by Robin Roseau
That was when the front door opened.
"No one knocks around here?"
"Knocks, maybe. Wait for us to go answer the door? Not when they're expected," explained Scarlett.
And then three normal-sized people stepped into the kitchen, two men and a woman. The woman was my size, more or less, and one of the men was small for a man. I thought of Michaela and wondered if he was another fox.
"Dad, Ms. Lassiter, Benny, this is Zoe," said Scarlett. "She's a little scared."
One of the men stepped forward and offered his hand. "I'm Nick Tate, Scarlett's father. Call me Nick."
"Hi, Nick." I paused. "You're human."
"The three of us are," he gestured. "Well, counting you, four. Right now, we outnumber the werewolves in the house."
The woman was next. "I'm Michele Lassiter. My husband is Donald. You'll meet him later."
"He's a wolf?"
She nodded. "My daughters went to school with Angel and Scarlett."
I nodded.
The other man was last. "I'm Benny. You look familiar."
I cocked my head. "You run the boathouse in Bayfield!"
"That's me," he said. "You're Zoe Young. Photographer."
'That's me," I agreed.
It was Michele who took over. "What's your worst fear?"
"That I'm tonight's prey."
The three of them stared.
"Well," said Michele after a very pregnant pause, "You can lay that to rest. There is no way this pack would ever do something like that. There are other packs that would." She paused. "And please, please, please do not mention that fear to Michaela."
"Why not?"
"Because some werewolves like to hunt werefoxes."
"What?" said Benny. "That's..."
Michele turned to her. "You didn't know? That's a long story. Don't ask Michaela about it."
"No. I think not."
She turned back to me. "Put that fear to rest. It isn't going to happen. What else?"
"I don't know. I guess... just that. Or maybe that Lara will change her mind. It's the same fear, I guess. I'm afraid I won't see tomorrow. And I don't want to be hunted."
"What if it were in fun?" Scarlett asked.
"Hunted in fun?"
"Yeah. I believe humans call it hide and go seek."
"That's different.”
"Why is it different?"
"Cause you don't get eaten when you get caught."
"So it's not being hunted that frightens you," she said with a smirk. "It's being eaten."
"I'm not too thrilled at being torn to shreds by werewolf claws, either."
Michele asked, "Angel, does your mom have anything stronger than cider in the house?"
Angel stepped away from me and turned to the fridge. "There's beer."
"Give Zoe a beer. Nick and Benny, do either of you believe your spouses could ever do what Zoe fears?"
"No way," they both said.
"Neither could my Donald," Michele said. "I'm more capable of that than he is. Angel and Scarlett are two of the sweetest girls alive. Look at their concern. It's not fake."
I looked between everyone then hung my head. "I'm sorry."
"You've been through a lot. Angel, give her that beer."
I took it dully, and then Michele said, "Tip it up, girl. We don't have all day."
It was hard to say 'no' to her, and I chugged down several deep swallows.
"Good girl," she said. "Girls, does she need a shower?"
"Yes, Ms. Lassiter," said Scarlett.
"All right, Scarlett. You're both adults. My name is Michele."
I glanced at Scarlett, and she smiled. "Thank you, Michele. Yes, she needs a shower."
"All right. You two get her up there, then I need any clothes that need laundering before she puts them back on."
"The jeans are probably fine," Angel said. "But the blouse definitely, and probably the panties."
I colored at the idea of them sniffing my panties.
Michele noticed. "Get used to it," she said. "Get her into the shower then bring me the clothes. I'll have them washed and dried in a jiffy, but I'll need a wolf nose to check them."
"I'm expected," I said. "The alpha said three. I'm late now."
"Nick and Benny," Michele said, "Go find either the head enforcer or either alpha and tell her that Zoe is with me. If they have a problem, they can call me. And I don't need to tell you not a word about her fears."
"Of course not, Michele," said Nick. "Zoe, I know it's a lot, but these are good people. It might take time, but if you give them a chance, they'll treat you well."
