Althena

7. Sorted Out

Ellen puts her hands on her hips. "How nice of you both to come back to work."

"We wanted to see her place. We'll work now." Chris pours himself some coffee.

She rolls her eyes and leaves.

I check but, "That guy left."

"Too bad. He was cute."

"He really was. I wonder if he'll come back. That girl is checking you out though."

"Not my type." He don't even look at her.

"What's your type?"

"Men."

I laugh. "I guess she's not your type."

He laughs with me. "She's missing some key parts."

"How old are you?"

"16."

"I'm almost there."

"You excited to learn to drive? Are you taking classes for it?"

"Never thought about it. I can't afford a car anyway. Do you drive?"

"Yea, but I'm still learning."

Chris and I continue through the shift talking about nothing and everything. It's 8 before the boys get back. Mike had a shower. He smells good. I stay close to him and breathe.

Conner sits down and lays his head back. "This day will never end."

"Your eye looks a lot better. Just a little bruised now. You want some more ice?"

"I'm alright. It doesn't hurt anymore. Thank you."

I smile at him. Werewolves heal fast mostly. The damage to me must have been pretty bad. It took days.

Chris cracks up laughing behind the counter. "What are you doing?"

"Breathing. He smells good."

"Let me smell." He runs over.

"I'll remember you like the cologne." Mike winks at me.

Conner sits up. "What is that cologne?"

"None of your damn business."

Chris tries not to laugh. "It does smell good."

The alpha rubs his face. "I swear to the moon goddess. I give up. We'll see you tomorrow, Mike."

"We'll be there. Thank you."

"Boy, come with me."

Conner growls and leaves with him.

Chris points at the door. "You're out too. I'm closing tonight. Ellen didn't want to push you on your first day back."

"Are you sure?"

"Yea."

Mike puts his arm around me and leads me out. We sit on the bench outside my place.

"So, what happened with your meeting?"

He watches some cars go by. "I'm going to let you stay."

"What?" Confusion rushes over me. He has no say.

He smiles. "My mark was on you first. And the moonlit pack is worthless. I can take you back right now and nobody can say s**t. The only reason I'm not, is because you want to be here."

I hug myself and rub my arms. I love woodland pack. It's beautiful and perfect. But I can't go there. They'll make fun of me for being an orphan. Being a mutt. Being the illegitimate child, as my aunt put it. Some weak worthless mutt they have to take care of. At least being here, they only make fun of my clothes on occasion. And it's not the moonlit pack that makes fun of me. I've never even seen most of them.

"Do you want to stay here?"

"Yes."

"What are you thinking?"

"When I left, nobody said goodbye."

"We thought you were packing. My mom was hysterical. We had to calm her down. By the time we got outside, you were gone."

It wasn't just them though. Nobody said goodbye. Not 1 person. "My mom and I didn't have much. My aunt told me to grab some clothes. That's what I did. It was fast. My whole world ended."

"I'm sorry I didn't check on you before now."

"I'm not your responsibility. I can't even figure out how I still have the mark."

"I keep it there. Make sure you're alright. I just never actually checked. My mom was. After Conner called, I asked her about it. She said she hadn't seen you the last couple of times she was here. She assumed you were at school."

I don't know what to say. "I bet you're busy. Training to be the new alpha. I bet it's a lot of work."

"At times."

I know he's talking about right now. "Sorry."

He twirls my hair. "This is a vacation."

"Why did you come?"

"I'm going to get you sorted out. Make sure you're alright. Trying to talk to Conner on the phone was a disaster. He is pissed about everything. Then he said your uncle put you in the hospital. Then I was pissed about everything too. They were supposed to protect you and give you somewhere safe to grow up. They were supposed to treat you like family. I thought your mom was wrong when she said they were horrible people. She was going in and out of knowing what was going on. I thought it was for the best. I didn't realize your family would do this to you. I wish I would have never said anything about them."

"I didn't have anyone in woodland. Only your mom. She loved me."

"She still does."

"It wasn't enough. At least here, I can work. I have my place. I can meet people. There's lots of shops here. I like to shop."

"The shops around here are where you get your clothes?"

"Yea. 2 blocks that way is where I got this sweater. I could show you, but everything's closed."

"What do you think about moonlit pack?"

"You said it earlier, they're worthless. They even hire a security company instead of training guards."

He laughs and nods. "Yea, they're the opposite of woodland."

"Thank you for the phone. I always wanted one."

"You're welcome. You can call me if you need anything. Message me everyday. It lets me know you're alright."

"What happened at the meeting?"

He takes a deep breath. "Your uncle is going to add an actual apartment on the 2nd floor of your shop. Put in a security system. You'll have a kitchen and bathroom." I can't help it, I hug him. He laughs and keeps going. "You're going to get $500 a month. It's to pay for food and soap. Whatever you need."

"That's amazing. He agreed with it?"

"Yes. Money isn't an issue to him. Your uncle is also going to pay for you to have a tutor come. I wanted you to go back to school but you've been out for too long. If the tutor gives the 'ok' later, we may be able to get you back to real school."

The tears pour out of my eyes.

"It's a start." He rubs my back. "I got some money from them already. We're going to make sure the apartment is furnished. We'll get your tennis shoes too."

I wipe my face off. "No more."

"I'll stop. But you can't go back to your uncles house."

"Why?"

"Because if he so much as looks at you, I'll kill him. He is to have no contact with you. If you ever see him, you call me. Do you understand that?"

I nod slowly.

"They wanted to take care of you because they're your family. They thought they could get some sympothy from their pack. So, now they're going to. They are going to pay for everything. That's how they're going to take care of you."

"Why did Conner have a black eye?"

"He went and attacked the moonlit alpha."

"Why?"

"He's pissed about everything."

"That doesn't make sense."

He sighs. "Amos was going to drop the mark on your arm. He didn't want to deal with everything. He thought he could drop the mark and not have to deal with the issue. You wouldn't be allowed back on his packland. Conner freaked out. That's where you go to eat. He screamed it on the phone at me."

"I had no idea."

"It's alright. Conner had a black eye and Amos could barely move. Conner beat the hell out of that man. I'm surprised a teenager could do that to him. And Amos isn't a weak alpha."

"And the other alpha that was following him around?"

"That's his alpha. The Crimson Moon alpha. He was very confused about his scout beating up an alpha. We're eating dinner there tomorrow."

"Why?"

"He asked and, as the delta for Woodland Pack, I can't refuse."

"Sorry."

He shrugs his shoulders. "Have to eat anyway. Hopefully, it's good. The food here is weird."

"It really is. I don't eat much, but I'm surprised I haven't lost more weight. Even the eggs taste funny. They order everything. They don't have chickens or cows or anything. Not even gardens."

"And everything is so salty or sugary. What is up with that? Even the bread tastes like cake."

"No idea. Once I get a kitchen, I'll learn how to make bread."

"You could turn this into a real shop and sell it."

"They would probably hate it. It doesn't taste like cake."

He chuckles. "You do have a point. But you need to go to bed for now. I'll come by in the morning and we'll look around."

"Ok." I give him a hug then go in. He makes sure the door is locked before he leaves.

I pick out an outfit for tomorrow. I'll show him where I get my new clothes. I text him, 'good night.' Then I sleep like a baby.