Chapter 3 #2
Harriet had explained that she and her parents were all rabbit shifters, and they’d lived here since Harriet was two years old.
Prey shifters were very rare, as it’s generally pretty dangerous for them to shift in the wild where there could be other predators.
Most choose to live as humans, and many mate with humans so that their shifter genes are diluted and eventually die out.
Harriet, like us, had been breaking the rules by shifting down by the river. She’d been out for a run and her rabbit had just gotten antsy, and the rest is history.
I steered the conversation away from Ben’s dick and back to more important matters.
"So, Harriet," I said, "Are you a student at Blackstone Academy by chance?"
"Oh my god, please tell me you guys are starting school with me!" she exclaimed. A smile lit up her heart-shaped face and her brown eyes sparkled.
"We are," I confirmed. "Ben’s a junior and I’m a senior. I just turned nineteen and Ben will be eighteen in October."
"I’m a senior, too," she replied, looking like she won the lottery. "I’m also nineteen, so I guess you guys took a year off of school in Utah just like we did here."
"We did," Ben replied. "The kids in our little closed-minded pack were mostly homeschooled so it didn’t matter for them.
But, since our parents sent us to regular human school, my dad insisted we follow the shifter tradition and take a year off after our first shift.
No sense in tempting fate with an uncontrolled shift in middle school. "
Shifters generally gained the ability to shift at puberty, but then it usually takes at least a year for young shifters to be completely in control of their wolves, which can of course cause problems. Most shifters avoid school and other public settings for extended durations for about a year after they gain the ability to shift until they learn better control.
"God I am so excited for some new blood at the Academy this year," Harriet said enthusiastically. She gave me a pointed look. "Mave, your presence alone is going to piss the fuck out of the Alphawhores."
"The what now?" I asked, confused.
"The Alphawhores. Think your stereotypical hot cheerleader mean girls, but they’re wolves. I call them the Alphawhores because they are so desperate to spread their legs for the boys we all call 'the Elites' because they’re the sons of the Pack elite, including Alpha Monroe."
Harriet snagged a fry and popped it in her mouth, and then she continued with her mouth full. "They’re gonna hate you."
"Why? I’m a nobody omega-wolf, remember?"
"Because you’re hot as fuck, wolf girl. There is no way you’ll skirt under the radar of the Elites and the other wolf boys." She smirked at me.
"Ugh fuck, why? This is not in my life plan," I lamented. I hadn’t even gotten to school yet and was on the verge of a pity party for one.
"Magic, it was always going to be this way," Ben chimed in like an unhelpful jackass. "I can only shield you from prying eyes with my blinding brilliance for so long. You’re still a Fortune—we turn heads."
"Not all of the wolves are heinous cunts, don’t worry," Harriet chimed in.
"And I have some awesome human friends who would love to hang out with both of you.
" She looked at me then with less smirk and more sympathy.
"I get it. I know you want to avoid pack drama and just get through this year. The newness of both of you will wear off after a while, and the school year will be over before you know it. Don’t sweat it, babe. "
"Thanks, new friend." I smiled at her. I was super glad she almost was eaten by a coyote today so that I could save her and keep her as my bestie. Ben seemed to really enjoy Harriet’s company, too, as they continued to chat together about Ben’s Tinder dates, the who’s who of hot guys at Blackstone, and whether low-rise jeans were truly making a comeback.
Ben lifted his soda cup in a toast. "To new friends. Let’s try to enjoy these last three weeks of summer before our sentence commences!"
"To new friends," Harriet and I said in unison, and she gave me a sly smile, "And to fucking up some Alphawhore’s whole day!"
And so, against my most ardent wishes, the rest of the summer flew by.
Ben and I had gotten back into our routine of training and working.
When we didn’t have shifts at Marilynn’s, we had dinner with our parents after they got home from work.
They seemed to be loving working for the production company and came home with entertaining stories about their coworkers and their projects.
We had also incorporated Harriet into our waning summer days as much as we could.
Whenever she finished working a shift at her summer job at a trendy consignment boutique downtown, she would often pop into Marilynn’s to keep me company at the bar.
She was an excellent people-watching companion, and sometimes she’d give me the gossip on various shifter customers.
She was pretty knowledgeable about who was who in the Pack, though thus far it seemed we’d lucked out and hadn’t run into any of the elite members or their ilk.
Harriet also joined Ben and me in the occasional backyard "shift and play" session, and Ben even let Harriet’s rabbit ride around on his back like he was a pony at a kid’s birthday party.
