“Sorry,” I said, shaking my head of shifter questions, “I got distracted.”
“It’s ok, Ebsen was just asking you a question,” she said, pointing up to the hulking man next to me.
“Sorry,” I said again looking up at him, “Do you mind repeating?”
He chuckled, “New to this world huh?”
I nodded.
“I was asking about your wilderness experience,” he said.
I explained my history camping with my family and what I did at Camp Warckamee, I was very honest about my known limitations. Ebsen listened intently.
“If need be, I can do tentless camping, depending on terrain, I could probably do a makeshift shelter, but that’s so dependent on the weather,” I rambled, as I talked, I expected him to interrupt me or prompt with more questions, but he just kept looking me in the eyes and nodding along, so I kept rambling.
“But I wouldn’t feel comfortable setting out to do it. I’m pretty good at one match fires, but struggle with flint and steel. I am capable of fishing, but I’d rather take my chances foraging than gut a fish, I always made my brother do it for me. So I’d clearly survive super long in the event of an apocalypse. I can do day hikes, but I wouldn’t feel comfortable doing solo backcountry would probably be eaten by a bear.”
Shit, I shouldn’t say that to a bear, “I’m so sorry I didn-”
Ebsen threw his head back and laughed again. Heads turned to stare at us before returning to their conversations. “It’s fine, Souli,” he said, “You probably would get eaten by a bear.”
My cheeks burned, no doubt the blush that formed went from my ears down my neck. He wasn’t hitting on me, right? No, he probably meant literally. Right?
Linde threw a roll at Ebsen, “You keep your paws off her ranger,” Linde snarled, “She’s human, not another one of your conquests.”
Ebsen caught the roll easily and shoved it into his mouth with another laugh. I forced myself to focus on my spinach salad. I could actually see his laughter. The force of it caused ripples in the puddles of dressing on my salad. This guy was the laughter equivalent of T-Rex.
Wait conquests? Shit, Linde thought he was hitting on me. Oh, I did not want to get into a workplace romance. Certainly not with a guy who had conquests.
“What about you, Ebsen?” I asked, desperate to get the conversation off of me, “Fire safety rangers must have loads of wilderness experience.”
“Born and raised in these woods,” he said, digging into his plate of rotisserie chicken. Literally, a whole chicken and a pint of berries made up his tray. He tore off a hunk of breast meat and dropped it into his mouth, chewing a few times before continuing, “Probably know each tree better than you know the back of your own hand.”
I shrugged, that wouldn’t surprise me with all the bruises that mysteriously appear overnight. But that was a different set of thoughts for another time.
Ebsen grabbed a fistful of blueberries, tossed them into his mouth and swallowed without chewing them before speaking again, “There’s a lovely set of waterfalls about three miles northeast of here that’re just incredible this time of year.”
“Ebsen,” Linde said in a low warning tone that sounded almost like a growl. Or was it a growl. I needed to figure out what kind of shifter Linde was.
Did that mean Clara was a shifter too? And Richard?
How many people in my lives were shifters.
Ebsen put his hands up innocently, “What? They are. And the hike to the waterfalls is just incredible. Do you like hiking, Souli?”
“Make sure she doesn’t burn down the cabin first,” Art said, “And remember to sign off on the training paperwork this time. I don’t relish chasing you down before the auditors come, again.”
The rest of the meal finished with Linde plotting and replotting my schedule for the week. She wanted to get as much office training as possible before the rest of the staff arrived.
As the current staff finished their meals, they came over and introduced themselves. One by one, I promised I wouldn’t remember their names until the third introduction and each person laughed. Everyone seemed nice enough. Even if their noses did twitch when they got close to me.
Once all the trays had been cleared, Art got up from our table and walked over to a slightly raised platform and waited until the room got quiet.
“He does a weekly meeting on Sunday nights until May.” Linde explained in a stage whisper, “The staff get Sunday night to Monday off, once the packs start to arrive we stagger the schedule so the areas are always staffed. You’ll probably always be off Mondays as we try to have arrivals on Tuesdays.”
