Fox Fate (19 page)

"Is that 'no'?"

"Your decision, honey."

And so I spoke in a normal voice. "Ekaterina, we are doing some sort of swamp tour this afternoon. I'll be changing clothes before we go, and Deirdre has the details. Perhaps you and Sonya would care to join us."

Sonya heard her name but turned to her vampire, who spoke Russian for a moment. Sonya smiled broadly and spoke one word. "Da."

"If your alpha will see to her security along with your own, Sonya would like to join you," Ekaterina said, "but I have no desire to see a swamp. Violet, what are your plans?"

"I wondered if perhaps we could continue our business discussion, if Carissa hasn't other commitments," Violet offered. She turned to me. "If the alpha doesn't require me."

"Whatever you want," I said.

"Excellent," said Carissa. Then she spoke very quietly for my ears. "Could we join you for dinner?"

I glanced at Lara. She'd handle it. I nodded.

James decided to remain with Violet. Hanna asked if she could come with us.

* * * *

The swamp tour was... startling. There was no discussion over the details, only that Deirdre had arranged a private tour for our group. Our convoy drove an hour from the plantation before we pulled into a place called "Great Panther Swamp Tours." Our party consisted of Lara and me, Hanna, six enforcers, Deirdre, Sonya. Anika and Joanna elected to remain behind, although we would see them again at dinner.

It had been decided that seeing to Sonya's security meant plastering her to my side. The enforcers smirked at me, knowing that I'd doubly behave, if not for myself and my promises, but for Sonya's sake. I didn't want to think what Ekaterina would do if something happened to her fox, but neither Lara nor Elisabeth seemed unduly stressed to have her along. Deirdre attempted to relinquish my other side to Lara, but my mate only said, "No, no, today is her day with you." And so Lara hovered nearby, and she frequently stood immediately behind me with her hands on my shoulders, but she seemed content to let me speak to Deirdre.

However, we did have a moment of stress shortly after climbing from the vehicles. Of course, the enforcers set up their regular bubble. Deirdre smirked at their behavior. "As if anyone would dare try anything with you under Carissa's protection." Then she tried to head into the shack that defined the operations center for Great Panther. Elisabeth snagged her by her arm and dragged her back, pressing her against my side.

Deirdre only laughed. "You are responsible for Michaela and Sonya, but I take care of myself."

"That's what I keep telling her! Look how far it gets me." I gestured. "Seven of them. Seven."

"Oh please," Elisabeth said. "It's only six, and two are for Lara." She grinned at her sister. "Deirdre, you will remain with Michaela."

Deirdre laughed again. "I have to check us in. If you walk in there, it isn't going to go very well."

"Oh?" Elisabeth asked.

"I understand you are fond of wagers," Deirdre said. "In approximately ten minutes from now, you will agree with my prediction."

"So we will go in there and test your hypothesis."

"Oh no," she said. "I will go in, check us in, and introduce us to our guide. And then you will tell me whether I was right."

"And what do you want if you win this wager?" Elisabeth asked.

"Oh, let us consider it a minor token. Loser pays for tonight's dinner. It is a very expensive restaurant."

Elisabeth laughed. "I intend to drink expensive wine."

"As do I," Deirdre replied. "We have agreement?"

I smirked, amused. I knew the dinner tab wouldn't bother Elisabeth. I only wished Deirdre had asked for something far more amusing. I didn't know why, but I was sure she was right. I would never wager against the elf.

Once she had Elisabeth's agreement, Deirdre turned to Lara. "You are all under Carissa's protection, and the family that runs this operation belongs to Carissa. You are absolutely safe here."

After a moment to think about it, Lara nodded understanding.

Deirdre stepped away from me, but I stopped her. "Give me a hint."

She smiled and didn't immediately respond, but then once she was away from Elisabeth, she said quietly, for my ears only, "Think about the name."

She was gone perhaps six or eight minutes. The rest of us clustered around. Elisabeth and Lara spoke together quietly while the other enforcers were clearly on watch. Sonya craned her neck everywhere, but she never released herself from my arm. I wouldn't have wanted her to.

When I thought about her, though, I grew sad. I thought of my lost family. I thought of my sister.

