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Chapter Fourteen
Edie
Whenthesunwasup, I walked from my cabin to the Lodge.The morning air was brisker than I’d expected, and I was glad I’d thrown a blazer over my blouse in the name of professionalism.It was still early September, and Baltimore would still have been sticky with summer heat.Here, the crisp mountain air carried a hint of winter even in the bright sunshine.
I couldn’t get over the space.In the two hours it had taken me to get from Missoula to Twisted Pines, I had driven the same distance as Baltimore to Philadelphia.Instead of a traffic-snarled slog up 95, the drive had been an endless series of stunning vistas: icy mountain peaks, rolling primeval forests, a glittering lake that sat high in the mountains like a mirror.And the sky!In Baltimore, the sky was a background for the buildings—sometimes it was blue, sometimes it was gray.Here, the sky was the main event, like a live Renaissance painting every second of every day.This morning, a few scraps of cloud scudded across the endless blue.I twirled as I walked to get the full view.
There were other people converging on the Lodge.Families and couples were milling up from the cabins.Some looked like they were headed to the breakfast buffet; others were packed up for an early start at some outdoor activity.I couldn’t see all the cabins, but based on what I’d seen I assumed there were at least thirty.Then there were the guests staying in the Lodge.There had to be several hundred non-shifters on the property when the resort was fully booked, likely more than the population of the clan.How did they keep their wolf sides hidden from the tourists?
The Lodge was packed.I cut through the people waiting in line for the buffet and went straight to the front desk.The same woman who had checked me in yesterday was standing there again, and I saw her eyes widen as she recognized me.“Hello, I am supposed to be meeting Melinda Moreau, but I’m not sure where to go.Can you call her for me?”
The woman’s brow furrowed suspiciously.“Let me check on that,” she said, and picked up a phone on the other end of the desk.While she had a hushed conversation, I noted she was wearing dozens of pieces of jewelry, including a necklace with a sand-colored stone.When something she heard on the phone made her penciled eyebrows go up, I gave her a friendly smile.
It probably wasn’t a race thing, I reasoned.There had been two Black men in the family meeting last night, and I’d seen a few other POC working at the resort.It was probably a “we’re secretly shifters” thing.It justfeltlike a race thing.
My mother had taught that people might use my skin color to exclude me, but if I was competent and confident, no one could question whether I belonged.I could do the same here.
“Melinda would like for you to meet her in her private quarters,” the woman said.“I’ll take you there.So, where are you visiting from?”
The woman kept up a non-stop stream of questions as she led me out the front door and around the back of the building.The Moreaus had built their lodge to be beautiful from any angle.The utilitarian aspects of the business were hidden in a small cul-de-sac around the back of the building.There was a loading area I assumed backed on to the kitchen and a line of permanent-looking trailers that appeared to house offices and storage.
The woman—Tonya, she’d told me—led me up the pre-fab steps to the only trailer with potted plants on the patio.She knocked, smiled at me, then knocked again.
Melinda opened the door, her welcoming smile curdling as she saw Tonya.“I told you to have Jasper bring her back here.”
“He wasn’t around,” Tonya said.“And I knew this had to be an important meeting for you to take it when you’re working from home.”
The way Tonya said ‘working from home’ made it clear she had her suspicions about what Melinda was doing all day.I frowned.Did the clan not know about Melinda’s illness?How could they not know?
“Thank you, Tonya,” Melinda said, gesturing for me to come inside.
“Do you want me to bring your breakfast order to Dominic?”she asked, craning her neck around the door Melinda was closing.
“I’ll handle it, Tonya, thank you,” Melinda said.When she had closed the door, she leaned against it.“Well.By lunch time, every clan member will know that we met in my trailer.”
“Is that a problem?”
Melinda waved her hand.“It’s part of the gig.I’m the Alpha, so everything I do is important.But you’ll have to get used to it.Since it appears you’re staying?”she said, leading me to a round breakfast table that she appeared to be using as a makeshift desk.“It’s very hard to keep a secret around here.”
“So the clan knows you’re sick,” I stated.
“I guess we’re getting right into it,” she said.“They know that I’m sick.We couldn’t get around that.They don’t know how sick.So far, luckily, they’ve rallied around me.”
“Why wouldn’t they?From what I understand, you’ve been the Alpha here for over twenty years.That seems like stable leadership.”
“It hasn’t always felt stable,” Melinda said, chuckling.“It was a lot of work, especially in those first few years when I had to convince the clan that we could prosper if we invited tourists in.I was lucky to have Jackson, my husband.My deceased husband,” she corrected.“He was a part of this community, and they trusted him.And they trusted me, because I was with him.”She rubbed her forehead like she was trying to massage a thought away.“Anyway.Yes, I’d say the clan is happy with my leadership.But we’re shifters.Any female of age can challenge the Alpha at any time.And it doesn’t matter how popular I am if I lose.”
She looked so desolate that I changed the subject.“Let’s talk about your condition.When did your symptoms start?”
She gestured to a neat pile of folders with a spiral notebook on top.“I had Dr.Barnes put together my medical file so you could look it over.I even got Dominic to hand over his precious notebook.Ever since I got sick, he’s been keeping track of my appointments and such.He wanted to be here today, but…well.”Once again, her eyes looked bleak.“Sorry.It’s been a tough morning.I have all this work to do, and I can’t concentrate.I just feel so tired.”
“Can I get you anything?”
“Oh,” she said, rubbing her eyes.“I suppose I should have some water.And Dominic usually makes my tea, but not this morning.I’d offer you coffee, but he banned it from the house,” she said with a faint smile.“I told him that my high blood pressure is from stress, not caffeine, but he won’t believe me.He’s got me drinking this herbal blend that Dr.Barnes recommended.It tastes like sweaty feet, but it does make me feel better.”
“I’ll make some for you,” I said, getting up and finding everything I needed in the kitchen.“So, Dominic is your Beta, right?”
“That’s right.”
