“Three more,” Karen said.
“Good,” said Monique. “Cecelia was on the fence. She’s really cool. We take all the normal classes like math and English, but we also take classes in other things.” She looked at Karen. “Like karate. And stuff.”
All that made sense. Monique explained just a little more then looked at Karen. “How’s that?”
“Very well done, Monique,” Karen said with a smile. “You may sit down.” She paused. “You know, you might not be on Michaela’s detail.”
“I know,” she said as she sat. Her voice sounded sad.
“You might be on Zoe’s.”
“Mine?” I squeaked. “Am I being watched?”
“No, but there will be times you’ll be guarded,” Karen said. “For instance, we’re bringing two extra wolves to Key West with us. They are assigned to you.”
“To me? Why?”
“Because we will be in another pack’s territory, and while they have assured us we will be unmolested, we don’t take chances.”
Monique had been studying Karen carefully, then she turned to me. She gave me an appreciative look, then grinned. “I think Karen just told me I’m going to Key West with you!”
“I believe,” Karen said, “That Karen suggested your name
might
be on the short list, but it can’t move to the short-short list until you are a rated diver.”
Monique began to squeal. “I’m going to Key West!” she said. She bounced in her chair a few times then ran to me and hugged me. I couldn’t have been more surprised. “Don’t worry, Zoe. I’ll take care of you!”
I looked over at Karen, who lifted her finger to her lips in the universal, “Shh” gesture, and I nodded once.
“All right. Now that we’ve gotten Monique worked up,” Karen said. She waited for Monique to return to her seat. “Layton, how about you.”
The other boy stood up, and I learned he was Layton Dales, another of Michaela’s students. He said a lot of the same things that Connor had.
Finally it was Kaylee’s turn. She stood up. “I’m Kaylee Moss. We’ve met, Zoe, but you may not know much about me. Do you know Serena? She’s the head of Michaela’s security detail.”
I nodded. “Yes. I know Serena.”
“She’s my mom.”
“That I didn’t know.”
Kaylee explained that she was also a science student. She talked about that for a minute, and from the way her eyes lit up every time she mentioned Michaela’s name, I thought perhaps someone had a crush on teacher. Finally she sat down, and it was my turn.
“I am Zoe Young, and I have a secret to share with all of you.” I gestured for everyone to lean in closer, then I lowered my voice and said conspiratorially, “I’m a human.”
They laughed at that, then Kaylee said in a similar tone, “We know, but we won’t tell anyone.” That earned more laughter.
I went on to explain what I did for my job — both jobs. I admitted that I was struggling to fit into the pack, and I appreciated their help.
“Why are you here?” Karen prompted when I prepared to sit down.
“Um. Long version or short version?”
“Short version.”
“Michaela invited me and made it possible for me to afford it. It’s something that’s always fascinated me, but I could never have paid for it.”
“One more thing,” Karen said. “Are you dating anyone?”
I stared at her. “I might be.”
“Will you tell us whom?”
“Um. Elisabeth Burns.”
“And did you and Elisabeth have a date last night?”
“We did.”
“And did you come back here afterwards?”
“Yes.”
“Did you spend the night?”
“I’m not sure I care to answer that.”
And that’s when Monique said, “I told you, Kaylee! Pay up!”
“No way,” Kaylee said. “I want an eyewitness account.”
“An eyewitness account of what,” I asked.
“Who was screaming, ‘Elisabeth! Yes! Elisabeth!’ last night.”
I immediately colored and buried my head. “Oh god, just kill me now.”
The room grew still, then Monique said, “That sounded like a confession to me, Kaylee.”
“Yeah,” the other girl said. A moment later I heard the sound of money changing hands.
There was a little pause, and then, with a lilt in her voice, Karen said, “Welcome to the pack, Zoe.” There were more chuckles. I was mortified, and I’d be having words with Elisabeth. “Now, if you’ll unbury your head, I’ll go next.” She waited until I was looking up, fanning myself. “I am Karen Pierce. As you all know, I am an enforcer, the head of Lara’s security detail.” She talked a little bit about herself, then she explained, “When I was eighteen, I signed up for the army, and while there, I became an Army Ranger. As a Ranger, I learned a great many skills, including diving. I actually haven’t done a lot of recreational diving until recently, but I am now a certified dive master and instructor.”
She looked around. “Now, let’s talk about diving.
* * * *
We got a break ninety minutes later, and waiting for us in the hall were a couple of carts with dinner for us. I realized I hadn’t planned properly as I hadn’t brought anything to eat. But the kids wheeled the carts in and began handing things out. There was a bunch of food, including two plates with my name on them. I opened them and found myself facing a lovely pasta salad and a plate of fruit. Then Kaylee asked me, “Water or cider?”
“Oh, cider, please,” I replied.
With the food passed out, Karen moved to our table, sitting across from Kaylee and me. “Zoe, I need a check for your materials. The class itself is free, but the packet and registration with PADI has a fee. If you didn’t bring a check, you can bring one tomorrow.”
“Nope, I have it right here. Michaela warned me.” I wrote a check to her in between bites of my meal.
Kaylee had gotten used to my dining habits, but the other wolves hadn’t really seen what I eat before. “What is that?” Connor asked, gesturing to my plate.
“Pasta salad and fruit,” I said. “There’s more than I’m going to eat. Want some?”
“What’s in it?” He leaned towards me and sniffed. “You’re actually eating that?”
I poked through it. “It’s good!” I said. “Let’s see. Pasta, of course. Onion, green and red bell peppers, tomatoes, cucumber. Hmm.” I sniffed. “Olive oil, a tiny bit of red pepper, just a touch, and a little garlic. I’m not sure if there’s anything else.”
Kaylee leaned closer and sniffed. “Lime juice.” And then she gestured with her fork. “I don’t know what that green stuff is.”