Sonya noticed a change in me. She turned to me and caressed my cheek. "Michaela OK?" she asked.

I thought about it, then I pantomimed as I spoke. I pointed to Lara and Elisabeth, pointing between them. "Sisters," I said.

"Sisters," she repeated in her thick accent. "Da."

Then I held my hand to my chest, pointed to my eyes, then pointed at her. "When I see you..." I pointed to my head. "I think about my sister."

She understood immediately. Then she spoke a mix of English and Russian, mostly Russian, and I didn't understand a word, but the occasional word in English. She pointed to her own eyes, then to me. "Sonya sister," she said. "Mama. Papa mama. Papa sister." She made a face of grief, then she hugged me tightly, speaking into my ear. "Sonya Michaela sisters."

We held each other firmly, words not needed. But then I heard a screen door open. She released me the same time that I released her, and we both said, "Deirdre."

It was so weird to be with someone who could hear as well as I could.

We both turned.

Deirdre and another woman were standing on the back porch of the Great Panther Swamp Tours building, watching us and, perhaps, waiting to be noticed. Once she saw us looking, she said for my ears, "You are safe, Michaela."

The woman beside Deirdre was tall, and I knew instantly she wasn't human.

She wasn't a wolf, either, but she was as big as one, perhaps even bigger.

As a human, I couldn't have told you her racial background. Her skin tone would have made a professional suntanner jealous. Her hair was long, straight, full, and the blackest black.

I got to see her for about three or four seconds before the wolves nearly filled their pants, and a second after that, Sonya and I were closed off behind a wall of wolves. It was deja vu all over again, but this time without the manhandling from Serena. Instead, she put a hand on my shoulder, but I was long used to that. Eric had a hand on Sonya's shoulder, and she seemed to barely notice it.

Then I began laughing.

"What's so funny?" Serena asked from over my shoulder.

"Elisabeth lost her wager."

"I do believe you're right," Serena said. "What is she?"

"Oh please," I said. "She's a panther."

Panther

Deirdre and the panther approached cautiously, careful around the touchy enforcers. I listened to them as they approached, and they spoke casually, the panther's drawl thick but her words and tone cultured. She was asking about us, finally asking, "Were those two in the middle
werefoxes
?"

"Yes, and the wolves are exceedingly protective of them. The one is mated to the wolf alpha, and the other belongs to the St. Petersburg queen, so none of your usual games with either of them. If you want to flirt with someone, your choice is between the male and the head enforcer."

"The head enforcer, hmm. That's the one on the right?"

"No, that's the alpha. The one next to her is the alpha's sister. And you're invited to dinner tonight. She's buying."

I laughed. I couldn't help it. I laughed, loudly.

"And you should know, the alpha's mate just heard me," Deirdre added. I guessed Deirdre heard my laugh. "Yes, Michaela," Deirdre said, knowing I was listening. "I know you're alpha, too, but that's harder to explain, isn't it?"

The two of them came to a stop perhaps ten feet in front of the enforcers. I couldn't see a thing but wolf butts -- I took a moment to admire Lara's -- but I had ears.

"Lara Burns," Deirdre said in a firm voice, "Madison alpha, may I present Annabelle Delacroix? Anna, Lara Burns. Her sister and head enforcer, Elisabeth Burns. Behind them, and you'll see them if the wolves relax, is Lara's mate, Michaela. She's the redhead. The white haired fox is Sonya; she speaks no English, but she is very sweet, and you'll find her to be exceedingly curious."

The panther spoke, her voice booming, and her tone changed entirely, sounding very, very, Cajun in an "aw shucks" kind of way. "Welcome to Louisiana, Ms. Burns. Friends of Carissa are friends of Great Panther Swamp Tours. Your safety is assured. I guar-an-tee it personally." I swear, it took two or three seconds to say, "guarantee".

Deirdre laughed and said, "Knock it off, Anna. Save it for the tourists." After that, Anna reverted to the cultured tones she had been using when speaking alone to Deirdre.

The wolves' posture remained tense, but then Lara stepped forward. "Ms. Delacroix. It's a pleasure to meet you. We always enjoy making new friends." I caught a glimpse of the panther as she shook hands with Lara. And then Lara turned halfway towards me. "My mate and co-alpha, Michaela Burns."

