Thanksgiving

The ceremony for Portia, Zoe, and Ember was in the late morning. Elisabeth gave us keys to one of the cars, and Michaela walked out with us.

“Dinner is early,” she said to us at the side of the car. “3:30. If you’re back around 2:00, that would be good. I’m sorry about this.”

“Don’t be,” Carissa said. “This is a private time for the closest of friends and family.”

“Nothing will be open,” Michaela replied. “But you could drive along the coast. It’s pretty, even in November.”

“Then that is what we’ll do. Do not worry about us, Michaela. This is an important celebration, and they deserve your full attention.”

“You are very gracious, Carissa. Thank you for understanding.”

We all climbed into the car, Carissa in the driver’s seat. She got the car started, set the heater, and then slowly and carefully backed us from the parking spot and headed for the highway.

At the sign announcing the pack property, she pulled over and put the SUV into park. Then she turned around. “Are both of you all right?”

I turned. Anika and Joanna glanced at each other, and then Anika said, “Of course, Carissa. Is something wrong?”

“No. I do not care to drive. I am afraid I drank too much from each of you to ask one of you to drive.”

Anika leaned forward and set a hand on Carissa’s arm. “You didn’t.” She smiled, and Joanna beside her. “You are always so careful. I wouldn’t have driven last night, but I ate well this morning, and I can drive now, if Joanna doesn’t want to.”

“Maybe we can switch later,” Joanna said.

“Are you sure, Anika?”

“I’m sure, Carissa,” Anika replied.

“Then, Anna, shall we trade seats?” Carissa suggested. And so, four car doors opened. Carissa and I moved into the back; Anika and Joanna moved into the front. Anika adjusted the seat and mirrors, and then asked, “Are we going anywhere in particular?”

“No,” Carissa replied. “Up the coast?”

“Right. Joanna, do you want to navigate?”

“Take a left here,” she said. “We can drive into Bayfield first, then take the highway north.”

Anika put the car into gear.

She drove carefully. Carissa was always clear with her humans. They must drive carefully, and to obey the traffic laws besides. And so, from time to time, another car might come up behind us, hoping to drive faster than the speed limit. If the car remained behind us for any difference, Anika would find a place to pull to the side, allowing the car to pass, before continuing on.

This was always the pattern, and so it wasn’t remarkable. But we weren’t in any particular hurry.

Now, if I’d been driving, we’d have gone faster, although with the humans along, perhaps not as fast as I might choose if it were only Carissa and I. We wouldn’t be seriously hurt in an accident, and if humans were involved, I could always steer to avoid them, even if it meant damaging the car more completely.

Maybe that was why Carissa had asked the humans to drive instead of me. I didn’t ask.

We reached Bayfield and turned north. A few miles later, Carissa asked, loudly enough for all of us to hear, “What are your impressions? Joanna, will you go first?”

Joanna turned in her seat. “I like them, Carissa.” That received three agreements. “They’re far more relaxed than they were at Halloween, and the stress between Michaela and Lara seems to be resolved. I haven’t learned what happened.”

“What stress?” I asked.

Carissa turned to me and looked at me for a good five seconds. Finally she said, “The little fox resents her alpha’s preoccupation with personal safety.”

“They don’t seem particularly smothering,” I said cautiously.

“Compared to other packs, perhaps not. But Michaela spent many, many years entirely on her own. She is accustomed to seeing to her own needs, and to coming and going as she pleases. And did you hear what she said about my lack of a heartbeat?”

“Yes, but I didn’t understand it.”

“Imagine all those surrounding heartbeats, hearing them all day long.”

“Oh,” I said. “That would be hard.”

Carissa nodded. “I am better at tuning it out than she is, and I believe she hears better than I do besides.”

“They don’t seem to treat her differently than they did,” Anika observed. “If one discounts the extra precautions for being away from home. But she seems quite happy.”

“Yes,” agreed Carissa. “She does. Joanna, you didn’t spend the night with Eric.”

“He didn’t offer,” Joanna replied. “There were no expectations between us.” She blew out a little air, pushing a lock of hair from her eyes. “He’s actually acting like we barely met when they came to visit.”

“Well,” Anika said. “To be fair, so are you.”

“I am not!”

“You are,” Anika said. “You’ve barely smiled at him, and you haven’t flirted at all. He’s a werewolf, Joanna.”

“I know he’s a werewolf. What does that have to do with it?”

“Dumb as bricks,” Anika said with a little laugh. “He’s not going to understand if you’re subtle.”

“I’m pretty sure what we did back home wouldn’t qualify as subtle.”

“That was a month ago. What have you done to him recently?”

I snorted, but I thought she was right.

“He told me something before though,” Joanna said. “He said being with human women is difficult for him. He might not be interested in a repeat.”

“Are you?” Carissa asked.

“I could be,” Joanna said slowly. “I, um. Enjoyed my time with him.”

Carissa smiled. “So what are you going to do?”

“I think I’ll see if he wants to sit next to me at dinner.”

“And what about you, Anika?”

I could see Anika frown. “I think I’m too small for them to notice me.”

“Anika,” I said. “When you walk into a room, everyone notices. You know that.”

“Well, I’ve caught that other one -- Rory -- looking at me. He doesn’t count.” Joanna was flexible in her orientation, but Anika was not. But then she grinned. “Maybe I should try to seduce Portia and her mate.”

“Unless you’ve received some encouragement I haven’t noticed, I’d rather you didn’t,” Carissa said. “Wolves aren’t usually so open minded about such things.” She set a finger to her lips for a moment, tapping it once or twice. “I’ve kept you two sheltered from the New Orleans wolves. I have reasons for that.”

“Because wolves are wolves?” I asked.

“Just so,” Carissa agreed.

“These wolves are different.”

“They are. I’d trade packs in a heartbeat, if I had the opportunity.”

“Well,” said Anika. “Karen and Elisabeth are my only other choices, and they don’t even seem to notice me.” She glanced in the mirror. “And it was cold last night.”

Joanna snorted. “That was a hint, but I’m not sure who she was asking.”

Anika didn’t answer, and Carissa seemed to ignore it. Then she turned to me. “Have you talked to Michaela?”

“No. There wasn’t an opportunity. I’ll find one today.”

She nodded and paused for a bit then nodded again. “We’re here for friendship. Make friends. Make lovers if you want. We want to be invited back, and we want them to visit again in the future.”

“Michaela has been very welcoming,” I said. “We’ve talked about kayaking. It felt like I was receiving an open-ended invitation. I am almost sure Deirdre can secure an invitation any time we want one.”

“I am certain Deirdre can secure an invitation, but I do not know if that invitation includes me,” Carissa said. “Now, there’s some tension. I don’t think it’s only because we’re here, and it doesn’t seem to be between Lara and Michaela. Does anyone have any clues?”

“I’m sorry, Carissa. I haven’t wanted to pry too much.”

“Don’t,” she said. “They’ll tell us, or they won’t.”

“Carissa,” said Johanna. “Why are you being so careful?”

“The two of you came to me willingly,” she said. “And I will forever cherish you for it. I do not give the wolves of Louisiana that choice. They are mine, because that is how I must keep the peace in my region. But these wolves are not mine, and I cannot take them that way. I wish friendship and trust.”

“Trust takes time,” I said.

“It does,” she agreed. “And I have time. But do they?”

Conversation trailed off for a while. We had a nice drive, and it was comfortable with Anika driving for us. And so it was some time later than Anika said, “The pups are cute.”

“They are,” Carissa agreed. “They are an interesting mix. They carry Lara’s DNA, but they have a fox for a mother. It shows in their behavior.”

* * * *

We pulled back into the wolf compound exactly at 2:00, Joanna now behind the wheel. She parked carefully, but then we all sat for a moment longer. Then, all at once, the three of us turned to look at Carissa.

“Yes,” she said after a moment. “That was a lovely drive indeed. Thank you, Anika and Joanna. Who is going to walk me in?”

That honor fell to Anika, the two petite women of similar heights. So Joanna stepped to my side and took my arm, and we followed the vampire and human to the front door.

I thought they’d been watching for us. It was Eric who opened the door for us, stepping aside for us to enter. We moved in, and I helped the others from their coats before looking around.

There were more people here than there had been before, and they were all turned to face us. The ones we’d already met seemed welcoming, but the new expressions were a mix of curious but cold.

I let my eyes roam the room. I saw Monique with people I thought might be family. There were two that might be parents, a possible grandparent, and a possible older sister. And as I looked further, I thought there were other families here. Scarlett, Angel, and Francesca stood with several other wolves, including a teenage boy. Iris and Lindsey appeared to have family, and I saw Serena and Emanuel with two males, perhaps late college age, and their daughter, Kaylee.

Then Michaela stepped forward, tugging Lara along with her. “Perfect timing,” Michaela called out. “The party is complete.” She gestured. “Everyone, this is Carissa. The human on her arm is Anika. And behind them are Annabelle Delacroix and Joanna. They are guests of the pack, and I know everyone will make them feel quite welcome. Won’t you?” she asked at the end, her tone indicating there was only one possible answer.

“Yes, Alpha,” they intoned together.

Then Michaela stepped closer, dropping Lara’s hand, and moved into Carissa, clearly asking for a hug. They embraced briefly, and then she exchanged more hugs with Anika, Joanna, and me. When I had a chance, I whispered into her ear, “I’d like to speak with you when you have a chance.”

“Let me introduce Carissa to someone, and we’ll steal away,” she replied.

She stepped away from me and hooked her arm in Carissa’s. “There’s someone you need to meet.”

Joanna moved away from me, and a moment later I saw her looking up at Eric. I didn’t overhear their conversation, but she must have knocked some sense into him, as they sat together over dinner later, and they were holding hands for much of the time.

I followed along behind Michaela and Carissa, Lara stepping up beside me. “Have a nice drive?”

“We did,” I said. “Thank you for the loan of a car.”

“Of course,” she said. “Even on a dreary day in November, it is beautiful here, or at least, we think so.”

“I would have to agree. I miss the green, but I can understand why you come here. I imagine it is magnificent in the summer.”

“It is,” she agreed. “Could I speak with you for a few minutes?”

“Certainly.”

I let her lure me through the house, still holding my coat, and we stepped out the back. I pulled it on, and we moved to one of the waiting picnic tables. Lara gestured, and we both sat facing each other.

“I typically leave the diplomacy to my wife,” Lara began.

“She’s good at it.”

“She has learned,” Lara said. “She knows how to use her small stature to disarm a situation.”

“So she does,” I agreed. “And a force of will.”

Lara smiled. “We both know there’s no shortage of will here today.”

“I suppose that’s true. We’re friends here, Lara, or trying to be. What can I do for you?”

“Nothing. Not exactly. I wanted to tell you something very simple. You are welcome here. I know Michaela has already said that, and I’ve said it in public. But I think there’s a difference between saying it publicly, and coming out here and saying it privately.”

I inclined my head. “Thank you. I appreciate that. But I must ask. Was that a singular ‘you’ or a plural ‘you’?”

Lara smiled, but it was somewhat tightly. “It was meant as a singular. You are welcome with or without Carissa.”

“You invite a cat into your territory.”

“Wisconsin welcomes all weres who follow our rules,” she said. “And the other supernatural creatures as well.” She smiled again. “Michaela is quite aggressive at dealing with the ones who don’t follow the rules.”

“Michaela is. Not you?”

