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Chapter Twelve
Waiting for a parking space to open up took about as long as I’d taken going through my wardrobe. Not that I minded, of course. With Kate at my side, there wasn’t much that could get under my skin. Not even my wolf, who continued to stir at the back of my mind whenever I so much as thought about my shift.
Chill out, all right?I scolded my wolf.You’ll have your time. Just not now.I gritted my teeth, then took a deep breath and let it out again.
A mix of scents found me as soon as we got out of the car. Deodorant, hair spray, beer… all of them intermingled with one another, making the worst scent of all.
This annoyed my wolf, mostly because she couldn’t identify anything. As for me, I took Kate’s hand in mine and focused on her warm touch as my wolf bristled under my skin.
“Doing okay?” Kate asked when I flinched enough for her to notice.
“Yeah. Just not used to it is all.” And to think, we hadn’t even reached the main area yet.
“It’s a little busy,” Kate said, holding my hand tight, “but I’m sure it won’t be so bad once the music starts. Did you bring your earplugs?”
I reached into my pocket, then removed the plastic case and held it up enough for her to see. “Yup. I’ve used them a few times at home, but I bet they won’t do a damned thing in there.” I gestured at the manicured lawn in front of us.
“Like I said, if it gets too bad, we can always leave. We should leave early anyway.”
“Why do you say that?” I asked as we wove between clusters of people blocking the walkway.
“To avoid the traffic going home.”
“Oh god.” I hadn’t even thought of that. “How do you even know when you’re supposed to leave?”
“Things wind down toward the end,” Kate explained. “Nora says they’ll close onIf You Believe.So once I hear the beat, I’ll let you know.”
“I’m glad one of us knows what’s going on.”
“My mom loves going to these, so I didn’t have a choice. Most of them were pretty cool, though.”
“Have you tried talking to her recently?”
“I… no. I’ve sent texts and asked her about her day. You know, simple stuff like that.”
“Will you be okay going back?”
“I hope so. If not, Nora says I can come back here. I don’t want to run from my problems anymore. I’ve done enough of that as it is.”
“Sometimes, we can’t help but run. Once we have a bit of distance, we can breathe enough to know what to do next.”
“Is that what you do with your wolf?” Kate looked at me from under her long lashes. “I’m not judging. Nora says you’ve always had a hard time.”
“She does?” I wasn’t sure how she’d know. “I only ever run with my pack.”
“I’m sorry it’s hard on you. I can’t imagine what it must be like, being a wolf but not.”
“It’s complicated. And loud,” I added once the speakers came on.
“God, why do they have to do that?” Kate winced and covered her ears. “Mic checks are the worst, I swear.”
“And they haven’t even started singing yet.”
“No,” Kate said as she cautiously put her hands down, “but that’ll be the good part.”