I stepped forward, drawing Sonya with me. As we stepped forward, she got a better look at Annabelle and dragged me to a stop. She pointed. "Wolf?"

"No," I said. "Nyet. Panther."

"Pantera?" she repeated, and I thought perhaps I had learned a word of Russian. "Meow."

"Da," I said.

And then we both turned to Annabelle and finished stepping forward. I held out my hand.

The panther had large hands and a strong grip; neither of those surprised me. What surprised me were her words.

"I do not
meow
."

It was said gently, and I smiled. "And she speaks no English, but I would say we communicated perfectly."

"Perhaps," said the panther. She shook hands with Sonya. "Nyet meow," she said. Sonya grinned at her.

"Nyet?"

"Nyet," Anna said. "I roar."

Sonya cocked her head. "Roar?" She held her hand to her ear as if she were trying to listen, then used her free hand to point to Anna. "Roar."

"Not here," Anna said. "Someone will hear. Nyet. Um. Here." She pointed to the ground.

Lara handled the remaining introductions. Then I asked, "Anna, panther can mean many things. Cougar, leopard, or jaguar?"

She smiled. "Jaguar."

By her size, perhaps I should have guessed. Jaguars are the third largest of the living great cats behind tigers and lions and the second largest apex predator in the Americas, second only to bears. They were virtually extinct north of Mexico, and I didn't know if they had ever inhabited the area immediately around New Orleans, but I imagined she would cause quite a stir if the humans were to see her in her fur.

Anna said, "Well, we have a boat to ourselves. It's already loaded up, and there's a head if anyone needs it, but the bathrooms here are nicer. I've got a good boil going, so we'll have a taste of Louisiana hospitality a little later. We have plenty of sweet tea and lemonade, water, beer, and soft drinks. Were we doing a short tour or a long one?"

Everyone looked to me, although I looked to Deirdre. "We need to be back by five to make it to dinner at eight," she said.

"All right then," she said. "Right this way."

Ten minutes later found all of us on a swamp boat large enough to hold three times our number. I felt a little guilty that we were monopolizing Anna, but when I said something about it, she laughed.

"This is my cousin's outfit," she explained. "I used to work here all the time. Now it's only for something special, such as one of Carissa's special guests. Now, make yourselves comfortable, and I'll get us going."

* * * *

The tour was fabulous. It seemed Anna knew everything there could be known about the bayous and swamps of Louisiana. She explained the difference. A bayou is a very slowly moving river whereas a swamp is a boggy wetland in which the water may be still and stagnant. She gave a running commentary that began moments after we pulled away from the docks. She flowed back and forth between history and the environment.

I knew little about the history. I already understood about the swamps and the animals we would see, but it was quite different to actually see them in their native habitat.

We saw all the creatures one would expect in a swamp including a great many birds. The egrets, herons and pelicans were popular sights. There were turtles, and Anna even pointed out a water moccasin sunning himself on a branch over the river. I wanted to get closer, but Anna kept our distance.

Of course, the alligators were the stars of the trip. Anna knew it, and I dare say, the alligators knew it, too.

We found some small ones first. Anna fed them, and I was surprised to see her throw marshmallows to them. She grinned at me. "They'll literally eat anything, and these are cheap and easy to throw. But don't worry; I have something special for Gus."

Gus, it turned out, was not at all small, although at 12 feet long, he wasn't a record-setter, either. Anna lured him to us with a fresh, whole chicken. She suspended the chicken from a long pole and dangled it over the water.

We got a real good look at Gus before she let him snap up his bribe for the show.

Anna had more marshmallows she let us throw to the other alligators we saw. Sonya took great delight, and her aim was impeccable. She got one small alligator to swim back and forth, snatching up the marshmallows she threw to land just a few inches in front of his nose each time.

As promised, Anna provided a fabulous boil for a small, late afternoon meal. The scents were heavenly, and the food even better. The wolves clinked bottles of beer. I was pleased with the lemonade.

Sonya knew the word tea, so when she heard "sweet tea", that's what she asked for. From her expression, she wasn't expecting it to come iced, and her expression after the first sip was priceless. I held out my lemonade to her, and she was much happier with that.