by AJ Merlin
No unflattering, unsymmetrical baldness for me again. No sir.
There had been a point, of course. I hadn’t just grabbed the razor and locked myself in the bathroom with the radio cranked to max on a whim.
Thankfully, all of my family was just as content to forget about my early teen years as I was.
My steps carried me down the street, across to the other side, and further on until I finally had made it to the print shop without incident.
Not that I’d been expecting an incident. For all the strange, drama filled occurrences lately that seemed to make up my life, I was usually a pretty boring person.
When I wasn’t witnessing murders and swooning after alphas who were too good to be true, anyway.
Pushing the door open to the print shop without stepping through, I paused as my eyes fell on a white sedan down the street the way I’d come.
It wasn’t particularly noteworthy, and it wasn’t fancy. Just a silver sedan with something shiny hanging from the rearview mirror and no one in the drivers seat.
But it looked familiar. Like I’d seen it before.
Had I seen it before?
“Can I help you?” The woman inside called, puzzled at my lack of movement.
Blinking, I shook my head to snap out of my reverie. “Hey, sorry. I was just…spacing out, I guess.” There were no other words for staring blankly at cars on the street. I stepped in, closed the door behind me, and tried to forget about the sedan. “I have this for you? And I need a receipt.”
The woman, a pretty beta with blue eyes, took the envelope with a smile. “Wait here for me?” she requested, disappearing into the back a second later.
I rocked back on my heels on the worn carpet, taking in the eggshell colored walls and posters of what you could order and how much it would cost.
It was kind of like a post office, in my opinion. Only, there was no metal, small-space smell.
And no mailboxes.
Glancing outside again, I saw that the car was still there. Exactly where my eyes had left it.
Of course it is, I chastised with a soft sigh. Why wouldn’t it be?
Better yet-so what if it had been moved?
“Here you go.” The woman had come out of the back and slid a receipt across the high counter that I took and pocketed.
“Thanks,” I told her with a smile. “Really appreciate it.”
“Well you guys are our best customers,” she chuckled. “Say hi to Andi for me? Tell her that Elle says hi.”
“Sure,” I replied, caught off guard. She knew Andi?
“We’re cousins,” the girl said, as if she could see the confusion on my face. “She used to work here, before she started at Prowl.”
“Oh! That’s really cool. I’ll tell her you said hi, then. Thanks again!”
“Have a great day,” Elle called, when I was already out the door.
This time when I walked past the car, I slowed momentarily to look in the windows.
Just as I’d thought before, it was completely empty. No driver, and no trash on the floorboards. The car was neat. Pristine. And obviously well kept.
The only adornment was the black-beaded necklace that hung from the rearview mirror, shining in the light of the midday sun.
Perplexed, I stared at it. Why was this so familiar to me?
I’d never ridden in a car other than Noah’s, so there was no way I could recognize this one.
And why did I care so much?
Then again…
It wasn’t exactly the human side of me that cared, I realized. It was the maned wolf side. She cared about this car, like it was invading our territory and didn’t belong.
Like it represented some kind of threat.
Something else to file away for later, unless I was going to shift and tear up the interior of the boring sedan.
Which, while that seemed like a weirdly great idea, I was not going to do.
I started walking again, this time letting myself speed up until I was power walking back to Prowl.
Something tickled at the back of my neck.
If I’d been in my wolf shape, the black ruff around my neck would have been on end, I was sure.
My steps slowed, though I didn’t stop walking.
In my best reenactment of playing ‘Red Light, Green Light,’ I whirled around to look down the deserted sidewalk behind me.
I was sure I’d see someone. Probably just someone walking their own way, but someone all the same.
Instead, there was nothing.
The sidewalk was empty, as far as I could see, and the only noise was the sound of car engines rumbling in the distance.
So why had I felt like someone was watching me?
I stayed where I was, surveying the street around me before turning around again.
Why was I so on edge?
When I started to walk again, the feeling returned. My skin prickled in anxiety, and my stomach churned harder for every moment that I didn’t turn around again.
Finally, as the discomfort became an overwhelming tugging at my body, I paused and looked behind me once more, still in my strange parody of my least favorite children’s game.
Yet again, there was no one there.
But I’d been so sure…
My eyes weren’t lying, though. And when I sniffed the air I couldn’t smell anything that wasn’t here all the time. No strange scents. No strange people, my nose told me reasonably.
“Come on, Alek,” I said under my breath. “Don’t start losing it now.”
Forcing myself to turn, I power-walked the rest of the way back to Prowl with the feeling of the devil being close on my heels the whole way there.
Rita surveyed my face as she took the receipt from my fingers and laid it on her desk. “Did something happen?” she asked, eyes on mine.
“No…not really,” I dismissed, unsure of what to say. “I just had a weird feeling. But it was nothing.” Though, the feeling of being unsafe hadn’t completely gone away. The back of my neck still tingles, and I still had to fight not to look behind me.
“What do you mean?” She gestured for me to sit down in the seat across from her desk. When I moved to sit, she did the same so we mirrored each other in the large office.
