Page 2 of Shadow Wolf
I smiled as I pressed closer to the cold glass. The nights were still chilly. There was still a little dirty patch of snow on the ground, though most had melted away weeks ago. But my little, stray black cat was out there and one day he would warm up to me, let me take care of him, or at least take him to a shelter where I could find him a family to take care of him. I had no idea how he’d survived the winter, he must have holed up somewhere, but I kept feeding him.
I hadn’t seen him in over a month, but I knew he was there because he ate the tuna I left out for him every night. I had named him Bagheera. I’d loved the jungle book growing up and it suited the little guy.
I breathed against the window and watched as it fogged up. I drew a little cartoon cat before it disappeared. I did it again, this time drawing a heart shape. I leaned my head against the window, wondering what in the hell I was doing here in Colorado… in college. Studying something I had no care for. I hated all my classes; they were hard. I knew they would be, but these just seemed so advanced. Like I had skipped the intro classes and gone right to the expert level.
Another thing about here was I had made no real friends, just a few people from class that I would sit with at lunch on a Thursday. We didn’t exactly talk, we all just sat and ate. But then I guess it didn’t help when you were a complete introverted nerd around new people. So, the only person to blame for my lack of friends was me.
Vicki was a friend, but she was also my roommate, so I guess she had to be friendly towards me if we were living together. I didn't even understand what she was studying. She always dodged the question when I asked.
That was probably why I was drawn to animals. It was easier to talk to them, always had been. My parents wouldn’t listen when I’d asked to change colleges over Christmas break… to figure out what I wanted to do with my life and come home. They’d refused. They’d said I was being “overdramatic.”
I didn’t really have any friends back home to call and ask for advice either. I remembered Ada Stephens, but only because we did some library things together. She was a year younger than me, her sister Destiny was my age and I remember being friends with her in middle school, but I don’t think I spoke to her at all again until graduation last year. I must have kept my head down and studied so hard that it just flew by. That was truly sad. I didn’t even get to enjoy myself then and now I was here… stuck.
I saw a shadow dart into the shrubs below me.
“Bagheera?” I whispered as if he could hear me, placing my hand on the cold glass as I strained to see down below. My little black cat… It had to be him. I didn’t think twice about it. I jumped up from where I was seated and ran towards the stairwell, my bare feet echoing off the walls as they hit the stairs at a fast pace. I didn’t want to miss him by going back to my room to grab shoes. That and I didn’t want to witness what was happening in there.
I knew it would be cold outside, but if I could just convince my little fluff ball I wasn’t scary and that I would keep him warm, then it would be worth freezing a little.
As soon as my feet hit the pavement, I felt the icy chill rise through the soles of my feet. I shivered.
“Fuck, that’s cold,” I whispered to myself through gritted teeth. I clenched my hand into a fist to keep my fingers warm, the other holding my phone and pressing it to my chest. I was worried that I would drop it with how much I was shivering already.
The ground was so cold it felt like I was walking on fire and my feet were burning. I hurried on the balls of my feet, counting each step to keep my mind off how cold it was. The pavement ended and stones started another path to the little garden. I groaned to myself for forgetting this one little thing. Shoes would have been worth it, even if I had to hear Vicki having sex. The stones were like an added extra to the pain I already had, reminding me of it with every step.
“Ah fuck, shit… so cold,” I hissed as I leaped. The bigger the distance, the less my feet had to be on the cold ground.
“Fuck.” I shook as my foot landed on a sharp rock. This was ridiculous. I should have turned back, but it was too late. I was close to where I had seen him now.
“Bagheera, you better be there.” I gritted my teeth to stop them from chattering. This was officially my worst idea ever. I should have worn my coat and some pants, shoes… my beanie.
I could see my breath in front of me as my skin prickled under a breeze.Fuck, I wasn’t even wearing a bra. My nipples were like pebbles. Great. What else could happen? Rain? Snow? Things couldn't get any worse than this.
As I approached the bushes that I saw him run into, I stopped and bent down. Rocking on the balls of my feet, I held my hand out.
“Puss, puss, puss… come here. I just want to help you.” I clicked a few times with my tongue. He was in there and I wanted to cuddle him and keep him safe and warm. Well, maybe not warm until I headed back inside. I was turning into a popsicle out here.
“Come on, I’ll give you lots of tuna. Come here, puss, puss.” I set my phone on the ground beside me and leaned forward. Placing my hand on the biting wet concrete to keep my balance, my body trembled and my back actually hurt from the numbing cold. I used my other hand to move the bush a little and I saw the glowing eyes of Bagheera.
I made kissing sounds as he darted back a little. “Come on, buddy, I just want to help you.”
“You can help us,” a deep voice rumbled from behind me, and my stomach dropped. I swallowed deeply as my hands trembled, fear washing through me as I turned to see two men. They were dressed in dark clothes, only a few feet from me. They didn’t look like they needed any help. And from the way one of them was smiling, I knew right then.
I was the one who needed help.
Chapter2
Frankie
“Frankie, you better have the good shit this time,” the bleach blonde dumbass yelled at me from across the room. I narrowed my eyes at him. The fucker would do well to shut his mouth if he knew what was good for him. But he didn’t, he thought this was a joke. A show he liked to put on whenever I came by. Only, he was getting cockier each time, and I needed to shut him down before this shit went sideways. As it so often did.
I was just the delivery boy. Well, that’s what I told myself. I didn’t want to deal in drugs, I fucking hated drugs. I knew what they could do to a person. Or in my instance, to a family. But this fucker acted like I was his bitch every week. Talking down at me in front of his frat brothers as if I was scum, that I was less than him. The thing was, this “shit” he was referring to… it wasn’t mine. As I said, I was just the delivery boy.
“I’ll let the Reapers know you weren’t happy with your last product. They will be happy to come here personally to make sure any future product is up to your standards.” The corner of my mouth lifted slightly.
I watched as his eyes widened, my words seeping into his alcohol fueled brain. He stumbled from where he was leaning against a pool table. Straightening up, he looked around the room at his frat brothers. The looks on their faces said exactly what any sane person would have.
You don’t fuck with the Reapers.
