Fox Play (38 page)

Greg stepped forward, slipping a check out of his pocket. "We didn't remotely spend your retainer. You made this easy." Lara glanced at the check and nodded while she folded it and slipped it into a pocket. The two clasped hands. Then Greg pulled his phone out of his pocket, played with it for a moment, then handed it to Lara. She glanced at it, pressed the screen once, and held it to her ear.

"Jared," she said after a moment. "This is Lara Burns, alpha of the Madison wolf pack. I wish to inform you that your brother and father and one enforcer named Garth have died during challenges."

"I see," he said. "How is the little fox?"

"Bloody but not blooded," Lara said, grinning at me. "She killed the enforcer and your brother; they both challenged her."

I heard him whistle.

"She made fools of both of them, Jared. Do you have a problem with that?"

"No," he said. "I have nothing but respect for your little fox. What now?"

"Chicago is in need of an alpha."

"I'm sure one of the other enforcers will stop by to claim it," he said.

"I doubt it. I told them they had until this time tomorrow to be at least five hundred miles from either Madison or Chicago. They didn't look like they intended to challenge that. If they do, we will stop by and eliminate the threat to our pack. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes, alpha," he said. "So do you intend to hold Chicago or perhaps appoint an alpha?"

"I have no intention of ruling Chicago either personally or by proxy," Lara replied. "But I will be ruthless if Chicago is ever again ruled by an enemy of Madison."

"Perhaps you would accept a hand of friendship from me, then," he said.

"I would support your bid for alpha of Chicago," she replied. "Support in word only, you understand."

"I will consider your words and discuss the issue with the other members of the pack. Speaking of other members, do you know anything about recent departures of a large number of wolves from Chicago?"

"I heard something about that. I may even have one or two in Madison. But I have not had a large influx of new members. If you had messages for them, I could see about getting word to them. I don't know how effective I will be."

"If you run into any, ask them to call me. That's all I ask."

"Would you care for me to pass on what they could expect to tithe, if they were to return to the fold?"

"What do the Madison wolves tithe?" he asked."

"Ten percent."

"Well then, if I should ascend to become the alpha of the pack, I will ask for five percent for the next five years and ten percent thereafter."

"Very wise," Lara said.

"Please say Hi to the little fox, and thank her for me. I hated my brother, and Garth was just as bad."

"I'll pass that on," Lara said. "Good luck, Jared."

"I'll need it."

"I believe," said Lara with a raised voice after hanging up her phone. "That the Madison wolves may consider themselves at peace again."

The entire compound shook with the sound of howling wolves.

"Everyone here plays a role in the safety of this pack!" Lara yelled, then let them howl. "I am proud of all of you!"

She looked towards Greg. "The former enforcers?"

Greg held his finger to his ear, receiving a report. "Well on their way to Chicago," he said. "My teams will monitor them until they have cleared both territories, and we will keep permanent tracers on them."

"Francesca!" Lara yelled. From the pack of furry wolves, Francesca, also furry, stepped forth. "Francesca please organize a large party for Saturday. We have much cause to celebrate." Then Lara looked around for Karen. "Is it still your wish to join the Madison pack?"

"It is, Alpha."

"Even more reason to celebrate. I guess there won't be as much secrecy as there was for the last fresh recruit."

The wolves chuffed their laughter.

"It's late," she said. "Elisabeth, will you see to it the trash is burned? I am taking my little fox and cleaning her up. Please ignore any noises she makes later."

"Lara!" I said in protest, but she pulled me to her and, arm-in-arm, we stepped into our house.

Proposals

Lara was up to something. I could tell. She was taking phone calls, then pointedly making sure I was well out of listening range before talking. She was disappearing into conferences. And she went for two overnight trips without me, refusing to tell me where she was going.

Every effort to unearth what she was up to got me nowhere, but that didn't stop me from pestering her.

One afternoon in our living room, she finally snapped. "I am not going to tell you until I am ready. If you do not want another full pack tongue bath, you will stop asking."

"You wouldn't."