“I saw this car,” I explained haltingly, not wanting to sound like a crazy person. “I don’t know why, but it made me feel strange. Like I’d seen it before. But who cares if I have, right?” My eyes darted to hers to take in her reaction, but her own face remained unreadable. “Then I was walking back and I felt…” I trailed off. “I know how it sounds, but I just felt like someone was following me.”
Her eyes narrowed minutely. “Followed?” she said again, and I nodded. “Do you know by who?”
If I knew who was following me-or if they were real-I would’ve done something about it.
Something more than just turning around every little while to see who was making me feel so nervous.
“Honestly? No one. I’m just a little on edge lately. There’s no one in my life who would take the time out of their day to follow me instead of just talking to me, and like I said. I’m on edge.”
“Can I ask why?” She smoothed out the receipt on her wooden desk, working out the wrinkles from being shoved into my pocket.
“Relationships,” I muttered. “Or at least, I think they’re relationships.”
What else would they be? Fireflies?
“Ah yes, the ender of all things. The great and powerful relationship,” Rita nodded sagely. “You know, I’m very happy I never dipped my toes in that particular pond.”
“Really?” I glanced up in surprise. “You never wanted…?” Okay, so that was definitely inappropriate to ask my boss.
“I never did,” she said. “Well, maybe once. For a few years. But my status, and my standing, were more important to me than mates.”
While I absolutely envied her position at Prowl and, to an extent, looked up to her, I found myself wondering at this being her idea of �
�standing.’ For a lot of people, it wouldn’t have been a career to hope for.
My thoughts must have shown on my face, because Rita grinned and went on. “This wasn’t always my life, Alek. And certainly not my original ambition.”
“Then what was?” I couldn’t help but ask.
“Power. Respect. A place in high society, I suppose.” She waved a hand dismissively. “In the end, none of it was really worth it.”
That made it sound like she’d gotten what she’d wanted. Had she?
Was my boss more than just a grumpy bear-shifter alpha with good business sense?
“Enough about the past,” she went on. “Do you want to take some time off? I know you haven’t been here long, but I don’t want you overworking yourself. You’re a good employee, Alek. I’d like you to not feel overwhelmed.”
“Oh…no,” I shook my head. “I love this job. Whatever weird stress my brain has decided to carry, I promise it has nothing to do with Prowl.” Except one certain member of Prowl, of course.
But I wouldn’t tell her that.
“Really?” Her eyes met mine and she gave me a disbelieving half smile. “Think about it. Whatever you need time off for. Whether it be personal health time or…anything else. Just put in for it and I’ll approve it.”
“I appreciate that,” I said, getting to my feet with a sigh. “But I promise, I’m not looking to take any time off.” Not when I enjoyed my job and, more importantly, I needed the money to continue paying rent.
And what did anything else mean, exactly?
Noah’s dreams of a fancier apartment had been deferred when I realized that I needed to start setting something back.
Unless he wanted to move out and leave me behind.
Not that I could afford our apartment on my own, of course. But I wished I had a better solution than ‘I need to save money.’
I wanted to move as well, though I hadn’t told him just how much I dreamed of getting out of our particular part of the city.
I might miss our florist-neighbor and her plants, but I wouldn’t miss the screaming, the fights, or the way that being outside after dark felt like an extreme sport around our building.
The more I worked, the faster we could get out.
Taking time off was the opposite of that goal, so it wouldn’t be happening any time soon.
“Make sure Noah talks to Ted on his way out,” Rita called when I was already out the door. “They need to get some numbers straight.”
“No problem, boss,” I agreed with a small wave of agreement, my steps carrying me down the hallway and towards the room where Noah was probably still filming.
Chapter Twenty-Three
I trotted to the door when the bell rang again, shooing Miss Murple away from it gently with my foot before pulling the heavy door open wide with a grin.
Roman stood there, dressed in fitted jeans and a black, long-sleeved t-shirt.
“You’re early,” I told him, not missing how his eyes raked over my body.
“You’re not wearing that, are you?” The enforcer asked, stepping into the apartment at my urging.
I rolled my eyes, closing the door behind him. “I thought I would,” I told him mockingly. “Why not wear my pjs to Sadie’s house party?”
Truthfully, I’d meant to have been dressed about ten minutes ago. After yesterday’s weirdness, I’d been up most of the night and after work I’d come home and napped while Noah was gone.
Of course, Noah would be gone all night. But I was still on a time table, even if he was with his new girlfriend.
But now I was late. Thankfully my eyeliner was on, and my teeth were brushed already. My hair was still a bit of a mess, and I grabbed my brush from off of the counter and started running it through my misbehaving red tresses again.
“I won’t be much longer,” I promised, keenly aware of Roman following me down the hallway into my room.
He whistled, catching my attention, though I felt myself begin to flush when I found that his eyes weren’t on me, but rather the state of my room.
“Did a tornado hit in here?” he asked with a smile, stepping over a pile of clothes and sitting on the edge of my bed.
