Chapter 8
1172 Words
Zayden POV
I didn't like hardware shops.
It was hard for my nose not to twitch because I could smell fake oil, metal, and new paint. There were endless rows of tools, fittings, and plumbing supplies, and the lights above cast a clean glow on them. While I sighed and ran my fingers over the rows of wires, I had no idea what to do.
Under my breath, I said, "I should just buy everything."
There were caps, swage n*****s, unions, reducers, elbows, tees, and more. What the hell was a swage n****e? I had no idea what half of the things on the list meant. I only knew that Zephyr had told me to go get plumbing materials, and I was so bad at it.
In the back of my mind, irritation pricked. It would have been fine for me to buy everything and figure it out later, but I didn't want to waste money on things I wouldn't use. I kept my fingers on a pipe cutter, not sure if I needed to use it or not. Even though it looked weak, it might be useful.
I felt sick when I saw the silver tools around me. Even though it wasn't real silver—just metal, steel, and aluminum—just seeing it made me feel uneasy. Most shifters were naturally wary of silver, and it made me feel uneasy just to be in a hallway full of it.
When my phone rang in my pocket, I almost dropped the pipe connection I was holding. I dropped it and just barely caught it between my hands before throwing it into the cart.
I mumbled, "Go get Zayden," and put the phone to my ear.
"Can you just deal with the phone like everyone else?" Zephyr let out a sigh on the other end.
I laughed. "I'm sick of hearing everyone say "hi" and "hello." If you're going to call me at 247, please call someone else.
Zephyr let out a small laugh. "All right. Where are you going?"
I chose an odd size because I wasn't sure if it was what I needed. "Trying to act like I know what I'm doing in a hardware store." As you asked."
"Can you leave that place quickly?" His tone changed a little, which made me stop and think.
I grabbed a few connections, put them in my cart, and then pushed it toward the self-checkout. "What's going on?"
After that, there was a short pause, and I thought maybe the call had dropped. "Gorham?"
He spoke in a drawled voice that was filled with something that couldn't be read. "You know how dangerous it is for shifters right now in the city, right?"
I mumbled, "Obviously," and quickly looked over the things. "Why?"
"Okay, here's that woman." A shifter. She's scared to death.
I stopped because of that. The woman across from me at the self-checkout was surprised when I said, "Wait, what?"
Zephyr didn't stop talking. "She ran into me with her cart while I was shopping for groceries."
"Oh, you poor child."
"Be quiet." He huffed. "Then she ran away." Several carts hit me, and she ran like she was in an action movie.
That was strange. Most of the time, shifters weren't that jumpy unless they were in trouble. I got my bags, showed the security guard my ticket, and left. When the cool air hit me, it smelled like city life: hot pavement, gas, and just a hint of rain.
"Are you sure you didn't scare her away?" I asked while moving the bags around in my hands.
Zephyr said, "I wasn't trying to." "She got scared." But she's on foot. "She didn't own a car."
I frowned and walked toward my truck. "What did she look like?"
"Tall." Blonde. Eyes that are very blue. "Pink sweater."
I stopped in my tracks and looked around the streets. There wasn't much there, but it was something. "Should we break up?"
"She's long gone, but I'm still at the store." The best thing to do is look at the people. “I think she's trying to hide.”
"I get it." I put the phone on speaker and put it in my pocket while letting go of the bags. My reflexes took over, and I started to smell things and look for anything that stood out.
Minutes went by. People were making noise in the city—cars honking, people talking, and the shuffle of feet. When I saw her, I was about to give up.
She was at a crossing with a periwinkle bag over her shoulder and her hair was golden. Her eyes were a deep blue. The newspaper she was holding was so heavy that her fingers were white from holding it so tightly. Like an animal in a tight spot, her whole body was tense.
I whispered, "I found her," and pressed mute before Zephyr could answer.
I carefully moved, making sure to stay in her line of sight so as not to scare her. As I got closer, she looked at my face and then down at the bags I was holding.
Then she whispered, "Jesus." "Do you have pipes?"
I put one of my bags on the other hand and put my hand to my face to act angry. "Oh no! Not at all. I forgot to get them. "Stupid, stupid."
She laughed, and the sound was loose and breathy.
That made me feel good. "I haven't seen you around before." "You new?"
Her lips turned up. "You know every single person in a town of six million?"
Laughed. "No, you're not like them."
In an instant, her face changed. She took a deep breath and realized what was going on. She tightened up all over, and her fingers clenched around her bag's strap.
She said in a whisper, "Oh, come on." "Not you either."
Then she ran away.
I said under my breath, "Damn it," as I watched her blend into the crowd. She moved quickly—way too quickly. I couldn't catch up without shifting, and I wasn't going to do that in the middle of the city.
If I took out my phone, I would unmute Zephyr. "Lost her."
"Iheard." His voice wasn't wet. "You didn't even try, did you?"
"What did I need to do?" Go after her and yell at her as you drag her back.
Zephyr let out a breath through his nose. "Zayden, she's scared of us. "Please tell us why."
I changed how I was holding the bags again because my fingers hurt. "Do you think she's by herself?"
The man said, "She has to be." "No pack would let one of their own go out there alone like that."
I made a face. "She brought a bag with her." “May be going through.”
"No," Zephyr said with a firm voice. "She's not."
"How do you know?"
Zephyr was unsure. "Just trust your gut. This girl is unique. We need to look some more.
- Writer
