Rejecting Him

I didn’t get around to checking my phone till after my date. Though it was weird for me to admit, I was on cloud nine, floating around the kitchen as I made myself lunch. Logan wanted to take me out again, and I was only too happy to accept the invitation.

To my annoyance, Dad had shot me a quick text instead of an actual voicemail. When I read it, though, I realized I had no time to be annoyed.

Pack meeting tonight. 7 pm. My house. We’re voting for a new Alpha, and I want you to be there.

A grim feeling welled up in my stomach. What Alanna had told me was true, I guess. We were getting a new Alpha. I wasn’t sure if I should be happy to go back to being a normal girl—well, as normal as a girl could be when she was a werewolf—or if I should be disappointed. The kind of power I held by proxy was addicting, but the lack of privacy, I could do without.

Because of my family’s status, we couldn’t vote on the new Alpha. From what I was told it wouldn’t be fair, since the current Alpha may favor one candidate over another, and to have the favored candidate win because of votes from the Alpha and their family, well, that was something our pack tried to avoid. However, the pack’s council members were still able to vote alongside the “title-less” members. Dad wanted me there, I knew, because it would be good form if I and other members of our family showed up. Of course, new Alphas weren’t always voted for; Dad had been appointed as Alpha when I was two. It was only when there were multiple candidates in mind—those candidates chosen by the Alpha—that it was put to a vote.

I abandoned making lunch and darted into my bedroom to dig around for a suitable outfit to wear. Immediately I reached for the yellow dress and a pair of shiny gold pumps. Looks like I’d be needing the dress after all.

***

I pulled up to Dad and Mom’s house, a pretty two-story place in North Portland on the other side of Lloyd Center mall. It was a wooden structure painted a misty grey with a white trim and black shingled roof. There was a lawn out front ringed by moon flowers. Mom had told me when I was younger that after she learned what Dad was, she promised herself she’d plant those flowers in front of whatever house she and him had moved into. Later, after he became Alpha, the pack had adopted the practice as a way of telling others, Someone like you lives here.

Large bay windows looked out onto the front yard. Gauzy golden curtains hung in front of the windows, but through them I could just make out the pack mingling in our colonial-themed living room.

I immediately recognized two cars in the driveway as belonging to my parents. Dad’s car was a black Impala with tinted windows, while Mom’s was a blue VW bug. In front of the house were a line of cars that I assumed belonged to the council members. I had to circle around and park in the lot of a nearby church. A sign in front of their parking lot clearly forbade this, but it was easy to get away with it since a few of our members worked for the church, and even more members were part of the congregation.

The lot was already half-full with cars, whose owners I knew were members of our pack. Events like this one were too huge for pack wolves to pass up—doubly so if a new Alpha was being appointed or voted for.

I checked my appearance in the mirror. Nothing in my teeth, my curls all in their proper place for once, though how long that would last, I wasn’t sure. It was a humid night tonight and humidity had a way of messing with the perfect curl. I had a bit of light frizz, but hopefully no one else would think it looked bad.

I smiled. Good to go.

I jogged up the steps and rang the doorbell. Mom answered almost right away, her face lighting up with a smile when she saw me. She and my Uncle Brandon, as humans, were in the minority in our pack, something the others silently held against her. Most males eventually turned their mate after they had all the kids they wished to have, but not Dad. Mom once told me they wanted more kids, though they eventually changed their minds after losing what would have been my brother. Dad, once faced with the decision, couldn’t bring himself to change Mom. Like me, he couldn’t wish lycanthropy on anyone; I was already a werewolf because of him, and that was enough.

Personally, I was glad for it. Mom was too beautiful, with a round, youthful face and eyes that seemed to sparkle with every smile. Reddish brown curls framed her face, but tonight they were secured in a smooth bun. She was short and pixie-like, which I inherited from her, and tonight she wore a powder blue blouse and clean white jeans.

“Oh, Callie, I’ve missed you,” Mom said, squeezing me in a hug. “You need to call more often! Why don’t you?”

“I’m sorry, it’s just been really busy at work. What with Fourth of July coming up, and after that Back To School and Labor Day—”

“No excuses!” She wagged a finger in my face, but the laugh she held back undermined the sternness she was going for. That didn’t mean she was one to be underestimated. I had also inherited her spunk, something our pack members weren’t all that crazy about. “So, how have you been? How is work going? Weren’t they doing employee evaluations recently? Oh! And your double date with Maya! How was that?” Mom’s eyes turned mischievous, the look punctuated by her grin.

“I’ve been good, actually. Work is work, although a guy got kicked out for trying to shoplift. The guy was a real dummy, too, he was making a drug deal on the phone when security busted him. Evaluations went well. I got a raise. Ten cents, woo!”

