Surfaced (Hidden Trilogy #2)

Chapter Three

I woke suddenly in the morning blinked my bleary eyes. Sunlight was streaming through my window and it took me a moment to place my surroundings. Small bedroom. Muffled voices drifted through my door. Ah yes, roommates. I closed my eyes and basked in the quiet for a little while longer.

“You annoying, big brute of a thief!” My eyes popped open at the outburst.

“Now, Amber, let’s talk about this,” Clint’s voice soon followed.

“Talk? Talk!? You STOLE my pop tarts!”

“It was just the one box-”

“That was the ONLY box!” Amber yowled.

“Amber-” Clint tried to reason, but then he was cut off by a feline growl and a crash. I jumped out of my bed and rushed to the door to see what was going on. As soon as I opened the door, a panther and human body rolled past my door going down the hallway. I watched as Amber, in panther form, kept pouncing on her brother who was trying to fend off a 150-pound cat. I covered my laugh as Amber kept knocking her brother to the ground and play biting anything she could get her teeth on. Clint was knocking her paws to the side while trying to shake off her jaws on various body parts.

It was the first time I’d ever seen a panther and their form did not disappoint. Amber’s panther was all sleek and pitch black. The coiled muscle rippling under the surface of her skin showcased the strength packed into her body. Amber had Clint pinned to the floor about five feet from my door.

Clint glanced up at me while rolling his eyes and holding Amber’s weight off his chest with his hands. “It was just a pop tart,” he argued again. To which Amber growled menacingly.

“You know you can’t steal Amber’s food, especially before coffee.” Jason was leaning against the refrigerator, watching the show with his own coffee mug in hand. “She won’t stop until you give in.”

“It was JUST a POP TART!” Clint argued. Jason shrugged and continued to watch Amber growl at her brother, teeth bared. Clint sighed and laid down on his back with his arms to the side in surrender. Amber immediately stood on his chest with her front two paws and growled in his face. “Alright, alright.” Clint rolled his eyes. “I won’t touch your pop tarts.” Amber leaned into him and exhaled right in his face. “AMBER!” Clint recoiled and moved his head to the side. Amber, looking very smug, used Clint as a launching pad and padded silently to her room, whipping her tail behind as she went. The door closed behind her and I glanced back at Clint who was picking himself up off the ground. He shook himself off before grinning at me.

“Morning, little wolf.” His gaze traveled the length of me before I realized I was dressed in my cotton shorts and tank top, since I’d jumped straight out of bed.

“Shit.” I turned and slammed the door shut on Clint’s laughter. My face was flaming so I took my time changing clothes hoping that it would give my face time to return to a normal shade. Glancing in the mirror told me I was as close as I was going to get, and I gathered my courage to walk back out.

Clint and Jason were sitting around the table, Amber was back in human form, giving Clint an evil look. I sidestepped into the kitchen giving everyone their space as I grabbed some bread to toast.

“What’s your plans for today, little wolf?” Clint asked over his cup of coffee.

“Uh, finish unpacking then explore the town. Maybe look for a job.”

“What kind of job you into? Not many art galleries around here.” Clint asked.

“No, doesn’t have to be that.” I shook my head. “Anything would be great. Just something to have some extra cash.”

“You know, a floor clerk position opened up at our main site. Maybe you could apply there?” Jason informed me, leaning back in his chair.

“What would they do?” I asked, my toast popped up, so I quickly spread some jam across the two pieces while making myself a small cup of coffee.

“Easy things like stocking shelves, helping customers find things, probably run a cash register once in a while.” Jason shrugged. “I’m sure our male clientele would be very appreciative of your help,” Jason winked at me.

“Please,” I scoffed. “I don’t want to work in a place where men are going to try something every day.”

“You can hardly blame men for looking, I mean, I do the same to them,” Amber shrugged. “Besides, you do have a nice bod.” She smirked at me.

“Um, thanks?” I was really hoping we could get off that subject. Fast.

“Don’t worry, everything would still be very professional. You just might be hit on a few times, that’s all.” Jason reassured.

“Yeah, now that your boy isn’t around to warn every other guy off-” Amber started but I cut her off.

“Cade would never-”

“Oh please,” Amber scoffed. “He was all over you when I first met you in the mall. Barely let you in the restroom without him. I’m sure his ‘attentions’ haven’t dimmed in light of your new latent abilities.”

