Phantoms of the Otherworld (In Spiritu Et Veritate)

by Reed, Zoe

  “Um, three fifty one,” Kyla answered.

  Lacey pushed the button for the third floor, and we stood in silence until it dinged and the doors opened. The hall the elevator opened up to was brightly lit and lined with numbered doors, a few of which were open.

  “The halls are co-ed, but boys and girls have separate bathrooms.” As we walked toward the end of the hall, Lacey pointed to a miniature foyer with a single swinging door at the end. “That’s the girl’s bathroom, showers and toilets of course. Did you guys bring shower sandals? Because you’re going to want them.”

  Both Kyla and I shook our heads as we stopped in front of a door numbered three fifty one. “That’s okay, we’ll go into town tomorrow and get you guys some. Key?” Lacey held out her hand while Kyla pulled the key out of her pocket and handed it over.

  Before we walked into the now open room, I briefly caught the eye of a girl stepping out of her own room at the end of the hall, and then I disappeared into Kyla’s dorm. A desk sat near the far wall of the carpeted room, while on one of the adjacent walls was a tall dresser and armoire. I dropped the box I was holding onto the bed on the opposite side of the room as the dresser, and sat down next to it.

  “You guys just moving in?” The girl I had seen moments before knocked on the doorframe and poked her head in. She smiled when she recognized the youngest of us. “Hey, Lacey. Friends of yours?”

  Lacey grinned and skipped to the door, pulling her in excitedly. The girl was average height, maybe an inch shorter than Kyla. Her dirty blonde hair was pulled back into a ponytail, and under her bright hazel eyes light freckles dotted her tanned cheeks.

  “That’s Camille, and this is Kyla,” Lacey introduced. “Guys, this is Abby.”

  “Nice to meet you.” I reached out from my spot on the bed and shook the girl’s hand, then watched as she shook Kyla’s.

  I probably wasn’t meant to notice, but I saw Abby give Kyla a discreet up-down as they greeted each other. It was subtle, and maybe even unintentional, but I didn’t like it, and I couldn’t stop a fit of jealousy from raging in the pit of my stomach. The last thing I needed was for Kyla to find someone new while I was still trying to help her adjust. As she let go of Kyla’s hand, Abby’s eyes met mine, and she cleared her throat uncomfortably. I looked away instantly, somewhat ashamed. I didn’t think I’d made my unease that obvious, guess I’d have to hide it better.

  “Well, I should let you guys unpack.” Abby started for the door, somewhat awkwardly at me having caught her gander.

  “Hey, wait, are you busy? Why don’t you help Kyla out so me and Camille can go get her stuff?” Lacey suggested, and before Abby could give an answer, she was pulling me out of the room.

  I did my best to hide my aggravation from Lacey as we got back on the elevator, but I couldn’t keep from letting out an exasperated sigh. Lacey glanced over at me with a curious squint, but quickly shrugged it off when I gave no explanation. I was being ridiculous. I couldn’t be jealous after hardly one minute with the girl, and it was no longer my place to be defensive over Kyla.

  I was, however, curious. “What’s the scoop on Abby?”

  Lacey opened her mouth to answer, but then stopped as a smirk tugged at her lips. “What’s the scoop on you and Kyla?” We stepped off the elevator and made our way through the lobby.

  “What?” I asked as I pushed open the front door and held it for Lacey, who smiled thankfully.

  Then she rolled her eyes. “You know what I’m talking about. I might be young, but I’m not stupid. You could cut that tension with a knife.”

  Even though the mention of my relationship caused a slight pang in my chest, I shouldn’t have been surprised – Lacey had already said that Eli mentioned Kyla to her. “We were together, but she broke up with me.”

  “Then why is she a werewolf?” Her face scrunched with confusion.

  “Your dad didn’t explain anything to you?” I asked, wishing he had so I wouldn’t have to talk about it. She shook her head. “One of the mutts that was creating problems for everyone tried to kill her. I couldn’t let her die like that.”

  Lacey tsk-ed sympathetically, “And now you’re here trying to help her?” I nodded solemnly and pulled my belongings out of the jeep. “That’s rough.”

