Chapter 3 Chapter 3
Jolene
“Your stuff?” Lexington asks, his voice as dull as the grey outfits of the helpers surrounding us. “How the hell should I know where your stuff is? I’m the Alpha, not a luggage handler.”
“Well, you grabbed us, didn’t you?” I ask, batting my eyelashes ever so sweetly. I’m pretty sure I could charm a cactus into blooming, even with the strange gunk still clinging to my skin. “You didn’t take our things? A girl has needs, you know. Like dry shampoo and maybe a wet wipe to clean ourselves?”
“We grabbed you after you shifted,” he stresses, his jaw tightening. “I… that is to say, we,” he gestures vaguely at the shadows, “don’t have your stuff. We only collected the… the problem.”
“The problem being us, I assume,” I mumble, folding my arms. “Then how are we supposed to get home? Walk? In this gorgeous, rugged landscape that clearly eats shoes?”
Lexington looks over his shoulder at the mystery man lurking in the darkness - a man so shadowed he could be Batman’s less-fashionable cousin. “Should we like… get some cars or a bus or something?” the Alpha asks, sounding genuinely perplexed, as if public transport were a mythical beast.
“I don’t know. I didn’t think…” the shadow guy mutters. “Maybe order some taxies for them? Use the king’s platinum card, obviously.”
Finally, someone else’s hand goes up in the air. A man to my left, who looks like a disgruntled accountant, is a little hesitant, but he seems determined. He clears his throat nervously. “Excuse me… eh, Alpha?”
“What?” Lexington snaps, clearly already regretting his career choice.
“Are we supposed to believe you? I mean, we have to go on your say-so alone? I’d like to see some ID, maybe a notarized statement from the Werewolf King?”
“Oh right, yes, proof. The king said… this is my first day doing an orientation, I’m still… anyway,” Lexington grumbles, rubbing the bridge of his nose like he has a werewolf-sized headache.
Lexington reaches into the shadows behind him and yanks out a man that’s almost as impressive as he is. He’s slightly shorter and not as broad in the shoulders - a relief, really, because the world only needs one Alpha with that much BDE - but at least as handsome.
Unlike Lexington, he actually smiles. “I’m Beta Preston,” he announces with a cheeky little grin and a charming wave that makes a few of the newly-shifted women sigh audibly.
I like him right away. He’s much nicer than Captain Grumpy Pants.
“So,” Preston says, his eyes twinkling. “I’m supposed to demonstrate a shift. Try not to scream too loudly; it hurts my ears.” He pulls his shirt over his head, revealing a first-class washboard stomach and bulging biceps that look like they belong on a Greek god.
I’m starting to think this 'werewolf' life might have some perks. “This is a little jarring, but I promise I won’t harm you. I have my wolf well under control. Think of him as a very large, slightly clingy golden retriever.”
He undoes his belt, kicks off his shoes, and the moment he pulls his trousers down, he shifts. It’s like watching a high-speed, muscular kaleidoscope. In a dizzying moment of popping bones and stretching skin, he transforms into a magnificent tan-coloured wolf the size of a small outhouse.
I gasp and lurch back, my stomach jumping into my throat. The shift is terrifying, beautiful, and utterly unbelievable.
Okay. Now I believe. I was a little uncertain, but the evidence is right in front of me. The man clearly went from human to animal in less than two blinks of the eye.
The people around me start to babble, scream, and cry all at once. One woman starts praying in what I think is Latin.
I sit quietly, transfixed by the beautiful animal.
“There you have it,” Lexington says, sounding utterly bored, and holds his hands out to Preston like he’s a magician who just pulled a very fluffy rabbit out of a hat. “Proof. Please try to contain your existential dread, shall we.”
“No way,” I whisper in awe, feeling a goofy grin spread across my face. This is so much better than ghost hunting. This is a banger.
I’m going to make so much money from this. I’ll be able to move out of my dingy one bedroom, perhaps leave this no man’s town and live a life not tied to my past. This is it. The big one. The story that makes careers.
Preston, the giant wolf, looks in my direction, and I swear he blinks - a very wolfy, intelligent blink - before he trots back into the shadows still in his wolf form, his modesty still clearly intact.
“Do we have any more questions?” Lexington asks, his voice dangerously low.
My hand automatically shoots up into the air. Old habits die hard, especially when faced with the supernatural.
“Nooo, no, Jolene,” Lexington says with a stern gaze that could melt steel, and I suddenly don’t feel so sure of myself anymore. “You’ve asked quite enough questions. And I have other things I need to do today. If you survive, maybe we can talk again.”
No one else seems to have any questions, probably fearing the Alpha's terrifying aura. It is real, palpable, frightening… and utterly exhilarating.
The crowd gradually settles down until the only sounds are soft whimpers.
“Alrighty,” Lexington announces and claps his hands together, the sound echoing in the strange, cavernous space. “I assume you all live in town somewhere, so I’ll get some Omegas-”
My hand shoots back in the air before I can stop it. “What’s an Omega?”
Lexington fixes me with a look that says, I will turn you into a chew toy. But then he sighs. “You’ll find out if you survive,” he says, which is extremely unhelpful. “I’ve revealed far too many of our secrets already. In your… orientation packs, you’ll find some reading materials and further instructions from the king.
“Please read them thoroughly. I’m told there’s a helpline you can call, should you have any further questions. There will be a pop quiz before the next shift..” Lexington’s eyes dart over to me.
I’m practically bouncing up and down with my hand still in the air.
“Oh, Goddess, fuck me.” Then, to my surprise, he smiles - a quick, genuine flash of white teeth that actually makes my stomach flip. “I think you’ll make it, Jo. You are… feisty. And surprisingly distracting.”
Then he simply turns around and leaves, vanishing into the darkness like a sexy, ill-tempered phantom. Men and women, all dressed in the same, boring grey outfits, stream into the room. They move with quiet, efficient purpose, like they’re paid by the minute to be miserable.