“Well, Elisabeth tries to handle problems before they come to Michaela’s attention. But if they reach Michaela, they get handled.”

“Herself?”

“A few times. More than you’ve heard about. There’s a certain message sent when it’s a petite fox that handles the problem.”

“That it’s beneath your notice?”

“Not at all. If the little fox can handle it so adroitly, just imagine what would happen if I, Elisabeth, all our enforcers, and indeed, the entire pack put our minds to it.”

“It’s a big planet. You would think, as sparse as we are, that we could all get along.”

“There’s always someone who wants to take what isn’t his, and who wants to rule those who don’t wish to be ruled.”

“I suppose so. Cats are difficult to rule.”

“So cats don’t have their own politics?”

“Of course we do. You stay on your side of the river, and I’ll stay on mine. That’s about the sum of it.”

Lara laughed. “I think I am envious.”

“You wanted your job.”

“Actually, I didn’t. That’s a long story for another day.”

“Well, have you had dealings with other packs?”

“Some,” she said. “Some you’ve heard about. Some you haven’t.”

“Have you had enough to know what they’re like?”

“Yes.” A one-word answer. Concise.

“It’s not like that here,” I observed. I paused for a moment. “Lara, we’re here as friends, so don’t take this the wrong way. It’s not a threat or anything like that.”

“All right,” she said carefully.

“During the drive, Carissa said she’d trade packs any day.”

Lara looked into my eyes and then laughed. “She gets tired of wolf politics, too, does she?”

“Do you understand what I’m saying?”

“Not entirely. I’ve never lived with another pack. During my college years, I was obligated to attend on the Boston alphas from time to time, but it was entirely ceremonial, and no one was too pushy. But that’s the closest I’ve come to experiencing what other packs are like from the inside.”

“How did you feel about it?”

“Let’s just say I wasn’t tempted to remain in Boston.”

“And that’s one of the better packs,” I said.

“And New Orleans?”

“Average, I’d say,” I told her.

“I’m sorry,” Lara told me.

I waved it away. “It doesn’t affect me.”

“They stay on their side of the river?”

“Figuratively, if not literally.” I paused. “It was, oh, 1830 or so when Carissa invited my forebears to settle in the region. She assured the peace. I don’t know what she may have had to do to honor that promise, but she’s been successful.”

“Maybe I’ll ask her someday.”

That was when the door opened, and Michaela stepped out. “Did I give the two of you long enough?” she asked.

“Were you listening, my mate?” Lara asked, holding out a hand. Michaela crossed the deck to take the offered hand, then folded against her wife’s side as Lara slid an arm around the petite woman.

“No. Your timing was impeccable.”

“Did you introduce Carissa to Prudence?”

“Yes.” Michaela laughed. “Oil and water, I’m afraid.”

“Any damage?”

“No. It was very ominous.” Then she put on a deeper voice. “Death clings to you like a shroud.” She changed her tone back. “Poor Carissa. All she could say was, ‘I know’.”

Then Michaela laughed. “But then Prudence turned her head, and it was like she was following a line of some sort. Smoke. Something. Her eyes settled on Anika across the room, and she said, ‘You have bound the humans to you.’”

“She could see the thrall?”

“So it seems,” Michaela said. “Prudence didn’t seem happy, but then she said, ‘And they came willingly.’”

“They did,” I said. “Carissa takes what is offered.”

“I know,” said Michaela. She shook her head. “I swear, Prudence was ready to go break the thrall, then and there. She stalked off, and I had to hurry to catch up to her.”

“Please tell me she’s not interfering with Anika and Joanna.”

“She’s not,” Michaela said. “I told her she had no right to interfere in a consensual relationship. She wasn’t happy, but I left her with Zoe and Portia.”

“That’s an interesting choice,” Lara said.

“It was a good choice,” Michaela said. “I left them talking about weddings, with orders to Portia to keep Prudence away from Carissa and her humans.”

I cocked my head. “Why did you laugh earlier?”

“Oh. I shouldn’t have, but I was reminded of a movie scene.” She turned back to Lara. “Young Frankenstein. You weren’t there, but Zoe played it a few weeks ago during movie night. There’s a scene where the monster is grasping at invisible violin notes in the air. Prudence just reminded me.” Then she leaned over and gave Lara a quick peck of a kiss. “My turn. Go away.”

“Do you see how I am treated here?” Lara said to me. “Dismissed just like that.”

“I don’t know,” I said. “You have a warm fox pressed against you. That doesn’t seem all bad.”

“I admit,” Lara agreed. “That part is pretty good.” She tightened her hold on the fox for a moment then relaxed, throwing her legs over the bench and standing up. “Will you be long?”

“Not long,” Michaela said. “Maybe you can go stir up some fresh trouble.”

“That’s my style,” Lara said. “I’ll see you inside.”

We waited until the door closed behind her before Michaela and I looked each other in the eye. “I’ll get right to it,” I said. “There’s one elephant we didn’t discuss yesterday.”

“Probably more than one. Which one do you mean?”

“Fangs.”

“Ah. That elephant.” She frowned. “As best I know, only four of us present this weekend know what it’s like to feed her.”

“Yes,” I agreed. “Michaela, she honestly wants friendship.”

“I know. I think Lara does, too. It’s harder for her than it is for me.”

“Because of the thrall.”

“No. Protective instincts. Lara doesn’t typically let fear get in the way, but occasionally, she freezes from it, trying to make the right decisions. I can’t exactly blame her. She takes her time instead of rushing to action, and if it takes her longer than it might take a fox, I can’t blame her for that, either. I’d rather see deliberate choices than what we could get from another wolf.”

“Oh, I know,” I said. “Thinking is overrated.”

Michaela laughed. “Yeah. Exactly.” She cocked her head for a moment, and I wondered if she was listening to something. But then her eyes focused on me again. “I don’t know if there’s much that can be done about it this weekend.”

“What are you thinking?”

“Of offering to feed her.”

“Yourself?”

“No. Lara would never allow it. Not after... And. I can’t ask any of the enforcers. Not this weekend. Or anyone from the council. Not ever. But it can’t be anyone too lowly, either.” But then she cocked her head the other way. “Maybe,” she said slowly.

“There might be other choices,” I said.

“You know, there’s a certain morbid curiosity. I pretend I don’t overhear, but I’ve heard some of them asking if Carissa was going to eat in front of us.”

“She does.”

“You know what type of eating I mean.”

“She does that, too. At home. If she hosts a dinner, nearly always someone offers at least a taste. But it’s exceedingly possessive, and I’ve never seen her do it in front of relative strangers.”

Michaela took on another faraway look, but then she focused again. “I need to speak with Lara and Elisabeth. And Prudence. Yes. And Prudence.”

“You don’t mean to ask Prudence-“

“No. I mean to ask her opinion.”

I nodded at that.

“Can you send them out? Talk quietly to either Lara or Elisabeth. And Portia, Serena, and Karen.” She paused. “And Zoe.”

“Zoe.”

“Yes. Thank you.”

I nodded and stood, then backed away from the table. “Michaela, there are other choices.”

“I never put all my eggs in one basket,” she replied. “Leave this to me.”

I nodded. “You know your pack.”

I turned to leave, but she stopped me with my name. “Anna.” I turned back. “What Lara said to you?”

“Alpha-“

“I’d echo it. All right?”

“You heard?”

“I know my mate.”

I nodded and hurried inside.

* * * *

I’d barely had a chance to whisper into Elisabeth’s ear before Monique caught up to me, sliding a hand into mine. “Anna, will you let me introduce you to my family?”

“I’d love to meet them,” I said. I let her tug me through the crowded room. And so I met Faith and Brendon Simpson as well as Monique’s older sister, Catherine. And a moment later, I felt someone approach from behind me.

“And this is my Aunt Prudence,” Monique said.

I turned and found myself staring into the oldest pair of eyes I thought I’d ever seen, and the woman who hadn’t cared for Carissa besides.

I couldn’t have guessed her age. Forty? Eighty? I didn’t know. Grey streaked her hair, and there were laugh lines around her lips and eyes. But at the same time she felt young. And ancient. And very, very confusing.

And inside me, something stirred. Something very good stirred.

“Prudence,” I said. “I’ve heard your name already today.” I held out my hand.

She didn’t take it right away. Instead, she looked me over very carefully. Then she turned her head and looked at Carissa. Then she actually walked all the way around me, examining me very carefully. “You are bound to the vampire, but not the same way as the humans.”

I had dropped my hand by then, but she reached forward and took it, clasping it in both of hers and looking down at it. “Very powerful,” she said. Still holding my hand, she stepped closer, much closer, well into my personal space, looking up into my eyes. “Yours is a complicated soul.”

Then she stepped back, dropping my hand. She looked at me, then back at Carissa, then her head swiveled, and she was looking at Joanna, then the other direction, and she stared at Anika for a moment before returning her gaze to Carissa.

And Carissa was looking back.

But then Elisabeth was there, whispering into her ear. Without taking her eyes from Carissa, Prudence reached out a hand, setting it on Elisabeth’s arm. “Perhaps I was hasty.” She looked at me again, then back at Carissa. Then back at me. “Tell your vampire I may have been hasty.”

And then she let Elisabeth lead her away, all of us staring after her.

“Well,” Monique said after a moment, offering a small laugh. “That’s my Aunt Prudence.”

“She’s...” I said. “Something else.”

“That she is,” Faith agreed. “You seem to have thrown her for a loop.”

“She’s probably never met a cat before.”

“I wouldn’t assume that,” Brandon said. “She’s been around the block a few times.”

I turned to face them. “Catherine, you were one of Michaela’s students.”

“One of her first,” Catherine said. “She’s an amazing teacher.”

For the next ten minutes, Monique’s family sang Michaela’s praises, which I found heartwarming, actually. Interspersed I learned what they were doing. Catherine was done with school, living back with her parents, and working at an engineering firm. Faith and Brandon worked together and seemed to have an amazing rapport. I was reminded of the alphas. And Monique was clearly adored by all of them.

“The alphas are quite impressed with your daughter,” I managed to say at one point.

“We’re so proud of her,” Faith said.

They seemed happy to keep me, and I was happy to talk to them. Catherine especially seemed interested, and somehow she managed to move to my side. “Monique says you’re huge.”

I laughed. “About average for a jaguar, I’d say.”

“There will be a run later, and maybe a hunt. Will you hunt with us?”

“If I’m invited, but I don’t know if my style is compatible with a wolf pack’s.”

“It might be with ours, if Michaela leads the hunt,” Monique said.

“It’s a,” Catherine started to say, and then I watched her pick the next word carefully. “Fusion. Fox and wolf. How does a jaguar hunt?”

* * * *

I didn’t see the alphas again until dinner was announced. But I did see an enforcer step in, talk quietly to someone, then step out. First it was Angel and Scarlett. Then I saw Scarlett with Iris and Lindsey, and the three disappeared.

And then Prudence was back. She moved directly up to my side, facing me full on, and said, “You haven’t left this spot.”

“I’m sorry. The conversation with your family has been fascinating.”

At that she nodded, and without another word, she swiveled and stepped away. And suddenly I was surrounded by Monique’s family, all casually standing beside me as we watched Prudence make her way to Carissa.

Carissa broke her conversation and turned to face the wolf. Prudence said something and then backed away, Carissa following after. And I realized that about half the eyes in the room were watching the exchange.

Prudence said something. I couldn’t tell what. And then she lifted her hand towards Carissa’s face.