Art cleared his throat, “I’m sure many of you have smelled our new arrival, Souli Barre. She is human,” I heard rumbles in the small crowd, some seemed like he had confirmed their own suspicions,
“She is unclaimed,” Art continued. I felt the bench vibrate beneath me as Ebsen made an inhuman sound. Linde shot him a glare and he stopped.
“She is off limits,” Art finished. “Treat her as you would any shifter female in your home group, we want her to stay around. We have a new batch of wilderness guides arriving Tuesday, Rangers please have your straws drawn before their arrival. I want a smooth training this year.”
Art turned toward the table of older men, “Grounds, it’s supposed to snow during your time off, please ensure someone stays back to plow the main road, that person will get a comp day that can be used on a holiday. The rest of you, Ethan has let me know he’ll be having the AVC open for meals at seven, noon, and six during time off, please be respectful of their time. Any other business?”
After the room was silent for several beats. “Seeing none, have a great night and safe time off.”
Chapter 4
“Alright, Souli, I’ll see you in the morning,” Linde said, handing a stack of papers to Ebsen. She gave him a stern look, “You, behave and leave the signed forms on Art’s desk.”
“Aye, Aye, Linde ma’am,” Ebsen said, standing up into an eager salute that nearly sent the bench underneath us falling to the ground.
Linde rolled her eyes and walked us out of the AVC. “You can train in her cabin, she has the keys, and only training, Ebsen. I’m serious, I like this one.”
“Aye, aye, captain,” Ebsen said with another laugh that shook the building. He turned back to me, “I have to get the presentation materials from the ranger station, I’ll meet you in your office.”
I nodded and he ran off into the dark woods.
“He’s harmless,” Linde assured me with a pat on the shoulder, “Just a huge flirt. Your smelling of foreign bear probably doesn’t help much. Did Art show you where the laundry facilities are?”
I nodded, “I’ll try to get it taken care of tomorrow.”
She gave me an apologetic smile, “Again, I’m so sorry about not warning you. We thought you knew, I mean you’re so close with my mom.”
“So she’s a shifter too?” I asked.
Linde nodded with a laugh, “Her and most of Guardinnea. The mill’s a known shifter-only employer.”
I slowly nodded, “That makes a lot of sense. I don’t want to accidentally offend anyone, is it rude to ask what kind?”
Linde shrugged, “I’d say yes if it weren’t your job to ask. We flag the flavor shifter in the system so we can make sure we have adequate safety equipment. What keeps a human or squirrel safe in the air won’t do much for Ebsen.”
I nodded that made sense, “But outside of that, I shouldn’t ask.”
“Most will tell you,” Linde said, “we get a lot more predators here than prey shifters. They’re much less cagey about it. Just don’t be surprised to see all sorts of animals in the forests, or naked people coming out of them. Did Art give you the pamphlet on telling them apart from animals?”
I pulled out the tri-fold from my back pocket and waved it, “Haven’t gotten a chance to read it yet, but I promise I will.”
“It’s not the be all and end all, but i
t’s a good start,” Linde said once we’d reached my office cabin, “I’m sure Ebsen will throw in more shifter safety rules in his presentation knowing you’re an unclaimed human. Again, he’s harmless, mostly.”
“I trust you,” I said honestly, “Can I ask a question?”
“Sure,” Linde said with a nonchalant wave of her hand, “Ask away.”
“Do you normally hire humans?”
She shook her head, “You’re the first one.”
“So why hire me?”
Linde gave me a quick look up and down, “Our last dozen or so office managers were shifters and when pack leaders got upset with the WAZ rules, they’d cave. I’ve been trying to get Art to hire a human for a while but it’s impossible to find a human who is in the know who can work out here. That and we really really need you,” her brows furrowed for a second as if debating what to say next, “And the councils prefer to keep humans in the know close. We wouldn’t have taken the risk bringing an unclaimed human here had we not be so sure you’d already been told. We get to kill two birds with one stone, so to speak”
“What does unclaimed mean?” I asked. I felt the distinct feeling of white fluffy snowflakes start to fall in my hair. I gazed up at the grey sky wishing it were clear so I could see the stars.
