need me, I'll be across the hall."
Once Francesca had taken the little kids away with her, I closed the class door and turned to my four students. We knew each other well, and they had been good kids. I knew they all adored me, three because I had helped rescue them and the last because of a small moment of kindness that had been important to her.
"Francesca asked me to lecture on the history of conservation. Who here thinks that would be a deadly boring lecture?"
No one raised a hand.
"Seriously?" I sighed, then sat down and said, "I don't feel like lecturing. Can we please make it a conversation instead? Do the four of you care about conservation?"
It didn't take long before I got them into a spirited debate. I had learned long ago that the wolves were usually easiest to lead around if I asked the right questions, so I kept the debate heading in the direction I preferred primarily by asking questions. I managed to include the information Francesca had asked me to teach without turning it into a lecture.
It didn't take long before I forgot all about the real reason I had been relegated off to the school for the day.
When lunchtime approached, Francesca told the older children, "Ms. Redfur is wearing very expensive clothing today, and it wouldn't do for the little kids to maul her with sticky fingers. The four of you need to run interference." The kids took her seriously, and they set up what felt like a zone defense around me which only ended when all the little kids were deemed sufficiently cleaned up from lunch to accept a quick hug from me.
For the afternoon, we went over the latest results from our environmental monitoring program. I had created the program, but the kids did all the legwork, and they took it very seriously. The alpha had addressed the class when we announced the program, indicating this was one way we protected the pack. The kids were proud to help.
It was 2:30 when Gia appeared in the doorway. She knocked and entered. "Ms. Redfur, the council requests your presence."
"Immediately?"
"Ten minutes. They are meeting in a conference room in the barracks."
I nodded, suddenly nervous. I turned to the kids. "I don't know if I'll be back. But I want you guys to talk about what we should be doing that we aren't. Formulate a written plan of suggestions, and we'll go over it next time. Whose turn is it to moderate the discussion?"
"Scarlett's" said Derek.
"You all right with that, Scarlett?"
"Yes, Ms. Redfur." Outside my official duties, I was Michaela, but right now, being formal was appropriate.
I followed Gia into the hallway and then stopped her with a gentle hand on her arm. "Gia. What council? Are you allowed to tell me?"
"The pack ruling council," she said.
"I thought the alpha led the pack."
"There is a ruling council." She frowned. "I don't know if it's okay to talk about it or not."
"All right. I feel like I'm being called to the principal's office."
Gia smiled, but she didn't say anything. She turned towards the front door of the school and led the way out of the building, across the courtyard, and into the building that served as the third wall of the courtyard, Lara's house being the middle wall. There was no front wall.
She held the door for me then stepped past me once I was inside. I followed at her shoulder as we climbed the stairs and stepped to a set of double doors at the back of the building. Rory and Eric were there as guards, and they greeted me briefly, lacking the normal warmth I usually expected.
"Does anyone know if I am in trouble?" I immediately asked.
"No," Eric said immediately. "But we're on duty."
"I understand," I said. I didn't, but I decided to let it go. "Do I just go in?"
"You wait," Gia said. "Someone will come out."
I tried listening to the conversation on the other side of the door and was surprised to find I couldn't hear a thing. That was unexpected. Perhaps they weren't currently talking, but I should hear breathing and heartbeats from this