"That's the problem, Dad," Scarlet said. "She gave us a chance, and we treated her very poorly."
"Circumstances," I said quietly.
"Still," said Scarlett. "So now I want to ask a favor."
I turned to her. "What?"
"Give us a second chance."
I thought about it and then nodded.
* * * *
It was four before Michele, Angel and Scarlett escorted me out of Angel's house and, I was told, to the alphas' house. I walked with a wolf on either side, an arm around me from each of them.
They were young, but they were very sweet, and I felt better.
At the house, we all stopped. Angel turned me to her. "Read that sign." She pointed to a wooden sign next to the door.
"Announce your name as you cross the threshold."
"I don't understand."
"Everyone is coming and going from this house all the time," Michele said. "It used to freak Michaela out. So you open the door, step in, and as you do so, say your name. Go ahead, Angel."
Angel stepped to the door, opened it, and said in a normal voice, "Angel" as she entered. Scarlett went next. Then Michele gestured to me.
Such a simple thing, but it must have been important. "Zoe Young," I said. Michele entered behind me.
There were a bunch of people there, and I knew most of them were wolves. I looked around for a moment, and then I saw Michaela moving through the crowd. She saw me and smiled. "You made it," she said as she drew closer. She caressed Angel and Scarlett as she stepped past them, and then she took me by the hands. "Come in. We're all about to go back outside, but let me introduce you to a few people."
She pulled me through the house and into the kitchen. There were a handful of teenage girls there, all much larger than me, and one older woman. "These are some of my students," Michaela said. "They'll find an opportunity to introduce themselves in smaller numbers later. Right girls?"
"Yes, Michaela," they all said.
"But this woman..." She pulled me forward. "This woman is the heart of the Madison Wolves. This is Francesca, Angel and Gia's mother, Elisabeth and Lara's aunt, and the closest thing I have to a mother."
I found myself clasping hands for a moment. I was overwhelmed, and I wasn't gracious, but she said, "Pleased to meet you, Zoe. I need to spend some time with you prior to the next pack night, but we won't let you starve."
"You're the one who helped Portia make that meal for me."
She smiled. "I'm sorry about the earlier meals. I didn't understand. I didn't understand the difference between vegetarian and vegan."
"It was kind of you to try," I said. "And I appreciated your efforts."
"You're going to be appalled at what you see in another hour and a half, but we do have food for you. There's a line, and you might find a few things you can eat, but I'll have one of these girls bring something just for you."
"Thank you, Francesca."
"I don't usually mark the food. We wolves can tell at a sniff what everything is. But if a particular dish has absolutely no animal products, I will make sure it has a little sign explaining what is in it."
"That's very kind of you."
"Also, you'll see a modest amount of fruit at our events. Wolves don't eat much fruit. Michaela and the humans like it. So you're only sharing amongst four or five. I will warn you, however. Michaela is our alpha, and we never take
the last serving of fruit until we're sure she's eaten her fill. She's a bit of a pig, and we don't want her to go hungry."
Everyone laughed, and I wondered what the joke was.
Michaela leaned over to me. "I eat like a bird. The joke is that someday, they'll see me eat an entire half a chicken breast."
"All right," said Francesca. "Unless you're staying to cook, out of my kitchen."
"I could help," I said.
"You're going to help roast chicken?" she asked.
"Oh. No."
"Go on," Francesca said with a smile.
"Um. I brought things."
"Edamame?" Ask Michaela.
"Yeah. A lot. I didn't know how many people would be here. But if I'd be in the way..."
"What do you need?" Francesca asked.
"A large pot of boiling water, very salty, and a large fry pan. It takes about eight minutes, once the water is boiling. Oh, and people to help me pick the spices to use."
"Everything is in your car?" Michaela asked?
"There's a cooler and shopping bag in the back."
"Kaylee," Michaela said. "Get Ms. Young's car key. It's a little Prius. Bring in the things from the back."
I fished out my key, and one of the girls took it from me.
"How big a pot?" Francesca asked.
