Dark Shadow (Book 1 in DARKNESS DUOLOGY)

Two: Rejection

"No... no... nope... Ugh, that's so fucking tacky!"

Eden and I were sitting on the little red sofa in the boutique. We both were sharing the cushion, though my friend had to sit on my lap a bit since she was thinner than I was because my hips don't lie, as Eden liked to say. We could hear Molly grumbling as she was looking through each of the cashmere sweaters.

We'd been in this place for two hours and yet Eden and I were unable to convince Molly that her blue sweater she treasured so much was not on the rack this time around. But she was a persistent Werewolf, I'll give her that. Despite that she was currently looking through the rack in front of her for the fourth time. I honestly don't think checking it again will suddenly make it appear. But that's just me.

I leaned back, staring up at the ceiling while Eden was once again trying to persuade our friend about her nonexistent sweater.

"It's here, okay?! I know it is! It has to be!" Molly shouted at us, turning back to the rack and scrambling through the clothes one by one in a hurried manner.

"Molly..." I started sitting up, but Molly turned to me and pouted, "Gigi! Help me! You have to help me!"

After glancing at Eden who rolled her eyes as she stood up to let me stand too, I sighed, "Where should I look?"

My friend squealed, hugging me tightly and pointed in the far corner of the store, near the entrance, and then pointed at Eden's new designated place to search too. Molly ended up heading toward the back of the store, already elbowing past another girl who was looking at a rack for only a short moment.

Eden frowned, annoyance in her quick pushes of each hanged clothing that she shoved aside.

"This is ridiculous! The sweater isn't here! What the hell are we going to do when they close up and we still haven't found it? She's crazy, Gigi! Crazy!"

I smiled, patting her shoulder then headed to the front of the store where I was to look. One of the sales ladies was hanging up new dresses and I noticed the three boxes of clothes stacked on top of one another. They were stacked awkwardly and looked like they'd fall any second now.

As I began my search for the impossible sweater, I heard a sharp panicked gasp and then a collision of boxes. My head turned in the direction of the noise and saw the older lady almost falling off the ladder she was standing on. I widened my eyes, rushing forward and balanced the ladder as best I could while the woman flung herself forward to hug the clothes already hanging. Her backside was sticking out awkwardly.

"Are you alright?" I asked the woman once she regained her balance and fixed herself up. Her face flushed from that rush of almost falling. Her dark eyes blinked a few times, looking at me after patting her hair back into place. She nodded with a relieved smile.

She carefully stepped down the ladder, me holding onto the ladder just in case, and she thanked me, tilting her head with a shake of it. "I could have seriously hurt myself if it weren't for you!" The lady fanned herself, looking around for any spectators.

I shrugged a shoulder, smiling that it was nothing.

The woman sighed and I caught her scent mixed with the perfume she had on. There was a spiced smell indicating that she was human. All humans smelled like this spiced scent so it was easy for Werewolves to pick out who was who. It was harder for humans to pick out werewolves unless our eye color changed or we shifted or just flat out said we were werewolves.

"Well, now what can I do for you, young lady? After almost breaking my hip, you certainly deserve some form of payment."

I blinked, shaking my head and told her that I hadn't helped her to have her pay me back, but the woman pursed her mouth, frowning with a wave of her hand, "Oh, nonsense! It's not often your generation will run up to help someone without being asked. So come on now, Dear. Is there anything I can do for you, perhaps give you a discount on something you'd like to buy?"