Eternal

Chapter 11: Party

Chapter 11

A little advice for anyone who wants some kind of help from someone— there's always strings attached. At least, with Daxton there's always strings attached. My new job at the library was amazing in every way. Stocking books, roaming around the shelves, complete peace and quiet, all while getting paid? An absolute dream come true for me! Being watched twenty-four-seven by a guard while trying to work? Not so much.

He'd tried explaining why to me a million times along with Bry and Evander, but I still didn't care. Having eyes on you while trying to get through a shift is uncomfortable and distracting. Daxton insists that I need this type of protection at all times but I really think he's full of it.

After a week of working like this, I made a game of it. I call it "How To Lose a Guard in Ten Minutes" (name loosely based off of my favorite movie). There are some really good tips in that movie that I'm sure could help me get rid of the big oaf (or at least piss him off).

You need to stop being selfish and understand he does it for our own good, Bry interjected. I'm sure she would be rolling her eyes if she could.

Why does he get to decide what our "own good" is?! I countered. He had been completely suffocating me for the past week— wouldn't even let me drive my own truck!

He's been in the shifter world longer than we have. Who knows the dangers that could be out there? What if that bear shifter sniffed us out and caught us alone? She tried reasoning with me. That was the only good point she had and she continually used it. True, I was scared of whoever that man was. I've had nightmares of his cold eyes since having the unpleasure of meeting him, but I've faced worse than some grabby guy with a sharp wit. Foster homes were not for the weak, and you had to fight to get even a morsel of food.

I'm sure that Daxton scared him away, he won't tell anyone or try and find us. I guarantee it! I logically proclaimed. No shifter would be dumb enough to come into a territory he was threatened off of, right?

I quickly sorted the rest of the books in front of me as Bry huffed and ended our conversation, for the time being at least. I knew she had more fight left in her on the subject, but I wasn't going to push.

"Anything else you need from me Ms. Lydia?" I asked the woman with kind eyes as I sauntered up to clock out. She lowered her glasses to the bridge of her nose and looked at me apologetically.

"Actually Tay, yes. Tonight there's going to be a new book shipment and, well, I can't make it. I was wondering if you would receive the books? They come in at midnight and all you have to do is let the delivery man in then lock up behind him. My grandchildren are visiting from out of state tomorrow and I promised we'd be up early to take a sunrise hike. Is there anyway you could do that for me?" She rushed out her explanation as if she had been scared to ask all day.

"Oh gosh, of course I can! It will truly be no problem at all." I smiled at her. She was gracious enough to give this job to me so of course I wouldn't mind some extra work.

"Oh thank you, dear!" She exclaimed as she threw her arms around me. I hugged her back and felt a tug in my heart. Not only did she remind me of Mrs. Charlotte, but she made me feel the loss of never having a mother with this warm of an embrace. If I ever had kids, I would hug them every single day. She let go with a smile and gave my shoulders a squeeze then grabbed her purse off the counter.

"May I ask where you're going hiking?" It was always good to know where to stay away from. If there were humans on a trail and I didn't want to scare them, even if they did know about the monsters in the woods.

"We always hike to the base of the beautiful mountain that overlooks the town. There's something about it that's just so serene. Sometimes I wish it wasn't so unstable so we could actually go up there, but nature is sometimes better left alone." She smiled with a bit of childish wonder in her eyes, probably thinking about all the beautiful things on the mountain. I would be lying if I hadn't daydreamed about it too. There was such beauty in mystery.