"I've never made this much. I do a pound in a five-quart saucepan, but I have four pounds. They have to cook then get pulled out."
"Pasta pot," she said. "Jess, get the pasta pot going."
"Yes, Francesca."
Kaylee returned, easily handling the cooler and grocery bag. "This is a cool bag!" she said. "Where did you get it?"
"You may have that one, if you like."
"Really? Thanks!"
I emptied the shopping back and gave it to Kaylee. Then I held the flowers out to Michaela. "Thank you for inviting me."
"That's very sweet." She looked around. "Kaylee, would you find Scarlett and ask her if she would arrange some flowers for me."
"Yes, Michaela." The girl scampered back out.
"All right. I want to introduce Zoe to two more people," Michaela said. "The water will need a few minutes."
"What prep can we do?" Francesca asked.
"Just wash the soybeans," I said.
"Soybeans?"
I grinned, and Michaela dragged me from the room. We came to a stop nearly immediately. Seated at the dining room table were Lara and Elisabeth, and between them, two little girls of perhaps five years old.
"They're darling," I said.
"This is why it was so hard for Lara. Please forgive her."
I watched. Lara's love was clear. So was Elisabeth's. Then I noticed Elisabeth's nose twitched, and a moment later, she lifted her head to look at me.
"She smelled me?"
"Yep."
Elisabeth smiled. "Zoe."
Michaela pulled me forward. "Girls, I want you to meet someone."
"Hello, Mommy Fox!" said one of them. "Look what Auntie Lisbet and I drew!" the girl held up a drawing.
"Why, look at that!" I said. "Is that your Mommy?"
The girl nodded. "And that's me," she said, pointing. "And that's Becca."
"Very lovely," I said. I moved closer. "May I see?"
The girl handed me the drawing. I studied it appreciatively before handing it back. "Very good." I knelt down so our eyes were on a similar level. "My name is Zoe."
"I'm Celeste," she replied. "This is my sister."
I held out my hand, and the girl shook solemnly with me.
"I'm Rebecca," said the other girl. I exchanged a handshake with her, too. "Mommy and I drew this!"
"Oh, very nice," I said. "I'm just a human though, and I don't know how to tell which wolf is which."
"It's Auntie Lisbet," the girl said. "But you're holding it upside down." She made me turn it over, and I realized the wolf was on her back. I glanced over at Elisabeth, who was actually blushing. It was really cute.
"Oh, I see," I said. "I'm really new to the pack and don't know much about wolves yet. Why is Auntie Lisbet on her back?"
"It's not done. I have to draw Mommy Fox next. Auntie Lisbet was naughty, so Mommy Fox has to cuff her."
Lara and Michaela were both laughing.
"I don't know anything about cuffing," I said. "Does it hurt?"
"If you don't whine it does," the girl said. She turned to Lara. "Why doesn't she know about cuffing?"
"She's a very new member of the pack, and we haven't taught her everything she needs to know," Lara said. "We have to teach her just like we taught you and Celeste."
The girl turned back to me. "When they growl, you have to roll onto your back," she said. "And never, ever growl back."
"I'll remember that, Rebecca. Thank you for telling me."
"You're welcome," she said. And then, just like that, she turned back to the table and began carefully drawing a red fox on top of the wolf.
I smiled but managed not to laugh.
"Girls, I need to steal Mommy Wolf and Auntie Lisbet. Finish your pictures, because we're going outside in a few minutes."
"Yes, Mommy Fox," they said without looking up.
Michaela pulled me away, and a moment later, Elisabeth and Lara were with us.
"Auntie Lisbet was naughty," I said. "What did Auntie Lisbet do?"
"Auntie Lisbet didn't let Rebecca play with Auntie Lisbet's cell phone," Elisabeth said. She shook her head. "It's good to see you."
I nodded.
"Thank you for coming," Lara said.
"It's good to be here," I said, "but a little intimidating."
"A little?" Michaela said. "You should have seen me the first night. I was scared out of my skin."
"Really?"
"Yep. I'll tell you the story sometime. You're doing okay."
