by Lola Gabriel
“Right. But Nebraska does,” Caroline laughed. She turned her attention to Macey, and Brianna was glad of the reprieve from her questions. “What about you? A California girl, huh?”
Macey nodded. She looked uncomfortable for a moment, and then she shrugged. “The University of Nebraska has a great medical program. Besides, I wanted to get far away from my parents. This way they can’t keep such a close eye on what I’m doing.”
“Tell me about it,” Caroline said. “I mean, there is just so much more to life than studying, isn’t there?”
It seemed a strange way for someone to think if they wanted to go to medical school, but Brianna held back from asking about it. It was none of her business, and she didn’t want the conversation coming back around to quizzing her. Macey, on the other hand, didn’t hold back.
“Well, not for me at the moment. It’s going to be studying and more studying. How on earth do you plan to graduate from med school without studying?” she asked.
Caroline winked at her. “Magic.”
“Yeah? Well, when you find the spell for brains, send it my way,” Macey laughed.
Caroline led them into a large auditorium, and they took seats towards the back of the room. Brianna watched with interest as the room filled up. Some students had already begun talking to others like she had while some sat alone, looking uncomfortable. The quiet hubbub of polite conversation washed across the room. They didn’t have to wait long until a woman stepped from behind a curtain at the front of the room.
Brianna smiled to herself. The woman had come in like she was about to perform on stage rather than address a group of students. Perhaps with a group this size, they were one and the same thing.
The woman waited for the chattering students to notice her and begin to quiet down. Brianna felt Caroline tense up beside her as she looked at the woman.
“What’s wrong?” she asked. She looked at Caroline, and instead of the nervous expression she had expected from the tension in Caroline’s body, she saw excitement.
“You know who that is, right?” Caroline said. Brianna shook her head. “It’s Doctor Helen Ploughman. She’s one of the leading researchers at this school.”
The explanation didn’t particularly impress Brianna. It was hardly like she was in the presence of royalty. Still, the woman seemed open and friendly, and Brianna could think of worse people to welcome the students.
Caroline was watching Helen with a strange expression, an almost animalistic excitement on her face. Brianna got the impression Caroline was lying to her. Not about who the woman was, but about why this excited her so much.
Stop it, Brianna. You’re being paranoid. Maybe Caroline is way more into this whole college thing than she’s implied. Maybe she’s not really all about the party, and this is the genuine excitement of meeting an academic.
It still didn’t sit right with Brianna, but she told herself to let it go. What did it matter, anyway?
The room finally quieted down, and Helen smiled warmly around the room.
“Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. My name is Doctor Helen Ploughman, you all can call me Helen, and I’ll be one of the professors who will be teaching you throughout your studies here.”
Brianna pretty much switched off as the woman ran through the syllabus and the modules. She had studied everything about the course in depth before she had signed up, and she felt sure she knew almost as much about it as Helen did. She looked at Caroline again, but Caroline’s expression had returned to normal. The talk was really nothing more than a way to get the group together and introduce them to the course. Brianna didn’t even bother taking any notes. After Helen went through the syllabus, she moved on to internships, another thing Brianna had closely studied before signing up.
The talk lasted an hour or two, but Helen’s chatty nature meant that it went by fairly quickly. Helen finished up by telling the students to enjoy the rest of the day and to be ready for the hard work to start on Monday.
This got a rousing cheer from the group. It seemed they all preferred the idea of enjoying time off than actually studying. Brianna wasn’t so sure she was going to fit in here, but she told herself that once the hard work started, people would settle down. And if they didn’t, it really wasn’t any of her business. She had come here to get a degree, not a fan club.
She stood up as the others did and left the room with Macey and Caroline.
“Drinks?” Caroline said. “There’s a bar just down the road from here.”
Brianna opened her mouth to say she would pass, but she decided to go for a couple. There was no work to be done, and she had the whole weekend to herself. It wouldn’t hurt to let her hair down a little.
“Sure.”
“I’m in. I mean, you heard Helen. This is practically homework, right?” Macey grinned.
They walked along the street toward the bar, chatting about what type of medicine they wanted to practice. Brianna told them she was debating between orthopedic surgery and pediatrics. Caroline said she wanted to go into general practice, and Macey admitted that she wanted to be an ER doctor, although she wasn’t certain she had the stomach or the nerve for it.
They arrived at the bar.
“I’ll get the drinks in,” Brianna said. “What are you girls having?”
“A glass of red wine for me, please,” Macey said.
“I’ll have the same,” Caroline said.
“Should we share a bottle?” Brianna suggested.
The girls nodded.
“Sounds like the start of something,” Caroline laughed.
Brianna went to the bar and asked for a bottle of Rioja and three glasses. She paid and took it back to the table, where she poured out three large glasses.
“To new friends,” Macey said, raising her glass. Brianna and Caroline clinked their glasses against hers, and they all took a drink.
“Brianna, tell us more about New York,” Caroline said. “I’ve always wanted to go there.”
Brianna thought for a moment. “It’s a fantastic city. There’s so much to see, so much to do. But it can get kind of overwhelming. Everything’s so… so big.”
