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Chapter 3 – Chicago

“Seante!” I recognized her scent as soon as I opened the door and greeted the she-wolf sitting on my sofa. Seante was not only my music tutor growing up, but she had become a good friend to the family these last nine years.

“Hello my dear. I have some excellent news for you.” She turned my television off and gave me a hug.

“I love good news.”

“There was a last-minute opening for the workshop in Chicago, someone had to cancel, and I was able to get you squeezed in!” She said excitedly.

“Are you serious?” I practically jumped up and down.

“I sure am!” She laughed.

“Oh Goddess! Thank you! Thank you Seante, you’re an angel.” I hugged her. “I can’t believe I’m finally going to meet Herr Richart. I need to book a flight and pack.”

“I’ve already booked the flight and made the arrangements. We leave from Heathrow tomorrow at noon.”

“Wonderful! Wait, are you coming with me?”

“Of course. I promised your mother I would.” She smiled. “Do you have a concert tonight?”

“Yes. I’ll let the symphony know of my absence for a week this evening. Have you eaten? I picked up some fish and chips.” I offered.

“Thank you, I ate before I arrived. If you don’t mind, I’m just going to take a nap before the concert this evening.”

“A nap sounds great. Do you want to go out to dinner after the concert or should we pick something up?” I asked.

“Maybe we could order take out this evening from the pub on the corner. It’s Sunday, they should have a roast dinner on the menu. I love British roast with Yorkshire pudding.”

“I’ll call it in for pickup this evening after the concert.” I told her. Every self-respecting pub in London has the traditional Sunday roast dinner on the menu.

Seante made her way to one of the guest rooms in my flat. This was her second time here and I had given her the digital code for the lock the last time. There’s something very gentle and kind about her that has always made me feel at ease. Having her here made me a little less home sick.

Seante is a single wolf in her early forties. She was living alone in Athens, teaching music when my grandmother discovered her. She’s been with our pack ever since. She has blond hair, hazel eyes, a soft smile, and a small frame. I’m always surprised she’s remained mate-less given how beautiful she is.

I sat down at the dining table to eat my fish and chips while they were still crispy warm. The cod fillets were huge and could easily feed two or three people. I ripped one in half and my mouth started watering at the sound of the crispy batter crunching. The flakey white meat was fresh and delicious. I picked up the little wooden, two prong, chip fork and stabbed a thick potato chip with it. I’ve never been a fan of green peas but the traditional side order of mushy peas they serve with the fish and chips is surprisingly good when you dip your chips in it. The first time I saw the mushy peas, I thought it was guacamole.

I finished eating and decided to start packing for Chicago. I checked the weather in Chicago this time of year and it’s much like London. With my suitcase nearly packed, I decided to also take a nap before the concert this evening.

A few hours later, I was dressed in my black velvet concert dress with the crown of my thick black hair pinned back. I applied a little bit of black eyeliner and mascara around my blue eyes to really make them pop. Then I finished off my face with rose blush and merlot colored lipstick. I stepped out of my room to find Seante ready and waiting.

“Cassi, you look wonderful.” She told me with a proud glimmer in her eyes.

“Thank you. The cab should be arriving in five minutes.”

“Should we bring an umbrella?” She asked.

“This is London. You should always bring an umbrella.” I laughed.

We arrived at the symphony hall and Seante went to find her seat for the concert. I found the orchestra manager and let her know that I would be leaving for the workshop in Chicago tomorrow. She congratulated me and let me know the alternate would be filling in for me during my absence.

Once the concert had concluded some of the patrons waited to meet and greet with the conductor and orchestra members. I picked up the faint scent of another wolf but couldn’t differentiate them in a crowd of people. I knew that I could not be scented because I was drinking evvie tea to mask my scent, but Seante would. I could scent her this evening.

“Where are you?” I mind linked Seante.

“I’m in the ladies room.” She replied.

