Page 82 of Stripped

There was an hour wait for a table, so I took a seat at the bar, surrounded by people laughing and drinking. I ordered my food and watched the bartenders work. I hadn't even brought a book. It was okay, I'd make friends and I'd… I stopped. I'd never been good at lying to myself. I wasn't happy there, but that was probably normal. I just needed more time. I needed to give Denver more of a chance.

Maybe I needed to stop talking to Julie, to move on and forget about her and Daisy and the pack. And Zane. My chest hurt with an ache that rose to my throat. I must have been hungrier than I'd realized.

The bartender delivered my food and I ate, but the ache didn't retreat. I couldn't be coming down with something, not when I was starting a new job, not when I was starting a new life.

I finished my meal and left. I hadn't tasted a bite of my dinner. Emptiness filled me, my center felt hollowed out. It was a feeling that had started when I drove away from Mule Creek and it had only gotten worse with each day that passed.

I took my time walking back to the apartment, but I knew I'd give in even before I unlocked the door. I let myself in, sat on the couch and dialed a familiar number.

“Abby,” Julie said, sounding excited. “How are you?” The pain in my chest eased just a bit.

“How is he?” I asked.

Julie said nothing for a few seconds. “He's… Look, I don't feel right talking about him. If you want to know, you should call him.”

“Just tell me. Please.” I couldn't call him, I couldn't bear to hear his voice and not be able to see or touch him. “Did I make the right choice? I mean I'm sure he was sad at first, but it's been two weeks. He'll be better off with another werewolf. Maybe he's already dating someone else?”

Julie sighed. “You made your choice, Abby. You can't worry about him now. Are you happy? Do you think you're better off?”

It was my turn to say nothing. “How is the business going? Is Axel more comfortable with the pricing I suggested now that he's selling more pieces?”

Something rustled on her end and I heard a tiny baby whimper. Sadness washed over me like an ice-cold wave. Why did I feel like I should be there? Why did I want to see and hold Daisy so bad I wanted to cry? What the hell was wrong with me? “I wouldn't say he's comfortable, but he's accepted that you were right about increasing his prices. Zane's online videos got their first ad today, so that should start bringing in money, soon. Lila opened an online shop for her crocheted hats. It's a start, you know, but it's not enough. We need a more stable income, something we can count on.”

“Can you can get into Aspens Whiten now that the vampires have settled down?”

“Maybe,” she said. “But nobody trusts them. The council has promised they'll keep the vampires away from us, but we don't trust the council either. We need an income no one can touch, but even if we find one, who's to say the council won't just walk in and give our pack to some vampires they deem potential vamp police?”

“Has Doc's friend made any progress on the water?”

“Not yet. The thing is… I'm not sure the council's wrong. If vamps are causing trouble, they could make trouble for everyone in the supernatural community. Axel thinks I'm crazy, but I've been arguing to leave the water as it is and sell our blood to the council right now. We just need some safeguard against the council abusing our generosity or deciding we're too much trouble and replacing us with more agreeable werewolves.”

I mulled over her words, I was surprised by what she was saying, but it made sense. More powerful vamps were only a problem if they were also crazy and wanted to hurt the pack. If they actually policed trouble makers, they could benefit everyone. “You need leverage,” I said. “Both to control how much blood you give and to whom you give it.”

“There's no way the council would let us have so much input,” she said. “That's not how they operate.”

“Which is why you need leverage. I'd really like to help with this, but I'd need a lot of information from you.” My heart leapt with excitement, the first time I'd felt truly excited about anything since my move to Denver.

“I'd love your help. I'll do my best to get you whatever you need.”

“I'd like a list of the skills and abilities of everyone in the pack, as well as what job they're already performing. I'd also like a list of any powerful, rich, or skilled allies the pack has. If any of those allies knows how to get dirt on council members, that would be even better.”

“Okay.” Daisy was fussing on the other end, but Julie sounded excited. “I can get you that. It will take a few days, probably, will that work?”

“That would be great. Thank you for letting me help.”

“Thank you. We need all the help we can get at this point.”

I let her go tend to Daisy and hung up. I could have sat back on the couch and watched television, vegged out, but I was too excited. I got online and started researching the public response to werewolves. We needed to know how much human support they had and figure out how to generate more. One thing the council didn't want to do was have humans turn on the supernatural. The wolves and vamps might be stronger, but they were still the minority. We could work to build the pack as a brand. The more support and love the pack gained, the harder it would become for the council to abuse them or chase them off their land.

I researched until I couldn't keep my eyes open, jotting down ideas as I worked. There was a lot of negativity and fear out there on the internet, but there was also a fair amount of love and fascination. There was enough to work with.

Before I went to bed, I watched one of Zane's yoga videos, read through the comments, and analyzed the views and response he was getting. I jotted down ideas about how he could generate more love and attention.

I laid in my couch bed feeling pretty happy with the work I'd done and excited about my ideas. I snuggled down under my warm blankets and closed my eyes, but my mind immediately went to Zane. I pictured him, as I'd seen him about a million times, in nothing but shorts contorting his beautiful body in yoga poses, and my body lit up like the fourth of July. I missed his hands on me, his body over mine, inside mine, but even more than that I missed his arms around me as I slept, missed his smile when he saw me in the morning, missed his sweet kisses as much as his hot ones. I sighed, flipped onto my stomach, and started counting sheep.

***

Over the next couple of weeks, I went to work every day and learned my job. I made contacts with clients and made friends at the office. I discovered I really enjoyed certain aspects of the job, and I got more familiar with Denver and found some great restaurants and bars. I found a beautiful park not too far from the apartment and took up running to make up for all the hours I spent sitting at a desk. Gage and I had a quiet Thanksgiving of take-out and Christmas movies and we laughed so much I started to believe I was happy.

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