“Did you have a boyfriend back there?” Caroline asked.
Brianna shook her head. She had almost been forced to marry a stranger, but that was a story she wouldn’t be sharing with anyone.
“No, no one special,” she answered. “What about you?”
“Hell no. I’m not ready to settle down at all,” Caroline said. “I want to enjoy my freedom for now. There’s plenty of time for all that.”
“I thought that,” Macey said with a faraway smile. “But then I met Devon and fell in love. We decided to take a break while we go to school, but I think we both know that means it’s over.” Her smile faded, and for a moment, her face was clouded with regret.
“You know how to get over a guy, though, right?” Caroline nudged her with her elbow. “You have to get under another one.”
The three of them laughed, and Brianna felt herself relaxing. It was nice to just have a drink and get to know her new friends. She would feel a lot more comfortable if Caroline stopped with the questions, but she figured she was just trying to get to know her better. Surely it was normal to ask each other questions about their lives at this point.
“I might just do that.” Macey grinned, her eyes lingering on the bartender.
Brianna and Caroline snickered again. Brianna thought he was kind of cute, but she had no intention of getting into anything with anyone right now. Like Caroline, she just wanted to enjoy her freedom, and for her, that meant a lot more than just not being in a serious relationship. It seemed only right that she celebrate it now.
Macey reached out and picked up the wine bottle. She topped up their glasses, and the bottle was done. Caroline told them some funny stories about growing up in the back of beyond in a tiny town on the edge of Nebraska, and Macey shared stories of growing up as a surfer chick. Brianna told them about life in Texas, glad to move the to
pic to her childhood, something she could talk about without having to keep censoring herself.
“What’s the scariest thing that’s ever happened to you, Brianna?” Caroline asked when the conversation petered out momentarily.
Brianna felt her heart race for a moment. Caroline somehow knew who she was, what she had been through. And she was seeing if Brianna would admit it.
“I’m sorry,” Caroline said quietly. “Too personal?”
Brianna saw Caroline’s expression, and she realized her pause had made Caroline think something terrible had happened to her. Of course she didn’t know the truth. She was just making conversation. If Brianna was going to make friends, she had to stop thinking like this. Macey wasn’t exactly talking much, and Brianna could never think of things to say to new people. Caroline was the one who would keep them from falling into an awkward silence. It was nothing more sinister than that.
“No,” Brianna said with a smile. “I just haven’t really done anything exciting enough to be scary. I guess moving to New York alone at twenty-two would be the scariest thing I’ve ever done.”
“That’s pretty big,” Caroline said. “I would never have the guts to do that. What about you, Macey?”
“I almost drowned once when I was surfing,” Macey said. “A wave came in, bigger than I’d anticipated. I lost my footing, and the current dragged me under. I was so sure I was going to die. But then my friend pulled me out.”
“Now that’s scary,” Brianna said. “Did you give up surfing after that?”
Macey laughed and shook her head. “No. But I was much more careful,” she replied.
Caroline stood up. “Another bottle, ladies? Or do you want something different?”
“Another bottle works for me,” Brianna said. Macey nodded her agreement. Brianna reminded herself she had only been coming for a couple, and she had already had two.
Oh, fuck it, she thought to herself. Just enjoy yourself, for God’s sake.
The rest of the afternoon flew by. Caroline kept up her constant stream of questions, but Brianna was no longer paranoid. The wine was loosening her tongue, and she felt herself relaxing. She answered all of the questions Caroline threw out, and before long, she was starting to feel like she knew the other two girls. The three of them had definitely clicked, and Brianna was glad she had made friends so quickly and easily. The thought of classes didn’t seem half so daunting now that she wouldn’t have to face them alone.
After the third bottle of wine, Macey announced that she was heading back to her apartment. Brianna and Caroline tried to convince her to have another one, but she declined, telling them she was already way past tipsy, and she didn’t want to be ill the next day. Reluctantly, they let her go, and Caroline went back to the bar. She returned with another bottle of wine, and their conversation continued. Brianna was glad she had gotten used to the questioning. Now that there was only her and Caroline, the questions were coming thick and fast. Brianna decided it was time to ask a question of her own.
“Have you always wanted to be a doctor?”
Caroline shrugged. “Kind of. I mean, I had the kid dreams you know—popstar, movie star—but realistically, yeah. Why?”
“Just… you seemed so excited to see Helen. I figured you’d been following her career for a while,” Brianna said.
“Oh, yes. I’ve been following Helen very closely for a while now.” Caroline smiled.
Brianna saw it again. The flash of something predatory beneath her smile. She felt a shiver go through her, and she told herself she should really slow down on the wine.
“So, what’s she done that’s so fantastic, then?” Brianna asked.
“She’s currently researching the effect of light therapy for children with Autism,” Caroline said.
“Right.” Caroline’s excitement level had made her think that the woman was on the brink of discovering a cure for cancer or something.
“You don’t look very impressed.”
“Oh. No. I… um…” Brianna stuttered.
“It’s okay, Brianna,” Caroline assured her. “I know other people don’t find her that interesting. But I never claimed to be like the others, did I?”
