Wolf Women (The Madison Wolves Book 10) (25 page)

"Her undies are in the way," Scarlett said.

"Cut them away," Michaela said immediately. There was a pause, and I only sighed as cold scissors slipped between the material and my buns. Snip, snip, and then they pulled the material away, struggling for a moment to pull it from between my clenched thighs.

"Show her, Scarlett."

Angel set a chair on the floor at the end of the table. Scarlett sat down, and she was holding a sketchpad. She turned it towards me. It was a drawing of a wolf.

"A tattoo," I said. "Where?"

Iris slapped my ass. "Right here."

I looked at the drawing and realized it looked like Portia. I smiled. "That's really good, Scarlett. Is that actual size?"

"Yes. It will take some time, and the ears will poke out above your jeans."

"What price am I charged if I want something else?"

She frowned. "You don't like the wolf?"

"I love the wolf, and I want it," I said. "I want more."

"More?" asked Michaela. "What?"

"I want wolf tracks like some of you have," I said, "from my ankle up to Scarlett's wolf. Weaved through them I want human tracks, and here and there, as respect for my alpha, a set of fox tracks." I thought about it. "And I want a second set of wolf tracks, too, although smaller than the first set. They should be weaved in as well."

"For Ember," Michaela said softly. "And weave them all together for your shared lives."

There was a collective, "Awww..."

Scarlett glanced up at Michaela, then frowned. "Zoe, I'm sorry." She gestured at the drawing she held. "This is going to take me several hours."

"We're going to do it in stages," Michaela said. "With breaks for games in between."

"What you're asking for is hours more, and even if you didn't need breaks, I would. I'm sorry."

But then she looked up at Michaela. "I could simplify and shrink this-"

"No," said Michaela. "Unless Portia ransoms her, she's getting that tattoo the way you've drawn it." But she grabbed another chair and sat down next to Scarlett. She looked into my eyes. "Your life with Portia is really just at a beginning. What about one pair of the tracks? Then every year, you can have them extended, as your lives go on."

"They..." I paused. "There would be a gap. It would be separate tattoos. I want one long one."

"We can do them backwards," Scarlett said. She stood up and turned around, showing me her jeans-clad ass. "Wolf here." She gestured. "Tracks here." She dragged her fingers from where the wolf's feet would be, sliding down her leg. "They would work their way to your ankle over time."

"It would be backwards," Michaela said. "The wolf walking backwards, so to speak. Maybe you don't care for that symbolism."

"But it would be really cool," said Cassie. "Scarlett, can you do Ember's tracks, too?"

Scarlett turned around and sat back down again. She flipped to a new page in the pad then began patting her pockets. Angel held a set of pencils out to her, and the two smiled at each other. Scarlett took one of the pencils and began drawing. It took her a few minutes, then she turned it to me.

"I can do this," she said. "It's very simple." The tracks were, as she said, simple, with only a few lines. "Michaela, could you show her your ankle."

It took her a moment. She was wearing a skirt, and she pulled it up, but she had to remove an ankle sheath with a knife in it. Michaela's tracks were more detailed. I liked them better.

"I want those," I said.

"Just to start those is perhaps two hours, Zoe," Scarlett said. "If you want four for Portia, four for Ember, and two of yours. And that's if I size them for the wolf. They would be smaller than Michaela's."

"Scarlett, if you had all the time in the world, what would you do?"

"I wouldn't try to do it all at once," she said. "In the end, I'd have the wolf as discussed, and then a set of small tracks immediately behind her, but then I would let them grow to the same size as Michaela's."

"That's what I want," I said. "What if I agree to additional sessions?" I paused. "Oh. I'm asking for a lot of time from you-"

"Don't worry about that," Scarlett said right away. She frowned and looked at her sketches. "I'll do the wolf, and I'll do a hint where these other tracks will be," she said. "A few lines. You'll be able to see what they're forming into, but they won't be done. I may have to leave some of the details of the wolf for later."

