Fox Fate (6 page)

"There's risk," she said. "I don't want to bring the kids. Michaela is right about that. Lara, the big question is this: do you really want to start getting involved in the politics at this level?"

Lara huffed. "No, but I think I have to. I'd rather start now on our terms than wait until we're forced to in another year or two."

"Then this is the way to start," Elisabeth said. "Serena, Karen, Portia. What are your concerns?"

"Four enforcers aren't sufficient," Portia said immediately. "I'm not sure I'd want to step into a vampire lair at all, but certainly not with only four enforcers."

"The enforcers aren't to protect us from Carissa," Lara said.

"They're protection from unruly guests," Elisabeth said, "and we'd largely be an honor guard."

"And more politics," Lara said. "Especially as two of them are on the council."

"I'm still not satisfied," Portia said. "We need four on Michaela and two more on Lara. Even if the two of you agreed to remain side-by-side the entire evening, you know something will happen to separate you. If you're playing politics, that means accepting offers to dance."

"I agree with Portia," Karen said. "Alpha, you were intending the four of us to shadow the fox, weren't you? Who is going to shadow you?"

I could tell Lara didn't appreciate the implication she required protection.

I lifted a finger. "We're talking like we've decided we're going," I said. "Does anyone want to argue for more than six enforcers?"

They all looked back and forth. "No," Elisabeth said.

I pulled my phone from my pocket. "Let's see what she says," I suggested. I waited for Lara to nod. "Are we agreed we're not bringing the pups, but that we want to make an alternate suggestion for Carissa to meet them?"

"Yes," Lara said. "If we're playing politics, let's do it right."

She was surprising me, but I simply nodded. I found the number and called it. After two rings, a woman answered, and I recognized 'Jessie's' voice.

"This is Michaela Burns," I said. "Is she available?"

"Ah, Ms. Burns," said Jessie. "Let me check. I promise not to cut you off this time, but if I do, can she call you back at the same number as last time?"

"Yes," I said. She put me on hold.

Lara had heard the entire exchange. "This time?" She quoted back. "The same number as last time?"

Oops.

"I had a question for Deirdre," I said quickly. "Didn't I tell you?"

"No," Lara said frostily. "What question?"

"The same question I asked Elisabeth," I said. "Am I the last living fox? Deirdre told me she thought there were others."

"Oh honey," Lara said. She put her arm around me and pulled me against her.

"I didn't want to tell you for the same reason I didn't think I should show you this invitation."

"It's all right," Lara said. "I'm sure there are other foxes."

"It's only a matter of time, Lara," I said. "When the world was less populated, there were more places for us to hide, but that's gotten harder and harder over the last few decades." I looked away.

Then there were clicks on the phone, and Carissa said, "Michaela! How good to hear from you."

"Hello, Carissa," I said. "We received your invitation, and as you can imagine, it has caused quite a stir. I'm sitting with Lara and our security detail discussing it. Do you have a few minutes?"

"For you, Michaela, of course," she said. "I can imagine the debate."

"Very little debate, actually," I said. "Do you mind if I put you on speaker?"

"That would be lovely."

I pushed the proper buttons and set the phone on the table. "Carissa, with me are the wolves you already met: Lara, Elisabeth, Serena and Karen. Also with us is Portia. She is a key component of my personal detail. We're in Elisabeth's dining room and otherwise have complete privacy."

"Well, I can imagine the conversation," Carissa said. "You are wondering how large an army you may bring." She laughed lightly, and the sound warmed me, still, even without the blood thrall. I shook myself to dispel the effect.

"We trust you," Lara said, "But we are concerned some of your guests may not be as reliable."

"Of course," Carissa said. "Tell me: are you bringing your little darlings?"

"Actually," I explained, "We thought perhaps you would care to meet them in a less hectic setting. We haven't figured out when exactly that that might be."

She paused just a moment. "That would be lovely," she declared. "And they are a little young to appreciate New Orleans. Perhaps we can discuss possibilities when you're here. Alpha, I presume you do not wish to bring an entire army, but you should bring as many as are required to feel safe. And perhaps one or two of your council members would like to accompany you."

