I grimaced. I hadn’t given much thought to work since I’d left. Too much had been going on for me to even remember that I had a job, much less that I’d missed two shifts already. “Um, no actually, I kind of dropped the ball on that one.”
Rachel clicked her tongue. “I went to your work looking for you today and they told me that no one could get a hold of you, that they were starting to get worried. You’ve never missed a shift.” There was a hard edge to her voice, worry now replaced by anger.
Shit, another major personality switch. “Listen, Rach, I’m sorry I’ve worried everyone. I just got swept up in this whole thing and wanted some time to forget about my life for a little while. I didn’t mean to upset you.”
There was another heavy moment of silence until finally Rachel sighed. “It’s okay, hon. I was worried, you’ve never just taken off before. And when I couldn’t reach Jimmy…well…”
I sucked in a breath. Of course, people would be looking for Jimmy as well. “Jimmy’s missing?” I croaked, the lie tasting bitter on my tongue.
“Yeah, no one has seen him for a couple of days. I called him that night that we went to the carnival to go and check up on you. I was desperate to know you were okay, and he was the only one who answered his phone. Did you see him?”
I swallowed the lump in my throat. “No.” Since when do I lie to my best friend?
“That whole night at the carnival was strange. I still don’t know what started the panic, but I got swept up in a massive crowd and lost you. Then I fell and someone stepped on me—actually a few people stepped on me—and I broke my arm.”
I nodded. Yes, just as Jimmy had told me, but Rach couldn’t know that. “Oh no!” I said instead.
“I’m fine, don’t worry. So Jimmy, the bastard, never went over to check on you?”
I shook my head, forcing myself to stay calm. I didn’t want Rachel picking up on anything in my voice that would hint at Jimmy’s actual fate. “No, he didn’t. I haven’t seen Jimmy, since…well for a while.”
“That fucker, when I see him again, I’m going to kill him.”
I chuckled uncomfortably, the lump in my throat coming back with a vengeance.
“Oh well, maybe he saw you with your long lost love and thought better of introducing himself.”
My stomach roiled. “Yeah, maybe.” I continued my mindless wandering, head down, eyes watching my feet move over the impossibly green grass.
“So, tell me about this guy. He must be something pretty special to get you to take off.”
I snapped my head up at the sound of a door slamming shut. I was farther away from the house than I’d realized and Cal was on his way toward me, his face set in a storm of anger, his eyes locked with mine. I grimaced as I glanced over my shoulder and realized that I was only a few feet from the edge of the forest. A chill ran through me. For some reason, the forest seemed more foreboding now that I was near it.
“Listen, Rach, I’d love to tell you all about him.” I rushed my words, knowing by the look on Cal’s face that he wouldn’t sound at all nice or pleasant to Rachel if she heard him just now. “But we’re on our way out for a bite to eat. I’ll call you back in a few days and fill you in, ’kay?”
“Sure, hon, no worries. Just keep in touch this time, okay?”
I nodded, watching with wary eyes as Cal approached, his jaw clenched and eyes blazing. “Yeah, will do. Oh, and could you tell my work that I won’t be back for a while. I understand if they need to let me go.” I left out the part about having to fight a werewolf in a few weeks and possibly dying in the process.
“Okay, it was a shithole anyway. I’ll get you a job at my work when you get back.”
“Thanks, Rach. Talk to you later.” I clicked the phone off just as Cal descended on me.
“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” His breathing was ragged, his body actually shaking with anger.
I looked up at him, casting the most innocent look that I could muster. “What? I needed to make a call. I couldn’t get any service in the house so I came out here.”
Cal grabbed me by the shoulders and spun me to face the forest. He braced his forearm around my chest and pointed forward with his other hand. “They are waiting for you just beyond this tree line,” he whispered menacingly.
The chill that had raced through me before was back, gripping my stomach and making me tear up. “They?”
“Lazarus and his pack. They can’t get past our boundaries so they wait. Now that you’re here they’re watching for any opportunity, waiting for you to screw up and give them a chance to get you.” I was shaking by the time Cal spun me back around, his hands firmly gripping my shoulders and his eyes boring into me with such intensity that I didn’t dare look away. “He wants you, Morgan. You are the only one who can give him his powerful heir. The Huntress who has been marked as his bride. You are the only one who can breed for him, and the only one who can kill him.”
“Why me?” My voice trembled, anger, frustration, terror, everything boiling to the surface. “Why is this happening to me?”