Pack of Freaks: Beasts Among Us - Book 2

by Jennifer Zamboni

  Like a dollop of honey would make any difference in that attitude.

  Doug brought down the honey jar and drizzled a little in all our mugs. I bit off my protest and sipped.

  Evangeline took a small sip of hers, then settled back in her chair with her legs tucked up under her and her hand wrapped around her steaming hot mug.

  “Better?” Doug asked.

  “Yeah, I guess,” she said.

  I rolled my eyes.

  Doug blew out a breath. “So.”

  “So,” I repeated cautiously. Something was up.

  “You know how this house likes to move things?”

  I nodded and waited for him to go on.

  “I couldn’t find my room, so I went in yours. The connecting door is gone.” He paused, probably waiting for a reaction from me, but I didn’t give him one. “I left my bag in your room.” He paused. “Is that okay?”

  I shrugged my shoulders with a tiny bounce. “We’re married, so yeah.”

  He picked up a bag off the floor that I hadn’t noticed him bring in. “Yarn?” he offered it to me.

  I smiled and accepted it, pulling out the brilliant red scarf I was working on. I immediately relaxed into a rhythm, only pausing now and then to sip my tea.

  Doug and the kid had a quiet conversation while I worked, or at least Doug talked to her. I was in the zone, not paying much attention to either of them.

  Finally, I finished my tea and stretched. “I think I’ll go for a run.”

  “Evie, why don’t you go too?” Doug suggested.

  She scowled and made a point of not looking at either of us. “Don’t want to.”

  Doug touched her arm and knelt in front of her. “Please?”

  “Fine.” Evie pushed back from the table and stood at the ready.

  I grumbled inwardly and did the same.

  The sun was beginning to set, my favorite time for a run. I was already wearing sneakers, so I didn’t bother to change them. A sports bra probably would have been a good idea, but I was already on the move. I jogged steadily towards the back of Percy’s 100-plus acres, warming up my muscles, and waking up my wolf to my surroundings. I shook off the remainder of my three days of humanity and picked up the pace.

  As soon as I hit the woods, ducking and weaving my way through the close-growing trees and underbrush, I burst into a speed it would have been best not to get caught at by a human who didn’t know what I was.

  Evangeline was hot on my heels. The kid was in good shape, despite the bordering on malnourished condition I’d received her in.

  Smiling, or more honestly, snarling, I picked up the pace again. I was older, well-fed, and an avid runner, there was no way the kid was going to keep up.

  I should have known better than to show her up. Two miles into the run, I heard a shriek.

  I stopped dead in my tracks and listened, knowing it was probably Evangeline. There was a rustling sound in the distance behind me.

  Running towards it, I didn’t stop to assess the possible situation. The sun had set, but that didn’t bother me, as my eyes reflected enough light.

  I quickly came upon Evangeline in a little clearing.

  Evangeline and an irate skunk.

  I got the brunt of the spray while the kid hid behind me. Gagging and spluttering, I stumbled backward and grabbed Evangeline’s arm, shielding her as best I could.

  The skunk lumbered off into the underbrush, its job done.

  “What the—!” I started to shriek at the kid as I clenched her bicep, her face contorted from the smell.

  And then she threw up all over my sneakers.

  “That’s just great! Fantastic!” I yelled, not sounding either great or fantastic. “You listen here, you little brat.” I shook her, grabbing her other upper arm as well.

  Tears welled up in her eyes, whether from the smell or from me yelling at her, I didn’t know, but I felt the snap of my wolf. Not at her, but at myself. I didn’t know what to do. Obviously, I was in the wrong, and it was my instinct as a dominant wolf to protect, not berate, the pup in front of me.

  “Go back to the house. Now.” I paused, thinking better of that idea. “No, wait, go back to the barn.” We both smelled horrendous and Percy wouldn’t thank us one little bit if we brought the skunk smell into her house.

  What I really wanted to do was shed my clothes and change, but I also didn’t want the even more heightened sense of smell wolfing out would bring. That, and I didn’t want the skunk smell in my fur.

