Page 20 of Diners, Damsels & Wolves

Taping the card to the calendar on the fridge, she circled pay day in red, then wrote in all caps, ‘CALL.’

Clarissa was ashamed of herself for waiting this long to do it. Rachel took her in and put her whole life on hold to raise her when she needed it most. She deserved better from her now.

When the illness got bad ten years ago, she was more cognizant of the time. She got confused occasionally but she was still okay to see the neighbors, call her friends on the phone, and do her needlepoints. It wasn’t until recently she’d gotten worse. Sure, Rachel was still eating and drinking, but she didn’t seem to do anything else, and that wasn’t good.

After a less than satisfactory dinner, Clarissa took Rachel on a walk. It was shorter than yesterday due to the sun setting on them, but it was better than nothing. They talked about plans for their junior prom, Rachel thinking she was also in high school.

Back at the double-wide, with minimal guidance from Clarissa, Rachel did the dishes. Afterward, she showered while Clarissa did her nightly prep: cleaning, refilling Rachel’s water bottles, then making her a plate for lunch, a peanut butter sandwich with apple slices, covering it, and placing it in the fridge with a note reading ‘Eat Me.’

After a short deliberation, she made herself a sandwich too and wrapped it up for breakfast. She had to get up earlier than normal tomorrow and was likely to be less grumpy if she ate.

With her chores done and Rachel asleep, Clarissa rushed through her nightly routine, eager to lay down at last. Her body ached for sleep, but her mind reeled.

Worrying about Rachel and bills, she could hardly keep up with everything as it was; now she needed to find the cash for a home aide and more medical testing. Thinking about her conversation with Donna, she laughed. Maybe she should find a titty bar to work at.

Thoughts of the diner brought her mind to the good Samaritan, Thomas. The knowledge that he didn’t want to be a stranger to her anymore made her chest feel warm. Although she knew it shouldn’t.

Clarissa hadn’t changed her mind. She didn’t want to—couldn’t—date right now. She didn’t have the time or the capacity to. Her tank was already running on empty; physically, and emotionally. It didn’t matter how kind he was, how much she enjoyed those brief moments in his presence, how badly she wanted to see him again, because it couldn’t go anywhere.

Falling into a fitful sleep, she had vivid dreams. A picnic with a red-haired lumberjack. She listened to him talk about his life and his family. They shared their thoughts and dreams with each other over piles of fresh food. He kissed her softly, running his hand through her hair.

Somewhere in the kiss, a grizzly bear charged at them from the woods. The man ran forward and fought it off as it tried to attack her.

Five

Thomas

Nose to the ground, the scent of rotten leaves mixed with the fresh rain. Nothing.

He threw his head back, and a howl ripped from his throat. Waiting, he gazed at the moon. Its silver light fought to shine against the onslaught of storm clouds, haloing the fine needles of the pine trees and spring buds. His eyes had no problem seeing into the depths of the forest’s shadows. His ear twitched; he heard them coming in from the west before he saw them. Three sets of heavy feet running over the forest.

“Hiya, Tom,” Sam thought.

“You called, Alpha,” Nathon thought.

Sara came up last, sitting quietly at their sides watching, like normal.

“You know you don’t have to call me that, Nathon,” Tom replied.

He loathed that term, associating it with the previous generation of tyrants and jackasses. A long and terrible legacy that he was unfortunately a part of. One he was trying so hard to rise above. Despite the progress he’d made, this last year had been absolute hell.

The second he’d stepped in for his dad, he’d lost any semblance of privacy or self he may have had, the pack always in his house, on his mind, and on his damned phone.

Taking it in strides, he opted to make the best of it, using his position to make changes to the stale pack traditions. The elders fought him every step of the way and his pack was bound to have some sort of melodramatic crisis every other week. The strain of it all was wearing him down to the bone.

Unwillingly, his mind wondered back to the accident. The sound of the chain snapping, tons of lumber crashing to the earth, and the deafening screams of his father. As shifters, they were used to being next to impervious … The accident shook the pack to its core. The angry knot of anxiety that’d been building in his core for the last year clawed at his chest.

“That’s what you are though, isn’t it?” Nathon thought.

“I prefer ‘boss of the family,’ it’s more ‘Godfather.’” Sam snorted a chuckle.

“Amazing movie!” Nathon added. “Sara, add that to our list, we’re watching it on our next movie night.”

“Have you never seen it, Sara?” Sam was incredulous. “It’s a cinematic masterpiece, how can anyone get to adulthood without having seen it?”

“She lives a sad life. I’m doing the best I can to educate her,” Nathon thought.

“Will you two idiots shut up!” Sara’s thoughts came as a snip. “Can’t you tell boss man’s a bit worried over here? The pack is being threatened, you two could stand to take that more seriously.”