Fox Fate

by Robin Roseau

  "I do," Ekaterina answered for herself. "But before I answer, we must get to know one another somewhat better." She took my hand and let me to a loveseat, pulling me down next to her. There was nowhere for Lara to sit next to me.

  And as I was mad at her, I was perfectly content accepting the look of consternation she gave me.

  Everyone else took seats. I ignored the wolves and focused on the vampire.

  "Please, Ekaterina. Can you at least tell me? Am I the last fox?"

  She studied me for a moment before she answered. "You are not the last, but I will say no more until I know you better. Carissa vouches for your integrity, and from the way she talks about you, I can feel the depth of her respect for you. But we have met only moments ago, and I will come to my own conclusions."

  "But, please," I begged. "Do you..." I paused and licked my lips. "Do you have a fox?"

  She frowned, then her features cleared. "I see this is important to you, but I will not answer you yet." And then she changed the topic

  We talked for perhaps a half hour. Twice more I tried to steer the conversation back to other foxes, and the second time she told me bluntly, "I will discuss that when I am ready, and not a moment before. We will do this my way, or we will not do it at all." Her eyes bore into mine.

  I returned her gaze. Inside, I felt frantic. She had information I desperately wanted, and I was ready to admit my impatience. I also knew she understood how desperate I was for her information.

  But I am Fox. In spite of Carissa's proximity, my mind was working; it was working overtime. I understood what she wanted, and I knew I had to pay her price to get what I wanted. I knew I couldn't browbeat her into giving me what I wanted, and thus I was forced to buy the information.

  And so, I offered my next payment. I submissively lowered my eyes from hers, bowing my head slightly, and said, "I am sorry, Ekaterina."

  I bet Lara wished she could get me to back down the way Ekaterina had, but neither she nor Elisabeth had made a sound since we had all sat down.

  All were silent for several heartbeats, and then Ekaterina said, "Of course. It is forgotten." She reached out and lifted my chin. I let her.

  I heard Lara's heart rate rise; she didn't like the way Ekaterina was treating me. But she remained quiet.

  I answered her questions for another forty minutes. At times, it felt like an inquisition. At other times, it was more akin to a conversation. In her way, Ekaterina was quite charming. She was darkly beautiful and, even without her vampiric charms, deeply compelling. She was intelligent and well spoken.

  There was a time I would have been deeply attracted to her. But of course, I only had eyes for Lara.

  Finally she said, "There are a few other things I wish to discuss. I have heard certain rumors about you. I wish you to confirm or deny them." I nodded acquiescence. "I have heard you have survived several death challenges against very large, very competent wolves. Is this true?"

  I glanced at Lara, asking for permission. She shrugged, making it my decision. I performed some of my past exploits with significant audiences, wolves with no loyalty to me or my secrets. And some of them I had wanted advertised; I wanted to be the fox boogey monster, after all.

  "That is correct," I said. "My reactions are nothing compared to those of an ancient vampire, but compared to werewolves -- or younger vampires -- I am very fast."

  She pressed for details and asked me to take my time. I told her about my more public actions; I didn't tell her about anything from New England. She asked enough questions to keep me speaking, pulling most of the details from me. She expressed appreciation for what I had done.

  "I'm sure it's nothing compared to your abilities," I finally stated.

  "Perhaps not, but it is not just ownership of abilities, it is also how you use them. You are so small and, I detect, amazingly fragile. And yet you persevere. I also detect there are other encounters you aren't sharing, but I won't press."

  "Thank you," I said, lowering my eyes again.

  We sat there for a minute, and then she came to a decision. "Well. I have made you wait." I looked up. "I am not quite ready to answer your questions with as much candor as you have answered mine, but I will start with this. You are not the last living werefox."

  I already knew that; Carissa wouldn't have put me through all of this only to tell me this woman didn't have information for me.

  I waited, hoping she would share more.

  She began to smile, and somehow I knew it was predatory. She eyed me up and down for a moment. "And I could introduce you."

