Aleeza hurried along the concrete steps. Why did they have to be so dang high? Her shortish legs had enough trouble without the universe and architects of old working against her!
Stupid court house, she thought as she juggled several overstuffed folders in her hands while trying not to spill the organic iced dark roast she’d picked up from Java Haus for her boss.
High-heels killing her already bruised feet, she stumbled on the last step and almost dropped the twenty-ounce cup. It was, of course, made from recycled plastic. Aleeza was conscientious if nothing else, a quality both her bosses appreciated.
At least there was one thing about her he liked. She wheezed in another breath as she maintained her grip on the muted black tumbler. Her heart pounded with the exertion and she mumbled a curse as one file threatened to slip precariously from her grip.
That lying hack Hans was going to hear a mouthful from her the next time she walked into that stupid gym. I’m in fine shape, my ass! Can’t even get up some steps without breathing like an Olympic runner. Some help that gym membership turned out to be.
Aleeza was a private person by nature, not shy exactly, but she tended to avoid the limelight. She was a curvy woman. Not fat exactly, but definitely not thin. Her Christmas gift from her bosses at Macconwood Law Associates had been a membership to the trendy new gym in town.
She took the subtle hint that her curves were unwelcomed in the office of the two very fit Werewolves and started classes almost immediately. Her first intro to the place was a tour by the owner himself. She recalled how the jerk had tried to grope her ample assets as he showed her how to use the machines at Bodies by Hans.
A subtle reminder that she worked for the most respected law firm in town had him backing up hands in the air within minutes. A small victory for her, considering he advised her on who would be a match for her as a personal trainer. Ugh.
Just thinking about the woman put her back up. Three months had passed. She’d put up with the slimy owner, hired the personal trainer he’d suggested, and she hadn’t lost a single pound.
The woman, Bree, was a complete whack-a-doo and she absolutely hated Aleeza. Her constant complaining and judgmental attitude towards Aleeza made her want to quit most days, but she pushed her pain aside and endured.
That was pretty much all she’d been doing since she started working for the Lowell brothers. Eating her heart out for Dib Lowell, working impossibly long hours, and keeping an indifferent expression on her face. It all left her feeling exhausted and empty at the end of the day.
But hey, at least now I have shin splints and sore feet! So, not a total loss, right? Ugh. FML. Rolling her eyes, she focused on the now and hurried to do her job, lest she be fired for incompetence. Yeah, right. She was damned good at her job. Confidence back in place, she picked up the pace.
“Excuse me,” she ducked between two older men arguing about something or other as she hustled to beat her boss to the courtroom.
Aleeza only hoped her clinical strength deodorant would stop her from sweating through her thin blouse. All this running around in the oddly warm weather was bound to make her a little damp. But that was spring for you. You could never tell what it would be like outside.
It was not even nine and she knew it was going to be a long day. She’d spent another restless night and wondered if she was coming down with a bug. That would suck considering their caseload.
It didn’t help that her bosses never got sick. It was a Wolf thing. Sure, she was the daughter of a Werewolf, but the gift had skipped her.
Aleeza had the same average health of any other normal around. She had not benefited from any of the supernatural abilities that kept her father, Lou Marlowe, looking half of his seventy-five years.
She also had the same healing habits of everyday normals, which explained her current stomachache. Must be a virus or something going around.
Ten-minutes until nine o’clock. Damn, she exhaled. Almost there. Aleeza knew her boss would be there at least half an hour before the courtroom opened its doors.
Dib Lowell would be immaculately dressed, tailored suit outlining his tall, hard body to perfection. His shoes would be shined to a high gloss, and his auburn hair and beard neatly trimmed and combed away from his chiseled face. As always, he’d look good enough to stop her heart in her chest.
Her eyes would find him through the crowd as they unerringly had a thousand times before, and he’d scowl the second he saw her. It was always the same reaction.
Aleeza had a shameless attraction to the slightly older man, but it was utterly pointless. He thought she was a baby. Twenty-six to his almost forty years old. Not that it mattered, him being a Werewolf and all. He was in his prime.
She ran to catch the elevator only to have it slam in her face. Crap! She had five minutes to beat him there. Wouldn’t that be awesome? If she could get to court before the great Dib Lowell!
She looked towards the stairs and rolled her eyes. She had no choice. The ancient elevator would take too long to make its way back down the five stories to the ground floor. Again she cursed the men, because it could only be men that did something so inefficient, who’d designed the old building.
Aleeza turned towards the staircase and began her trek. Of course, juvenile court was on the top floor. Judge Niedermeyer presiding. She smiled at the same time she resented having to jog up the flights of stairs.
The Lowell brothers, along with Aleeza, had been frequent visitors to the juvenile court ever since they had agreed to take on any work the Macconwood-Nighthawk Teen Outreach program sent their way. It was a wonderful mission. Something that really made a difference in their community. Their Pack.
Members of the Macconwood Pack, and Wolf Guards to their esteemed Alpha, Rafe Maccon, both Dib and Kurt felt it prudent to accept Cat Maccon’s proposal that they help the youth of their Pack with any legal issues. Smart guys.
She snorted as she hurried up the stairs. As if they’d even try refusing the Alpha’s sister. Aleeza might not be a Werewolf, but she’d been born to one and she knew all about Pack life.
When she’d applied for the job as a paralegal while still earning her law degree, she’d dreamed of being on a team that righted wrongs and fought injustices within the Pack.
Approval and acceptance had always been just out of her reach as a child. She’d had to keep her father’s secret, only to be turned away from the Wolves who saw her as defective.
Aleeza survived the pains of childhood with a few bumps and bruises. Grateful for those in the Pack who were her friends, like Clara and Delia Crescent. The rowdy sisters were near her age and had been fun to hang with when they’d all been in high school.
A terrible car accident had left Clara permanently scarred their senior year. A drunk driver had caused the wreck and, luckily, Delia had emerged unscathed.
The teen who’d been driving had gone on to have another, unfortunately, fatal accident later that year. Something that had angered and hurt Aleeza in her youth.
With this new initiative from her bosses, they had an opportunity to help young Werewolves in trouble and to follow it through to long term therapy and care. Care that the drunk driver from years ago could have benefitted from, maybe, just maybe.
Aleeza slammed the door on that train of thought. She had no time for a trip down not-so-happy memory lane. Besides, she had more than enough to keep her busy these days.
Who knew Werewolf pups could be such an unruly bunch? Ever since the Curse of Natalis had ended, Werewolves across the world had been reconnecting, and, in some cases, awakening to their supernatural sides with a vengeance. Such changes sometimes came with a side of mischief.
Most of the side effects of this life-altering event were welcomed by the Wolf community as a whole. And the Macconwood Pack was doing everything they could to help ensure the changes that affected their members were being addressed in the best possible way.
For some reason that thought resonated with Aleeza. Not for the first time in her life she wished she was a Werewolf.
Maybe then he would notice…