She seemed more confused now than when she came in.
“Here you go, Rosemary,” Carter said as he handed her the mocha while giving me the side-eye.
I’d get a lecture about being more professional when she was gone, my second one, and I’d been on the job only two days. This Deissy girl must be horrid if he was thrilled to hire me in her stead.
“Thanks.” Rosemary took the drink but didn’t leave. “There’s something about you, Dove. Maybe it’s not what I thought, but that doesn’t mean I won’t figure it out.”
A small amount of respect filled me for this beautiful girl. She was direct almost to a fault, but I appreciated knowing exactly where I stood with her. One of the unique powers silver wolves got from the moon was the ability for us to read someone’s intention. Rosemary wanted to be honorable, but she hadn’t quite figured that out yet.
She turned to leave, and my gaze landed where her wings had been earlier. I noticed two slits in the back of her sweater, wide enough for the wings to spring from. The material almost hid them.
Another interesting fact that I learned today-angels had special clothing.
“How many times are we going to have this conversation?” Carter groaned. “You can’t antagonize the customers, especially ones tied to the council.”
He continued to ramble, but my focus remained on Rosemary as she left the shop. For now, she hadn’t put it together that I was the silver wolf. She suspected it, but I’d managed not to confirm it. I
had to keep it that way, or Killian and I could be in a world of hurt.
THE NEXT WEEK and a half passed in a blur. Each day, I grew jumpier, between my missing pack and, disturbingly, not seeing Griffin. What bothered me most was that missing the sexy douchebag kept him constantly on my mind and on alert for him.
I hadn’t seen him since the night of our almost kiss. I tried not to look for him, but I couldn’t help myself. His face, his smell, his presence…being without him had left a hole inside me, making me desperate to see him again.
He didn’t appear to be staying at his house, and Killian had muttered that he hadn’t heard from his best friend either. The last he’d heard, Griffin was going to Shadow City to spend time with his mom and try to determine who was behind the attacks on wolves, but every time Killian called, Griffin didn’t answer.
The most concerning part was that Luna had been missing in action too. I didn’t want to consider what those two were up to. It made me want to puke.
“Dove?” Carter called.
I was getting used to the name. I never would’ve expected that, but it had become mildly comforting. Probably because Killian had given it to me.
The coffee shop was dead. I’d been working longer days, and it was now nearly two in the afternoon, and we were closing up.
“Do you mind taking the trash out?” He pointed at the garbage can.
Carter acted like I wouldn’t do it without him reminding me. “I’ve taken it out for the past five days.” I finished counting out the cash drawer, headed over to the trash, and tied up the bag. “I’ll be right back.”
He nodded and continued wiping down the counters. “Holler if you need anything.”
I walked through the kitchen, where the two kitchen girls were cleaning up the food mess from the day, and straight out the back to the garbage bin. The rancid smell of decaying food slammed into me. Since I was new, I got to be the one to deal with this. Something about seniority, and after the first time, I understood why. No one, not even a human, would want to come out here and smell this.
Holding my breath, I hurried to the large, blue dumpster outside the back door and threw the bag inside. I spun around…and silver paint on the brick caught my eye.
No.
This couldn’t be.
Why would Rosemary do this to me? My breathing quickened. I was so upset that the awful garbage smell didn’t even register any longer.
I rushed over and traced the drawing on the wall. It was of a wolf in silver paint, the combination telling. It couldn’t be a coincidence. That would be too convenient at this point.
My vision grew hazy. I had to get something to clean this off or paint to spray over it. No one could see this.
T
ime was ticking, and I needed to get back inside. But I couldn’t risk leaving this drawing out here where someone else might see it. This was a hidden message for me; it had to be. Most people probably wouldn’t think much about it, but I didn’t want to chance any sort of talk starting about a silver wolf painted on this building. The people hunting me could hear about it and come by to check it out.
I shuddered, remembering that whomever they worked for wanted me to have his babies.
A breeder.
The thought of what that would entail made a shiver run down my spine.
Every night, I dreamed that they found me, and I’d wake up in a cold sweat and not be able to go back to sleep. A run would make things better, but I couldn’t risk it after last week in the woods.
To make matters worse, Rosemary had been feeling me out each day when she grabbed her morning coffee. Maybe this painting was how she was forcing my hand. She’d been growing frustrated with my evasiveness, so she wanted me to react and confirm it was me. She must be dedicated to getting to me to paint the wolf out here while enduring the smell, even if her nose wasn’t as sensitive.