  Tears immediately began to well into my eyes. It had been so long since I had seen another of my kind. I hadn't fully realized how important this was to me, but now I was filled with a deep longing.

  And then Ekaterina crushed my hopes. "You need only come to St. Petersburg."

  "No," Lara said, her first word in ninety minutes. She said it firmly, almost staccato.

  Ekaterina ignored her. Instead she added, "And join my household."

  Lara was immediately on her feet. "No!" she yelled. "Michaela is mine!"

  Elisabeth was right next to her, and she interposed herself in front of Lara, holding her back. My mate would have launched herself at the vampire, getting herself killed in the process. Her sister held her back.

  Ekaterina turned to her, seemingly casually. "It is not your decision, Wolf. Carissa would not allow me to take her against her will, but if the lovely fox were to offer herself to me, Carissa would enforce her decision."

  "Lara," I said. "Calm down."

  Then I turned away and brushed the tears away. Then I stood up. "Head enforcer, with my mate's consent, we are returning to Wisconsin as quickly as we can prepare the aircraft." I didn't wait. I turned for the door and was away from any of them before they reacted.

  But then there was a whoosh of air, and Ekaterina stood in front of me. I stared up into her face. She didn't touch me, but behind me, Lara was going nearly insane.

  "Lara, calm down," I said again without even turning to look at her. I raised an eyebrow to Ekaterina.

  "Your mate clearly treats you poorly," she said. "You clearly do not wish to be with her. I would treat you very well. You would want for nothing. And you have felt the thrall before; you know you would be happy, deliriously happy."

  "I am sorry, Ekaterina," I said as calmly as I could muster. "Thank you for assuring me I am not alone." I sighed. "That is the wrong way to put it. I am not alone. I have my pack. And I would want greatly if I were to come with you."

  "What would you want?"

  "My mate, my children, my pack, my friends," I replied. "We're having a spat, but that is the nature of relationships. That is all you detect. Other than her overprotective nature, my mate treats me exactly the way I wish to be treated. It is her nature to protect me; it is my nature to be free. She will not change; I will not change. And so we seek a middle ground, and sometimes there are disputes. That is all."

  The vampire studied me then reached out a hand and attempted to steer me back to the sofa. "Come. Let us discuss this further."

  "I've taken enough of your time," I said.

  From behind me, speaking too quietly for the wolves to hear, Carissa said, "Michaela, trust me. Come back and sit."

  I cocked my head, not to hear her better, but to let her know I had heard her. In my fox form, I would have twitched an ear towards her instead. I didn't take my eyes off the vampire in front of me, but then, subtly, I nodded. Ekaterina put her arm around my shoulders and drew me back towards my place.

  Lara was going insane, so I pulled away from the vampire and moved to her. "Lara, I love you. When we leave, we are leaving together." I reached up and caressed her cheek. "You know that." I rapped my knuckles against the top of her head, hard enough to hurt. "Get the rocks out of your head."

  At that she smiled, briefly, rubbing her head. She let Elisabeth pull her back to her own seat, and then I took mine next to Ekaterina again.

  I looked at
the vampire. "Well?"

  "I wish to discuss your place in my household."

  "I have no place in your household, and so it is a very brief conversation," I replied. "If that is all you wished to discuss, we will be going."

  And then I waited. She still had more information I wanted.

  Then she stood, and I was sure she wasn't going to tell me anything else. She reached down and pulled me to my feet, then put her arm around me again and began leading me towards one of the other doors from the room. I immediately balked, but she stilled me with a question.

  "Would you like to know more about my fox?"

  She didn't try to draw me from the room; she only drew me in the direction of the door. Then she brought us to a stop and, with her free hand, gestured to the door. On command, it opened.

  I didn't realize vampires could do that.

  But then I discovered she hadn't; she had simply demonstrated a flair for the dramatic, as a form appeared in the doorway then stepped forward into the light.

  It was a woman. She stopped, and we stared at each other.

  Before me stood a werefox, the first I had seen in twenty years.

