Katherine, after her mother.
Using her middle name made it less like living a lie, even temporarily. And it was a way to honor her mother, who would want this for her only daughter.
“Katherine,” she finally said. “Katie for short.”
Rika nodded. “Katie it is, then.” She pulled out a laminated map, covered with pen marks. Lily recognized the crenelated wall, the box marked X as where she was now. The HR director used a ballpoint pen as a pointer, indicating another square not too far away, assuming that the map was drawn close to scale.
“This is where the Staff Childcare Center is, within eye view of where we always have security stationed,” Rika explained. “Why don’t you head over there now and meet with TraceyAnn to get the lay of the land? I’m sure she’ll be more than happy to start scheduling your shifts, and whatever time you put in tonight will be credited towards your hours.”
She was going to start making the much needed dollars towards the repair of her car!
“When I have a package all prepared for you with your housing—shared accommodations for now— and your meal card activated, it’ll be brought to you there. TraceyAnn can fill you in on where to get clothes, once you get your staff ID.”
Rika paused, looking out at the parking lot outside. “Don’t worry about leaving your car where it is. Now that you’re staff, our crack Ops team will take care of getting it towed to the auto shop that we use. As our employee, you’ll get the lowest discounted price as one of the benefits. Any questions?”
“N-no. You’ve covered everything. How can I thank you?” Lily stammered.
Rika laughed. “If you can keep TraceyAnn’s rants about Luna from turning into a nightly event, that will be thanks enough! Now, get going before another person comes in with a fire to put out.”
Lily picked up her belongings—all three bags of it, including the sad purse draped across her torso—and made her way out the door, overcome with gratitude. By her calculations, it would take her at least two months of working every shift she could get, to make the cash necessary to fix her car and leave.
As long as Rey didn’t track her down in the meantime.
Col hoped that the agreement to go “wenching” would have brought a reprieve of a few minutes, at least, but it was not to be. TheBredhrenwere still hyped up on adrenaline, eager to battle but with no enemy in sight. Merek and Barric were brawling again, as the next argument was over whether the wenches at the Alehouse were comelier than the wenches at Ye Olde Taverne. And then it degenerated into how comely—ornotas the case may be—were the wenches that Merek would lay with, as opposed to the ones that ended up with Barric.
Somewhere in there Aylwyn made some choice barbs about how the wenches were like “Yomama”, although Col for the life of him did not know this person whereof Aylwyn spake, or why it would vex Merek and Barric so.
Col shrugged, he had other problems to worry about. Like the fact that he wanted to go wenching. Or rather his body did. His body had been suffused with the sudden compulsion to cleave onto a female’s. He had noted that as of late, he had been waking with more regularity with the need to relieve himself by hand, and usually with bed linens that spoke of other relievings during his sleep.
Along with the other things that were going on with him, his senses were — as hisBrodherAylwyn would say — “bugging out.”
Apparently Simon had been driven out by the melee, as he was returning now through the clear sliding door with the humanWaryeor, Miller, and theirVixar, Tybalt in tow.
“Waryeors!” Tybalt’s voice projected, cutting through the snarls and growling. The air around the fighting wolves blurred, before a wave of energy pushed out. Two pissed-off males in bloodied and bruised human form fell to the ground, still lunging for one another.
Col and Aylwyn quickly stepped in between them.
Tybalt looked at them, and spoke in measured tones. “Merek, channel healing energy and use it to tend to yourself and Barric.”
“As you say, so shall it be,Vixar.” Merek was the one who was best able to use the joint group energy to healWaryeors. The larger and more cohesive the group, the more energy that he could access. It was all the more reason that this group needed to come together, and fast. It was just bruises and abrasions today, but if —no,when—they did battle with the enemy, they would be likely to sustain more serious injuries.
Another reason why it was ironic that Barric was the one most resistant to being part of a group, given how in addition being most adept at telepathic communication in wolf form, he tended to fight as a berserker. Unable to feel pain in the heat of battle, he would rack up wounds that required much healing energy.
Col did not know more of his story, as Barric was not eager to share it. If asked, theBrodherwas as fierce with his words as he was with his fighting acumen.
“It is done.” Merek said, sitting back on his haunches. Aside from his long, dark wavy hair escaping the leather corded around it, he looked as if he had been at rest. Barric, too, appeared refreshed. The glower on his face was his usual demeanor.
“We must needs remember that we areBredhrenand act accordingly,” Tybalt said. “And to that end, we will go together to Ye Olde Taverne —”
“Yes!” Aylwyn fist-pumped the air.
“— and save all this fine, virile potency for the wenches.”
“Double yes!” Both Aylwyn’s fists punched up, and he swiveled side to side until Barric pushed out two meaty fists for Aylwyn to do what he called “pound” on.
It was Barric’s way of trying.
Tybalt knew better than to draw attention to it, and as Miller went to fire up the custom-built all-terrain vehicle, he quietly spoke to Col.
“We will talk at the Taverne.”
“As you say, so shall it be,Vixar.” Col crossed his arms, thumped his chest, the proper gesture to make to one’s military leader.
Merek had already re-tied his hair, and it was as if there hadn’t been a fight between him and Barric, the two of them laughing at the latest witticism from Aylwyn.
There was hope that this rag-tag bunch could pull together into a cohesive fighting unit after all.
There was no choice otherwise.