“Don’t worry,” Clint commented off-handedly, “One of us is usually around. We can keep an eye on you.”

“I don’t need someone keeping an eye on me.” I argued and crossed my arms. I didn’t like that they thought I was a damsel in distress. Or that Cade was some overprotective…well, okay. He was fairly overprotective sometimes. But I could take care of myself, thank you very much.

“You know, I bet Ian could give you less-” Jason started but was cut off by Amber.

“Jason, you know Ian is much too busy with things to do that.” Amber gave Jason a meaningful look.

“Right, what was I thinking?” Jason replied quickly. He stood up and motioned towards the door. “Well, Clint, time to run to work. Wouldn’t want to be late.”

“It’s only 7:30.” Clint objected.

“Yeah, well, I need to stop at a few places first. Let’s go.” Jason grabbed Clint by the arm and practically dragged him out the door.

After they left, I glanced at Amber to gauge her reaction to their swift departure. She was busy cleaning up the mess the boys left and wasn’t paying any attention to me.

“How about you,” I asked, “anything exciting planned today?”

“Nothing you need to know about.” Amber snapped.

Okay. Apparently, I needed to stop and pick up pop tarts and coffee before I came back.

I quickly finished my toast and placed my dishes in the dishwasher before retreating to my room. I did have a few things I wanted to finish unpacking and it seemed like the perfect time to do so.

My room was mostly set up. The desk was organized, clothes hung up or folded into drawers, the last box held small mementos or decorations to make my room feel homier. I set up a few picture frames from Cassie and Bree of us hanging out, one of Cade and me at the waterfall behind his house, then another one of all six of us on graduation day.

I worried about Cade. I had no idea where this secret Enforcer Training was even held and the communication from him was so limited, I felt completely cut off. I had no idea how Cade was doing. Or maybe, he finally figured out that I wasn’t worth his time. It had been a while since he called. Separation does funny things to relationships, so maybe he finally found his lifemate where he was and was too scared to tell me.

At that thought, I started hyperventilating. Thinking of him with another girl, well, that just about broke my heart. I sat down on my bed and tried to take a few deep breaths.

No. No way. Cassie would tell me if he found someone. She wouldn’t leave me hanging like that, no matter how painful it was.

I sighed and took a deep breath to calm my racing heart. I had to change that train of thought fast, otherwise I was likely to spiral into a dark place. I jumped off my bed and grabbed my phone to look up the closest route to campus. Might as well check out the area and job opportunities nearby.

****

Fifteen minutes later, I was walking through part of campus, trying to orient myself to my buildings and the quickest route between them. Other students gathered around campus in small groups. You could almost feel the excitement rolling through campus at the prospect of starting a new year and a new journey for most. I sat down and watched groups pass by on their way to who knows where.

Part of me was a little jealous of the easy friendships they showed, and I wondered if they were friends from high school and just all decided to go to the same school. I knew I wouldn’t fit in as well; I never was very good at meeting new people. I doubted there was a Cassie look-alike that would take me under her wing and show me around. I would just have to figure things out for myself, I decided. I heard a notification from my phone and looked down to see Cassie had texted me. Speak of the devil, I smiled.

Busy?

Just walking around campus. I replied and stood to continue my tour of campus.

Heard from Cade. My heart skipped a beat at the mention of Cade.

And?I asked.

He’s fine. Only talked for 5 mins. I could just imagine her sulking because of the limited time they could talk.

Is he visiting soon? I asked.

Don’t know. Didn’t say.

Okay. Thanks for letting me know. I sighed.

Love you bunches, girl! I smiled.

Right back at you.

I slid my phone back into my bag and started down the sidewalk. I suppose it was to be expected that Cade wouldn’t be able to talk to us much. I didn’t really like how the High Council and Enforcer trainers had such a hold over all the packs. What if an alpha heir didn’t want to go to Enforcer Training? Was that even an option? Cade didn’t even hesitate in going, he knew it was expected of him because every alpha before him had gone. But was the training really something that needed to be part of their education or was it what I figured all along and a way to brainwash the future alphas into staying in line? I didn’t have any answers since I knew so little about the actual training, but I also wouldn’t put it pass the High Council. It just seemed like something they would do.

I looked out ahead of me to decide where I should go from there and I could see a bunch of guys up ahead, walking in my direction. I pulled my phone back out so I wouldn’t have to make eye contact as I passed them. There was no reason to draw unwanted attention if I could avoid it.

