Coming back to you -Chapter 2

Chapter 21

I woke up around 8:30 the next morning feeling drugged and like I’d been sucking on corroded pennies all night, I brushed my teeth and scrubbed my tongue as soon as I got out of bed. Putting my mouth to the faucet, I took a long drink and stared at my tired reflection, I was too pale and it accentuated the dark circles forming under my eyes. The shower felt amazing though and I stayed under the water streams until it ran cold. I wasn’t sure what I should wear, most of my attire consisted of old t shirts and jeans, guess I’d have to go shopping, maybe hit some of the secondhand stores after work. I hadn’t really expected to find a job the first day I arrived, there was so much to do and the house was in desperate need of a deep clean at the very least, but I guess it would have to wait, if I didn’t hurry I was going to be late and I didn’t think Mr. Gray was the type who’d let me off easy. I grabbed an apple and headed to the car, it had rained last night and dark clouds still loomed overhead. I’d ended up throwing on a clean pair of jeans and a black t shirt that dipped down and showed my collar bone and chest, nothing indecent, you couldn’t see cleavage unless I bent over. I had always been pretty busty for being thin and was a little self conscious about it, hadn’t ever really been one to flaunt anything either. I’d worn low cut tops before and most my clothes fit just right to show off my thin waist and smooth curves, and last year Alice wouldn’t shut up until I decided to switch from a one-piece swimsuit to a bikini, but most of the time I felt uncomfortable in my skin and I wasn’t sure why. 2

I pulled around to the back of the bookstore and parked, I had a few minutes to spare so I ran across the street for a mocha. “You’re new in town huh” it wasn’t a question but I answered yes anyway. The girl was younger than me, seventeen or eighteen maybe, with silky straight auburn hair that fell just above her shoulders. She tucked it behind her ear, head slightly lowered and making eye contact for only a moment, she did an awkward wave and told me her name “I’m Gina Price” Her smile was very timid. 3

“Hi Gina, I’m Sobreeman” Price… that name sounded familiar. “Are you Tori’s little sister?” I never liked Tori Price, on the first day of 2nd grade she stuck her tongue out at me and called me a freak. At lunch she tried to steal the cupcake Magdalene had sent in my lunch, but the key word there is “tried”. I wasn’t sure why I remembered that all of a sudden but I did. 4

“…yeah” she seemed weary and smelled faintly of fear, and I realized that coffee wasn’t the only other smell wafting through the little shop, there was the distinct, but faint smell of Werewolf. She wasn’t a werewolf but someone she knew was, and I’d put money on Tori. “Do you know her?”5

“Not really” I played nonchalant “I lived here when I was little, we went to school together but I haven’t seen her for a good eleven years. I doubt she’d even remember me.” 6

“Oh…” the fear died down into relief and she focused her bright, brown eyes on me for more than a few seconds this time. I concluded that she’d been used to being around werewolves, she didn’t look long enough to challenge me, overall she was very submissive. 7

I smiled sweetly “Well hey, I’ve got to get to work but maybe you and your sister would like to get together sometime.” I really didn’t have the desire to meet Tori again but if she were a werewolf then there would most likely be a pack nearby, I’d been smelling something faint all over town, it all made sense now, werewolves had been all over here but it didn’t smell remotely recent, though that could be due to the excessive amount of rain. If they were still here though, then perhaps I could find some answers about myself.8

“Yeah, maybe.” I wasn’t sure how many friends she had, she was pretty but all around a bit plain, thin and small-chested, with makeup on a little too heavy. She smelled a little anxious and excited when I’d implied we should hang out. “Hey, are you working at the bookstore?”9

Something about the way she asked that was odd, it made me want to stay and talk with her “Yeah, it’s my first day.” She dismissed whatever thought she was having and did her awkward wave again, smiled shyly, and said goodbye. 10

