A few minutes later, I felt a tap on my head. I sat upright in the water, and Karen was there. I grabbed Kaylee, and we both turned to Karen. She gestured for us to follow her, and she backed up into the middle of the deep end. “Okay, one by one, I want to see a clean surface dive. Do you both remember what Angel did?”
We nodded.
“Kaylee first then.”
We both did our surface dives, clearing our snorkels when we came to the surface. And Karen pronounced us both, “Good.”
So far, this was easy!
But after that was when it got serious. We collected by the scuba gear, and Karen demonstrated how to put the gear together and test everything. She had us each do it a few times with the others helping us.
“The standards are just for you to do this once per dive, but that’s insufficient,” Karen said. “It looks like you’ve all got it, so I want each of you to come up here and take your gear fully apart and put it back together again. Show me you can inflate and deflate your BCD, and read off the air pressure. Kaylee, you will help Michaela with the heavy lifting.”
When it was my turn, I only forgot one thing. I forgot to blow off the water from the plug that fit into place on the tank after I took the regulator off.
“You’ll all demonstrate this for each dive. I want you to be able to do it in your sleep before we’re done.”
I wasn’t the only one who forgot something. Connor forgot to connect one of the hoses for inflating the BCD, and Layton put his tank on the BCD backwards. But they were relatively minor things, easily fixed, and Karen declared us, “Good. Wolves, I want you to carry everything to the edge of the pool at the shallow end.”
I got to watch Kaylee carry my gear, then her own. But I took both weight belts, so I wasn’t completely worthless. She grinned at me.
“Okay it’s possible to get the gear on by yourself, and as wolves, I would expect it to be easy, but I don’t want to accidentally drop something on the concrete, so we’re going to pull our gear on in the water. You should help each other. Inflate your BCDs about half full, put your weight belts on, and then pull your BCDs and tanks into the water with you. Don’t let the regulator or gauges bang against anything.”
Soon we had five sets of air tanks floating around with their own little life jackets on them. It was kind of cute. Angel and Scarlett demonstrated helping each other put their gear on. As the gear floated, I was assured even a puny human could do this part.
There were chuckles at my expense. I didn’t mind. I was having a blast and couldn’t stop smiling.
Kaylee turned to me. “Let’s do mine first so you don’t have to move around helping me with your own gear on your back.”
I was impressed at how thoughtful she was. I wondered if she’d been prompted. And so I helped her into her gear, and then I checked everything. Then she helped me.
The gear was heavy and awkward, and standing up in it was hard!
“I bet it’s worse on land,” Kaylee said. She leaned closer. “Don’t worry about it, Zoe. Scarlett’s dad is human, and her mom does all the heavy lifting. It’s cool. I’m the baby in the family, so it’s fun to be able to help someone else instead of always having someone helping me.”
God, she was sweet.
After that, we did a bunch of exercises, first in shallow water, sitting on the bottom in a circle. Then Karen had us swim along the bottom of the pool into the deep end, and we did a few more simple exercises.
I had a blast.
* * * *
“I’m exhausted,” I admitted to Elisabeth after the evening pool dive. “This is an intense class!”
“Humans do it over two weekends. We’re cramming it into one weekend, and this week we’ll do the open water dives. We had this planned before Michaela invited you. Is it too much? We can have Karen teach you solo.”
“I’m fine. Just really, really worn out.” I paused. “Elisabeth, I’m having a really, really good time.”
“Good. It’s supposed to be fun, even if it’s grueling. Honey, I don’t want you driving.”
I thought about it. “What do you recommend?”
“Well, I have a big bed, but if you don’t want to share it, I also have a guest room. Which has never been slept in, I’ll point out. Or there’s even an empty room or two in the barracks.”
“I didn’t bring anything for tomorrow.”
She grinned. “Yes you did, unless you repacked the bag. Didn’t you notice anything below the swim suit and sweats?”
I laughed. “Sneaky wolf.” I leaned against her. “Please put me to bed.”
I shared her bed. She gave me another massage, but I was asleep after just a few minutes.
I did wake a few times. There is something deeply comforting about sharing a bed with someone. Humans are social animals, after all. And I would learn, werewolves were more so. Elisabeth liked to cuddle when she slept, so in the nights I’d spent with her, I’d find myself spooned, snuggled against, or draped across her. I liked all of them.
She had her own scent. I’d never paid attention to how someone smelled unless she had a particular scent in her shampoo or wore perfume — or just never showered, which isn’t so pleasant. But Elisabeth had a very subtle scent, or subtle to my nose, anyway. I could barely detect her scent, and I suspect it was at least partially my own imagination, but to me she smelled wild and powerful, deep and earthy. When I woke and found myself pressed against her back with my faced buried in the back of her neck, I could readily imagine her as wolf, a wild beast just below the surface.
But I didn’t wake often. Sharing her bed was soothing, and I slept hard.
I was falling for her.
I was falling for life in the pack, too. It was intense, and my body hurt, but they were all so close, and discounting that week of fear, everyone treated me amazingly well. The kids were all really nice, even the guys.
And a part of me found Elisabeth seductive in another way. I knew I could simply submit to her, surrender, and she’d take care of me, she’d take care of me in all the ways that implies.
But if I let her do that, what would it do for my own pride? I was proud that I managed to support myself, even if it had been hand to mouth. I was proud that I didn’t work for the polluting corporate overlords but still supported myself. And so I’d let Elisabeth support me instead?
But I was already getting a taste of what that could mean.
I could move in. My photography could become little more than a hobby. I could help Michaela with her classes and outings. And I thought I could even be part of this inner circle of friends, of very powerful friends.
