V

Leah would kill me when she found my note. I hadn’t spent much time with her recently - I had been so busy - and I was standing her up on our raincheck again. More than likely, anyone would consider me a bad friend. She would never understand how everything I hid from her, every wall I kept firmly in place, was the best way I could be a friend to her.

She was my friend, I would never deny that. But this was one of the reasons humans and the supernatural couldn’t be friends. If she found out, she would be targeted by the supernatural to avoid our existence getting out. That, or she would go insane. 

If it was just me, I would trust her to keep my secret. But, it was a whole world right in front of her, dancing on the peripheries of her sight, she couldn’t know about. 

I packed carefully. Every set of shoes I packed had heels. Wide legged pants, skirts, and leg warmers that would cover just how significant the heels were. My signature graphic tees and leather jackets. Anything that screamed the antithesis of royalty. Last but not least, I snagged the hazel colored contact lenses I kept stashed but avoided wearing at all costs. I breathed out a grounding breath. Different hairstyle, different eyes, different fashion choices, different height. If I could avoid shifting, no one would ever know it was me.

I slipped out of the apartment as silently as I could, locking the door behind me. If I was lucky, Leah wouldn’t call demanding answers for a while yet. 

My poor S10 protested starting. I hadn’t been starting her much recently, and it was an early nineties truck. She needed a bit more care than my knowledge, time, and budget allowed. But, it was a manual - also known as theft proof in the current age - and had a bed and was the only thing I’d been able to find in my budget. I could afford to replace her now, but I had grown attached. 

I rolled through town, wondering if I would ever see this place again. I was not dumb, there was a very good chance I was my own worst employer and had accepted an assignment I wouldn’t come back from. The opportunities to be discovered were high, and the likelihood that I would fail was astronomical. 

But I had to try. 

And then, even if I succeeded, there was still the last wildcard. The family that replaced mine could quite easily be worse than my father and whoever his chosen heir were. 

A feeling I spent years squashing down tugged at my heartstrings the closer I got to my former home. The more I recognized the scenery, the more the homesickness grew. As much as I hated it, there was nothing I could do to change the fact that I grew up here. I would always be attached. To the land and its people. 

Maybe that’s why I had such a vendetta against the man currently sitting on the throne.

With what I knew, they were far from safe. 

You see, you could take the girl out of the pack, but you couldn’t take the pack out of the girl. 

And a pack was so much more than a group of people.

I was within territory, but still about half an hour drive from the town when I heard my truck start to sputter. 

“No, baby, c’mon,” I encouraged, trying to shift it into a better RPM range. I just needed to nurse her into town, where I could fix it. 

It was of no use, though, as it stalled out and coasted. I groaned, hitting the brakes and arguing with the faulty power steering to get it as far off the road as I could. Roads in and out of the pack weren’t highly trafficked, so they were narrow. I checked my phone, hoping I could call a tow truck, but true to Vermont fashion, there was no reception. The mountains were amazing, except for this. I’d be here for a while waiting for help. 

Of course, the easy option was to just shift and run the twenty or so miles into town and get help there. But, then I’d lose all the aspects of my disguise I so desperately needed, and someone would surely notice the auburn furred runt running through the territory. They’d either worry about a solitary pup, or recognize me. So, I simply popped the hood, got out of the truck, kicked the tire, apologized to my baby, and went to investigate. 

I stared dumbly at the engine. No reception also meant I didn’t have access to my number one mechanic’s assistant, instructional videos. I knew she had a nasty relationship with her serpentine belt, though, so I had a sneaking suspicion that would get me back on the road. 

As I was walking around to the toolbox in the cab, though, a much, much nicer truck coasted to a stop behind me. I grabbed my sunglasses, pulled them over my eyes, and examined the driver carefully. Tinted windows hid what I needed to know, though. 

My stomach plummeted when the driver got out.

“Well fancy seeing you here,” an incredibly familiar, silky smooth voice crooned. 

I removed my sunglasses and studied him more carefully. The lycan’s eyes glinted mischievously in the sunlight, and a smirk teased the edges of his full lips. I had truly been hoping he would be less attractive when I could see him fully, but I was sorely mistaken. 

“You can carry on your way. I’m not a damsel in distress.”

The hint of a smirk grew. “Never assumed you were.” He held out his hand. “I’m Isaac. Isaac Ambrose.”

I paused before accepting it, returning his firm shake. He did not give any indication he registered the electricity sparking between us, but he held my hand in his a little too long. He turned it over, examining the callouses, before letting me go. “Maise.”

“Maise?”

“Just Maise.”

He cocked an eyebrow, but didn’t press further. There was no way I’d reveal my last name. “I looked for you last night. Did you not shift to get away?”

I allowed just the hint of a smile. “What would make you think that?”

“The path you took,” he told me. “Smelled like you went places a wolf wouldn’t fit.”

A full sized wolf, yes. 

“Didn’t think you’d be on your feet today, either,” Isaac continued. “But, a rogue like you that I met in a place like Djinn and Tonic, I assume you’ve got a witch or warlock friend that helped patch you up.”

I could allow him that bit of honesty. It wouldn’t hurt anything. “You’re not wrong.”

“I didn’t think getting a straight answer out of you would be that easy,” Isaac laughed. 

I was mesmerized by the sound of it, how carefree his expression was. I chastised myself. Knowing full well thoughts like this would be my downfall. I had no mate. He had no mate. This was just a simple attraction I could not fall victim to. “You’re simply asking the wrong questions if an answer is so hard to come by.”

The lycan laughed again, sending a shiver down my spine. “Well then, Just Maise, would you mind if I assist with getting this thing up and running? It’s cold out.”

I sighed, but conceded, letting him look at the engine while I retrieved the parts and tools I suspected were necessary.

A beater truck like this, and you quickly learned the things that were best to keep in a toolbox in the back.”

“Serpentine belt, I think,” Isaac called from under the hood. “I can give you a ride into -”

“I know,” I stated, cutting him off. I held up the spare I carried around. 

Was it astonishment that flashed through his eyes? Pride? I couldn’t tell. Sure, girls weren’t your first candidate for your stereotypical car guy, but I liked getting from point A to point B, and the only way that was going to happen was if I could get myself out of my own problems.

“Will you at least let me repair my ego and replace it for you?” Isaac asked.

“Fine,” I huffed, feigning frustration. In this instance, I was all talk and no walk. Between the difficulty of reaching the part that needed fixing with how… vertically challenged… I was and the fact that I was already not confident in my skills, I was more than happy for him to do me this favor. 

He was racking up quite the list of favors I owed him. 

Hopefully, he wouldn’t find out how to maximize those favors. 

Isaac turned to the engine bay and set to work. He kept glancing up, as if he had something to say. I avoided looking at his face, though, or else I could do something stupid. 

“What happened to your eyes?” he finally asked. 

I turned to look at him fully, glaring at him. “I have no idea what you are talking about.”

“Hm,” he shrugged. “Well, you should be good to go.”

I nodded, thanking him quietly, before scrambling back into the cab and slamming the door. I really hoped he didn’t notice how frantic I was to get out of his presence.