The old clock in the bookstore showed 10 and Arcaius was sitting on the counter, leaning back on his elbows, waiting for me. He wore a pair of black slacks and a white cotton dress shirt with a few buttons undone, I thought perhaps he’d just woken up. His hair was down which took me by surprise and made me flush, he was absolutely gorgeous. His lips turned up in an almost smug yet sinister smile, showing gleaming white teeth, he must have seen me blush. I tried to recover from my embarrassment as fast as I could. “Nice and toasty in here.” I brought my shoulders up in a quick move to shrug off the cold that didn’t really bother me. “This cold weather makes it way too hard to believe it’s actually summer, huh” Somehow I just knew he didn’t believe me, after all it was colder out yesterday and I was in nothing but a t shirt. As soon as I closed the door we went straight to business. He showed me how to use the register, which didn’t take long, and then led me into the back through a dark crimson curtain. It was a smaller room with rows of shelves packed with old books, straight ahead was another red curtain, he showed me through it next. The room was the same size of the last but much less cluttered. There were no shelves, only boxes stacked and scattered throughout the room, no doubt filled with more books. There was also a large wooden desk with a small lamp, surprisingly bright, that acted as light for the whole room. Papers and order forms were strewn out across the desk, I’d almost missed the sleek laptop that peaked out from beneath them. As I scanned around the room again I noticed a small access door on the right wall behind a couple boxes, it looked like it was for storage only there was no handle, just a rather old looking key hole. Arcaius didn’t mention it so I didn’t ask. 11


“I have some things I need to take care of back here so I’m going to have you run the front today. I don‘t usually close up at any particular time but once it gets dark out people rarely come in. You can stay late to shelve if you want, just let me know when you‘re leaving.” And that was that, he sat down at the desk and rescued the laptop from the army of papers then pulled out his cell phone. He didn’t look at me again so I assumed that was my cue to leave. I spent most of the day scanning the books trying to acquaint myself with where everything was. There had been more customers than I thought there’d be, and a petite woman with graying hair came in around 8pm with some books she wanted to get appraised, I gave her a receipt and told her she could come back next Thursday. Arcaius said to schedule pickups a week from the day they brought the books in, though she’d left me with about 6, I wasn’t sure how long something like appraising took. Would he read each book? I carefully opened an old looking, leather bound book with a title, in a language I thought was Gaelic, with intricate, fading gold letters. I fingered through a few pages and froze, it was a very detailed ink drawing of a Selkie. The idea of an old book having a Selkie in it didn’t shock me, it wasn’t unusual at all, in fact most of the older “fairy tales” held more truth than most would like to believe. But this picture in particular wasn’t a random face that an artist pulled from his imagination, this was someone very familiar, this was Aunt Sonia in her true form. I hadn’t seen it more than a handful of times, her glamour was very strong, but there was no possible way I could ever forget it. She was a magnificent sight. Sonia never told me her age, there were a few hints now and then when she’d talk about the old days, but this book looked much too old. She’s been keeping more from me than I originally thought. 12

I went through the other books a few times but they were all in old English and of rather boring subjects. Coming back to the first book I flipped through it page by page several times. I couldn’t read it but I stared at the images intensely as if they’d come to life and tell me everything I wanted to know. There hadn’t been anymore pictures of Fae that I recognized personally, best I could tell was that the book was some sort of creature catalog featuring some very powerful looking Fae. I thought I could name a few of the races in the book but most were things I’d never seen before, that wasn’t surprising though, I’d broken through some glamour before but hadn’t really been around enough types of the Fae to know what they all were. I found my way back to the picture of Sonia, memorizing every stroke and detail the artist had made. I’d surly have to ask her about this next chance I got.13

“I didn’t know you could read Scottish Gaelic.” He was standing behind me, I sucked in a deep breath and tried to calm my heart down, either I was way too intent on the book to hear him coming or he had a knack for sneaking up on me. Maybe it was both.14