  I did, however, pick up the pace, hoping I wouldn’t be able to smell myself quite so much at a greater speed.

  I was sort of right, while I was creating my own breeze, and at least there was no direct line from the stench to my nose. I ran slow enough for Evangeline to keep pace. I didn’t want to lose sight of her again, ending up with her getting into more trouble.

  We weren’t far from home, so it didn’t take us long to get back.

  “Go get Percy or Christina,” I instructed Evangeline. “Do not, I repeat, do not go inside the house, understand?”

  She nodded and slunk away.

  Had she done it on purpose? I didn’t know for sure, but I had a sneaking suspicion she had.

  I sat on the ground, doing my best to keep my nose upwind from myself and debated whether or not to strip down right then and there. It was dark out, so it was doubtful that anyone would see, but my modesty, which had died many years ago, was something I was trying to resurrect, for Doug’s sake. I did remove my puke-covered shoes and dumped them into one of the outdoor trash cans.

  A good 15 minutes later, Evangeline returned with not just one person, but a whole crowd. Percy led the way, followed by Christina, Robert, who was in charge of us wolves during that time of the month, Jane, Robert’s wife, Doug, and Hades.

  “Oh good god,” said Hades as he caught a whiff and backed away.

  As I bore the brunt of the spray, I apparently smelled worse.

  “Well, I’ve got to say, I don’t have a potion for this,” said Percy, trying to discreetly hold her nose. She resorted to pulling an honest-to-goodness hanky out of her pocket and used it to block what it could.

  “I do,” said Robert. “Well, sort of. It’s a recipe I got out of a dog magazine. We need a quart of 3 percent hydrogen peroxide, half a cup of baking soda, and a teaspoon of Dawn dish soap, for each of ’em.” He pulled a clipping out of his pocket. “Well at least, that’s for a dog. We’ll probably need a bit more, just to be sure they’re covered. At least they weren’t on four paws when it happened.”

  Oddly, the smell didn’t seem to bother him as much, though it did bother Jane, who’s larger-than-strictly-human eyes were watering profusely.

  “We probably have plenty of baking soda and dish soap,” said Christina, also keeping her distance.

  “Dawn?” Robert interrupted. “It’s important that it’s Dawn, specifically the blue one.”

  Christina nodded. “Yes, the blue one. Anyhow, someone is going to have to make a run to the store and buy out their hydrogen peroxide.”

  “I’ll go,” Doug volunteered.

  “Good, thank you. Jane, would you mind hunting down some buckets?”

  “I’m on it,” said Jane, who turned and hurried away, probably happy to get away from the smell.

  “I’ll go get towels and put together some bath baskets for you both to take more leisurely baths later.” Percy dismissed herself.

  I scowled at Hades.

  He held up his hands. “I’m just here to see the great alpha Gretchen brought low by a mere pup. Nice work, kid.” He turned to leave.

  “I thought we were friends!” I yelled at him.

  He turned slowly back and stared at me with a cool expression. “The god of the dead does not lightly consort with mortals.”

  “I’m immortal, you royal jackass.” I crossed my arms and held back a snarl.

  “So you are.” His look turned from cool to sardonic.

  God of nothing, he was banished! I r
olled my eyes.

  “Child, sit down with your alpha and stop spreading that stench about,” Christina commanded, pointing at the space beside me.

  Evangeline trudged over and collapsed fluidly beside me, bringing with her a fresh whiff of eau de skunk. I was surprised I could smell her, considering my superior dosage of stink.

  “I will oversee the de-skunking, starting with not spreading it any further. The two of you stay put until we have our ingredients assembled.” Christina shook a finger at us.

  No problem. I’ll just sit here and stew in my juices.

  Evangeline pulled her knees up to her chin and wrapped her arms around them, wisely choosing to remain silent.

  “So, Gretchen, I figured you were smart enough to leave skunks alone,” said Robert congenially.

  “Wasn’t my idea,” I said.

  “Well, you’re the alpha, correct? Why weren’t you looking after your pack?”

