Page 98 of Only Human in Strangeville

Grumbling, I got up after Nimbus did.

When I opened the door, two of Davin’s werewolves stood there. I recognized them from forever ago when I’d first been introduced to some of the wolves. The woman was Rachel, and the man, Jamie.

“Hi,” I said not sure how to interpret their visit.

Everyone had been so busy in the last few days since the fight that I’d hardly interacted with anyone but Katsuro, Nimbus, and Oliver. Even during the day while Katsuro was supposed to be resting, he’d been busy, though we had managed a few minutes together here and there since I was staying at his place. Oliver had smothered me with attention when I’d first returned to my apartment, but then duties had called him away. I wasn’t upset that I didn’t have anything to contribute at the moment. I just missed seeing my friends.

“Hannah, would you and Nimbus join us? We have pack business we must discuss.”

I licked my lips nervously before nodding and slipping on my shoes. I shoved my glasses up my nose and glanced at my cloud dog. He wagged his tail happily, so I guessed whatever it was couldn’t be too bad. The dog usually had a good sense of what was going on.

The werewolves led us down to the parking lot and the customary old truck. I knew some of the werewolves drove newer vehicles, but it seemed like most of them preferred the old trucks.

Jamie drove and Rachel sat in the middle of the bench seat. Nimbus hopped up and sat between my feet after I got in. At least they hadn’t sandwiched me between them. That made me feel a little less like I was a prisoner and more like I was a guest. Hopefully, that feeling continued.

Jamie turned off the main road onto one of the dirt two-tracks that I knew led out to pack land. We bounced along through the forest in silence for a few minutes until we came to a small group of other old trucks. Jamie parked and we all slid out. The scent of food grilling wafted in on the air.

Nimbus rooed happily and bounded off into the woods. I relaxed further, knowing he wouldn’t leave me if he thought there was actual danger. Really, I was only nervous because of recent events. I trusted the wolves. I just had leftover fear. My stomach growled though, and I hoped whatever the wolves were up to, it involved food.

“This way.” Rachel gestured toward one of several paths that led from the parking area into the woods.

The path was short and led to a clearing where several of the werewolves cooked over charcoal grills. The clearing was set up as a permanent gathering area with picnic tables, the grills, a currently cold firepit, and small shed probably for storage of the cooking supplies.

They had laid out the fixings for burgers, hotdogs, and sides.

“Grab something to eat,” Jamie said just as a cry went up from the wolves around the table. The plate of cooked hamburgers lifted up and floated away.

“Nimbus!” I shouted.

The cloud dog appeared very briefly out of the underbrush before turning and vanishing, stolen plate of meat zipping off after him. My last impression of the cloud dog as he disappeared into the forest to enjoy his meal was the jaunty flag of his fluffy tail.

Several of the werewolves laughed. A few sighed, and they went back to making more hamburgers. Fortunately, the ones on the grill had survived Nimbus’s thievery and I was able to get a hamburger.

Though I still didn’t know why I’d been invited, everyone chatted amicably, and the atmosphere was relaxed. I felt the tension ease out of my shoulders as I grabbed a seat at a table and ate my lunch while I watched the others.

A ripple went through the crowd at some point, and everyone turned, signaling Davin’s arrival. It didn’t surprise me that everyone noticed, or that everyone stopped what they were doing until he waved—a gesture that seemed to acknowledge the entire group—then went over to get food. My core tightened, and desire did funny things to my stomach as I met his eyes.

The chatter started again, and Davin came over to join me. His gaze lingered before he seemed to realize he was staring at me and turned his attention to his food.

“I didn’t know you were going to be here,” he said, genuine surprise in his voice.

“I didn’t either.” I chuckled. “Jamie and Rachel came to get me. I don’t know why.”

“You’re certainly welcome.” He offered a guarded smile before concentrating on his food. “Where is Nimbus?”

“Took off with a plate of burgers.”

Davin laughed and shook his head. “Well, after everything he did to save Beechworth, he’s more than entitled to them.”

“Don’t let Nimbus hear you. Your food will never be safe again.”

Davin winked. “Seems like it’s already not safe.”

“True enough. So, is this like a weekly cookout or something?”

“We’re having a gathering to honor those we lost in the fight and handle some pack business. Fortunately, though the fighting was fierce and there were casualties, we didn’t lose too many lives.” His shoulders sagged.

“Ahh. You and Katsuro have kept me out of most of the cleanup. How many did we lose?” Sorrow welled liquid in my eyes.

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