“Mr. Gray…you know, you should really keep some change in your pocket or something, that way my heart doesn’t pry itself from my chest every time you enter the room.” His eyebrow shot up and he smiled a little. “And I can’t read it, my Aunt speaks it” of course, she’s in the book after all. Actually a lot of the Fae I knew spoke some sort of Celtic language. “but she never taught me and I never really picked it up.”15

“You could have fooled me. What is it that’s caught your attention then?” He leaned in to peek over my shoulder and his hand reached around me and covered mine, which was gently resting on the page. I could feel his breath on my neck and realized I’d closed my eyes. What was wrong with me? I opened them immediately but didn’t want to pull my hand away, telling myself it was because I didn’t want to damage the book. 16

“It’s nothing, just a picture of a Selkie, she’s really quite beautiful.” I was talking quiet, he was too close, why wasn’t I moving away?17

“What makes you think she’s a Selkie?”18

“Oh…I must have read it here somewhere.” I scanned the script on the other page.19

“There” he moved his hand and pointed. “It calls her a daoine sidh which pretty much translates as the spirit race, or the fairy race of Ireland” I was quiet, I mean what exactly am I going to say? Oh well yeah that makes sense cause she’s Fae you know, my Aunt Sonia actually, and I know for a fact she’s a Selkie cause she told me. Yeah, not only would he think I’m a complete loon but he’d probably try to get me committed or something too. 20

“Well I guess that really proves that I can’t read Scottish Gaelic then.” I moved to the side so he wasn’t directly behind me anymore. He closed the book and looked at me.21

“You look hungry.” he said flatly. I hadn’t realized how dark it was outside and looked at the clock, it was nearing 11, I hadn’t even eaten lunch. “Would you like to come up for a bite? I live right above here, stairs are out back.” he turned and started around the counter. I shoved my hands in my pockets and leaned back on my heels, should I go with him? I started around the counter too and he held the door open, waiting for me. I stepped outside and took a deep, long breath through my nose. The night sky was surprisingly clear but I could still smell the rain that was fading from the sidewalks and streets. I loved that smell. It took a second for my eyes to adjust to the darkness, Arcaius was leaning against the window, head back and eyes closed, the moon threw a dim light on his features and I studied him. His posture, his face, his expression, it all looked so cool and dead , which somehow accentuated his beauty and made him look tired and sad. He caught me staring, I looked down at the cobblestone under my feet. “Well?” he asked.22

Yes! I wanted to say but instead I said “Thank you but no, I should get home, the house is in a sad state, I don’t think anyone’s been in it since I lived there and that was a very long time ago.” I rolled back on my heels again in hesitation then started around the building to my car. We walked together in silence until we got to it. 23

“What made you leave?” 24

I waited a moment… “My Mother disappeared when I was nine so I went to live with my Aunt.” There it was, out in the open. I didn’t have to tell him that, I could have just said I’d moved or something. But then, why would I have a problem saying that she was gone, I’d been used to it since I was a kid, shouldn’t bother me now. I think he sensed something in my words, an uncertainty or some kind of pain that was resurfacing after all these years. I leaned back against the door and he did the same beside me. 25

“So I guess the real question is what made you come back…” I turned and looked in his eyes, they looked so dark, I could hardly make out any blue. 26

“Honestly?” I paused, why did I really come back, it’s not like I actually thought I’d find some missing piece of evidence that would tell me where Magdalene had gone or what had happened to her, if anything. “I don’t know. It’s this place I think, it’s been trying to pull me back for a while now.” No, that wasn’t right exactly, it was something more, something I couldn’t explain. “It’s like I started to lose it, the memories of it I mean…. the memories of her. As soon as it started to fade I felt like a part of me was going with it.” He watched as I searched the sky for words. “And it made me realize that I need answers, I probably wont ever find them but still”27

“I don’t blame you, I’d want to know what happened to her too.” For a second I forgot who I was talking to, I was so used to Sonia or Alice, just people that knew the things I could do, people who knew that I wasn’t all human.28