“I’m scenting another wolf here. I’ll meet you in the front lobby and we’ll catch a cab home.” I told her as I put my jacket on and walked out to the lobby.

I asked the cab driver to drop us off at the corner pub and we picked up the Sunday roast specials I had ordered. As we reached the front lobby doors to my building, the rain started to drizzle down. I had been in London just over a month and still wasn’t used to riding the underground tubes. My building was right by Temple station and I was familiar with the circle line in zone one, but I lived so close to everything that I usually walked.

The next morning, I woke up to the smell of bacon frying and Seante cooking in the kitchen.

“Good morning. Looks like it’s finally going to be a clear day in London and we’re leaving.” She laughed.

“Hopefully, you’ll get to enjoy more of Chicago than I will. The schedule for the workshop is jam packed.” I told her.

“It’s going to be wonderful, I’m sure. I steeped some extra evvie tea, so we can both have some. After last night, I should also mask my scent, never know who we might run into.”

“The tea usually masks my scent up to three days, so we’ll have to bring some to Chicago with us.” I told her as I sipped on the cup of tea.

The last time my mother visited she had the dried evvie herb stuffed in big teabags for steeping. She said I could easily carry around a few pouches in a tin box, in my purse, and it would look like a normal British tea obsession. We had bacon, eggs, and toast for breakfast. In typical British fashion, we also enjoyed our tea before we finished getting ready and ordered the cab.

I wanted to be comfortable on the plane, so I slipped on a gray sweater dress, black tights, and gray heeled boots. I left my hair in loose waves and slipped on my large silver hooped earrings. I wheeled my suitcase out of my room and one of my cello’s. The cello I was taking was in a hard travel case with wheels, which made it easier to transport. I walked around the flat making sure everything was turned off and locked up. We stepped into the lift and before the doors closed, Conner also slipped in.

“Hey Cassi, going somewhere?” He asked.

“As a matter of fact, I am. A spot opened up for that workshop in Chicago, so I’m going after all.” I had told him about the workshop two weeks ago when I wasn’t originally selected.

“Sweet. Chicago seems to be the happening place. The head of our division is going to Chicago too, there’s a big security software convention happening this week.” He told us.

“Sounds exciting.” I said with sarcasm in my voice, and he laughed.

“How long will you be gone?” He asked.

“About a week.”

“Well, be sure to have some of that wonderful deep dish Chicago pizza for me. Have fun and I’ll see you when you get back.”

“Thanks Conner.” I smiled as we stepped off the lift into the lobby.

An hour later, we checked in our luggage and I paid extra to have my cello handled with special care. We waited in a long line to go through airport security and had to present our passports. By the time we made it through we only had half an hour before boarding would begin at our gate.

“Oh no!” Seante said as she rummaged through her large purse.

“What’s the matter?” I asked as she continued pulling items out of her bag and handing them to me.

“I left the evvie teabags on the counter in the kitchen.”

“Chicago is the third largest city in the U.S., can’t we find some there?”

“You know how rare it is. I doubt anyone in the States has ever heard of it. I’ll have to go back and get it. I can catch the next flight.” She told me.

“We can reschedule both our seats for a later flight. I’ll go with you.”

“NO. Your cello and our luggage will already be on the flight and you have to be at the hotel for the orientation this evening. Chicago is six hours behind us, but the direct flight is nine hours. You’ll barely have enough time to get to the hotel and checked in before you’re required to attend the orientation.”

“Are you sure I can’t be late? It’s just orientation.”

“Absolutely not. These are serious musicians, they could kick you out of the entire workshop. No, it’s fine. I know how to get back to the flat, I can manage. We can’t have you in that big city without masking your scent. I’ll be a few hours late, but I will get there.” She gave me a quick hug and rushed off.