“Shifters sometimes mate--err marry humans,” she said, “Those are the claimed ones. They join the packs, dens, herds, etc. of their shifter partner. You’ll see a few of them this summer. The council doesn’t worry too much about them. Had Sig- you know- claimed you. Then well... First, he wouldn’t have let you go. Second, you wouldn’t have wanted to go. Which is why our only humans that have worked here, came with a mate, and mates usually wanted to work in the same departments. Office manager is a solo gig. So, you can see the struggle we have.”
I nodded slowly. It was a lot to think about. I’m sure I had more questions but Ebsen came running up carrying a folded up easel and a backpack bursting with posters.
“Ready?” he asked, nodding his head toward the office.
Linde patted me on the back, “See you in the morning, Souli. Welcome to WAZ.”
She left and I unlocked my cabin door, turning on the light by the entrance.
“First we’ll build a fire,” he said, “I’m sure you’re freezing.”
I was a little chilly but nowhere near uncomfortable. I knew I’d need to know how to safely have fires in my cabin if I was to stay at the WAZ long term. Ebsen pulled out a flip cart of posters for how to build fires. He flipped through camping, cooking, back country, emergency, bon fires, until he found cabin fireplaces.
“First and most importantly, make sure the area is clear....”
A half hour and a written quiz later, I was sitting in front of the fireplace basking in the crackling warm glow. I learned the chairs were just as uncomfortable as they looked and I opted to sit on my parka on the floor.
“Alright Ranger Ebsen,” I said, focusing back on the flip chart, “What’s next in fire safety?”
Three hours later, the fire in the fireplace had died to low embers. The time was productive. I had twelve pages of safety quizzes completed and graded with Ebsen’s signature for the insurance company. Ebsen was sure to give me a binder full of safety procedures with color coded tabs for each emergency type, red-fire, blue-water, green-weather, yellow-motor vehicle, and orange-shifter.
“Can I ask you a personal question?” Ebsen said as he folded up the easel.
“No promises I’ll answer it,” I responded as I gathered my own documentation, “This is my office and I am on the clock.”
“You smell like one of my cousins,” he said.
“You know Sig?” I asked, remembering when Art had said I still smelled like my ex-boyfriend.
Ebsen shook his head, “Cousin in the animal sense, sorry I should have clarified. I’m just curious about that. Who’s Sig?”
“Ex-boyfriend,” I said, simply, “Didn’t know he was a shifter until Art told me this afternoon.”
Ebsen raised his head in understanding as if that cleared everything up for him, “His loss,” he said, his eyes turning down toward me with a heat that hadn’t been there before.
“Whelp, thanks for the safety lessons,” I said, backing up slowly toward my office door, “I’ll be sure to be super-safety. Space heater in grounded plugs, looking both ways before I cross the street, always wearing a seatbel--”
Ebsen picked me up like I weighed nothing and cradled me like a baby to his chest. He was warm. And he smelled good. A mix of pine and campfire underneath a formidable aroma that was uniquely Ebsen.
No, bad Souli, don’t smell coworkers. Humans were off limits to shifters, which meant shifters were just as off-limits to me. I needed to calm my hormones down and focus on my job. The job that I really, really wanted that provided housing that was even more desperately needed.
“Please put me down,” I said in a pathetic voice, “I’ve had a long day and an early morning tomorrow I don’t have-”
“I can’t stand smelling another bear on you,” he said. I could feel his deep rumbling voice vibrating through my entire body, I heard him inhale a deep, rumbling breath, “It’s not strong though, how long’s it been since he had you?”
“Not long enough for me to answer that question to a coworker,” I said, pushing against his chest. Any temptation to break the one rule evaporated with that question. “Now put me down.”
He laughed while he set me down. Even while being chastised, his amusement echoed off the cabin walls. “I hope you stick around, Souli Barre. I’m on channel 4 if you ever get too cold at night and want a real teddy bear.” He wiggled his emergency radio then picked up his easel and bag and left my office.
