by Robin Roseau
I turned to her and said, “I don’t want to hurt you.”
“I don’t think you will,” she said. “But you’re a guest here. You aren’t a source of my entertainment.”
“You’re dying for me to offer, aren’t you?”
The human grinned. “I sure am.”
“We can try it,” I said. And so I stepped to her side, and Monique to the other. “But do you need a coat?”
“No,” Zoe said. “Unless we’re going to be out a long time. Girls, our guests are from a very warm climate. Ten minutes and we need to get them inside. Once they’ve been here a day or two, and they might be able to handle longer.”
“Yes, Zoe,” the girls all said together.
At that, the one girl -- whose name I still couldn’t remember -- gestured, and we all filed outside. Then we all paired up, and I realize there were two young wolves without a human to pull. They looked to be perhaps twelve years old, and I said, “What about them?”
“That’s Kaylee and Thomas,” Zoe said. “They can keep up for this run, but not if they have to help.”
“We practice on Kaylee,” Monique said. “She still weighs about the same as Zoe, but she’s a lot harder to hurt.”
“Oh,” I said. “Monique, maybe you and I should practice before we risk the human.”
“You know,” Monique replied. “I think that’s not a bad idea. Lindsey, give us a minute. Kaylee, could we borrow you?”
With that, we stepped over to the younger wolf. She held out her hands, straight away from her sides. Monique and I each grabbed an arm.
“Let’s practice lifting her first,” Monique said. “Just a few inches first. On three.”
“Wait,” I said. “Do we lift on three? So it’s one, two, lift. Or is it one, two, three, lift?”
“We call it one, two, three,” Monique said, “but we begin lifting as we begin saying three.”
“Got it,” I said. “Ready.”
“One, two, three,” Monique counted. And together we lifted Kaylee just a few inches into the air, then set her back down.
“Let’s go higher now,” Monique said. “We have to keep her even, and I can’t quite lift as high as you can.”
“Got it,” I said. “You count it out.”
“One, two, three.” Again we began lifting, and while it wasn’t necessarily smooth, I didn’t feel like we were pulling Kaylee’s arms from her sockets, either. Then we set her back down.
“Okay. Let’s just run her around the yard. We’ll start in a walk and then speed up until we’re running, but not full out. I don’t think I can match your pace.”
Walking wasn’t hard, and I kept an eye on Monique. Soon we ran around the cars a few times. Kaylee didn’t really run with us so much as sort of hopped from foot to foot as we ran. I thought that was odd but realized the human wouldn’t really be able to run, either. The end result was that we weren’t really lifting her as we ran but instead pulling her as she hopped up and down.
It seemed slow to me, but Kaylee said, “That wasn’t bad. I wouldn’t do anything fancy though.”
“Right,” said Monique. “I don’t know how many times we just ran with Zoe before we began doing more than that, and we practiced for hours and hours on Kaylee first.”
I turned to Zoe, who had been watching us. “Frightened?” I asked.
“You know, this started because I asked them to help me run faster when we were playing some pack games. I didn’t think about how much effort they put in behind the scenes. Girls, I’m touched.”
“It’s nothing, Zoe,” said Iris. She grinned. “We love doing it. You know that.”
“You love to make me scream.”
“We sure do, but just running is fun, too. You’re part of the pack, and we like running with our pack members.”
I moved to Zoe’s side again. She leaned towards me and pulled my head down so she could whisper in my ear. “Don’t run any faster than you’re confident. They’ve done this a lot, and you don’t have to keep up.”
I leaned towards her ear. “It’s not the speed, it’s the coordination.”
“I know. I get the smoothest rides from Iris and Lindsey, as they’re the best match. Portia and Ember take me sometimes, but they have to slow down to stay together.”
I nodded understanding. And then each pair of us grabbed the arms of our humans. “Ember and Cassie,” said Lindsey, the girl whose name I’d forgotten. “You two go first. If you keep a comfortable pace for you, that’ll be fine.”