I could hear them talking about a party this weekend to kick off the school year and how it was going to be epic. Their words, not mine. As I drew even with them, two guys on the outside of the group whipped their head in my direction and focused their attention on me. I wasn’t looking at them, but I could feel their gaze and didn’t like being the focus of their attention. My senses told me they were wolves, but I had no idea from what pack. Could you tell that by scent alone? I had no idea and didn’t want to have a conversation with them about it anyways.

I picked up my pace to put some distance between me and the group as fast as I could without running. I came upon a sidewalk intersection and without knowing where it led, I quickly changed direction to get out of sight. I passed between two campus buildings and came to a busy intersection. Luckily the walk signal was in my favor, so I crossed the street with a few other students and turned again down the street with storefronts.

I walked briskly for a block or two, glancing over my shoulder out of habit before my heartrate slowed down. There really was no reason to feel like someone was following me, but their sudden attention made me nervous. They probably scented I was a wolf too, but why did it grab their attention like that? There had to be plenty of other shifters on campus since it was neutral territory. I turned back to look where I was going and bounced off the person standing in my path.

“Oh, sorry I didn’t see-” I finally regained my balance and looked up to apologize to who I ran into when it was none other than one of the guys that I was trying to put distance between.

“Your senses not working, wolf?” The man growled. He was a tad taller than me, stocky and solid looking, with black hair and green eyes. I would have put him at a few years older than me. His friend was standing to the side with his arms crossed, looking around to ensure we didn’t have an audience. He was of similar height with dark brown hair. They both scowled down at me as if I did something wrong. Then his question came back to me.

“What do you mean?”

“You ignored us on the sidewalk.” His posture was aggressive, which I didn’t know how to take. Was I supposed to cower? Was that a wolf thing? If it was, pfft, so not happening.

“I didn’t know there was a rule that I had to acknowledge you.” I sarcastically replied, crossing my arms and returning his steady gaze.

“I don’t know what pack you’re from,” the man in front of me continued, “but everyone knows you don’t ignore another wolf. Didn’t they teach you manners?”

“Think what those other shifters would think if they saw us ignoring each other.” The other man grumbled. “It wouldn’t send a great message.”

“What would they care?” I scoffed. The other man took a step closer into my personal space. I stood my ground but gritted my teeth at the aggressive move. So not cool.

“We can’t show any weakness.” His eyes darted around before coming back to rest on me. “Haven’t you heard they found a latent wolf?” I was taken aback by his words and didn’t respond. That information was supposed to be confidential. The High Council directed everyone at the meeting to keep that fact to themselves. How Amber and her family found out, I didn’t know, but I figured that was an isolated event. Apparently, I was wrong.

“What happens if the prophecy comes true?” The other guy’s eyes darted around to the people passing us in a wide berth. “Just a matter of time before the others gather enough courage and rebel against us. We have to stick together.”

“Um, yeah, okay.” I replied. Honestly, if I wasn’t the latent wolf they were talking about, I’d probably think they were crazy conspiracy theorists or something the way they were talking.

“You new here or something?” The first man in front of me asked.

“Yeah, first year,” I reluctantly replied. Man these two were coming off as bat shit crazy.

“You must have been sheltered in your pack.” He wrote off my misstep easily enough with a shrug. “Make sure you don’t do it again.” He looked at me expectantly.

“Sure, no problem.” I answered. Whatever you say, crazy dude.

“What’s your name, anyways?” The other boy asked.

“Kendra. And you are?” I asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Jake,” the arm-crosser answered. He nodded over at his friend who stood in front of me, “this is Seth. We’re seniors this year.” Uh, huh. I internally sighed. He said that fact like it meant he was all knowing and of course they knew what they were talking about.

“What are you studying?” I asked, needing this conversation to get back to a semblance of normalcy.

“Both of us are in business. Accounting to be exact.”

“That’s something I know nothing about.” I smiled good-naturedly, looking around trying to find a nice exit point.

Seth grinned. “Not many do.” He looked over at Jake before glancing at me. “Sorry we were hard on you. There’s just been a lot of talk lately and if we didn’t say something to you, another wolf on campus would have.”

“And they might not have been as nice as us.” Jake’s grin had a slight edge to it.

“Chasing me down and confronting me was nice?” I asked sarcastically.

