought it was Scarlett. Her hair had a reddish tint with black. I pointed.

  “That’s her,” Scarlett said.

  “I’m going to turn my back. Tell me when Iris and Lindsey are done shifting.”

  “They’re both done already,” Angel said.

  I looked through the wolves. Several were black, but only one had the white they had described. “Iris.”

  “Good,” said Angel. “Lindsey looks like a younger version of Rory. You would swear they were brother and sister.”

  I looked around. There were several wolves I thought would fit. “I’m not sure.”

  “Which ones are you considering?”

  “I pointed.”

  “That’s a boy,” Angel said. “Can’t you tell?”

  “No.”

  “Who else?”

  I pointed out two more.

  “One is Lindsey and the other is another boy.” She raised her voice. “Nash, Lindsey and Dawson, come here. Stand side by side in front of Zoe and let her look at you.”

  The three largely black wolves walked over. They were, of course, all huge.

  “We’re helping Zoe learn your names,” Scarlett explained. “Zoe, two are boys and one is Lindsey. To add to it, one of the boys is going to be an enforcer, but they’re all still filling out, so don’t expect him to be as big as Angel.”

  I studied them. Two had blocky heads, but the third one was taller by a tiny bit. One was perhaps a little broader through the chest. I described the differences I saw.

  “Anything else?”

  “Well, markings are different, but I don’t think markings are gender specific.”

  “They aren’t,” Angel confirmed. “Care to guess?”

  “I think the broad one,” and I pointed, “Is the enforcer student.”

  “Nash,” Angel said. “Yep. And the other two?”

  I pointed to the tall one. “Lindsey?”

  “You got it!”

  “So this is Dawson,” I said.

  “Right.”

  “But Elisabeth has a blocky head, too.”

  “Elisabeth is pretty butch,” Angel said with a grin.

  “All right,” Michaela called out. “If we’re done with wolf identification classes, we can run.”

  “Sorry,” I said.

  “Don’t be,” she said. “But I’m ready to run.” She headed for the door, opened it, and then a moment later, there was a fox on the front steps. I stared.

  “God, she’s so beautiful.”

  “That she is,” Angel said. “That she is. We’ll see you soon.”

  A minute later, I was left with Portia, still on two feet, and Iris in her fur.

  “We’re going to light the fire.” She gestured to the large fireplace near the wall. “Then we can do this on the rug. We’ll have to vacuum though.”

  “Do we have her brush?”

  Portia held up both hands. She had two brushes. They were both a little different. One was rubber, kind of like a mitten, with nubbies on one side. The other was a more traditional brush. “This one,” she said, holding up the rubber one, “Is Iris’s. The other one is Lindsey’s. Iris likes them both.”

  She led the way. Iris sat down on the rug. Portia lit the waiting fire, fanned it for a minute, then turned to face us. She and I knelt down on opposite sides of Iris.

  I stared at the wolf for a minute. “You’re all so beautiful,” I said. “May I touch you, Iris?”

  She chuffed, and so I began to pet her gently, digging my fingers in. She leaned into it, so I decided
I was doing something right. I kept that up for a minute, then I slowly hugged her. She chuffed with it, so I decided it was okay.

  “All right,” said Portia. “Iris, when I used to have this done, I liked it firm enough it was kind of a massage, too. Is that what you like?”

  Iris looked over. She nuzzled her rubber brush and chuffed, but then knocked the other brush and huffed.

  “Got it,” Portia said. “I’ll show Zoe how to use the rubber one, then let her have it. I’ll work on your fur with the other one.” She picked up the rubber brush and put it over her fingers. “I’ll do this the way I liked it, and Iris will let us know if we do anything wrong. Iris, remember: Zoe is human.”

  Iris chuffed.

  Then Portia started first gently petting Iris with long strokes, but then she began digging her fingers in, still stroking, but in sort of wiggly movements. Iris began to grunt her pleasure.

  “She probably doesn’t want you doing her ears like this,” Portia said. “But the nubs feel really good against the scalp. Here, I’ll show you. Bend your head.”