"That's what I want," I said. "You're the artist. Do it how you'll be proud when everyone sees it."

I laid my head back down onto the cold tabletop. "May I have a thin pillow?"

Michaela pulled out her phone. "Portia, your mate will be exceedingly upset with you if you pay her ransom between now and dawn." A moment later she put her phone away. "She declined to pay. She didn't even wait to hear the price."

Everyone chuckled.

"Get her a thin pillow," Michaela added. "Zoe, you may ask for breaks. We may give them to you. Don't be afraid to cry out. It's going to hurt. We'll be filming you if you cry, and we fully expect you to."

* * * *

It did hurt, and I must admit: I am a wimp about pain. Scarlett worked for a half hour before I asked for a break. Then I asked Michaela if I could speak to her privately. She sent everyone upstairs and turned off the cameras before sitting down.

"Are you all right?" Then she looked into my eyes. "You're crying."

"I know." I blinked the tears away. "Will you untape one of my hands?"

"Oh Zoe, no."

"Please. I want to hold someone's hand."

She studied me. "One hand, but not your arm."

"Thank you."

"It gets taped again when we're done, and there's a price."

"What price?"

"You'll ask for a favor later, and then when the girls present the price, you'll accept without negotiating."

"They could ask for anything."

"I won't tell them about our agreement. They'll only ask a little more than they think you're willing to pay and expect you to negotiate."

"What if they throw out something outrageous as a joke, or something entirely unreasonable?"

"Then I'll intercede, but unless I think it's unreasonable, you'll pay it."

"All right. Thank you."

"You're welcome." I got a kiss on the forehead, and then she stood up and retrieved the scissors. "I'll do your left hand," she said. "The opposite side from where Scarlett is working." It took her a few minutes, and it hurt while she pulled the tape off, but she freed my hand all the way to the wrist and took the stress ball from me. I flexed my hand for a while, the fingers not moving very well at first.

Then she called the girls back.

They rotated through whose hand I held, and some of the girls whispered nice things into my ear besides. We played games even while Scarlett worked, although I was sufficiently distracted I played poorly. She took short breaks, and that was when they gave me things to eat or drink.

Michaela mopped my brow. "How are you doing?"

"Fine," I said. I wasn't, but this was the one thing I wanted them to do, and I wasn't going to complain.

"Most humans wouldn't sit this long for a tattoo of this size," Scarlett said. "You're doing very well, Zoe."

She was doing the hard work.

Finally, hours later, Scarlett said, "That's all for today. Zoe, you'll need at least two more sessions. They'll be shorter than this."

"How does it look?" I asked.

"It looks fabulous," Iris declared. Everyone wandered past, examining my ass and making comments. I was beyond blushing at this point. Hadley was last, and she leaned down to whisper into my ear.

"Now Michaela starts a new game, the time to make Zoe beg game. Do you understand?" I nodded. "There is no shame in giving her an easy win, Zoe. She has dropped the ransom to the realm of reasonable for an enforcer to expect to pay."

"Not the house," I said. "Is she still asking for the house?"

"Dropping the house from her demands is how she will signal to your mate when it is time to pay for you. We would not take the house; the alphas want you to foster one or two more children."

She squeezed my shoulder and straightened up.

I was glad she was there. I wondered if that had been Michaela's plan all along, from back in January when she began thrusting us together.

Scarlett put a bandage over the new tattoo then told me how to take care of it. After that, they began to unstrap me.

"I want to ask a favor," I said.

"Oh?" said Michaela. "What favor?"

"Could we cuddle for a while?" I asked. "All of us?"

"There will be a price, of course."

"What price?"

"Girls?" Michaela asked.

It was Lindsey who explained. "Francesca is making all of us sign up for speech this fall."

"I know. Ember told me." Ember had been both excited and nervous about the idea. "You'll be competing against other schools. Finally, an activity they'll let you compete against humans."

"The thing is," Lindsey said. "We need a head coach."

