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If I disappeared tomorrow, the only ones who’d notice would be Alina, the kitchen staff, and little Adam.
No one else would ask where I’d gone. No one would care.
Alina notices I’m more agitated than usual by the time we’re clearing the plates away and getting ready to have our own lunches before the lunchtime rush starts. She holds her hand out to me, and I frown at her, not sure what she’s asking.
“Your apron,” she says. “Go for a run. You could use it.”
She’s right, and I’m in no condition to refuse the offer.
I nod, taking the apron off and handing it to her.
I step outside before the other women start setting up for lunch at the picnic table in the yard. My legs carry me deep into the forest. I can’t sense any other wolves nearby. I’m as alone as I always am out here. I almost never run into anyone else. Probably because they usually run in groups earlier in the day, when it’s safest.
I strip out of my clothes and leave them on a tree’s branch.
When I shift forms, my wolf lets out a long, rumbling growl of frustration before she takes charge and starts to race through the forest, turning our surroundings into a blur of greens and browns.
She chases a squirrel up a tree, and a rabbit back into its burrow before she stops suddenly and stares straight ahead. Growling continuously, making my chest vibrate madly, she fixes her gaze on the area directly in front of us.
I know where we are. We’re right at the spot where the portal opens after dark.
When the sun goes down, it appears right here.
I’ve always been able to feel it.
The air here is just different. It’s almost as if it’s doused in active magic.
Wolves can’t usually sense magic, but that’s how it feels to me.
It’s sparky and makes my fur feel weird, like static electricity.
There’s no scent involved, and nothing is visible.
All there is, is this feeling of something other. Something that shouldn’t be.
I know the sun will go down while I’m at work, clearing tables and getting everything ready to start all over again in the morning. I won’t get the chance to come back out here and stand watch, ready to chase back the monsters who think they can do whatever they want now that the town’s protections are down.
I’ll have to come out here later, and hope that I’m not too late.
Someone needs to keep our pack safe.
If the Alpha’s not going to do it, and no one knows, it’s going to have to be me.
I let my wolf growl some more, feeling the vibrations of her angry rumbling in my chest.
Then, I let her know we can’t stay out here much longer.
She’s not happy about that, but she lets me take back control once we’re back at the branch where I left my clothes. I shift back into my human form and stretch a little before I shake out my clothes and start putting them back on. I’ve probably got barely enough time to choke down a couple of bites of a sandwich before I need to get back to work, but I feel much better than I did before I went for my run.
I know what I need to do now.
All that’s left is to get through the rest of the afternoon.
Chapter Seven
Lita
There’saplateanda glass left at the table for me when I get back to the yard, but everyone else has gone inside already. I feel too guilty to eat before I go back with them, so I pick up the plate and glass, use my shoulder to nudge the door open fully, and step inside.
