Chapter Thirteen
Hazel
For the past couple of days, I’d stayed inside the shop or apartment.
I didn’t want to chance running into that sleep-interrupted customer.
He had too much of an effect on me, and the last thing I wanted was to end up the property of another alpha.
I tried not to think about his eyes, and the way he looked right at me.
Most alphas didn’t bother to meet an alpha’s gaze, just treated us as little better than obedient wombs.
I was starting to get a little cabin fever, but I just couldn’t chance something happening if I was caught outside by this alpha or any other.
The bit of confidence I’d achieved was failing and I was looking for trouble in every corner.
Not the way I wanted to live my new life, but it seemed to be a lesser of evils.
And I had a willing crew ready to get me whatever I needed so that I could avoid going out in public.
But finally, I ran out of Russian sage and needed some for a blend I was working on.
None of my friends were available to come with me.
The customer had not returned, and I hadn’t seen him through the windows.
Either he didn’t live locally, or he wasn’t as affected by our encounter as I was.
In either case, I couldn’t just stay inside forever, so I found my basket and headed for the woods.
I congratulated myself on fighting my fears and taking care of what I needed to.
As I walked toward the edge of town, I looked in the shop windows, admiring a dress in the boutique that I thought would look beautiful if I had somewhere nice to go on an evening out.
Just as well that I didn’t, because the small amount of money I had needed to go toward immediate needs, business expenses, and saving up to pay Clover back for her investment.
But the dress was lovely, a perfect russet with a tight bodice and full skirt.
Once I left the buildings behind, the trees closed in and the air cooled with the sunshine cut off.
I shivered, thinking it would have been smart to wear a sweatshirt as I had last time when we’d come to gather things.
But I wouldn’t stay long, I promised myself.
Just go to where I’d seen the sage and then return to the shop.
I didn’t like having it closed during the posted hours.
There weren’t exactly lines out the door, but we did have a nice flow of people as word traveled.
A little concerned about finding the patch of sage again, since this forest was largely new to me, I was thrilled to find myself just where I needed to be after only a couple of wrong turns.
It was a clearing where enough sun got through to keep the ground warm enough this late in the year.
More leaves scattered the pathways, and a cover of quail darted in front of me, the silly happy little birds as always making me smile.
I bent to cut some of the herb, when suddenly my wolf surged to the forefront and took control.
My last clear thought before tumbling into the change was that my clothes were shredding and I had no idea how I’d get back to town after I shifted back.
The town was cool and a little goth, but clothing was not optional in public areas.
My wolf did not care. I’d convinced myself that she’d lost interest in the male who had come in and rattled me so, but this taking-over thing?
Had me questioning whether she’d lost interest or had been only pouting, but at this point, it didn’t matter because she’d made a decision and caught me off guard in the process.
She stretched her legs and pranced, settling in while I argued with her about fighting me for control.
Or rather I argued and she ignored me. It had been a while since I’d shifted, and she had every right to be antsy, so finally I stopped fighting and settled in to enjoy a short break from all the tension that not shifting had produced.
My wolf did not apologize, but I didn’t recall her ever doing so for anything, so that was to be expected.
She stayed in the clearing, just playing, scampering, and generally being a puppy.
With the stress of my previous life, I knew all the worries had to be spilling over onto her, so I let her be.
It was harmless fun as long as we didn’t take too long and miss a lot of sales.
Not that she’d care about that. My wolf had no concept of money or why I would need it.
And then, they were there. Right in front of me, and I had no idea where they came from. Three alphas, including the one I’d been avoiding, stood in the clearing, arms crossed over their chests, and I panicked. I urged my wolf to run, but she was in no rush to leave the area.
With no other option, I stood there and shivered.
They were speaking softly, trying to get me to change back, but I felt a lot safer in my fur.
I could move faster than the human forms, bite and claw, and, even if they shifted, it would take long enough for me to get a head start and hopefully lose them.
I tensed, ready to run, but they just kept talking in such a quiet calm way, promising not to hurt me, my wolf stayed, even leaned a little toward them.
Could this get worse?