Fox Mate (Madison Wolves) Read Free

council. I found her to be stern, almost severe, and felt she approved of me.
    "How can you say such a thing?" Violet said. Then she took in my expression. "Oh. Humor. Ha ha."
    "I'm sorry, Violet," I said.
    Vivian leaned over to Violet and said quietly, "She's trying to cover up after finding out about the surveys. She uses humor when she's nervous." Vivian was another member of the council, but more important to me, she was my therapist; she knew things about me no one else knew.
    I tried not to glare at Vivian. She knew I could hear her. But she was right.
    "Quite all right," Violet said after a moment. "But to be clear, I think fox fur looks best when it is still worn by a breathing fox."
    I nodded my thanks to her. That was kindly said.
    "And how does my rating compare to the alpha 's?" I asked with a glint in my eye.
    Dominick glanced at Lara before answering. "The alpha seems exceedingly popular of late as well."
    "Of late?"
    "Well, her popularity has been up and down in the past, but it has solidified significantly over the last year."
    "Was there a dip last year?" I asked. "Perhaps in the autumn." Last autumn was when it had appeared the pack was under attack from external forces; instead, it had been David, making a play to take the role of alpha away from Lara. I had thwarted him.
    "Yes," said Dominick. "But then a significant spike upwa rds. Then steady growth until an astronomical spike several weeks ago. That spike corresponds to a similar spike in your rating."
    "I suppose eliminating an outside threat could do that," I offered.
    "Perhaps," said Dominick. "But perhaps knowing the alpha's companion is so amazingly able to fend for herself had something to do with it as well." I had killed single-handled, and quite dramatically, two very powerful wolves with my silver knives.
    Lara wasn't happy with the turn of conversation. "Dominick," Lara said, almost a growl.
    "I hope her ratings won't suffer too badly in the future when I choose to hide behind the alpha and her enforcers rather than demonstrate my independence," I said. I was looking at Lara when I said it, and some of the tightness left the corners of her mouth.
    "The council doesn't make decisions based on approval ratings," Mr. Berg said. "I do hope the little fox won't, either."
    "The only approval rating that matters to me is the alpha's," I said.
    That took care of the rest of Lara's tension. I watched as she visibly relaxed.
    "If you don't make decisions based on approval ratings," I said. "Why track them?"
    "Prudence," said Mr. Berg. "It also gives us an indicator of when we may need to manage expectations better."
    "If there is a segment of the pack that is feeling particularly aggrieved," Vivian said, "we may find ways to mollify them."
    "During periods of low approval," Elisabeth added, "I used extra enforcers on the compound."
    "If your approval rating were low," Mr. Berg went on. "The council would be more likely to provide additional guidance, shall we say, over the alpha's choices."
    I smiled. "Thank you for explaining."
    The teenagers ate their own dinner, then several wandered back to our group to ask whether anyone needed anything. Most of the wolves took seconds. When Scarlett presented Lara with a fresh plate, there was a small chicken thigh waiting on it. Lara hadn't asked for it. I reached over and cut off half of it, leaving the rest for Lara.
    Lara glanced at me.
    "It tastes better from your plate," I said with a smirk.
    "Alpha," said Mr. Berg. "Are you going to tell us why we're all here?"
    "Of course," she said. "In about an hour."
    Vivian chuckled softly.
    "Michaela," he said. "Why are we all here tonight?" Lara stiffened next to me.
    "Because the alpha summoned us," I said. Lara immediately relaxed.
    Elisabeth bit off a laugh.
    "And," he said. "Why did the alpha summon us?"
    "I presume she has an announcement of some sort," I said. "Although perhaps she thought it was a pleasant day and wanted to share it with