No Wolves Allowed

Joss Carter wasn't sure what to think when she got the call from her son's school.

"Ms. Carter, a problem has come up that requires your immediate attention," the principal of the school informed her smoothly and, she thought, overly formally. That was a bad sign. "Would you mind meeting with me and your son in my office after school today?"

"May I ask what this is about?" Joss asked, puzzled.

"I would prefer to discuss it in person, Ms. Carter."

Joss checked her watch, if she left the diner where she was having lunch with her partner, Lionel , right now, she would just have time to make it. Fortunately, she was still on maternity leave and had the flexibility to leave as needed. "Alright," she agreed. "I'll be there right after school lets out."

"Thank you for your understanding." And the principal hung up.

Joss frowned as she ended the call. Fusco looked over at her as he finished off the last bite of his burger. "Problem at Taylor's school?" he inquired.

"I guess. They wouldn't tell me anything over the phone. But Principal Hartwell was being very formal, so whatever it is, it's bad."

Fusco nodded his head in agreement as he stole one of her sweet potato fries. "Yep, that's a bad sign alright. Last time I had a school administrator call me using formal language, Lee got suspended for a week."

Joss stood up, gathering her stuff to leave. "That was for fighting that bully, right?"

Fusco grinned with some pride. "Yep, and he won too. Little creep never bothered Lee after that."

Joss smiled and laughed. "At least he won. I gotta go if I'm going to make it. I'll call you later."

"Go ahead; I'll get the tab. Good luck." Fusco pulled his wallet from his back pocket.

"Thanks partner, I'll get the next one." Joss hurried out of the diner

As Carter entered the principal's office she saw her son slouched in a chair across the desk from Principal Hartwell, but did not see her mate. "Did you call John?" she asked Taylor.

Taylor looked up glumly, "No, they wouldn't let me; they said he's not my dad."

"WHAT? Of course he is!" Joss exclaimed, looking to the principal for clarification.

Principal Hartwell, whose nickname among the students was, somewhat inevitably, Principal Hartless, leaned back in his chair. "Well Ms. Carter, it is our understanding that you are not married to this John fellow…"

"That would be Mr. Ross to you," Carter snapped using the identity Finch had developed for John to use for domestic purposes. "We're a bonded Wolf pair, of course we're married!" Joss snarled.

The principal folded his hands on his desk and tried to look sympathetic, but failed miserably. He actually came across as quite smug. "The state of New York does not recognize Wolf matings as legitimate marriages, so I'm afraid Mr. Ross has no standing here."

Joss stared at the man and his smug face for a minute. How dare he disrespect her relationship with her mate like that? How dare he disrespect John and his relationship to Taylor?

Joss was fighting to maintain her temper. "Mr. Ross and I are in a monogamous, committed relationship. A relationship that is much closer and committed than any so-called 'legal marriage'."

"But it's not a legal marriage so my hands are tied." The smarmy bastard even smiled at her.

Joss put her hands on her hips subtly brushing back her blazer back revealing the gun on her hip. The principal blanched, "Really Ms. Carter! Do you need to carry a gun in here?"

Joss glared at the man. "It's Detective Carter, and yes, as a sworn officer, I have the right to carry my service weapon with me, despite my maternity leave. Since you're all concerned about the laws of the State of New York, I'll be more than happy to quote the section that gives me the right to bring my gun on school grounds at any time."

Hartwell stuttered, "Um, no, that will not be necessary, Detective. Please sit down."

Joss sat down in the chair next to her son and faced the principal across the desk. She focused her hardest glare at the man, the glare that had caused more than one criminal in New York to piddle themselves. The principal looked like he was not immune.

The principal cleared his throat, "It has come to our attention that you and your so-called mate are Wolves."

"So-called? There is no so-called about it. You may not believe we're married, but do not disrespect our relationship," Carter hissed between clenched teeth, her eyes flashing with anger.

Hartwell continued smoothly, "Regardless, you and your um, mate are Wolf and we do not allow Wolves at Marbury High School."

"What? Why?" Joss searched her memory, she had dutifully read the entire student handbook and code of conduct when Taylor had won his scholarship to the school, and she could not recall anything about a ban on Wolves. Admittedly she hadn't yet been turned when Taylor had been admitted, but she was always dedicated to democratic ideals and equal opportunity, so she was positive she would have remembered if there had been any discriminatory language in the documents.

