MARLOW #3
I take a breath. "Okay," I say before I've fully thought it through. "Doctor Kazan really didn't have anyone covering for him?"
"No. For forty years he was the only veterinarian in town. I don't think anybody ever imagined he'd need a replacement. Everyone's getting ready to make long trips to Franklin now."
Well, I've really gotten myself into something.
"If I can help, I'll come tomorrow."
"Thank you! Seriously, thank you!"
His gaze drifts across my face.
"I was feeling hopeless about finding help for Peaches, and then you showed up out of nowhere. Like a little miracle. Isn't life surprising?"
He says it with a strange sense of reverence.
I cautiously glance around and notice several pairs of eyes fixed on me. Some of them have unusual colors, like pink, white, or… am I really seeing vertical pupils on one of the teenagers?
I blink a couple of times. They're all smiling at me kindly, but I've never liked being the center of attention. It always makes me feel overwhelmed. I clear my throat, glance over at Mr. Davos, and find him watching me with a subtle smile.
Are these people magical AOs? I'd rather not ask. That's a very slippery subject.
I turn away, deliberately avoiding Mr. Davos's outstretched hand. I get the feeling he'd like me to continue walking with him toward the cemetery, where most of the mourners are already moving between the gravestones. Instead, I simply nod and step back.
There's something a bit hypnotizing about the way these people are looking at me, something… that seems to be affecting me. A quiet, unexpected sense of hope stirs somewhere deep in my soul. A rare feeling for the usually depressed me. Are these people somehow influencing me through their energy?
And yes, my mood has changed. Suddenly, staring at tombstones and listening to a funeral service doesn’t appeal to me anymore.
I’m willing to give life one more chance. Who knows, maybe a small miracle will happen for me too.
◆◆◆
I drive back toward the facility along the forest road, my thoughts still spinning. My usual doubts try to creep back into my mind, but this strange state I've slipped into in the presence of the people of Rainbow Springs seems to be somewhat holding them at bay.
Getting involved in veterinary work… maybe it's a nice escape, a way to take my mind off things for a while, but should I really be doing it? Looking for distractions instead of focusing on sorting out the mess my life has become?
Suddenly, a large logging truck appears, coming from the opposite direction. The road is already narrow enough that two regular cars have trouble passing each other here. A truck that wide? Yeah, this is going to be rough.
I edge as far to the side as I can because the ditch along this stretch is pretty deep, but then I realize my side mirror is about to scrape against the truck. And this is a rental car. Panicking, I instinctively correct my steering just a little more.
Big mistake.
I feel the wheel slide off the shoulder.
"Goddammit!" I curse as the car drops into a depression much deeper than I'd expected. The whole vehicle tilts hard to one side. The tall grass had hidden how deep the ditch actually was.
Frustrated, I slam both hands against the steering wheel. Then I notice the truck driver must've seen what happened because the vehicle comes to a stop about fifty yards ahead.
I glance at it through the rearview mirror, trying to assess the situation. Two men climb out and start walking toward me. One is an older beta, while the other is a young, tall alpha.
Fine. If things somehow go sideways, I can handle two people, right?
Shit, I hope my arrogance doesn't come back to bite me one day.
I climb out of the car too, already preparing to give them a piece of my mind, but the worried expression on the beta's face takes some of the wind out of my sails.
The alpha is almost absurdly handsome, like somebody straight out of a catalog. He has auburn hair similar to mine, only darker, and dark hazel eyes. He hangs back behind the beta, looking at me without much visible interest.
Thanks to the damned Allure pheromone blockers, I can't smell anything from either of them.
"We're terribly sorry," the beta says. "This damn road is ridiculously narrow here. We've been asking the local council to do something about it for years. Our trucks can't pass each other, and sometimes even regular cars struggle."
"Yeah, well, it definitely sucks," I reply, still irritated. "But what am I supposed to do now? This car is rented, and unless I'm missing something, there's no tow hook on it, so I don't exactly see how we're getting it out."
A brief silence follows.
Then something strange happens.
The beta slowly turns toward the alpha standing behind him. Their eyes meet for a moment, and I could swear the beta gives the tiniest nod.
Then he turns back to me.