  I shrugged, and remained silent for the next minute while we returned to the building carrying a couple boxes. I hadn’t thought much about it until now, but it was rough. When I’d talked to Luna about coming to Oregon with Kyla, I’d downplayed the weight of the situation. But as I said goodbye to Lacey and sat on the bed of my single-student room, I’d never felt so lonely.

  The room was uniform and cold, and while I still cared for Kyla, and Lacey was a good friend to me, they were all I had. I didn’t know or really care much about anyone else. Without unpacking, I stripped and put on my pajamas, set my schedule on the desk near the wall, and lay down to go to sleep. I would have fallen asleep quickly if not for the noise that came with student dorms. The sound of my new peers in neighboring rooms thickened the silence of my own. It boxed me in, in my own silent prison.

  “When did you get in?” Abby asked me as she unfolded the sheets that had come with the room and stretched them over my bed.

  “About an hour ago. We had dinner at a friend’s house first.” I looked up from the box I was unpacking and studied the girl who’d kindly stayed to help me.

  Abby was certainly attractive. Not in the same provocative way Camille was, but in her own simplistically pretty sort of way. At about the same height as me she was rather thin, which made her curvy attributes surprising. The smooth appearance of her tanned, freckled cheeks gave her a lively complexion, emphasizing how attractive she was by making her seem energetic and fun. Damn these werewolf hormones.

  I saw Abby smile out of the corner of my eye, and raised a curious eyebrow at her. “What are you laughing about?”

  “Oh, nothing. I was just thinking about something.” It was obvious that she tried to force the smirk from her face as she answered, but I let it rest at that. “Can I ask you something?” I nodded. “Are you seeing Camille?”

  My jaw dropped as I struggled for a response. It wasn’t that the question was out of line. I’d been talking with my new friend for nearly fifteen minutes now, certainly long enough for the topic to come up. I just didn’t know how Abby had gotten the idea about Camille and I. “How–what makes you ask?”

  She chuckled and sat cross-legged on the freshly made bed. “Honestly?” she asked, to which I nodded again, almost impatiently. “The same way I know you’re a werewolf.”

  That particular word coming from Abby’s mouth made my heart speed up, and not in a good way. How did she know I was a werewolf? And did that make her a threat? I took a deep breath, if I let thoughts like that continue it wouldn’t be long until the itching began in my fingertips. I knew how the Pack dealt with threats, but I certainly wasn’t fond of entertaining the violent idea.

  “Whoa, calm down there jumpy. I didn’t mean to freak you out.” Abby unfolded her legs and scooted to the edge of the bed with urgency. “I’m not normal either.” I took another deep, calming breath, and questioningly held my hands out in front of me to request an explanation. “Telepath. I can read minds,” she said, tapping her index finger against her temple.

  I slowly nodded as I let the information sink in, and once it did my face flushed redder than it ever had. I had definitely been checking her out a minute ago. “Oh God, did you hear?”

  Abby grinned, clearly unworried about putting my embarrassment to rest. “That you think I’m attractive?” I covered my face ashamedly. “Don’t worry about it. I’ve heard much worse.”

  By that grin you didn’t seem to mind it, I thought. I just couldn’t stop it, and I’d certainly underestimated the amount I could blush. The corner of Abby’s mouth turned up amusedly, but she seemed to ignore the thought so as not to embarrass me further.

  “So, you and Camille?” she repeated her question expectantly.r />
  “Oh, uh,” I pulled the chair out from the desk, and sat in it facing her. “It’s really complicated.” I expected to end the discussion on the topic there, but Abby waited patiently for further explanation. “I guess I kind of screwed up, and she hasn’t forgiven me yet. At this rate I don’t know if she ever will. So, I don’t really know where her and I stand right now.”

  “Did you cheat on her or something?” she asked, clearly not at all shy about the things she said.

  “You’re blunt,” I couldn’t help but laugh in amusement as I pointed it out. Abby just shrugged, either unable to come up with a defense or not really caring to, but I wasn’t interested in supplying the detailed answer to the question, so I said, “No, it wasn’t anything like that.” Then I repeated my first answer. “It’s complicated.” I wasn’t sure exactly how Abby’s mind reading ability worked, but if she could read the flashes of explanation that involuntarily ran through my thoughts, then she would probably get the gist of it.