“Parsley. You don’t recognize parsley?”
She leaned away, not commenting.
“It’s good. Who wants to try some?”
“There’s no meat!” Connor said. “How can you eat that?”
I chuckled. “Didn’t I mention? I’m vegan.”
“Like, from Venus?” asked Layton with a grin.
“No. It’s like a vegetarian only more so. I don’t eat anything with animal products.”
“What?” asked Connor. “You mean animal byproducts.”
“No. I mean animal products. No milk, butter, eggs, meat. You get the idea. I don’t use leather for my clothing, and I certainly don’t wear fur. Unlike all of you every day.”
There were a couple of chuckles at that.
“Why not?” he asked.
I glanced at Karen. She was smiling but didn’t say anything.
“Because animals are people, too,” Monique said. “Right, Zoe?”
“Sort of, Monique,” I agreed. “Um.” I looked between them. They were all watching me while eating their own dinners, all of which prominently featured animal protein. “I don’t expect wolves to share this attitude with me, and I make no judgment on your food choices, as long as you aren’t cruel when you kill you food.”
“My mom once caught me playing with a rabbit,” Layton said. “She let me have it. She told me she wasn’t raising me to be cruel to animals, and I should show the rabbit respect for the gift of life. That’s the way she put it. After that, I always made sure to kill them as quickly as I could.”
Inwardly, I shuddered. Karen may have noticed, but I did what I could to suppress me reaction. The idea that someone so young could so calmly talk about killing another creature was disturbing to me.
“Well, for me,” I said, “I consider it unethical to ask another creature to give its life so that I can eat or wear clothes. I don’t expect wolves to understand. In fact, you probably think that’s pretty weird.” I gestured to my meal. “This has everything I need. Well, there isn’t any protein here, or not much, but there are lots of foods that give me the protein my body needs. And nothing had to die so I could eat.”
“That’s not true,” said Kaylee. “The pasta is made from wheat. So the wheat died. The tomatoes…” she paused, gesturing. “Is that a cucumber?”
“No. That’s the red bell pepper. This is a cucumber.” I speared one and held it up.
She leaned over and sniffed it. “Smells weird. Well, the wheat died, and the tomatoes, and cucumbers.”
“Okay, you’re right. But nothing with a brain had to die. Did anyone want to try it?”
They all curled their lips at the idea, and conversation quickly moved to other topics. Inwardly, I laughed.
My dinner was very good. I would have to remember to thank Francesca later.
“All right,” Karen said. “Let’s keep going. We’ll have another break in an hour so you can all go for a run.”
* * * *
The class was fascinating, and the hour passed quickly. We all did some of the exercises from the workbook, and then Karen said, “All right. You have time for a twenty-minute run. I hope none of you are slow shifters.”
They didn’t wait. There was a mad scramble for the door, and a moment later, Karen and I were alone.
“Wow.”
She laughed. “Did you want some air?”
But that was when Michaela, Lara, and Elisabeth stepped into the room. I ended accepting another hug from Michaela, a hand clasp from Lara, and a hug and tentative kiss from Elisabeth. I whispered to Elisabeth, “We’re going to be talking later.”
“I look forward to it,” she said.
Then I turned to Lara. “Alpha, I would like to register a complaint.”
“Oh?” she lifted an eyebrow. “Against Karen and her teaching?”
“No, of course not. Against two of the younger wolves.”
Karen began to snicker. Michaela looked back and forth between Karen and me. “Is there something I need to handle?”
“I don’t know. Maybe. They… They
wagered
on me!”
The four of them were silent for about two seconds, then they began laughing. Michaela in particular laughed so hard she wiped tears from her eyes.
“Of course they did!” she finally said. “They wager about
everything
.”
“But… but…” I sputtered. “Not about
me
!”
The wolves continued to laugh, but Michaela sobered and studied me carefully. “Well, we seem to have a complaint.” She turned to Lara. “In the pack rules, are there any rules governing wagers?”
“There are,” Lara said. “No wagering over anything illegal, dangerous, or against pack law. No wagers you cannot afford to pay. And we don’t allow gambling outside of pack, although we turn a blind eye to things like Fantasy Football pools.”
“Are there any rules that specifically say someone cannot place wagers concerning the behavior or performance of Zoe Young?”
“No, there aren’t.”
Michaela turned back to me. By then, I was scowling. She shrugged. “It’s not against pack rules. Sorry, Zoe.” She was still grinning.
“It’s not funny.”
“It certainly is,” Michaela replied. “It’s damned funny they’re wagering over you instead of me.”
“Oh, they’re still wagering over you, Little Fox,” Elisabeth said. “Don’t worry about that.”
“Hush, you,” Michaela told her. She turned back to me. “What was the nature of this wager?”
“It was about the identity of Elisabeth’s overnight houseguest.”
“Who was foolish enough to wager on that?” Lara asked.
“I believe I witnessed Kaylee Moss hand five dollars to Monique Simpson,” Karen replied.
“You’re going to allow this, Alpha?” I asked, leaving it up to either alpha to answer.
“Damned right I am,” said Michaela. “If they wager on you, maybe they’ll pay a little less attention to me.”
“Damn it!”
But Elisabeth was shaking her head. “Michaela, that’s the worst plan you’ve ever had, and you’ve had some doozies.”
“Or stated another way,” she said, smiling sweetly at me. “Misery loves company.”
Lara chuckled.
I turned to Elisabeth. “This is your fault.”
“Hey, don’t blame me. We told you: they wager on everything. Michaela is popular, followed by Lara and then me. I can only guess where you’ll come in the list.”
“If you keep turning me into an exhibitionist, I suspect pretty damned high.”
She just smirked, entirely unrepentant.