I paused before answering. "That's due to an intervention."
"Oh?"
"Angel, Scarlett, Nick, Michele and Benny."
"Ah ha!" Elisabeth said. "That's why you smell like Angel's shampoo."
Michaela chuckled. "I used to get my sniff tests from Rory. It sounds like you're getting yours from Angel and Scarlett."
"It's embarrassing."
"Don't worry about it," Michaela replied. "They sniff each other's butts all the time. Sniffing your clothes is no big deal."
"We do not sniff butts!" Lara said. "Michaela!"
Michaela chuckled. "Don't believe her. She's the biggest butt-sniffer of all of them."
Elisabeth grinned. "It's not your butt she likes to sniff, Michaela, but it's not that far away."
Michaela simply grinned. "Zoe brought edamame. I expect both of you to lead by example."
"You didn't need to bring anything," Lara said. "But thank you."
* * * *
The edamame was treated as an appetizer. Francesca helped with spices, and we experimented a little before we were both pleased. Michaela and Elisabeth both sampled them and said, "Oh, nice." It was Michaela who taught everyone else in the kitchen how to eat them. Not everyone was thrilled, but I didn't see anyone spit them out.
We divided the rest into two large bowls, and then when we stepped back into the living room, we discovered the picnic had moved outside. And so I let Michaela tug me outside, assuring me there were ample beverages to choose from, and she wanted to introduce me to a few people.
Once we were outside, the girls disappeared with the edamame while Michaela tugged me to a stop. "Are you all right?" she asked me quietly.
"I don't know. It's all so much."
"You're a member of the pack now, and we protect our own. You understand that, right?"
I didn't know how to answer that.
She paused. "You thought the worst, didn't you?"
"I'm sorry."
"Don't be. The first time I was here, I flat out asked Lara if she intended a fox hunt. Do you know what that is?"
"I think I have a pretty good idea."
"I've been hunted before," she said. "I don't talk a
bout it around Lara. It freaks her out. But they're all dead, and I'm not."
"I don't think I would fare as well."
"Well, you don't have to worry about it. Lara has claimed you. You're under her protection. And Elisabeth's, of course. And mine. And that means under all the enforcers' protection. No one will touch you. Except, of course, Elisabeth, if you let her."
"Is everyone fixated on sex around here?"
"Yes."
I laughed.
"I know it's a lot, but you're safe. Come on. Let's go get some of your soybeans before they're all gone."
"Oh please. No one is going to eat them."
She pulled me back to a stop. "Wager."
"Oh, you think so?"
"If I win... Hmm. Photo shoot of my daughters."
"Agreed. If I win, photo shoot of you."
She stilled. "What will you do with them?"
"I don't know what's allowed, so I presume almost nothing. I'll print one for my wall. Can I have it printed at a professional shop, or do I have to print it with my printer at home."
"We have a shop we use."
"Pack owned?"
"Pack member owned. Give one to Lara for her office at work. She doesn't use it very much, but she'll appreciate it. I'll cover your printing costs."
"The wager is this," she said. "The edamame will be at least half gone by the time we arrive, and it is possible the only way we get any is because our mates have saved some for us."
"Elisabeth isn't my mate."
"You know what I mean."
"It doesn't count if everyone took one because Lara ordered them to."
She laughed. "Agreed."
She tugged on my arm, and we turned right. A moment later, everyone came in view. Lara and Elisabeth were standing together, and they had one of the edamame bowls.
"It so does not count if those two ate them all!"
Michaela chuckled. She led me to a line of tables. I saw the other bowl, and there were two lonely soybeans left.
"I win," Michaela announced
"Not if the other bowl is full. There were two bowls, and that bowl still has two left."
Michaela laughed. "You're a stickler." She tugged, and we turned to Lara and Elisabeth, who were watching us.
As we approached, Lara said, "We rescued the bowl or there wouldn't be any left, but if you've already had enough in the kitchen, we'll let these go."
I peered into the bowl.
Michaela said sweetly, "I'll make arrangements to have you here next week."
