Gamma's Energy Attracts

Part 6

Theressa’s POV

“I think bright and early on Tuesday mornings might be my new favourite time to shop!” The Queen says cheerfully and I have to refrain from pretending to tie a noose around my neck and let her know I would rather hang myself. There is literally no one here. Half the fun of shopping is checking out all the beautiful people.

“Why the f*ck are there so many old people here?” I ask in dismay.

“Quiet down Theressa, they might hear you!” Luna chides me. Not one soul is paying any attention to us. Jules and Caly are here in jeans and baggy sweatshirts, apparently, I got dressed up for nothing.

“They probably have their hearing aids all the way up and they still can’t hear me.”

“The mall opens its doors at 8 am so people who work in the stores can grab a cup of joe or a quick breakfast on the way to work. Senior citizens can grab a coffee and chat with friends in an unhurried environment or mall walk to get their exercise when the weather is crap. They have a fitness instructor to motivate them four days a week,” Caly says excitedly. Only she would care about the social activities of random little old ladies. I gotta have another talk with the Queen, she acts like an old woman sometimes. “We should bring Mary with us next time.”

I groan. Goddess no, I can’t think of anything that could make this more painful than inviting Nonna. There aren’t even any wolves beside us, or any other fringe groups here this early in the morning. Bo-ooo-ring.

“How can anyone get excited about finding a s*xy dress at this hour?” I lament as I see her nudging her way towards the food court. “Where do you think you’re going?”

“Terri, you act as if I woke you up early to come here. You train at 4:30 am, you have been awake for five whole hours. I’m getting a fancy grande caramelly coffee something or other. If I have to shop for clothes, I want to get at least one thing I actually want. We’ll call it fuel.” We stand in line behind the geriatrics, each one ordering a plain small coffee. What's a shot glass worth of coffee going to do? The old gal at the front of the line is counting out the nickels from her change purse. I don’t have the patience for this today.

“Ladies, are we all just getting coffees? I’ll buy!” I speak loud enough to make sure they can all hear me as I walk around their walkers and slap a $50 dollar bill on the counter. “I’m kinda in a hurry. Get them whatever they want quickly and you can keep the change,” I whisper to the half-awake barista, she immediately perks up. “And three large caramel lattes.”  The old biddies must be quite regular, she lines up four cups and knows all their cream and sugar preferences. One of the old ladies comments about the nice young lady for buying the coffee. I smile, big and fake so I don’t pull my own hair out. I even carried the tray to their table. Please let this count as my good deed for the day.

Caly and Julia’s eyes light up at the sight of lattes with whip cream on top, and I push them towards the first dress shop. In five seconds flat, Caly is trying to bail on us.  She walks out of the store and looks up at the sign. “What are you doing?”

“I thought perhaps you mistakenly brought us into a swimwear store. I have bathing suits made with more fabric than some of these dresses. Terri, I’m not sure Julia would feel comfortable wearing so... little.”

“I was thinking more for you…” I’m just pulling her leg, this is a store more for the disposable fashion needs of the under twenty-one crowd. The Queen will require something a bit more classy.

“NO,” she flat-out refuses.

I ignore her and start rummaging through the racks. “Can I get a dressing room?” I throw a pile of clothes at the salesgirl so I can coax the fancy coffee from Julia’s hands. “We want to see all of them, no hiding in the dressing room,” I warn Jules.

I keep perusing the racks, Jules finally drags her @ss out to show us the first one, a simple baby pink A-line that comes mid-thigh. Cute, but a little plain.

“It’s a cute colour on you, Julia.” I know Caly is struggling to find something kind to say. 

While Julia trudges unhappily back to the dressing room, I corner Caly for her real opinion.

“What? She looks pretty in pink. I just think it’s a bit short. We can’t just put her in a miniskirt and expect her to be comfortable. If we make her look too s*xy, it will be false advertising.”

I make a tsk tsk noise. “Now, now Luna. No sl*t shaming.”

“I’m not shaming anyone. You wear s*xy dresses all the time and I always tell you how gorgeous you look. That’s because the clothes match your style and your personality. You have to be confident to carry off certain looks. Julia hasn’t even figured out her style. I know we can’t let her show up in sweats, but we don’t need to make her look as trashy as frigging Miss Angela.” Caly’s eyes darken and her body gives a little shiver. 

Miss Angela, Stav’s last b*tch and semi-pro-hoe. She’d be hanging off him to this day if Stav hadn’t finally wolfed-the-f*ck-up. I was keeping an unofficial eye on her for a while after she was banished, but after six months she hadn’t pulled any of her usual devious bullsh*t, so when she went off the radar, I thought good riddance to bad rubbish.

The next dress was a black body con. Caly frowned at me over the lip of her coffee lid. She mind-linked, ‘Really, Terri? I swear you pick some hideous outfits just so we can be thankful you won’t really make us leave the store with them.’

Sh*t, she’s on to me. I'm not that surprised, my Luna is pretty sharp. I kinda do make sure I pick up a sexy item for every matronly gown or gawdawful granny panty she tries to slip in the pile. It’s my job to make sure she finds some middle ground, I gotta look out for my boy Stav. 

