Fox Play (20 page)

"Don't rule out Ava. Hadley was probably trying to put you in your place more than anything else."

We got to our feet, somewhat unsteadily on the shifting boat, then returned to the main cockpit. There was an open seat next to Harper, so I sat down next to her and said, "Hello, I'm Michaela."

"Yes, we met," she said. "I had a very nice time kayaking yesterday. Will you be taking us again?"

"I hope so," I said. "It is one of my favorite activities. It's not fishing season yet, but I have my favorite fishing places, too."

I managed to avoid inserting my paws in my mouth with her, and we actually seemed to get along. We'd been talking for about fifteen minutes when she said, "I was worried when you were talking to Hadley."

"Were you listening?"

"No, just watching body language. It started out so well, but then I saw her turn pissy, and I knew you must be okay."

I laughed. "Does she know how popular she is?"

"Oh, she believes she is very popular."

"Her daughter seems-"

"Ava is a good girl," Harper said. "She's Sophia's best friend."

"Sophia seems remarkable."

"I know. It's all her doing. I wish I could take credit, but she raised herself after her father left us."

"I'm sorry," I said.

"Good riddance," she said.

"I didn't know wolves divorced."

"We were never married. Just, you know. Active. I think I always knew he wasn't a good choice, but he was a smooth talker. At least I got Sophia out of the deal."

"If Hadley takes Ava back to Madison, will Sophia still want to live at the compound?"

"Are you kidding? She loves the sciences, and she makes friends at the drop of the hat. Besides, there is no way Hadley will pass up an opportunity to leave Ava with the alpha. That is just too much of an opportunity for her."

I offered a confused look. "What does a love for the sciences have to do with it?"

"Oh, you didn't know? All the girls are here to apply to your new school."

"My new school?"

"Oh," she said. "I know it's still all very quiet, and you're not supposed to talk about it, but the alpha told us all about it."

"Oh, she did?" I asked. "She didn't tell me. Just to make sure I don't let out anything I am not supposed to, what has she told you?"

"That you're starting a new school that will focus on the natural sciences, especially biology, with a strong focus on conservation. I guess you'll partner with Francesca for any remaining graduation requirements you can't teach, English and that sort of thing. And she mentioned significant hands on experience."

"Of course," I said. "I can understand why she would tell you now, so that we could line up students soon, but it might be premature. I'm not sure if the council has approved yet." Man, I was pulling this out of thin air now.

"She did say not to talk to anyone about it. I guess we're getting ahead of ourselves, if the council hasn't approved it yet."

"Yes," I said. "There are kinks to work out." Like the fact she hasn't asked the new teacher if she was interested.

"Sophia and Ava are both so looking forward to it," Harper assured me. "And with your qualifications, I imagine the experience will be singular."

"Oh something will definitely be singular," I said. "Harper, it has been nice to talk to you. I think perhaps I should talk to the alpha and see what else she's told people, so I know what to expect."

"Of course. We can talk more later."

I looked around and saw Lara talking to Serena and Emanuel. I wandered in her direction and said, "Alpha, I hate to interrupt, but may I have a moment of your time?"

She glanced over to me and smiled. "Of course, little fox."

"Perhaps we can step forward," I said, gesturing to the front of the sailboat, then leading the way. Lara followed me, and I waited until we were as far forward as we could go before I turned on her.

"School?"

I hadn't actually worked myself up. Yet. Maybe Harper had misunderstood my involvement. I could wait to see what she said before I flayed her alive.

"I was going to tell you about it last night," she said. "But we got distracted."

"Tell me about it, or ask me about it?" I asked coldly.

"Share my idea and see how you felt about it," Lara said, suddenly wary, as she should have been.

"Was this before or after you finished lining up the students and set the first year's curriculum?"

"Before, of course. I thought you would want to meet the girls, get to know the parents, and then you could make a decision about whether you wanted to teach them."

"I am not qualified to teach them!"

"Of course you are," she said. "You're great with the kids. They love you. And you know your material."