Michaela began coughing. I looked over my shoulder at her, wondering if she was going to interfere. Instead, she moved closer and said, "Zoe is a good public speaker and will make a great head coach." Then she leaned and whispered into my ear, "It's a paid position, but we haven't found anyone we trust who has time."

"Agreed," I said.

"Really?" Lindsey asked.

"Really," I said. "If you're really sure you want me and weren't just trying to negotiate."

"Oh no," she said. "We want you." She began to squeal. "I was dreading it, but if Zoe is our coach, it'll be great!"

"I'll make you work!" I said.

"You better," she replied. "I want to
win
."

The girls bounced around for a while. I couldn't tell if it was real pleasure, or was for my benefit, but it felt good at the same time. Then they finished unstrapping me.

There wasn't enough room on the sofa for all of us, so they made a nest on the floor. I found myself across a bunch of laps, with more of them wedged in with me. My head was in Michele's lap, with a pillow for comfort, and she stroked my hair. Michaela made a storytelling game, and I zoned out.

Until Michaela's phone went off.

She didn't announce a punishment. Instead she started a conversation with Angel. "We're going to have to treat her like a wolf."

"Probably," Angel agreed. "I didn't realize you were going to use ice the first time we put her in the box."

"I wasn't, but then she slimed Monique."

"I know you planned on using a return trip to the box to break her, but I don't think it's going to work."

"Oh, I can break her with the box," Michaela said. "But I'm not convinced the pack will be satisfied with that."

"Did you have other ideas?"

"Like I said: treat her like a wolf. We haven't taped her hand back up yet. It would be a shame to miss out on an opportunity like that."

"Break her fingers?"

"One at a time," Michaela said. "Not all at once like we did Scarlett's."

"What?" I screeched. I knew they were messing with me, but I thought she was telling the truth about that."

"That's when I begged," Scarlett said. "But they used a nut cracker on Angel's fingers." She paused. "It's her left hand that is free, so if she's laid up for a while, that's not so bad. She's right handed."

I knew they were trying to get to me. The thing is, it was working. I began to shudder in sympathy, if nothing else.

"Cuddle time is over, I suppose," Michaela said. "Just as I was getting comfortable. You have a good lap, Scarlett." She got up, and then one by one, the pile of wolves and two humans split apart. I found myself back on the sofa with Michaela sitting in front of me on the coffee table, now back in place in front of me.

"So," she said. "Break your hand or put you back in the box?" I considered the question rhetorical. "Breaking your hand is a little extreme. I think we should work up to that. Tape her hand back up, then she goes back into the box."

I didn't struggle, and soon my hand was all wrapped up again, squeezing around the stress ball. They picked me up and carried me to the utility room. The box was still there, still full of water, although the ice had melted. The floor was still damp in places, but it had mostly dried out. They set me on my feet and turned me to Michaela.

"Do you care to beg?"

"No."

"Are you sure?"

"I'm sure."

She stepped closer and whispered, "You should beg now, Zoe. It's time."

"I don't think so. You're going to have to try harder than that."

"It's not wise to challenge me."

I lowered my eyes. "Perhaps you should negotiate my ransom with me."

"I don't think so," she replied. She still didn't move away. "Zoe, this is when it gets serious. I'm not bluffing. You should ask Portia to pay your ransom."

"You may not be bluffing about this, but we both know you were bluffing about my hand."

She sighed. "Put her in the box, but hold her head up for a minute."

They picked me up, and I nearly freaked out as they lowered me into the water. I began swearing a blue streak; it was cold, damned cold. They had to push me down into the water; I kept trying to pull body parts away from it. It took five of them to hold me, one holding my head up, the other four holding the rest of me down.

I splashed quite a lot of water.

"Oh good," Michaela said, "More room for ice." She pulled out her phone. "One word to your mate, and we will break your hands. I'm not bluffing, Zoe. Not one word." I nodded. She punched numbers on her phone. "Just texting her first." She waited a moment, then she held the phone to her ear.

