Althena

4. Conner

The coffee shop is busy from the time I walk in the door until 8. Then it dies, suddenly. Not a customer in sight.

"A lot of shops around here close at 8. I stay open until 10 because we do get some visitors. We're now the only coffee shop open in the market district."

"Wow. I understand."

"I'm going to show you how to close the shop tonight. I think I'll have you closing on your own. I need to be here at 5 am everyday. Leaving at 10:30 is really getting to me."

"I bet. That's not much sleep. So, you're the owner?"

"Yep. And only employee until now. I may hire someone else. I'm trying to see how it goes. I'm learning as I go."

"Well, you're doing great. This place is a hit."

"Yea, everyone loves coffee. Come on back and I'll show you what to do with the money. I want you to deposit all the money in the cash registers to the safe. You don't even have to count it. Just drop it in this hole. I will figure it out in the morning."

"That's easy enough. All money, in the hole."

"Perfect. You'll lock the front door from inside. Then lock the back after you get out."

"So, I do that at 10 every night?"

"Exactly."

"That's easy. I'm glad I don't have to carry money somewhere. That would scare me."

"Same. I definitely wouldn't want to do that at night. So, I put a good safe in. Sunday is when I sort it all out. Then I have a few guards from my pack come in and escort me to the bank."

"Smart. So, I'll be closing every day on my own?"

"I'm going to stay for a few nights and watch you do it. I want to make sure you understand. Do you have a cell phone?"

"No. Sorry."

"No worries. I'll write my number by the phone here, should you ever need help or have questions. But honestly, you seem to understand everything perfectly."

"I love having a job. And it's not super difficult. Except when the coffee runs low and 3 people are yelling their orders at me."

She laughs. "Yea, people don't like messing around with their coffee. They want it when they want it. Make sure the tank stays a quarter full on the regular and you'll be fine."

"Will do."

A few months later, I go to work like normal, and a boy is here. He is very nice looking. He's got a lot of muscles. Black hair and silver eyes. I love his eyes.

"This is Althena. She works the evening shift. You'll be working with her mainly. Althena, this is Conner. I've been training him for a few days. He knows how everything works. He'll be working with you 3 days a week from 5 to 8:30."

"Wonderful, you'll get some more time off."

"That's the plan. So, try this out and I'll stop in at 8 and check everything."

"Ok."

She smiles at me and runs out.

Conner cracks up laughing. "Yea, Ellen needs some time off."

We talk while we get people their coffee. "Do you know her outside of work?"

"We're in the same pack. Crimson Moon Pack."

"I've never heard of it."

"It's in the Arts District. It's not too far from here. About a half hour drive. She's been asking for help for a while. What pack are you from? I don't know the scent."

"Moonlit."

"Rich."

"Hardly. That would be my aunt and uncle. I'm an orphan."

"What's the other scent. I know the moonlit scent."

"Woodland Pack."

"West District?"

"Yes."

"Damn, that's far. How are you with them?"

"That's where I lived with my mom. That was our pack. I still carry the mark on my shoulder. I'm not sure why it never went away."

"How long have you been gone?"

"About a year and a half."

"The alpha is keeping it on you. That is different."

I shrug my shoulders. "I know nothing about it. It doesn't bother me. It reminds me of my mom at times. I like that."

He smiles. "How old are you?"

"15. You?"

"17. I'm a Scout for the Crimson Moon Pack."

"I'm not sure what that is."

"You don't know the ranks?"

"I thought I did. Alpha, beta, delta, warrior, omega, rogue."

"Well, rogue's not a rank but yea. Alpha on top. Beta is 2nd in command. Delta is a holding rank for people who are training. After that it goes warrior, elder, hunter, scout, guardian, omega."

"There was a lot I didn't know."