"God, Lara! You keep acting as if I'm this super woman. That I'm under employed. I am in the best, highest paying job someone gets who has never been to high school, much less college!"

She stared at me. Now I was worked up.

"You know my history. I left home at fourteen, and did you think I went to school then? I was on the run for years. When would I have gone to high school? When would I have been in one place long enough to even learn what a high school education was? And college? Seriously?"

"Michaela-" she started to say.

"Damn it! Lara! You told me this was my decision. You promised me, more than once. But you hate my job, so you're going to swoop in and present me with a fait accompli?"

I started seeing red. I knew I'd been yelling, and now everyone knew, I had less education than anyone, to go along with being a tiny, weak fox. That was when I realized Lara's back was to the edge of the boat, and I was so angry with her.

"Do you know how I got my job? I saved a girl's life. I interrupted a rape, kicking the asses of three men trying to rape a fourteen-year-old girl. I tried to leave before the police showed up, but she was sobbing so badly that I stayed to hold her. And it turned out her father had connections, and he got me my job, the best job I could ever have. Ever, Lara!"

I was so angry. I pushed her. With everything I had.

I caught her completely by surprise. She started to fall backwards off the boat. She flayed, reached out to me, and grabbed me, trying to find her balance. But she was going over the edge, if I had to go with her. I pushed again, and together we tumbled into the water.

It was cold! I'd never been in Lake Superior, even in high summer, without a wetsuit.

Lara and I separated even before we hit the water. The boat bumped against my back, and I was pushed under the cold, cold water.

I kicked, scrambling for the surface, as the cold bit into my bones. It hurt! A cold that much hurts! It's not like stepping outside in cold weather, even in the dead of winter, this was far, far worse.

I found the surface, then shifted to fox, trying to get some fur around me, but I was tangled in my clothing, and I went under the surface again. The clothes were wet, and they tangled around me instead of sliding off. I couldn't squirm out of them, and I couldn't swim with them dragging me deeper.

I shifted again, back to human, and dragged myself towards the surface, my limbs already growing numb.

I was tired, tired already. I made it to the surface, but I was tired, and I started to sink again.

Then Lara was there, pulling me back to the surface, throwing her arm around me and kicking strongly.

"I've got you," she said. "Michaela, I've got you."

"No," I said weakly. "Just let me go."

"No! Mine!"

"No," I said weakly, but now too cold to resist, and she dragged my tiny, limp form. I didn't know where she thought we were going, anyway. It was so far to shore.

But then I banged against something hard, and there were hands pulling me out of the water, then strong arms picking me up and carrying me into the boat cabin. Hands removed my wet clothes, and then a large hot body was wrapped around me, and blankets around both of us.

They tried to pour coffee down me. I wasn't interested, I just wanted to sleep, I was so cold and tired.

Another warm body climbed inside the blankets with me, and there was a little fox cold cut sandwich: wolf, fox, wolf.

Someone was rubbing my hands. Someone else was rubbing my feet. And then I heard the Alpha's voice speaking firmly, "Drink this, Michaela! Now!"

I drank. It was tea, and I let them pour the entire cup inside of me.

I opened my eyes. Lara was in fresh, dry clothes, her short hair already drying, looking at me with concern. I recognized Elisabeth behind me, and it was Francesca in front of me.

"Who won, Elisabeth?"

"Um. One of the kids, I think."

"More tea?" Lara asked quietly.

"Get her something hot to eat," Elisabeth said. "Then more tea."

Lara disappeared, and I zoned out, not caring anymore. Elisabeth was trying to talk to me, but it didn't register.

I wondered if they'd kick me back out of the pack. I wouldn't blame them. I'd nearly killed the alpha, and I was just a stupid, uneducated fox, anyway.

Lara returned and tried shoving food at me. I turned away, but she grabbed me by the jaw and said firmly, "Open!" When I clamped my jaws together, she squeezed at the sides of my jaw, her hand so large compared to my small face, she was able to force me to open my mouth. She slipped a piece of chicken into my mouth and ordered, "Chew that and swallow. You do not want to see what happens if you spit it out."

