The ringtone on my cell phone wakes me from the fantasy world and my heart sinks. I wanted some more time to spend with the beast. “Hello?” I answer.
“Good morning, beautiful, I wanted to let you know I have to go back home this morning. Where are you planning to spend Christmas?” I smile at Mason’s voice, and his thoughtfulness to ask about my plans.
“I’ll be home for Christmas,” I pause and rethink my answer. “What I mean is, I’ll be at my parents’ home for Christmas.” I sit up in bed, trying to clear the sleep from my head.
“Perfect, I’m sure I’ll talk to you between now and then but, let me know when you plan to be there and I’ll come spend some time with you.”
“Of course.” I can’t wait. The smile on my face grows thinking about spending more time with him.
“Sorry to call and then run so quick, but I really have to go. I’m about to drive out, I just wanted to make sure you knew as soon as possible. I’ll talk to you later, Callie.”
“Okay, bye, Mason.”
“It’s important to remember looks can be deceiving.” That. Damn. Phrase. Why does he say it almost every time I talk to him?
“What does that even mean?” I ask, since he didn’t answer me the last time. The phone goes silent in my hand when he hangs up.
I get out of bed and run to the bathroom to get ready for my day. My running clothes hang on the back of my bathroom door and I briefly think about how much I’ve been slacking off. Huxlee and I have a store to finish getting ready and hopefully some Christmas shopping customers to help, so I get dressed in normal clothes, deciding I’ll make more of an effort to get back outside soon.
* * *
“Good morning, my favorite boss ever,” I say as I walk into the store.
“Morning, Callie! What’s that you’ve got there?” Her eyes focus in on the large coffee I’m holding in my hand.
“I knew you could use some extra energy today. I’m sorry I’ve kinda ditched you this year.”
“Where is your boy-toy this morning?” She waggles her eyebrows at me.
“He had to go back home.” My voice gives away my disappointment. But really, how long could I have expected him to be here? At least he seems to want to see me when I’m at my parents’.
“Oh, hun, I’m sorry.” She gestures for me to hand over her coffee.
“Are you sorry, or did you just want the treat I brought you?” I laugh.
“Well, if you truly knew me, you would have brought—” She stops when I reach into my purse and pull out her favorite, pumpkin bread. “You do love me!” she squeals.
I laugh when she snatches it out of my hand, immediately taking a bite and moaning. Really, who doesn’t love some good pumpkin bread at the holidays?
Huxlee and I usually take turns bringing in coffee and breakfast for each other. Because it’s been a while since I’ve been here consistently, and with Mason recently thrown into the mix, I figured it was my turn.
“You are my favorite employee. I was thinking employee of the month? I might be willing to push that to employee of the year if you keep bringing this deliciousness for me. And if you keep bringing Mason around to get some extra cleaning done, I might splurge for employee of the decade.”
“I’m your only employee.” I chuckle. And really, I feel incredibly fortunate to have Huxlee as a boss. Even if she is a pain in my ass sometimes.
“Well then, it’s a good thing you’ve gotten on my good side, huh?”
“What’s on the agenda for today?”
“There’s a list over there of what I’d like to get done. We’re almost finished with getting all the displays changed over for the holidays. We just need to get the decorations up, too.”
“I can definitely handle that today.” And really, after decorating two houses for the holidays, what’s one more bookstore? “Did you want me to do some window-painting as well?”
“You are the best at it, my art skills are limited to shitty stick figures, and even shittier Christmas trees.”
“Admitting your faults is the first step.” She smacks me playfully before we both burst out laughing.
“What would I do without your smartass mouth?”
“Hopefully, you never have to find out. I love this place.”
* * *
Huxlee and I spend the rest of the day getting the store completely decorated for Christmas. I hang garlands across the now-clean shelves and paint the front window with a Christmas scene. The only images that came to mind were of the view I had when I approached the river in the prison world. So I drew the vision in its snow-covered glory.
“Damn, girl, I knew I kept you around for a reason.” Huxlee looks at the front window.
“You like it?”
“Like it? I love it! You’re hired to do all the window-decorating, forever.”
