RED ROCK SHIFTERS

Chapter five

I didn’t bother going to bed. I wasn’t at the bar tonight anyway. Ed had given me a couple of days off but secretly I think that Tracy was a bit put out that Jace had been paying more attention to me. Despite knowing that a shifter wouldn’t end up with Jace it didn’t stop them from trying. Having a few days off didn’t bother me, not that I had a lot to do but at least I could be given a breather from all the testosterone in Red Rock.

I wasn’t exactly sure what I should be doing with myself though. I’d never really had time to myself before. At my old pack I was always on edge knowing that any minute my father would want me, and then when I’d run from the pack I hadn’t had time to slow down, and then I’d come here. I still wasn’t sure what had drawn me here. Why would I go to the enemy’s camp? Your guess is as good as mine but here I was and I wasn’t sure what I should be doing with myself.

I couldn’t sleep, for obvious reasons and I was certain that Mr Happy (my vibrator) wasn’t going to cut it this time. I had a lot of energy to dispel so I decided to take a run.

I showered first and yes maybe I used my showerhead for a slightly different reason while I was at it but soon enough I was out and dressed in a pair of sweatpants and a tank top with my hair piled on top of my head. I was really going to have to either do some laundry or go buy some new stuff today I decided. I was running out of clothing choices.

My run started out pretty smoothly. It was quiet and most people either weren’t up yet or were busy falling in to bed. My buzz had worn off sometime between the start of my shower and the moment that I realised a showerhead didn’t compare to the real thing. I was actually in quite a pleasant mood, all things considered. Red Rock was quite far out from anywhere and it had plenty of trees and forests out here. All the better for the wolf to run I suppose. My wolf hadn’t had the chance. I was too scared to change yet. A wolf revealed a lot about a person and I didn’t want them to see me in that form just yet. I’d seen most of the town’s residents out here at one point or another though. For the humans that lived in the town completely oblivious to the goings on after dark the shifters had created a plausible explanation. Jace’s father had explained it away by claiming that he kept tame wolves up at the big manor that oversaw the town. He said that he liked to let them go loose and since he was the billionaire who had founded the town nobody wanted to argue with him. Besides, as far as they knew, the wolves were completely tame and friendly.

I was actually starting to feel like I had burned off some of my energy when I came to the small town park and I found myself freezing in horror. It was as though my past had collided with my present and I couldn’t quite believe that I was actually seeing what I thought I was seeing. I blinked but she was still there and I couldn’t look away.

I had known that the kidnapped girl I had saved would be in Red Rock but for some reason it hadn’t registered that I might see her. Especially not when the town was mostly empty of people and she was alone in a park crying. I didn’t know what to do. She was obviously upset and I felt like I should go and comfort her but I couldn’t do that. What if she recognised me? I couldn’t risk people discovering who I was and especially not her. I was probably the source of her nightmares in the way that her sister was part of mine. I should just turn and walk away. Before I could make a decision though it was made for me as she looked up and offered me a shaky smile.

“Sorry, I didn’t realise anyone was here,” she said as she swiped at her tears.

“I’m sorry, I should go,” I replied as I tried to back away but she stopped me with the smallest gesture.

“No, please,” she said indicating the bench next to her and I went to sit down. I felt extremely uncomfortable with the whole situation but I couldn’t figure out how to extricate myself without causing more tears.

“Are you okay?” I asked because it felt like the right thing to say. She dipped her head down and took a shaky breath as she scrubbed a hand over her face.

“It should have been my sister’s birthday today,” she said and I winced. I was suddenly glad that she was focusing on the ground because I was certain that guilt was written all over my face.

“Should have been?” I asked trying to ignore the lump in my throat.

“She died six years ago. The pain never leaves though, you know?” she asked and I belatedly nodded when she looked my way. I wasn’t sure how it was supposed to feel because all I’d ever known was pain and death. I carried guilt around sure, but I don’t think I’d ever felt the pain and overwhelming grief of death.

“I’m sorry for your loss?” I said uncertainly because I wasn’t sure what the right thing to say was.

“I just wish I could have made the bastard pay,” she hissed in such an angry tone that I jerked back. The venom in her tone was directed at me though she didn’t know it. I felt even more guilty because surely she deserved the chance for revenge.

“Maybe you’ll still get the chance?” I said and she glanced over at me then.

“You look a bit like Her you know,” she said with emphasis on the her and I gave her a shaky smile even as my heart skipped a beat. Shit! I knew she’d recognise me.

“Her?” I questioned and she relaxed back against the bench.

“The girl. The one who saved me,” she said and I almost reeled back in shock.

“Saved you?”

“He was going to kill me and she saved me. I just wish that she’d caused the bastard more pain. You look kinda like her. But you can’t be because she’s dead,” the girl said and I frowned. She had a very different version of events than I did. Maybe it’s because she was so young but what I did wasn’t saving her, it was too late to save anyone and all I did was condemn innocent people to a bloody death that none of them really deserved.

“I don’t know about any of that. I haven’t been here long,” I said shakily and she sent me a smile that transformed her face.

“I know who you are,” she said and I fought not to wince.

“You do?”

“Sure, you’re Jace’s girl,” she said and I breathed out a sigh of relief until what she’d said really registered and then my eyes widened in shock. I would have told her that I wasn’t Jace’s girl and after this morning I wasn’t anything to him but she left before I could.

“Bye,” I whispered and she smiled at me.

“See you round,” she shouted back and I couldn’t help but give her a faint smile back.

Guilt still hit me hard. In fact I think it was worse that she didn’t seem to remember what had happened. Nobody would ever know that I was the bitch who had caused this nightmare. I wasn’t someone that this girl should be remembering as a hero, I should have been featuring in her nightmares. I gave up on my run after that and decided that maybe I should go home and get some sleep after all.

It wasn’t until that night that the news reached me.

Jace and several of the other shifters had gone off on some kind of a hunt. It was the final nail in our relationship coffin as far as I was concerned. I was bad enough turning me down twice in a row but to then disappear out of town and not even let me know, well that was going too far. I didn’t intend to hang around and wait for him to return.

Except that’s exactly what I did.

The days passed slow and the nights even slower, yet for some reason I never took the opportunity to do what I’d threatened. Nick came in to the bar several times over the next week and he even flirted a little yet I didn’t flirt back. I didn’t understand what the hell was wrong with me. Jace was playing with me and I was letting him. It didn’t make any sense at all. I never let guys play with me and I sure as hell didn’t wait around for them.