Fox Afield (Madison Wolves) (10 page)

She bounced me on her shoulder.

I jabbed her in the sides with my fingers, and she almost dropped me. I shrieked and clutched at her, and then, the laughter fading behind us, she carried me like that the rest of the way to the cabin.

I woke early, well satisfied, with a large smile in memory of last night. Lara had been exceedingly dominant in bed, taking me several times before allowing me to have her. We had clung together and fallen asleep, murmuring at each other.

I stretched, and Lara's eyes opened.

"I promise I am safe," I told her. "I will make enough noise if I see or hear any unfamiliar wolves."

"No."

"You're still sleepy," I said. "And you need to shower while I'm gone so I can shower when I get back."

"No."

"I'll stay close to the dock."

"No."

"Lara, I have been taking care of myself for a very long time."

"Yes, by killing wolves."

I narrowed my eyes at her. "Do you have a problem with that?"

"No. But I would rather you not be forced to kill Glenn."

I searched her face.

"He's not within a hundred miles."

"Probably not," she said. "But if he finds out you go off on your own, you become a target."

"I don't think he's that stupid," I said.

"Yes, you do, and so do I. So does Brooke. So does Daniel."

"All right," I said. I sighed. "I guess we can sleep for another hour."

"No," she said. "We'll go together. It will be nice, just the two of us."

She kissed me briefly and we got up quietly, not waking Elisabeth downstairs.

It was a nice, gentle paddle around the lake.

* * * *

The hiking was a serious trip, and Brooke was right; I didn't feel coddled.
She and Simone both went with us.

All of us
owned proper gear, and when she had packed for our honeymoon, Lara had made sure mine was along. We were all properly dressed and had a hearty breakfast before climbing into the cars. There was a half hour drive to the trailhead, and then Brooke fitted each of us into our packs.

Mine didn't seem that heavy, but when I picked up one of the other packs, I realized none of them were all that heavy.

"No tents," she said. "Food only for forty-eight hours, water for less, as we'll find more on the way. We're bringing only one small stove for all of us, and just the most basic survival gear. The weather is expected to stay nice, although it will possibly rain later this evening. If the weather moves in too swiftly, we can turn around early."

We set out with Brooke and Simone keeping an eye on everyone, especially water intake. They tried to get me to drink more until I pointed out they all weighed sixty percent more than I did, and thus I didn't need as much of anything as they
each did.

It was a beautiful hike, but it was late afternoon before we arrived at the peak, most of us huffing and puffing in the thin air. We looked around, took pictures, posed for more pictures, and
thought about how beautiful life could be.

The hike down took a quarter of the time as it took going up. In the car, Lara presented me with one of the favors I owed her. "Foot rub."

I laughed, helped her out of her boots, and massaged her feet all the way back to the lodge.

* * * *

Those first few days set the pace for the rest of our trip. Lara and I kayaked every morning, sometimes alone, sometimes with company. We went hiking or trout fishing every other day and climbing in between. We did most of the fishing in the lake, but when I asked about fly fishing, Brooke and Simone took us to a nearby river the next day. None of the Madison wolves knew how to fly fish, so Brooke, Simone and I taught them. I called Vivian every evening, sometimes only for a few minutes. Emotionally I was fine. I was married to an amazing woman, I was on an amazing honeymoon, and I was having amazing sex. What more could a fox want?

Thursday after dinner, Brooke and Elisabeth stopped by the cabin I shared with Lara. "Alphas," Brooke said. "I'd like to discuss something with you."

We let her in and took seats.

"My father would like to join us for the weekend. He would bring Ysabella, Casey and Cory."

I whispered into Lara's ear, "I would like that." She nodded.

"Friendship between the packs would be enhanced," Lara said. It was a neutral response.

Brooke flashed the start of a smile. "A cautious answer. You are waiting for the rest of what I need to say."

Lara nodded.

"Father travels with a contingent," Brooke said.

"How large a contingent?" Lara asked.

"Typically no fewer than four enforcers," Brooke said. "But the security detail for Ysabella and the children is much larger."

"How large?" Elisabeth asked.

"Sixteen."

"In addition to Daniel's four?"

"No, it would be sixteen total. In addition to everyone already here and the wolves we have watching the approaches to the area."

"You have wolves in the area we don't know about?" Elisabeth asked with tight lips.

"None closer than ten miles," Brooke said. "None are enforcers. Most are elderly. None are a threat."

"We should have known," Elisabeth said.

"Enforcer," I said. "We are deep in the Boulder pack territory. If they intended us harm, there is little we could do about it. They have been seeing to our safety. You must have anticipated that."

Elisabeth looked at me, annoyed. Security was her responsibility, not mine.

"If I am wrong," I said. "Say so."

Elisabeth looked at Lara, who didn't say anything. "You are right, Alpha," she said to me. "My apologies, Brooke."

"No offense was taken," Brooke said. She turned back to Lara. "Father understands descending upon you in such a fashion might be somewhat intimidating, and he will not be offended if you decline. Also, this is your honeymoon, and perhaps privacy is valuable."

"Why such a large contingent?" I asked. "We are in an isolated location. Surely we are safe here."

Brooke frowned. "You know about my mother."

"Yes. Ysabella's brother killed her."

"My mother had four enforcers with her that day. They were also killed. It wasn't only Ysabella's brother, but he was the ringleader. Father will not allow something like that to occur again. Also, remember that people must sleep. Ysabella is always in the company of four enforcers. Each of the children has two each. Father will keep two with him. That is ten. The remaining six allow for shift changes and overall security not tied to a specific individual."