"I think we can handle that. Don't worry. But first, why don't you come over to the truck with me? I'll give you one of our business cards. If your vehicle has any damage, our insurance will cover it."
The beta gestures toward the truck.
I don't sense any danger from him, and the handsome alpha doesn't seem to be giving off any energy that puts me on guard either.
So… why not?
To be honest, I don't know why I even follow him.
It's almost like there's something oddly convincing about his voice, something that smooths away my doubts.
As I walk beside him, I keep wondering why the hell I'm going along with this instead of objecting.
For a second, I even start wondering whether some weird magic is involved.
We reach the truck, walk around the cab, and the beta climbs inside to grab a stack of business cards.
That's when I notice the alpha didn't follow us.
And from where I'm standing, my car is completely hidden by their vehicle.
The beta flashes a wide smile and hands me several cards.
"I'm Renato Santoro. My family owns several large sawmills around here. But that's not all we do," he continues in a salesman's tone. "We also build vacation cabins, rent cabins, and construct custom log homes for clients who want that kind of lifestyle."
Why is this guy telling me all this?
It's almost like he's trying to distract me from something.
Oh, hell no.
I'm not falling for that.
I turn, intending to walk around the truck, but the beta grabs my arm.
"Wait. We're actually looking for workers right now. You wouldn't happen to know anybody who might be interested?"
I yank my arm free.
What is this, some kind of trap?
I step past him with a decisive move and look around the back of the truck.
The sight that greets me freezes me in place.
The handsome alpha is gone.
Instead, my car is being pushed back onto the road by something that looks a lot more like a forest demon or some ancient spirit of the woods like a Leshy than a human being.
It's made of some kind of green plant matter woven together with rust-colored branches and vine-like strands that resemble veins. Or is it some tree golem? That's the closest comparison my brain can come up with.
And it's glowing.
Actually glowing!
Tiny sparkling lights drift around it like magical embers.
"Holy shit," I mumble.
The beta grabs my arm and spins me around with a surprisingly strong yank.
For a beta in his sixties, he's ridiculously strong.
"You weren't supposed to see that!" he snaps. "I told you we'd help, but you just couldn't listen!"
There's genuine anger on his face. At the same time, something about him looks different now. His eyes seem to shimmer with a strange color somewhere between green and brown, but in a way that feels unnatural, almost luminous.
And am I imagining it, or is the world around me starting to strangely blur and darken… fuck! Is he trying to cast some forgetting spell or what? Good thing I am a magical creature too, so I shake it off.
"Hey, relax!" I say, raising both hands. "Your secret's safe with me."
To be fair, they just pulled my car out of a ditch. It seems they're not bad folks, so I can keep their secret. Or maybe even do more? If they are magical ABOs, like me … could I, for the first time, be bold enough to reveal a small part of my own secret? In a spirit of kinship!
It takes a bit of pushing through, since my dad’s years-long fear programming has a good hold on me, but finally I do it… feeling a strange relief.
"I'm like you. I've got my own secret too."
As I say it, it's so fucking liberating that I let out a huff. I've never revealed it to anyone before!
But the man narrows his eyes.
"I doubt you're like us. Our bloodline is extremely rare."
I roll my eyes in response.
"That's not what I meant. I mean I'm magical too."
The beta studies me carefully.
He's still skeptical, his brows furrowed.
Well, I already said it, maybe I can do it too? For the first time in front of a complete stranger.
Staring into his eyes, I raise one hand and partially shift it. Claws slide from my fingertips, and a layer of fur appears along the back of my hand before I immediately pull the transformation back.
Renato Santoro’s face lights up instantly.
"Ohhhh!"
The tension drains right out of him, like somebody letting the air out of a balloon.
"Whew. Then we're not going to have any problems." He nods happily. "Everything's fine. We all have our secrets, and none of us want people talking about them."
"Exactly," I agree. "Couldn't have said it better myself. Secret for a secret."
A moment later, the other alpha walks around the truck.
Human again.
He doesn't say a word.
He just looks at me with an odd calmness in his eyes. They're the kind of color that looks like deep forest green mixed with the brown of old tree trunks.
"Thanks for the help," I mutter, though I'm not really sure what else to say. Then I make a zipper motion across my lips. "My mouth's shut."