I gagged it down, and when she reached for my jaw again, I told her, "I'll behave."

"Good," she said. "Open." I opened, and she gave me another piece of warm chicken. After the third piece, I said, "Please, enough."

"She's warming up," Elisabeth said. "But she's still cold."

I opened my eyes and found myself staring into Francesca's concerned expression. "I made a mess of things. Again." Francesca reached up and caressed my face, not saying anything.

I turned to Lara. "What are you going to do to me?"

"Feed you more hot food," she said. "And pour this tea into you. Open."

I let her pour the tea in. But once I swallowed I told her, "Please don't be evasive."

"I don't know what you're asking," she said.

Elisabeth answered for me. "She wants to know what you're going to do to discipline a pack member that pushed the alpha into a freezing cold lake during a justified moment of anger, almost getting herself killed in the process."

"I'm going to beat the crap out of her for scaring me to death," Lara said. She was smiling when she said it.

"You promised you would never hit me," I told her.

"Smart ass," Elisabeth said. "She's feeling better, Alpha."

I turned away from them, but there was nowhere to look where there wasn't a wolf face watching me. I closed my eyes, not wanting to see them.

"I'm fine," I said after a while. "Crisis averted. I'm sorry I ruined everyone's fun."

"It takes more than this to ruin everyone's fun," said Elisabeth. "Use your ears."

So I did. On our deck, I heard gentle conversation. And barely in the distance, the laughing of teenagers enjoying a beautiful day.

"We whisked you in here so fast, everyone just thinks we're warming you up and talking," Elisabeth said. "I think we're sailing around one of the islands right now. If you're ready, we should go up on deck. The sun will feel good."

Francesca slipped away from me, and I immediately missed her warmth. Then Elisabeth helped me sit up, wrapping the blanket around me. "I don't have any dry clothes." I looked at Lara. "Where did you get those?"

"My jacket," Elisabeth said. "And Harper had a change of clothes. Parents always seem to be prepared for the weirdest things. She has a change of Sophia's clothes, too, for you."

Elisabeth slipped out of the room, and Lara helped me get dressed in the borrowed clothes. I couldn't look at her.

"You never answered," I told her.

"I'm the one who needs to apologize," she said. "You were justified to be angry, and I should have let you push me in. I'm so sorry. I pulled you in after me."

"I went in willingly if it meant you were going in," I said. "I was so angry. Now I'm just deeply humiliated. Everyone knows how stupid I am."

"Jumping into Lake Superior in late April is definitely stupid. Damn, that was cold."

"I wasn't talking about that," I said. "And you know it."

"You're not stupid, Michaela. You are as smart as anyone I know."

"All right. Uneducated."

"You're not that, either. Your education has simply been unconventional. Michaela, is this why you've been resistant to everything else I've suggested."

"I wanted you to be proud of me. I didn't want to tell you."

"All right," she said. "Sometimes you're stupid."

"Thanks," I said. "I needed that."

"Do you like teaching the kids?" she asked.

"What does it matter, Lara?"

I turned away, still cold, and pulled the blanket around me. I stepped outside to find a place in the sun. Lara followed me. Everyone turned to face me when I stepped out on deck.

"I'm fine," I said. "I'm sorry for the excitement. I was a little worked up." I picked a sunny spot and sat down, closing my eyes. Then I felt Lara sitting down next to me.

"Are you still mad at me?" she asked.

"No. I feel dead."

"Oh honey." She pulled me to her, and I let her, but I didn't curl into her like I usually do. "Will you talk to me about it?"

"Not much to talk about. That's the whole point."

"How is it someone with nothing past an eighth grade education can fool everyone?"

"Fool them how? I don't pretend to have more education than I do."

"No, but you use phrases like fait accompli. You talk as if you are well-educated, and I know you didn't learn the things you do for your job by the eighth grade."

"I read a lot," I said. "And I even used to audit classes at Northland College in Ashland. For a while, I audited two a term, but there wasn't anything I wanted to take last fall, and then we were too busy together, I decided I was done, at least for now."

"Will you please let me hold you properly?"