"Hello, Portia. Were you wondering what was happening?" Pause. "I suppose that was obvious. Well, we're long done with that. Your mate is three quarters of the way in a box of ice water. She thinks she can beat me with this game, but she is wrong. Will you pay her ransom? I texted the amount." Pause. "Portia, I believe you should reconsider." Pause. "All right." She hung up and knelt down beside me. "You think you're safe from my games in the box, don't you?"

I didn't, although I had no idea what she had in mind.

"If you change your mind and want to beg, you should yell out 'surrender' into the breathing tube. If for some reason, you are unable to do so, then blink your eyes rapidly at me, and we will fish you out. I expect you to watch me the entire time, Zoe."

I nodded.

"Take a breath."

They shoved me under and put the lid on top, pressing me down into the box.

It was cold. Cold, cold, cold. The breathing tube descended towards me. I took it in my mouth and exhaled hard, sending water up the tube and splashing Michaela. She reared back, and I could see the wolves laughing.

What had she expected?

But then she leaned over me, and we stared into each other's eyes. Then she held a sign for me. "Blink once for no, twice for yes. Understand?" I blinked twice. She looked over her shoulder, and several of the kids were holding bags of ice. She opened the hatch over my chest, and Angel bent down and opened the one near my feet. They dumped two bags of ice in with me.

I protested into the tube. Michaela held up the "surrender?" sign, and I blinked once at her, shaking my head for emphasis.

They added four more bags of ice until water was sloshing out the holes. I squirmed around, trying to escape the cold, but entirely helpless.

But I refused to surrender.

The breathing tube was simple; it was a converted snorkel, the flexible portion closest to my mouth truncated short and reattached. Even with it in my mouth, it extended several inches out the top of the box. Michaela smiled at me, then she tapped the tube. I could feel it in my mouth, but by tapping it, she drew my attention to it. Then she wrapped her fingers around the tube right near the top.

And then she plugged the end of the tube with her thumb.

I immediately made a mistake. I yelled, "No," into the tube, long and clear. With the tube plugged, I blew bubbles around the mouthpiece, emptying my lungs of air. Then when I tried to draw in air, I couldn't get any.

I immediately began to panic. I was under water, and I couldn't breathe.

She only kept her thumb in place for ten seconds or so, then she released it, and I gasped in the air, panting heavily.

She waved the 'surrender' sign at me. I shook my head. So, while I was still in a panic and panting through the tube, she covered it again.

I didn't scream out my air this time, although I didn't have an entire breath, either. She held it longer, perhaps twenty seconds, before she let me breath again.

She looked over her shoulder, talking. I couldn't make out the words. Then, nearly absentmindedly, she covered the tube again.

This time was shorter, only five seconds or so.

Michaela looked back at me, then she pointed to Scarlett, who was filming with her camera. Then someone handed her a note, and she held it for me to read.

You think I won't hurt you, but are you sure? I play to win.

I finished reading it, and then she was tapping the top of the tube. Thumb on, thumb off, thumb on, thumb off. I found myself staring at her thumb. I was staring at my life, air was life, and without it, I would die.

Then she held the 'surrender' sign again, but I wasn't going to surrender. I wasn't.

Then there was another sign.

Are you counting the seconds of no air?

I hadn't been, but I probably would now.

I watched her pull out her phone, and then she held it to her head.

She timed her thumb right at the end of an exhale, and while my lungs weren't empty, they were low.

I immediately began counting; I tried to count slowly, one-hippopotamus, two-hippopotamus.

At fifteen hippopotamuses, she held up the 'surrender' sign, but I shook my head.

Fifteen seconds of holding your breath is not a long time, when your lungs are full. But when they're empty, it's a different story. Try it. Let out all your air, and then clasp your hand over your nose and mouth and start counting hippopotamuses. Fifteen hippos of no air is hard.

