by Robin Roseau
"Hey!" I muttered, but I kept my voice down. I looked over at Serena, who hadn't released my arm. I glared at her.
Without looking at me, she leaned in my direction. "You promised to behave."
I couldn't see past the wall of wolves, and there was so much competing noise, I couldn't follow the progress of the approaching wolves with my ears. I didn't like it; I didn't like it at all.
"Let go," I said in my best Alpha voice.
Neither of them relaxed their grip. Neither of them was looking at me, either. Eric and Serena were both looking left and right. Angel was behind us, watching our back. Karen and Portia were in front of us, standing just off Elisabeth and Lara's shoulders. I craned my neck around, wondering if there were other dangers.
I squirmed. "Let me go!" I ordered again. In response, Eric wrapped his hand around my arm more completely. His hands were so big he could engulf my entire bicep with one hand.
Serena leaned back to me again. "You know we have orders. Take it up with Lara later. You promised to behave. Now behave."
I fumed for about a second and a half, and then I crossed my hands in front of me, putting my hands on my sheathed knives.
"Let me go. Or else."
They must have been waiting for it. I didn't think either of them was paying that much attention to me. It had been an empty threat; I wouldn't have drawn on them in this situation. But they took me seriously, and I found my wrists clasped in a strong wolf hand. This left both Serena and Eric facing me, but they shifted position, and I could see Serena looking over Eric's shoulder. Turning my head the other way, Eric was doing the same thing, watching Serena's side of the room.
"Michaela," said Serena very quietly. "Release the knives or we'll break your wrists."
"You wouldn't dare."
"Do you really want to escalate it and find out?"
Fuming, I released the knives. As soon as I did, they pulled my hands away from my body.
"Portia, watch for me," Serena said. Portia shifted position, covering Serena's territory. Eric turned away from me, pulling my arm partly behind my back to do it, but Serena didn't release me. She moved in front of me, looking down into my eyes. "You've never broken a promise to me."
"Are you accusing me of doing so now?"
"No. You are now going to promise to behave. My definition, not yours."
My version of behaving was very different from hers. I sighed. It wasn't the time for a dispute between all of us. But I was pissed.
I'd been having a good time, too. Even if they hadn't let me meet anyone.
"You don't know these wolves," she added. "We do. Now, promise."
"Fine," I said. "I'll be a meek little rabbit and behave. But when we get back, you might want to ask for a transfer from my detail."
"Don't come to final decisions before you let Elisabeth explain," Serena said. And then she and Eric both released my wrists. Eric released my arm as well, but Serena kept hold of me.
"I said I'd behave."
"And if I have to move quickly, I want to know where you are," she said. But then she turned away. "I'm watching, Portia," she said. And then Portia returned to facing forward.
While all this was happening, the wolves had stepped up to Lara and Elisabeth. I'd been paying attention as best I could, but even my ears had trouble hearing.
But the wolves weren't quiet.
"Greetings, Madison Alpha," one of the males said.
"Good evening, Santa Fe alpha," Lara replied.
Santa Fe? That was in New Mexico. Ysabella Bancroft, the Boulder alpha's mate, was from New Mexico. Her hothead brother had killed Daniel Bancroft's first mate, and Ysabella had been offered as partial reparations to prevent war. I suddenly wondered what the wolves from New Mexico were like. I also wondered if my wolves knew more about them than I did.
"At least let me go a little closer so I can hear," I said, leaning upwards to speak into Serena's ear.
In response, she looked around briefly then nodded, sliding forward a few feet, pulling me with her. I still couldn't see past my wolves, but it was enough I could hear just a little more readily.
I really wanted to tell everyone else at the party to be quiet.
"I don't recall previously seeing anyone from Madison at these events," the Santa Fe alpha said. "Have you decided to play with the big boys?"
"Carissa invited us," Lara said. She shrugged. "It sounded like a good time, and we had business with her besides." She paused a moment, and then she said, "But I haven't met your mate, Aaron."