“How generous,” I deadpan, before breaking into giggles.
“I’m gonna go grab some lunch, bring you something back?”
“Of course, you know what I like.”
I go inside and stand behind the counter while waiting for her to come back. A couple of customers come in and I help them wrap the books they select for Christmas presents. Huxlee started offering complementary gift-wrapping a couple of years ago and the customers seem to appreciate the effort.
My favorite part of this job, though, is helping people find the perfect book for their loved one. I can usually pick out a good match based on their personality and other things they’re able to tell me about the person they’re buying for.
Today’s lineup of recommendations include some fantasy, romance, and dark romance, my personal secret obsession. My life has been boring until recently, but I love me some good, dark storylines to remember that not everyone has it as easy as I have.
Huxlee comes back with lunch and we talk back and forth about what we should get each member of our family for Christmas. We’ve known each other long enough, we’ve met most of each other’s family.
“Are those brothers of yours bringing their families for Christmas this year?” she asks.
“Last I heard, the whole gang is going to be there for the week.”
“Are you going to bring Mason?”
“He called me this morning and wants me to let him know when I’m back in town. I’m nervous, though. My feelings are growing for him but, something is holding me back.”
“Is it maybe all those dark romances you’ve been reading? You know guys aren’t like that in real life, right? At least not any guy I’ve ever met.”
“You mean you haven’t dated any crazy stalkers?” I joke.
“At least none that I know of. Of course, they wouldn’t be a very good stalker if I knew they were stalking, now would they?”
“True.” I laugh.
We get back to work after lunch and finish up the last of the Christmas decorating. Huxlee takes some pictures of the store to post on our social media.
At the end of the day, I head back to my house alone. After a dinner consisting of a sandwich and some chips, I make myself a cup of cocoa and sit down with the journal to read until bedtime.
This morning, I awoke and got ready to check my snares. When I approached the first one, the snare had been triggered, but nothing was caught in the loop.
Slowly, I followed the same line I had set the snares along yesterday and continued to encounter more of the same. When I arrived at the last snare, I found the reason for my discovery. Lying on the ground, consuming my food was a dark grey wolf.
As I approached, he watched me, continuing to pull apart the dinner I was looking forward to. It seems in my efforts to feed myself I had made it easy for other predators to catch their own prey.
Carefully, I backed away from the creature, turning around only when I felt I had travelled a safe enough distance away from the wolf.
From behind me I heard a man say, “Hey, wait.”
I spun on my heel, reaching for a sword I didn’t have. Facing me was a man, completely naked in appearance. The wolf was nowhere to be seen. “Where did you come from?” I asked.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t know someone else inhabited this area. I have seen no one in this part of the world in a long time. I suppose I should have known when there were suddenly snares set up. But you see, the wolf doesn’t always think rationally, and the wolf was hungry,” he said.
I stared at him, unsure what he could be talking about. The wolf must have run away before this man came up to me.
“The wolf?” I questioned, my body’s state of hunger completely taking over any further rational thought I could have had at that moment.
It was after I spoke he did something so unbelievable. Right before my eyes, the man shifted into the wolf. The sheer surprise overwhelmed me, and I fainted. I was told it was several minutes before I came to again. The man sitting on the ground next to me inquired about where I was staying.
Skeptically, I told him of the place I had found under the mountain. He knew the area I referred to, being so near where we currently sat.
He helped me to my feet and walked with me back to the hidden door. Before leaving, he introduced himself as Zev and told me he was banished here eight hundred years prior. He told me of the many other people who have come through these parts during his time here.
He also told me of the elderly woman who was banished here with him and he vowed to take me to her cottage at a later time. Although, he did warn me that she is not exactly fond of him since it’s his fault she was banished here. He vowed to leave my snares alone, but told me he could not guarantee the wolf would comply with his promises.
Wow, so Zev is a werewolf! I wondered how he could have been working for the king since, well, wolves don’t talk. I wonder how the woman got sent there with him?
Yawning, I decide it’s time to stop reading for the night. I put my bookmark between the pages and set the journal on the side table. Before going to my room, I make one last trip to the bathroom and then climb into bed, pulling my blankets over myself.