“Among other things.” I sighed under my breath and pushed off the car “Goodnight Mr. Gray, I’ll see you tomorrow.” I reached for the handle but he beat me to it.29

“It’s Arc, and you don’t need to come into work tomorrow, stay home, sleep in, and work on the house.” Before I could protest he raised his hand “No, work on your house, you can come in on Saturday and start taking inventory and cataloging so I don’t have to.” His smile was beautiful and wicked. I had a feeling that Saturday was going to be a very long and boring day. “Goodnight So.” I got in my car and before I knew it he was heading up the steps to his door. 30

“Arcaius Gray, bookstore owner by day, super stealthy ninja by night.” I joked to my steering wheel. He turned before he went through the door and flashed a sideways grin that made him look younger and playful. I blushed and rolled my eyes at myself before pulling out and heading home. 31

As soon as I got home I made myself a huge turkey sandwich and sat on top of the counter to eat it. I didn’t have to wake up early so I took the rest of the sheets off the furniture and started to clean. By 3 in the morning I’d made some pretty good progress and decided to finish the rest when I woke up. I went to the kitchen for a glass of water before I headed to bed, all the lights in the house were off and I saw something move among the trees in the backyard, my whole body stiffened as I watched. I saw it move again but couldn’t make out what it was from the cover of the trees, in a matter of seconds I was out the back door and heading into the woods toward it. I’m not sure what I was thinking. I was only a few feet into the trees when I caught it’s scent and stopped dead in my tracks. Werewolf. Female. 32

The air was dead and quite, eerie like a calm before a storm. I’d made a mistake by coming at her, it was a challenge. I heard a low throaty growl as she crashed through some brush towards me, she was a dirty brown color that blended too well with the trees, she stood as tall as my waist which was smaller than the males would be. I rolled out of the way just in time but now she was at my back. I couldn’t run back to the house, not that it would do any good, and I knew better than to run from a werewolf. They’d get too excited for the hunt and come after you, only she was already turned and at me again so I took off. I was strong but far from being able to take on a werewolf, I was fast though, faster than her anyway. I didn’t know these woods well and I wasn’t sure where I could go even if I did. I didn’t want to lead her back into town so I followed her scent from wherever it was she came. I knew that it wasn’t the safest idea, there was a good chance that it would lead back to her pack but I thought that with politics and all the pack might at least think before killing me, especially if I told them I was connected with the Fae. It’s one thing to kill a human, that can be covered up and forgotten too easily, but it’s a whole other thing to kill Fae. I wasn’t Fae myself but enough of them cared about me to make a fuss if Werewolves tried to eat me. I’d been running for my life, quite literally, for at least a few miles and my lungs felt like they wanted to shrivel up. I couldn’t see her behind me, she was getting tired too. I slowed my pace and then stopped, trying to listen to the forest over my heavy breathing. She hadn’t passed me and I didn’t hear her anymore, she’d either retreated or she’d stopped. I knew I couldn’t head home yet and if I did there was no way I’d be able to sleep. Sliding glass doors aren’t exactly monster proof. So I took a minute to steady myself, I was still breathing too hard and by the time my breathe had slowed down I realized that all the normal sounds had gone silent. No birds, no little critters scurrying away or going about the trees, nothing. I turned to look behind me just in time to see her coming at me, only she was too close to get away this time. I crouched and tried to brace myself, her teeth missed me by about an inch but she hit me, hard, and we tangled up together, rolling a few times when we hit the ground. There was a burning pain coming from the back of my head, I was disoriented for a second but knew I had to move so I scrambled to my feet, almost falling back over, and started to run again. I only took a few steps before I saw him, black as night with eyes almost colorless, like freshly fallen snow. He was the Alpha and in full control of his wolf. The female on the other hand was on her feet again, eyes blazing mad and yellow but only for an instant. He took control of her wolf and calmed her down, she quickly dropped to the ground at the power of the Alpha and then rolled on her back leaving her neck and belly, the most vulnerable places, presented to the other wolf. He walked past me, so large that with his head up he stood almost as tall as to my neck. I slowly backed out from between the wolves, sucking air through my teeth in pain and holding my ribs, I was going to have some major bruises by tomorrow and the few ribs that were cracked might take a couple days to heal. I watched him carefully as he descended on the other wolf, she yelped and he held her throat in his teeth for a moment. I could smell the blood but it was nothing that wouldn’t heal within the hour for a werewolf, he was reprimanding her.33