  She had my build, although she was even more delicate than I was and, I thought, perhaps a little shorter. But where my wild hair was deep red, hers was white -- nearly silver -- with a pale complexion to match.

  She spoke first, one word in Russian. Ekaterina replied to her in the same language, holding a hand out, and the other fox stepped forward, taking the vampire's hands.

  Neither of us took our eyes from the other.

  Ekaterina spoke to her in Russian. I heard my name. And then she switched to English. "Michaela, this is Alexandra, but she prefers to be called Sonya." Well, it sounded like Sonya, but not how an America would say the name. I ran it through in my head.

  "Sonya," I tried.

  The girl shook her head and then said her name again. She pronounced it like I had and shook her head, then she said it differently, and I emulated it as best I could. She nodded.

  And then we continued to stare at each other. Ekaterina withdrew her arm from my shoulder and released Sonya, stepping back away from us.

  The fox stepped closer to me. I stepped closer to her. And then we flew into each other's arms, both of us crying and babbling, me in English, her in Russian. I didn't understand a word she said, and I didn't think she understood any more from me.

  But we understood.

  We weren't alone. We each weren't the last.

  Finally we separated, each wiping tears from our cheeks. Sonya reached up and fingered my hair, and then she said one of the few English words I would hear from her. "Red."

  I nodded and then fingered her own hair. She spoke, and it was clearly a question. Ekaterina moved marginally closer.

  "Do you speak any Russian, Michaela?"

  "Only the few words any America might know."

  "And Sonya speaks very little English," Ekaterina said. "And so, I will translate. She asks if this is the color of your fox. She has not seen this color in a fox before."

  "I resemble a North American red fox," I said. "Would she like to see?"

  Ekaterina translated, and Sonya laughed, nodding her head. "Da."

  I stepped away from them then turned to Lara. She and Elisabeth were standing, watching us. Carissa had a smug look.

  "I told you to trust me," she said quietly. I nodded to her but walked to Lara.

  "Are you okay?"

  "Take your time," she said. "Take all the time you need."

  I peeled out of my clothes, Lara helping me after a moment. She collected my knives and carefully set each article of clothing aside. I brushed cheeks with her, then turned back towards Sonya and Ekaterina, both of them watching me. I took two steps for them, then dived forward, shifting into fox before reaching the floor.

  Sonya and Ekaterina both exclaimed, speaking rapidly in Russian. Carissa answered in Russian before speaking English. "They are surprised by the swiftness of your shift."

  I looked over my head at her then flicked my tail before turning back to Sonya. I approached then turned sideways, giving her a good look. She knelt down to her haunches, speaking quietly. Ekaterina translated.

  "May I touch you?"

  I chuffed, but then realized I hadn't known what that sound meant when I'd met the wolves, so I wasn't sure whether she would, either. And so I moved to her, brushing my furry cheek against her smooth cheek.

  Sonya buried her fingers in my fur, and she knew exactly what I would like most. I grunted my pleasure. She spoke softly, and Ekaterina continued to translate.

  "You are beautiful, although this is such an unusual color to me."

  I let her continue to stroke and massage me for another minute or so, but then I stepped away. I bounced over to Lara, who was watching quietly. I brushed against her then flowed into human. We spent a few minutes fixing my costume back into place. I looked a little worse for wear, I'm sure, but that was a small matter.

  I turned back to Sonya and her vampire. They had been watching me while speaking in hushed, rapid words. But they stilled when I turned to them.

  "You have more questions," Ekaterina declared. "Perhaps the two of you should sit. Sonya has questions for you as well." She gestured, and I nodded.

  And so Sonya took Ekaterina's old seat. As soon as we were together, she took my hands. The vampire stood behind the love seat, setting her hands on Sonya's shoulders.

  We both spoke at the same time. "Are there more of us?" I asked. Carissa and Ekaterina both laughed. I turned to Carissa. "What?"

  "She asks the same question of you."

  "I will answer for Russia if Carissa can answer for North America," Ekaterina offered. Carissa began to speak in Russian, and Ekaterina told me, "There are always rumors. Alexandra came to me almost by accident; I interfered in a hunt."