She raised an eyebrow.

"That's abuse of power!"

"I will drag you out into the courtyard right now, pin you to the ground, and hold you there the entire time it takes each and every one of them to shift." She stared me down.

"Yes, Alpha," I said quietly. "I am sorry."

"That's better," she said gently. "Would you like to go to Bayfield this weekend?"

I laughed in joy. "Yes, I would."

* * * *

We flew up Thursday afternoon: Lara me, Scarlett and Angel in one airplane, June, Elisabeth and Eric in the other plane. June disappeared to spend the night with Benny; the rest of us walked to my house.

I asked Lara to keep the noise down. She made me scream her name over and over. She had been doing that several times a week for the last several weeks since defeating the Chicago wolves. Our sex life had never been better.

Friday morning Lara kicked me out of bed early. I reached for her, but she told me, "You don't want to start something."

"Maybe I do."

"Listen."

I lay there in bed, waiting for her. Then she offered a pointed look, and I opened my ears. I sat up straight. "How many people are in my yard?"

"Oh, about fifty," she said.

"Fifty? They drove all night?"

"No." She was grinning. "You were too distracted to notice, but most of them heard you screaming my name last night. But now they want to see what I've been up to. Maybe you do too."

I stared at her.

"Or you can stay in bed. It's up to you. We leave in thirty minutes."

"Leave?"

"To show whoever is ready to go what I've been up to."

Then she turned about face and walked out of my bedroom.

"Lara!" I listened to her giggle as she headed downstairs. She was giggling?

I showered quickly, got dressed, and made it downstairs with ten minutes to spare. Angel shoved food and hot tea at me, grinning at me. "Have a good night last night?"

"I did, thank you. I believe Scarlett did as well."

"Word to the wise," Elisabeth said. "Don't compete with the alpha, Angel."

My yard was full of people, most of them familiar faces. Lara grabbed my arm and we worked the crowd. No one seemed to know what was going on, only that Lara had summoned them. She refused to answer any questions.

Shortly after, we piled into the available cars. Lara drove the lead car. "Where are we going?"

"One more question and I'm pushing you out," she said. "I might come to a full stop first."

I decided to take her seriously and shut my mouth.

Lara drove us west out of town about ten minutes, then we pulled onto a dirt track and eventually unto a rutted, barely navigable drive. We came to a stop, and Lara turned off the car.

I stared at a large, professionally produced sign on two posts next to the road. "Northern Wolf Run" it said. I looked at Lara. She didn't say a word, but simply climbed out of the car.

I followed her. "Lara?" I said. She grinned and held out her hand. I crossed in front of the car and took it. She led me to a spot in front of the sign. Everyone else joined us, clustering around.

"I've gotten the impression everyone likes the area," she said. "But Michaela's house is a little small. Furthermore, we needed a field location for some of our classes. So I bought some land."

"How much land, Alpha?" Elisabeth asked.

"So far, just shy of three thousand acres. I have offers right now on another eight hundred, and I'm starting to negotiate with points north and east, hoping to get us closer to Bayfield. Now, if you will all follow me..."

"Lara?" I asked.

She took my hand. "If you will all follow me, I'll show you where the initial building site will be."

"You bought this for me?" I asked.

"Don't be silly," she said. "I bought it for pack. Well, I guess for you. You're pack now, after all."

I followed along as Lara showed me where the new science center would be, next to a small pond and a large, open field. "We'll build guest cottages here, and over here will be the main residence. We're doing it lodge style. With three wings. Designs are not finalized, but I expect one wing for the students, a wing for instructors, and a wing for the alpha, when she is in residence."

She waved around. "Anyone else who wishes may build a home here subject to good design. We'll work out details later."

"Alpha?"

"We have enough land for a small landing strip a half mile in that direction." She pointed. "It will be long enough for our current aircraft; anything bigger will need to use the airfield on Madeline Island or in Ashland."

"Lara?"

She grinned at me.

