Someone is coming for us

I blink. I open my mouth and say, “I-you, what?”

I narrow my eyes as I peer into Riven’s. I obviously didn’t hear him right. He wants to look out for me? Does he not know who I am? I know that he’s new to the pack, but no one, in my entire twenty-two years, has offered to look out for me in this pack.

Kili is my best friend, and she’s never even offered to look out for me because she knows her limits. She doesn’t want to leave herself open to punches behind the cabins, dirt in her food, and rocks being pelted at her back when she goes to the bonfire.

I turn my head to one side and inhale. I hold my hands out in front of me and say, “You want to look out for me?”

Riven’s smile is earnest as he nods and says, “Yeah. I want to look out for you. I’m new here, really new actually, but I want to look out for you. It seems like you’re having a hard time.”

I almost laugh at the massive understatement that is. I’ve had a hard time in this pack since I was born, and not a single soul has thought to lighten my load. I guess everyone needs a punching bag.

I wrap my arms around myself. The comfort of my own warmth spreads through me and I glance at the small cluster of women that are scanning us with hawk eyes. They’re probably wondering what a man this handsome wants with me.

“Listen, you don’t want to get involved with me. I’m kind of an outcast here. I’m kind oftheoutcast here. You don’t need to look out for me.”

He leans forward and sets his hand on mine. His massive hand eclipses mine, and I have to stop myself from relaxing into his touch.

Riven’s grin stays in place as he says, “I’d like to. I’m going to. I hope you don’t mind.”

How could this go wrong for me? What punishment will I bring upon myself somehow by letting Riven look after me? What does that even mean? Is he going to face off against Reona and her crew?

Riven nods, having made up his mind. He stretches his arms over his head and says, “I think I’m going to tuck in early. I’ll probably go on a hunt tomorrow afternoon. I hope you’ll join me.”

He turns and leaves but not before winking at me. My heart skips a beat, both at the sexiness of his smile and the fear that one of the other women just saw that.

Maybe it doesn’t matter.

Maybe I’ll be okay because someone wants to look after me.

How does someone manage to make something as mundane as carrying wood look so delectable?

I watch as Riven follows Foy into the main cabin where the leaders hold their meetings, but he stops just in front of the bonfire and sets the new wood up to be burned.

The defined muscles in his arms flex as he grabs each piece of wood. From head to toe, this man is exquisite. We have plenty of handsome men in our pack, but it’s kind of hard to admire how attractive they are when they’re sneering at you.

No one has ever approached me to ask about courting me to be their mate. That is a luxury that I didn’t have as the runt of this pack. When girls were getting flirted with and doted on by some of the males in this pack, I was being shooed away from their cabin so that they could get down to business without someone like me stinking up the air.

“Kate? Kate? Staring at him won’t make him jump in your bed, you know.”

I jump and turn to my right. Kili is sitting beside me. Her long brown hair is fixed into a ponytail. Loose strands tickle the sides of her face, and she smiles and says, “I can’t help but notice that you haven’t taken your eyes off of the new guy.”

I feel heat creep across my cheeks. “He, um, he’s just different.”

Kili picks up a flower and begins to tear at it. Kili is probably one of the most confident women in this pack, but she still has her nervous habits. Compared to me, she’s a social butterfly. Kili has always done a great job of keeping to herself while keeping Reona and her lackeys off of her back. She’s never bent a knee to them, far too strong to allow them to overpower her. Kili is probably responsible for me not completely falling into a pool of self-pity.

“What’s so different about him?”

I shrug.

He wants to look after me.

I consider sharing this news with Kili. I know that my secret would be safe with her, but I don’t want to let someone else’s opinions change things for me. Riven actuallyseesme. If this isn’t some kind of trick, it’s kind of a big deal for me.

“He’s… handsome.”

Kili laughs and says, “Yeah, it’s almost a requirement to be a big, tough, handsome male if you want to be in our pack.”

She wears a wry smile as her eyes slide over to Riven and Foy. “He’s handsome, alright, but not much different from the others. I mean, he’s loud and boisterous. You could easily hook a male like him.”

I can’t help the seething glance that I send her way. “Easy enough for you to say, like four men want to be your mate.”

“And none of them are good enough.”

I shake my head. Kili’s ease with men has nothing to do with me, and I shouldn’t make my inability to get a man to like me her problem at all.

Kili sticks the flower between her lips and chews on it. She pulls it out and says, “I know how to take your mind off of him.”

“My mind is not on him,” I insist.

“Anyways, I know how to take your mind off of him. Let’s go into town. I’m needing some lady things and it’ll be fun to walk among the humans for a bit. I like being gawked at every so often, makes me feel like some big deal actor.”