The vampire held absolutely still, looking up into the wolf eyes.

Prudence didn’t touch her, not then. Instead, her hand stopped several inches from Carissa’s face. And then Prudence walked slowly around the vampire, her hand out, but never quite touching her. She did that three times, finally coming to a stop in front of Carissa again. Then she moved closer, and this time she did touch Carissa, two fingers under her chin, lifting her gaze higher.

I gasped. I wouldn’t have dared to touch a vampire queen like that. I wouldn’t have dared. But Prudence did it, and Carissa allowed it, even smiling a little.

And then, in further amazement, Prudence dropped her fingers from Carissa, but instead of stepping away, she slid both hands down the vampire’s arms, collecting her hands and then holding both of them together between them.

They spoke for a minute or two, and then they both backed away from each other, both offering a small head bow.

“Well,” said Faith. “You don’t see that every day.”

I glanced over at her. “No,” I agreed. “You certainly don’t.” But I had my eyes on Carissa, and when she flicked hers at me, I said, “Excuse me. Perhaps we can talk more later.”

I managed to make my way through the room without too many distractions, and as I stood at the picture window, Carissa stepped up beside me. “That was interesting,” I said.

“Quite so,” she agreed. “Anna, I wish to ask a favor.”

I turned to face her. She was looking up at me. “Of course.”

“If you get a chance, get to know that one.”

“Carissa, that’s not a favor. Of course. Do you want me to go out of my way to make it happen?”

“No, but don’t resist if opportunity presents.”

I nodded once. “Of course. But Carissa, we’re not calling it a favor. All right?”

She paused, and then it was her time to nod. “Thank you.”

* * * *

It was another ten minutes when one of the teenagers announced dinner. There was general movement in the direction of the dining room. I waited to follow behind everyone else.

Arriving, I saw there were changes from yesterday. The dining hall in the lodge was large. Oh, it wasn’t restaurant large, but it was large. And the table was now twice as long as it had been, one long table with white linens spread across. The room was decorated quite festively in the colors of the season, and even the chairs were decorated.

Lara and Michaela were waiting near the head of the table, two places side-by-side at the end. No one else had a place selected, and we all turned to the alphas.

“Welcome, everyone,” Lara called out. “We’re pleased to have so many of the people we love here with us today.”

“And we have special guests today as well,” Michaela said. “Important friends of the pack. We know this is somewhat unusual, but I know you’ve all been very welcoming.”

“Carissa, Anna, Anika, and Joanna,” said Lara. “Please be welcome.”

“Thank you, Alpha,” Carissa said for us. “Our hearts are warmed by the greetings we have received this Thanksgiving.”

Lara and Michaela smiled, and then Michaela spoke. “We are going to assign a few seats, and we are going to make requests. First, Carissa, will you help to anchor the table?” She gestured to the foot, a place of honor, and Carissa moved into place, setting her hands on the back of her chair.

“We have many families here today,” Lara said. “And so if parents wish their children to sit with them, then of course, they should. We have no kids’ table, and there is room for all.”

“But we must not neglect our guests,” Michaela said. “And so, perhaps some of you will chose a companion.”

There weren’t many to choose. Joanna and Eric were standing together, and he simply reached over and took her hand. A few seconds later, I saw Iris and Lindsey collect Anika by the arms, leading her to their joined families. And then I felt someone step up beside me, and when I looked, Prudence was there.

“Would you sit with me?” she asked.

“I would like that,” I said. And when she took my hand, I let her.

But then I watched. Angel and Scarlett moved to Carissa, and after a moment I saw Angel take the seat to Carissa’s left, and Scarlett to her right.

With that done, we filled in our places. Prudence led me to the middle of the table, far from either end. Michaela carefully watched over everything, making an occasional adjustment so that those who most wished could sit together. And so we each stood behind our seats, admiring the table settings.

“Prudence,” Lara called out. “We are not often graced with this opportunity. Would you say a few words?”

“Of course, Alpha,” Prudence said. “There are many beliefs in this room, but I would like us to form a circle.” She lifted her hands, one of them still holding mine. The person to her side offered a hand, and then, here and there, we all linked hands, one to the next.

“There is power in this room,” Prudence said. “Blended power never seen in this place before. This land already carries magic, and each of us brings fresh magic with us. There is life in this place, and renewal. There are bonds in this room, bonds of love, bonds of respect, bonds of mystery, bonds of blood. There is family, and pack, and friendship.”

She looked around then continued. “There are beliefs in this room.” Her gaze settled on someone, a human male. “There are beliefs of gods.” The she swiveled her gaze to the head of the table. “And there are beliefs of science.” And then she lifted her hands higher, as a gesture. “Neither of which explains those of us gathered today.”

She paused again. “This day was originally celebrated by a group of Christian pilgrims, thankful for a harvest, and thankful for the help received that made the harvest possible. But this is not a Christian holiday but instead a holiday for all. It has become more than a celebration of the harvest, but is an opportunity to thank the universe for the joys found in life. And so I want us each to consider something for which we are thankful. And then I wish you to offer your thanks, perhaps in your heart, or perhaps in words. Let us take a minute or two.”

She bowed her head, and it was a signal for the rest. I bowed my own and closed my eyes.

I was thankful for so many things, but right then, what came to mind were the friendships. Carissa, of course, and Anika and Joanna. But Michaela was a new friend, and Lara, and her wolves.

And so, quietly so no one else would hear, not even Michaela and Carissa, but in my mind, I decided the universe could hear, I said, “Friends. Today I am filled with joy to have such beautiful friends.”

And maybe Michaela didn’t hear me. And maybe Carissa didn’t hear me. But I was sure -- I am convinced -- that Prudence heard me, even though she shouldn’t have. She squeezed my hand, and I felt something in the bonded hands we shared. I felt something, a rush of joy from her hand into mine.

I didn’t understand it, but I opened my heart to it, and I let myself accept it.

From around me, I heard others speaking, quietly, and I heard no specific words. But then it grew still, and Prudence spoke again.

“I felt joy,” she said. I opened my eyes and looked at her. She was smiling, and around the table, I saw others smiling as well. “I felt much joy,” she continued. She turned to the head of the table. “Alpha, everyone here is a friend. Today, there is no strife in this room. Today there is friendship and respect and loyalty.”

Both Michaela and Lara inclined their heads, smiling.

Then Prudence paused. “In a moment, those who wish may offer their own prayers, but I wish to express gratitude for this meal we are about to receive. I wish to give thanks to the Earth for this bounty, and to the creatures who died so that we may live. I wish to offer thanks to those who prepared this feast, and to those who help to serve, and to those who help to clean afterwards. Thank you all.”

From around the table, there was a chorus of “Thank you,” some of those appending, “Francesca” to the end.

At that, Prudence turned to look at Lara’s aunt and nodded once.

“I had help,” Francesca said. “And more help to come. Thank you to all of you. As young as some of you are, you help to make the pack strong.”

There was another chorus of thank yous, and then everyone looked to Prudence again.

“There is such diversity in this room today. A human household might see a variety of ethnic backgrounds, but in this room today we represent not only different backgrounds, but six different species. When is the last time any of us sat at a table with five other species?”

She paused a moment before continuing. “Let us bow our heads and close our eyes,” Prudence said. “And let us each in our own hearts offer our prayers.”

It was not my custom to pray, but it was not my custom to belittle those who did, either. And so I closed my eyes and bowed my head.

Most of us were quiet, but I heard a few voices, most of them muted, the words unintelligible. But from the human male seated beside Scarlett, I heard the Lord’s Prayer.

And from Carissa I heard Latin, and I thought it was also the Lord’s Prayer, said in time with the human male.

I opened my eyes at that, and I watched. The human wasn’t an idiot. When he was done, he crossed himself before clasping hands to either side again and then he opened his eyes and turned his head to Carissa.

She was already watching him, and she nodded to him.

Well, well.

Prudence gave us another moment before looking up again. She turned to look at the head of the table. “Thank you, Alpha, for this honor.”

They both nodded, and then Lara said, “Please be seated. Francesca?”

Most of us took our seats. Francesca did not, but instead she directed a small army of teenagers. They disappeared in the direction of the kitchen, returning shortly with platter after platter of food. And then they worked their way around the room, letting us each select from our favorites.

There was so much food, but this was a wolf pack, and I knew there would be no waste.

And it was all amazing. There were two large turkeys, but there was also freshly braised venison, and a lamb dish that smelled amazing. And there were potatoes and stuffing and all the dishes a human might expect for Thanksgiving, although some of them in much smaller quantities.

Jello? Seriously. But I saw over the course of the meal it, along with most of the other foods, would entirely disappear.

I wondered what Zoe would eat. The teenagers all seemed to know she was vegan, and they only stopped beside her with some of the dishes. She smiled at them, and she didn’t seem at all put out at what the rest of us were eating.

She, Portia, and Ember were all seated together, Ember in the middle, across from Prudence and me, and slightly closer to Carissa. And throughout the meal, they all smiled, and teased each other, and touched each other. Ember seemed quite accepting of the affection even though some of her friends were in the room.

I wondered at that story.

Prudence waited until the food was served, and the wine poured, and the conversations fully begun before she leaned over to whisper into my ear. “I am thankful every day,” she said. “But today, I am especially thankful for meeting you.”

No one had ever said something like that to me before, and I completely believed her besides.

I leaned back. “You said six species. I count five. Wolf, human, fox, jaguar, and vampire. And I’m not sure she shouldn’t be counted as human.”

Prudence smiled. “And then there is me. I am also wolf, but no one is sure that is all I am.”

Well, well.

* * * *

Prudence was physically affectionate and attentive. During the meal, she touched me often, usually on the arm, but then her leg stole over and pressed against mine.

I didn’t move away, although I wasn’t quite sure how to respond.

Was she trying to seduce me? Normally I was the one doing the seducing. I wasn’t at all sure what to make of this.

But she touched me, and she filled my wine for me. And she asked about me and talked a little about herself.

She had a lovely voice, and an even lovelier smile. It lit her entire face, and if we were touching, I could even feel her smile, if that even makes sense.

I couldn’t say what we talked about, but I was left mesmerized nevertheless, and I completely ignored the rest of the table.

How unlike me.

Finally, I leaned to her. “What are you doing?”

“Enchanting you,” she replied with a smile. “Don’t even try to resist.”

“Prudence,” I said, but she put her hand on my arm.

“We are all friends here,” she said. “And I am harmless. I only seek a night or two of joy, freely offered and freely accepted, if you are willing. We are not for each other, but I cannot see more than that. But we can be for each other tonight, and tomorrow too.”

I thought about it and smiled. “Enchant away,” I said.

She lifted my hand and kissed it.

After that, I didn’t resist, and I found myself smiling at her, more and more.

But then, some time later, when the meal was nearly devoured, she set her hand on my arm again. “This is important. Can you still think?”

I nodded, surprised, and I turned to follow her gaze.

Iris and Lindsey were standing behind the alphas, and they were holding hands. Then Michaela and Lara both stood and hugged the girls, Michaela whispering to each of them. They whispered back, and then they stepped away.

Every eye in the room watched as the two girls turned and walked around the table from one end to the other, still holding hands, until they came to a stop at Carissa’s side. By the time they reached her, she had pushed her chair away from the table, doing so silently and without notice as only a vampire could, and so there was room for both to stand before her.

“Carissa,” said Iris. “This is not an offer we’ve seen made before. Do we kneel?”

