Fox Afield (Madison Wolves) Read Online Free PDF Page A

back seat, and I knew not to ask for details. "I was part of that."
    "I take it your brother didn't make any more trouble."
    "No," Ysabella said. "I hated him. What he had done was beyond redemption, and to put me at risk was unforgiveable. I arrived in Boulder as a prisoner, presuming the worst. Instead, Daniel ordered me to serve as governess for Brooke and Glenn. I am afraid that I did a better job with one than the other."
    "No," Daniel said quietly. "He was already on that path, and it is no one's fault but his own, possibly fueled by a few hothead friends I didn't have enough political clout to deny access."
    "How did that turn into marriage?" I asked.
    "You understand," Daniel says. "Wolves are driven by their emotions, and mine was gri ef. I had a very difficult time. She came to me in my study one night to offer a report on the children, took one look at me, and dropped to the floor in front of me. She put her head in my lap and told me over and over how sorry she was for what her brother had done, and how she wished she could have exchanged places so my wife could live."
    "That was the first time either of us had touched, even incidentally," Ysabella said.
    "But a seed was planted," Daniel said. "And it wasn't love, but it was an understanding that we were in a shared situation neither of us had made."
    "Love came later," Ysabella said.
    "I didn't realize how I felt about her until she told me she was pregnant with my third child," Daniel said. "She told me on our second wedding anniversary."
    "So," I said. "Perhaps not a romantic way to meet, but a romantic story once fully told."
    "Perhaps," Ysabella said. "I am much happier than I ever thought I would be." She reached forward and clasped Daniel's hand, and the two smiled at each other. "We have told you our story, will you tell yours of meeting Lara?"
    So I did, and I made sure to include the children, who were soon giggling with delight. Once I was done, Ysabella asked me, "How much of that was true?"
    "Every word," I responded, loudly enough for Daniel to hear. "But of course, I didn't explain how terribly frightened I was nor why I would have been so frightened. "
    "And so we have both met our alphas during frightening times," Ysabella said. "And we have both come through the better for it."
    "Michaela," Casey said from the back. "When may we see your fox. I've never seen a fox in fur."
    "I suspect I am the only fox you have ever seen, not counting my very distant, natural cousins. I am afraid I cannot answer your question, Casey. My schedule belongs to my alpha. You may ask her that question, with your mother's permission."
    Ysabella smirked at me.
    "May I, Mom?" Casey asked. "May I ask her?"
    "If you behave like a proper lady during lunch," Ysabella said. "I will allow you to ask before the dessert."
    I glanced back, and the little girl was grinning madly. "I'll be good," she said. "May I sit next to Michaela?"
    "I'm sorry," Ysabella said quietly to me.
    "She is very sweet," I replied.
    "I believe Michaela's mate will want to sit next to her," Ysabella said. "They are freshly married and have been apart for nearly twenty minutes. That probably seems like an eternity right now."
    "She has two sides," Casey pointed out accurately. "I could perhaps sit on the other side."
    "But if you were to sit there," Ysabella said, "Michaela would feel obligated to entertain you and thus neglect her new mate."
    I turned around to watch Casey's reaction to that news. She scrunched her face for a moment, pro cessing the news. "The Madison alpha is a woman."
    "Yes, she is," I said.
    "And you're a woman."
    "Yes, I am," I agreed.
    "And you're really married?"
    "Yes," I said. "We're really married. We were married just yesterday evening."
    "I didn't know girls could marry girls," Cory said.
    "They can," I said. "Some people think they shouldn't, but I think those people are wrong."
    "I do too," Ysabella said. I reached over and clasped her hand briefly in thanks of her