I’d never worried about that before.
It was all very seductive.
But it wasn’t me to depend on people. I’d never let a girlfriend support me that way before, and I’d had a few rich girlfriends over the years, women who had wanted to own the environmental activist for a while. They’d thought to buy my loyalty, but I hadn’t let them.
But I was now wondering whether I was going to let Elisabeth have me so completely?
Maybe I was.
* * * *
Sunday was a lot like Saturday, although the schedule was slightly different. Elisabeth surprised me again; she had vegan food in her kitchen. It wasn’t much, but there was enough for breakfast. We then did another light workout, and I popped some ibuprofen. A short while later, she dropped me off at the school, giving me a deep kiss in the hallway that left me breathless and panting.
She grinned at me and was ready to turn away, but I stopped her. “Elisabeth?”
“Zoe.”
“Is all this real?”
“Of course.”
“Am I just a fling? You’re sort of offering me a life here. But is this just fun for a few weeks?”
She looked into my eyes. “I don’t know what it is, Zoe. I’m not ready to make promises. But I’m not calling it a fling, either.” She paused before continuing. “You know, whether or not we have a relationship, you’re part of this pack. Michaela wants you around whether we’re dating or not. And what Michaela wants, Michaela gets.”
I smiled. “She’s got Lara that wrapped around her finger?”
“She has all of us that wrapped around her finger, but it’s in a good way. What she’s done for this pack…” She trailed off. “Long story for another time. But my point is, this life you see — you don’t need a relationship with me for this life.”
“I can’t afford-”
“Michaela won’t let that get in the way.”
I lowered my eyes. “Maybe I don’t need you for some of this, like the diving, but do you have any idea how comforting it is to sleep pressed against you?”
When I looked back up, she was grinning.
“Not afraid anymore?”
I shook my head. “Not even of Karen. I’m still a little cautious around Lara, but that’s fading. I might even start teasing her.”
Elisabeth barked a short laugh. “You should. Zoe, I’m married to my job. I honestly don’t know what sort of long-term girlfriend I’d be. You’re a human, and as hard as you’re trying, you have limitations. I haven’t decided how I feel about that. And-” she made a face. “You’re a
vegan
.”
“Yeah, I’ve thought about those, too.”
“So-” and she gestured back and forth between us. “I don’t know if this combination works. I like you. I enjoy our time together, and I’m feeling very possessive of you, which usually means something to a wolf. And I enjoy your body. I enjoy having you pressed against me at night. But it’s going to take time to find out if all that can overcome the difficulties.”
“Yeah,” I agreed.
She kissed me again, more briefly, and then we hugged for a minute before she turned me around and, with a gentle slap on my bottom, she sent me into the classroom.
Monique had saved me a place. “Zoe, you’re my partner today.” And she patted the seat next to her.”
Class began a few minutes later with Karen asking us what we thought of everything so far.
* * * *
We had class until ten, then pool time. Lunch and more class, then more time in the pool. Then more class, dinner, a little more class, and then pool until ten.
By the time we were done, I couldn’t lift a thing. I did the exercises Karen called for, but my body was entirely worn through. Monique had to take care of my gear, as I couldn’t lift it, and she even had to help me from the pool. She helped me to the bench and sat me down, and then I sat, staring at the floor a few feet in front of me, my thoughts gone with the strength in my body.
A few minutes later, the entire class as well as our assistant instructors gathered around us.
“Congratulations. As expected, you have all passed the classroom and pool portions of your Open Water class. I’m proud of all of you.” She chuckled. “Even the exhausted human.”
I looked up and smiled weakly.
“I did it.”
“Yes, Zoe, you did. We’re going to give all of you a day to recover, then our open water dives are Tuesday and Wednesday. We’ll dive twice each day with lunch in between. Zoe, that’s a normal, human schedule, having four dives over two days. You’ll be tired, but not worn through.”
I nodded.
“Assuming you all do as well in the open water as you did here, you’ll all be certified divers by Wednesday afternoon.”
My heart swelled, and for some reason, I turned a tiny bit emotional. It had all been a whirlwind, but I was deeply pleased.
“Zoe, are you with us? I want to talk about what happens after that.”
I nodded. “I’m here.”
“For those going to Key West, I’ll be putting you through your Advanced Open Water course. There’s a self-study book, and five dives.”
“We’re also negotiating with Karen to teach us some of the specialty courses,” Michaela said. “We’ll discuss that at dinner on Wednesday. Zoe, you should look through the available courses and see if there are any that intrigue you.”
I looked over at her. “I’d do whichever ones you want.”
“You should look, anyway. If there are classes you specifically want and others you don’t, we’ll adjust our schedules so we do the ones you don’t want while you’re working on your Advanced Open Water class.”
“Oh. Sure.”
Then Michaela smiled. “Monique, you need to come to dinner on Wednesday as well.”
Monique stared at her, then she began to squeal. “I’m going to Key West! I’m going to Key West!” She leaned over and hugged me. “I’ll take care of you, Zoe.” Then she ran to Michaela and hugged her, too.
“Enforcer!” said Elisabeth firmly, and Monique snapped to attention facing her. “You understand you will be on duty.”
“Yes, Head Enforcer.”
“You will report to your duty leader.”
“Who is that, Head Enforcer?”
“We’ll announce that on Wednesday.”
“Yes, Head Enforcer.”
“All right. Carry on.”
She looked at Elisabeth then she squealed again. “I’m going to Key West!”
* * * *
“I’m in no shape to drive,” I admitted as we were dressing following our showers.
“Did you want a ride home?”
“I don’t want to be trouble.”