  I didn’t even think about it. I bent my head, and then Portia was massaging my scalp with the rubber brush. She was right; it felt good. But then she stopped, and she was chuckling. I looked up.

  “You just spread wolf fur into my hair, didn’t you?”

  She laughed. “I sure did.”

  “It was worth it,” I said. “That felt great.” I took the rubber brush from her, slipped it over my hand, and said, “Iris, let me know if I do this wrong.” I started on her head, and she grunted at me. I decided I was doing it right. Portia let me brush alone for a while, then once I moved down to Iris’s body, she began with the other brush.

  “You can lie down if you want, Iris.”

  We brushed her for a long time and had to clear both brushes off repeatedly, making a large pile of it on the floor. After a while, Iris rolled over.

  “For her stomach, you are gentler,” Portia said. “And she’ll growl if you get too personal. She would even growl at me for it, and Iris is not a dominant wolf.”

  “Like this?” I asked. I wriggled gently with the brush. Iris closed her eyes and laid her head back, her nose pointed towards the fireplace and her legs splayed widely. I decided I was doing something right.

  We both brushed her for a few minutes, then Portia said, “If you’re good, I’m going to run.”

  “We’re good,” I said.

  Portia leaned down and whispered something into Iris’s ear. “Zoe, you’ll need to clean the fur up when you’re done. Don’t burn it; it smells horrible to a wolf. There’s garbage in the kitchen.”

  “I remember.”

  She set her brush aside and moved away for her shift. When she was done, she checked on us.

  “Do you need help with the door?”

  She huffed, and a minute later, she was gone.

  I continued to brush Iris. After a while, she stirred and rolled back over, then slumped onto her stomach with her head between her paws and her eyes closed.

  “I’ll stop if you want, but I’d love to keep going.”

  She chuffed, so I took that as permission.

  I brushed her for a long time. I let her reactions tell me what she liked the most. I left her tail alone but told her if someone showed me, next time I could brush it.

  She may not have been big for a wolf, but I thought she was big, and I could feel her muscles under the fur, even as relaxed as she grew under the brushing. I found her magnificent, and so I kept brushing, but I told her to let me know if I should stop. She just grunted and moaned her pleasure, so I brushed, although I got softer with it.

  By the time the wolves returned, I was just sort of wriggling my fingers in her fur, gently massaging the muscles. She had grown entirely relaxed, although I didn’t think she was sleeping.

  But then the door opened. The room filled with wolves and one little fox. Michaela bounced over to us, shifting into her human form.

  “Oh, you are totally spoiling her. Iris you big sponge, that’s more than enough.”

  “I don’t mind,” I said. I leaned over and kissed Iris on the forehead. “She’s very sweet.”

  “That she is. But she’s going to stir herself so you can clean up the fur. It’s time for snacks, then bedtime.”

  * * * *

  Portia checked on me before going to her own bed. She was going to just pop in and out of my room, but I said, “Portia?”

  “Yes?”

  “I’d brush you any time you want.”

  “I’d like that, Zoe.”

  “Get some brushes,” I said.”

  “I will. Are you all set?”

  “Do I get a bedtime hug?”

  We hugged for a while, then she released me.

  “Thank you,” I told her.

  “For the hug?”

  “For being so good to me.”

  “You’re welcome.”

  * * * *

  Angel and Scarlett took me for a run in the morning. It was only about ten minutes, and they were both breathing hard when we got back, but it was magical, truly magical.

  Helping Michaela with her program was fun, fun and fascinating.

  She and I also had gone over the proposal for the photography classes. There were still more hoops to follow, so of course, the kids hadn’t all rushed out and bought SLR cameras, but she’d encouraged all of them to bring something. And so I taught introduction to photography for an hour on Friday and Saturday, and we did a couple of outings to take photos.

  We made time to go kayaking. I talked to Michaela about that.

  “I can stay home.”

  “You don’t want to go?”

