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Chapter 21
Harlow
After many struggles, Harlow finally felt at peace in the Forest Crest community and even at peace in the Gravecrest pack. It had taken a lot to arrive at this point, but most of the members of the Gravecrest pack who had mistrusted and despised her had cooled. She had received many apologies at her party, and those who hadn’t come through had either confronted her personally or had stopped openly challenging her. That is, of course, with one exception.
Lauren hadn’t attended Harlow’s party and hadn’t shown up at the full moon run. She was relieved that Lauren wasn’t at her party as she tended to cause problems for Harlow wherever the two of them were together. But her absence from the run greatly concerned Harlow.
Still, she felt like she was at a place where she could call Forest Crest home. Even if Echo Hall, the Hollow Grove tracker, showed up again, he would be met with a strong resistance in the friends she had cultivated.
She had found a job and a place to live here, and despite the overburdening protection of the pack, she felt liberated within this community. Atlas had, for her own protection, tasked a member of the pack with supervising her, and at first this had felt terribly limiting. But he offered her a sense of security and inner peace that she was thankful for.
However, Harlow needed to tie up a loose end. When she had first arrived in Forest Crest, a community member had offered her a great kindness, one which Harlow ultimately had to reject for her own safety. And Colt and Atlas had always been insistent that visiting the Golden Acorn was dangerous since Harlow could be tied to it.
Harlow opened the door to the inn where Dave was sitting, scanning over some documents with a pair of reading glasses.
“Ah, there she is!” Dave said, smiling widely. “I wondered where you got off to.”
“Hi,” Harlow said sheepishly. “I’m sorry. I just wanted to come back and thank you.”
“Your room’s been kept the same as ever,” Dave chuckled. “Although I think I saw a muscular fellow emptying it out a few weeks ago. So that might not be a concern for you.”
“Thank you,” Harlow said. “I figured out other arrangements. I wanted to—”
“Don’t even worry about it,” Dave said. “I’m glad you’re in a better place.”
“I am!” Harlow said.
A moment of silence passed between the two of them, the elderly innkeeper never breaking his smile. “Umm,” he interjected. “My son’s actually coming back.”
“That’s fantastic!” Harlow enthused.
“Yeah. He’s coming by next month to help drum up some marketing ideas, maybe get some traffic coming through. I’ve offered to pass it along to him, and we’ll see if he bites.“
Harlow offered him a small sum of cash, though not nearly the cost of her living arrangements, for his generosity. Dave initially refused, but Harlow insisted on giving it to him, saying she wanted to see the inn succeed and felt guilty for taking advantage.
She walked out feeling personal satisfaction and grinning giddily. Now she felt financially independent, able to carry herself on her own terms. Things finally felt like they had come full circle. After all, in the month since the incident with the trackers, the town had been still, free of most conflict.
She took out her car keys and her heart sank. There, resting in the corners of her peripheral vision, was her only remaining source of concern. Lauren leaned backward against the wood fence, watching Harlow while fidgeting with a pocket knife.
“Can I help you?” Harlow asked the firmly rooted Lauren, who merely stared at her, eyes and focus unwavering. Harlow could sense a scorn in her that no longer seethed but merely waited and schemed.
“Yeah,” Lauren said coldly. “I was wondering why you’re still here?”
“Pardon?”
Harlow glanced at the front office of the Golden Acorn. Why had she been confronted here? The last thing Harlow wanted was to cause a scene for Dave in the middle of the parking lot, not that it wasn’t almost entirely vacant. But how would she explain this to him?
“I mean, it doesn’t take a genius, though I’ve noticed your brain is abnormally small,” Lauren said. “But if you draw violent pack members to the home you claim to care about, I think it’s probably best to leave. Don’t you?”
“See, Lauren, I thought that too,” Harlow fired back. “But unlike you, I’m actually wanted here.”
“Please!” Lauren spat. “You think you can just show up out of nowhere and win the hearts of the pack’s alpha and beta? You’re a nobody! You’re the town charity case!”
Harlow froze for a moment, trying to think of how to deescalate the situation. Lauren’s words cut deeply, but their impact was lessened significantly when Harlow considered their source.
“I mean, you’ve got a nice body, for sure,” Lauren continued, “and I’m sure they enjoyed fucking you. But stop kidding yourself.”
“Lauren, I mean this respectfully, and for your own good,” Harlow said. “Please, get some help. Whatever you’re going through, get over it.”
