As the shuttle from Gate City entered our pack town, I realized from the string of white Mercedes-Benzes that the Lorents were already here—and that they had left their cars lined up on the road in front of the pack house, with their drivers and a few warriors strewn around the pavements, lawn, and porch.
Meanwhile, I was still in my gym attire, with my wet school coat was on one arm, and my bag sporting an ugly hump courtesy of the plastic bag of wet clothing jammed with my schoolbooks.
"Can you drop me off before the pack house?" I pretty much begged the driver.
He looked at the long white traffic obstruction on the road ahead, and then at the Lorent men loitering around the property.
"Just this once," he said kindly. "Don't mind the men, they won't bite."
Did he notice I was avoiding the Lorent warriors?
He was right, but not in the way he thought.
I just didn't want any of them to see me like this. I was supposed to appear as Alpha Kingsley's daughter, not a miserable shipwreck survivor washed up on shore.
I wasn't going to delude myself. After a hectic day at school, plus the smells from rain dampness in the morning, Home Ec room cooking lessons, and a crowded train ride, I felt a little more than a passing wreck. I was a smelly one too.
I jumped off the bus, calling out my thanks, and ran behind the first tree. Then I made my way skirting through the nearby trees to the back door of my house and dashed in.
Savy startled when I burst into the kitchen.
I startled to see Savy and not Mum in the kitchen.
"Oh, it's you," we both said at the same time.
Savy was baking again. She was hungry. I guess Savy's wolf liked baked treats.
"What happened to you?" Savy asked.
"Nothing! I have to hurry. Save me some!" I called before crashing up the stairs.
I dumped all the wet things into the laundry, put my coat to dry over a chair… Oh, that's right—my room. In my hurry, I only just belatedly noticed that the window was fixed. The bed frame was kind of still splintered up. The torn and bloodied mattress had disappeared. Also, my shampoo was still in Savy's bathroom.
I grabbed my fancy clothes and went to Savy's room, where I had been camping since her first shift.
I showered quickly, dried off, and put on the little Lorent dress.
Oh, it was so short!
I tried sitting down in it. I could, but I would have to remember to keep my legs closed at all times.
Quickly—makeup! Eyeliner, mascara, a bit of blush, nothing too much. The irony never failed to hit me: how it took extra effort to apply makeup so that it looked effortless.
I ran back to my room to put on the gold bracelet and the ridiculous white shoes, and to take the thank-you card I made from my bag.
I couldn't really walk in the heels.
I took them off and ran barefoot down the stairs and around back to the pack house back door.
The cold patio floors and dirt and grass were nice! I actually quite liked the feeling of being barefoot. I stepped into the pack house kitchen, still barefoot.
"Oh!" Esther sounded surprised. "Can I help you?!" Then she realized it was me. "Sam?"
I grinned a bit sheepishly at her.
"What are you up to?" Esther asked me.
"Nothing," I said. "Can you mindlink my dad that I'm coming up?"
I guess that assured her that I was really not up to anything, or at least anything that would get me in trouble with my dad. She nodded, and I wiped my feet the best I could on the floor mat by the door and slid on the crazy white shoes at the kitchen door.
From their last visit, I'd learned that most of the Lorent warriors would be hosted in our pack house dining hall. And I was right—they were.
I pretended I didn't notice them and walked as naturally as I could in those impossible heels all the way through the dining hall and up the stairs without making a disgraceful scene of myself.
Once at the door of Dad's office, I checked my thank-you card. I had to calm down; my heart was hammering from the rush to this point. Or perhaps it was how heartbeats quicken at lies—and I was certainly dressed like one.
It was just a getup. Just pretend.
Wouldn't the real me be that mess in school gym clothes and an imploding school bag?
I took a deep breath.
I was still me under all this.
I knew I looked different. I knew Esther and the other two ladies in the kitchen had looked at me differently. One of the kitchen helpers even bowed to me as I passed. This was after Esther correctly identified me too!
Although I had ignored them, I knew the Lorent warriors in the dining hall looked at me differently too. Like they looked a little longer than before. Maybe they were wondering who I was. Maybe they were surprised to see a Lorent girl here, since they didn't bring one.
But I also felt different. I felt more… I don't know the word for it—more precious? Suddenly, all dressed up like this, I felt like one of those girls who should be cared for properly.
I breathed out. I'm still me, though.
Okay, that's good. Just breathe. I made it all the way here. I was still me.
Just pretend I'm still in my sweatsuit or something, except I needed to keep my legs closed when I sat down, and I needed to be careful I didn't sprain my ankle when I stood up… I was still 100% just Sam—just Sam who had to sit and stand differently.
Breathe again. Just be me. Okay.
I knocked on the door twice and pushed it open the way I always did when I was looking for my dad. Unlike Savy, I had never waited for permission to let myself in.
Everyone stopped and just froze—except for Dad, who simply looked up at me and smiled. "Hello, Sam! Did you just come back from school?"
I nodded, my excuse prepared. "I wanted to thank Alpha James and Luna Edith for the clothes and stuff."
Dad smiled. Alpha James and Luna Edith were smiling too. I made a quick bow and handed them the card I made. "Thank you for the gifts and your kind words," I said.
Which was pretty much what was written in the card too, by the way.
I meant to write something more personal, but I didn't know how personal, and after a lengthy internal debate that I would spare you from, I just filled the rest of the white spaces with roses.
Alpha James looked at the card. "It's very nice!"
Luna Edith smiled at it and nodded.
"Did you know, Luna Edith loves paintings of roses?" Alpha James told me.
I shook my head. "It was just lucky. I only know how to draw roses."
"You drew this?" Alpha James asked with a look of mild surprise. He turned to my dad. "You have such a talented princess."
My dad beamed with pride. "Every mountain maiden is a princess…"
Mum was smiling, a hand on her heart.
Beta Lucas and Gamma Harry looked… They wore expressions that I'd never seen on them before. I imagined it would have been a fitting look if, for example, they had found the lost ark.
Alpha James and Luna Edith rose. Dad and Mum rose. And then everyone else was on their feet. Looks like I hadn't needed to worry about sitting down earlier.
"For your time and support, Alpha Kingsley, my Luna and I are thankful," Alpha James said.
"You're most welcome," Dad answered.
They nodded polite Alpha bows to each other. If this happened in a press conference, all the cameras would be firing at this mutual Alpha acknowledgement, but there wasn't. So without further ceremony, all of us proceeded downstairs.
I guess I had made it just in time for the end of the meeting.
After all that arduous preparation—to rush back home from school, finish my homework on the train, dress up, and trek through the pack house in my killer heels too!
I sighed. Oh, the best-laid plans of mice and men.