Chapter 4
874 Words
Arianna
The next morning, I pulled on my favorite red scrubs and walked into the lab. We could wear any color we wanted, but red always felt like me—bold, unshakable, untouchable. At least on the outside.
Charlotte, the night-shift processor, was waiting for me at the desk. She was human, older, and always reminding me that she was retiring next year, for sure this time because her back ached too much.
That was something about humans I’d noticed—they constantly complained about pain. Knees, backs, joints. I was grateful for what I was, for a body that didn’t break down the same way. Maybe it was the shifting that kept us strong.
I sat down, logging into the computer and pulling the bin of samples toward me. My job wasn’t glamorous—logging specimens, bagging them, sending them down the chute to hematology, chemistry, or wherever else they belonged—but it paid my bills and kept me under the radar.
I was sealing a set of tubes when my supervisor walked up.
“Hey, Arianna,” Christine said.
“Morning, Christine,” I answered, slipping the tubes into a biohazard bag and pressing the button to send them into the pneumatic system.
She leaned against the counter. “Didn’t see you around last night. You at the run?”
Unlike Charlotte, Christine wasn’t human. She was wolf—Gold Pack, through and through.
“I was there,” I told her. “Did the run, then left. Didn’t stay long.”
“I hope they do it again,” she said brightly. “It was fun.”
I smiled politely. “Someone told me it was the first time you all tried something like that. Where I came from, it was more… common.”
Christine’s eyebrows lifted. She leaned closer, lowering her voice. “You’re from a more traditional pack?”
I hesitated, then gave her the safest truth I could. “You could say that. This place is definitely different from the wolves I’m used to.”
Her surprise was obvious. In the few months I’d been here, I’d learned quickly that Gold Pack wolves were… sheltered. They didn’t realize how insulated their lives were, mixing so easily with humans. In most packs, that would’ve been unthinkable.
“Do you think that’s good or bad?” Christine asked. “Us being different?”
Tricky question. For me, it was good. I needed hidden. But for supernaturals as a whole? Most would call this lifestyle reckless.
I let out a slow breath. “It’s refreshing to start over somewhere new. That much I know.”
Christine nodded thoughtfully. “I see.” She straightened, as if remembering something. “Oh—right, that’s why I came over. I just got a call from the police station.”
My stomach tightened instantly. Why would the police be calling here?
I kept my face neutral. “What did they want?”
If this is about me—if they’ve figured me out—I’ll excuse myself to the bathroom, shift into someone else, and disappear.
“They need supplies for their yearly lead testing,” Christine explained.
I blinked. “Lead testing?”
“Yeah. Standard. Because of the vests, guns, gear—they get checked every year.”
I nodded slowly, forcing a smile. “Interesting. Didn’t know that was required.”
Christine waved it off. “I’ll put the supplies together and leave them with you. When they come by tomorrow, just hand everything over.”
“Sure, no problem.”
“Good.” She hesitated, though, watching me closely. “Actually, there was something else…”
Here it comes.
“What is it?” I asked carefully.
“Did something happen to you last night?”
The question caught me off guard. My heart skipped, but I shook my head. “Not that I’m aware of. I ran, I went home. That’s it.”
Christine studied me. “It’s just—when I was talking to the station, they asked if you got to work okay this morning.”
My pulse kicked hard. “They asked about me?”
“Yeah. Said it looked like you might’ve gotten hurt during the run. Jenna told them you work here, so they wanted to make sure you were alright.”
Jenna. Of course. She probably thought she was being helpful, but she’d just handed the police a direct line to me. And why would they think I was hurt—unless they’d seen that gray wolf shove into me?
I forced a steady tone. “I’m fine. There was someone being an ass last night, that’s all. Probably why they were concerned.”
Christine relaxed. “Alright. Just checking. I’ll bring the supplies by later.”
When she left, I sat there staring at the samples on my desk, anger simmering beneath my skin.
I didn’t need the police sniffing around me.
That damn gray wolf. If this escalates, I might have to pack up and leave—again. And I really, really don’t want to.
Tomorrow, I’ll deal with them. But one way or another, I can’t let anyone here figure out who—or what—I really am.
- Writer