"I suppose you haven't," he said. "Rhea, this is Lara Burns. You have probably heard about her."
Aaron's mate didn't say anything, and I couldn't see her, but I presumed she nodded. Lara said, "I'm pleased to meet you, Rhea. This is Elisabeth, my sister and head enforcer."
"That's not what I've heard," Aaron said with a snort. "I've heard your head enforcer is a fox. Where did she go?"
Elisabeth's back stiffened. I glanced at Serena to see if she was going to let me go, but she wasn't watching me; she was still watching for danger. Then I looked around, and I saw Kristian working his way through the crowd. Eric wasn't watching him, but he hadn't met him.
"Serena, we have company."
She turned to look at me, and I gestured. "The vampire that took me."
"Eric," she said quietly. "Male, your two o'clock, moving left to right on an oblique intercept."
"I've got him," Eric said. "There are two more heading this way as well."
"Only one on this side," she said. "They're here to ensure the peace."
From in front, Lara gestured behind her back, holding out her hand. "Serena, Lara wants me."
Serena leaned down to me. "If this turns bad, you promised to behave."
I glanced at her and sighed. "Fine." As if, but I didn't tell her that. She eyed me once then released my arm before turning back to watch the crowd.
I stepped up behind Lara, passing between Karen and Portia and standing immediately behind the gap formed by Lara and Elisabeth's shoulders. I took Lara's hand and then wormed my way between the two of them. Lara released my hand and wrapped an arm around my shoulder.
I got my first good look at the other wolves. Aaron and his enforcer reminded me a great deal of Durian Grant, the former alpha from Chicago. They were big with hard expressions, and I didn't care for their body language. Their four enforcers were arrayed in front of us in a sweeping line.
But they were outnumbered, and I wasn't remotely worried. Plus I knew Kristian and Carissa were more than a match for them.
"Ah, there she is," said the Santa Fe alpha. He looked down his nose at me. "She's not much to look at. I am left wondering whether all the stories are nothing but tall tales."
"You know the nature of rumor," I countered. "The tales always grow in the telling." I looked up at Lara. "Are you going to introduce me, my love?"
"Of course," she replied. "Michaela, this is Aaron White, the alpha from Santa Fe, and his mate, Rhea."
I didn't offer my hand. "I'm pleased to meet you both."
"And Luke Able is Aaron's head enforcer," Lara continued. "I haven't met his mate, but I believe she is Kristin."
"Kris," the woman said. She nodded at us. "I've never seen a werefox before."
"We're shy," I said. At least if she hadn't seen one, that meant she'd never hunted one, which was more than I could say about some of the wolves I'd met previously.
At that point, the vampires, Kristian in the lead, arrived. I wasn't sure why they had moved at human speeds. "Is everyone enjoying the party?" he asked.
I froze. I hadn't heard his voice since the night he had kidnapped me. It was not a voice I cared to hear. But this time, I didn't think he meant trouble.
"We're having a fabulous time," Lara offered. She didn't even look in his direction, but kept her gaze on the other wolves. "Carissa is to be commended."
I stared at Kristian. It wasn't quite a glare, but it was a close thing. Maybe his mistress had apolo
gized to me, but he hadn't.
Oh, I could be the queen at holding a grudge. The thing is, I usually found a way to repay anyone who was worthy of a grudge. I didn't think I could repay Kristian even if I'd been free to do so.
It was an uncomfortable feeling.
"My mate wished to meet the female alpha and her petite pet," the Santa Fe alpha said.
I didn't even bristle. "Oh? You think Lara is petite? I've always thought her to be the perfect size."
It may have been forced, but from around me, the Madison wolves chuckled, even Lara. I briefly wondered if I were going to pay for that comment later, but then I realized I was mad at her, anyway. We would be talking.
The other alpha scowled at me. "That's right. Your pack council elevated you to alpha status." He shook his head. "Imagine. A fox alpha over good, strong wolves."
"We would never allow that in New Mexico," the head enforcer said.