“Girls,” said Carissa. “This isn’t necessary.”

“Please guide us,” Lindsey requested.

Carissa looked up the table. “Am I misunderstanding?”

“I find that unlikely,” Michaela replied.

“I told you this wasn’t necessary.”

“We felt no obligation,” Michaela said. “They feel no obligation. This is an offer of friends. And now you have no obligation, but you should guide them.”

Carissa stared at Michaela for a moment, then turned to me. Finally she turned to her right, to the girls. “You should kneel,” she said. “Both of you here for now.” She gestured to the place beside her.

Prudence looked over to me and clasped my hand, holding tightly.

The girls lowered slowly, but they kept their backs straight and their heads up, just like Carissa preferred.

“Are there special words?” Iris asked.

“Only the words in your heart,” Carissa replied. “You don’t have to do this.”

“Will it hurt?”

“Not if I take my time.”

“Carissa,” said Lindsey. “We are both 18. Adults. You have come to us in friendship, and you have dined with us, but you have not dined as you most need.”

“We offer ourselves,” Iris continued. “Um. We wouldn’t become thralls, would we?”

“No,” Carissa said. “Girls.”

“We don’t know how much you take,” Iris said. “But we are strong, adult wolves.”

“What do we do?”

“You offer a wrist,” Carissa said.

“A wrist?” Iris said. She looked up the table, I was sure at Michaela. She looked back. “Not?” She touched her throat.

“That is far more intimate,” Carissa said gently.

“That’s not what you prefer?” Lindsey said.

“Girls,” she said, and I’d lost track of how many times she’d said that.

I considered saying nothing, but I looked around the room and then turned back to the vampire. “Carissa.” She turned to me, and I could read the indecision. “They offer a gift, but almost no one here fully understands.”

“They don’t even understand,” she said with a gesture to the kneeling wolves.

“I think they understand as well as they could,” I replied.

Carissa stared into my eyes and then looked up to Lara and Michaela. “The different master vampires call themselves many things. I am not the one who first dubbed me the Queen of Louisiana. I remember kings and queens, and I would not style myself after any of the ones I remember best. But for this conversation, that is the best term.”

“Yes,” Michaela said.

“In my home, I almost never drink from a wrist. But I am a visitor here. If I were to visit another queen, I might receive an offer such as this. It might be a throat or it might be a wrist. If the queen were about as powerful as I am, then she would offer someone close to her, but not from her closest. If the queen is significantly weaker, then she offers her closest, sometimes a human, sometimes a wolf.”

“Have we insulted you?” Lara asked.

“Certainly not,” Carissa said. “But I do not believe these girls understand what they are offering.” She turned to them. “If I take a wrist, then it is a simple offer of a portion of your strength. You would be fully recovered by morning. Your throats would be far more intimate, and I would become possessive.”

“How possessive.”

“I would expect you both to spend the night, and it would be difficult for me to release you before I depart, unless I were offered a replacement.”

“Both of us?” Lindsey asked.

“That is what you are offering me if you offer your throats,” Carissa said.

The two girls -- although suddenly I could no longer see them as girls, but as women -- looked at each other. Then Iris grinned, Lindsey’s expression following. They both turned to Carissa. “But we don’t know what to do,” Iris said.

Carissa looked up to the other end of the table. “Alpha, these are your wolves, and I do not believe you knew you were making this offer.”

“Carissa, if neither Iris nor Lindsey pleases you,” said Lara, “there may be others who would offer.”

Carissa locked gazes with Lara for a moment, and then she smiled. She smiled broadly and turned to the wolves kneeling beside her chair. She caressed one, then the other. “Are you both sure?”

“Iris. Lindsey. Speak bluntly,” Michaela said. “Carissa will not be offended.”

“Me first,” Lindsey said. “Your majesty-“

But at that, Carissa placed her fingers over the wolf’s lips. “No. My name. Please.”

“Carissa,” Lindsey said around the fingers, and Carissa nodded, caressing her cheek again. “No, I’m not sure. But Michaela said to speak bluntly. I’m curious as hell.”

Carissa laughed at that, breaking a portion of the tension.

“We volunteered,” Iris said. “Okay, the alphas asked, but we volunteered. But I’m a little scared.”

“Carissa,” I said. “Ask her why.”

Carissa flicked her gaze to me then back to the girls. “Are you afraid of the bite?”

“No. I just don’t know what happens after. In the movies...”

“Forget the movies.”

“I know,” she said. “But in the movies, once a vampire bites you, you can’t stop thinking about him. And I’m not offering to move to New Orleans.”

Carissa caressed each of them again. “I would not take more than is offered,” Carissa said. “We would part no later than Sunday. You will miss me, and I will miss you, but it is no different than an intense weekend.” She paused. “You are both so young.”

“We’re not virgins,” Lindsey said. “I’ve had a weekend or two like that.”

“I will not be offended if you offer a wrist,” Carissa said. “Or if you withdraw your offers entirely. But if you repeat your offer of your throat, I will accept.”

Iris caressed her own neck and nodded, but it was Lindsey who asked, “What do we do?”

Without taking her gaze from the two wolves, Carissa asked, “Is there to be a run and a hunt?”

“A run,” Lara said. “We’ll save the hunt for a night we haven’t already gorged.”

“And drinks later?”

“Yes. Inside. We can tell stories near the fireplace.”

“Then I will take you now,” Carissa said, caressing Iris’s cheek. “And you later,” she said with a touch to Lindsey. She stood. “When this is a human, she sits in my lap, but for a wolf, I believe we will do it the other way. Iris, sit here.” She gestured to the seat.

Iris gulped but rose to her feet and slipped into the chair.

“Lindsey, move behind her where I can see you.” And while Lindsey rose and did that, Carissa climbed into Iris’s lap, adjusting for the chair. It didn’t look fully comfortable, but I knew in a minute no one was going to care. She squirmed a little, settling in, and then stared into Iris’s eyes.

“I can do this different ways,” she said gently. At that point, she was speaking directly to Iris, but the rest of the room was absolutely silent, and when I looked around, everyone was watching intently. “I can bespell you with my eyes, and you won’t notice when I bite, or I can tease.”

“I don’t know what that means,” Iris said.

“Look into my eyes, Iris,” she said. It took only a second, not even that, and I knew the wolf was trapped. She didn’t even struggle. Instead she relaxed, and her mouth opened slightly.

Carissa held her like that for only a short time, then she bent her head, fitting perfectly, and even though I couldn’t see, I knew what she did. She licked, and she nipped, and then she straightened to caress Iris’s cheek.

There were a few tiny drops of blood on Iris’s neck, just a few drops.

“Come back to us now, Iris,” Carissa said gently. “You can think again.”

Iris blinked her eyes. She shook her head then turned her eyes back to Carissa. “Is it over?”

“It has barely begun,” Carissa said. “I only nipped you.”

Iris lifted her fingers to her neck. They found the blood. She pulled them away and looked at them. “I don’t remember,” she whispered. She put on an expression. “I thought I’d remember.”

“Then I can tease,” Carissa said.

“All right,” Iris said. “Do I have to do anything?”

“No.” Carissa lowered her head again, forcing Iris’s chin up.

I knew Carissa actually preferred to tease. She’d certainly teased me a time or two in the past. I knew she’d lick for a while, and tease with her fangs.

We all watched. It was a deeply intimate moment, and we all watched. We watched as Iris closed her eyes and lifted her chin higher. We watched as she wrapped her arms around the vampire, clutching at her a little.

I could tell the moment Carissa sank her fangs, and I was sure Anika and Joanna did. Iris didn’t gasp. Carissa was far too delicate to let it hurt, and Iris was a strong wolf, anyway. She wouldn’t let a little thing like a vampire bite cause her to gasp.

Instead, she sighed. And Carissa stilled for a moment, letting the fangs settle into place. Then she was moving again.

And that was when Iris gasped, clutching tighter at Carissa.

Then Carissa reached up with one hand to Lindsey, standing behind her friend. She grabbed Lindsey by the front of her shirt, her collar, and dragged her down. Lindsey didn’t resist, and then her face was in front of Carissa’s even as Carissa drank from Iris. I knew Carissa captured her gaze, nearly immediately, as Lindsey froze, staring straight into Carissa.

The vampire didn’t drink long. If that had been me, she would have drunk far more deeply. But it was enough, and perhaps more than enough to honor the gift, and I thought she might take more later.

I knew when she withdrew her fangs and bathed the wound with her tongue, offering final pleasures and healing the twin wounds.

And then she leaned back, releasing both wolves at the same time. She turned to us, and I knew she was doing it so everyone could see the fangs before they withdrew. She licked her lips, carefully avoiding the fangs, and then, slowly, the fangs retracted. The vampire closed her mouth and smiled. Then she turned back to the two wolves.

Lindsey was just coming back to herself. Iris, well. She was wearing an expression of bliss. Carissa leaned forward and kissed her lightly, and when she withdrew again, Iris opened her eyes.

“Oh. My. God!” she said.

“Thank you, Iris, for this gift of life,” Carissa said ceremonially.

“You’re welcome,” Iris said. “Oh god, you’re welcome.”

People laughed nervously at that. Carissa ignored them and cuddled into the wolf, laying her head on Iris’s shoulder while tucking her legs up. Iris wrapped her arms around her, cradling the vampire to her.

And behind her, Lindsey slowly straightened. “Did you bite me, too?”

“No, Lindsey,” Carissa said. “But you can’t wait, can you?”

“No,” Lindsey whispered. She stepped closer and set her hand on Carissa’s back, the other at the back of Iris’s neck. And then she stood there, looking down at the two of them.

The tableau remained like that for several long heartbeats, and then Carissa gave Iris’s neck -- the unbitten side -- a quick kiss and pushed away. She turned to face the table. “Alpha, thank you for this gift.”

“You are welcome,” Lara said.

“This is an intimate time,” Carissa said. “A human might sleep in my arms now, and I would hold her while returning to the conversation.” She slumped back against Iris. “I do not wish to break this spell, so I hope no one is offended if I stay right here.”

“Don’t go,” Iris whispered.

“No one is offended,” said Michaela.

“I can answer questions,” Carissa offered. “I would rather you not question my wolves tonight.”

I glanced at Lara, expecting her to bristle. But if she did, it wasn’t apparent.

“Anna, can you bring Lindsey her chair?”

“I’ve got it,” said one of the wolves, and when I looked it was Kaylee. She collected the chair and brought it down to Lindsey, setting it down beside Carissa’s chair. And then two of the other teenagers brought water glasses down, one from Lindsey’s place, one from Iris’s. Carissa held her hand out, and the wolf gave her the glass. Carissa sipped from it, then offered it to Iris.

“Were there questions?” Michaela prompted.

“I don’t know where to start,” Zoe said after a moment. “But I think I might find another opportunity to pursue my curiosity, if Carissa doesn’t mind.”

“Not at all,” she said. “Perhaps we could sit while they are running later.”

“Oh, could we?” Zoe said. “You don’t mind, do you, Portia?”

“Only to talk,” Carissa clarified. At home, she wouldn’t have had to say that, but it was best to do so here.

“Of course,” Portia said.

There was another pause, a long pause, and then the human male said, “I have a question.”

“I thought you might,” Carissa said. “I didn’t catch your name.”

“I’m Nick. I believe you know my daughter, Scarlett. My wife is Tara.” He indicated a female wolf seated beside him. “If I’m not mistaken, you said the Lord’s Prayer with me. Was that Latin?”

