Fox Mate (Madison Wolves) by Robin Roseau Read Free Book Online

kids snickered.
    "Yes," said Lara.
    I sighed, returned to the piano and played it. I accepted my applause then turned to Francesca. "Are you done torturing me?"
    She grinned and nodded. "Michaela, our little omega fox," Francesca said. "I apologize if I am misjudging, but I believe you would not prefer a more elaborate ceremony." I offered a puzzled look, which she ignored. "Having completed the high school graduation requirements of the State of Wisconsin and the somewhat more stringent requirements of Wolf Run High School, I wish to congratulate you and offer this diploma." She handed me a beautiful leather-bound folder, and when I opened it, I discovered it contained a high school diploma with my name. Francesca and Lara had both signed it. I realized she had slipped the diploma into the leather fold er while my back was turned, playing the Beethoven once more.
    I stared at it. I knew this was what I had been working on, but I hadn't really thought about being finished, about ever holding so much as a high school diploma. I looked up at Francesca. "I really did it? This is real?"
    "It's real, Michaela," she said.
    "And it's about time!" said Angel, who immediately stood up and began clapping. Everyone else joined her. Kaylee ran forward and hugged me then ran back to her brothers, Alan and Jeremy.
    I looked down at t he diploma, reading every word. I stared where Francesca had written very clearly, "Michaela Redfur".
    I looked at Lara, and she was beaming at me. I didn't think I deserved that smile. It was just a high school diploma. Everyone gets one, right? But I was proud. I turned back to Francesca. "Did I really earn this?"
    "Yes, honey," she said. "Our requirements are for you to demonstrate competence in the material of each class. And you have demonstrated far, far more than basic competence. You earned it."
    "Woo hoo!" Angel said. "A high school degree in three short months." She looked at Francesca. "Why do the rest of us need to go for four years?" There was laughter, and Francesca treated the question as rhetorical.
    "Because," I said, "You don't want to miss my sailing class this summer."
    "True," Angel said. "So true. Alpha, if I win the next pack night, is it too big a favor to ask the pack to buy a sailboat?"
    Lara laughed. "You win, and we'll talk."
    I tuned the rest of the conversation out but instead stared at my diploma. The conversation went on around me, and I received hugs I barely noticed, and then in the middle of things, I said, "I want a college degree."
    The room grew silent.
    "What?" asked Lara.
    "Um. I want a college degree."
    Lara grinned at me. "I rather thought you might say that. "

Therapy
    I continued to meet with Vivian for my therapy twice a week. We varied the schedule and the location. Lara's involvement became less frequent as I grew more comfortable with Vivian.
    Vivian told me right away this was going to take time. She told me I would need to confront my fears and my memories from the past. I couldn't continue to hide from them.
    "I don't want to confront them," I said. "I want them to go away."
    "How has that worked for you so far?" she asked. I didn't have an answer for her.
    In some ways, it was easier for me when Lara was with me. When I started to panic, she could calm me down, and I was less likely to panic while she was holding me.
    But in other ways, it was also easier when Lara wasn't there. There were things I didn't want to say in front of her. But Vivian had to be careful, because poking into my past always generated an overwhelming need to run and hide.
    During one solo session, Vivian asked about my younger years. "What's your earliest memory?"
    I thought about it. "I don't know."
    "Sure you do. Think of a memory. Tell me about it."
    "All right. I remember one night playing 'Für Elise' on the piano. Mother seemed pleased at how well I played, but I knew she played it far better than I did."
    " 'Für Elise' doesn't seem like an easy piece to play," Vivian