At twenty, I truly began to panic. I began banging my feet against the box and shaking my head. But I still kept counting.

Michaela said something into the phone then held it over the box. I tried to still myself, but panic had hold of me. I banged and banged.

At thirty hippopotamuses, I began to wonder if she would win this easily.

And then she let me breathe. I took in great, gasping breaths.

Michaela held up a new sign.

If you promise to beg, this stops.

It took me a long time to calm down. She let me breath freely. I no longer noticed the cold. All I could think about was breathing. She waved the sign, and I shook my head.

She plugged it, just for a few seconds. And then she waited until I had a full breath, and she plugged it for sixty hippopotamuses. I didn't start to panic until forty-five.

I don't know how long she did that. I don't know how long I was in that box. I don't know how many times she covered the tube. I don't know how many times I banged against the sides of the box.

But I never surrendered.

Then she held up a new sign.

Big breath.

I took a deep breath and held it, and then they were unlocking the box.

* * * *

I was sobbing as soon as they pulled me from the box. I was still sobbing by the time Hadley carried me to the shower. This time, she was better prepared, and she was wearing a swimsuit. She continued to hold me in her arms for a long time, and I sobbed into her shoulder.

She made soothing noises. I would never have thought of Hadley as a soothing person, but she soothed me.

And slowly I calmed down. Even more slowly, I began to warm up. She set me on my feet, but it wasn't safe to leave me, so she stayed, helping me to stand.

Finally I said, "You're in a swim suit. I thought wolves didn't have a nudity taboo."

"I am not telling your mate I was naked in a shower with you," she explained.

"Well, for the record, you have a good figure."

She chuckled. "Thank you."

Her body was different from Portia's. She was still a werewolf, so she was very tall and clearly powerful, but she was softer at the same time.

"Why are you still single?"

"I don't suffer fools well," she said. "It would take a special person to accept the type of person I am, and most of the ones who can accept me are short on intelligence. Those who aren't get snatched up by someone else."

"You have a daughter."

"Conceived in a fashion not that dissimilar to Lara's daughters," she explained.

"So you've never..."

"Of course I have, and I've had boyfriends, some of them for a few years. But when we start to get too close, one or the other of us proves wanting, and the relationships end."

"Maybe you should try women."

"In my experience, women are smarter than men, smart enough not to put up with me."

I laughed.

"You're feeling better."

"I'm still so cold."

"We're going to get you thoroughly warmed up."

"In a good way or a bad way?"

"Perhaps both," she replied.

"Hadley, she could have beaten me. Why didn't she?"

"That was a significant step in the escalation," Hadley said. "I can't profess to know the mind of that woman, but I think she was impressed, Zoe. In spite of your clear panic, you didn't surrender."

"I would have. It was so close a few times."

"I think she knew that, too. She was watching you carefully. I believe our good alpha isn't done showing off your strengths both to your mate and to the entire pack."

"Everyone gets to see?"

She nodded. "Photos anyway, some of them. And maybe some of the video. Angel will edit them, and Michaela will decide. But you get raw copies of everything we take. You may do with them whatever you want. But would you like some advice?"

"Always."

"Keep them, but don't share them, not with anyone. Not Portia, certainly not Ember, and not the pack."

"Why that advice?"

"It's classier. Let everyone else extoll your virtues."

I thought about it and nodded.

"Hadley, I'm glad you're here."

She hugged me. "I am, too. You know, this is the first time for me."

"Really?"

"My sister didn't want me at hers. She was afraid of me, probably with cause. We didn't get along. And I haven't had close female friends around the time they were getting married. Angel, Michaela and Scarlett all have more experience with this than I do, but Michaela wanted my perspective, and she thought you would, too."

"I appreciate it."

"Michaela, Michele and I are also forgoing our share of the ransom. We don't need it, and we don't feel right taking it. I'm not sure about Angel and Scarlett. Michaela is handling that." Then she smiled. "But I get the next price for a favor."