Wolf Ways (The Madison Wolves Book 9) (8 page)

“I want us to be friends, Zoe,” she said.

“It’s going to take me a little more time,” I admitted. “But this class is a good start. Do you have time to take me for a little walk?”

“Of course. Grab your packet and we can go.”

* * * *

Outside, she asked, “Where did you want to go?”

“Nowhere in particular. Just a little walk before class. Do you mind?”

“Not at all. Why don’t I show you the pool? Have you seen it?”

“No.”

“Michaela is already planning another pool,” she said, “one that is better for learning advanced diving. Come on.” We took a left turn and traced my route backwards towards Elisabeth’s. The game had broken up, and the teenagers were gone. I commented on that.

“I didn’t see, but either they’re getting ready for the scuba class, or they went for a run.”

We didn’t talk much. I was feeling very subdued, and Karen didn’t seem to be one to babble. But we arrived at the gym, and she held the door for me.

As soon as we were inside, I heard some sort of activity. As we moved further into the facility, I could tell someone was lifting weights. The clank of the steel was distinctive.

“Someone is here.”

“The gym gets used heavily,” Karen replied. She led me to the main exercise area. I stopped and stared.

Eric and Rory were there. Neither was wearing a shirt. Eric was on the bench press, and Rory was spotting him.

I couldn’t believe how much weight was on the bar.

“Holy shit!” I said. “Oh my god, if I weren’t as gay as I am, I think I’d be swooning right now.”

Karen laughed. “They’re pretty magnificent, aren’t they?”

Eric’s chest was bulging as he pressed the weight up. It didn’t look like he needed a spotter, but Rory was watching intently, and I was sure if Eric struggled, Rory would be right there to handle it.

“How much weight is that?”

“Not much,” Karen said. I glanced over, and she was smirking. “Looks like six-hundred-something.”

“Not much?” I squeaked. “Holy shit!”

She laughed again.

“How much can you do?”

“I don’t train for maximum weight. I train for endurance.” She nodded towards Eric. “That’s close to my max, but only about half of his.”

He kept lifting, up, down, up, down, and I stared. I couldn’t take my eyes off of him.

“You better hope Elisabeth doesn’t catch you staring.”

“I am just appreciating an unbelievable athlete,” I countered.

Eric kept lifting, but he got slower, and I saw Rory start to actively help. Eric did another half dozen repetitions before Rory helped him replace the bar on the stand.

“Wow,” I said.

Eric sat up, grabbing a towel to mop himself. That was when they both saw us watching. He grinned. “Hey, Zoe. Hello, Karen. Did you come to work out? We could spot you.”

“Just a tour,” Karen said. “Zoe was appreciating your form, Eric.”

“My form, is it?” he asked. He rotated sideways, and then he intentionally flexed his arm, and my eyes bugged out. The three wolves laughed at my response.

“Are you sure you’re gay?” Rory asked with a lilt in his voice. “Eric likes human girls.”

Rory was teasing me. Eric had told me human girls intimidated him.

“I’m sure,” I said. “But just… Holy shit!”

The three of them laughed again.

“Eric’s got the upper body,” Karen said. “Rory’s got a great ass though.”

“Oh, you like my ass, Karen?” Rory asked. He turned around. He was dressed in shorts, a weight belt, and tennis shoes, but he waved his ass at us.

“Come on, flex those legs and buns,” Karen said. “For me.”

So he did, and I could see every muscle in the back of his legs. I stared.

“Shit.”

Eric laughed. “I got a ‘holy shit’, but you only got a ‘shit’. I win.”

“Only because she can’t see my tight ass inside these shorts.” Rory turned around. “I could take ‘em off if you want a better look, Zoe.”

“No thanks,” I replied. “I’m not sure my tiny little human heart could handle it.”

The three roared with laughter, which made me feel good.

“You see, Eric? She was able to look at your muscles without having a heart attack, but she thinks my ass will push her over the edge.”

“You guys are such goofs.”

“If you ever want to use the gym, and Elisabeth is too busy, you can always join us,” Eric said.

“I’ll keep that in mind,” I replied, “but I don’t think I could lift the bar.”

“We’d spot you,” Rory said. He grinned.

“All right,” Karen said. “I’m going to show her the rest, then we have class.” She tugged my arm, turning me away.

After that, she showed me the locker room. As cavalier as they were about nudity, I was a little surprised they had male and female locker rooms. I commented on that.

“I never thought about that,” she said. “This was here long before I was a member of the pack, but I can hazard a guess, or a few guesses. I’m sure there are some members of the pack who aren’t quite so casual and prefer private locker rooms. I know Michaela prefers it that way, but this facility predates her as well. And also, the building would have been inspected by a human building inspector. It would have been hard to explain why there was only one locker room.”

“That makes sense.”

Then she led the way to the pool. It was a nice pool, and I was very impressed.

“Tomorrow morning we’ll hold classes in the morning and for an hour after lunch, then we’ll come here. You can change into your suit in the locker room, take a quick shower, and then we meet here. If you bought a wetsuit, we’ll help you get it on.”

“I didn’t. Do I need one?”

“You shouldn’t. The pool is warm, but if you get cold, we can take a break.”

“I suppose none of your other students are going to get cold.”

She chuckled. “Probably not, but you will be smart instead of prideful. If you get cold, you will tell me.”

“Of course, Karen.”

“You’ll probably want to wear a tee-shirt then,” she said. “The gear can chafe.”

“Thanks for the tip.”

After that, she showed me the way back out of the building, and we began walking towards the school.

“Do I smell all right, Karen?”

“Sure. Why wouldn’t you?”

“I had a little panic attack.”