That smile again. Brianna frowned slightly and then smiled back at Caroline as realization washed over her. She got it now. The no serious boyfriend thing; the obsession with Helen. Caroline had a crush on her, that was all. She decided against asking about it. If Caroline wanted her to know, then she would tell her.
The conversation moved on again, and Brianna told Caroline more about Texas and growing up there. Brianna was really starting to feel the effects of the wine, but in a good way. She felt giggly, happy.
Brianna looked up in surprise when a bell rang across the room. “What’s with the bell?”
“It’s last call,” Caroline said.
“Last call? No way.” Brianna looked at her watch and saw it was after midnight. “Shit. I thought it was about seven o’clock!”
“Macey didn’t leave until ten,” Caroline laughed. “I know what you mean, though. The day has gone nowhere, has it?”
They finished their drinks, laughing at how quickly the day had gone by and how they had found so much to talk about. When they finished their drinks, Brianna stood up on slightly unsteady legs.
“I’ll call a cab. Do you need one?”
“No. I’m staying on campus for now. Where are you staying?”
“I have an apartment. It’s about twenty minutes away on foot,” Brianna said. She stumbled outside to call a cab, but she only had two numbers, and neither of them had a cab available until after one. “I guess I’m walking,” she said to Caroline, who had joined her outside.
Caroline frowned and shook her head. “No way. Come back to the campus. I have a single. You can stay the night if you want to.”
The idea of walking for twenty minutes through the now chilly air in her current state didn’t exactly fill Brianna with joy.
“Are you sure you don’t mind?” she asked.
“Not at all. Come on, it’s freezing out here,” Caroline said, linking her arm through Brianna’s. Brianna allowed herself to be led back to the dorm, grateful that she had made such a good friend.
Brianna woke up to a thumping head, and for a moment, she had no idea where she was or how she had gotten there. It came back to her slowly at first, and then all at once. She had gone to a bar for a couple of drinks with Caroline and Macey, and a couple of drinks had turned into a gallon.
Where am I, though? Her mind clicked over slowly. She was in Caroline’s dorm room. She hadn’t been able to get a cab, and Caroline had let her stay with her. She had said it was a single, but it was actually a double. Caroline must have gotten lucky and managed to somehow not have a roommate.
Brianna sat up slowly, wincing. She looked at the other bed, but it was empty. Caroline was gone. She shrugged and stood up to begin pulling her clothes on.
2
Archer Malone sat at his desk typing out an email. He had only been the alpha of his small pack for a couple of years, and he was still finding his feet, but he had discovered that keeping open communications with the alphas of some of the other packs in other districts was definitely helping him on his way, and building some solid foundations for pack alliances felt like a good move, too.
To his misfortune, none of the people he had made relationships with seemed to be able to help him with his hunter problem. There were mortals out there who learned of the supernatural world. Some learned about it through tragedy, some were told by others who knew someone who had turned. Some found out by accident, witnessing something unusual, and some knew by necessity, as Archer had recently found out. The local sheriff knew about the supernatural community in his town.
Archer had had a meeting with the man when he had first taken over as alpha. The arrangement was simple enough: the sheriff stayed out of supernatural business, even organizing cover-ups if things went too far between supernatural people, aimed to keep the mort
als ignorant. In return, he expected the alphas to control their packs and make sure no mortals were intentionally hurt or killed.
With the exception of people like the sheriff, most people who found out about the supernatural world either kept it quiet to protect a loved one who had turned, or they convinced themselves they hadn’t seen what they had seen. That worked well for Archer and others like him.
Unfortunately, there were a few mortals who were told the stories about the supernatural world early, usually from a parent. These children were trained to become hunters of the supernatural creatures as they matured. It was passed down from generation to generation, the result of a long-forgotten revenge mission from back in the days, when certain supernatural creatures had taken it upon themselves to wreak havoc on mortals.
Archer had been both annoyed and a little surprised to discover that a hunter had found his pack. He had no idea how they had been able to sniff them out, or why they were being targeted. Chances were, it wasn’t personal—the hunter had merely stumbled across them somehow. The fact that Archer and his pack had never hurt anyone nor bothered any mortals seemed to be irrelevant to them. Hunters believed that the very existence of supernatural creatures posed a threat to humanity, and they killed without reason or mercy.
Archer had been trying desperately to get some information on who was hunting them down. After one of the pack members had been stalked on their way home, and an assassination attempt had been made on him, Archer knew it was serious. The pack member, Charlie, had managed to escape with his life, but he’d been lucky. The arrow that had narrowly missed him had been coated in silver, and if it had hit Charlie, he would have succumbed to silver poisoning and, ultimately, death.
The arrow had given Archer his first clue as to the hunter’s identity, but rather than put his mind at rest a little, this only made it worse. The arrow had been marked with the insignia of the Venandi Lupi, an ancient and fearsome band of wolf hunters. The Venandi Lupi were not only dangerous; they were clever, and to Archer’s knowledge, although a few wolves had managed to kill the odd member here and there, no wolf had ever managed to get any information from the hunters.