"Well, due to Wolves' violent nature, we feel it is best for the safety of the staff and students if there are no Wolves on campus." The principal leaned back in his chair looking quite pleased with himself. "We don't allow anyone convicted of violent crimes on campus, so why we would we allow Wolves?"

Joss leaned over the desk towards the principal, "Let's get a few things straight. First off, crime statistics clearly show Wolves are no more violent than the average man on the street, so that's a lousy analogy. Second, even if that old wives' tale were true, Taylor is not Wolf. He is not eligible to be turned until he turns eighteen, so you have nothing to worry about."

"I'm sorry, but our rules are quite specific," the principal said and he moved his chair slightly back from the furious she Wolf. "We only have a couple of weeks until the end of the school year, Taylor may finish the semester here, but you will have to make other arrangements for him next year. The matter is closed."

Joss felt like the air was sucked out of the room. She could hardly breathe she was so angry and upset. "You're going to discriminate against my son on the basis of being something he isn't? That's not legal!"

Principal Hartwell once again smiled his smarmy smile at her. "Oh, I assure you it is perfectly legal. We are a private school; we do not have to admit anyone we don't want to. And we do not want Wolves in our school. We are revoking Taylor's scholarship as of now."

"He's a straight A student. He helped you win the city debate tournament! How can you just kick him out? You're making him change schools right before his senior year!"

"That is not my concern, Ms…Detective Carter. Perhaps you should have thought of all that before you took up with Wolves."

Joss stormed into the ultra-high security apartment she shared with her mate, nicknamed 'The Bunker', slamming the door behind her.

John Reese had been napping on the couch with their daughter Cali Alexis on his chest. Both of them stirred and each opened one sleepy eye to regard Joss with identical silver blue eyes. Cali closed her eye and went back to sleep. John, seeing that his mate was highly agitated, carefully slipped off the couch, as he held his daughter to his chest without waking her. He took Cali into the nursery, laid her in her crib and then returned to the living room to find Joss pacing, growling, and radiating anger.

He interrupted her pacing to wrap his arms around her and pull her into a tight hug. "Wanna talk about it?" he whispered into her ear.

Joss wrapped her arms around his waist and put her forehead on his chest. "Taylor's getting kicked out of school."

John placed his forefinger under her chin and lifted, forcing her to look up at him. "What happened?" he growled.

"The school administration discovered that you and I are Wolf. No Wolves Allowed."

Joss saw John's eyes suddenly go glacial and his mouth compressed into a thin line. "Is that even legal?"

Joss pushed him away resume her pacing. "They're a private school, so yeah, legal. Discrimination laws don't apply to private organizations."

Joss rubbed her temples like she had a headache. "Not only that, but I was informed that you are not his step father because the State of New York does not recognize Wolf matings as legitimate marriages.

"Dammit, John. It's like its 1950 all over again! I can't believe we still have to deal with this shit in the twenty-first century!"

John slid an arm around her. "Will you marry me?"

Joss pouted, "We're a bonded pair, we're already married. We shouldn't have to get married AGAIN."

"I know, but the reality is that we may have to." John kissed the top of her head. "It's the right thing to do for the kids. Besides, Finch will have a blast planning the ceremony."

Joss rolled her eyes at the thought of Finch planning an elaborate wedding ceremony and reception. She really hoped it wouldn't come to that. "There is a bill coming up in the state legislature in a few days to recognize Wolf matings as marriages. I guess we will have to see how that goes. The irony is that fifty years ago, we wouldn't have been able to get married because you're white and I'm black."

"See? Some progress has been made," John smirked at her.

She leaned against him and sighed. "Now we have to find to a new school for Taylor. Poor kid, he has to change schools for his senior year. All his friends are at Marbury!"

John scowled. "Maybe I should pay a visit to the principal," he said in a low, deadly tone of voice.

Joss arched an eyebrow at him. "And do what John? Threaten him? Act the way he expects a Wolf to act?"

John growled deep in his throat, acknowledging the truth in her words. "We'll think of something."