"You anticipate us well," Lara said.

"I do this every few years, and it is always very well-attended. A few more will hardly stress my hospitality. If it were just to be the six of you, I could host you here in my house, but if you bring more, I have a lovely piece of property I can loan to you. I will send you those details, and I'll also include a list of other choices if you decide to make your own arrangements."

"This is very generous, Carissa," Lara said. "This is a big step for us, and we need to talk to our full council about it. We haven't done that yet."

"Well then," she said, "I will consider this a tentative acceptance but won't tell Deirdre until I hear further. I know she would love to see all of you. I believe she will have some interesting things to discuss with you, Michaela."

"Oh?"

Carissa laughed again. "I will say nothing further. Consider that conversation extra incentive when meeting with your pack council."

I glanced around the table. "Carissa, that's all we had for now, but I suspect Elisabeth will want to coordinate with you as it gets closer."

"I look forward to it. Now, I have one minor request."

Lara stiffened, "Yes?"

"This is a costume event, of course, and I prefer frightening costumes in keeping with the tradition." She paused. "There are prizes for the best costumes."

"I don't know if anything we can manage will be prize-worthy," I replied. "But we'll seek to avoid disappointment."

"I will be delighted to have you, regardless," Carissa said. "Was there anything else?"

"Not tonight," Lara replied. "Thank you, Carissa."

We hung up, then the six of us looked around the table. "Well," Elisabeth said. "Now what?"

Lara glanced at her own phone, checking the time. "A little late," she said. "We'll need to call a council meeting."

* * * *

The council meeting consumed hours on Saturday. I stayed out of the debate, and Serena was quiet as well. Camps divided fairly evenly between those who wished the pack to remain isolated and those who wished a more aggressive approach, with several on the fence. Lara let the debate progress, mediating only when people grew dogmatic or repetitive.

When we weren't getting anywhere, I spoke up. "May I ask some questions?"

Several of the council members smiled. Over the years, my questions tended to steer debate towards the conclusions I wanted, but this time I really didn't know the answers.

"Is there a business advantage?"

"Violet, do you want to address that?" Lara asked.

"There is," she said, "but it is no different than any other connections we might make. Of course, we're talking about one of the top vampire queens on the continent. I imagine the atmosphere will be somewhat rarified." She paused a moment. "But the risk is high. I personally am not considering business opportunities in deciding whether I feel we should attend, but if we do attend, then I wouldn't mind making contacts."

"So yes, but not enough to drive the conversation?"

"Yes, that's a good summary." She looked around. "Does anyone wish to offer another perspective?"

The other business people on the council shook their heads, and Ron Berg said, "Violet states it well."

"Thank you. I have another simple question. Why do we care about the politics of the other packs?"

"We don't," James Bent said after a nod from Lara. "Not their internal politics. But from time to time, a group of packs will loosely consolidate and try to exert influence over other packs. To some extent, we would want to be involved before that happens so we can make sure we don't get caught in a crossfire."

"We are a moderate sized pack," Lenora James continued. "There are two ways for a wolf pack to remain safe within its own territory. They can be too inconsequential to notice, or they can be strong. We are strong enough to deal with our immediate neighbors, due in no small thanks to you, Michaela, but we would not be able to withstand aggression from one of the major packs or a from a consortium of packs."

"That happens?"

"Territory is territory," she stated. "And greed is greed. I believe you are familiar with the baser instincts that drive many wolves."

I looked around the table. "Those who don't want us to go, is that because you don't want the attention?"

That turned into a fifteen-minute discussion confirming, more or less, my guess. Finally I said, "Well then. I have two words. Too. Late."

"Excuse me?" asked Albert Stein.

"If you didn't want to be noticed, you perhaps shouldn't have a female alpha. You shouldn't have invited a werefox into your pack," I said. "You really shouldn't have invited me, given who I am. You definitely shouldn't have made me an alpha. We shouldn't have let word get around what happened to the Chicago pack."