“Yes. Did I surprise you?”

“Aren’t you. Um.”

“Damned? A creature of the night? Burned by crosses and holy water?”

“I wasn’t going to say that,” he said. “But I guess. Yeah.”

Carissa didn’t answer. Instead, from beside me, Prudence said, “She’s not. I thought she was, but she’s not. Well, she’s not damned, and she’s not a demon.”

“I walk in the daylight,” Carissa said. “There are different lines of vampires, and different lines have different strengths and weaknesses. In a way, it is like being different types of were.  Some lines sleep through the day and cannot tolerate sunlight. Some cannot cross moving water without an insulation of dirt, and for some of those, it must be dirt from their homeland.”

“What are your weaknesses?” Nick asked.

“I don’t answer questions like that,” she said. “Not even with friends.”

“I’m wearing a cross. Does it hurt your eyes?”

“Not at all,” she said. “Did you wish to touch me with it?”

“I wouldn’t want to hurt you.”

“You wouldn’t, but you’re curious, aren’t you?”

“Frankly, yes.”

“Try it,” she said. She held out her arm. No one moved for a while, but then Nick stood up and pulled the cross from around his neck as he rounded the table.

“Are you sure?”

“You won’t burn me, Nick,” Carissa said. “Even if it’s silver.”

“It’s platinum,” he said. “Silver would burn Tara.”

“Try it,” she said. “You won’t hurt me.”

So Nick did, tentatively at first, but when Carissa showed no reaction, he pressed it to her skin for several heartbeats before removing it. Of course, nothing dramatic happened.

“Crosses have never hurt me,” Carissa said. “There are vampires whose lines are quite susceptible, but by the time they are as old as I am, such a touch would be nothing more than irritating unless wielded by a very powerful priest.”

“So silver doesn’t burn?”

“Not like it does most of the people here,” she replied. “Michaela, throw me one of your knives.”

There was a flash across down the table, and then Carissa was holding a knife by the handle, pointed to the sky.

“That blade is silver,” Michaela said. “One of my best.”

Carissa held it out to Nick. “Try it,” she said.

Nick was human, and so the knife was harmless to him. He took it from her, reversed it, and then pressed it to her arm.

And of course, nothing happened, which surprised me. I was sure it would burn. But then I lifted my gaze to her lips, and I saw her features were drawn tightly. It hurt, but she wasn’t letting it burn.

Well, well.

Nick pulled it away. Carissa held her arm up for everyone to see. It was unblemished. “You may return that to Michaela,” Carissa said. “I’d throw it back, but I’m not as good at it as Michaela is.”

Nick nodded and walked the knife down to the other end of the table, setting it down before his alpha. She picked it up carefully and slid it into a sheath inside her blouse sleeve.

She did it casually, as if the blade wouldn’t burn her. Oh, she could be a cold one when she wanted to be, for all her delicate warmth.

Nick sat back down. There was another long pause, and then Carissa said, “I have a question, and I hope people will be honest. Was anyone sickened by what happened here?”

The room grew still until Cassie said, “I wasn’t. But...”

“Yes?” Carissa prompted.

“It didn’t look like something you would do in front of all of us.”

“Ah. I am a vampire queen, and that makes me quite the hedonist.”

“Oh,” Cassie said with a nervous laugh.

“This was quite restrained to how some vampires behave,” Carissa went on. “I am from a different time and place, and so my manners do not match that of all the other vampires. But I was publicly offered a gift, and it is one that would be very difficult to turn down.”

* * * *

It was some time later that we ran. Carissa sent her wolves to run with us, but assured them she would be waiting. They both seemed to be in a daze, one I well understood, but shifting into their fur and letting the wind fluff them out would get their brains working again, at least a little.

But I knew they belonged to Carissa until she released them, and I knew she wouldn’t be able to release them before we left, unless she had a replacement. Anika and Joanna wouldn’t do, either.

And so I knew I’d have to talk to Lara and Michaela again.

But we ran, much as we had last night, although we took a different route before returning to the large athletic field. We gathered underneath the shelter, and that was where Michaela flowed back into her skin.

They had planned ahead. There were blankets waiting, and she wrapped one around herself.

“Tonight we will play,” she said. “And I have invited all the humans to play. Angel, will you and Scarlett go collect everyone who is missing.”

They both ran off. While we were waiting, milling around, Michaela sat down on one of the picnic tables, pulling another blanket to her. Lara and Elisabeth both jumped up and sat down, pressed against her, clearly offering warmth.

Monique was with me. Prudence had whispered earlier to me, asking if I would sit with her around the fire later. I liked that idea. But for now, Monique was my keeper again. I didn’t mind.

It was perhaps five minutes before Scarlett and Angel returned, herding all the humans and Carissa too. We gathered around, and then Angel said, “We play many games. This is an important part of being a member of this pack. And at least for this weekend, we wish to consider our friends part of the pack as well.”

“We’re honored, Michaela,” Carissa said.

“Our guests do not well know our boundaries, and so we are going to modify an existing game. We are going to play with partners. If the numbers work out, we will have two in fur and one as a human. Carissa, I believe I know who your partners are.”

The vampire smiled. She already had a hand on the backs of two wolves, standing beside her.

“For the rest of you, if you are either a human, or you can perform a shift in less than one minute, cluster around this table. Otherwise move away from this table. Monique, remain with Anna.”

There was a general shifting. Anika, Joanna, and Nick took places at the table as did about half the enforcers plus Francesca and the two pups.

“All right,” Michaela said. “We’re going to handle our guests first. I need two of you to claim Joanna and two more to claim Anika.”

It was a large male and a modest female that moved to Joanna and nudged her to the side. Two modest females claimed Anika.

“Joanna, if you weren’t sure, that is Eric, as if that is a surprise. And Nora is the female.”

“Hello, Nora,” Joanna said. “Hey, Eric.”

“You can hug them if you want,” Michaela said. So Joanna knelt down and did that, giving them both a good hug.

“Anika, those are Cassie and Ember. They like hugs, too.”

So Anika hugged her partners.

“Monique,” Michaela called out. “You may pick a partner, anyone here, but one of you will be playing in skin, so if you want to remain in fur, then pick someone at the table. Understand if you pick Lara, you know who is going to make the final decision.”

Monique huffed for a moment. Then she looked over at me.

I sat down and let my tongue hang out for a moment, doing my best to let her know she could pick anyone she wanted. So she turned, walked to the table of people, and set her chin on Michaela’s knee.

“All right,” Michaela said. “I’ll join you after we’ve finished explaining the game. But are you playing in skin, or am I?”

Monique added a paw to Michaela’s knee. The little fox laughed and said, “All right. Go back to Anna now.”

Monique returned to my side.

“All right. I need a pair to claim Nick.” A female wolf stepped forward and carefully collected Nick’s hand. She pulled him away. I didn’t see who the other partner was, but I assumed the female was his mate.

“Excellent. The rest of us need to form into trios. I didn’t count, so if it doesn’t quite work, we can have one team of four, or two teams of four. Two in fur, one or two in skin. The two in fur to partner first, then select one of us. We’ll deal with clothes shortly.”

It took a few minutes for the remaining partnerships to form. Michaela waited patiently then said, “Excellent. Whoever is to be the human should run and get dressed, then run back. Monique, will you go collect my clothes? Don’t forget my shoes and jacket.”

The humans were already dressed, of course, and so there were streaks of werewolves running for the house.

While we waited, Michaela talked about the importance of play. “Sometimes it is practice for life. Sometimes it is simply for bonding. Sometimes it is because we do not wish to forget our childhood innocence.” She talked about that for a while, and also about honor and integrity.

And she filled the time until the wolves returned, now back in human form and dressed. Monique returned first, of course, carrying a sack, and dropping it in Michaela’s lap. Then she moved back to me, offered a small nudge, and sat down beside me. Michaela took a few minutes to get dressed, and by the time she was done, the remaining wolves had all returned.

“All right. Everyone is in their teams. Now, we’re going to play a simple game of hide and go seek.” She explained a game that I’d once been taught as zombie hide and go seek, where once you were found, you were like an infected zombie who had to help find everyone else.

“Partners need to remain together, and by together, I mean you must be touching.”

She finished with the basic rules and then looked around. “Now, I’ve considered two variations on this game. That’s the simple form. We’re going to pick exactly one variation. In the first variation, if contact breaks, even for a second, then you must reestablish contact and freeze while the human slowly counts to thirty.”

That resulted in a little grumbling, but I thought it was good-natured.

“Okay, so you don’t like that one,” Michaela said. “Carissa, do you see that bin?” She pointed to a storage bin near one of the posts holding the roof over our heads. “Can you go look and tell us what you find?”

Carissa left her wolves and walked over to the plastic bin. She opened it then knelt down and rummaged inside. Then she began laughing.

“Leashes. They’re leather leashes, aren’t they?”

“That’s the first sack. There are two others.”

Carissa rummaged and then laughed again. “Collars. And in the other, little locks.”

“Bring a leash and collar to me,” Michaela said. “Monique, come here.”

I could tell Monique didn’t want to do it. Everyone knew what was coming, after all. She slunk to her alpha, her belly dragging through the grass, but she did what she was told.

Michaela wrapped a collar around Monique’s neck then clipped the leash in place, She wrapped the other end around her own wrist. Then she said, “Carissa, there are two locks per leash. Come and see.” Carissa stepped over.

“Two locks?”

“One at each end,” Michaela said.

“And where are the keys?”

“I’m not telling,” Michaela said. “But once locked, short of breaking the leash or collar, these are staying in place, one end around my wrist and one end attached to the collar. We won’t need the constant contact rule because you won’t be able to separate further than the length of the leash.

“Oh, I like this rule,” Carissa said.

“Will you help Monique from the collar?” Michaela asked. “That’s variation number two. In variation number three, the humans are unwilling captives. Rather than normal hide and go seek, it’s really more a game of keep away. The wolves must keep the humans away from the searchers, but the humans will be trying to escape and be found. Humans gain points for being first found and wolves lose points for losing their humans. A human is freed if touched by a freed human, at which point the human’s wolves become guards but may only engage other wolves. Or cat. We mustn’t forget the cat.”

She looked around. “From this moment until the game is over, no one is allowed to shift except in case of an emergency. Carissa, I believe you should give yourself a handicap.”

“I can limit myself to the capabilities of a human,” Carissa said. “Do the wolves out of fur offer the same handicap?”

“They do,” Michaela said. “Questions?”

“In the third variation, what options do humans have to escape?” Carissa asked. “And what options do wolves have to prevent that? I do not believe biting is in keeping with this game.”

“Humans can do whatever they want to escape, but they must act as if they don’t want to be bit. Wolves shouldn’t actually bite, of course, but they can grab clothing and tug.”

“I’m not sure Anna can actually do that,” Carissa said. “Anna?”

I glanced at Monique then stood and padded over to Carissa. I tried to grab her sleeve, but I couldn’t really do that. But instead I wrapped my mouth around her entire wrist and held carefully. Carissa didn’t bat an eye.

“Anna, I’m going to try to tug, but no harder than a human might.” She paused, and then she began trying to pull her hand away from me. I tightened slightly, but only enough to hang on.

And she didn’t pull her hand away.

“All right,” Michaela said. “But Anna, I am very, very easy to break. How sure are you of your control?”

I released Carissa and stepped over to Michaela. Then I opened my mouth and waited.