I sat near the boarding gate waiting for the flight to start boarding. I caught the scent of another wolf and could sense an aura, which means there was a ranked wolf near me. Wolves have scents that are unique to them, it’s different from human scents. It allows us to recognize another wolf no matter what their rank is. A ranked wolf is either an Alpha, Beta, Gamma or Delta. Their wolf aura is strong and allows other wolves to easily differentiate them in the hierarchy.

The man sitting near me, who was engrossed in his laptop is a Delta. Very few wolves could hide their aura through suppression, and I was one of them. It’s not that my wolf Cia couldn’t handle herself, it’s that we’ve learned even the strongest of Alpha’s is not invincible. That and I was also in the human environment. I reached into my purse and pulled out the brochure for the workshop and reviewed it again. Soon enough a voice rang out on the overhead speakers that caught my attention.

“Good morning ladies and gentlemen, flight 1805 direct, nonstop to Chicago, O’Hare International Airport, is open for boarding at gate A19. At this time, we’d like to ask all first-class ticket holders to please step forward and begin boarding.”

I looked down at my ticket and noticed that Seante had booked us in first-class. I draped my purse over my shoulder and walked to the ticket agent with my passport and boarding pass. I was in the very first row and took the large leather, cocoon type of seat next to the window. The attendant asked me for my drink order, and I requested a coke. When she came back with my drink, she placed a dinner menu on my table for the inflight service. There was a vegetarian option, shrimp and pasta, steak, or duck. I selected the duck.

The Delta wolf with the laptop boarded the plane and took the last seat in the back of the first-class compartment. The attendant brought him a glass of red wine before he even had the chance to settle into his seat.

“Hello Mr. Wilder, how lovely to see you again.” She greeted him. I gathered he was a regular flyer, perhaps he traveled back and forth between Chicago and London for business.

“Thank you, Lora.” He reached for the glass of wine and accidentally spilled some on his shirt.

“Oh, I’m terribly sorry sir.” She said as she handed him a napkin.

“No worries, I can always change my shirt when we get to Chicago, before I attend the meeting.” He had a thick British accent and sounded good natured considering he was actually a wolf. Most ranked wolves are usually temperamental or short fused.

It was almost ten o’clock at night in London when the plane reached Chicago. However, it was still sunny and bright in Chicago and the current time was three thirty in the afternoon. I had been able to get some sleep on the plane but was stirred awake with that same dream that always seemed to disrupt my sleep.

I was first to deplane and followed the signs to the luggage carousel. The walls of the airport featured marketing ads for iconic places to visit in the windy city. Places like Navy Pier, Millennium Park, The River Walk, Lincoln Park Zoo, River Cruises, and the Adler Planetarium were just a few places featured. The Adler Planetarium was the very first planetarium built in America and it’s the one place I’m definitely going to visit during my trip this week.

I waited at the luggage conveyor belt for the suitcases. A young man wheeled my cello out as I stacked both suitcases on a luggage cart and set my cello on top of them. I saw the Delta wolf from earlier collect his suitcase and wheel it towards the rest rooms, I assume to change his wine stained shirt.

I felt a little anxious being alone in this big unfamiliar city and found myself reaching into the side pouch of my suitcase for my lucky little pocketknife. I usually carried it in my purse but had to slip it into my check-in luggage for the flight. It once belonged to my mother and helped save her life. Now it belongs to me and I tucked it in my boot next to my calf.

I wheeled my cart outside in hopes of finding a cab. The hotel and convention center are in the heart of downtown Chicago and the orientation starts in about two hours. I walked by the taxi area and saw several limousines and cars with drivers holding up signs. Then I noticed a red headed driver holding up a sign that read LaRue Enterprises.

I wasn’t expecting a car, but then, Seante was the one who booked the travel arrangements. My grandmother, Raven LaRue Theodorus, is still the CEO of my great grandparents’ global enterprise. I pushed my cart towards the driver who was clearly a high ranked wolf and possibly my grandmother’s idea of security.

“LaRue Enterprises?” He asked.

“Yes.” I replied and he scrambled to load my luggage and cello in the car.