  I hissed my displeasure, then apologized. "That was not for you," I said hastily.

  "I didn't believe it was." She paused. "It is her choice if she wishes to tell you more. She is the last of her family unit, and while there are rumors of other foxes, neither of us know of any."

  "You were always going to introduce us. What was the game earlier?"

  She smiled and didn't answer. "I am sorry we do not bring better news."

  I looked back down to Sonya and said to her, "You are the first fox I have seen in twenty years."

  She listened to the translation and said, "For me, it is eleven."

  And then we were hugging again, and we held each other for a long time, neither of us wishing to release the other.

  For all we knew, we were the last living foxes on the planet, and if that were true, our species would die when we did.

  Part Two

  Dispute

  "Are you all right?" Lara asked me later that night. We were alone in our room. We were both long out of costumes and dressed for bed.

  I shook my head.

  She moved to stand behind me. She knew I had been mad at her. I'd been quiet, uttering no more words than strictly necessary since taking leave of Ekaterina and Sonya. I didn't think I'd see her again, and other than race, we had nothing in common.

  But I wondered if I could learn Russian before Carissa's next party. I wondered if Ekaterina would allow her to return a second time.

  I stood still, staring at the contents of the dresser top, not really seeing them. Lara waited behind me, not touching me.

  "What do you need right now?" she asked.

  "I don't know," I said quietly. I realized I had hoped Carissa was introducing me to a male fox. I was grateful for meeting Sonya, and for knowing I wasn't entirely alone, but now it looked like there may be no remaining male foxes. I hadn't realized how much I wanted kits. Perhaps discovering I couldn't have any, perhaps coming to the realization my race was on the verge of extinction was what made it important to me.

  "I don't understand why you're upset."

  "Don't you?" I asked. "Between Carissa, Greg Freund, a
nd Ekaterina, none of them can tell me whether Sonya and I are the last living foxes. My race is on the verge of extinction, and it's your race's fault."

  I heard the intake of air, and then she held it before asking, "Are you blaming me?"

  "No." I shook my head and repeated myself. "No. I think if it weren't for you, we'd be one fox closer to extinction by now. I couldn't survive forever as a hunter. I would have died years before we met if Wisconsin hadn't been a safe haven."

  More or less, anyway.

  I still didn't turn to face her.

  "Are we still having a spat?" Lara asked me.

  "I don't know."

  "Are you going to tell me what the spat is about?"

  "Like you don't know."

  "I can make guesses, but I'd rather you just told me."

  I thought about it before answering. Serena wouldn't have made that threat to me if Lara hadn't told her to. "Serena threatened to break my wrists."

  "Ah."

  I would have healed. It wasn't the sort of threat it would be for a human.

  "Maybe you shouldn't threaten to stab your friends," Lara added.

  I turned around and spat, "Maybe my friends shouldn't physically force my cooperation. Maybe my friends should let go when I tell them to let go. I'm not the one who grew heavy-handed first."

  I crossed my arms and glared at her.

  I guessed yes, we were still having a spat.

  She crossed her own arms. "You told Elisabeth you would behave. You promised you would behave. If you had kept your promise, you wouldn't even have noticed anyone being heavy-handed."

  "You're accusing me of breaking my promise?" I asked, my voice rising. If I was mad before, now I was livid. But then I grew calm, cool. Cold. "In what way did I break my promise?"

  Her nostrils flared, but she didn't answer immediately.

  "Did I at any time leave the protection of my security?" I asked. "Was I, at any time since leaving Madison, anywhere I wasn't expected to be? What exactly did I do to break my promise?"

  "As soon as Serena pulled you away from the Santa Fe wolves, you knew she was doing it on my orders," Lara said tightly. "Behaving would have been to let her do so without making a scene. The only reason it wasn't a scene of epic proportions was because she and Eric stopped you. Were you really going to stab them in the middle of Carissa's party while I was busy facing one of the worst wolf packs in North America?"