“That’s still something,” Mom said, giving me The Look.

I chuckled. “The date was good. Maya seems to like the guy. They’ve been hanging out a lot. Say, where’s Dad?” I said, suddenly reminded of the rogue. Mom sighed softly at the impatience in my tone. She had the patience of a saint, which I can clearly remember pushing when I was growing up. I’ve lost count of the times she’s had to pull me out of a tree, telling me that I’d crack my head open and I had better get my skinny butt down from there now.

Mom stepped aside and pointed toward the stairs. “He’s upstairs with Charles and Brandon, but he doesn’t want to be disturbed. One of the higher-ups from the Emerald City pack called this morning.”

I bit back an annoyed grunt, instead opting for, “Ah.”

Mom furrowed her brow, taking my face in her soft, lavender-scented hands. She was a regular at Lloyd Center’s Bath and Body Works and thus always smelled nice. Every time I smelled lavender, I thought of her.

“What’s going on, Callie? Is something wrong?”

“Well, there’s this—”

“Callie!”

I found myself being dragged inside by Alanna and another friend of mine named Jennifer. Jen was tall, toned and curvy, an athletic volleyball player to the core. She was pretty in an Amazon sort of way, with sleek brown hair that she preferred to keep short. I had invited Jen to my Yoga class at the community center once, but it wasn’t really her thing. On the bright side, she fell in love with the kickboxing class that they offered.

“Oh my god, it’s been forever!” Jen crowed as she crushed me in a hug. “Hold up—what’s this?”

She brushed my hair aside to reveal my new earrings, a pair of gold hoops from Icing. Jen eyed me shrewdly.

“When did that happen? I thought needles freaked you out.”

“I figured it was time to face that particular fear. Besides, I was already at Clackamas, so why not?”

Clackamas Town Center mall, which was located in the next town over, was a popular hangout among Portland’s youth. I never understood how trendy it was since we had two malls of our own located within city limits. Sometimes, if I got off work early enough, I’d drive over since it was so close. Otherwise, I usually just went for the bookstore if it was on a list of errands I had to run at the mall; Clackamas Mall’s Barnes and Noble was bigger than the one at Lloyd Center.

“Let me see,” Alanna said, butting in. I felt almost like an exhibit at the zoo. “Oh, wow! Callie, you and me are going earring shopping. Soon.”

I laughed. “Are you sure that’s necessary? I rather like these ones.”

Alanna planted her fists on her hips and gave me a look. “It should be I mean, there’s so many that’d look great on you.”

“Fine, miss fashion guru. If you insist,” I teased, giving her a playful shove.

“So, did you hear about the new werewolf?” Jen asked, suddenly all business as she steered us toward the buffet table. I blinked in surprise. Hanging out with humans ninety-nine percent of the time wasn’t without its downsides, I guess.

“No, what?” I asked cautiously. Jen seemed fit to burst.

“He’s from Seattle,” she said, as if it were some huge deal. Seattle was also a pretty trendy place to Portlanders. Last time I’d gone, I swear I’d lost ten pounds just going up and down all those hills. “The entire pack’s been talking about it. Can you imagine, a new wolf from another state, joining our pack?”

While our little corner of the country was a popular haven for werewolves, that didn’t mean a lot joined the Willamette Valley pack. Most headed either to Washington, Northern California, or further up to Canada. There were even a handful of werewolves in Alaska.

“How do you know he’s joining?” I asked, frowning.

“Why else would he be here?” Jen replied.

“Well, he could just be an emissary. After all, Dad went to Seattle not that long ago. I drove him to the train station myself.”

Jen quirked an eyebrow at me. “Really? That’s interesting. Why’d he go?”

I shrugged. “Beats me. Pack business, I guess, but you know he doesn’t really tell me much.” I gave an uneasy laugh. Alanna nudged me in the ribs, winking mischievously.

“Well, if you actually hung out with your kind for once, you’d probably be able to keep up with our little grapevine,” she joked. Underneath it all, though, I wasn’t sure how much she was joking.

I craned my neck to gaze around the crowd. “So, where is this new guy?” Please don’t let it be who I think it is, I silently begged.

“Hmm…” said Jen, gazing around as well. Up until now, our catching up had allowed me to let my guard down. I was all too willing to bask in the relief that the reunion had finally offered me. As soon as I heard the door open behind us, though, something made my guard go straight back up again.

“Ah, there!” Jen declared. She grabbed me by the arm and pointed toward the door. I already knew who it was, though, and that knowledge was not without a sickening feeling settling in my stomach.

My nose was flooded with the smell of musk and cinnamon as I finally gazed into the eyes of my follower. His lips curled up into a slanted smile.