Page 3

I’m mid-snap of my fourth photo when I hear him coming.

Took him long enough today, I almost thought he wouldn’t show up.

He looks like he is covered in glitter as the light gray parts of his coat reflect the light.

I let out a little snort as I duck my head.

His eyebrow quirks as his ear flicks back and forth.

“Hey Shadow. I was starting to think you weren’t going to show up today being all late and shit.

” My third visit was when I realized he didn’t mind if I talked to him, sometimes I felt as though he was far more than a normal wolf and most likely a wolf from my wolf pack.

Not that I’ve been around a lot of normal wolves, but I can’t imagine they would sit here listening to a teenage girl ramble on about their life.

Which has led me to trying to catch others in their shifted forms to see if I could figure it out, but much to my dismay, I can’t.

He snorts as he shakes his head, as if he is already tired of my sassy behavior. He walks over to his usual spot directly across from me. Sitting down on his haunches, he gives me this bored expression.

“I’ve been sittin here thirty minutes this morning.” My eyes squint. “Did you get lost or sumtin? Does my little wolfie need me to put markers out for you?”

I can almost see the indignation crossing his wolf features. His head tilts to the side as his eyebrow raises in question.

“Yeah, yeah. Alright, today is supposed to be a bit foggy, as you can see.” He humphs like I’m an idiot. “Do you think you can walk towards me with the sun behind you?”

He doesn’t move, continuing to stare at me with the same expression.

“What? I’m going for a dark and mysterious wolf coming towards me.”

He snorts again as he shakes his head before standing to walk off in the direction I pointed. Another reason I’m pretty sure this is a shifter, but maybe he isn’t from our pack? I know there are other packs around here, but surely he isn’t an enemy. I don’t think.

He walks for a few short minutes before turning around and giving me the look like, is this far enough?

“Perfect,” I shout with my hands cupped around my mouth.

His head drops down almost like he can’t believe he is doing this before he starts walking towards me.

Quickly grabbing my camera, I snap the photos as quickly as the polaroid will let me.

I pull the photos rapidly from the camera before dropping them in the pile below me.

I don’t have time to wait between shots, I can only hope these turn out like I hope.

I drop the camera down allowing the strap to hold it as I pick up the five photos I was able to capture before he made it over to me. He never crosses the creek, as if it’s guarding him from me.

“Oh! This one is perfect,” I squeal before flipping it around to show him.

His head quirks to the side as he examines it. I’m not even sure if he is looking at it, but it looks like he is, even from across the distance. Shit, he shows more interest in my photos than any of my friends do. At least, it feels like he does.

My alarm chimes. Fuck! I gotta go! If I’m not in my room before my mom’s feet hit the ground, surely she’ll know I’ve snuck out.

I don’t even want to think what dad will say if he finds out I not only snuck out, but that I wasn’t even on pack lands.

I’ve got fifty minutes to make it back to the house before my parents leave for the Sunday morning pack breakfast that our Luna, Nova, has started as a new weekly tradition.

“Shit, I gotta go, Shadow. Thanks again for letting me take pictures of you today! See you next time,” I say as I scramble to my feet, dusting off my leggings.

He continues to sit there even as I walk away and just before I walk into the shadows of the tree line, I see him nod his head once before leaving himself. Almost like he watched to make sure I made it safely. Weird.

After rushing back home, I stopped by to put my shoes on because gosh forbid a lady walks into town without shoes.

I’m pretty sure my dad would actually blow a gasket.

Thank the goddess he doesn’t know that every single morning I walk to the woods barefoot.

It’s called grounding DAD. Look it up, Boomer.

My window is still open, exactly how I left it earlier, when I come around the back of the house. Thankfully, my mom should be in the kitchen at the front of the house by now, having her morning coffee. The woman lives on coffee.

The branches crack underneath my feet as I push up into my window.

Hoping that nobody heard it, I slip in. A quick glance in my full length mirror shows just a few twigs and leaves clinging to my leggings.

Nothing a little brushing off won’t fix.

My braid is still perfectly intact, thank the hairspray gods for that.

I can hear my parents mingling in the kitchen down the hallway. Without another glance back, I make my way to them. We should be leaving for breakfast soon.