“Oh look! This one is pretty.” Caly’s enthusiasm makes me look up at the dressing room area. It’s a sleeveless navy-blue dress in slightly shiny fabric. Snug up top, the V-cut is modest and flows out into a nice skirt maybe three inches above the knee.

“I’m so good, sometimes I even surprise myself.” I deserve a pat on the back.

“What do you think of it, Julia?” Caly seems to be sending soothing vibes to our unsure young charge. She has what I like to call ‘The Luna Placid Smile’ plastered on her face and is modelling her deep breathing technique. I’ve seen a sh*t-ton of Lunas pull this exact same face, I always find it a wee bit unnerving, like they are about to drop bad news. They probably have to take a class on it at that fancy University she went to. They should call it ‘How to appease the masses for dummies’. I’m gonna trademark that, just in case the Luna wants to use it later. 

“It’s..It’s nice,” Julia says hesitantly.

“Nice enough to wear Friday night? You’re the one who has to wear it.”  The Luna says pragmatically.

‘Dammit, woman! Don’t give her a choice! You really want to be shopping all damn day?’  That made her think.

“I do really like it,” Caly quickly says. “Prettiest dress I see in the store!”  I know exactly what she’s thinking. She’s thinking it’s the most fabric on any of the dresses in here. That makes it the most modest, therefore the best.

Caly holds up a mini-dress made out of spandex with cut-outs over the bre@st area and down the sides. She gives the hanger a quick shake and raises her eyebrow, in a ‘look what the crazy Gamma could make you try on next!’ It’s not an empty threat. 

“I think I might try that one myself,” I smile and take the dress, heading to the back fitting rooms.

“Please let me buy this dress before Theressa makes us into ladies of the night.” I hear Caly tell Julia in a low voice.

“Um... What?” Julia says confused.

“She means hookers!” I holler from the dressing room.

I hear the Luna sigh loudly, already frustrated and it ain’t even 10 am yet. 

I throw the fitting room door open with flare. “Well? What d’ya think.” I give them a little spin, to model the goods.

“See, it looks lovely on you. And only you. It just wouldn’t be the same on one of us.” Julia eagerly nods her head, going along with whatever Caly says at this point. “Keep it for the clubs, Terri. You aren’t wearing that this weekend.”

“What!” I fake some outrage, just to get her going. Riling people up is fun. “I’m smokin’ hot in this!”

“Yes, and I have to go chaperone this damn Ball, I don’t want to have to beat a bunch of horny dogs off you all weekend because you feel like being a c*ck tease.” She says somewhat seriously. “Can we please go to a store with some more respectable hemlines?”

“Jeebus, you’re not going full-blown princess ball gown are you?”

“No, but I’m a Luna and Mated, I’m not looking for a male. Luna’s Kat and Anne are both wearing full-length gowns.”

“Yeah, because they are both old enough to have kids that can go find a Mate. You are under 25 and you will NOT be wearing a dress that falls below the knee. Ya got that, my Queen?” I lay down the law early, so she can wrap her head around my high expectations. 

“I’m going to need another latte,” she grumbles, but doesn’t put up much of a fight. She grabs both dresses and stalks towards the cashier. 

We wander around the mall, boxing around. We are almost back at the food court and Caly hasn’t found anything that tickles her fancy. When she finally says, “Ooo, this is new.” There’s a new clothing store, but this mall is a revolving door of small unique shops that go bust in the first year. The heavy calligraphy gold sign says, Vintage Inspirations. Old fashioned seamstress mannequins make a display in the storefront window, featuring a bunch of lacy froo-froo dresses. Of course, the Luna wants to stop here. I bite my tongue and follow her in.

Julia’s POV

I’m so done with shopping and talking about Mating Balls. I bought the first dress that wasn’t hideous to make Mrs. Alpha happy and now I get to follow along with the real adults like an obedient puppy. I want to just find a bench and have them pick me up when it’s time to go home.

The smells of the food court hit me. All the restaurants are finally open for people looking for an early lunch, it must be after 11. I look at all the options. I hope we stop for some lunch. Maybe I could… “Terri? Can I get some lunch?”

“By yourself?” She frowns. She’s caught between a rock and a hard place. She needs to keep her eyes on both of us. She won’t let the Luna pick out her own dress. I’m nineteen, I don’t need a dumb babysitter.

“You can see the food court from here. I’m hungry and bored. I just want to get a crispy chicken sandwich and a rootbeer float.” I clasp my hands together and plead with my eyes.

“You got any money on you?” I shake my head no and she hands me a $20. “Do NOT leave the food court. Even if you need to rock a piss, you come to tell me first.”

I say thanks and get into one of the longer lines. It’s busier now, I have lots of time to look around. I’m surprised how many teenagers are hanging out on a school day. Maybe they have early lunch or a spare class. There’s a small group of boys horsing around and being loud, drawing attention to themselves as they check out the females as they walk by. Nope, they are skipping school. They are wolves, too but not anyone from Blood Pact. I look away.