“Yes. Just before you got here,” I lied, tossing my brush over to the nightstand as Miss Murple lunged onto the bed and stepped into Roman’s lap.
He ran a hand down her body, eyes still on mine. “You ever considered cleaning it?”
“No,” I replied airily.
“I really think your poor room deserves to be cleaned.”
“It can suffer,” I shot back, and paused to see him pick the maned wolf stuffed animal up from my pillows.
As I watched, Roman brought it to his face, nose against the fake fur. He ran his cheek along it, then pointedly looked at me again. “Aren’t you getting dressed?”
“No. I was watching you.”
The enforcer’s grin widened. “Just doing like you asked and getting my scent all over it for you.”
“Oh? Is that what you’re doing?” I asked teasingly, sitting beside him and shooing the cat to the other side of the bed. “Well, maybe you should do it to me, too.”
His eyes darkened, lips parting slightly as my own smile turned triumphant.
“No,” he said with a sigh. “Because you are running late.”
Ouch.
Pursing my lips in a pout, I tried a reliable method I’d learned from every cheesy movie ever.
I laid my head on his shoulder and gave a soft whine, eyes wide as I locked my gaze with his.
Roman reached up and tenderly brushed my hair back from my face.
“So cute,” he purred teasingly. “A for effort. Go get dressed, sweet girl.”
Ouch again.
“Oh fine,” I sighed, getting to my feet. Once I was at my closet, I rifled through until I could find what I was looking for.
Once I’d grabbed everything, I walked down the hall and into the bathroom I shared with Noah.
Had Roman seen most of what lay under my clothes? Yeah. He had.
Was I prepared to change in front of him?
Not so much just yet.
Sure, it was basically the same thing, I knew. Kind of. But without the added, heightened emotions of being worked up and wanting to get him out of his clothes, I found myself a bit reluctant.
Pushing my inner turmoil to the side, I reappeared from the bathroom to head back to my bedroom, pajamas in hand.
“I’m good to go,” I told Roman, chucking the shorts and t-shirt to a chair in the corner.
When I turned, I saw him gazing disapprovingly at the discarded clothes, but he didn’t speak. His eyes slid back to me, dipping to survey the high waisted skirt, short boots, and black t-shirt that I wore.
“We match,” he said, getting to his feet.
“A little,” I agreed, plucking at my shirt to show that I agreed on that, at least. Both of us wore black shirts and black shoes, him sneakers and me ankle boots, I wore a dark red skirt while he had donned dark wash jeans.
“Will your roommate be there?” Roman inquired, following me back down the hallway and pausing while I grabbed my phone and keys.
“No, not tonight,” I sighed. “Usually we go together, but this worked out, I’d say. He has a date with an omega who rear ended his car while trying to parallel park.”
Roman paused, processing that information. “Strange way to meet someone,” he said at last.
“Yeah, I know. But they’re…really into each other.” I locked up quickly, and shoved my phone and key in the pocket of my skirt. “However, she doesn’t know what he does or where we like to go.”
“Does she seem like she’d take it well?”
I hesitated, thinking back to her open, honest face and her words from when we’d met. “No,” I said decidedly. “No, I think she’ll run for the hills the moment he even begins to tell her.”
Hopefully, he wasn't right at all about that.
This time, Sadie’s eyes fell on me as soon as the g
ate opened and one brow rose as she looked between Roman and myself.
“Oh?” she asked, as if that were enough to know what she was asking. “I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised…but I am.”
Roman smiled impishly, hands in his pockets. “You sound like Jinora,” he said, and turned to me. “That’s my partner. The woman you met before.”
Finally. A name to go with the slightly-intimidating face.
“Will Noah be here?” Sadie asked, and again I shook my head at the question.
“He’s on a date, and she doesn’t know about all this,” I said easily.
But he wasn’t the only one who wasn’t here tonight.
Our other friends hadn’t shown up either, though I hadn’t counted on it, exactly.
But…
Well, if they had been here, I could’ve had some respite. Just in case things got to be too much or awkward or whatever possible thing could go wrong.
“Are your friends here?” I asked, striding through the yard with Roman at my side.
“Yeah,” he said, dipping his head in acknowledgment. “See?” he pointed towards a corner of the yard, where a large cheetah lay stretched out, a woman petting her head affectionately.
When Jinora spotted us she waved, and whispered something to the cheetah. The other shifter glanced at us, acknowledged us with a lazy flick of her tail, and rested her head on her paws again.
“That’s one of her partners,” Roman explained quietly. “They haven’t seen each other in awhile. And Nash is probably here somewhere as well."
I didn’t know that name, but figured it had to be his other friend from the night I’d met him.
Tonight, there weren’t as many people in Sadie’s yard as there had been last time. I attributed that to it being a weekday, instead of a Saturday, and wondered how many times a week she had parties like this.
“So uh…” Roman trailed off, and when I glanced his way, he offered me a small smile. “Do you want to walk around? Or would you rather stay out here? We could probably talk to Jinora, if you wanted?”
I looked around, surprised at the different vibe this party had. There were less people, yes, but it also felt more…intimate in a way.