Orphan Wolf

13 The Meeting*

I put my phone in my pocket and run downstairs. I catch Ruby halfway down.

"Hey, has Dad left yet?" I ask her.

"Yup. You just missed him." She answers.

"Thanks!" I say, running down the steps. I burst out the front door. As Dad and the Alphas get into a car, and I creep up close.

"Dang it!" I whisper as I sit behind a tree hiding from them.

"What's up, Alic?" Malak asks, sitting with me. Wow, this kid can sneak up on anyone!

"Nothing... I..." I cut off not knowing how to respond.

"You wanted to follow them!" He says.

"Yeah." I whisper.

"Well, let's go!" He says, standing up.

"I don't know where they are going, and I can't track a car." He smiles at me as I make my excuses.

"I know where they are going... if we shift, I think we can make it in time!" He says.

"I can't bring you in on this! Your dad will kill you! Just tell me where to go." I tell him.

"No. I can't handle spending the weekend with your sister! I go with you or you don't go at all!." He grins, knowing he has me.

"Fine, let's go." I groan, and we head west. "What's up with you and Ruby anyway?" I ask. He looks away and pulls off his backpack.

"Let's shift. Put your clothes in here. If I loosen the straps, I can carry it as a wolf." Ok, so he is not talking about Ruby. We put our clothes in his bag and shift.

"Follow me!" He links and takes off running.

It is a long run. My body is screaming at me. I see why they took a car. Running shortens the distance, though so we might be able to meet them. I just hope we don't get caught. My dad will kill me, then Alpha Aaron will kill me, possibly Alpha Lilly too, and then my Dad again for good measure. We just need to get close enough to hear them without getting caught. I want answers.

"How much further?" I link to Malak.

"Not far... actually, we should shift back. They are meeting in a human city." He tells me.

We stop our run and shift. In human form, I'm even more tired. We make our way to the city.

"Where exactly are we going?" I ask. He doesn't answer. He has been keeping me in the dark so far. "Come on, Malak, I can't exactly ditch you now. Why won't you tell me?"

"Well..." he stops after the one word.

"You don't know." I say.

"Not exactly... I have a name, Ship Co." He says.

"Ok, so we need to ask someone." I look around. There is a small diner on the corner. "Got any money?" I ask. He pulls out his wallet and nods. "Good milkshakes, you buy."

We walk to the diner and sit at the counter. It is old fashioned. Full of locals. It actually has a jukebox.

"What can I get you boys?" A nice waitress asks.

"Two chocolate milkshakes." I tell her, and she walks off.

"I don't like chocolate." Malak whispers.

"Doesn't matter. We won't be finishing them. I just want us to look normal. It's bad enough that we are covered in mud and leaves. Dude, you're still shaking from that run. Just relax a minute." I tell him.

"Here you go, boys." She smiles as she slides us our shakes. "What brings you boys here? Haven't seen ya around."

"Thank you, ma'am." I smile back at her. "We have a school project... we are learning about the distribution of goods throughout America." I am so making this up off the top of my head... Ti would be better here. Malak is good when he feeds off his brother but alone? He is such a good kid. "We decided to research Ship Co. but my buddy here lost the address, so we decided to stop for shakes."