I laugh and get to my feet. I follow Kili into the woods, down the loose trail that leads into town. We take off running, and I leap into the air, transforming into my wolf. My paws pelt the ground as we run towards town.

It’s so nice to feel my legs move freely. It’s especially nice to feel my legs move far, far, away from here.

We stop just on the edge of town, and we transform. Kili gives me a once over and pushes my hair away from my face. “You should consider a haircut. Or at least wearing it up.”

My hair has always been a sore spot for me. Its long, and stark black, far different from the blonde and sandy-haired women in our pack. I know it’s yet another thing that makes me stick out, but this is the one area I don’t mind. I can’t bring myself to part with it.

Kili and I make our way into town, and we’re met with nervous glances. The humans are aware of our presence, but they’re mostly aware because of the stuff they hear from legends. Throughout the state, werewolves and humans coexist, but neither group has any interest in living together. Me and my kind live in outskirts and wooded areas, while the humans fill up the cities.

I follow Kili into one of several stores in the strip mall that’s laid out before us. There’s a clothes store, a couple of restaurants, and a general store and pharmacy. We head into the pharmacy.

A gust of cold air conditioning hits me. I reach into my back pocket and pull out my powder pink wallet.

The young man dressed in a dark green apron nods at us as we walk through the spacious store. He’s never been a problem before. Every time Kili and I stop by, he asks us questions about the way that we live, our abilities, our likes, and dislikes. It’s refreshing to have someone take in an interest in me.

Warmth seeps into my cheeks again. I suppose he isn’t the only male that’s taking an interest in me lately.

Kili grabs a couple of boxes of tampons, pads, and snacks. I grab some for myself, along with some canned goods that I can make in my cabin.

We go to the front counter and the boy nods at us. He starts to scan our things and says, “How are you doing, ladies? Taking a break from the pack?”

I laugh and say, “Something like that. Just need some essentials.”

Kili nudges and me says, “Hey, look at that.”

I turn towards the small TV that she’s pointing at. There’s a slideshow of young women on the screen. All sorts of women appear on the screen, the grim voice of the reporter says, “Unfortunately, we haven’t been able to recover the bodies of any of these women. Police are working with the pack leaders of the corresponding packs in the area.”

I set my hand on the counter and point at the TV. “Hey man, can you turn that up?”

The boy smiles, eager to please, and nods as he turns it up.

The reporter says, “We don’t know much about the elusive werewolf packs here in Minnesota. Police are being careful to be respectful of these groups as they navigate these missing persons cases. If you know anything about these missing girls, call the number on your screen.”

My eyes widen and I turn to Kili. “Werewolf women are going missing.”

I feel electricity shooting down my spine. How long has this been going on? Do the pack leaders know to look out for this?

I shake my head. “We have to get back and let everyone know.”

Kili nods and we hurry out of the store. We head back into the woods, and we run, not transforming so that we don’t drop our things. When we arrive at camp, Kili flashes me a thumbs up before moving to her own cabin.

So much for making this a team effort.

I swallow a lump in my throat as I approach the pack leaders. Monica is the first to notice me. Her eyes narrow into slits, and she sniffs, “What are you doing here?”

“I-I have some news!”

I almost clap my hands over my mouth after I blurt it out. My sputtering has caught the attention of Robin, Niles, and Foy.

I nod at them and say, “I was just in town. I saw the news, and there’s werewolf women going missing. They’re going missing and the police can’t recover them.”

Robin snorts. “I wonder if they’re even trying.”

Foy frowns and says, “You’re sure of this?”

“Yes, I saw the report myself.”

Monica eyes me before saying, “Did you come here to rally the troops?”

Foy turns his shocked glance towards Monica, and he says, “Monica. This is serious. If there are werewolf women going missing, we have to be careful.”

Monica crosses her arms. “I don’t know if I would believe anything she says. She probably heard it wrong. I bet it’s just human women that were obsessed with werewolves.” She rolls her eyes. “You know how that thing goes.”

My mouth flies open before I can stop myself. “Can you just stop for a second?”

My raised voice attracts stares and I say, “These women might be dead, and who knows if we’re next! Can you put aside your weird hatred for me to protect us? Someone is coming for us.”

Foy, Robin, and Niles look at me with pity in their eyes. Monica balls her fists together and takes a couple of steps towards me.

“I’ve let you talk long enough, pup. Now, get out of my face and go find Kili or something. We don’t need your help with this matter.”

White hot anger passes through me, and I ball up my fists too. My jaw tightens and I say, “Fine. Have it your way.”

I turn before Monica can throw any more mean words my way, and I walk towards my cabin. I don’t care if they hate me or not.

Regardless of how they feel about me, it doesn’t change the facts.

Someone is coming for us.