What I did next was another very foolish thing, much more daft than charging a werewolf that I didn’t know was there. What I did this time I did on purpose. He faced me now, closing the space between us, I had to make myself stay still, all my instincts were trying to force me to drop my head and slowly take a few steps back, and most of all they were telling me to NOT make eye contact for more than a couple seconds. But I’m stubborn and tired and hurting and, apparently, lacking sense. I dropped my hand away from my ribs and stood up straight, wincing through the pain, then I lifted my head and looked straight into his eyes. I was purposely challenging an Alpha Werewolf, I must have lost my mind the same time I cracked my ribs. I could feel his power weighing on me and hear the growl forming in his throat, I lost the nerve and dropped my gaze, thankfully. He came closer and brought his head up to my throat, I didn’t let myself flinch, I just stayed very, very still. His mouth opened and I could feel his hot breath, I carefully and slowly lowered myself onto my hands and knees, eyes to the ground. I had to submit, I didn’t like it and I’m sure he could sense that but I did my best and tried to remember the things Calvin had taught me. Then, he sniffed. I was a little surprised, I wasn’t sure what he was going to do but I didn’t think he was just going to take a few whiffs of me. He seemed intrigued, angry, and confused. In turn, I found myself doing the same thing, sniffing but trying to be more subtle about it. I felt his fur brush against my skin lightly and I shivered and took a deep breathe of his scent. He smelled almost as glorious as he appeared. He smelled of pine, wood, rain, fur, a warm sizzling sort of smell that made me want to bury my nose in him, and…aftershave. I withdrew myself back so that I was on just my knees. The adrenaline was wearing off and the pain in my ribs was severe. Out of the corner of my eye a silver wolf appeared, almost as big as the alpha, and gleaming in the moonlight. He had a big dark gray splotch on his eye, a dark gray tail and a back right paw that was the same darker gray too. If it weren’t so beautiful it would have been funny. Okay, well maybe it still was a little, but Calvin told me that werewolves often have unique sort of markings. I took a better look at the alpha and noticed that he had a bit of thin white lines outlining his eyes, almost as if he were wearing liner. It was amazing and glorious, making him seem that much more supernatural.34

It took me a second to realize what the dark spots dancing in front of me were, I think maybe I have a concussion. It doesn’t take long to confirm the fact when I feel the throbbing spot on the back of my head, there’s a lump and I feel something wet. Great, I’m in the forest with three angry werewolves and I’m bleeding. This is not my night. The alpha turns to the gray wolf, no doubt doing that freaky werewolf communication thing, I always wondered if it were based on signals or if there was some kind of psychic connection they had when in their wolf forms. My guess was the latter. The black wolf had moved away from me slightly and joined the other two, I took the chance to look up at the sky, attempting to breathe through the lightheadedness and nausea that had been rising. The sky started to spin and when I tried to focus on the trees they were dancing in and out of my vision, I laid down, my cheek against the cool grass, and waited for the world to make sense again. 35

