Page 52 of Wolf Forsaken

It wasn't too busy yet, since it was still morning and a weekday, but by noon it would be bustling. Some schools were probably on spring break, and with the snowstorm a few days prior, the slopes would be packed.

"Can we get arrested for what's in these?" Xander scanned the street and sidewalks as we walked. He'd been quiet the thirty-minute drive into town, his eyes glued to the scenery as we zoomed down the highway.

"No. I know it might seem that way, but it's just... personal." Silas stopped in front of a smoke shop and opened the door. "This should be quick."

"Please tell me there's not marijuana in these boxes." Weed was legal in California, but I was sure there was a right way to grow and sell it, and a wrong way.

"I think we'd smell it." Xander laughed and waited for me to enter in front of him.

The shop was pretty large, and from a quick glance around, it sold all types of smoking paraphernalia. It had everything from hookahs, to pipes, to what looked like every flavor of tobacco known to man. In the back of the shop was a fancy door that hadCigar Roomin gold letters.

Silas headed for the back counter where a man was scrolling through his phone and set his box down. "Derek, how are you?"

"Silas! Glad to see you, man." They shook hands as Xander and I put our boxes down on the counter. "We've been running low on some of our best sellers. You have perfect timing."

Derek pulled a box cutter out and sliced open a box. Silas shifted from one foot to another. "We're kind of pressed for time. Everything's there."

Xander and I quickly glanced at each other and turned our attention back to the box, which was now open. Derek pulled out a small box that was inside and slid it open, a whistle leaving his mouth.

"Beautiful." He put it down on the counter without shutting it and we inched closer. "These bad boys are going to fly off the shelves."

The bad boy he was referring to was a ceramic pipe in the shape of a penis. The head was where a smoker would put their mouth and the bowl at the other end was shaped like balls. There were even veins on the thing. I bit my lip in an attempt not to laugh.

Xander grinned and picked up the box. "Are these handmade or do you buy them from China?"

Silas made a noise in his throat. "Handmade. I make things other than penises; these sell really well though."

"The man is a genius. They come in every color." Derek pulled out a check ledger and wrote Silas a check. "He sells on Etsy too. His shop is calledWangs and Thangs."

"What are the thangs you sell?" I was quite surprised by these revelations about Silas. But I was also glad that the boxes didn't contain something illegal.

"Animals, food objects, some regular sculpted pieces." He shrugged. "It's no big deal. Let's go." Silas put the check in his wallet and led us out of the shop.

His face was slightly pink, and I took his hand, holding onto it as we walked out of the shop and down the sidewalk. It was a nice morning, the sun shining brightly and the smell of spring in the air. It was nice to forget about everything going on for a while and unwind. I just wished Eli and Cole had joined us.

Xander took my other hand as we walked. "I think it's cool you make ceramic penises people suck on. Do you put onUnchained Melodywhile you sit at your pottery wheel?"

Silas groaned and opened the door to a shop that sold women's clothing. "People pay fifty dollars apiece for penis pipes. How can I miss that opportunity when it takes me twenty minutes tops to mold and paint them?"

"Do you make pots and stuff like that?" I'd never been crafty because I didn't have the patience to spend hours and hours learning or to complete something that took painstaking detail.

"Vases and stuff." He let go of my hand to go to a rack of blouses. "You would look hot in this."

He held up an emerald green top that had a deep plunging neckline. I raised a brow and took it from him. "I was thinking of just getting simple stuff since I'm liable to ruin all my clothes."

"You'll get better at it as time goes on. When there isn't danger everywhere, you won't ruin so much." He picked up a sweater that had some weird cutouts down the arms. "This is already ripped for you."

I laughed and took my size off the rack. "Let's find some simple shirts and pants. Nothing crazy."

After trying on the clothes and buying the ones that worked, we headed to the next shop over for Xander. He went straight for the flannel section and chose just about every option they had.

"Now that we have the lumberjack all taken care of, let's get something to eat. I'm starving." Silas looked both ways and crossed the two-lane street that ran through the heart of Huntsville.

"I could go for some-" Xander stopped as soon as we were on the sidewalk.

"Xander?" I turned just as the bags he was carrying fell to the ground. "What's wrong?"

His eyes were closed, and his jaw locked so tightly that I worried he was going to get lockjaw. His hands were balled in fists, and before I could even process the blood dripping from them onto the sidewalk, Silas was shoving him down between two parked cars.

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