I shrugged. "The world is filled with so many kinds of people. It is our differences that make the world an intriguing place. I dare say we wouldn't have been worth meeting if we were just another traditional pack. It has been very interesting, Alpha." And with that, I faded backwards. Lara and Elisabeth closed ranks in front of me, and then Serena's hand was on my shoulder, pulling me back further. I went where she led me, but we would all be talking later.
Lara and Aaron exchanged a few more pointless pleasantries, Kristian and his vampires watching on, and then both groups backed away from each other. A moment later, Lara turned around and stepped over to stand in front of me.
"We'll be chatting later," I said, "while we discuss the future of my security detail."
Her brow furrowed. "I don't need this tonight."
"Which is why it will be later," I said.
From beside me, Serena didn't say anything. I owed her the opportunity to report to Elisabeth before I did what I could to have her fired from my team.
"I heard there was dancing," I said.
Meeting
Other than brief glimpses, I didn't see Deirdre for the first three hours we were there. Carissa worked the party herself, giving each group time. I saw her with Violet and James, introducing them to a couple dressed as a pair of ghosts. I danced with Lara and Angel but refused any other dances.
I wondered, and not for the first time, if Daniel Bancroft was here somewhere. But I hadn't seen him nor any of his wolves, and I was damned if I was going to ask.
Lara and Elisabeth spoke briefly with a number of other werewolves. Some of them clearly wanted nothing more than to get a closer look at me. I was also introduced to some other people, races unknown, and I didn't ask.
So far, the trip had, by and large, sucked. Oh, there had been occasional good moments, but neither Lara nor I were responding well to the stress. I kept my anger to myself, but the only question in my mind was when and how far would I boil over. I vowed not to do it in front of strangers.
My mood was about to change.
It was Kristian who found us, shortly before midnight. He approached carefully, and again I found myself surrounded by enforcers. I didn't protest, but it was very difficult to enjoy a party when all I could see was a wall of backs.
"Madison Alpha," Kristian said. "I did not properly introduce myself. I am Kristian."
"I know who you are," Lara replied, the tightness in her back belying her casual tone.
"Carissa wishes to discuss something with your mate," Kristian said. "If you will come this way."
"Of course," Lara said. She gestured, and Serena released me so I could go to her. I let Lara put an arm around me, but I wasn't happy about it, and I was sure she could tell.
But I was excited at the same time. I didn't think Carissa would have kept me waiting if she didn't have any news. And if she were going to tell me the fox she had known of was a myth -- or dead -- I didn't think she'd pick this party to do it. And so, I was excited to hear what she had to tell me, and I put my dispute with the wolves aside.
For now.
"Are you all right?" Lara asked me quietly. When I glanced over at her, she was looking at me with concern.
"I'm fine," I said somewhat tightly.
"You're quivering," she said. She frowned. "You're excited. You're excited to see Carissa! God damn it; the thrall isn't broken after all. I just knew it!"
She came to a stop and was ready to haul be bodily from the party, but I said, "Lara, stop it! That's not it. She has an answer to a question I asked her. That's all. Stop it!"
She turned me to face her. "What question?"
"I already told you. Am I the last fox? She has news, probably good news." I pulled away from her and turned to follow Kristian. He had waited for us, and if the wolves hadn't been so high strung about security, I would happily have left them behind. But then I found myself flanked again, Lara stepping up to my side.
She was upset. I found I didn't care. Neither of us talked during the trip through the house, and she didn't put her arm around me. I was just fine with that.
Kristian led us upstairs and down two ornate corridors before coming to a stop before a set of double doors. "I am sorry, but I cannot allow all of you inside. Carissa vouches for your safety."
"She's not going in without me and a guard," Lara stated.
"You and one other," Kristian said. "The rest may remain here."
"Karen, hold everyone here," Elisabeth said. And then she stepped up to my right side, Lara already taking the left. Lara nodded, and Kristian stepped to the door, opening it inward for us.
Lara hesitated for a moment, and then three of us stepped into the room.
