Chapter Six
The next day was Sunday, and I went into work for the full day. Sarah was there with a friendly smile and she assigned me to stocking shelves and helping a few customers that came through. Patrik came back in around noon to help put away extra gear from the overnight trip. I helped him refold and pack things away. It was mostly silent work; I think both of us had a lot on our minds.
Clint and Jason returned with their group late afternoon and it was just as Sarah mentioned. Some loved the trip, while others were adamant that they would never camp outside again. I chuckled as I listened to their stories on the river and staying out in the woods. I was really looking forward to camping myself sometime soon before the weather turned. Around five, the store closed, and we all headed back to the house.
I was the first one in, followed by Clint, Jason and Patrik. Amber was sitting at the table with a box of pop tarts. As soon as she saw Clint, she slowly grabbed the box and pulled it under the table in her lap. I couldn’t help the grin that popped up. Amber was looking beyond me with a quizzical look. I turned around to see what she was looking at and frowned as Clint seemed to be following something, right into my room. I frowned as I followed him.
“Hey!” I groused. “What are you doing?” I was a little miffed he was inviting himself into my room, but Clint wasn’t even paying attention to me. I finally punched his arm to get his attention. “Hey, what’s going on?”
He turned to me with a dazed look and it took a moment for his attention to come back. He shook his head then glared at me. “What was that for?” He was referring to my light punch.
“Uh, hello? You’re in my room. Uninvited, I might add.” I crossed my arms, so not impressed.
A soft growl emanated from his chest as he looked around my room. “Thought I smelled something.” He mumbled.
“Well I do clean, thanks.” I added dryly.
“No, not that.” He shook his head. “It smells…good.” He took a deep breath and looked at me. He took a step closer and I could see him inhaling. “Smells divine.”
“Well, that’s creepy.” I commented. “You can leave now.” I stepped to the side with a clear indication for him to leave. He huffed but didn’t object. I rolled my eyes and followed him out, being sure the door was firmly shut behind me.
“What’s this about a party last night? You went without us?” Jason asked, a little put out. I looked to Amber as she must have spilled the beans.
“It wasn’t that exciting.” I offered.
“Yeah, except for Ian getting into a minor fight.” Amber replied.
“Ian?Fighting?”Clint scoffed. “Big surprise.”
“It was because of me.” Amber offered. Clint was suddenly more interested. We had to go into the details of the fight and why, also including Seth and Jake in the story. Clint and Jason were not impressed that we were invited to a wolf party, and made it clear we would not be allowed to go again.
“Um, hello? I’m a wolf. You can’t tell me I can’t go to their party.” I argued, then winced how that would sound to them.
“Yeah, that’s right. Little miss wolf can do whatever she wants.” Amber huffed. I knew the barb wasn’t directed at me, but at wolves for not having restrictions, but the comment still hurt. I left them to hash out more details and shut my bedroom door to drown out their voices. I caught Amber’s eye as I shut the door, and I could see she regretted her offhand comment. It wasn’t something I wanted to address right then anyways.
I decided I needed to call Steve and Nicole since I hadn’t talked to them since moving in. I updated them on the living arrangements, getting a job, and thanking them for letting Cassie bring my car over to exchange for their truck. I kept everything as light as possible, so they didn’t worry about anything. They were in the dark anyways, about shifters, so it was easy to cover only the good stuff. They were excited to be leaving on their trip in a couple weeks, so we spent some time chatting about the sites they would see. They seemed happy, so I left them with those thoughts as we disconnected the call.
I sat in my room, with a pillow tucked into my chest, trying to think what my next steps should be. I needed to keep working with Amber to calm my thoughts and bring my wolf closer. But with everything that had happened in the last two days, I didn’t think I’d have much chance in calming or emptying my thoughts. Sighing, I decided that I might as well add a few more questions, hopefully some answers, and give Elder Nicolas a call. The phone rang for a few seconds before he picked up.
“Kendra, my dear. How are you?”
“Pretty good. Yourself?” I smiled at hearing his voice. Nicolas was old, well, compared to me. But he was sharp as a tack.
“Can’t complain. These old bones get to where they need to. I hear you had a bit of excitement last night.”
“News travels fast.” I muttered, really not surprised he already heard about it. Everything I do seems to be news around here.
“Indeed, it does.”
“What did you hear?” I asked curiously. Maybe other shifters would get a positive review for once since Ian was clearly standing up for her.
“A non-wolf shifter was taunting a human in a fight.” Or…not.
“That’s not what happened!” I exclaimed.
“I imagine there is quite a bit more to the story. However, those details rarely make it to the ears of the High Council.” Nicolas sighed into the phone.
“So, the High Council knows?”