“Great. Are you ready, Anika?”
“I think so,” said the woman.
They began much as Monique and I had, a few steps of a walk, then moving into a slow run. Lindsey and Iris, Joanna between them, followed after, and then Monique and I with Zoe.
It took about two minutes before I was hopelessly lost. I’d tried to keep track of where we were, but I had to focus heavily on what I was doing, and so I lost complete track and found myself trusting the wolves to know where we were going.
But it was beautiful as we traveled along trails that meandered through the thick woods. There were no leaves, discounting the brown variety on the ground, but there were ample pine trees, and I could smell their rich scent as we ran among them.
I had to wonder what it was like for the wolves. It must be a heady experience.
It took about twenty seconds before Zoe was giggling, and we weren’t even running that fast. She didn’t run like Kaylee had. Instead, she did the human version of a run, but I could feel she was casual about it. Monique and I were doing most of the work.
We ran for most of the ten minutes Zoe had prescribed when we came to a stop at an overlook. Miles away I could see what I now realized was Lake Superior, and it was unbroken forest from here to the lake. We all came to a stop in a long line, all of us panting heavily, although Zoe was giggling and laughing while panting.
“God, I love that,” she said. “What did you two think?”
Anika and Joanna both turned to look at me first, but they were grinning. “I think we understand why you like it,” Anika said. “But you let them throw you?”
“I’m not sure I say I let them throw me. I don’t think I could prevent it if I wanted to. But yes. They scared the crap out of me the first time, but I get such a rush.”
Anika turned to her two wolves. “I love the run, but I don’t think I’m ready for you to throw me.”
“We wouldn’t without permission,” Ember said. “Elisabeth said a one. We don’t even get to jump with you until it’s a three, and we can’t jump over anything until it’s a four, except downed trees.”
“What else would you jump over?”
“They jumped over the cars earlier,” I pointed out.
“Yeah,” Ember said. “We jumped over Michaela once, but we got heck for it.”
“Michaela can be very fierce,” I said sagely.
“She can,” Ember said. “But it was Monique that yelled at us.”
“Ah,” I said, not really understanding.
“She’s an enforcer,” Cassie pointed out.
“Only a student,” Monique pointed out.
“The alphas told us to treat you like an enforcer,” Cassie said.
“So, no jumping over people,” I said. “Got it.”
“No jumping over Michaela,” Monique clarified. “At least not like that.”
“Was she angry?”
“No,” Monique said. “But she didn’t stop me when I yelled, either.” She paused, and then she sounded contrite. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have yelled.”
“You didn’t yell,” Cassie said. “You chastised. And you were right.”
“Has everyone caught her breath?” Lindsey asked. “We should get the humans back inside.”
* * * *
Zoe gave me a quick hug when we came to a stop outside the lodge. “Thank you, Anna,” she said with a grin and a few more giggles. “Could I speak with you for a few minutes? Inside, though. I’m getting chilly.”
“Sure.”
All of us stepped inside, and from the looks, I thought Anika and Joanna had enjoyed their rides nearly as much as Zoe had. I’d never really paid that much attention to human shortcomings. They were just a given, after all. And so I really hadn’t given much thought to what it might be like to help them overcome those shortcomings, even in such as simple way.
But I realized again just how different this pack was from any other pack I’d seen. There were no humans in the New Orleans pack, or at least one I had met. There had been humans from time to time amongst the jaguars in my family, but there were none living. I knew of humans in other packs, but they were never treated the way Zoe was being treated, or the way the wolves were attending to Anika and Joanna.
I was really growing to like them. I had liked the ones I met in New Orleans, but now I was seeing their influence on the pack, and I really liked what I saw.
And I wondered if this was going to be a long-term problem for them; wolves were not known for being accepting of change, and this was a change from how most packs operated.
And that on top of the alpha pair being two females besides, and one not even a wolf.