“We’re wolves. We love the chase.” Seth smiled. He glanced behind me and scowled. I turned but didn’t see anything.

“What’s wrong?”

“There’s another shifter just standing back there watching us.”

“Is that another crime I should know about?” I joked, but quickly swallowed my laugh at Seth’s serious face.

“It looks suspicious. You don’t have a pack here to back you up.”

“I can take care of myself.” I stated firmly. Seth grinned down at me and smiled.

“I’m sure you can.” I could tell he was just humoring me. He reached into his pocket for a pen and added, “here, I’ll write down my number and you can call us if you ever run into any issues.” He quickly scribbled down his number on a piece of paper and handed it to me.

“Is that your normal pick up line? Offering your protection to girls in the hopes they’ll call you?” I teased. He smiled but his face took on a shade of red. Jake laughed at the exchange.

“She’s got you, man.” Jake smiled and continued to laugh.

“It really is if you run into trouble, though,” he gave me a wink and grin, “if you want to get a coffee sometime, I wouldn’t say no.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.” I mumbled and tucked the number into my pocket. I looked up to see Seth glancing behind me again.

“You go ahead on your way and we will be sure that he doesn’t follow you.”

“That’s really not-”

“Just go,” Jake commanded with a careless shrug. “He’ll follow you around all day otherwise to make sure you’re safe.” He added with a nod at Seth. I scoffed and shook my head.

“Well, it was…interesting…meeting you both.”

Jake laughed. “Likewise. We’ll see you around campus I’m sure.” Both he and Seth moved back down the sidewalk toward the unknown shifter, and I decided to keep exploring the storefronts since I was there.

I glanced over my shoulder at Seth and Jake in time to see Seth give Jake a light shove. I couldn’t see what shifter they were talking about, but the way they were talking, I figured it was a non-wolf shifter. I didn’t have much experience meeting other wolves since the only pack to visit mine was the Rhunes and well, I wasn’t supposed to know about shifters then. I’d have to ask Cassie about shifter etiquette sometime to know what other things I was missing.

I wandered down the street, stopping in at a few places to see if they had job openings. A few did, so I filled out an application and handed it over to the manager. Feeling good about my success so far, I stopped in at a local café around noon to grab a bite to eat. I sat down in a quiet corner and pulled out my sketch pad. I felt like it had been ages since I last drew something, and I was itching to create something.

Most of the drawings in the beginning of the book were of wolves. A precursor of meeting Cade and his family, I thought. With my so-called gift, it allowed me to draw the past, present, and future. Problem being I didn’t know which one I was drawing. All part of my latent party tricks. I didn’t even know my drawings were actual events until a few months after I found out about shifters. I finally put together that I was drawing Cade and the rest of them. That was an earthshattering moment. It’s not every day you figure out you have the power to tell the future.

Of course, it’s not an exact science. As I draw, I never really know what I as drawing, my mind wanders, and my hand would continue to draw. The image would take shape and I would be left wondering if the picture I drew had already happened, or if it was yet to come.

The more recent pictures in the sketch pad included panthers, but that was easy to understand with my new roommates. Two panthers slinked through the forest, blending in with the shadows so you could barely see the outline. Another showed a cougar and panther lazing along a river. That one was easily explained now that I knew about Jason. The other one had to be Clint. Most likely it was them at the river they take customers to on trips.

After finishing off my sandwich, I took out my pencils and started on another drawing. Five minutes into drawing, my mind was on other things as my hand continued to draw. I wondered how Cade and Brody were doing, even though Cade just called home last night to let them know he was okay. I didn’t like the idea of him being at the enforcer school, especially for five years. From what I could tell, none of the High Council Enforcers were pleasant to be around, except for maybe Enforcer Carver. While having the outer appearance of being a badass, there was another side to him that made me think he was a decent person.

It helped that his grandfather, Elder Nicolas, was the one to let my pack know that he somehow knew I would be a white wolf and to keep that information to ourselves for the time being. He was fairly old, probably in his late 70s, but was pretty cunning for someone his age. From talking to him, I figured he’s had to work the system over the years to get around direct orders from the High Council since they don’t seem to see eye to eye.

I saw someone approaching me out of the corner of my eye and reflexively looked up. A double take confirmed that I was indeed face to face with none other than Enforcer Carver himself. He was standing beside my table with his hands in his coat pocket surveying the crowd before his eyes landed back on me.

