The Gamma's Dark Witch

35 - The Local

(Nisha)

The room quieted. A place that probably lived off tourism but was still surprised to see a new face. The dull chatter resumed around us, and I took a moment to study the place. There was a small bar along one side, and the smell of greasy food wafted through the air. The place only had about ten tables, and most of them were full. Cameron nodded at the woman behind the bar and led us to an empty table near the middle of the room.

“I’ll get us a drink. Are you hungry?” he asked. I nodded slowly, trying to fit in, to make myself small to fit around what these people expected. But as soon as I took a seat, everything went back to normal. I didn’t feel any lingering eyes on me. I glanced around, and a woman nodded at me with a smile, but besides that, everyone was too enthralled with their own conversation or food to pay much attention to me.

Cameron slid across from me with more grace than a man of his height could be expected to muster. “I should have asked what you wanted.” He pushed a pint of beer across the table.

“This is fine, thanks,” I said, taking it between my hands for something to do. It was warmer than it should have been, but I really wasn’t picky.

He leaned over the table. “There’s a place not too far from here where we might find some assistance,” he explained, glancing behind me.

“How did you-”

He shook his head. “The bartender, she’s a wolf,” he explained. “The best way to find out information is a place like this, especially when you’re starting out. Look, listen, but most importantly, observe,” he said, sitting back crossing his arms.

“Wouldn’t hurt to try to look friendlier,” I grumbled, and he fixed me with a frown and dropped his arms shrugging his shoulders as if he could erase the tension that was his constant companion.

I couldn’t help but laugh. I tried a long sip of the beer to try to hide it, but it didn’t work. He frowned at me, but he did seem a bit less intimidating.

“Lucas got all of the casualness of the group,” he explained scowling. “No matter what, he can fit in, pretend to be completely unaffected, and sometimes I think it’s not an act. I envy him for it.” He fixed his dark forest stare on me. “I think you could drop him in hell, and he would come out being carried on the Devil himself's shoulders.” He shrugged. “Or murdered instantly,” he added, but his face softened with a smile.

“You guys are like brothers,” I noted.

He nodded, rubbing his jaw. “We are. We knew the roles we were destined for since birth and grew up together, literally on top of each other sometimes.” His face lit up even more.

“That does sound nice.” I smiled back at him. “You all grew up in that house? The packhouse?” I asked, not wanting his smile to fade.

“Yes.” he nodded. “Actually, on the floor that I live on now. Lucas’ parents and my parent split the floor, and we and our siblings grew up there. It seems like a lot of space now, but it felt… crowded at times.” He shook his head, but his smile only widened.

“Do you have any siblings? Besides, Jackson and Lucas.”

“Two younger sisters.” He took a sharp intake of breath. “As much trouble as you think they would be. I swear they did things just to piss me off. The guys that they decided to date...” He shook his head once.

“But, they’re married now? Mated? I’m unsure of the term.”

“One is. The eldest, Delilah, found her mate in another pack. That was years ago, and she has been there since. Her mate is ranked high at a company, and she chose to move there with him. She’s happy, but I wish she were closer.” His voice was wistful.

“And the younger?” I asked.

“Sarah, she hasn’t graduated high school yet. When my parents took over acting roles at The Northern Campus, she chose to move in with my aunt at a nearby pack. She wanted to finish her high school somewhere else.”

My brows tugged together.

“Nothing was wrong,” he went on, noting my reaction. “As werewolves, a lot of our life is spent at our pack, unless we’re mated to someone from another pack or if we work in the city. But still, those jobs aren’t far either. I think she jumped at the idea to try something new, away from the people she’s known since birth.” He shrugged. “I get it.”

“Do you?” I asked, eying him.

“I get it for her,” he amended, meeting my gaze. “I knew that I was meant to take over a leadership role at Silver Moon; that was what the pack was called up until a few months ago. But it went past being told that I would be the next Gamma since birth. There’s something inside me I can’t put words to that knew it was right, that knew there wasn’t any other option. And even if there were, I wouldn’t have chosen it.”

I sucked in a breath. “That, that must be nice. The knowing. The certainty.” Something I hadn’t truly felt more than a handful of times.

He nodded slowly, scanning my face. He wrapped his hand around his pint of beer but didn’t move to take a sip. “And you?” he asked.

I almost laughed. “You met my entire family, my sisters,” I said. A dull pain settled in my stomach.

“Did you know you were meant to be with them?” he asked.

“I didn’t have an option.” My brows furrowed as I thought. “I don’t know what would have happened without finding them; I think I would have sunk into my confusion, and it would have been harder to pull me out. I was born as an adult. With no knowledge of the world or my powers, but mature, I guess.” I shrugged. I knew it didn’t make sense to someone who was born as well a baby. I had no memories that didn’t come from a grown perspective. I found it strange to have memories from different times of life. I bet they weren’t very reliable; they had to have been fuzzy.

“What’s your earliest memory?” I blurted out.

Cameron’s brows bunched. “Um... I think playing in my parent's garden; it was while my sister was being born and my aunt was there. And I remember not understanding what was happening, but the only thing I cared about was how the light made the flowers look like little houses when you laid under them.”

I gaped at him.

“What?” His face was stoic again.

“I just, it’s weird to hear a memory from a child's perspective. Especially you,” I added under my breath, clamping down on a smile.

“Why me?” he asked, but he had a whisper of a smile.

“I can’t imagine you being…” I waved my hand at him. “Little… vulnerable.”

He snorted. “I was.” He raised a brow. “Still am.”

I shook my head, taking a sip of the now definitely warm beer. “You hide it well.”

“You think?” he asked. I nodded. “Thank you.”

“I didn’t say it was a good thing.”

“You looked shocked, in awe even.” His lips formed a line, but the sides tugged up.

“Just because I’m in shock doesn’t mean I’m in awe,” I countered. “A tornado might come crashing through, and I would be shocked but not awed.”

“So, you’re comparing me to a force of nature?” he countered.

“No, I just, I was making an example.” I tugged my beer even closer and smiled into it.

“Sure, sure.” He waved it off, took a sip of his drink, and grimaced. “I hope the food is better,” he muttered and stilled.

I tried to look around and listen to what he was saying.

“I’ve seen one of them. Another one like that silver-haired one.” I internally rolled my eyes. The woman he was talking about was probably me.

“And?” A woman said.

“Harmless sort. Helpful, even. They were here just for a beat but helped sort some things out. Small things that had been plaguing her in the forest.”

“Ahh, yes, yes. Well, might not be bad to have them around then. The place has been feeling heavy.”

“Aye, I know what you mean there, Barbra. I know what you mean.”

And nothing more was said on the topic. Cameron’s face stayed impassive, but I could sense his curiosity as if I was feeling it. I shook my head. Was this a part of my wild, willing imagination? Or was my power evolving? But a jump from shadows and darkness to sensing what others were feeling didn’t quite make sense.

“Are they all…” I trailed off.