Slowly she set her wrist across my mouth. My jaws were so wide, when I closed, I held her from her wrist almost all the way to her elbow.

“Oh, my,” she said. “There’s a gap in your teeth. You’re gumming me!”

That resulted in wolf chuckles.

“All right. But Anna, if you tug, you could still break my arm. You could make me walk this way, but don’t make me run, and please be careful.”

I opened my mouth and released her. I wasn’t sure I’d hold her that way, if that was the variation we used, but I could be gentle when I wanted. I turned around and moved back to Monique.

“All right, those with a voice, preferences for which variation?”

“I like the leashes,” Carissa said with a small laugh. “But I’ll play whatever everyone else wants.”

“Nick?” Michaela prompted.

“Are you sure I should play?”

“Yes.”

“Then.” He paused. “I do not like the leashes. I prefer the first variation but could play the third.”

“Hmm,” said Michaela. “I could give each trio the choice of variation one or two, if we like. Anika, what do you think?”

“I’ve never played like this,” she said, “not since I was a young girl.” But she grinned. “I wouldn’t mind leashing my wolves, but I would let them pick for our vote.”

“I don’t want to leash anyone,” Joanna said.

Michaela looked around. “Wolves, let me hear with your voices. Variation three, or possibly one or two. Three?” About half the wolves yipped.

“One or two?” The other half yipped.

“You guys aren’t any help at all. Fine. Carissa, do you want to choose, or do you want to select someone to choose?”

“Anna,” she said. “Will you pick?”

I thought about it. I really was afraid I could hurt the little fox. And so I got up, walked to the table, and carefully collected the leash and collar. I dropped them closer to Michaela but then pressed against her leg.

“Is that because you’re afraid you’d hurt me?” she asked. I offered three little barks.

“All right. Variation one or two. I will let each wolf choose. Either you are leashed to your human, or you must remain in contact. Decide what you’re doing, and then I’m going to ask which team will be It first.”

“What about us?” someone called. I looked over and saw Angel and Scarlett together, both dressed, with two other wolves with them.

“The two of you will leash your wrists together,” Michaela said. “Your wolves will decide if they will take a leash or remain in contact with one of you. Everyone decide. Monique, come here.”

Monique stepped over, and Michaela leaned down. “We’ll be faster if we’re leashed. The two of you can run really fast, just like a roller coaster ride, as long as you’re careful. Anna, you would need to let Monique pick the direction and speed, but she can match your pace. If you take strides too big for her, she can take two instead. But I won’t make either of you take a leash if you can’t stand it.”

I was the outsider here. I wasn’t sure how I felt about letting Michaela wrap a leash around my neck. I would have let Carissa do it. But I considered and then looked over my shoulder. Some of the wolves were accepting leashes. Not many. But I saw Carissa with two leashes, and here and there, a few others. I looked back at Michaela and then glanced at Monique. They were both looking at me. So I reached over, grabbed the leash from the table beside Michaela, and dropped it in front of Monique.

Her choice.

“Well, Anna,” Michaela said. “I wasn’t expecting that. What is it to be, Monique? Hand that to me, and you’re each wearing one.”

Monique stared at the leash but then leaned over, picked it up, and dropped it and the collar in Michaela’s lap.

Two minutes later, I was a little embarrassed, but not as much as I could have been. But standing between Monique and me, Michaela was practically quivering in pleasure, and I thought perhaps this wasn’t bad at all.

“All right,” she called out a minute later. “It looks like everyone has decided. I’m going to ask for a volunteer team to be It first. If no one promptly volunteers, my team will, and you’ll find yourselves hunted by an enforcer wolf, the fox, and the biggest damned were I’ve ever seen. Humans should grab their phones, set them on vibrate, and prepare two timers, one for ten minutes, and one for thirty more. You must freeze, wherever you are, on the first alarm, and the game is over on the second.”

Everyone on two feet pulled out a phone and messed with it for a minute. Then Michaela looked up. “Does any team want to volunteer?”

Angel immediately said, “We will.”

“All right,” Michaela said. “Everyone ready.” She held up her phone. “Angel, count five down to zero. On zero we hit our timers, one of your wolves howls, and we run.”

Then she leaned down to us. “Start slow until we get a rhythm.”

“Five,” said Scarlett. “Four.”

At zero, everyone hit the button on their phone. A wolf howled, and then there was a mad scramble away from the shelter.

Monique, Michaela, and I began with a walk, three abreast, Monique pointing with her nose. We moved into a trot, and then a little faster, Monique watching me for my pace. Michaela dropped back, but I felt the leash tighten, and I knew we were pulling her.

“You can go faster,” Michaela said. “As long as you can stay side by side and don’t leap too wildly.”

So Monique stepped it up, and stepped it up again, and then we were going as fast as I could go and keep it up for more than a minute, so I offered a quiet growl.

“Hold this speed,” Michaela said. “Monique, circle us around to the lodge and take us across the deck, then head north.”

We ran, and it felt good, but then Michaela said, “Monique, cut hard right to that grove of evergreens.” Fifteen seconds later, the three of us were crouched under a thick, thick evergreen, Michaela between us, all of us panting.

“Anna, can you handle this for a half hour?” Michaela whispered.

I bobbed my head, not wanting to make more noise than that.

“I’m going to start to chill, so the two of you can press a little closer.”

I let Michaela move against me, and Monique against her, and then we waited.

Michaela talked quietly, a little of this and a little of that. From time to time, we heard a wolf bark, and Michaela would say something like, “That was Gia,” or “That was Elisabeth.” And then she said, “Shh. Someone’s coming.”

I didn’t hear anyone, not one single person. Two minutes later, Michaela whispered, “They’re moving away, but they’re going to double back. Nick, Tara, and Thomas are a hundred yards north of us, and the wolves have their scent.”

A minute later, there was another bark. “That was Lindsey,” Michaela whispered very quietly. “That group will find Nick in another thirty seconds, and then there’s only us and Lara.”

I heard when they found Nick and his group. Nick and the other human talked for a minute, and I heard a woman say, “There’s only five minutes left.”

“That was Serena,” Michaela whispered, very quietly. “They’re moving away.” She paused. “So is Nick. Oh, wait. Thomas thinks he has our scent, but he’s following his father.” A minute later. “We’re safe from them.” And a minute after that, “Three groups are on our trail, but they’re hampered.” Then she chuckled. “The center group froze. They broke contact.” Then, “Oh shit, we’re missing a heartbeat. I think Carissa is onto us. Shh.”

It wasn’t long after that the tree branches in front of us spread open, and I looked up at Carissa, dim even to my eyes. “Well, what have we here?”

And then I felt something against my side vibrating, and then I heard buzzing from Carissa.

“No,” said the vampire. “We found you.”

“Hold those open for us, would you, Carissa?” Michaela said with a laugh. The three of us crawled out. “The rules are you have to have touched us. Did any of you touch one of us?”

“We found you,” Carissa repeated.

“And yet,” Michaela said, pocketing her phone. “My phone was vibrating, and I heard yours buzzing.”

Carissa sighed dramatically, but then she smiled. “Anna, that collar looks good on you. I would not have expected that.”

“Anna is amazing,” Michaela said. She leaned over and hugged me. “Truly amazing.” Then she hugged Monique. “And so are you.” Then she left a kiss on Monique’s forehead, and I felt cheated. I didn’t get a kiss.

“Well, I suppose we must return to the start. Mush, my sled dogs. Mush!” Carissa gave the collars a flick, and the two took off, yanking hard on Carissa’s arms. Carissa laughed and let them pull her behind them.

“Don’t do that to me,” Michaela said. “Shall we?”

* * * *

We played four games in all. I was surprised, but I had a really good time. That was the only time we avoided capture, and we were It for the third game, Michaela volunteering us. After the fourth game, Michaela said, “We’d play longer, but I think some of us are getting cold, and it’s time to go warm them up. Normally we call out for a grand winner, but I think tonight we’re going to say that everyone who had a good time is a winner. Let’s go warm up.”

* * * *

I stepped back into the main room, dressed again, but feeling pretty good. Prudence must have been watching for me, as I had barely appeared before she stepped up to my side. “Will you be mine?”

I smiled at her. “I’d like that. Will you answer a question?”

“I will answer any questions you have, as long as they don’t involve anyone’s secrets but mine. And I don’t have secrets.”

“What are you?”

“Mostly wolf,” she said. “But I don’t think that’s all. The wolves all say I smell entirely of wolf, but there may be some fae blood. Or maybe not.” She smiled and took my arm. “Where would you like to sit?”

I looked around. Carissa had claimed a sofa, both Iris and Lindsey cuddled against her sides. They looked quite comfortable together, and any nervousness from earlier appeared to have long disappeared.

Of course, Carissa was lavishing them with attention, and having been the recipient in the past, I knew she was literally impossible to resist. I imagined they would have a nice night.

“Prudence,” I said. “I do need to speak with the alphas for a few minutes, but then I am yours.”

“You keep slipping away from me. I will claim seating, and you will bring me a nice cognac, and you will give me every bit of your attention.”

“Agreed,” I said. “Can you tell me where to find them?”

She sniffed, turned, and then said, “Try the kitchen. Otherwise ask the teenagers. One will know.”

I slipped from her and headed for the kitchen. Sure enough, the alphas were there along with Elisabeth, Francesca, and several of the enforcers. Everyone turned to me when I stepped in.

“Alphas, I believe I should share a word with you.”

“Of course,” said Michaela. “Will it take long?”

“I don’t think so. A few minutes.”

“Our room then,” Michaela said. “We’ll join everyone in a few minutes.” She tugged Lara’s arm, and I followed them through the lodge, finally arriving in one of the rooms in the back.

It, like all the rooms, was rustic and beautiful, and I imagined it was very comfortable. Michaela gestured to a waiting chair, and the two sat down on a sofa. “We should take this back out with us for seating,” she said. Then she turned to me. “What can we do for you?”

“I’m not sure that’s how I’d ask,” I replied. “Carissa won’t be able to part with Iris and Lindsey before we leave unless she receives a replacement, and depending upon who it is, two replacements.”

“All right,” Lara said slowly. “Will she hurt them?”

“No. They’ll have an amazing weekend. But if they have duties next week, they’ll be worthless until they recover.”

“Recover? How much will she drink?”

“That’s only part of it. She’s very... intense when she gets this way.” I turned to Michaela. “It’s not quite like the thrall, but it probably isn’t all that different, either. It’s not binding, but...” I trailed off. “And, of course, they need to replenish the blood she takes, but that won’t take more than a day or two.”

The alphas exchanged looks.

“It’s not bad. Hell, it’s damned good. Iris and Lindsey won’t necessarily thank you if you interfere. But I think that’s more than they thought they were offering.”

“It is,” Lara said.

“My mistake,” Michaela said. “We should have kept you involved in the conversations. But I don’t know what we would have done differently. What do you think?”

“I think if you were telling her we’re friends, you couldn’t have done so in a more convincing manner without offering someone much, much closer, or even yourselves, and that would have been a very inappropriate message.”

“What do you recommend now?”

“Well, I see three choices. You can leave it alone. They’ll have an amazing weekend, but they’ll be completely out of it afterwards. It won’t be like a breakup, and it won’t be like breaking the thrall. But they’ll be complete space cases, and not very active, either. You’ll need to take care of them. At home, Carissa sets rules. No driving for a week. No operating heavy equipment for the same period. No going to work for at least three days, and longer if the work requires much thought. She won’t touch a surgeon. For the first day or two, they’ll be very complacent and do whatever one of you tells them, and anyone else they recognize as an authority figure. After that, they’ll begin to come back to Earth.”