  I gave her a few seconds to pick my brain, and she seemed to understand a little better, because she nodded. “I’m sorry to hear it.” She pursed her lips sympathetically and, now that I was no longer freaked out, resumed her comfortable position in the middle of the bed.

  “You don’t seem too uncomfortable with it, um, the topic, I mean. Are you?” I couldn’t decide on the best way to end the inquiry, but Abby knew what I was asking.

  “I’m not anything,” she answered with a nonchalant shrug. “When you’re in peoples’ heads as much as I am you kind of forget certain preferences. Like gender.” I nodded in understanding while Abby took a good look around the room. “A single dorm, huh?” she mused. “I guess that’s what you get when the Pack pays your tuition.”

  “What?” I asked, confused. “I thought all the rooms were singles.”

  She shook her head. “Nope, most the students have roommates. The single rooms are for those of us who care to pay the extra price for it. I certainly wish I had my own room.”

  “Oh.” I suddenly felt guilty that Eli was not only paying for my tuition, but also for me to have my own room.

  I understood that he was worried about me being put with a human and having to Change all the time. That would get terribly suspicious. I just couldn’t help but worry that I was starting to become a burden to the Pack. He could have easily put me with Camille. Though that would have been a bit of an uncomfortable living situation. Abby could undoubtedly hear while I contemplated all the information, and she gave an affectionate smile as if to say she understood how I felt.

  “How much do you know?” I asked curiously, leaving my reflections behind to engage her in a conversation.

  She looked to the ceiling in deep thought. “A lot. Actually, a lot of the students at this school aren’t normal. The area is sort of a gathering place for the different races of supernaturals. I don’t know how that was decided, but it’s true. I don’t know, I know plenty of things,” she said, growing shyly modest.

  “Yeah, the whole mind reading thing doesn’t really seem fair,” I laughed, but I was struggling to keep my thoughts from going anywhere I didn’t want Abby to hear, and I found myself wondering if she knew that.

  She must’ve known it, because she gave a sly smile. “I usually do my best to stay out of people’s heads, but I can’t exactly turn it off, and sometimes it’s too hard to resist.” I felt my face flush again, and Abby’s eyes glimmered with a witty remark, but instead of saying whatever she wanted to she pulled out her cell phone and gawked at the time. “Oh, crap, I got to go. My friends go to this club called The Orchid every Friday night, and I’m supposed to go today. You’re welcome to join, if you’re interested.”

  I considered the offer for a moment, and as much as I’d have liked to go, I was exhausted. “Thanks, but maybe next time.” I ushered her to the door, and before closing it gave a grateful smile. “And thanks for helping me unpack a bit.”

  “Yeah, sure.” Abby waved goodbye and started heading down the hall toward the elevator, calling over her shoulder, “I’ll see you around.”

  I let out a sigh as I closed the door and turned to stare at the empty room. I was definitely going to have to go into town and buy some posters to decorate the bare walls. After I threw on my pajamas and turned out the lights, I climbed into bed. I would have gone to see how Camille was settling in, but I couldn’t remember what room she was in. I figured it was for the best anyway. While I’d been ecstatic and grateful that she’d come to Oregon with me, I couldn’t help but feel like she was slightly resentful of it. After all, I had pulled her away from her family and home.

  I took in a deep breath of the bed I was lying in. The thing I’d missed most in the two weeks I’d been home was having Camille’s scent around random areas of the house. Now that I was in my own private dorm, her scent was nowhere to be found. This place was unfamiliar, stressful, and nerve-wracking, and if I hadn’t been so tired from driving all day I never would have been able to fall asleep.

  ***

  I groaned as I picked my head up off the bar in Eli’s kitchen. It was quite early Saturday morning, and when he meant I’d be training every Saturday, he wasn’t kidding. I didn’t even get a couple days to adjust. Camille had gotten a wake up call from Lacey at seven that morning saying Eli wanted us there early, and breakfast would be provided. So, despite the ungodly hour for a weekend, I did my duties and sat with a fresh cup of coffee.

  “Next time you can take the jeep on your own and I’ll sleep in,” Camille whined next to me as she lay her head down.