They loudly talk about the women they see as I slowly move in the line. My anxiety rises as I listen, worried they are talking about me. 

“Miss, What can I getcha?” The girl behind the counter gets my attention and takes my order. I move off to the side to wait.

“Oh, Miss! What can I do for you? Come sit over here!” One of the boys says lewdly, I’m almost positive they are mocking me.

“Is she one of us? She looks like a frightened baby deer.” The jerks all start laughing uproariously. Screw them, I’ll just grab my food and run over to Terri. “Maybe baby deer needs some help.” 

I am not looking at them, but one of them is walking this way, I can smell him. He smells like the forest and menthol vape.

“Order 462!’ I look at my receipt and go to grab my tray, but as I reach out to take it my hand shakes. 

The loudest, most obnoxious and obviously the hottest of the guys swoops in front of me and takes my tray. “Come on baby deer, you can eat lunch with us.” The boys at the table laugh and cheer him on. I want to protest but before I do, he leans in so he’s pressed right up against my back and leaning over me to whisper into my ear, “You wouldn’t want the big bad wolf to get you, right?” He made sure to say it so none of the nearby humans could hear.

Now it’s more than just my hands that are shaking. “Um...I am here with some people. I should go find them.”

He slams my tray down on the table and pulls out the chair for me. He turns to face me and snakes his hand under my hair, pushing it back over my shoulder and grips me by the back of the neck.

“I don’t see any Mark, baby deer. So you aren’t here with another man. Are you even old enough to find your Mate?”

“Ye-Yes. But I have to go, Terri will be looking for me.” 

“You can sit for just a minute.” The grip he has on my neck tightens. He presses down so I pretty much have to sit down. “Where have you been hiding all my life, baby deer? Which Pack are you from?”

“Blood Pact,” I tell him. I try to sound confident, but I fail. The table of guys laugh louder and I feel my face get hot.

“Why would you lie to me, baby deer?” He scowls at me.

“I’m not lying. I live in Blood Pact.”

“Baby deer, there ain’t no way in hell you’re from a place like Blood Pact. They’re a bunch of crazies and psychos, ain’t no way you would survive them. You would sh*t your pants if you had to deal with those wolves.”

His hand is suddenly ripped off the back of my neck and I squeal in fright. Terri has his arm behind his back and he winces. “It doesn’t look like the lady is enjoying your company, @sshole.” Her words sound soft but deadly. “Go stand with the Luna, Jules,” and I practically run into Mrs. Alpha’s arms. 

Terri lets his arm go and sits in my former seat. She throws an arm around his neck like they are best buddies. I can see what is hidden in her hand, she flashes it to his friends and they all go quiet. She has a switchblade, it’s still closed and she caresses along the side of his neck like it’s an intimate gesture. 

“Let me give you a piece of advice: When a woman tells you something, you should open your ears and listen. She said she didn’t want to sit with you. She said she was waiting for someone. Have you heard of a little thing called consent? I shouldn’t need to be having this chat with you guys, but let me make it clear that the next time I need to talk to any of you it will be with my boot knife. My boot knife is silver, by the way.” Terri uses her thumb to control the blade as its tip slowly peeks out from the handle. The guys all watch wide-eyed, but somehow Terri hasn’t drawn the attention of anyone else in the packed food court.

“Do you wanna know why you should have listened to her? She SAID she was from Blood Pact.  All those rumours about psychos and bitches are 100% true. I am that female. I am Gamma F*ckin’ Terrier and the best Tracker in this country, and if I catch you bothering any female again, I will hunt you down. Believe that. Now, see that other pretty she-wolf standing over there? She might look dainty, but she’s the Luna, which means she willingly Mated with a man named Stab, and she’s been known to electrocute @ssholes who get in her way.” The hot one that grabbed me gulps, I can see his Adam's apple bobbing 10 feet away.

“Enjoy your lunch boys.” Terri gracefully grabs my food, and saunters over to us.

“We’ll take this to go, you can tell me what the hell happened,” She hisses at me. Mrs. Alpha gives me a worried look.

I’m in big trouble now. I run through the parking lot and I get into the back seat of the car and keep my head low.

Terri gets behind the wheel and turns in her seat to flash me a disappointed look. "What happened to the years of self-defence training? What happened to all the talks we had about building up your confidence? What happened to killer instincts!"

"Maybe I don't have any instincts!" I snap back. Terri has started to drive, but I see her eyes darken in the rearview mirror.

"We just want you to be safe and not feel so overwhelmed. I understand Julia, I do. Why didn't you mind-link Terri or I when you were outnumbered?" Mrs. Alpha says softly.

"I don't know, I just didn't think of it." I feel even worse now. I play with the straw, blending the ice cream into the soda.

"Self-defence class is getting ramped up to five days a week as soon as we get back from Blue," Terri announces and I hear Mrs. Alpha blowing out air harshly.

I eat my chicken burger and stay quiet as a mouse for the rest of the drive.