Next thing I know there’s a man leaning over me, his face is rugged and yet angelic. His hair is such a dark brown that it’s almost black and it’s messy like he’s just rolled out of bed, some hangs over his eyebrow. Strength radiates from his cool, if a little stiff, demeanor and something about the way he looks frightens me. This must be the alpha, his body is toned and muscular in a raw animalistic sort of way and he seems so sure of himself despite the worry and aggression I can smell in the air. I can’t tell if it’s coming from him or his wolves, or both. His skin is lightly tanned and he stares at me with smooth, honey eyes. A protesting growl comes from the brown wolf and the stare he gives her makes him appear like an angel of death. I find myself floating for a moment and then I’m being cradled in his arms, face pressed against his warm, naked chest. His scent calms my nerves, it’s warm and delicious and I know that if he were going to kill me then he would have done it already or let the brown wolf finish her hunt, so I relax and feel a cool breeze hit my face when he starts to run. I can tell he’s trying his best not to shake me much, I don’t care, the wind is cooling my face and it feels amazing, I’m disappointed when it later stops. I look up to face a huge, old brown house lit up with life. He takes me inside and lays me on one of those antique fainting couches. It seems strange to have such nice things in the home of a werewolf.36

A thin woman looking to be in her thirties with blonde hair pulled back into a tight, precise bun comes in at the alphas request. She’s very pretty with cool hazel eyes that are deep set and a nose that is slightly narrow. Her thin pink lips suit her square jaw well and she smells of cleaner and antiseptics. She’s wearing a loose, white cotton blouse and a pair of faded jeans. I pull myself up onto my elbows after a moment, she starts shining a penlight in my eyes and pushes me back down onto the couch. I’m really starting to get pissed now, no one’s said a word to me. She’s sitting beside me and pulls away for a second, reaching for something on the table beside us. I take the chance to sit all the way up, my head pounds and I cringe for a second. “Lay back and relax, you’ve got a concussion and a nasty cut on the back of your head.”37

“Gee thanks Dr. Barbie, here I’ll save you some time, I have a few cracked ribs too. I’ll live.” I pull my feet around and plant them on the floor. She puts her hand on my shoulder and digs her fingers in when I try to get up.38

“It’s Dr. Tellings actually, but you can call me Margaret. And you’re not going anywhere until I can clean that cut, stitch it, and bandage you up.” I have a feeling that even if she does that I wont be going anywhere, not right away in any case. She starts to spread my hair and clean the cut with alcohol, I duck my head down a little but she’s got me by the chin now and there isn’t much use to fight against a werewolf’s grip so I let her do it. Besides, I was going to need to clean it anyway. When she’s finished she grabs a needle and I cover the cut with my hand. I know the stitches are unnecessary, I’ll heal in a few days. “Look, you know there’s no use to fight me, obviously you know what we are now and I’m sure you can guess how much stronger I am.” I almost felt insulted, she didn’t realize I wasn’t exactly human myself, if she were as smart as she obviously thought she was then she’d have realized that I was already doing better, most humans would still be on their back or unconscious. “Which leads me to my next question… why aren’t you scared or hysterical or something?” She’s very calm and collected, staring at me with her cool eyes in questioning slits. She was right though, I wasn’t scared even though I probably should have been in a house full of werewolves, especially after the stories I’ve heard, but I couldn’t help but wonder if Aunt Sonia and Calvin had exaggerated just a bit. Or maybe they just hadn’t gotten around to the bad part yet, I seriously doubted that they would fix me up if they planned to kill me though.39

“First off, I’m fine and I certainly don’t need stitches.” I stand up and cross my arms “And as far as being scared goes, should I be?” I was throwing a lot of attitude into everything I said, it hadn’t exactly been a great night and I was definitely going to be sore for a while. I figured now was as good a time as any to try and talk to the Alpha. Only, what was I going to say? Aside from the obvious of his wolf attacking me, of course I was going to get huffy about that, but Margaret had a point. Almost any normal person would be terrified finding out that werewolves existed, let alone having a rather uncomfortable encounter with one. Only I hadn’t just found out and I wasn’t exactly human. I had a lot of questions, as far as I could tell, werewolf was the closest thing to what I was, not very close but closer than anything else I’ve ever come across.40