  Lacey skipped into the kitchen all too cheerfully, black hair wet from a shower. “My dad’s almost done getting ready. He’ll be down in a few minutes.” How she was so happy to be awake, I would never know. Lacey looked down, startled as her stomach growled, and giggled. “Good thing, too. That bacon smells good, David.”

  We all looked over at the young werewolf who’d been cooking for the last forty-five minutes, mercilessly overwhelming my starving stomach with the savory aroma of bacon and eggs. I’d met the large, black-haired, blue-eyed Beta wolf back in California when they came to help with the mutt situation. I’d never gotten the chance to put a personality to the rough exterior, but now I was growing aggravated at the twinkling of laughter in his eyes as he teasingly stirred the bacon to release more of that delicious smell into the air.

  “Are you training with us, Lacey?” Without lifting her head, Camille turned it to the side to look up at the joyful girl.

  “Pfft.” Lacey waved her hand at us sarcastically. “I don’t need training. I’m the best damn werewolf in this town.”

  “Except for that exceptionally large head of yours.” Eli walked into the kitchen and thumped his daughter playfully on the head. “Is the food done?” David nodded as he removed the large pans from the stove and dumped the bacon and eggs into separate bowls. Eli stepped out of the kitchen and yelled so that anyone in the rest of the house could hear, “Food’s ready!”

  David handed Lacey the enormous bowl of eggs, the bowl of bacon to Camille and two plates piled with toast to me. We all walked past the bar and into the dining room, and set the food in the middle of the table before taking our seats around it. I watched as four other men came in and sat around the table. I’d smelled the various scents of werewolves in the house, but the whole time I’d been here I hadn’t heard or seen a sign of anyone else being around. Probably because they were all getting the sleep I wished I could have. One of them I also knew from California. A tall, lanky, beachy looking blond named Will. A smile tugged at my lips as I remembered the crush Luna had developed on him, and I found myself wondering if they’d talked recently.

  Once everyone was seated around the table, Eli was the first to dig in. He stacked his plate with food, and I followed suit in that everyone else was waiting until he’d eaten. I couldn’t say I understood the incorporation of the wolf custom into our almost human lives, but the importance of the show of respect was obvious, and so I w
aited patiently along with everyone else while the Alpha ate. Everyone talked noisily to distract their hungry stomachs from watching Eli, because once he’d finished his first round of food it was David’s turn. As the Beta, he came just behind Eli in importance, which meant he also got to eat before the rest of us.

  “Kyla, you’ve met Will right?” Lacey was sitting across the table from me and pointed to Will, who was next to her.

  I nodded and waved at him. He smiled back, and then I motioned to the others. “But I haven’t met everyone else.”

  Lacey’s face brightened with excitement that she’d get to do some introductions, and she pointed to another man on her other side. He was an older guy, although with the slow aging of werewolves it was hard for me to pinpoint his exact age. His short, sandy brown hair was dusted with gray, and his green eyes shone bright under his dark eyebrows. “This is Richard, he’s Will’s dad, and this is Nathan. He goes to school with us, he’s a junior like you.” She pointed to a boy who was sitting next to Camille at the end of the table.

  Nathan stood shorter than Lacey, but he was incredibly burley. His dark hair was buzzed short, and his eyes were a matching dark brown. Even though I noticed him walk in, he hadn’t really caught my attention, and I realized he hadn’t said much of anything since we sat down.

  “And I’m Wesley.” The last remaining werewolf enthusiastically stood, and mopped his straight brown hair off his forehead before he reached across the table to shake hands with me.

  “Nice to meet you.” I held back a giggle as I took his hand, slightly put off by his fervor. His teethed flashed in the biggest, most charming grin I’d ever seen, the excitement extending to his big gray eyes.

  Before I realized it the clanking of forks against plates grew louder. David had finished eating, and so everyone else had begun to pile mounds of food onto their plates. I grabbed the bowl of eggs that Camille was passing to me and dumped some onto my dish. The house grew strangely silent as each of us starving werewolves filled our empty stomachs. I was sure there was nothing special about the food David had made, but I was so hungry it was already one of the best meals I’d ever had.