“What are you doing here?” I asked abruptly. I cringed internally. What a way to welcome the guy who reports directly to the High Council.

“What? No, hi how are you, or wow, what a surprise, it’s nice to see you?”

“Um…” I trailed off, at a loss for words.

Chuckling beneath his breath, he sat down across from me without asking. I sat there staring at him, trying to come up with a reason why he would be here. None of them were good.

“So, you’re starting college classes?” He drummed his fingers on the table, waiting for my response.

“Uh, yeah.”I replied dumbly.

“Art?” He nodded down at my half-drawn picture. I glanced down at the image and really looked at it for the first time. The picture was still half drawn, but from what I could tell, I was in the process of drawing a battle between a tiger and grizzly bear. Not the usual natural encounter you would see in the wild. Carver turned the drawing around and studied the drawing for a minute then looked back up at me.

“When do classes start?” He asked.

“You’re not going to ask about the drawings?” I was positive he didn’t know about my gift, but even I had to admit drawing those two animals in a fight was weird. Maybe to another shifter it wasn’t so out of place.

“We’ll get to that,” he replied cryptically.

“Monday.” I crossed my arms and answered his previous question.

“I see. Know anyone in your classes?”

“No, I don’t think so.” I replied. He bobbed his head and raked his knuckles across the tabletop.

“Why are you here?” I asked in the silence, while quietly pulling the sketch pad back towards me. Carver let me without a second glance.

“Council check-in.” His short response caught me off guard. I looked up at him sharply to see him watching me like a hawk.

“I didn’t know you would be doing those.”

“I didn’t either,” was his response.

“They don’t think Liam and Mica are reporting everything?”

“Oh, their reports are very clear.” He smirked, but the intent behind it was lost on me. He broke eye contact and leaned back in his seat.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Means I will be stopping there after this little side stop.” He glanced around at the bustling café. The crowd had thinned a little since it was after 1pm, but there were still plenty of ears around that we had to be careful about.

“Well you can tell the council that nothing has changed.” I assured, closing my book so he couldn’t see the pictures anymore.

“Really?” He drawled skeptically. He slowly looked down at the book then back up at me with a raised eyebrow. I pursed my lips in frustration.

“I’ve always been able to draw. Even before I knew anything about…” I trailed off, looking around at the few people around us.

“Yes, but this particular picture is very interesting to me.” He nodded down even though the picture wasn’t visible anymore.

“It’s just a tiger and bear. Nothing out of the ordinary.” I tried to shrug it off.

“A grizzly bear and tiger locked in a fight is ordinary?” He scoffed with a raise eyebrow. Clearly I wasn’t fooling him.

“I have an active imagination.” I quipped, I slid the sketch pad toward me and put it back into my bag.

“No doubt.” He shook his head and leaned forward on his elbows. “Nevertheless, there have been reports of unsanctioned fights. An underground ring where people are taking bets. This gets out and the information falls into the wrong hands, we all are going to have issues to deal with.”

His news shocked me. Underground fighting? For shifters? I wondered why they would do that, especially when it would obviously draw attention from the High Council. Humans would eventually find out, no matter what. Then his words hit me, and I narrowed my eyes in suspicion.

“Who’s doing the fighting?”

“Not wolves,” came his clipped reply, still leaning over the table, waiting for my reaction. Boy, did I have one.

“So, you’re only concerned because the higher ups might be dragged into the open, not because the ones on the bottom rung are fighting?” I countered heatedly, shaking my head.

“It isn’t my place to question my orders. Nor do I have to answer to a teenager.” His temper was starting to show. Apparently, he didn’t enjoy being put on the spot. “Besides, I’m not here to fight for the underdog. My job is to keep everyone in line, so we aren’t exposed.”

“But back in Dallas-” He was part of the meeting with Elder Nicolas, he knows his grandfather said I was a white wolf. I thought that information would put him more firmly on our side.

“There’s a time and place for everything, Kendra. This is not that time.” He glanced around the room before returning his gaze to me. I glanced around the room too, now paranoid. What did he mean? Were there other people watching us? What about that shifter earlier? Was he working for the High Council?

“Does the council have someone following me?” I asked, suddenly thinking of that morning.

“No.” He narrowed his eyes at me before asking, “Why?”

