Page 5 of Pack Baines

“Not enough, really. But it’ll get you by until you figure shit out at that fancy new school of yours,” he counters, stepping close enough to grip my shoulders tightly. With a rare smile, he gently demands, “Now you’re going to go home, pack up, and I don’t want to see you in my bar ever again. You got places to be, bigger things to reach for than a beer tap.”

Making some weird sound at the back of my throat, I launch myself at him, arms banding around his broad shoulders with a hug that says more than I ever could. He freezes for a moment before he awkwardly hugs me back, his beard tickling my shoulder and neck.

Patting my back, Mack clears his throat and backs away, clenching his jaw before he says, “Now get out of here. I got a cat at home I need to feed, and you’re taking up more of my time than I care to give.”

Laughing loudly, I ask, “You have a cat?”

“Get out of my bar,” he demands, his twitching lips ruining the stern look he was going for.

Shaking my head, I bend to grab my purse, stuffing the cash and keys inside. When I’m standing again, Mack is already walking toward the back hallway where he’ll no doubt stay until he’s done with whatever shit he does back there. Before he disappears, I call, “Thanks, Mack. For everything.”

He throws a thumb over his shoulder before he disappears, and I take a deep breath while I wrangle my emotions under lock and key before leaving the only place that took me in without a second thought.

It doesn’t take me very long to get home with the use of my new truck, and I send my thanks again to Mack as soon as I’m parked at the curb in front of the rundown place I’ve been renting. A step up from the other places I’ve stayed, for sure, but a change is coming. This time in two weeks, I’ll be lying in a bed, in a dorm, at a school of my dreams. I won’t have to worry someone will break in and steal my shit again, won’t have to stress myself sick about paying bills and making sure I have enough money to keep my electricity on.

A new life is on the horizon, my dreams so close that I can almost taste them, and I’ll be damned if I let it slip through my fingers. It’s time for a fresh start, one that makes me almost giddy at the entire prospect.

With a newfound determination thrumming through my veins, I climb out of the truck and lock it, heading into my rental andlooking around with a bite of my lip. I don’t have much in the way of belongings, always having to travel light in case I needed to run again. What little I do have could fit in a single suitcase and will take no time at all in packing, and, since I have nowhere else lined up to stay until school starts, I decide that this fresh start should come with a fresh new me, too. If I’m going to reinvent myself at a posh new school, then I’ll be damned if I don’t go with a new look, too.

Hell, maybe this will hide me better, too.

Biting my lip, I dart straight back out of the house and into the car, driving twenty minutes to the nearest store open that will sell hair dye. My options are limited, and since I don’t think a copper color would work as well on me as I’d like, I opt for the next bright option and buy the box before I change my mind. It helps that the color is one that makes me smile, flickers of my old life floating in my mind as I pick up the box.

As soon as I’m home again, I’m hunting down a pair of scissors and marching to the bathroom like a woman on a mission. I deposit the box of dye on the counter, and, with only a determined look in the mirror, I loosen my hair from its leash, wrapping the hair tie around my scarred wrist.

I take a moment to run my hair through my long, dirty-blonde strands, right before I take the scissors to the strands that remind me too much of Tori. The mother who was never a mom to me growing up. As soon as I’ve hacked away a large chunk of hair, I tidy up the wonky edges before tackling the dye. By the time I’m done, my hands are dyed, along with my ears, a few splotches on my temple, but most importantly, there isn’t a single spot of dirty blonde hair to be found anymore.

Feeling incredibly lighter for the first time in I don’t even know how long, I clear away the mess I’ve made before deciding to head to bed. In the morning, I’ll pack away everything I’m taking with me. I’ll email my landlord, cancel all of my bills, and make the necessary plans to get the hell out of here. Tomorrow is a new day, a new step in the direction of the future I wished I could have and neverthought possible to achieve, and I’m more than ready to start finally claiming all I thought I lost all those years ago.

Chapter 2

Juniper

Running my hands through my shoulder-length hair, the deep-purple shade vibrant against my pale skin, I look up at the university that will be my home for the next year, and hopefully more, with a sense of excitement and anxiety. This whole situation still seems too good to be true, but I’m here, standing on the infamous North U campus, looking up at the fancy navy, plum, and silver banners and ivy trellises that span a whole lot of the beautiful red brick that makes up the exterior of the school.

“Pretty dope, huh?” a voice wonders from beside me, and I startle slightly, clutching tightly to the strap of my duffle bag that hangs on my shoulder. My body stills, and I have to make an effort not to outwardly cringe at the thought of having to socialize. A people person, I am not. I only made an exception for Mack, because that man helped me more than anyone ever has. Anyone else can fuck off.

Sadly, this stranger doesn’t, even when I keep my silence for a long, awkward moment.

Peering to my side, I find a girl only two inches shorter than me—if I wasn’t wearing four-inch-heeled boots—dressed in loose, shredded jeans, a white, cropped shirt, and bubble-gum pink headphones wrapped around her neck. Pale-silver hair with pastel highlights is styled in a messy bun on top of her head, her gray, almost silver, eyes watching me as I take her in. She’s hella pretty,with sharp cheekbones, pointed chin, and full lips I’ve only seen on models in magazines. She looks like a new age version of a pixie, and I find eyes narrowing on her as her lips twitch with amusement.

When the gum she pops breaks me out of my perusal, I decide I should just answer her and then maybe she’ll leave me alone. So, like an idiot, I nod slowly, and answer, “It sure is something.”

The little pixie grins at me, flashing rows of perfectly straight teeth, and holds her hand out for me to take. Guess she’s not going away. “Silver Gage. Welcome to North U. I assume you’re a virgin.”

I fucking choke on my inhale, my hand stopping shy of touching hers when I try my attempt at being polite, and the woman snickers as she forgoes the handshake and slaps my back repeatedly. I’m not sure how the hell she knew something that personal about me, or if I somehow give off never-been-fucked vibes that I didn’t know about, but I’m actually stunned that she was bold enough to even bring it up. I’m no stranger to bold conversation. I mean, I’ve worked in bars and clubs for the last few years, so it comes with the territory. Not so much from a slight of a girl with quirky hair and the face of a porno Tinkerbell.

Silver slaps my back hard while I struggle for air, my lungs protesting the lack of oxygen, but when I finally catch my breath enough to inhale deeply, the scent of bubble-gum follows, sweet and sugary. I wonder for a moment if I’ve just met my first omega, the scent similar to mine in sweetness.

“I meant a North U virgin. As in, new to school,” the weirdo clarifies before I can ponder on it, laughing when I snort and cough at the same time. “That’s my bad. My cousin says I have a way with words. Not a good way, but a way.”

“No shit,” I blurt as soon as I can speak again, eyeing the girl like she’s a few sandwiches short of a picnic. I do, however, hold my hand out to the crazy girl, finally introducing myself, “Juniper Baines, North U virgin.”

Silver laughs as she shakes my hand, that sugary scent tickling my nose again, making my nose scrunch as I eye her closely.

“What? What’s that look?” she prods, eyeing me back likeI’mthe crazy one.

Shaking my head, I decide to just ask her, since she has no qualms inadvertently bringing up my sex life, or lack thereof. “You always smell like unicorn farts and rainbows? All I can smell is bubble-gum right now.”

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