Zoe led me into the kitchen, Monique following, but then Monique leaned against the wall near the door, and Zoe led me to the windows overlooking a deck in the back of the lodge.
“This is nice,” I said with a gesture.
“This is where I first met most of them,” Zoe said quietly. “I didn’t know what to make of Michaela.”
“She’s something else.”
“She is,” Zoe said. “I didn’t know what she was though.”
“But you knew they were werewolves.”
“Yeah. Long story. Anyway.” She paused and then shifted back and forth on her feet.
“Did you have a question?”
“Sort of. You should know: I’ve only been in the pack a short while. Six months.”
“So you’re quite new,” I said.
“Yeah. It’s all still pretty amazing to me. I mean, they’re werewolves.”
I laughed. “You seem to have grown comfortable.”
“That’s a long story, too,” she said. “But the first time I saw them in their fur. Just. Oh. My. God. I’m. Well. I’m an environmental activist.”
“And vegan.”
“Yeah. Don’t think I don’t get shit about that,” she said. Then she grew still.
“You want to know if you can see me in my fur.”
“Sort of. I want to know if...”
“If you can pet me or something.”
“Yeah. I mean. You’re not a pet. Or an animal. It’s just-“ she broke off.
“You know, Zoe. I can’t say I completely understand being in your shoes. None of this is brand new to me. But there’s a part of me that understands. I’m not saying I’d submit to a medical exam, or anything that felt like one. But you’re free to look all you want.”
“And touch?”
“As long as your mate won’t grow jealous,” I said.
Still, she looked unsure.
“Zoe, it’s fine,” I said. “What is it?”
“I wasn’t dating Portia when I first met any of them. I asked Elisabeth out. We were dating. But the first time I saw wolves in person, in fur, it was Portia and Karen. Portia let me hug her.”
I smiled and rumbled a gentle laugh. “If you want to hug me, you may hug me. Zoe, I’m pretty easy going. But please talk to your mate first, and don’t do anything that might make her jealous.”
“Portia’s okay with this.”
“Portia is okay if you hug the members of her pack. But she may feel very differently about you hugging me. Please be sure. That’s all I’m asking.”
“I’ll talk to her first,” Zoe promised. She grinned. “Werewolves. Were foxes. And now a were jaguar.” She shook her head. “And a vampire besides. And you’re friends.”
“It seems unlikely, doesn’t it?”
“Yes. It never occurred to me to wonder if there were jaguars even existed. I mean, once I realized werewolves existed, then it was obvious to wonder about vampires. But then I saw Michaela in fur, so I knew it was a much bigger, more mysterious world than even I could envision.” She grinned again. “You’re from New Orleans. Are there zombies?”
“Of course.”
“Really?” she asked, her eyes growing wide. “And can they infect others? Do they eat brains?”
“Cheetohs,” I said.
“What?”
“Isn’t that the traditional junk food in front of bad television?”
She put on an expression, and then it turned into one of annoyance. “Not funny,” she said. “I was serious.”
I grinned.
“I didn’t mean that kind of zombie.”
“I know you didn’t,” I said. “Voodoo queens are a type of witch. Raising the dead is necromancy. They aren’t really zombies, and they don’t eat brains. They’re walking corpses, and they don’t remain animated very long. The original zombies that birthed the myths now prevalent in movies are actually drugged but living victims of a voodoo queen.”
“Always a queen?”
“Yes,” I said. “I do not traffic with voodoo queens myself, when I can avoid it.”
“Because they’re evil?”
It was my turn to frown. “I wouldn’t put it that way.”
“But they turn people into zombies. That sounds pretty darned evil to me.”
“Ah, but that isn’t necessarily as cut and dried as it seems. First, not all voodoo queens keep zombie slaves. And even the ones who do don’t always do it in an evil fashion.”
“What other fashion is there?”
“Tell me. What would the wolves do if someone broke into their home and tried to steal the alpha’s children?”
