by Mel Corbett
"What do you do at your," he paused for effect dragging out the word, "environmental firm?"
"They call it due diligence. Need to make sure that who says they own the land actually does." Naomi shrugged. "That means, I get to dig through musty file rooms accounting records and research paper trails. Pretty boring stuff."
"For the most part, so is my job." Naomi's phone rang, interrupting him.
Mindy bitched about being Naomi's personal chauffeur, but agreed to drive them. She just didn't want to get too close, so Naomi told her to meet them at the corner.
"Vampires, huh?" Jeff said.
"Yeah, but I think she likes being needed once in a while." Naomi and Jeff walked past the condos towards the noise of Folsom Boulevard. "You now, it's pretty cool to find another wolf who doesn't want the pack to take care of everything."
Jeff shrugged. "Someone has to take care the pack once in a while."
Naomi studied him, looking for some sign of a lie since he didn't seem like the team player, but he seemed to mean it.
"That's an alpha attitude if I ever heard one," she said.
"I'm not trying to rise above my place. It's just–this sort of fell into my lap and I decided to handle everything by the book."
"What happened?"
"Pretty boy Marcus got all the human girls after him."
"And?" Naomi asked.
"And they accused him of… Well, let's just say I proved he was innocent." Jeff clearly didn't want to say more. Mindy pulled up to them in Naomi's bug.
"Great, just what I need," Mindy said as they open the doors. "Two of you."
"Thank you Mindy. I appreciate you helping me find my brother."
"You damn well convinced me they're going to start hunting me down too, if we don't fix this." Mindy peeled out before Jeff and Naomi even buckled their seat belts. "Who's he?"
"I'm Jeff. I thought maybe you guys could use a little help with the flower shop."
"A little help, huh?" Mindy looked pointedly at Naomi. "Mother didn't want you alone with me, did she?"
Naomi shook her head, no."Mom's kind of gone a little crazy with this."
"Wouldn't you? Her whole existence is going to be destroyed because her son wasn't careful."
"He was careful. They used magic–"
"They had to find out somehow. It was either you or him that wasn't careful."
CHAPTER TWELVE
THE FLOWER SHOP WAS IN one of those small brown one-story buildings at the outskirts of downtown. It could have held something like the Sushi Palace or the General Store, but the white and pink sign declared it was Sacramento City Florist. Mindy parked about a block down the street, in front of the Mexican food joint so the car wouldn't draw attention to them going to the flower shop after hours.
"Would we do if they're at the shop? Are we kicking ass and taking names?" Naomi asked. She clenched her fists in anticipation. The moon was up and she felt strong.
"We might wind up running like hell if we find anyone," Mindy said. Naomi try to peek through the window, but it was too dark to see through the tinted windows. She couldn't hear or see anything inside. Unless they were hidden in some kind of soundproof office, no one was there.
"How do you want to do this?" Mindy asked. Naomi shook her head. She'd never even thought about breaking and entering before.
"I can pick it, unless you have another way to let us in," Jeff said, but Mindy was already circling to the back of the building.
"Maybe they forgot to lock up the garage," Mindy called over her shoulder.
"Or maybe the other lock is easier to pick," muttered Jeff. In the alley a small padlock hung from the garage door. "Easier to pick," Mindy said as she knelt down. She grasped the lock, grimaced slightly then rose to her feet with the lock in her hands.
"That was quick, Jeff said. Mindy handed him the broken lock.
"I guess that's one way to get in," Naomi said laughing. She took the crumpled lock from Jeff, examining it. It was so smashed that she didn't anyone would even recognize it as a lock. She went to drop it, but before it slipped from her fingers Jeff closed his hand around hers. "That's evidence against us," he said. She handed him the lock he raised an eyebrow at her.
"Women's clothes. No pockets," Naomi said shrugging. She opened the door, and it slammed to the top of the track with a bang. A blast of cold air hit her in the face.
"Why is it so cold in here?" Jeff asked.
