“Watch out world, she’s a wild one!” Lex teases while I make myself some toast with butter.
“Knock it off. I don’t want to get sick again.”
I sulk at her.
“I know, I know.” I sense her rolling her eyes.
“Kas, do you think we can talk to our mate about shifting soon? Please?”
“Yeah. When I see him after the mall. I will make time to speak to him.”
“Thank you. So, what do you think the mall is like?”
“I don’t know. It sounds like there are stores with a ton of clothes and shoes and stuff.” I shrug a bit, not able to picture it in my mind.
She’s just about to ask another question when Lenora walks in with a blonde-haired, blue-eyed woman.
“Hi, Kas! Ready for a big day?” Lenora says with a big smile.
“This is Ashley, she is Reggie’s mate.”
“Nice to meet you, Ashley.” I smile awkwardly as she stares at me.
Oh, my Goddess.
Rude!
“Oh, sorry.” she snaps out of her stare.
“It’s an honor to meet you, Luna. I didn’t mean to stare. They said your eyes were purple, but I didn’t realize th-”
“Oh no, just Kas, please. Really. Yeah, the eye thing is a bit unsettling if you’re not prepared. It’s okay. It still freaks me out sometimes too.” I reassure her.
“Lenora, do you have a hat I can borrow? People are going to stare at me.”
“Pshh, Kas, you don’t need to worry about that. Humans dye their hair and wear weird color contacts all the time to get what you have naturally. You’re going to fit right in.”
“Alright,” I feel self-conscious, but I guess I’ll get over it.
We go to the garage where there are about thirty different cars and get into a black
BMW convertible.
“Lenora, this is your car?” I look in awe.
“Oh no.” she dismisses.
“My car is a Jaguar. It’s only a two seater, so we have to take a pack fleet car today.”
“I see. Um, so, Ashley, other than being ranked members of the pack, what do you all do for work?” I ask, trying to make small talk.
Ashley explains the jobs in detail.
“Our pack has a security company, MasonCo. We have different divisions – physical security, electronics, networks, all kinds of stuff. Bronx is CEO. Lenora is the VP of our International Contracts division. I’m the head of HR. I mostly make sure there are no problems between the werewolves and humans that work for the company. Milo and Reggie run a military-focused division that we don’t talk much about… you know… protocols and all.”
“Oh wow.” I reply.
Would I need to work for the company as well?
I do need a job after all.
“This is great! We can show them how awesome of a warrior we are!” Lex chirps.
“Don’t worry, you won’t have to work for the company when you’re Luna. Bronx needs you at home heading up pack matters.” Ashley glances back at me from the front seat.
“Dang it.” Lex huffs.
The mall is nothing like I expected.
There are people everywhere, loud noises, bright lights, and smells.
Holy cow, the food court smells like a million bucks!
There are stores just for perfume that smell overwhelming.
I-don’t understand why humans would want to smell like that.
There are more stores than I can count.
I’m pretty sure Lenora and Ashley want to go into all of them.
For every store we go into, they make me try on countless outfits and dresses, even evening gowns.
When will I ever really need an evening gown?
We buy almost everything I try on, even though I insist I don’t need it.
I was just hoping to get out of there with a couple pairs of leggings, a fewt-shirts, a bra, and some underwear.
No such luck.
Ashley has already taken three loads of bags back to the car while I’m trying on even more clothes.
All the sales people seem very familiar with Lenora and Ashley.
Their eyes light up and they practically run over to help us when we would walk into their store.
They are friendly to my face, but while I’m in the dressing rooms of several of the stores, I hear sales ladies whisper things like ‘so thin’ and ‘eating disorder’, which makes me very self-conscious.
Lex tells me not to worry about it.
Lenora must have heard also because she makes me buy some of the clothes a size bigger than what I currently am.
She loudly says she is sure I’m going to need them when I’m no longer underweight.
Our last stop before lunch is Victoria’s
Secret.
I pick up some comfy looking cotton underwear from a sale bin and Ashley grabs them out of my hand.
“Oh no no no, Kas. You can do better than that.” Ashley says with a sly smirk.
She leads me into deeper into the store where she and Lenora load my arms with silky, lacy bras and underwear and some other things they say are meant to be ‘exciting for my mate’.
But I’m not really at the mall.
I’m in the stockroom.
Ryan is on top of me, his hot breath in my ear.
Not again.
Please don’t let this be happening.
Goddess no, I can’t go through this again.
I can feel his weight on top of me, his hands roughly grabbing at me.
I squeeze my eyes shut.
I can’t believe escaping Silver Moon was just a stupid daydream.
Actually, I can.
I just can’t believe I let myself believe it was real…
but it felt so, so real
I’m not really in the stockroom.
I’m sitting in the food court.
Why the Hell would I have that flashback like that in the middle of the food court?
And why the Hell did it feel so real?
Actually, how did I get to the food court?
I don’t remember leaving Victoria’s
Secret.
Is this another daydream?
Ryan’s scent is still strong in my nose, Lenora and Ashley are sitting in front of me completely oblivious of the danger, laughing at a joke Lenora is trying to tell.
Why do I feel like none of us are safe?
Panic is starting to build
Someone is patting my face.
I shake my head and look up to find I’m still in the lingerie store.
Lenora is kneeling on the ground in front of me holding my hands and Ashley is looking at me wide eyed, gently patting my face with her hand.
“You okay, Kas?” Lenora looks at me, concerned.
“I-I just remembered something, that’s all.” My voice is shaky.
I realize I had dropped all the items they put in my arms and tears are rolling down my cheeks.
I’m not sure how to explain what just happened.
“I-Is there a bathroom?” I clear my throat.
“I just need to freshen up.”
“Yeah, I’ll take you.” Ashley takes her sleeve and wipes my tears.
“Lenora, can you pay? Meet us at the food court.”
“Of course. You’re sure you’re okay, Kas? We can go home right now if you prefer.” Lenora asks, still looking concerned.
“I’m fine.” I reassure her.
Ashley takes me by the elbow and leads me out of the store to the bathroom.
She waits outside the door while I freshen up.
When I come out, she hugs me and tells me I can always talk to her.
I return the hug and thank her.
I don’t feel like I know her well enough to trust her yet, but maybe one day.
We go to the food court where there are an infinite number of smells and restaurants.
It seems like there is every type of fast food you can think of.
“What do you want to eat?”
“Well, I’m only allowed to have bland food for now, so somewhere with breadsticks, maybe?”
“Sbarro, it is!” She texts Lenora to let her know where we’re headed.
She gets slices of pizza for her and Lenora and breadsticks for me.
Lenora meets up with us and sits next to Ashley.
They are laughing at a joke Lenora is telling.
I get an odd feeling of deja vu.
a
The distinctive scent hits me.
Ryan is here and he’s close.
My heart starts pounding.
Lenora and Ashley are still laughing, completely oblivious.
I start to panic.
Lex is on full alert in my head.
“Run, Kas! We need to run! NOW!”
“Lenora.. I – something’s wrong…I…” I stammer as I start to stand up.
I can feel my eyes wide with panic.
Lenora stops laughing and looks at me.
Her eyes widen and turn pitch black as she looks past my shoulder.
A hand claps the back of my neck hard and squeezes with sharp claws extended, painfully breaking my skin, as I get pushed back down in the seat.
A little yelp escapes me.
Oh shit.