Not A Mate

The Book Signing

  I look at the filled parking lot out in front of the book store and I shiver, "why did I agree to this again?" I ask my father who is driving the truck, "because you like your work? I doubt it's because you enjoy the books you write, I saw the set of them on your bookshelf still new." Which is true, I almost never read my own books, aside from maybe going over the last chapter or two when I have taken a break in my writing; just to catch up.

I stare at the cars again and see the book store filled with people, which it never is and I try to work up the courage to go in when a hand knocks on the window. Doug opens the truck door with one hand and the other hand is holding a very cute young woman with red hair and bright green eyes. Next to her is another identical looking girl, I chuckle realizing that this must be Brenda and one of her sisters.

Doug grabs my arm with his empty hand and yanks me out of the truck, "come on now Nancy you wouldn't want to disappoint my sisters would you?" I visibly groan. If I disappointed his sisters Doug would never hear the end of it. I turn to Brenda, "greetings; I would hazard a guess that you are Brenda? What is your sister's name?" I hear the other truck door slam shut as my father gets out, like me he doesn't lock it, even with this many people here; no one in this area would mess with someone's car. Like anyone would want to steal my truck anyway, most people would be afraid it would fall apart leaving the lot.

The woman smiles at me and responds, "yes I am and Doug that was very rude; introduce my sister to your friend." I could hear a slight Irish lit to Brenda's voice as could my father as I see him shake his head as if pitying Doug's future. Doug straightens up looking properly admonished and turns to Brenda's sister, "This Nancy is June, one of Brenda's two sisters." June nods her head slightly at me looking bored, I could guess she wasn't happy with this trip with her sister.

Brenda pokes her sister in the ribs, "come on now be polite; this was mom's idea not mine. She felt maybe you might have some luck in a new area, and it is possible one of the other shifter species here is your mate." Brenda winks at me, "she's afraid of not having a raccoon mate. She's heard the stories about Doug's cousin," I nod my head. That would scare a young woman, especially with the possibility of it being a wolf.

I look back over to the book store, and I take a deep breath; Doug speaks before I take a step. "Oh Mum is in there with Sammy," I pause; his mother being in there would be an asset. She knows I have trouble dealing with crowds, so she won't let to many near me. The fact she brought Sammy, the young wolf with means she plans to be here the whole event. I nod to Doug and stand tall and walk to the store entrance, before I open the door I notice an odd scent; it is wafting from the clothing store next to the book store but I ignore it. My father does a brief look about as well and shrugs, it smelled cat; but not.

I walk inside the store and I hear a cheer from the teen-aged girls inside, I spy groups of adults trying very hard to be busy inside the small store while their children await a small public reading and book signing. I spy Doug's mother standing like a guard by the table where the books are stacked a small boy standing next to her with his eyes round.

I walk over to the table and squat down near Sammy, "hey there Sammy. Everything alright?" The boy slowly nods his head his eyes getting bigger, "Luna?" I shake my head at him, "I'm not your Luna Sammy. I am just Nancy alright?" The boy nods his head slowly, and speaks again; "will I get to see my friends again?" I noticed he didn't say parents and I briefly look at Doug's mother who gives me a look that told me she'll explain later. I answer the boy, "sure thing I bet Doug's family will take you to see Lobo's Pack a lot. One day you might go and live with them there too." He slowly nods his head and I spy the store owner and catch her eye. She excuses herself from what I guessed was one of the parents and comes over. "Hey there Dacy, this is Sammy; he's being temporarily being fostered with the Smaten family. Can you find him one of Frederick's superhero wolf books to look at in back?" Dacy gets the idea, and squats down to his level; "hey there Sammy. Have you every seen the Lupus wolf fight off the evil Hunters?" Sammy shakes his head and Dacy takes his hand and leads him off Doug's mother relaxes slightly, so slight you'd have to know her to see it happen. She nods a thank you to me and the stands in front of the table. "Alright everyone, Dacy told all of you how this will work. Dixon will read a chapter of her choice from the new novel, then you will form an ordered line to have her sign a copy for you." The people start to calm down and I walk around to the back of the table and pick up my personal copy of the book and flip to the chapter I picked. The one in question involves when the young beta wolf in the tale realizes that his Mate who is an Omega wolf isn't a horrible person based on her position in the Pack. After almost losing her during a raid by rouges where she fought harder than the warriors.