  “I love kayaking. But-”

  “But you don’t want to hold us back.”

  “Right.”

  “Zoe, you’re going to just have to accept your limitations.”

  “I do, Michaela.”

  “And accept the help we offer.”

  “You would tow me?”

  “Not me. Monique. Or any of the other wolves. We’re going to outfit your kayak with a tether, and when you want a tow, you just pop over to the back of someone’s kayak and attach it. You might want to warn her first, of course.”

  “I’d be embarrassed.”

  “You shouldn’t be. Zoe, if you really, really can’t stand it, you may stay here. But this is important, and I think you should bite the bullet and just get used to asking for help.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Yes. You shouldn’t make Monique tow you the entire time, and I presume you would still paddle. Rather than just assuming someone is going to tow you, ask for a tow and see who volunteers.”

  “All right, but if you guys tow me out there and leave me miles from home, I’ll cry like a baby.”

  She laughed.

  And so, that was what we did. I started out paddling, but once we had gone a little while, I said, “All right. I love this, but if we want to go faster, someone can tow me. Otherwise this is a great pace for a human.”

  I had five offers immediately, and after that, the kids fought over who got to tow me to the point that if we came to a stop, someone would paddle over, release me from whoever was already towing me, then ask someone to attach me to her kayak.

  It was — like so many other things these kids did — very sweet. Who would have thought it? Sweet, thoughtful werewolves.

  The wolves also got in the habit of running me everywhere. Unless we were all going at a slow pace, anyway, suddenly there would be a wolf on either side of me. They’d grab my arms, count to three, and we’d be off. It surprised me the first few times they did it, but I loved it from the beginning, and I ended every run laughing with joy.

  Then I saw them doing it with Michaela, too. She bitched the first time, but the kids ignored the bitching. I saw Lara laughing, and I thought perhaps she had put the kids up to it.

  I teased her a little about it. “Weren’t you telling me to ask for help when I needed i
t.”

  I got a glare and a grin for that comment.

  There were two other notable events on the trip. I’ll save my conversation with Elisabeth for a moment and talk about the other.

  * * * *

  “Where were you?” I asked Portia. “You disappeared.”

  It was Saturday evening. Dinner would be soon, and I was in my room taking a little break.

  Portia didn’t answer. But she looked shell shocked.

  “Portia? Are you all right?” I got off my bed and moved to her, looking into her eyes.

  “I’m fine,” she said in a small voice. Slowly she focused on me. “Zoe, I need to talk to you.”

  “All right,” I said. “Does this conversation require a beer?”

  “No. Champagne, perhaps.”

  I pulled her to the bed, and we sat down. There was a chair, but I didn’t like it, and I’d been sitting on the bed.

  “We can trust you, right?”

  “You’ve been trusting me. Yes, Portia. Of course.”

  “This is a pack secret. Zoe, this secret is almost as big as the big one you’re keeping.”

  “I won’t tell, Portia. You know that.”

  “Promise.”

  “Promise. You don’t have to tell me.”

  “Yes, actually. The alphas told me to, but I can’t stress the secrecy enough.”

  “I won’t tell a soul. Is it something I’ll want to talk to Michaela about?”

  “Probably not. Once I tell you, you’ll understand whom you could talk to and whom you can’t. And you’ll know not to talk about it to anyone else.”

  “All right. I promise, Portia. I’m not a blabbermouth.”

  “Good. We know that, but I had to be clear. You know how most wolves take time to shift between fur and skin?”

  “Yes. But not all of them.”

  “Right. I’m pretty fast, taking two or three minutes. That’s pretty standard for most wolves like me. But you noticed the kids — and even Cassie’s parents — take a lot longer. Young kids can take a half hour.”

  “Michaela’s pups are instant.”

  “Yes, they are.” She paused. “I want to show you something.”

  She began unbuttoning her shirt.

  “I’m not sure we have that kind of relationship, Portia.”

  She colored and laughed nervously. It was cute. But she stripped entirely naked, then knelt down-