“No reason,” I didn’t want to elaborate on my potential stalker this morning. If it wasn’t the High Council, then chances are it wasn’t a wolf. I wonder if Seth or Jake got a scent off the street. I’d have to find another time to ask them.

“The High Council has other, more pressing matters to deal with at the moment than tracking the whereabouts of a stray teenager.” Carter replied, firmly putting me in my place. I winced but didn’t let up.

“Like underground fights?” I offered, wanting to know more specifics.

“Among other things.” He replied cryptically.

“Like what? I haven’t heard anything.” I was dying to know what else the stuck-up council was supposedly dealing with.

“No, I suppose you wouldn’t.” But he didn’t elaborate. “Just be sure to keep these drawings out of the public eye, for now.”

“Hello?” I questioned sarcastically. “Art major here? What am I supposed to draw?”

“Stick to normal drawings.” He glanced over at my bag in thought. “Or at least match ups that happen naturally in the wild.”

I huffed and crossed my arms. “Fine.” I paused before asking, “How’s your grandfather?” I’d only talked to Elder Nicolas a few times on the phone since last spring, but he was always fun to talk with, even if it was about nothing.

“Up to his usual antics, as always.” He chuckled. “By the way, you should call him soon. He looks forward to your calls.”

“I’ll try to do that soon then.” I nodded, trying to count back to the last time I talked to him. Had to have been a few weeks.

He shifted in his seat before looking back at me. “Interesting choice in roommates, by the way.”

I regarded him slowly, trying to decide what to say. “They are good people.”

“I know. I checked them out.”

“Little excessive for your job duties, isn’t it?” I asked with a raised brow.

“A favor for a certain young alpha heir.” He smirked and I couldn’t help but smile at the mention of Cade’s protective tendencies. Then the implications of that hit me.

“You didn’t tell him who I’m rooming with, did you?” I asked nervously, thinking that there was no way. If Cade knew I was rooming with other shifters, let alone the panthers that apparently had a history with his pack, he’d be here in a blink of an eye to drag me home.

“All I said was you have good roommates, who are safe and responsible. Nothing about their other side.” He shook his head. “That’s not something Cade needs to worry about right now. He has enough on his plate.” Carver looked like he was about to leave to I shot my hand across the table and caught his forearm in a tight grip. He frowned down at my grasp before looking at me expectantly.

“What’s that supposed to mean? I thought Enforcer Training was standard procedure for all alpha heirs. I’m sure he can handle anything thrown at him.” I said confidently, pulling my hand away now that I had his attention.

“I never said he couldn’t handle it. But learning to be an Enforcer for the High Council is a steep learning curve. You have to learn where to tread lightly and when to stand up for yourself. Even though he’s been there for a few months now, things are still…educational at the moment.”

“Is he getting hurt?” I worried that the training would change him. I could only ask about getting hurt physically, but I was also worried about emotionally. I liked Cade just the way he was and hoped he would return as the sweet boy I knew.

“It’s part combat training, so comes with the territory.” Carver answered my question.

“When will he be able to come back for a visit?”

“That’s not up to me. I’m not his senior enforcer.” He watched my crestfallen face before he added, “however, he may be going out on assignment with existing units so there might be opportunity to make a side stop here and there.”

“Who’s his senior enforcer?” I asked eagerly, storing any information I could about Cade.

“Enforcer Kane. He’s fair, and straightforward, if not a little over exuberant at times.”

“I see.” I sat back in my seat thinking about all the things Cade must be going through. I didn’t envy Cade and Brody at all.

“In the meantime, keep your head down. Drawings like that,” he nodded down at my bag, “need to be private and kept out of the public eye.” He moved to stand up before adding, “And whatever you’re planning with your roommates, be sure it is discreet and remote. It’s not the right time to move things forward.”

“I don’t know what you mean.” I replied straight-faced.

“Of course.” He smiled and nodded his head. “See you around, Kendra.”

“Bye.” I watched him walk out of the café and noted all the female eyes following him out the door. Carver was a good-looking man, somewhere in his thirties, and I wondered if he had a mate somewhere. I doubted it considering what his job entailed. I shook my head to clear my thoughts and grabbed my trash to leave. There was one last stop, well two if I counted stocking up on pop tarts, which I needed to make before walking back to the house.