I hurried to lock the door after him and could hear his laugh as he walked down the path. My knees were knocking. Damn it, now I was cold. But Art and Linde had both mentioned doing laundry sooner than later and after the interaction with the big bad bear, I didn’t want to take chances. Double damn it.
I bundled up in my thickest parka and grabbed my bag with clothes and bedding. No use washing my clothes only to sleep in bedding that apparently smelled like Sig too. The closest laundry was behind the AVC and not too troublesome a walk. There was a small vending machine with packages of unscented detergent and dryer sheets. I was able to fit most of my stuff in two washing machines figuring I could run and shower while the second load was drying, then I wouldn’t have any smell worries.
The nearest showers were in the next building over, but unisex. I hoped 9:30 pm in April wasn’t prime shower time for shifters. Thankfully, it was empty when I got in. It took a couple of minutes for the water to heat up but once it heated up it was hot. Good. I washed my hair three times just to be sure I smelled of eucalyptus and spearmint, not stupid shifter ex-boyfriends who didn’t want to marry me. My newly dried towel had lost it’s fresh-from-the-dryer heat in the journey around the building, but my socks were still warm. Simple pleasures.
“New girl, right?” I heard as after I was fully dressed, “Sorry, didn’t mean to scare you. I didn’t get a chance to introduce myself when you came in tonight.”
I turned until I found where the voice was coming from, a man about my height and size, fully dressed carrying a pair of shower shoes in a caddy with soaps. He didn’t give me the flared nostril up and down appraisal that Ebsen had, but I wasn’t about to let my guard down yet.
“I’m Ethan, my mate, Jamie, and I run the kitchen,” he said. Hearing the word mate I felt I could relax. I could be confident that Ethan wasn’t going to pick me up and sniff me.
“We wanted to say hi after the meeting, but Jamie gets nervous around predators and you were with the grizzly so... Anyway, you’ll see her around here sometimes, she’s usually in the kitchens though. I think she’d like you, she usually likes humans. What was your name again?”
“I’m Souli Barre, nice to meet you. Tell Jamie I said hi.”
“Will do. I take it you’re the one doing l
aundry in a snowstorm?” he asked with a smirk.
“Guilty,” I said, “apparently my clothes all smell like my ex and it was strongly recommended I fix that before meeting everyone enmasse.”
Ethan nodded his head knowingly, “It sends mixed signals to some of the prey if you aren’t a shifter and smell like one. Probably wouldn’t help you much with some of the unmated males running around either. They’ve been known to get aggressive around each other if they think an unclaimed human is up for grabs.”
Oh Hanna Barbara what did I get myself into?
Ethan noticed my sudden panic, “Judging by your face this is all very new for you.”
I nodded.
“No worries,” he said, “Everyone who works here is good people. Not the brightest people, they will push your boundaries as far as you let them, but they’ll stop before crossing the line.”
“Thanks, Ethan,” I said, not comforted by his statement at all, “I uh... better get back to my laundry.
“Bundle up, it’s going to be a cold one,” he shouted after me.
Cold one was right. The wind howled through my still damp hair as I ran to the laundry and switched loads into the dryers. I finally finished all of it by nearly midnight. By that time there was a thick dusting of the white stuff. I trudged across the village with my bags hefted high on my shoulders. I heard the howl of the wind mix with the howl of wolves. Real wolves. The thought was cut short but the reminder of shifters existing. Were they real wolves or my new coworkers out for a midnight run?
Chapter 5
I woke up the next morning surrounded by the smell of pine. I took in a deep breath. Today was going to be a good day, I could feel it in the crisp spring air.
The previous night, I was too afraid to use the space heater but four wool blankets over my sleeping bag did the trick. I hated to admit it, but it was nice to have freshly laundered everything. I had literally washed the smell of Sig off of me. Now to just get over him for good.
I dressed in warm layers with my good hiking boots. It was still dark out but my watch said it was close to 7am. I’d be just in time for staff breakfast. I pulled my hair, still a little damp from my late night shower, into a tight braid and pulled a warm wool hat over it.
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