After the reading the teens did form the line Doug's mother wanted, as I work through the line giving some encouragement to a few who wanted to work on their own stores. Then when one teen boy comes up to ask me for permission to write some fan fictions based on my series, I notice a crowd forming outside the store in the parking lot. I look over to my father and nod to the window which he looks out of and nods back at me heading out the door. Doug watches him go out and stands near the window to watch, Brenda walking towards his mother with her sister.

The young man in front of me waited calmly, and when I focused back on him; he gave me his idea for a fan fiction and I give him a few ideas for his characters. I then wish him luck and spy Doug trying to catch my eye, I turn to the line and say. "Please folks I will be back shortly, address any questions to Mrs. Smaten or Dacy please; I need to check on something real quickly."

Doug's mother quickly steps in front of the table as I rush out the door to my father standing with his back to the store arms crossed over his chest observing the crowd out front of the store. Someone must have leaked me being here as the anti shifter protesters had shown up, as well as the pro ones. I also thought I spied Jake in the crowd, great the violet ones were sprinkled in. Right when I step next to my father I get a text, Nancy watch out Drake escaped containment and might be heading back to you. I swear under my breath, my father turns one eye towards me. "that was Simon, Drake escaped." My father growls, as the only way for a shifter to escape from containment they would have to kill. Which makes him an automatic rouge, and lethal force is permitted.

I spy some of Jake's friends work up the anti group into a fervor, and I see a flash of metal in the crowd. My father still hasn't moved, because unless the crowd causes a problem with the people behind us or directly at us we're not permitted to intervene. I hear Doug come up behind me, "did I just see a gun?" He whispers, and my father nods; and I could see his muscles bunching. He was getting ready to move if it required it.

Doug speaks quietly again, "mum is trying to keep the people in there busy, my sisters are helping; as are Brenda and her sister. I don't know how long they can keep them from looking out of the window, Dacy went white when she saw who was out here." I nod my head slightly, then I catch a whiff of Drake's scent; I notice my father growl softly as he catches it too.

Doug says, "Simon says he's on his way with a containment team." I nod my head as I watch one of the pro shifter's wearing a mock up of a wolf suit start a fight with one of the anti people. Then a few more join the fight and I spy the flash of metal again as two of the fighters wrestle over the hand gun. Then I smell Drake approaching swiftly and the scent I noticed earlier come out of the clothing store. I turn my head slightly to see a family come out of the store, two human parents and their young child.

I hear a rapid gun fire and the two adults fall, I without thinking shift forms and rush in front of the child getting a few bullets into a shoulder. Accidentally knocking the child over, I stand over him facing the crowd growling. Then I hear Doug shout, "SAMMY NO! GO BACK INSIDE!" I see my father shift and step protectively over the young wolf who thoughtfully ducked when the guns fired off. I then see Drake in wolf form his eyes gone red rush into the crowd. Then Three large raccoon's land in front of him snarling at Drake.

The crowd freezes upon seeing all the shifters in beast form, Jake cautiously walking towards me showing he had no weapons on him. I give a small growl, but let him approach the child's parents; whom he looks over. He stands and I could see he was pissed off, he turns to the crowd. As he does I see Drake shake his head as if something was wrong. Jake shouts at the crowd, "YOU KILL THIS POOR BOY'S PARENTS YOU FOOLS!" He turns to me still shouting with an apologetic look, "I NEVER WANTED TO HARM INNOCENT PEOPLE. I THOUGHT YOUR PEOPLE WERE MONSTERS, NOW WE HAVE BECOME THE MONSTERS." I look down at him and while watching Drake and the crowd and bump him with my head as if to say thank you. He turns his back on my and stands in front of me, "I dare any of you who want her people dead to get past me to her."

Well that shocked me and I then focus on Drake who collapses and I give my father a look who says in a very raspy voice, cat throats aren't designed for human speech. "June could you shift and stand in front of your sister please." The three raccoon's chitter for a few minutes Doug, the biggest of them; chittering more strongly than the other two. Then June shifts back to human just as Drake starts shifting back to human, he slowly stands shaking his head. "What just happened, why does my head hurt so much?" He then looks June full in the face and cries out, "you're my Mate not the saber? How is that possible?"