5: (Lucky's POV)
*What would Reika do?
This thought kept repeating as a loop in my head from the moment I stepped into my little room and started to get ready. It was a question that pissed me off, honestly. The last time I’d let that wolf make any decision, she’d gotten us exiled. Reika was the reason I was a rogue. I’d had such a good life prior to letting her call a few shots.
Yet I found myself wanting to lean on her when I was having a hard time making a decision.
I did miss the constant company of a wolf. It was like having a built-in best friend– someone that could actually know situations and give advice because they were experiencing it too. The Moon Goddess had blessed me with a wise and cool headed wolf. I’d had one hell of a temper growing up, and was quite reckless. When I first shifted at 13, I had started to mellow out and I’d overheard my mother thanking the Mood Goddess for sending me what I needed.
Well, the Moon Goddess did me dirty. Still… I missed both my prayers to the Moon Goddess and the company of Reika.
I shook my head and looked into the dingy mirror above the sink. My clothes were clean and hardly worn: jean shorts that were a little loose on my hips and an oversized t-shirt. I’d pulled my hair back into a bun, but had left two little wisps out that framed my face. Without makeup to work with, the dark circles under my eyes were obvious.
*If Reika were here, she’d tell me to stop worrying and that I was beautiful.
Ha! No she wouldn’t. She’d be logically reminding me that we were on the run and I shouldn’t be doing this. Stringing Wyatt along as anything– even a friend– was dangerous for him. It made me more likely to get caught. I was yet again signing myself up for more hurt. But maybe I was doing this because I knew deep down it was probably time for me to move on. I was four days away from turning 18, and had spent a few years here.
I was also on pack territory, and who knew if there were wolves lurking around?
The clock on the wall ticked over to 7:55. On the other hand, it would be rude for me to stand him up now, so I should just suck it up and go. I shouldn’t have offered in the first place. There was something about him though…
He was right– I had been drooling over him for three years and had been too shy and too aware of the consequences to do anything. But lately… I’d been wanting to talk to him. To reach out. It was like he was getting more attractive each day, and he just seemed so nice. And clearly he was a better flirt than me.
When the clock hit 7:58, I grabbed his AirPod and made my way out of the storage area. The rusted stairs creaked loudly with my weight and I saw Wyatt poke his head around the side of the building. I gave a small wave and held out his AirPod.
Wyatt smiled and for a moment, it was like my heart leapt right out of my chest. He looked like a movie star standing there with the early morning sun behind him. His brown hair was styled a bit more than usual, with more prominent curls throughout and it was up and away from his face. His beard, which was usually more like a thick stubble across his cheeks and chin, had grown out a bit more, and I wondered how I hadn’t noticed that this morning. He was wearing dark blue jeans that fit so, so well, and a plain white t-shirt. It was like I was seeing him for the first time.
That was when I realized I never really let myself look at him for more than a few moments. If I had, I would have noticed the full sleeve of tattoos he had on his left arm– especially when he was shirtless this morning. Or I would have noticed that yes, he was sexy. Yes he was gorgeous. But he was also quite handsome and seemed to have a sweet air about him… while still seeming to command attention and respect. Honestly, if I was still in touch with Reika or in a pack (and if he was a werewolf, I guess), I’d place my bet on him being an Alpha.
I shook that thought out of my head. As an alpha, he wouldn’t even be hanging out with some random woman– and definitely not one that read as human instead of a werewolf.
Wyatt arched an eyebrow, “You actually gonna walk over to me, or are you just going to stand there holding out my headphone?”
It was like his deep voice had broken my trance and interrupted my never-ending train of internal dialog (which had admittedly gotten worse the longer I was without Reika. What could I say? My head was now a lonely place). My feet leapt into action and I literally (and very embarrassingly) skipped over to him. His hand brushed against mine as he took the AirPod and that same shock happened again.
This time, his lips parted and he muttered, “Sorry,” before pulling out his AirPods case and putting the lone earbud away, “I just want to start off by apologizing. I thought I was going to have the whole day free, but something important came up and I only have the morning.”
“That’s okay,” I shook my hand out slightly before laying it down at my side, “I could use the time to catch up on some sleep.”
“Do you live above the cafe?” he nodded at the stairs behind me.
I nodded slowly, “Yeah, but it’s just temporary. I should be moving on soon.”
“Oh. I didn’t even know there was an apartment up there,” he said absently, then started toward the entrance to the cafe, “Since we have such limited time, let’s get a move on, Lucky.”
“Right,” I hissed out and followed him.
Mike greeted Wyatt normally, but when he saw me, he froze. A slow, mischievous grin spread across his face and he crossed his arms over his chest. His voice was soft, teasing, “Lucky, I’m surprised. Didn’t you just throw his number out?”
Wyatt spun to look at me and I held up my hands, “First off, I don’t even have a phone. Secondly,” I glared at Mike, “I’m not looking for anything more than friendly and that seemed–”
“Don’t jump to conclusions,” Wyatt grumbled, “It’s okay. Besides, I’ll give it to you again by the end of the day,” he pulled out his phone and did something incredibly fast before shoving it back in his pocket, “Can I get my usual Mike?”
“Not a problem, Wyatt,” he nodded at me, “And for you, Lucky?”
“My usual, too,” my voice was soft.
“Sandy, one hazelnut latte with a pump of raspberry and one hot cocoa with oat milk,” Mike winked at me.
Wyatt motioned to a nearby table, “Hot cocoa?”
“If you think I normally run a million miles a minute, you should see me on caffeine,” I stated matter-of-factly as I sat down, “So, by chance, do you have any idea what we should do today?”
