Four

PHOENIX

'Nixy? Earth to Nixy!' someone whispered, sending cold shivers down my spine. I turned abruptly to see Caleb staring intently at me, his green eyes ablaze with worry.

'Oh Caleb, I didn't see you there' I mused, subtly shaking my head to calm my racing thoughts.

Caleb merely looked at me, his eyebrows sardonically raised.

'scrubbing tables is not part of your job description' he mused, his raised brows daring me to deny it.

'oh come on Caleb, I can handle it. Besides you have helped me more times than I can count. I owe it to you to help' I said trying to quickly finish up before he decided to grab the sponge off my soggy hands.

Caleb merely gave a sigh of defeat, breathing in deeply.

'okay then, do what you want. You can be stubborn when you want to be. I am heading out. Why don't we quickly grab dinner. It's my treat' he said.

'Sure Caleb. Let me just finish with this'

It was past nine when I eventually arrived home. The shadows casted by the trees kept me company, oddly giving me some comfort as I dug through my backpack in search of my keys. I nearly screeched in joy when my fingers closed in on the clanking metal. I opened the door and headed straight for my bedroom.

I quickly headed into the washroom, undressed and hopped into the shower, my place of repose.

I let the events of the day rush through my mind as I rid my body of all the day's dirt. I fought to keep my tears in but I just couldn't. Seeing Mom like that was always too much for me.

The sound of shower being turned off permeated the washroom as I turned to stare at the reflection on the foggy glass.

Dull green eyes stared back at me, the sight uncanny. Unlike my Mom and Dad who both had brown hair, I had fiery red hair, the color of fire. My wolf's fur was also fiery red. I guess that doubled as another reason why I was seen as unfortunate. It wasn't common to see a wolf whose fur was red. My hair was two inches away from my waist. It always got in the way due to its length but I couldn't bring myself to cut it. Mom had always helped me comb it and I could tell she had loved playing with my hair.

I had eyes, the color of the forest and pink lips, a shade darker than nude. One couldn't exactly call my features pretty, I thought.

I shook my head to banish my ill thoughts and I jumped into bed. I was tired but I looked forward to the next day. I would see Mom again. That thought alone brought a smile to my face and with that I drifted off to sleep.

I woke up the next day, groaning and desperately trying to rub sleep out of my eyes. The rays of the sun were seeping through my window blinds, teasing my sleep ladened eyes.

I reached over to shut off the sound of my tireless alarm clock only to see silent digits stare back at me. I stared at it in confusion, wondering if I had slept through it piercing rings.

I was snapped out of my thoughts when I scrambled to check the time.

I was so late for work!

I was going to quickly hop into shower before rushing off for work.

A thought however rushed into my head, ceasing my movements.

No missed calls from Caleb.

He would have called like a million times if I hadn't showed up for work.

I checked my Calendar and saw it was a Saturday. I breathed a sigh of relief, I didn't have a shift today. I collapsed back into bed thinking of what to do with the day.

I decided to clean the house. It was in dire need of cleaning anyways. Mom and I would always do so every Saturday.

The distinct sound of vacuum whooshing filled up the air as I moved the vacuum from room to room.

In the living room, two black Belgian sofas faced each other, white throw pillows randomly littered on them while two white cushion chairs faced each other, black throw pillows on them.

The chairs were arranged in a small semi circle with a sliver tempered glass table, fresh black roses adorning it. There was also a small mahogany indoor swing and a rocking chair. A huge black flat screen TV was hooked on the wall, giving the home, a well furnished, vibrant feel. The tiles, my favorite part, were black and white similar to a chess board.

The kitchen was furnished in similar colours with state of the art kitchen appliances. Upstairs, there were four master bedrooms and a guest room. Overall, the entire house was designed and furnished in mom's favorite colours - black and white - and taste by Dad to please her. Why he would just suddenly up and leave was completely beyond me!

I dusted all the rooms thoroughly before heading to the attic. There was a lot of junk and I was positive I would spend an awfully long time here. I heaved a sigh and plugged in my headphones, making a mental note to go grocery shopping to fill up the pantry later on.

I started arranging the family's old junk, putting all of Mom's old dresses, shoes and bags in a box. I also packed all the family photos out of the boxes I had previously kept them in and went down to hang them in the living room and in the hallways. I had taken the photographs off the walls to help Mom cope with Dad's disappearance.

I headed back into the attic to sort out Dad's junk, putting them all in one box. I was almost done when I came across a small ancient looking box. It smelled of age but looked well kept and I wondered what could be in it. It had a lot of carvings and weird etchings on it and I didn't understand what they meant. The box looked oddly familiar.

I was about to open the intricately designed box when my phone rang. The voice on the other end startled me, grabbing my undivided attention.

'Nixy' yelled an anxious sounding Caleb.

'hi Caleb'

'what are you doing Nixy?' he sounded nervous or was he stressed?

'I was cleaning the house up until you called. I even came across a funny looking box. I have absolutely no idea what could be....'

Caleb spoke up quickly, cutting off my rant, his voice still full of anxiety.

'Nixy, we could talk about that box later. I need your help'. I nodded for him to continue, completely forgetting the fact that he couldn't see me. He continued anyways.

'Nixy do you remember that Alpha from the Blood red Pack, the one with whom Alpha Rain is to negotiate business alliance with? He is here in our pack' he rushed out.

'okay. So what does that have to do with anything' I replied, completely confused. I just couldn't understand why he sounded so tensed.

'He is in our pack to negotiate some business with Alpha Rain. Alpha Rain would be taking the Alpha and his entourage for sight seeing around the pack. Once they are done, they would stop in my restaurant to get a late lunch' he half yelled, his tension skyrocketing.

'OK so....'

'look Nixy, I need you here. Please come help me. I am a mess of tensed nerves right now and I can hardly even get the menu right. I .....' He rambled on, me scarcely hearing him over his laboured breathing.

I cleared my throat, effectively putting an end to his tense rambling.

'OK. Give me fifteen minutes to freshen up. I will soon be there. Guess this cleaning will have to wait. Meanwhile before I get there, quickly look in the fridge and get all the ingredients you can find. Try to think of what we can make with them. I am on my way' I replied, already making my way to my bedroom to quickly shower, the weird box still in hand.

Caleb breathed in deeply, sighing with hope.

'Thanks Nixy, you're a life saver'.