"They must refrigerate it for the flowers," Naomi said. The door slammed shut, trapping them in pure darkness. Naomi's upper lip curled back and she growled low and quiet. The hairs rose on the back of her neck and her muscles tensed. The scent of vampire became overpowering. Her body tensed to shift to tear the threat apart. Suddenly, the light flickered on overhead.
"Sorry about that guys – didn't want anyone to see us coming in here." Mindy looked at them inside. "Don't rip my head off. It was a whole half a second." Mindy shook her head. "Honestly!" She pulled open the door into the main part of the shop and shoved the two wolves through it.
The ground crunched under Naomi's feet. Wilted flowers littered the ground. The two glass display cases were cracked open. The floor was warped where water must have spilled from broken vases and sat for hours untouched. Un-inflated balloons littered the counter and spilled out of a drawer. Nothing was in its place. There was a dark patch on the floor near the register who smell indicated blood. The sickly sweet smell of roses permeated the shop. Naomi could smell both decayed roses and the scent of the cloyingly sweet alcohol-based perfume.
"I don't think they're keeping him here," Mindy said.
"I know that perfume," Naomi said. "I knew it was familiar when I smelled it where Mikey disappeared, but I didn't connect it with the smell of magic." Naomi took a deep breath, considering her words carefully. "That's Ginger's perfume, but that can't be right. I just can't see her heading up this kind of thing."
"The perfume is the same as your coworker's?" Mindy asked.
"Yeah, I can't stand her." Naomi shook her head. This was not making any sense.
"Does she hate you, too?" Mindy asked.
"What?" Naomi asked startled. She understood where the questioning was going, but it didn't make sense.
"Mindy's right. Does your coworker hate you, too?" Jeff asked.
"You're saying she hates me, so she stalked me, learned I was a werewolf, learn dark magic to kidnap my little brother, and then plans to kill him and hunt down all werewolves, just because she hates me?"
"When you say it like that it sounds ridiculous," Mindy said.
"That's because it is ridiculous." Naomi chewed her lip. There was no way Miss Perfect Soccer Mom was involved.
"There what's your theory?" Mindy asked. "Her perfume didn't just get here."
"Maybe she's just another victim," Naomi suggested.
"She's only human, right? She's not any kind of –"
"No, she's not different. She's plain old-fashioned human so far as I could tell."
"Could you tell that Mac wasn't human?" Jeff asked.
"I…" Naomi shook her head. "He didn't really smell different. I mean, he smelled a little like the woods or a nature walk or something, but I just figured he actually had walked along the river."
"Ginger doesn't have anything like that, does she?" Mindy asked.
"There's nothing that sounds off about her except she loves that stupid perfume, which stinks so bad it hurts my head."
"What if it's not perfume?" Jeff asked.
"I can smell the alcohol base to it. Its perfume."
"Do you know where she lives? We can settle this right now – one little taste and I can tell fae from humans no problem," Mindy said. Naomi paced beside the counter, careful not to step in the patch of blood. Could Ginger be behind this whole thing? It just didn't seem possible.
"I don't know where she lives, or even her home phone number. I could call her manager and asked for her number. I mean I'd have to lie and say I have her wallet or some
thing."
"I can get it if I go online for long enough," Jeff said. Both women stared at him. "What? As a private investigator subscribe to a website that gives the address and your family's names, among other things." He shrugged. "It's pretty simple."
"Mindy, could we – I mean, do you have internet at your place?"
"Hell no! I am not showing two wolves where I live. You forget most of your lot wants to kill me. Take your mom for instance."
"She's the reason I don't want to go back to my place. I don't think she's cooled down at all."
"Especially not tonight," Jeff said, looking out the window up at the moon. Naomi could feel the moon tugging at her, singing and her spirit that it was time to change. "She's pissed off at Naomi."
"Mindy, you don't want to even go within miles of that place. Not with my mom that angry."
"No. I am not taking you to home with me. I'll drop you off at the corner by your house."
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
"WHERE THE HELL HAVE YOU been?" Mom ran down the driveway to meet them as they walked back from where Mindy had thrown them out. "Where is your brother?"
"He wasn't there," Naomi said, moving up the driveway.
"What you mean he wasn't there?"