“I’m going to take a wild guess and say you aren’t learning about werewolves for the first time right now.” She stood up too, a good few inches taller than I was. I didn’t like her, maybe I would in another situation but I was too pissed to be making friends right then. “I’d say maybe you’ve been around a pack recently but something about you is off, you smell…different. Not human.” She paused for a second and I saw her posture change to defensive, she smelled lightly of aggression I thought. I wasn’t sure what to say and I didn’t really want to say anything to her. I knew better than to leave my back open to a werewolf, I wasn’t comfortable with her behind me but I had a good feeling that I was faster than her if I needed to be. I started to walk from the living room near the front door, there were steps leading upstairs with an intricate dark wooden banister, I would stop to admire its beauty but now wasn’t the time. There was a doorway that led into another room beside the steps but I didn’t hear anyone inside. I could turn around and go back into the living room and the large doorway that led into what I thought was the kitchen, there were two large men blocking the doorway though, but I’d already started away from her and I was hearing movement upstairs. 41

“Where’s your Alpha?” I asked in the unfriendliness tone I could manage and put my hand on the banister. Margaret wasn’t going to attack me, that much I could tell, but she was very determined to stop me, I don’t think she liked my dismissal and I was glad about that. She was quick but I was quicker, before she could grab me a took a few steps out of the way so she missed. She looked taken aback but went to grab me again, I pushed her arm out of the way, making sure she didn’t grab me, and ducked around her. And then I felt her anger rise but I didn’t need my nose to tell me that, her lip had curled up, she’d hunched over slightly, and snarled. 42

“Fae!” she acted as if the word tasted bad. I was busy watching her and hadn’t noticed that the two men had come in the room behind me, I chanced a quick glance away from her when I felt someone standing behind me. I turned and was a little surprised to see the Alpha there, by the looks of it he wasn’t much fond of Fae either. He grabbed my shoulders and pinned me against the wall before the thought to move had even gotten the chance to enter my mind.43

“Hey! What the hell are you doing you jackass!?” I screamed which was stupid because he tightened his grip and I saw the honey in his eyes fade into white. He was angry and the wolf was close. I pulled my head back against the wall, stopped kicking, and dropped my hands from fighting his. Then, staring at the grey shirt he now wore, in almost a whisper I said “I’m not Fae.” Those eyes on a human frightened me even more than when they had on the wolf. 44

“Then you better tell me what you are because I know you’re not human, not all anyway. And you should try to explain why you were asking about Tori in town and why you attacked her in the forest.” He almost hissed the words at me and my shoulder felt like they were going to shatter under his hands. He closed his eyes, took a breath, and let go of me. “Sit down. Now”45

“That was Tori?” I hadn’t expected that though thinking of it now it really shouldn’t have been so surprising. She’d come to watch me because her sister said I was asking around about her. I realized I hadn’t sat down yet so I slipped out from between him and the wall and gingerly took a seat in the closest chair. The small group of werewolves came all the way into the room and watched me intently. 46

“Who are you, what are you, and why are you here.”47

“My name’s Sobreeman Sweete, So for short, and I take it I’m just to call you the Alpha then?” I said ‘the Alpha’ with attitude and a sarcastic sort of tone. Why did I have to be so daft sometimes, it was like I enjoyed egging him on. He bent over and leaned in close, hands on the arms of the chair.48

“I wont ask you again.” Apparently he wasn’t in the mood for jokes.49

“I’m here because… well, I have every right to be. But if you must know I came back for answers. And I didn’t attack Tori, she was spying in on me from the woods behind my house. It’s not like I knew who she was or that she was even a werewolf when I charged after her. I’m not that stupid. I just wanted to know what the hell was watching me! Not my fault she’s still a bitch.” I stopped and smiled wickedly, she had entered the room. “In more ways than one apparently.” That got her going, I could tell, but the Alpha had regained his composure and was in control and in the process of calming down the antsy, agitated wolves. 50