“They received a report this morning.”
“From who?”I questioned.
“I haven’t the slightest idea, but I would assume it was someone who doesn’t like other shifters all that much.”
“Is Ian going to be in trouble?” I pulled my necklace out and started playing with the pendant absently.
“Would that be the name of the young shifter involved in the fight?”
“Yes.”
“I’m not privy to all the High Council’s decisions, but it would be a good idea for this Ian to lay low for a while and not draw any more unwanted attention his way.” Well, that didn’t really answer my question, but I suppose that was all Nicolas was going to give me.
“Is it possible to find out who reported it?”
“I could do some digging, but I can’t make any promises.”
“Okay.” It was better than nothing.
“If I may ask, what was your role in the encounter?”
“Bystander only.” I pointed out, hoping my name didn’t make it into the report. “Ian’s my friend, but by the time I arrived, they were just about done.”
“Did he seriously injure the human?”
“No, of course not. Ian was pulling all his punches, not that he was really even hitting that hard.”
“Hmmm,” Elder Nicolas hummed his response.
“I’ll talk to Ian and warn him about the High Council.”
“You do that dear. Just so you are aware, your presence was noted in the report as well.” I groaned. “Quite right. This is not good for you to be seen involved with other shifters.”
“It’s not like I planned on the fight. It just happened,” I protested. “Besides, it was a wolf hosted party. Surely the High Council can’t see anything wrong with me being invited to a fellow wolf’s house.”
“I’m afraid that detail was left out of the report.”
“Who the heck writes these things?!” I exclaimed. “Apparently they need a refresher course on factual reports.” I sighed.
“Reports nowadays hardly provide all the facts. Usually just enough to condemn, in most cases.”
“That is so wrong.” I shook my head. Whatever happened to truthful reporting?
“I couldn’t agree more.” He sighed. “Now, what’s this about your shifter roommates?”
“What do you know?” I hedged, figuring he probably had more information on my roommates than I did.
“Oh, my grandson passed along a bit of information on the fact.” I could hear the smile in his voice.
“I’m sure he did.” I rolled my eyes. Enforcer Carver would have to share that little tidbit with him.
“Oh, come now. It’s not that bad, surely?”
“I just don’t know why my business has to be everyone else’s.” I grumbled.
“We need to keep you safe, dear. You know why.”
“Yeah.”I sighed.
“So, what about your shifter friends? Do you get along with them?”
“Yeah, they seem great. Helped me get a job and one is helping me learn…other things.”
“Good. Good. Keep working on those other things. I fear our time is running out.” Nicolas replied cryptically.
“What do you mean?” I questioned, wondering if something happened to prompt that statement.
“Nothing for you to worry about yet.” He dismissed my comment. I scowled even though he couldn’t see me. Couldn’t someone give me a straight answer when I asked a question? “And your talents? Any developments there?”
“My drawings are becoming more…creative.” I knew Carver would have told him about the drawing of the tiger and bear, so there was no point in beating around the bush.
“Ah, yes. Interesting manifestation of your gift. Makes it easier to remember, unlike dreams.”
“I suppose so.” Man, I hope I didn’t have to deal with dreams on top of my drawings.
“Any new drawings we should be aware of?” He asked. I thought about it and realized I really hadn’t had a chance to draw since that day in the café.
“No, nothing yet.”
“Please keep us posted, dear.” Nicolas asked politely.
“I will,” I assured.
“Well I must let you go, it’s past my bedtime.”
“Oh, of course.” I looked at the clock to see it was only nine at night. I arched a brow but didn’t say anything.
“I hope you have a good first week at school.”
“Me too, and thanks for all your help.”
“Any time.” He paused before adding, “Oh, and Kendra?”
“Yes?”
“When you travel to see the other shifters, keep asking questions. The more answers you have, the more prepared you will be.” He paused then added, “It wouldn’t hurt to ask about latent parentage too. You might be surprised what you find.”
“Okay,” I answered slowly, thinking that was a weird thing to ask.
“Good night, Kendra. Good luck in school.”
“Thanks. Goodnight.” I replied and disconnected the call. I set the phone down and glanced toward my closed bedroom door.
What other things did the non-wolf shifters know? Did Elder Nicolas really think they might have answers about my parents? That seemed a bit farfetched to me. How could they possibly provide any answers about my mother and father? As far as I knew, I was born on the other side of the state. And what was up with the report? Who sent it and what kind of channels did they have to get it to the High Council so fast?
I shook my head. I thought I’d be able to answer some questions talking to Elder Nicolas, but I just ended up with more questions. I pulled out my sketch pad and decided it was a good distraction from my current thoughts. Tomorrow I would start classes and try to be a normal college student for once.