"No one was there. It looks like the owner had been kidnapped too."
"Why'd you come back? Go find him!" Her mother snarled.
Naomi grabbed the side of her pants to keep from slapping her mother.
"We are trying to find him. Jeff is going to try to find where one of my coworkers lives. The whole place smelled like her perfume."
"So she did it," Mom said.
"I can't believe my coworker found out I was a werewolf and about my little brother, learned dark magic to attack him, and then called me to threaten to kill them on the capital steps. She's just a soccer mom."
"That's what most of the kids at your school would say about me." Mom stood in front of the door.
"Can't we just go inside and settle the stupid thing?" Naomi said through gritted teeth. Mom stepped aside to let her through. Naomi's foot hit something wet and squishy. Towels piled across her floor, leading up to the fish tank which lay cracked on its side next to the stand.
"Where's my fish?" Naomi knelt next to the tank.
"He's in there," mom said gesturing towards the broken tank.
"There's nothing in there!" Naomi picked up the tank and set it back on the stand. A crack ran all the way down one side. Mr. Beta Fish slid down the wall and plopped into a mess of gravel. Naomi grabbed a cup of warm water and scooped him into it.
Everyone was talking, but Mr. Beta Fish didn't move. He didn't wriggle. His tail didn't flicker. He just floated to the top belly up. Somehow Naomi was beside her mother in the living room. After everything, this was just too much.
"You killed my fish!" Naomi said, shoving her mother.
"It's not like it was useful." Mom laughed.
"I'm gone – what? Two hours? And you kill my fish?"
"It was a two dollar fish."
"One little pet keep me company and you kill it?"
Mom's smirk said it all.
"Get out." Naomi grabbed her mother's arm and yanked her toward the front door. Mom didn't budge, but the hair started to thicken under Naomi's hand. Ian shoved them apart, breaking Naomi's grip on her mom's arm. Marcus grabbed Naomi's mother from behind as Jeff penned Naomi's arms behind her back.
"Get her outside first," Jeff said. Naomi struggled against Jeff, trying to pull free, but he was stronger than she was. Marcus yanked her mother through the back door.
"You'll get your fight – just outside," Jeff growled in Naomi's ear. The others disappeared into her backyard. After what seemed like forever, Jeff finally let Naomi go. "Don't shift in your clothes," he said turning to face Naomi, his hands on her shoulders. "Take the time to change. Be dominant, not reactive." His lips brushed Naomi's cheek softly.
He left her standing in her own living room. Naomi took a deep breath down to her belly to regain her control. She stripped down and folded her clothes on the couch. The moon made her skin sing the moment Naomi stepped into its light. Four piles of clothes lay scattered across Naomi's backyard. Naomi avoided the large russet bitch's gaze.
Naomi reached towards the moon, her cool night kissing at Naomi's skin. The change came fast and hard. Naomi's jaw squeezed in from the sides as it jutted forward as her eyes slid back. Her ears erupted towards the top of her head and she fell, have changed, to her hands and knees.
A second later, Naomi was pure wolf.
The russet bitch leapt the fence as if Naomi's change were a signal. The males followed, separating them, delaying their battle. Deer scattered at their approach. Naomi snapped to at the quail who cowered as she passed. This was her home and she would rule it is queen. Naomi nipped impatiently at the burly blond wolf in front of her. Pretty boy needed to let this fight happen.
A half-mile or so from Naomi's home, in as deep of wilderness as possible, her mother leapt back to Naomi and the males didn't block her approach.
The two females circled each other, looking for weakness. Mom was old. Gray marred her reddish fur, but the muscles beneath were still solid.
The older wolf lunged for Naomi's legs. Naomi leapt over her. She attacked again as Naomi landed.
Naomi spun, meeting her blow. Naomi snapped. Her teeth going for the older bitches throat. Now she would take her down. Family did not mean slave. Just because she was the daughter she didn't have to obey mindlessly. Not in her own home.