****

I found the place where Clint, Jason and Patrik worked and entered the store. Outdoor gear covered the walls and I could see how this place would cater to any person no matter what their outdoor needs would be. I sidestepped into an aisle to browse but should have known I would be found in a matter of seconds. Freaky cats.

“Hey, thought that was you.” Clint said as he rounded the corner. “Decided to drop in and see what we are all about?”

“Yeah, I’ve been exploring some of the town near campus.”

“Find anything interesting?” He asked, leaning on a nearby shelf with his arms crossed. What would I say? Two wolves accosted me, a random stalker, and an Enforcer stopped by?

“Not really.” I shrugged. “I applied at a few places, but I don’t know what my odds are without previous experience.”

“Well, lucky for you, we are desperate.” He laughed, reached forward and swung an arm around my shoulders to drag me along. “Come on, you can fill out an application by the counter.”

We approached the counter and I saw that Patrik was just finishing up with a customer as he caught sight of us. The customer glanced at me but didn’t acknowledge our approach. He grabbed his gear that he had purchased and turned to leave, ignoring Patrik’s farewell. I watched him leave, thinking there was something familiar about him, but Patrik called my attention back to him.

“You found us.” He smiled at me.

“I found her lurking in the back.” Clint winked as he removed his arm and grabbed a piece of paper. “Here, fill this out so we can be official.”

“Official for what?” I took the form and started filling it out.

“Well, I already talked to the manager, and she’s fine with hiring you. Said it would be nice to even out the testosterone around here.” He winked. “I’m sure she just can’t handle all the good-looking guys around here and needs a woman to confide in.”

“You mean I already have the job?” I chose to ignore any and all comments about good looking men. Because, yeah, they were all hot, but no way was I letting Clint know I thought that.

“If you want it.” Patrik glanced at Clint before adding. “It pays well and is a great place to work.”

“And you get to hang out with us, so can’t beat that.” Clint replied with a huge grin.

“Although,” Jason’s voice preceded him before he came through a door behind the counter. “That does mean she has to put up with your sorry ass all day.” He pointed out to Clint.

“Hey, whatever!” Clint denied, laughing.

“Okay, Okay,” I laughed. “What does it pay, and the hours are…?” Clint told me and my eyes widened. Yeah, okay, that would be nice so then I could make rent, pay for supplies, and still have a little left over for savings. This way I wouldn’t have to touch the money Liam and Mica gave me since I had a scholarship.

“Yes, I’ll take it.” I decided. I finished the form and handed it to Patrik. He seemed the most responsible of the three.

“Great,” Patrik exclaimed. “We could really use your help over the weekend. Us three have to do that 2-day rafting trip. I’m just shuttling supplies at their stopping points, so I’ll be back and forth a few times a day, but otherwise the store will be yours.”

“Um…” I felt a little overwhelmed at that thought. Nothing like jumping into the deep end right away.

“Don’t worry, Sarah the manager will be here doing inventory, organizing, and showing you the ropes. But you’ll pick up on it fast, I’m sure.” Patrik replied with confidence.

“Is Sarah…is she one of…” I wasn’t sure how to ask if she was s shifter or knew about us.

“Yeah, she is. I’ll let her tell you what her favorite animal is,” Clint smirked. I rolled my eyes. Guess I would have to wait and see on that one.

“Come on, I’ll show you around and give you a few tips. This will be your official first day.” Jason grabbed my arm and started dragging me off in one direction.

“Hey, it was going to be my job to orient her!” Clint objected.

“You have packing to do in the back. I already did my share.” Jason replied to which Clint mumbled something under his breath and Jason’s grin just got bigger. Of course, with my latent abilities, I didn’t hear what he said.

I spent a few hours learning the ropes around the store and felt a little more confident that I would be able to handle the job and was reassured that Sarah would be available if needed. Jason and Clint were entertaining to watch and be around while Patrik was usually refereeing between the two. I didn’t mention anything about my peculiar morning. I figured it was something I needed to deal with and understand before I started airing my problems. I truly didn’t know these three that well yet, or how much I could trust them with my secrets.

I also needed to create a schedule with Amber to start training on how to shift. While rooming with other shifters seemed like a good idea at the time in order to activate my shift, hindsight told me that wasn’t the smartest move. I didn’t know how much of a watch the High Council put on me, and I didn’t want to cause any more notice than necessary. I would just have to learn everything I could from Amber and her latent friend as fast as possible before the High Council got wind of anything. Piece of cake, right?