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She laughed. “Where are you from?”
“New York,” I said. “I was transferred here for… a new opportunity.” I swallowed. I didn’t want to say anything about why I was really here yet. I didn’t know what had happened to Turk, or if there was anyone I could trust.
“The city or upstate?” she queried.
“The city,” I told her.
“Interesting. Why here? New York has so many opportunities.”
We shuffled forward as others dished food for themselves and paid.
“My boss sent me,” I offered with a shrug.
“I feel you,” Elaine said. “It’s the dream to get into something big, right? But we do a lot of good here, and I let that fuel me.”
“You’ve always worked here?” I asked.
We chose sandwiches from a display case, and I grabbed a bottle of water.
Elaine shook her head, doing the same. “I grew up in LA, actually.”
I laughed. “And you’re on me about trading New York for this?”
Elaine chuckled. “It seems crazy to sacrifice the sunlight, I know. It’s more complicated than that, though. I left before the new alpha took the throne. You’ve heard of Bertulf?”
We paid for our food and carried our loot to one of the tables scattered around the dining area. When we sat down, it was on opposite sides of the table, facing each other.
I shook my head. “I only know of Jameson, the bear in charge now. Not personally, but he has a big name.” I peeled open my sandwich and took a bite.
Elaine nodded. “Not a lot of people know what happened before, but it was better that I got out of there. It’s fine to go back now, I guess, but I have a life here, and I feel like I’m making a difference.” She opened her sandwich, too.
“Noble,” I said, chewing.
Elaine smiled. “We all do what we can, right?”
“So, you’re very involved in the shifter community? Or not really?” I knew bears kept to themselves. They didn’t like to stay in packs, and they avoided other creatures if they could.
“More involved than my parents think I should be,” Elaine said. “I’ll show you around after work sometime, if you want. Take you to the good bars, show you where you can get discount deals and which stores have specials.”
“That’s really nice of you,” I said.
Elaine shrugged and took a bite of her sandwich. “We do what we can.” She winked at me. “Besides, as a new shifter in town, you should probably meet our alpha, since you fall under his territory.”
“Bishop,” I said. I’d learned the name before coming here. Meeting him was the right thing to do; Elaine had a point.
“Yeah, and a few of the other shifters too. It’s better to be upfront and show your face so it doesn’t look like you have something to hide. Bishop can be a pain in the ass sometimes.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah, he’s very strict, and he always seems to think someone’s making a move on his authority.”
“Are they?”
Elaine shrugged. “The world isn’t always as dramatic as he makes it out to be, I’m sure. I mean, we’re on the front lines here, and aside from the occasional case of rabies, it’s a snooze fest.”
I burst out laughing. “You’re not serious about rabies, are you?”
“We had a case once,” Elaine said. “A shifter got into a fight with a stray dog, but he’d been so drunk before shifting, his wolf hadn’t known which way was up.”