It took her a moment before she said, “When you saw me.”

“I’m sorry.”

We walked quietly for a minute, and it wasn’t until we were outside the school that she pulled me to a stop. “First, you smell fine. You smell like yourself. And now you smell a little like chlorine from the pool. You also smell of Michaela from hugging her. And…” She leaned closer. “Ah. Elisabeth. That should have worn off by now.”

“I drove her car.”

“That’s it,” she said.

“You can smell all that?”

She smiled. “And the shampoo and soap you used this morning. I can smell the plastic from the class materials packet. And you had something disgusting for lunch besides.”

“Oh god…”

She grinned. “Some of those are subtle. Zoe, this is just part of being a wolf. We smell these things. They aren’t necessarily good smells or bad smells. They’re just smells. Your shampoo is a little strong, but it’s not offensive. However, it disguises your own, natural scent a little. Don’t be too surprised if Elisabeth asks you to change brands.”

“Is it bad?”

“No. It’s lovely. But your natural scent is lovelier.”

“Oh. Thank you for telling me.”

“You smell fine. Now, about the other thing. I’m really sorry about that. I can’t begin to tell you. But you understand, my first duty is to the pack.”

“I understood at the time, Karen. It’s okay. I need a little more time.”

“Your hind brain needs to learn I’m not going to hurt you.”

“My forebrain does too,” I said. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s not your fault, Zoe. You didn’t deserve what we did. But you understand why we did it.”

“Yeah. The situation.”

“The situation. But that situation is gone. You are a pack member. And you’re going to be a good pack member, so you have nothing to fear.”

I nodded. I hoped she was right.

* * * *

Our class, appropriately enough, was in one of the school classrooms. Karen had already set up. There were diving posters on the wall, and there were two tables with gear spread out on them. When we arrived, there were four teenagers looking at the gear; by their sizes, it was clear they were all wolves. There were two boys and two girls.

I recognized them as some of Michaela’s students, and I had met each of them, but the only name I could remember was Kaylee’s.

“Good afternoon,” Karen said as we entered the room.

The four of them turned. One of the boys was holding something from the table, and he hastily put it back. “Um.”

“Relax, Connor,” Karen said. “I wouldn’t have put the gear out if you weren’t allowed to look at it. But we’re all here, so we can get started a few minutes early. Let’s take our seats.”

Seating was arranged by tables with two students per table. I thought Karen had rearranged the room, as most of the tables and chairs were stacked up in the back, but there were three tables arranged facing a fourth. The kids appeared to have already selected their places, and I found myself with the choice of sitting next to Kaylee or one of the boys. I was a little surprised by the arrangements, but I took a seat next to Kaylee and said, “Hello,” quietly to her.

“All right,” said Karen. “Everyone is here to learn how to scuba dive. Raise your hand if you think you were here for a lesson in vegan cooking instead.”

The kids laughed nervously, all of them glancing at me. I guessed I had a reputation already.

Karen smiled. “We’re going to start with introductions. I want each of you in turn to stand up, tell us your full name, who you are, and why you want to learn to dive.” She looked around the room. “Connor, you’re first.”

The boy stood up. Boy. He was bigger than most full-grown men. He looked around the room before beginning to speak, and once he did, he seemed calm and assured but not arrogant. “I’m Connor Simpson. I’m one of Ms. Burns’ students.” He looked around. “We all are. Even Monique, but she’s in the enforcer program, and the rest of us are in the science program.”

He looked at Karen, who said, “Tell us why you want to learn to dive.”

“Because it’s so cool!” He replied, and while he looked and sounded like a man, at that moment he showed us he was still a teenager.

“Is there more?” Karen asked.

“Well… Ms. Burns says if we learn to dive, then she’ll take us for weekends diving around Bayfield. The water is really cold, but she said there are a few shipwrecks, and she’ll teach us about the geology and underwater ecology.”

“All right. Good, Connor. Monique, as your cousin has mentioned you, why don’t you go next.”

Connor sat down, and Monique stood up. “I’m Monique Simpson. I’m in the enforcer program. I’m not smart enough for the science program.”

“That’s not a fair way to put it,” Karen said. “But let’s move on.”

“Connor is my cousin,” she went on. “And my big sister was one of Ms. Burns’ students, but she graduated. I’m here because diving is cool. But also, I’m going to be an enforcer, and I want to be on Michaela’s detail. She does all sorts of cool things, like kayaking and now diving. So if I can dive, then I can help protect her better.”

I thought that was really sweet.

“All right. Good,” said Karen. “Monique, don’t sit down. Most of us in the room understand everything Monique said, but the people in this room are the people who will help to lead the pack one day. And because of that, when we have a new pack member, it is part of our responsibility to help the new member understand what it means to be in the pack. I think there are a few things that Zoe might not understand. Monique, can you take a little more time?”

Monique turned to me. She smiled for a moment.

“Do you know what an enforcer is?”

“Like a bodyguard for Michaela.”

“Not just that,” Monique said. “We guard Rebecca and Celeste, too, and even the alpha.”

“Lara needs protection?”

“A lone wolf can be attacked by a group of wolves,” Monique said. “You see?” And I nodded. “But we do more than that. We patrol pack lands. For instance, every morning and afternoon we run a patrol along the perimeter of our land. Karen taught us what to watch for. And during tense times, we have patrols out full time. We also are like policemen for the pack. If one of the members does something wrong, we go straighten them out.”

“All that,” I said. “And you’re in school for that?”

She nodded. “I’ve wanted to be an enforcer my entire life. I was the first student in the enforcer program here. Now there are four of us, and I think there are two more starting in the fall.”