The older wolf slammed into Naomi's legs. She stumbled, tripping over her mother. The wiry black wolf – Jeff – yowled, distracting the older wolf to give Naomi time to regain her feet. Naomi backed away, shaking her head. Jeff was right. Her anger was a tool. She could not let it control her – not if she wanted to win.
Naomi snapped at her mother's tail. Naomi would play her game. Anger, not injure. Aggravate her, until she stopped thinking. She would wear her mother down. The two females continued toying with each other.
Mom stumbled, slow to react to Naomi's taunt.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
Not just a ploy then, she was actually tiring. Naomi feinted for her legs, mom crouched and Naomi leaped on her her back instead. Her mother shook from side to side, Naomi clung to her, almost wishing for her hands. She rolled with her mother, dragging her over again. Clawing, biting. Finally, somehow, mom lay belly up, her throat and soft belly Naomi's for the taking. Naomi could take the whole pack for hers if she wanted to. Naomi just had to finish her off.
But she only wanted her own sovereignity over herself and her town. Naomi gently closed her teeth on her mother's throat, just enough to touch the skin through the fur without breaking it. Then she released her mother.
Naomi led the hunt for her favorite: wild turkey.
##
Mom took over Naomi's bed as soon as they got back to the house. She was sore from the fight, but Naomi's body pulsed with a newfound energy. Jeff easily found Ginger's address, so Naomi and the men left to go talk to Ginger.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
BY THE TIME THEY PULLED up to Ginger's house in Elk Grove, the moon had become a pale shadow of herself in the pink sky. She almost looked like a cloud, but she still called to Naomi. Naomi felt strong and ready for anything. She was alpha.
Naomi rang the bell, but it wasn't as satisfying as pounding on the door would have been. Especially if Bryan were tied up somewhere nearby. Then, he could've heard the pounding.
A man yanked open the door, wearing nothing but a pair of boxers and robe thrown over his shoulders. "He glared at the four of them. "Who the hell are you and what do you want at five am?"
"I work with your wife," Naomi said, recognizing him from millions of photos. "I need to see her right now. It's urgent."
"This could have waited at least until… I don't know, the sun was at least all the way up? Get out of here and call later like a normal perso
n. Ginger's asleep."
"Please, it's urgent," Naomi said.
"Fuck you." He tried to slam the door.
Ian caught it. "I wouldn't do that if I were you."
"You come to my home, demand to speak to my wife, and then threaten me? At my house? Where my family lives?" The men yanked Ian's hand off the door. "Get the fuck out of here before I call the cops."
Naomi shoved the man hard. He stumbled back, then looked at her stunned. "I pack a bigger punch the might think. Now, let us talk to your wife." This asshole was between her and Bryan, and Naomi only had one day to find her brother. "My little brother was kidnapped and have reason to believe that she is involved."
"What? Why the hell would Ginger kidnap anyone?"
"You tell me, Mr. Monroe." Two tweens peeked around the hallway corner into the front room
"Kids, go to bed. This doesn't concern you," Ginger said from down the hall. "Maybe you better let them in, hon, the cops won't do much good against them."
"Ginger?" he asked, turning back towards the tired woman who'd just appeared.
"I know her. Let me talk to her. You, you go back to bed." Her husband nodded obediently, before disappearing down the hall.
"Please, sit down, all four of you." Ginger said indicating the living room couch. "Can I offer you some coffee? You must have had a long night. Last night was the full moon, wasn't it?"
"Coffee would be wonderful, Mrs. Monroe," Ian said. Naomi elbowed him hard. "What?"
"Don't worry. I wouldn't put anything in it." Ginger rose and busied herself in the kitchen. "Now, why are you accusing me?"
"Because you were there." Naomi said rolling prize.
"Naomi, I didn't even know you had a brother. How could I have kidnapped him?" Her heartbeat remained regular and even. Her breathing didn't change at all. It was either the truth or she was a really good liar.
"Then why was his fear all mixed in with the smell of your perfume?"
"I'm not the only one with this perfume."
"Yeah right." Naomi snorted.
"I buy it to cover up my scent in case someone like you realizes I'm not human." She shook her head. "A lot of other changelings wear it too. Especially the ones like me who try to blend in."