Fifteen minutes later, barely making it to the Pack House on time, my parents leave me to mingle with the other geriatric members of the pack.

A group of guys that I go to high school with make their way over to me and it takes my whole entire soul not to gag at the intentions written all over their faces.

I’m nothing more than a pretty wolf to them, but I’ll play along like I believe they want to know more about me.

Fuck it, better than standing here by myself.

“Hey Snap, got any new pics to show us?” Jared, the taller, more broadly built guy from their trio, asks as he throws his arm around my shoulder.

I can’t help but roll my eyes at the nickname that practically everyone in town calls me, even my own dad.

I know that I always have a camera in my hands, but come on.

It’s cute though, so I don’t mind too much.

I really can’t stand being touched, especially by sweaty boys who think they’re hotter than they really are.

It always causes my muscles to lock up and the breath to stall in my lungs.

I’ve never understood why these boys cause me to react this way, but something about the mere thought of them coming near me—gross.

“Yeah, Snap, I’ve been dyingggg to see what new photos you have this week.” Oliver chuckles as he playfully taps Nathan’s chest. Oliver is more of the sleek, athletic build. His muscular build was perfectly chiseled and fit for the cover of a magazine.

Nathan, being the quieter of the trio, does nothing more than nod as he swipes his dirty blond ringlet curls out of his eyes. His tall, slender build always makes him look like he is all legs and arms.

As I’m flipping through my photos, pretending these boys even give a shit about them, I feel eyes on me. But not the ones I’m already aware of. No, this feels like someone is watching me. Observing me like I do the animals in the wild.

The boys give some lame excuse of having to do something before they move on without another word. Thank the Goddess, because I’m starving. The feeling of eyes on me follows me as I move through the crowd to the buffet table.

The sensation feels more like a caress as if someone is lovingly watching me.

I’ve never felt as seen as I do right now.

Like breathing in a storm, the sweet smell of cedar surrounds me as if I’m standing in the forest right now.

The damp forest floor, the earthy tones of wet moss, the faint smell of campfire smoke pulls me closer, almost guiding me somewhere.

My eyes flick up in time to catch Gail walking away from none other than Caelon.

He’s looking right at me, his lip quirked slightly.

His face is shadowed, only offering me the smallest hint of what he could be thinking, his piercing hazel eyes are all I see.

As if he’s nothing more than smoke, he disappears, leaving me wondering if I just imagined the whole thing.

Mom agreed to thirty minutes before I could dip, something I count down the seconds to.

I can’t help but suck in a lungful of fresh air the second my feet hit the ground outside the back of the Pack House.

I stand there, basking in the morning sun, as I let the wind carry away my anxiety.

I’ve never liked large crowds, preferring to the open world and less people around.

The more people, the higher my anxiety gets.

Which is why Mom only requires a minimal amount of attendance.

It’s about a ten minute walk from the Pack House to Flash Me Studio, where I need to drop off my rolls of film from the last pack run.

Silas was really cool about letting me go in my human form so I could snap photos of the pack as they ran, played, and wrestled together.

I can’t wait to see how they turn out. One thing about my rangefinder camera is that you can’t see the shot until the film is developed.

After Warrick pushed me to take my photography seriously, I purchased a used camera from the studio as a beginner camera.

The lovely owner, Lourie Snapley, walked me through how to use the camera, load the film, and promised to develop them in her personal dark room anytime I needed.

As an ex-photojournalist, she loves teaching new people how to use the old cameras.

I find Lourie standing behind her countertop display case cleaning another TLR camera as I walk in. She smiles brightly at me as I come closer.

“Good morning my favorite new photographer. Got sum film for me to develop today?” she says cheerily as she sets down the camera she’s working on.

“Yep! Filled this one with some of the Silvery Lupines that have bloomed around the base of the mountains. They are too gorgeous not to fill a roll of film with.”

“Glad to ‘ear it.” She holds out her hand for me to deposit the roll of film. “I ‘hould have em done by the weekend the ‘atest.”

“Thank ya Lourie! Are you planning any trips back to see your family in Georgia? How long has it been?”