  He had me there. I didn’t know how to answer. Because I was less than pleased with my new charge? Because my husband had made me take her? Maybe I was completely to blame. It still didn’t stop me from blaming her. I shrugged my shoulders in response.

  Once the ingredients were all assembled, Doug, Christina, and Robert remained with us.

  Doug scowled at Robert.

  “The human body does nothing for me, trust me,” said Robert. “You wolves are my responsibility to take care of, even in your two-legged forms.”

  I knew Robert and his wife were fae, under heavy glamours, which weren’t quite heavy enough to affect their eyes completely, and I wondered what they really looked like.

  Wordlessly, Evangeline and I stripped down, while Robert and Christina mixed everything together into two buckets.

  “Whatever you do, don’t get this stuff in your eyes,” Christina warned, depositing a bucket in front of each of us. “Cover your eyes, we’ll start with the hair.”

  The three of them started lathering and scrubbing us like we were show ponies.

  Personally, I was wondering how much the peroxide would bleach out my hair. I hadn’t touched up the unnaturally warm brown too long ago. My blonde charge wouldn’t need to worry about that. Robert was scrubbing my hair, and Doug was doing the same for Evangeline, as she wouldn’t let anyone else touch her. My hair was left to marinate, as Christina added a little water to my mixture and handed me a sponge.

  I glanced over at Evangeline as I scrubbed. She looked so sad and bedraggled, covered in suds, clad only in pink underwear and purple sports bra, not her usual colors.

  I had to assume that Percy had purchased them for her. Once again, I felt guilty. I knew it should have been me to take Evangeline shopping. I was doing a truly shitty job of being an alpha. I was supposed to be giving this kid guidance so she could function in normal society.

  She, sensing me studying her, turned to glare. Maybe it wasn’t all my fault. She could at least meet me halfway.

  Doug frowned at me and shook his head.

  “All right, ladies, time for a rinse.” Robert held one hose by the spray nozzle, and Christina wielded the other.

  Steeling myself for the blast of cold water, I covered my face with my hand.

  To my great surprise, the water was deliciously warm. I flipped my head upside down, so Robert could more easily rinse my hair out.

  “Thanks for the warmth,” I said with a splutter as water ran down my face.

  “It’s the least I could do,” he said.

  I turned so he could spray down the back of me. After Robert had very clinically rinsed every bit of me, Doug handed me a towel.

  I dried off and pulled my hair around to smell. There was still an odor of skunk, but it was a vast improvement.

  “Your baths are all set up!” Percy bustled out and handed us each a bathrobe. “Come, child, I’ll get you settled.”

  “Coming with me?” I asked my husband.

  “Are you sure you want company?”

  “I would. Would you mind grabbing us some more tea and meeting me upstairs?” I tied the fuzzy sash of my deep red bathrobe around my middle.

  Doug nodded, and we walked inside together. I left him in the kitchen and made my way up the servant’s stairs. I wanted to have a moment alone in the territory that I would now be sharing.

  The early morning sun hit my eyes. I grumbled and carefully peeled open one eyelid to glare in the direction of the window. A couple of birds swooped by, squawking angrily. I stretched and reached for a blanket to cover up with. My hand came in contact with Doug’s furry head which was lying on my stomach. Bare hardwood had set creases in my skin.

  As I sat up, my eyes took in a disaster. My room, our room, was destroyed, absolutely torn apart. What the hell? We were only a couple days past the new moon, I should have been in control of my wolf.

  My bed was demolished. Stuffing from my oversized chair was strewn all over. My shelf, thankfully, was untouched, but according to the rest of the room, our wolves had a grand old time.

  By the time I had finished taking inventory, Doug was back to his human form. He was so quiet, I didn’t even notice him change.

  “What happened?” he asked, rubbing his eyes and stretching.

  I gestured around the room. “Apparently we had a good time. Wish I could remember it.” I stood slowly and headed for the shower. I wasn’t even going to begin thinking about the mess until after I’d taken a shower.

  I had a few hair appointments scheduled, for once, and band practice as well.