She addressed Lara. "We were shocked you were willing to travel with such a small contingent."

"We couldn't be seen as invading," Lara said. "We couldn't possibly bring enough wolves to counter any threat you might represent, and you insured our safety. I decided to trust you."

"I need to tell father tonight whether he is welcome," Brooke said. "If there aren't further questions, I can leave you to discuss it."

I leaned into Lara's ear. "I vote yes," I told her. It wasn't a democracy, but I thought she could do with my judgment.

"Elisabeth," Lara said. "I am sorry. You're going to hate this. Brooke, we would love for the rest of your family to join us for the weekend.
I presume Glenn will not be coming."

"No," Brooke said. "My brother will be handling important duties of his own, I am sure." She turned to Elisabeth. "I imagine this complicates your situation."

"The alpha is right," Elisabeth said. "If you meant trouble for us, there is nothing we could do about it."

"You could take me hostage," Brooke said.

"Can we talk about how we're going to work together rather than how we wouldn't?" I suggested.

Brooke smiled. "My family will take residence in the cabins on the other side of the lodge. The line of demarcation will be the lodge and the boathouse, which will be the demilitarized zone."

I chuckled at the term.

"I will
remain in my current cabin, and none of the other wolves will come closer to your cabins than the boathouse. It is assumed you will not travel past the boathouse and lodge except under invitation. If you wish to run, stay to the east, unless you are with me."

"I am confused," I said. "If we theoretically are expressing mutual trust, why are we acting like we don't trust each other?"

"Because," Elisabeth said. "I don't want to worry every time a wolf comes along that it's a wolf we can trust. The assumption is everyone coming with Daniel is trustworthy, but they are all going to feel like foreign wolves, and we would need to be on high alert, checking every wolf out. This way, we only need to be on medium-high alert."

"Exactly," said Brooke.
"There may be visiting back and forth by invitation, but at other times, a little separation will reduce overall anxiety."

We discussed a few other items, and then Brooke said, "If everything seems fine, I'll call father."

"Do that," Lara said. "Perhaps a run would be good once you're done."

"I'll stop back once I'm done talking to father and my enforcers."

* * * *

It was early
afternoon on Friday that four large SUVs pulled into the resort. We had spent the morning climbing, but Lara, Serena and I were out in the kayaks. I was fishing but hadn't caught anything yet. Serena took a radio call from Elisabeth, then told us, "Alphas, the Boulder Alpha will be arriving shortly."

I reeled in my line and grabbed my paddle. "Shall we, Lara?"

We paddled cleanly back to the boat landing. The other three enforcers were waiting for us. We barely stepped out of the water when my kayak was taken from me and carried to the rack. Lara's and Serena's were handled equally efficiently. Gia put the fishing gear away, looking disappointed there wasn't a stringer of fish.

"We normally count on you to feed us, Alpha Fox," she told me with a snicker.

"Bite me, Enforcer," I told her, laughing.

"She better not," said Lara.

The enforcers set up their standard box coverage around Lara and me, and we walked up to the lodge. I heard the cars approaching. "Four cars, probably SUVs, just pulling in," I reported.

We stepped around the lodge and found Brooke facing the cars as they parked. Wolves piled out and set up a defensive perimeter. Two stepped forward to address Brooke. I listened in
as she told them to search the lodge and the unavailable cabins, but declared our side to be off limits.

The wolves noticed us approaching, and suddenly everyone shifted, things become more tense. Karen and Gia stepped forward
so they were even with Lara and me rather than behind us. The opposing enforcers took an equally defensive posture, and suddenly we were facing eight enforcers.

I glanced at Lara and she nodded to me.

"I am stepping through, Elisabeth," I said. I stepped right past her and walked directly to Brooke.

Brooke smiled. "The most harmless-looking one steps forth in an act of diplomacy?"

I returned her smile. "Your fathers guards seem rather twitchy."

"It was a long ride. They need a run."

"Shall we retreat?"

"No.
" She turned to the closest enforcers. "I have the situation here under control. You may search the lodge and cabins."

"Of course." The male turned around, gestured to three other enforcers, and the four of them moved into the lodge. The other enforcers adjusted positions to fill the resulting gap.

"Is it always like this?"

"Yes," Brooke replied.

"No one was this twitchy towards us the day we arrived."

"We had already secured the area," Brooke explained. "Surely you're used to this."

"Not really," I said. "You've already secured the area, haven't you?"

"Yes. And they'll do it again."

I cocked my head, listening. I heard indistinct noises from inside the lodge; the walls were thick, only allowing louder noises to penetrate. Then the four wolves searching the lodge exited the front and began sweeping through the cabins, moving away from us. They moved through all the cabins then the boathouse.

Two minutes later, the enforcers returned, taking a wide path around the Madison wolves.

"The area is secure," one of the wolves reported to Brooke.

"Very good," Brooke said. She nodded to someone, and two enforcers jumped to the cars, opening doors to allow Daniel to exit, then Ysabella and the two kids.

"Michaela," Lara said quietly. I nodded to Brooke and retreated to Lara's side.

Brooke's family stepped up next to her. She greeted her father with a kiss on the cheek, a polite hug of Ysabella, shook Cory's hand, then lifted Casey in her arms. Casey hugged and kissed her, then as a family they all turned to us.

Lara stepped forward with me on her heels. Hands were shaken, greetings were exchanged, and Daniel asked how we had enjoyed our time so far.

"Brooke has been an outstanding host," Lara declared. "The fox grew up in mountains, but even she has been awed by the sights."