“Or?”

“Or you can offer her another choice. If you give her only one, she might be a little upset, but she won’t let it interfere. And she won’t fight you, even if she’d prefer keeping these two. Or you can ask me to offer myself.” I smiled. “As you can imagine, I won’t mind, but then I won’t have any attention for anything else.”

“You don’t suggest her own humans?”

“She already owns them, and she would feel like you were taking away your gift. Intellectually she would be fine, but emotionally, it would be hard for her, and vampires are ruled by their emotions even more than werewolves. The only difference is that their emotions tend to be quite crisp.”

“But she wouldn’t be offended if you offered yourself?”

“No. I’m a friend, and she would know what I was doing. I’m not hers the same way Anika and Joanna are.”

Lara and Michaela looked at each other for a while then turned to me again. “You offered choices, but you didn’t make a recommendation.”

“I can’t,” I said. “I don’t know the two wolves. I don’t know their responsibilities.”

“School,” Michaela said. “I can adjust for that. If you were one of them, what would you want us to do?”

I laughed. “I’d want you to leave it alone.”

Michaela sighed. “Yeah, I can see that.” She turned to Lara. “Who could we use to replace them?”

“We could bring someone up,” Lara replied. Then she laughed. “Although Zoe looked half ready to volunteer herself and Portia.”

“It would kill Portia,” Michaela said. “She’s still working on her confidence, and I don’t think Zoe needs more stress right now.”

“No, she doesn’t.”

They communed for a moment, and then Michaela nodded. “We owe Iris and Lindsey something large.”

“Alpha,” I said. “No, actually, you don’t.”

“Of course we do,” Lara said.

“Wait two weeks and then ask them about it. And they’ll probably tell you they’ll be happy if their names are first on the list next time Carissa comes.”

“Is that dangerous?”

“Only to expectations. If Carissa is a frequent guest, she may feel if you are going to make this offer, she could expect a little more variety. And the pack may come to take Iris and Lindsey for granted. And maybe that won’t be so bad until it’s another vampire. They aren’t all like Carissa.”

“I can vouch for that,” said Michaela. “We wouldn’t have made that offer to Kristian, or even if he were here instead of you.”

“He’s a hard one, but he’s loyal to Carissa,” I said.

“She’s not hurting them.”

“No. They’re having a very good time, but I don’t know how their families feel about this.”

“A little worried, but we can assure them,” Lara said. She turned back to Michaela. “We can handle this.”

“Yes,” Michaela said. They turned back to me. “Thank you, Anna. Unless you think it’s a mistake, we’re going to let this continue.”

“It’s what I’d want you to do, if I were either of them. But I couldn’t make that decision for your pack.”

We all stood, and then I said, “I promised Prudence a cognac.”

“Of course,” Lara said. “I’ll show you.”

* * * *

I handed the glass to Prudence, sitting down beside her with my own drink. She had a love seat for us, and as soon as I was seated, she moved against me and tucked her feet under herself. I slipped an arm around her, and she smiled at me. “You feel nice,” she said. Then she laid her head against my chest, under my chin, and snuggled in a little more tightly.

I looked around. Joanna was with Eric. Carissa had her wolves. Here and there, some of the wolves were cuddled with their mates. I searched for Anika. She was sitting with the other kids, but she didn’t seem upset about it.

Then Lara stepped in front of us and smiled as she looked around. “It’s been a good day. We had a beautiful ceremony this morning, an amazing meal this afternoon, and a good game this evening. And now we’re here, together and comfortable. Michaela and I have decided tonight is to be story time. But contrary to a popular type of story, it is not embarrass the alpha night.”

There were chuckles at that, and then Francesca called out, “But there are so many more stories to tell!”

“They’ll have to wait,” Lara insisted. “Tonight we’re going to tell stories of thanks. Maybe happy stories, or maybe sad stories that end well.” She adjusted her gaze. “Carissa, I hope you won’t mind when I call on you.”

“Not at all,” Carissa said. “We’re all pleased to partake in your customs.”

“Perfect,” Lara said. “Zoe, I believe you asked to go first.”

Zoe set the pattern. She rose from her seat and made her way to the front of the room. She came to a stop in front of Lara, and then stepped into her, accepting a hug. Then she stepped over and clasped hands with Michaela, seated on a sofa along the side, the one Lara and I had carried out. Lara sat down beside her mate. There was a little more shuffling around, and Elisabeth joined them as well. Zoe waited for people to settle, and then smiled.

“I’m overwhelmed today, as you can all imagine.” And then she told a story of how she got to know Ember, talking about time spent on a pack play night, and then something about a gaming night when Portia was gone. “My beginning with the pack was difficult, but thanks to Portia, Ember, and some of the others here, I feel entirely welcome and safe. Ember. Portia. I love you so much. Thank you for helping to make me so happy.”

“Aww,” we all said, and then Zoe worked her way back to her place. By the time she reached Portia, Ember was there, and they hugged tightly before Zoe sat back with Portia. Ember returned to the other teenagers.

After that, Lara called on people, and I saw no pattern to her choices. She called on the kids; she called on the adults. Some people told very short stories. Some were much longer.

Some clearly had volunteered, but not all of them. “Benny,” Lara said.

“Me?” said a male voice. I turned my head and saw a human I hadn’t seen before. “I didn’t have my hand up.”

“And yet, we’d like to hear from you. Come on up, Benny.”

He was seated with a large female wolf. She gave him a little boost, giving him little choice but to stand. And then he made his way to the front.

I sized him up. He was a compact man, but fit, with strong shoulders and arms, at least for a human. I wondered who he was. He reached the front, and Lara clasped hands with him then turned him to face all of us.

“Nearly everyone here knows Benny, but I do not believe our guests do. Benny lives here in Bayfield and is an old friend of Michaela’s. The pack met him when Michaela took us kayaking that first time. He and June hit it off, and we’re very pleased to call him a member of our pack.”

Then she nodded to Carissa. “Benny, with Iris and Lindsey is Carissa, as I am certain you have guessed.”

The human followed Lara’s gaze, and then he stared at Carissa for a good ten heartbeats. I couldn’t read his expression, and he didn’t ask any of the obvious questions. But then he nodded.

“This large woman,” Lara said with a gesture towards me, “Is Annabelle Delacroix. She is a jaguar and truly magnificent.”

Benny nodded to me. “Anna.”

“Benny,” I said. “Alpha, if I understand what you said, if I were to return next summer, it is Benny who would rent a kayak to me?”

“Yes,” Lara replied. “If we were not to loan one of ours.”

“Benny, I’m told I need a wet suit. I don’t know where to get one.”

“I might have one for you,” he said. He stepped over. “If you could stand.”

Prudence moved away, and I stood, towering over the human. He looked up and gulped. “I think you’re taller than Lara.”

“Yes, but perhaps no taller than a large male wolf.”

“I have a few suits sized for the large males,” he said. He looked me up and down. “The proportions wouldn’t be perfect, but you would fit. But like I tell all the wolves, if you were to come here on a regular basis, I would encourage you to be custom fitted. I have a storage room where I keep personal gear, but you should warn me if you’re coming so I can pull them out.”

“That is very kind, Benny,” I said. “Thank you.”

I sat back down, and Prudence cuddled into me again. Benny tried to escape into the back, but Lara stopped him. “Not so fast, Benny,” she said. “You haven’t told your story.”

He turned around. “I thought perhaps you’d forget.”

“I might, but do you think Michaela would?”

He sighed, causing a few snickers, but let Lara lead him back to the front of the room. Then she sat down.

Benny gulped and looked around, shifting from foot to foot. Then he looked over at Michaela and Lara, and Michaela said gently, “Just speak from your heart, Benny.”

And then I realized he wasn’t afraid of the wolves. He just didn’t like to speak in public. But he nodded.

“I was eight years old when I moved to Bayfield. My parents were having troubles, and they shipped me to my grandparents’ for the summer. And then they did divorce, and Dad took off halfway across the country. I didn’t see him again until I was 17, and I didn’t really want much to do with him by then.”

Then he looked over to Michaela again, but she only nodded encouragement to him.

“That doesn’t seem like a good story, I suppose,” he said. “But you have to know that to know the rest. I didn’t really want to be here. I missed my parents, and I missed my friends. We’d been living in Minneapolis, so this seemed like the complete boonies to me, and I didn’t like it. It didn’t help that I was deathly afraid of the lake.”

He paused. “I was pretty sullen that first year. I was pissed that I had to go to school here. And I’ve always been small, so the other kids picked on me besides.” He looked around. “I don’t know if any of you can understand that.”

“I can,” Michaela said gently.

“I suppose,” Benny replied. “That first year was pretty bad. But the next summer, a friend of my grandfather’s stayed with us for a few days. I was sullen about that, too, because I had to sleep on the couch. That first night, I heard them talking. I couldn’t hear everything they said, but I knew they talked about me, and I didn’t think my grandparents were any happier to have me here than I was to be here.”

But then he smiled. “My grandfather’s friend’s name was Francis. Grandpa called him Frank, but Grandma called him Francis. I called him Mr. Wills, but he asked me to call him Francis, too, so I did. It was the next day over breakfast that Francis asked me where my favorite fishing spot was. Well, I’d never been fishing, and when I told him that, he was shocked, or at least pretended to be. ‘Never been fishing?’ he asked. ‘And you live here, beside the most beautiful lake in the entire world, but you’ve never been fishing?’ And then there was nothing to be done, but I was to go fishing with him that day. He took me with him to get fresh bait, and he told me all about fishing, just talking, you know. And then we went out in this tiny, tiny boat, out onto that great, massive lake. I clutched the edges and prayed we didn’t tip over.”

Benny paused again, and then he began to grin. “I caught my first fish, a trout. Francis had to help me bring it in. It was a monster, or so I thought. That night, we had it for dinner, grilled with butter and a few simple herbs. But from then on I was hooked, if you’ll pardon the pun.”

He paused and looked at his feet for a minute. Then he looked up again. “My grandparents wouldn’t let me go out on the lake by myself, of course. I was far too young. And they didn’t fish, either. So my only option was to fish from shore near town, and the fishing there isn’t very good at all. But Francis came back the next summer, and the summer after that, and the summer after that. I’d be excited for weeks ahead of time.”

He laughed. “I was twelve when it was too windy for us to go out fishing. Instead we stared out at the water, neither of us very happy, and watched the sailboats. But then Francis said, ‘If it’s too windy to fish, it’s not too windy to go sailing.’ But I said, ‘We don’t have a sailboat.’ And he said, ‘No, but they do. Let’s go see if we can find someone willing to take us aboard.’ And then we walked down to the docks and talked to the sailors, and it was the third boat we talked to that said, ‘Sure. Come on aboard.’”

Benny paused again.

“Francis couldn’t come the summer I was fifteen. He was ill. That’s a sad part, and I’m going to skip that. But I was old enough to go out alone, and had been for a year or so. But that was the summer I first climbed into a kayak. And it wasn’t Francis that taught me to kayak, but it was Francis that taught me to be brave enough to go out onto those amazing waters.”