She looked away. “A human you mean?”
“Yes.”
“I don’t think I want to talk about that,” she said coldly.
“Zoe?” I asked. “Did I say something wrong?”
“You wouldn’t know. But make your point.”
“Well, if you try to cheat a voodoo queen, you can expect retribution. If you try to hurt her, maybe she’ll kill you. Maybe she’ll kill your entire family. Or maybe she’ll simply take your daughter and make her into a zombie. You get her back when she feels you have sufficiently compensated her.”
“It’s not permanent?”
“It doesn’t have to be,” I said. “From time to time you find one queen has taken another this way. Or you find an apprentice is now a zombie, and you can imagine she did something to displease the queen.”
“Taking a daughter is evil,” Zoe said. “The daughter wasn’t the cheat.”
“I agree with you. As I said, it’s not necessarily cut and dried. Some examples I judge as evil. Others, I don’t. Voodoo queens aren’t necessarily popular. They need to carry a fierce reputation out of self preservation.”
“I suppose,” Zoe said. She shuddered. “I think it was a mistake to ask.”
I reached out and turned her chin towards me, making her look up into my eyes. “I do not know if it is a good idea to ask your mate to compare herself against me, but perhaps Elisabeth is sufficiently confident.”
Zoe looked into my eyes, and then she began to grin. “You’re way bigger than her, aren’t you?”
“Yes, I am,” I said. “I’m only a little taller, but in my fur, I am twice as heavy. You are an environmentalist. Do you know about natural jaguars?”
“I do,” she said. She paused. “Do you kill your prey the same way?”
“Yes. You’re vegan. Does that bother you?”
“I don’t want to watch, and if you’re bloody, I don’t want to see the remnants. But I cannot fault you for your nature.”
“That’s fair,” I said. I smiled. “Feeling better again?”
“Yes. Thank you.” She grinned. “Twice as big as Elisabeth. Yes, I definitely want to see that. We should get back. They are probably wait
ing for us. I don’t know what we’re going to do, and it might not be human friendly.”
* * * *
What we did was actually pretty simple. We went to Bayfield and wandered the streets. Many of the shops were closed, as we were between seasons. But enough was open to be interesting, and we wandered the waterfront as well.
My company changed periodically. I found myself with the teenagers for a while, and then Zoe again. I walked with Michaela on my arm for fifteen minutes, and then she was replaced by Monique, and Elisabeth for a while, although I didn’t have either of them exactly on my arm.
“You seem to be fitting in quite well,” Michaela observed as we walked along the docks.
“I like your pack, Michaela,” I said.
“I do, too,” she replied. “Even if they’re all one big pain in the butt after another. What did Zoe want?”
“Oh, so there are limits to your hearing? Or did you hear every word, and that was a transition.”
“I’ll never tell.”
“She wants what every human wants when she meets me.”
“She’s mated.”
I immediately began blushing. I don’t know when I last blushed, but I did at that. Michaela gave it a moment and then began to chuckle.
“I’m teasing, Anna,” she said. “She wants to see you in fur. Did she ask if it’s okay to hug you?”
“She did,” I admitted.
“And?”
I relayed the rest of the conversation, the parts I didn’t think were private. She snorted when I suggested Zoe get Elisabeth to compare sizes with me.
“Oh, won’t that do my sister-in-law’s ego some good? I heartily approve. Are you cold?”
“No.”
“Let’s sit here,” she said, gesturing to a bench at the end of this particular dock. She tugged my arm, and we sat, ignoring the others, even the enforcers hovering nearby. “In the summer these slips are filled with boats.”
“I imagine it’s beautiful.” I gestured. “It seems so stark today.”
“Late November,” she said, as if that explained everything.
We sat quietly for several minutes, Michaela leaning lightly against my arm. That surprised me. I wondered if she were cold, but if she were, we weren’t far from a warm shop.
Finally she said, “I suppose you wonder why we’re sitting here.”