"And perhaps we should have worked harder to keep you out of Iowa," Vivian added.

I nodded. "Just having a female alpha is going to garner attention. If you don't want to be noticed, then you need to stick to safe, traditional choices. That doesn't seem to be the nature of this pack. So, I say again. Too. Late. Everyone in North America knows who we are. They know who I am." I shrugged. "I can only guess what they think." I looked around. "I don't know the politics. But I understand about being visible, and I understand about being hidden. This pack is not hidden."

I couldn't tell if Lara was upset I said all that, and I couldn't believe it wasn't obvious to everyone else. Maybe it was, but no one wanted to say it. Maybe they were afraid of offending Lara. Maybe they were afraid of offending me. But if they thought they could remain invisible, they were deluding themselves.

My words spawned a fresh debate, trying to decide if I was right. A few of the staunchest isolationists wondered whether there were steps to take to negate the effects of the things I'd said. Violet muttered something about stuffing genies back into bottles at about the same time James Bent just said, "Barn doors".

I decided not to take that metaphor too far. I was not a horse that had escaped.

It was Dominick who said, "Our co-alpha is correct. For better or for worse, we have made non-traditional choices, and some of those have become exceedingly visible."

"I want to remind everyone," said Ron, "that we should not shoot the messenger on this. Michaela did not pursue a position in the pack; it was thrust upon her. I also want to remind everyone that we have been exceedingly well-served by both our alphas."

He received assent from a few corners of the table, although I knew I still had detractors on the council. I didn't have a problem with that. Said simply: yes-men don't keep you from doing something stupid.

"Carissa told me that everyone in North America knew about what happened in Iowa," I added. "And Johnny Mack knew about Chicago. So did Portia; she asked about it during her interviews."

"For a fox, you're awfully direct," Lara said.

"Wolves don't respect subtle," I said.

"And so," inserted Dominick, pulling the attention back to himself. "We have to play the hand we dealt ourselves. I move we send a delegation to attend Carissa's party."

There were about six calls of "second", and then immediately several calls to "call the vote". They were tired of the discussion. The vote was ten to three with two abstaining.

"Motion carried," Lara declared. "Michaela and I will be going with six enforcers, including Elisabeth and Serena. Carissa also extended the invitation for up to two more members of the council with their mates."

"Who are the other four?" Ron Berg asked.

Elisabeth answered that. "Karen and Portia for sure. I haven't decided on the last two yet, but I'm leaning towards Angel and Eric."

Ron frowned. "One male."

"Emanuel is needed here," Elisabeth explained. "And Rory lacks subtlety."

"Angel Greene is very young," Violet pointed out.

"She is, but she has been taking lessons in discretion from our alpha," Elisabeth replied.

"The same alpha that appears to be at the center of why we're dragged into these politics at all?" Albert Stein asked archly.

"I will take who I believe is best," Elisabeth said firmly.

"That's not why I asked," Ron said. "Of course you will. I was only thinking of gender balance. Do we want to send an entire all-female delegation? Or should we send two of our male council members? The demographics of the pack leadership have been shifting over the last several years, but we are not yet entirely an all-female council." He said the last with a wry tone.

Ron looked around, his eyes settling on James Bent. "Jim?"

"Hanna would enjoy it," he said. I smiled. I had liked Hanna.

"Dominick?" Ron asked.

"I think perhaps someone a little more spry," Dominick replied. "Brady?"

"Violet is a better choice," Brady said immediately. "She has her fingers in more of our pies." He looked at Violet. "I will go if you don't wish to, but if we're sending someone to represent our business interests, and it's not Ron, you're our best choice. Gender balance be damned." He looked around. "This pack accepted a female alpha many years ago, and I for one do not regret that choice. Screw the balance." Then he looked at me. "Nor do I regret inviting a female fox as our co-alpha."

I nodded my appreciation to him.

He spawned another debate, but in the end, the council agreed to send James and Violet.