  Doug was cleaning up when I got out of the shower, stuffing the destroyed bits into a giant black trash bag.

  “I’ll take care of this,” he promised.

  “Are you sure?”

  “Yes, but I will need some money.”

  I started for the safe in my floor, then stopped. Instead, I pulled a notebook from the shelf and wrote down the combination, ripped it out, and handed it to Doug, before pulling up the section of floor that used to be under the area rug and exposed the safe.

  “Take what you need.” The bank of Gretchen was now open.

  Doug stared down at the open spot in my floor and gripped the paper in his hand. He now had access to a chunk of the wealth acquired in a manner he didn’t approve.

  I left him to his staring while I got dressed in my customary black jeans, boots, and short sleeved tee. My stomach grumbled, demanding breakfast.

  My clients were few and far between, and I was starting to miss my former busy days, stressful as they were. As things were going, I was starting to wonder if it might be time for a career change. I loved cosmetology, don’t get me wrong, but it was becoming more like a hobby than a career.

  As I waited between clients, I pulled out my knitting needles and struggled along with a seed stitch. I had looked it up on my own and decided to tackle it, thank you, Internet.

  When my next client arrived, I set my needles in one of my drawers and beckoned the older woman over.

  After consulting and shampooing, we started in on a comfortable conversation.

  “What are you working on?” Linette asked as I started on the perimeter of her cut.

  “Huh?” I replied, probably giving her reason to question my intelligence.

  “Your knitting, dear. I love the red.”

  “Oh, I just started learning. It’s supposed to be a scarf for my husband.” I pulled open the drawer so she could peek inside.

  “Oh, you got married! Congratulations! It’s nice to see young people knitting. I tried to get my daughter interested, but it never took.” She smiled at me in the mirror. “Well, keep up the good work! There’s nothing like handmade, let me tell you.”

  “I will,” I promised. “Do you still knit?” I pulled gently on her damp strands, checking to make sure everything was even.

  “I do. And crochet too.”

  “A friend of mine is opening a yarn store in Bangor, her name is Natasha.”

  “Oh, you mean Natasha the Russian!” Linette exclaimed.

 
“You know her?”

  “Of course.” She leaned towards me like she was sharing a secret. “She knows everyone.”

  I laughed at the truth of her statement. “I swear she does!”

  “That’s wonderful that she’s opening her own place. That one has some real talent for creating.”

  “Yeah, she does! She’s the one who’s teaching me, actually.”

  “You couldn’t ask for better. Oh, this feels marvelous.” Linette’s hand went to her newly shortened hair just as I finished the last snip.

  I placed my hands on her shoulders and grinned at her reflection in the mirror. “Glad you like it.”

  After drying and sweeping up her hair, I met Linette at the front counter to settle up.

  After handing me some cash and tipping me, she leaned over the counter conspiratorially. “Will you walk me to my car? I want to speak with you a moment.”

  “Of course.” I followed her out into the crisp afternoon.

  At her car, an older Buick Century, Linette finally spoke again.

  “I just wanted to tell you what a wonderful job keeping control you’re doing. It can’t be easy being a lone wolf. But then, you’re not that anymore, are you? I would assume your new spouse is a werewolf as well?”

  I backed a few steps away from her, my heart racing. How did she find out?

  “Oh, no worries, dear. I won’t reveal you. I can smell it on you is all. I have a touch of fae in me, but only a touch. I also wanted to tell you, if you ever have to leave this place, due to all this silliness going on, I know it might happen, I hope you open a shop of your own. Let me know, and I’ll follow you, you can depend on that.” Linette climbed into her car. “Have a lovely afternoon, dear!” And with that she drove away, leaving me with much to think about.

  I wondered how many of the clients that had stuck with me were fae or had some small amount of fae blood.

  I told Percy about Linette after we closed up.

  “You might be surprised how many fae bloods there are. I’m glad you’re getting some support from them, but I hope you don’t have any plans of leaving.”

  “Of course not,” I denied, though a small part of me was wondering if it might be a good idea.