It made me laugh every single time. We also went running together on occasion, and I’d taken it upon myself to personally teach Harriet how to throw a punch.
Just because she was a rabbit didn’t mean she couldn’t learn to be a badass fighter in human form.
Before we knew it, Labor Day weekend had arrived. It was the Saturday before the start of school, and Dad had grilled. We were all sitting around the patio table on the backyard deck enjoying dinner and end-of-summer cocktails.
Harriet had become a regular dinner guest, and she was currently trying to convince Mom to take a shopping trip to the boutique where she worked. My parents were actually thrilled we’d made a non-wolf-shifter friend, and I’m pretty sure they were trying to adopt her.
"So, Harriet," my dad said as we were finishing up our burgers (veggie for Harriet). "You seem pretty knowledgeable about the NWLA Pack, but I’m guessing your family doesn’t associate with them much?"
"Not as shifters, no," she replied. "My dad owns a catering business, so he’s dealt with the Pack in that capacity a few times. You’re aware that the Pack owns the Wolf’s Lodge Casino across the river in Bossier City?"
"I had heard that, yes."
"Well, they’ve hired my dad’s company to cater various events they’ve held at the casino, so my dad is pretty familiar with Alpha Monroe and Pack leadership by now."
"How were their interactions?" Mom asked. "I can’t imagine any top Pack members showing much respect for a prey shifter."
"Most of the wolves are pretty content to treat us as they would a human, and any individual wolf’s thoughts on humans are probably pretty personal to that wolf. Some look down on us like they would humans, others treat everyone with respect like a decent person should."
"And which one is the Alpha?" I asked.
She hesitated a bit, like she wasn’t sure if she could really trust that she could bad-mouth the Pack in front of some of its members.
"You don’t become and remain Alpha of a giant pack like the NWLA Pack without being somewhat aloof and ruthless. I get the sense that his interactions with my dad just stunk of someone who doesn’t have time for the little people."
She sipped her margarita and continued, "The general consensus is that Alpha Monroe is a good Alpha for the Pack—he takes care of everybody, and he allows his wolves the kind of freedom and flexibility that you guys are enjoying now. The Pack is very, very successful. But he’s also egotistical and power-hungry.
Rumor has it that some of the satellite pack locations were taken by force rather than volunteering to join.
Not all necessarily by physical force like a challenge between wolves, but more like blackmail and threats.
You can lose a wolf fight; I guess it’s harder to lose at blackmail. "
Dad nodded. I didn’t think any of this was a surprise to him—my dad’s always been pretty shrewd, as much as pack politics never interested him. You don’t grow up in a long line of Alphas without an understanding of the types of wolves that kind of power tends to draw.
But hearing Harriet’s assessment of the Alpha really made me wonder why he even let us join the Pack, knowing who Dad is.
Maybe it was because if he'd refused, he would have had to explain turning down our petition for membership.
That was pretty unheard of unless there was a compelling reason for it.
I suspected he was more content to just keep our family history a secret instead of having to explain away his insecurities about having an Alpha heir in his pack.
As great as things had been going for us since the move, I was beginning to realize that our peace was truly fragile.
One action misinterpreted, one wrong sentiment uttered, one toe out of line could bring unwanted scrutiny in our direction.
The Alpha could start to second-guess his decision to set up this whole house of cards in the first place.
Ben raised his eyebrows at me then. I bet he was wondering the same thing I was.
"Well, Harriet," Mom said, smiling at her and gracefully changing the subject, "I just want to say again how glad we are the kids met you! Even just knowing one person when you’re starting a new school can be such a lifesaver."
"Yep, she’s already given us all of the good gossip, Mom," Ben said. "And she already likes you and Dad more than us, so stop sucking up to her."
"It’s true Mrs. Fortune. Ben and Mave are cool but they don’t make me dinner or mix my cocktails extra strong like you and Mr. Fortune do."
"You’re a dirty traitor," I told her. "See if I sneak anymore booze into your sodas when you visit me at work."
"Mave!" my mom gasped.
"Kidding, Mom!" (I wasn’t kidding).
When the night wound to its finish, I walked Harriet to the door and hugged her goodbye.
“See you at school then, new friend,” I said, simply feeling thankful to have become close with someone who already knew the lay of the land.
“You’ll rock it, new girl,” she replied. “Don’t worry so much.”
I just hoped she was right.