It was a sitting room straight out of some sort of historical romance. There were no windows, but there was a fire in the fireplace on the far wall with a sitting arrangement of furniture perched before the fireplace. Carissa, Deirdre, and two people I didn't know where waiting for us, standing to the right of the fireplace.
If they had been talking, they stopped when the door opened, and I never caught a word of the conversation.
Kristian gestured us forward, closing the doors behind us, then he stepped past us to take a place along the wall to our left, a silent observer to the conversation that was to begin.
We stepped forward.
"Michaela, darling," Carissa said, holding her arms out. "Are you enjoying the party?"
I decided to give Lara a little punishment, just a down payment on what I owed her. She didn't have hold of me, and I smoothly moved forward, straight into Carissa's embrace.
I think I surprised the vampire, but she wrapped her arms around me and gave me a quick hug. "This is not wise," she whispered so quietly only I could hear. And so when she unwrapped me, I stepped backwards and let Lara draw me away from the vampire, pressing my back against her front and wrapping her arms around me.
At least she hadn't growled.
"It's a lovely party," Lara said. "We've had an intriguing time."
"Carefully said," Carissa observed.
My mind was working, which surprised me. I studied Carissa for a moment, then turned my gaze to Deirdre.
She was dressed as some sort of earth spirit, wearing all brown and green, with twigs and leaves in her hair and decorating her clothing. I didn't ask what it represented.
Her anticipation was clear, and I thought perhaps she was nearly as excited as I was. Her excitement fed mine, and I was sure there was good news.
Then I studied Carissa's two guests. They looked like two humans in Halloween costumes. The woman appeared young, perhaps in her twenties, and was dressed in peasant clothes with a wane, pale appearance. The man with her was older. His peasant clothes were tattered, his hair was slicked back, and he was wearing makeup that made him look wet.
I had no idea what they represented.
We exchanged pleasantries with Deirdre. Lara didn't bristle when she hugged me, and I held her tightly for a minute. "You have good news for me," I said into her ear.
"And you will wait to hear it," she replied
before releasing me.
Then Carissa introduced us to the woman. "This is Ekaterina Kirillovna Vedenin, the Queen of St. Petersburg."
I didn't know the protocol when meeting a vampire queen. Carissa hadn't stood on ceremony, and in a way, I was a queen as well. But then Ekaterina answered that by stepping forward and shaking first Lara's hand, and then mine.
"I am pleased to meet you, Ekaterina Kir..." I trailed off. Her name had been a mouthful.
"Ah. You may call me Ekaterina." She shook her head. "Most Americans would have called me Kate. But a proper, Russian name does not spill off an American tongue so easily." Then she took both my hands and spread my arms wide, studying me.
"Lovely," she said. "I can understand why it tortures you to have parted with her, Carissa."
The woman spoke English with a thick, Russian accent. It was so thick I thought perhaps she intentionally fostered it that way.
"She belongs in her northern forests," Carissa said. "She would have wilted, an uprooted flower in our southern bayous."
"Ah, if it is forests she desires, you could have given her to me. We have forests in excess."
I expected Lara to growl. Instead, she said nothing, and I ignored her, focusing on the vampire queen. I cocked my head. "I am trying to understand your costume tonight, Ekaterina."
"Ah. If you do not know Russian mythology, you would not guess. I am a rusalka, a young woman who died violently and now haunts the woods. Gregoria plays the role of one of my victims, summoned to die an untimely death. And your costume?"
I smiled. "If you are unfamiliar with New Orleans stories, you would also not guess. I am a voodoo queen tonight."
The vampire laughed. "And your head enforcer is your voodoo doll. Most excellent. If we poke pins in her, who suffers for it?"
"Undoubtedly the one foolish enough to poke her with pins," I said with a laugh.
Lara and Elisabeth weren't amused by the conversation, but everyone else laughed lightly.
The vampire released me, and then I asked, "Carissa, does Ekaterina have an answer to the question I asked you?"