He looked at his feet once more, and then he didn’t look up for a while. “I never saw Francis again. He died, and it was too far to go to his funeral. And that part is sad, too.” He was still for a moment and then, still looking at his feet, said, “Francis gave me a gift. He took a troubled, sullen boy, and he put him on a path, one that shaped me into the man I’ve become.” Then he looked up, but he looked to the ceiling. “Francis, thank you. I don’t know what my life would have become without your influence.”

He stood there, and then Michaela slipped from Lara and moved into Benny, one petite woman hugging the man, making him look bigger than he did while standing beside Lara. Then Michaela moved Benny back, handing him off to his wolf, June.

“Thank you, Benny,” Lara said. “Benny’s story reminds all of us of our responsibilities and the impact we each can have on the lives of others. Thomas, do you think you’d like to tell a story?”

Two people later, Lara said, “Carissa, I imagine you have stories.”

Carissa laughed lightly. “One or two.” She rose from her seat but offered a caress to the wolves before moving to the front. She clasped hands with Lara briefly then turned to face us.

I’d seen Carissa in front of an audience before. She was an amazing speaker. That shouldn’t have been a surprise. Not all vampires were, of course. Some thought they were, but they overplayed it. But Carissa smiled, and the room lit up with her smile whether people knew what she was or not.

And so she smiled as she looked around the room. “Everyone here knows what I am. Everyone can guess that I have lived a very, very long time. I am not the oldest vampire I know, not by far, and there are fae that are exceedingly ancient as well.”

She moved about in front of us, looking here, looking there, meeting gazes when allowed. Then she said, “Lara gave me enough time to consider what story I might want to tell. And I think I’m going to tell a story that won’t make sense to you until the end. We are to tell a story of thanks, and this story by itself is not of thanks at all. But I think it’s important.”

She turned around in a full circle, her hands raised. “This is a beautiful home,” she said. And somehow when she finished her turn, she was nearest Angel and Scarlett. “The people who designed and built it should be proud of what they have accomplished.” She smiled again. “As you can imagine, I have been to many beautiful places, and I have a deep appreciation for beauty. This place is unlike my current homes.”

Then she turned around again, walking back to the center. “I will not tell you how old I am. The language of my birth no longer exists, not really.” And then she began speaking another language, a paragraph or so, and I didn’t recognize a single word. She laughed. “I haven’t spoken that language in three hundred years, and I haven’t heard it spoken from another in much longer.” She smiled. “This doesn’t happen when I speak English, because I learned English only relatively recently, as I measure things. But if I speak French or German, I sometimes use words or pronunciations no one has heard since before Columbus.”

She let that settle, but I had absolutely no idea where she was going.

“Rats,” she said. “We thought it was the rats. Everyone thought it was the rats. In modern English, it is called the black death, or sometimes the bubonic plague, but that was only one form of the plague. The 14th century wasn’t the first time the plague had come to Europe, but the pandemic that ravaged Europe in the 1340s was probably the worst.”

She moved around again. “No one understood, of course. We thought it was the rats. And in a way, it was. But we made the worst choices. We burned out the rats, trying to drive them from our villages. Do you know what happens then? Michaela, don’t answer. Anyone else?”

She looked around. Finally Cassie raised her hand. “The rats die?”

“Some do,” Carissa answered. “What do the rest do?”

“Run.”

“Yes. They run. They run from our village to the village down the road. And do you know what they carry with them?”

“Plague?”

“Indirectly. It wasn’t the rats. We know that now. But we didn’t then. The rats didn’t carry the plague. Do you know what carried the plague?”

“Fleas,” said Ember. “The fleas liked the rats, but they liked humans, too. The rats were just taxis.”

“Yes,” Carissa said. “Fleas.” She paused. “You know. We bathed. Oh, we didn’t have showers, and very few people bathed in a tub like we have now. But we washed daily, and some towns had hot springs. I’m sure you’ve heard of the Roman baths. It wasn’t until after the plague that some idiot decided bathing was how we could get sick. But before than, people bathed regularly. But there were still fleas. And lice. And other things.”

She paced a moment. “People worked hard. Women died in childbirth. Children definitely died in childbirth. Those knights of Arthur’s? Myths, of course. Most knights were complete, utter assholes. I lost track of how many rabid dogs I put down when they’d come to my village, thinking it was ripe for raping and sacking.”

She looked around. “Do you know what I am thankful for? Showers. City sanitary services. Garbage trucks. Vacuum cleaners. Insecticide. Electricity.” She paused. “Science,” she added. “And not directly for myself, but modern medicine.”

And with that, she headed back to her chair, but Michaela stopped her. “Carissa.” The vampire turned around. “Will you tell us the good parts, at least one or two?”

Carissa nodded. “Most people were good,” she said. “They helped each other. And it seemed crowded at the time, but it wasn’t. Wide, open spaces and vast forests. And as a vampire, it was easy. I had to move every forty years or so, but I didn’t have to move all that far. Fifty miles was practically the other side of the world.”

She nodded to Michaela and moved to her couch, but Monique stood up. “Carissa. What do you do now? You said before you’ve lived in New Orleans for a long time. How long?”

“Well, that was a surprise for me,” Carissa said. “I arrived when New Orleans was returned to French control in 1802. Surprise, surprise, as Napoleon sold Louisiana to the Americans in 1803, and so I became an American citizen. I’ve been there since.”

“But how do you hide? People must recognize you.”

“I don’t hide,” she said. “Not really. Oh, I tend to avoid situations where that can happen. But you see? They know who I am.”

“What?” Monique asked.

“Oh, not the general population, but the people who matter. The top politicians, the head of the police.” She smiled. “In Louisiana, if you want to go into politics, there are things you must do. Do you know what that might be?”

Monique looked at the vampire for a minute then shook her head.

“Well, you must ask permission.”

“From you?”

“Not just me, but from the other powers: the voodoo queens, me, the heads of the most powerful houses. To the voodoo queens, they bring a gift. To me, they bring a promise.” She laughed for a moment.

“What’s funny?” Monique asked.

“I avoid politics,” Carissa said. “And if someone comes to me politely, I always give permission. Most think they are asking a young but powerful woman. They don’t know what I am. But some do, and sometimes they think they need to bribe me.” She shook her head. “I shouldn’t have laughed. It’s not really funny, not really.”

“They bring a person, don’t they?”

“Some. The ones who know what I am, but don’t know how insulted I am likely to be. They may offer themselves, or a spouse, or a child. I have been offered infants. Do you know how disgusting that is?”

“That’s-“ Monique broke off. Carissa waited patiently, letting the young wolf come to her own conclusions. “That’s terrible. Isn’t it? I mean.”

“Yes, Monique,” Carissa said. “What kind of person would offer an infant as a meal?” She let that question settle.

“What do you do?”

“It depends. If they offer themselves, or a spouse, then I take the time to see what kind of person they are. I’ve even accepted. If it’s a child, then it depends on the age of the child. Sometimes they are your age, and while I never take from anyone who is not an adult, it’s not necessarily disgusting that they offer.”

“And when it’s a baby?”

“Oh, I take, but not the baby.” She turned towards the alphas. “We have strayed from our theme.”

“Perhaps,” said Lara. “But you should finish.”

Carissa nodded and turned back to Monique. But then I saw her fangs grow. She turned around, letting everyone see. There were a few gasps, not many. “I take,” Carissa said. Then she shook her head. “People like that tend to taste off, and I don’t care for it. But I take, and then I absolutely forbid them their requests. I let them know what kind of person I think they are. And then I compel them to mend their wicked ways.” She moved closer, stalking Monique, moving closer and closer.

The werewolf was either very brave or very stupid, as she stood her ground, looking down at the vampire queen. “You are a good girl, Monique,” Carissa said. “But you should be frightened of me right now.”

Monique shook her hair a little but didn’t drop her gaze. “You won’t hurt me.”

Carissa stepped closer. “How sure are you?”

“Positive.”

“How can you be so sure?”

“Because Michaela and Lara trust you.”

Carissa froze an instant and then smiled briefly. “So by extension, you trust me as well.”

“Yes.”

“Well, you’re right. I won’t hurt you. But you’re still curious, aren’t you?”

“You said you compel them.”

“I do.”

“What does that really mean?”

“Tell me something you would never do.”

“I’d never hurt Michaela.”

“All right. Tell me something you wouldn’t do, but not something that would hurt someone. Something small.”

“Like, um. Sing karaoke?”

“Yes, something like that, but something we could do here.”

“Fine. I wouldn’t kiss your feet.”

Carissa laughed. “If Lara ordered you to?”

That question threw Monique for a moment, but she straightened and said, “Fine. I wouldn’t if you ordered me to.”

“Oh, I think you would,” Carissa said.

“Fine. I wouldn’t if Ember ordered me to.”

“Hey!” said the girl in question. “Leave me out of it.”

Carissa glanced to the other girl then looked back up into Monique’s eyes. “Unless you say ‘no’, or the alphas stop me, I am going to compel you, Monique.”

“To kiss your feet?”

“No. To do whatever Ember orders for the next hour. Would that be terrible?”

Monique looked down at her friend then back to Carissa. “No, it wouldn’t.”

“Lara, are you stopping me?”

“This is Monique’s choice,” Lara said. “But perhaps we can ask Monique to tell us what she thinks, when her hour is over.”

Carissa hadn’t taken her gaze from Monique, and so when the wolf nodded, Carissa trapped her gaze. It was clear to me and I thought perhaps to some of the others. They both froze, staring at each other, and then Carissa said clearly, “Monique, when I release you, you belong to Ember. Until Lara calls on you, or until you next sleep, you will obey any order Ember offers you. Do you understand?”

“Yes,” Monique whispered.

“Go to her now. Kneel to her, and you will hear no other voices, not even mine, until after you have completed Ember’s first order to you.”

Then Carissa dropped her gaze. Monique shuddered then turned, walked to Ember, and knelt at her feet, gazing up at her. Ember’s eyes grew wide, and she stared at her friend.

“Young wolf,” Carissa said gently. “Do not abuse this gift, but she will only fully understand if you require she do things she wouldn’t normally do. Do you understand?”

Ember glanced up at the vampire. “I don’t know. I don’t want to hurt her.”

“Which is why I selected you,” Carissa replied. She turned back to Lara and offered a tiny bow. “Alphas.” Then she headed to her seat.

Lara stood back up, waited for Carissa to settle, and then turned her gaze to Ember, who was staring at Monique. “Ember,” Lara said. Ember looked up at her. “She deserves to hear what I’m going to say, so you have to give her an order.”

“What do I tell her to do?”

“You already know. She told you.”

Ember cocked her head then said, “I’m supposed to make her kiss Carissa’s feet?”

“Close. Make her kiss yours.”

“She wouldn’t!”

“Normally, you’re right,” Lara said.

“I-“ She looked down, then back at Monique. “Monique, kiss my foot.” She held a foot out. Monique reached for it and bent her head. It was a brief kiss, but a kiss nevertheless.

“Oh my god,” said Monique. “I couldn’t help myself.”

“Ember, tell her to sit at your feet, and then we can continue.”

“Monique, sit here,” Ember said, pointing at the floor in front of her. Monique got settled, and then Ember hung a foot over her shoulder. “Rub my feet, Monique.”

There were chuckles at that, but of course, Monique went right to work.

“Well,” said Lara. “Vampires are powerful. Carissa, was that as easy as it looked?”

“Yes. The general rule is never look a powerful vampire in the eye.”

“Well, Carissa is certainly powerful. She would be a powerful enemy, but I am thankful she is a powerful friend.” And then Lara called on someone else.