5
990 Words
His eyes light up. Like mine, his eyes, too, are a light green with specks of gold in them. But he inherited our father's curly brown hair, while mine is long and sleek and black, like our mother's. My mouth is a little wide with a mole just above my upper lip, all my baby fat long gone. Harry still has his chubby little cheeks and an infectious smile that makes me want to drown his precious face in kisses.
I raised him from the moment he was born.
My mother was too busy trying to earn my father's love to pay attention to him. I was the one who fed him, clothed him, looked after him. Mom was just never around.
I let out a long breath, "You doing good, kiddo? School's going well?"
"I made some friends," Harry beams at me before turning back to the television.
"You did?" I smile at him. "And when do I get to meet them?"
"Never," my little brother gives me a narrow-eyed look over his shoulder. "You always embarrass me in front of my friends!"
I grin, "That's my job. And I'm going to get better at it, so you'd better watch out."
Harry sticks his tongue out at me before edging closer to the television.
I leave him be, turning my attention back to the screenshots I just took.
I go through the responses, and my jaw tightens as the word pheromones keeps coming up. But it doesn't make sense. Pheromones, in us shifters, usually come out when a potential mate crosses paths with us. And if that happened, I would know. If the man meant to be my mate entered the bar I worked at, there is no way I wouldn't have found out.
Every wolf shifter has potential mates out there who can be a good fit for us. Pheromones come out when the mate is in proximity. They drive both shifters towards each other. Sometimes, potential mates can turn out to be your fated mate. Everyone looks for that.
I feel uneasy. There's no hint of joy within me.
When I left home to come to Oregon, I crossed state lines, entering another wolf pack's territory. The dominant wolf pack in Portland is an aristocratic family. Since Oregon is huge, I never expected to run into any wolf shifter from their pack, especially not in a seedy little bar like Silver Brawl. But if one did come in there, it might cause a problem. They might not like the idea of me entering their turf. It depends on how territorial they are.
I sink my teeth into my lower lip.
This is not good.
Not good at all.
"Aisha?"
I nearly jump out of my skin when I realize Harry is standing next to me.
"Y-Yeah?" I stammer, one hand on my racing heart.
My brother gives me an odd look, "Can we have lunch already? I'm starving."
I get to my feet, "Alright."
He watches me while I move around in the kitchen, boiling some potatoes, "Why can't we have meat?"
On the surface, his complaint sounds childish. But I know his body is craving meat.
I glance out the window, feeling desperate. It's a thought I've considered now and then, but venturing into the wilderness surrounding the city can be dangerous. There are more chances of running into a wolf shifter there. I can't afford the meat, and the only other way to get it is to hunt.
My fingers tremble as I take out the boiled potatoes, and I force my voice to be steady, "Soon. We'll get some meat soon."
I don't know how many more jobs I can do. Even my body has its limits. My rib cage is starting to show, and that worries me. If I'm weak, I can't protect Harry. Maybe I should try hunting some rabbits or something for us, just around the edge of the forest.
Anxiety fills me.
If anything happens to me, Harry will be all alone.
I'm trying not to take any necessary risks.
I pack some of the raw mincemeat in the potato cutlets before frying them. I take one while Harry gobbles up the rest. However, he tries to give me some of his.
"Why do you eat so little, Aisha?" He asks curiously.
I lean over and pinch his cheek, "Because when you eat, I feel full."
"That doesn't make any sense," he makes a face.
I laugh lightly, "It makes sense to me."
"You're weird."
"Alright," I get to my feet. "Just for that, you get to do the dishes. All of them."
I hear him groaning as I walk away, and my lips twitch.
After the park, I'm going to sleep till my shift starts. At least, that's my plan. However, my phone begins ringing, and I stare at Henry's name on the screen. Reluctantly, I answer, "Hey, Henry."
"Aisha, listen. Tom isn't coming in for his afternoon shift. He's got some family emergency. There's not a lot of work in the afternoon, and I have to head to the airport to pick up my son. Can you take Tom's shift?"
I run agitated fingers through my hair, "My new semester begins tomorrow, Henry. And I still have the night shift. I need to sleep right now."
However, Henry refuses to give up, "I'll give you double the overtime. Or triple. We have a few day drinkers, Aisha, but they pay well, so I can't have nobody there."
I let out a sigh, "How much is triple?"
When he names the amount, my eyes widen, "Ah, I'm on my way."
I hear him chuckle, "I've never seen somebody so motivated by money. Alright. I have to leave in an hour. I'll see you soon."
I hang up the call and look in the direction of the kitchen, where I can hear Harry eating. He's going to be so mad.
- Writer