There was a sigh, followed by a brief hesitation. Then, Wyatt said, “Actually, those plans got moved up again, so I was hoping we could just talk for a bit while we drink our drinks?”
“Sounds good,” I nodded looking down.
Was I botching this whole thing that badly? Did he really feel the need to book it out of here? Wait. I hadn’t even done anything. Well… I had been staring. Did I freak him out with that?
Wyatt reached forward and touched my elbow, sending yet another shock from his fingertips. This one stung, but completely got my attention back to him. He rubbed his fingers together and said, “Shit. We’ve got to stop doing that,” a small chuckle then, “You didn’t do anything wrong. It really is something else. We can always find time later this week–”
I shook my head, “It’s okay. Let’s just talk for a little bit and then we can figure it out if we need to.”
Mike set down our drinks and patted me on the shoulder, “You spend too much time at your job, ya know.”
“Gee, thanks, Mike. Really helpful,” I rolled my eyes, “You literally spent senior ditch day here, so you have no room to talk anyway.”
“I think you’re cooler than most of my classmates,” he stuck his tongue out and went back to the counter, calling out, “So maybe we both need to get a life.”
Wyatt watched the interaction silently. I sipped my hot cocoa, fidgeting with the lid, “So, Wyatt, how old are you?”
“Twenty-five,” he answered as I took a sip, which I nearly choked on immediately. Wyatt handed me a napkin, “I know. Probably much older than you thought.”
“Just a couple years,” I wiped the corners of my mouth, “I’m 17, but turn 18 on Thursday.”
“Interesting,” he mumbled, then spoke more clearly, “So what brought you to Obsidian Falls?”
I froze and narrowed my eyes, “Obsidian Falls? Isn’t it Blackwater Falls?”
Wyatt narrowed his eyes back at me, “It is. But the locals call it Obsidian Falls because there’s an obsidian table beneath the water. It’s also a much cooler name than Blackwater,” he chuckled, “You gonna answer?”
“Uh, yeah,” I bit my bottom lip lightly, “I just needed a good relocation, and this seemed like a stable place to land. Besides, Adam and Sandy have been so good to me,” I looked at the older woman manning the espresso machine, “One could say I’ve been rather lucky.”
“Ha!” he literally smacked his knee and I grimaced as a blush crept up his cheeks, “Sorry. You know, if you’ve been here for almost three years, you would have been 15. That’s awfully young.”
“Emancipated,” my fingers started to curl into my palms, biting into the skin a bit.
This line of questions was making me nervous. I don’t know why I didn’t think about this aspect of becoming friends with someone. There were always questions– and it wasn’t like these questions weren’t warranted. They were basic things you would want to know about someone. I guess I had forgotten what normal friendships felt like after having Mike around.
Wyatt took a big swig of his coffee, “Interesting. I won’t pry,” I swallowed as the yet was implied, “Do you have anything you like to do?”
I thought about the last two years. It had essentially been the same routine: get up, work, get groceries when needed, go home, sleep, repeat. The only thing that deviated from this routine was when I couldn’t sleep, I would run. I pushed myself to remember things I used to do before I moved to Blackwater. All of that was pack related though. I had been getting ready to take over as pack Beta when I turned 18.
There was a small twinge inside with that thought.
“I used to be really into MMA, and I dabbled in cooking,” I answered slowly, thinking about warrior training and my early mornings spent making breakfasts, “but really now the only thing I do outside of work is run. What about you?”
“I run a business that’s been passed down for generations,” he answered carefully, taking another swig of his drink, “Well, multiple. The main one that brings in revenue is architectural developments.”
“Oh,” I sucked in a breath, “Anything I might recognize?”
“Um,” he leaned back in his chair, “We build a lot of cabins and resorts throughout the Appalachians. Have you ever been anywhere other than Kentucky?”
With a sharp intake of breath, I answered, “I spent most of my early life in the mountains of North Carolina.”
“We have quite a few developments there you might recognize. The company is Clark Inc?” he cocked his head to the side.
My eyes widened, “You built that entire lake resort that’s brought in millions of dollars in state revenue?”
“Technically my dad did,” his voice was a bit distant. Wyatt shook his head, as if removing a thought from it, “But yeah. That’s part of what I do.”
“Impressive,” I raised my eyebrows, “I’m surprised you find so much time for coffee breaks every week.”
Wyatt let out a small laugh, “I’ve been coming here since I turned thirteen. Adam and Sandy were good friends with my parents.”
“Were?”
He took a few gulps of his drink and nodded, “Yeah. They died when I was thirteen. I had an older brother, but he passed when I was 16.”
I took another long look at him. He was looking down at his hands, which pretty much completely enveloped his cup. Wyatt looked small at this moment, as he opened up about his loss. I reached forward and brushed my fingertips against his knuckles, “I’m sorry.”
There was a crash from the counter as he shrugged and we both turned to look. Mike held up a whipped cream container and waved shyly. Wyatt’s voice was tight, “It’s alright. Loss happens, right?”
“Right,” I agreed gently, “If it helps, I’m not really emancipated. I lost everything and everyone I ever knew.”
“It doesn’t help,” he chuckled, “You may be incredibly good at insulting people, but you do seem genuinely nice. You shouldn’t have had to experience that, Lucky.”
“Wrenlee,” I whispered, “My name is Wrenlee.”
Wyatt’s eyes met mine, and I swear I saw them flash gold for a brief moment. The sunshine was coming through the window harshly though, so it was probably just a trick of the light. He reached forward to grab my hands but I pulled them back. I hadn’t spoken my actual name in almost three years, and I had no idea where that had come from or why I had decided to correct him.