Free Fox Play by Robin Roseau Page A

ready right away. I'll be over in a bit."
    "All right," I said. I breathed her in once more then stepped away.
    * * * *
    An hour later, I was dressed and waiting for Lara. There was a knock on the door.
    "Come in," I said.
    Vivian stood in the door. I was surprised to see her. "I wanted to talk to you alone," she said. She crossed the room and stood in front of me, studying me. I looked up at her.
    "You are remarkable," she said finally. Then she reached out a hand offering me a business card. Vivian was a psychologist. "I can help. If you do not call me, I will approach the alpha. But I think perhaps you would prefer we keep this between ourselves."
    I stared at the card, then looked up at her.
    "From time to time, when it's especially bad, I wonder what it would be like to visit some sort of counselor. I can imagine the reaction a human would have when I said, I am a were fox, and when I was fourteen, a pack of wolves killed everyone in my family but me. They chased me down, but I killed them, one by one. After that, I found and buried my family before running, running for years."
    "They would lock you up."
    "I could prove the were fox part, but I can just imagine the cover up that would cause."
    She laughed. "Quite. Will you promise to call me, or do I need to ask Lara to make you call me?"
    "I will call, but give me time to get used to the idea."
    "A few days," she said. "We can do telephone calls when you are in Bayfield, but we need to start in my office or here."
    "Everyone will know," I said. "If we do it here."
    "Lara will know, but do you intend to hide it from her?"
    "No."
    "Call me. Soon."
    "I will. Thank you."
    Vivian left and Lara came upstairs a few minutes later. I had known she was in the house, of course. Lara entered our bedroom and looked at me.
    "I am sorry I doubted you," I told her immediately.
    "It looked suspicious," she said. "It was suspicious." She crossed the room and stood in front of me, her presence offering me her body and comfort, but not assuming I would accept it. I moved closer, not quite touching, waiting for her to take the last bit. She did, stepping closer, but her arms didn't wrap around me until I pressed myself fully against her. And then we held each other.
    I looked up, seeing her jaw more than her eyes. "I need to know. Are we all right?" I asked her.
    She looked down into my eyes. "Yes, little fox. We are perfect. Was what you told Vivian true? This is when you feel safe?"
    "It's when I don't fear," I said. "Hold me tighter." She squeezed just a little more firmly, always careful with me. "Lara, there used to be only one thing I feared: wolves."
    "Do you still fear wolves?"
    "Yes, just not every wolf. But now there is something I fear more than that."
    "Oh honey."
    "I fear you won't love me."
    "You can banish that fear. It won't happen." I didn't say anything. "Honey, you know that, don't you?"
    "Sometimes I do. Not often, Lara."
    "How can you doubt?"
    "Vivian already told you."
    I felt Lara smile in victory. "Everything Vivian said was right, wasn't it?"
    "Yes."
    "Even the part where she told you that I loved you as much as you love me."
    I pulled away slightly so I could actually see her face. "You keep forgetting how much I hate losing arguments."
    "It's a good thing this wasn't an argument then."
    She pulled me to her again, and I felt better, almost as if this might last. Even as I recognized the feelings, I knew they were fleeting. The doubts would return, but for now I was safe and I was loved.
    I wriggled against her, settling in a little more, but my confidence returning and, along with it, an unhealthy amount of playfulness. Lara sensed the change but couldn't know what it may portend. I raised my mouth to the underside of her jaw and kissed her. Then I lowered my lips to her throat and kissed.
    She stiffened slightly. "If I feel teeth, little fox-" she began to warn.
    I nipped her throat.
    She knew I was going to do it, and the reaction, as always, was instant. She