"Warrior you know. Sometimes they're called guards. But the same thing. Elder are the old people who can't do their job anymore but they've been with the pack a long time. They always help out where and when they can. They also advise everyone. Hunter can mean different things to different packs. Woodland probably used hunters for hunting food. But for the inner city packs, hunter can mean hitman. They are skilled at hunting and killing prey for the pack."

"I've never heard that."

"Yep." He smirks. "Hunter can mean anything from hitman to fisherman. It's all about bringing back the target. Next is a scout. We try to know everything about everyone. We try to stay one step ahead. If a pack is going to attack another pack, we try to find out about it first. We know all about our neighbors and try to be everywhere."

"Spy."

He laughs. "Yep."

"This is a good job for you then. Everyone comes in here. From everywhere."

"Yea, that's kind of why I took the job. I figure I can overhear people discussing stuff on occasion and it's only a couple of days a week. And Ellen needed some help. She was overworking herself."

"I know she does appreciate the help. What's next, guardian? What do they do?"

"In short, they keep the pack healthy. They defend the packland if they need to. They watch over everyone. Make sure everyone is ok. They do everything from taking the elderly lunches to shooting an invader. They really are the glue that holds everything together."

"Why are they so low on the list then?"

"It's not low. The ranks would be. Alpha, beta, delta, then warrior. The rest are together. Same rank. Other than Omega. It's at the bottom. They are mainly the cooks and cleaners. What was your mom?"

"Omega. She loved cooking. She would cook for the alphas dinner parties when she was well. And she was always in the garden getting fresh ingredients. She taught me how to cook. I started early."

"What about your dad?"

"It was only me and my mom. He was never in my life."

"I'm sorry. So, what do you want to do when you grow up?"

"Get out of Moonlit Pack."

He cracks up laughing. "I guess you could always go back to Woodland."

"I would love that. But I don't think they would. They are so strong."

He nods. "Best warriors. Even I know that."

"Yea, the alpha didn't have any space for an orphan mutt. He made that clear. There's nothing I could do for the pack. Just someone for them to take care of. Luna Millie loved me though. She still checks on me from time to time. She's probably making him keep the mark on me. Hopefully, I'll find a pack before I turn 18. I don't want to be a rogue."

"You could always come to Crimson Moon."

"It's still 2 and a half years away. I'm not going to think about it yet. Have you been in the pack your whole life?"

"Yep. All 17 years of it."

"Do you like it?"

"It's different. The arts district is rich. City parks, shops, museums, artists everywhere. It's beautiful. But the pack itself is quite poor. I'm not sure why or how they got territory there. Maybe they liked the idea of the amazing parks. But there's no real money in selling art. Unless, they're amazing. So, if people want to make decent money, they have to leave the district. It's weird. But we get along with everyone." He smirks. "Having amazing warriors helps with that part."

"I bet. People would probably attack for territory like that."

"They've tried. But we always know about it before the attack. So, our warriors are ready to defend."

"That sounds frightening. Different from the west district. If someone attacks, they're attacking the city. Nobody attacks to gain control of the Woodland Pack territory."

He nods. "Nobody wants it. Then they would have to defend the city from the west."

I can't help but laugh. "That is true."

"What all districts have you saw?"

"West and Market. We drove through some on the way here but I slept most of it. Then it was dark. I didn't see much."

"That's a 6 hour drive."

"And we left after dinner."

"What days do you have off?"

"Sunday. But I shouldn't leave. I don't know anything... about anything."

"Where do you go to school?"

"I don't."

"What?"

"So, how's it going?"

I smile at Ellen. "Perfect. We kept up and nothing weird happened. We need some more hazelnut creamer though."

"Oh, I left it in the car. I'll be right back."

Conner stares at me.

I feel myself turning red. It's embarrassing. I would have made up a school but he probably knows them all around here. I run to the back to get more cups. By the time I get back, they're talking about his day. Then both of them leave.

I finish cleaning and stocking while I deal with the last few customers. Then I head home. It was nice to talk with someone. And he has the most amazing silver eyes.