Of Wolves and Wings

Chapter Six

I smiled as I yawned and stretched in bed after my nap. Now, normally I am not a ray of sunshine when waking up after a full moon night. But, that was before I had found new purpose in life. Now, I was eagerly looking forward to the day. Well, evening, if the lack of daylight filtering in through my window was any indication.

I hopped in the shower, singing and praying my heart out while I got ready. Then I settled in to study the Word for a bit. I had texted Sadie about studying before my shower and she had responded that her mom was wanting to spend some time with her. We would try again for later in the week. I had learned that the best time of day for me to devote to God was at the start of my day, which just happened to be evening in this case. Normally, if I waited until the end of my day, I may be too sleepy. Sometimes I could do some study over lunch, but that wasn't always a consistent option. Besides, starting the day with God put me in a better, more optimistic mood and ready to tackle whatever life threw my way. Which, sometimes was a lot.

I grabbed a muffin on the way out the door and slid into my car, affectionately named Hunk. Not because it was attractive. Oh no. Hunk was actually short for Hunk of Junk. While it wasn't pretty to look at, at least it got me from point A to point B without too much of a fuss. Most of the time. I'm not bragging or anything, but the mechanic and I are on a first name basis. I looked up at the stars just starting to wink into sight in the cloudless sky. I let the sight of the less than full moon cheer me as I drove.

I felt the excitement start to creep in the closer I got to the shop. Sure, some might think I'm weird, but I was sincerely looking forward to cataloguing, pricing, and shelving the million books waiting for me. Okay, not really a million, but still. It was a lot. And, while I loved Sadie, I was looking forward to the peace and quiet of working on it while she was at home. After spending the night going through the full moon shift with Landon, I did not want to hear her hypotheses on whether or not we would be good together. It had been a favorite, and most unwelcome, topic of hers for a bit now.

I pulled into the small gravel parking lot of The Baked Book and froze, the smile quickly sliding from my face. It took a minute for my brain to catch up to what I was seeing. And, even then, I still couldn't believe it. It may have been a stupid move on my part, werewolves aren't bulletproof, but I got out of my car and crept up to the door. My feet crunched through broken glass as I got nearer, and I could hear the alarm ringing from within. I reached out and tugged on the handle, dismayed when it easily pulled open under my grasp. Yep, sure enough, someone had broken in. I took a deep breath in, scenting the air to see if I recognized anyone familiar. Unfortunately, the rain we had gotten while I was asleep had washed away most traces. But, then, I caught the faintest whiff of a scent over the smell of the rain. Wolf, and not Landon.

It was right about then that my common sense took over and I high-tailed it back to my car. Had they found me? I locked the door and pulled my phone from my purse. My hands were so shaky, I could barely get my fingers to cooperate and dial the three numbers I needed to reach the police. Finally I was able to get my fingers to work and I sank back against Hunk's seat as I waited for the call to go through.

"Dispatch, what's your emergency?"

"Hello, yes, um, I think I've been broken into. I mean, my store, my store has been broken into," I stammered, rubbing at the familiar ache of panic in my chest.

"What's your name and location?"

"My name is Andi McBride and I'm at 205 East Brook Street. The Baked Book is the name of the store."

"Okay, I'm going to need you to go back to your car ma'am. Don't go checking it out for yourself. I've dispatched the police and an officer should be right there."

"Thank you," I said, trying to get the tightness to go away so I could breathe again. "I'm in my car in the parking lot." I looked around the parking lot. The area was getting dark, but it was no match for my enhanced wolf sight.

"That's good. Just sit tight. I show a deputy about five minutes away. I'll stay on the phone with you until he shows up."

I nodded, but then realized that she couldn't see me. "Yes, I will. Thank you for staying on the line with me. We haven't even opened yet. There isn't any cash inside. I'm not sure what they could have been looking for," I stated. Nothing moved in the abandoned lot around me, but that didn't mean no one was watching from the tree line where I couldn't see them.

"Could have been they were just passing through and didn't know you were in business yet. Or just wanted to steal some merchandise they could panhandle later. You just never know. There's all kinds out in the world, isn't there?"

"Yes ma'am, there sure is," I replied. She had no idea. Her voice was soothing, but a new dread started creeping in with that topic of conversation. I knew better than anyone that there were all kinds of people in the world, and the kinds of things those people would do to make a buck. I came from "those kinds" of people. Could they really have found me already? It wasn't like I was exactly hiding. I came back here, a place they knew, after all. I hadn't figured it would really matter, not in the long run. I had no doubts they could find me if they wanted to regardless of what I did to try to hide. Still, I didn't think they would have come back here. Not after what happened sixteen years ago. I had changed my last name, sure, but maybe I should have done the first one too. I should have gone somewhere else, altered my appearance, made it at least a little more difficult for them. Maybe it wasn't them, though. I prayed that it wasn't.

"You still with me Andi?"

Oops, I guess I had gotten lost in thought without realizing it. Panic had a tendency to do that to me. Dissociation, that's what one of the therapists had said that was called. "Yes, sorry. I'm still here."

I heard tires coming down the road and sat up straighter in my seat, hand gripping the phone so tightly my knuckles turned white. I had to remind myself to relax my grip or the phone was going to shatter under my strength. "I think someone's coming," I said so low it was almost a whisper. "I hear a car."

"Yes, it looks like that is the officer, but stay in your car and on the phone with me until you get eyes on them. Just in case."

I held my breath until the car turned the corner and sighed in relief. "Yes, it's a patrol car. Thank you so much for your help and patience with me. I'm not usually this much of a basket case."

The dispatcher laughed. "No problem. Everyone reacts to scary situations differently. If you ask me, you handled it just fine. I hope your night gets better than how it started."

"Thanks again," I said and hung up the phone.

The cruiser pulled into the parking lot and came to a stop next to my car. I slowly got out, keeping my hands in view of the officer, and leaned back against my car. He stepped out, locked the door of his car, and made his way toward me. My nose wrinkled. His scent that was familiar, but I couldn't place where I remembered it from. He came to a stop a few feet in front of me and removed his shades.

"You called about a break in ma'am?"

No! Crystal clear blue eyes, black hair with just a hint of waviness, calm and reassuring smile. It couldn't be, could it? He was taller, filled out, grown up. The scent clicked into place for me, removing any doubt from my mind. I'm not sure what I had expected. It had been sixteen years, after all. He wouldn't still be the gangly boy I remembered. I would not have guessed that he would still be here, though. That he would look like that. Benny?