Page 44 of Fat Enemy Mate

"You've given me plenty," I tell her, and I find it's true, mostly.

I think she is being honest, but I can’t shake the undercurrent that there are some things that she’s not saying. Luna clearly trusts her, and Wilf says she’s been a great help to the pack. Perhaps I’ve just spent far too long being suspicious of strangers, so I no longer know whether to trust my gut or not.

"Right," Luna says, looking at her watch. "Lara, did you say you've got lunch with Skylar and Fern at twelve?"

"At the cafe by the river," I confirm.

"You should head down because Anya and I are going to stay here and keep working through the talisman residue while we've got the chance. She has to be on the road back to the city by three."

"You can both come if you like," I say, feeling bad about leaving them to do the work.

"We'd love to," Luna says, "but we won't be done in time. Honestly, go ahead and make the most of the sunshine today."

We say goodbye, and the hug Anya gives me feels genuine, which confuses me even more. Perhaps I am seeing things that aren’t there after all.

Wilf came to the meeting but left to talk to Connor halfway through, and he was in the corridor outside Nick's office, still talking to Connor. He sees me coming and breaks off.

"How did it go?" he asks.

"Good," I say. "I think it was good. She thinks the…the magic…might have been given to me as a baby. A protection spell. From my mother, maybe, or someone who knew her."

He watches me for a moment and then nods.

"That's a lot," he says. “How do you feel about it?”

"I don't know," I admit. "Ask me later."

His lips twitch briefly. "Ok. You going for lunch? Do you remember how to get there from here? Just cross the road, and it’s right by the entrance to the park."

"Yeah, I’ll find it. I'll come back here when I'm done, if that’s ok?" I ask.

"I've got some things to do in town," he tells me. "I'll be in and out. Come back here when you're ready. I'll either be here, or someone'll know where I am."

"Okay," I say.

He hesitates, like he's about to say something else, but then doesn't. He just nods, and I force myself to walk in the other direction.

Wilf had pointed out the café as we drove in, and it's literally straight across the road from the pack hall. I agreed to meet them there, which sounded like a sensible plan at the time, but now I’m standing here alone on the streets of Silvercreek,and I suddenly feel exposed. I’m not sure if it’s because of the lingering threat from the rogues or that I’m surrounded by shifters in a strange town. But as I cross the street, I realize that no one’s paying attention to me, and I feel grateful for it. Maybe they really are more used to humans here, like Luna said.

Skylar and Fern are already there when I arrive at the counter, and Fern waves me over to place my order. Skylar grabs a table by the window and pulls over an extra chair when we walk over.

"How was Anya?" Skylar asks once we sit down.

"Good," I tell her. "She thinks my… my voice thing might be some kind of protection spell that was put on me when I was little. From my mother, maybe."

"Oh, wow," Fern says.

"How are you feeling about that?" Skylar asks.

"I don't know," I tell her honestly. "It's nice to know a bit more. I don't really remember my mother. She died when I was four, and I don’t know any of my other family. Anya said it would have taken a lot to find a witch to put this kind of protection on me, so that’s nice, I think…"

"That is nice, it’s lovely actually," Fern says. ”That she wanted to protect you.”

"Yeah," I say quietly, surprised at some of the long-buried feelings all this is bringing up for me.

Neither of them pushes it further, and I’m grateful for that. The food comes in time to distract us, and the conversation drifts to other things for a while, like the new initiative at the library Luna’s been wrangling everyone into helping deliver, and the extension Skylar wants to do at the clinic. The food is good, and the conversation feels more and more natural as it flows. Iwatch the river moving slowly out the window under the cool, crisp sky, under the backdrop of the mountains beyond. It’s beautiful, and I have to force myself to remember that I’m just a guest here, just passing through.

The thought sits uncomfortably, and I try to concentrate on my food and push it away.