Page 10 of Leave Me
Rel shook his head but dropped his briefs onto the chair with his other clothes, and I watched as his body rippled before he fell forward onto four legs, his rich, umber skin shifting to thick black fur in a moment. His eyes glowed yellow, and he trotted over to lick my hand.
Behind him, Ricky shifted to a silvery gray wolf to match his dyed hair. He was a little bigger than Rel, taller in the shoulders, but he also approached me, his amber eyes glowing before his head dipped to show I was above him in rank.
While I felt I didn’t deserve their submission or their willingness to accept me with open arms, my friends didn’t hide anything in their wolf forms. The least I could do was wait for them.
“Have a good run. I’ll be here when you get back,” I promised. They yipped and ran off into the woods while Red and I settled into a companionable silence.
When I heard them howling, their joy and freedom apparent, I opened Rel’s bottle and finished it off.
Chapter six
Riley
The morning of the funeral was almost ironically beautiful. The sun was shining in a clear blue sky, the trees were heavy with green leaves and blossoms, and the birds were chirping as they flitted between the branches in a light breeze. The cynical side of me felt like nature was rejoicing over the man’s death, but I knew it was just typical Northern California late-spring weather.
“Why don’t we walk?” Mom suggested, noticing me looking out of the kitchen window. “It’s cool out.”
“We might regret that decision in a couple of hours,” I pointed out, since I was the one already sweating in a suit, and it would only get hotter. Plus, she was in heels.
“Well, there is a good amount of parking at the pack house,” Mom admitted, grabbing her purse. “But I imagine the whole town will be there.”
“Really?” I asked, skeptical. I kept,for the town drunk,to myself.
“He owned a business and used to be a pillar in the community,” she added, opening the door to reveal a line of cars headed up Wolf Creek Road.
“All right, let’s walk.”
Many of Mom’s friends and our neighbors called out to us on our walk uphill, but we turned down their offer of a ride. If it was too hot later, at least we wouldn’t have to walk back. The house was surrounded by cars, like Mom predicted, with almost a dozen motorcycles parked right in front of the pack house. The King Pack was also a motorcycle club, and it looked like they all showed up.
Channing was at the base of the steps with a couple of girls her age, directing people to follow the path behind the house to the family plot. I’d seen her off and on over the years, but she had really grown up, her blonde hair pulled up in a mature twist to bare her neck.
“Patty, thank you for lending me something to wear.” Channing hugged my mom, and I noticed the black, knee-length dress was a little loose on the young woman. “And I’m so glad Riley is home for a visit.”
Mom had been a steady maternal figure in Channing’s life, and I was glad they were close, but it felt weird to hear the wordvisitas if I were an outsider.
“Good to see you as well. I plan to stay for a bit after the reunion,” I replied, a little defensive. I wanted to ask about Fowler, but their grandfather rolled down the ramp to stop beside us.
After greeting Merle King as well and exchanging hugs, Mom and I followed the others to the little cemetery for the King family and pack members.
Shaded on three sides by old cottonwood trees, with the view of the foothills and Wolf Creek trickling nearby, it was a beautiful resting place.
“Riley Jones, is that you?” A familiar male voice called out, and I turned to find Enrique Bravo striding towards me with his best friend, Aurelius Kazen, close behind.
Mom waved at me and continued on with her friend, Pam, who was dressed more casually in peach capri pants and a flowered blouse. At least they weren’t all pretending to be in mourning.
“Haven’t seen you in a year, man!” Rel held me still with his hands on my upper arms, his bright smile making me grin in return. They were never my bullies, with King’s influence, but my friend was closer to them than I was, as a non-shifter.
They were both dressed in black jeans and leather jackets with the club patch, a wolf staring intensely at its center. I wasn’t surprised to see them, having run into them over the past decade, but I thought it would be at our reunion.
“Hey, good to see you both.” I accepted their aggressive handshakes with back pats. I thought they were being jerks when they did it in high school, but after bulking up, I realized it was meant to be friendly. Plus, shifters didn’t always notice their own strength. “How’s it going?”
“Can’t complain,” Ricky nodded. “I don’t get around the world as much as you, but I had a fight in Vegas last fall.”
“That’s great. Vegas is a fun city,” I commented, not sure what else to say. Turning to Rel, I asked about the fire station in Blue Lake. “You still at the Lodge?”
“Yep, fighting fires and saving lives.” Rel gave a self-deprecating chuckle, but I knew he really did care about his job. As an omega, he might have been relegated to a less physical job, but Aurelius Kazen never did what was expected. “I enjoyed that article you did on the bushfires in Australia.”
“You did?” I asked with wide eyes as we turned to follow the crowd. Their conversation was distracting me from looking for Fowler, and I wasn’t sure whether that was a good thing.