“Obviously you’re more stupid than you think and I noticed you conveniently forgot to leave out what you are.” He was standing a few feet in front of me, waiting as patiently as a werewolf could I thought. 51

“I didn’t know there was a pack in town until I talked to Gina. And don’t hold her responsible, she didn’t tell me.”52

“Then how did you know, hmm?” it was Tori talking this time, she looked skanky in my opinion. She’d changed into a short jean skirt and a salmon colored tank top that hugged her too tightly and showed off the fact that she hadn’t put a bra on. And, for whatever ridiculous reason, she had on strappy high heeled sandals. Her hair was lighter than her sisters, a perfect dark sandy color, and she had smooth peach lips, brown eyes, and what most would consider a cute little nose. I had to admit, physically she was gorgeous, but looks aren’t everything and the way she dressed and acted disgusted me. What was it about this girl that made me hate her from the first time we met in 2nd grade. 53

I wasn’t sure how to put it so I just spit it out “I smelled it.” I was addressing the Alpha now, I had no desire to acknowledge Tori any more than I had to. “I’d noticed the faint smell around town but it hadn’t occurred to me what it was until I got a stronger whiff of it on Gina. I haven’t spent much of any time around werewolves but I know the smell.” He squinted his eyes and watched me, he knew I wasn’t lying, he’d have been able to tell. I wasn’t sure what he was thinking.54

“You…smelled us. But you say you’re not a Fae, and I know you aren’t a werewolf, so again that leaves me wanting to know what you are.” I dropped my head and stared at the floor, it was obvious that he had no better clue as to what I was than I did. It was then that I felt like I’d been drained of every bit of energy. I’d been foolish to think that they could help me, and now all I wanted to do was go home. I stood up and stared at him with tired, hopeless eyes. The manner in the room changed, the wolves could smell and see what I was feeling. They could sense the desperation for answers switch into something else, a sadness of sorts. 55

“What am I? I’d been hoping maybe you and your pack might have some answers but clearly I was mistaken.” I made eye contact with him, my face blank and tired. “Your guess is as good as mine, I don’t know what I am and I don’t know why it’s been getting…” I was going to explain that I wasn’t sure why it was getting stronger, why it had such a strong hold on me. I wanted answers, I wanted to know why I felt like I was losing myself, why this place kept calling to me, but I stopped, why would he care? I wasn’t a member of his pack, I wasn’t a friend to him or anyone else here, and I didn’t want pity anyway. I pushed whatever I was feeling down and away. “Sorry for the trouble, I’m here for the Summer but I keep to myself so you don’t have to worry as long as Dog Face over there doesn’t come around my house anymore.” I jerked my head towards Tori. “Now, if you’ll excuse me…” I turned and headed for the door.56

“My name’s Adam Monroe.”57

“Well Adam, I wish I could say it was nice meeting you all but under the circumstances…” I shrugged “In any case, thanks…to you to Doc.” I tried to muster a smile up but it didn’t reach my face.58

“You still need stitches” she said59

“No, I might not heal like werewolves but I’ll be fine in a few days.” 60

“Sobreeman right?” I stopped just short of the door handle and turned back to look at Adam and Margaret who were standing together now. It was Adam that was speaking. I was too disappointed to enjoy the feeling his deep, velvet voice gave me. He gave a look to Margaret.61

“So you can heal faster than humans, you’re sense of smell is heightened, and it’s obvious you’re fast…what else can you do?” Margaret really did seem curious but I was in no mood to act as an experiment or be pitied. This time I smiled but not out of joy.62

“Does it really matter?” Before she said anything else I opened the door and left, and they let me. As soon as I was off the porch I realized I didn’t know where I was, I heard Adam on the other side of the door tell someone to drive me home but that was the last thing I wanted. I took off across the huge field without looking back to see who he’d sent.