"I realize that this location is not as optimal as if we could be right on the lake, but I decided being a little more isolated was best. I couldn't get remotely as much land in town. I almost bought the resort on Madeline Island, but we aren't isolated enough to be able to run. We can't run here like we can at the Madison compound, but with time, we will acquire more land. Maybe eventually we'll have land stretching from here all the way to a proper view of the lake."

"Lara?"

She turned to me. "Ms. Redfur, do you feel a fifteen minute drive to hold your water activities classes, or simply to take us all kayaking, is too far?"

I started laughing. "No, Alpha, I do not."

"All right then!" she said. "Welcome everyone to Northern Wolf Run."

Everyone began talking at once with Lara and me standing together, facing each other. I looked up into her eyes. She was smiling broadly.

"Yes, little wolf," she said quietly. "I bought this for you. Do you believe now I will keep you safe forever?"

"Oh Lara!" I said, throwing myself into her arms.

* * * *

Lara sent Francesca into town for picnic supplies, sending several of the kids to help. Then she took out a map and showed me what she'd purchased so far. It was a hodgepodge of properties, but she expected to fill in the gaps over time.

We had our picnic. Lara disappeared for a few minutes, and I knew she was up to something else. Several minutes later I found myself surrounded by teenage wolves, all of them bigger and stronger than me. Angel knelt down where I was sitting and took my food and soda can away from me, handing them to Chloe. "I'm not done with that," I said.

"Grab her," Angel said, and I found myself hoisted in the air by six wolves.

"Put me down!" I shrieked.

"Don't struggle," Scarlett said. "We're on the alpha's orders."

I relaxed, and they bore me easily to the cars. Lara was waiting with Elisabeth. She didn't say anything but simply opened the side door of one of the SUVs. The kids carried me inside, laughing. Lara and Elisabeth took the front seats. Several of the kids climbed in with me. Chloe handed me my soda, grinning. Then we had a small convoy heading back to Bayfield.

"Was that really necessary?" I asked.

The kids giggled. "It was fun," Sophia said from behind me. "You know we wouldn't hurt you."

"I thought you were going to introduce me head first into a smelly pond," I replied.

We drove back to town, everyone refusing to answer any questions. Benny was waiting for us, and they said, "We're going kayaking."

I laughed. "You could have just asked."

"Like Sophia said," Lara repeated from the front seat. "This was more fun."

We had a lovely time out on the water.

* * * *

Most of the wolves camped out on our new lands, but Lara and I along with our closest friends stayed at the house.

"I can't believe you did all this for me."

"We can't be here all the time," she said. "Probably only about half."

"Half?"

She grinned "Maybe a little more. But not all the time. You can stay here if you like, but I need to spend at least some time in Madison. We're not moving the pack. We're just offering the pack a second home."

"Not everyone could work up here. They need to be close to Madison."

"Yes."

I rose and stepped into her embrace. She lifted my chin and kissed me deeply. "Were you hoping to thank me?"

I smiled. "Actually, Lara, I wanted to ask you about something. It's important."

"If it's going to ruin the mood, can it wait?" her hands began exploring my body, and I squirmed.

"I don't think it will ruin the mood." I paused, still not sure how to ask this. "Lara, I wanted to talk to you about the screaming during sex."

She stilled and began to withdraw, but I clutched at her.

"I haven't been complaining," I said.

"No, but I can tell you don't like it."

"I didn't understand. Lara, I've noticed. The pack seems more relaxed when you've made me scream."

"You've noticed that, have you?"

"And the comments that are directed towards me could all be rephrased to a single comment?"

"What comment is that?"

"Isn't it amazing how virile our alpha is?"

She began to grin.

"This is important to the pack, isn't it?"

"Yes, little fox."

"And there's something else. You want me to be proud of you. Proud of how you make me feel. Proud of how you, well, how much I belong to you, and how right that feels. You want me to be happy shouting it to the world."

"Yes."

"And the pack needs to know that, too. The pack needs to know that we're good, that our relationship is healthy, that they can know the alpha is in a strong relationship with her mate."