Waindale

“I know! I’ll be back by dinner!”

I quickly pull on my jacket and shrug my backpack up my shoulders. Grandma comes into the front room with an umbrella and hands it to me.

“Thanks,” I smile and take it.

“Always forgetting. Been here a month and—how many times has it been—caught in the rain maybe ten? Fifteen times?”

My brows furrow. “No way. No more than ten.”

“Alright. Alright. Remember to say goodbye to your mother.”

“Out on the porch?” I double-check and grandma nods.

I find my Mom with a blanket tossed over her shoulders and her laptop on her lap, the screen and its many colors nearly religious at this point. The door closes behind me—she doesn’t even notice. Amused, I make my way over.

“Hello? Mom?”

Her eyes flash up at me, then return down. “Not now, Kid. I love you, but not right now. I’m so close, so incredibly close and—”

"Okay, I’m off to school. I’ll be back before dinner.”

She blows me a kiss, her head unmoving. I roll my eyes and fan her shooing kiss from the air. It’s been like this the past few days. She’s almost done her novel. I remember such behavior from the last time she was finishing up a self-proclaimed masterpiece, but Grandma is new to it. Last night at dinner, Mom had a sudden spark and needed to type it out immediately. Grandma wasn’t impressed by Mom’s full dinner plate being shoved aside to accommodate her second child of a laptop computer.

Although I act bothered, my mother’s silliness has been a godsend. All of the drama between Adam and I and Vivian and I and the group and Adam—well, it’s confusing, and I couldn’t keep up anymore. Vivian’s offer to get Adam and I together for a much-needed conversation still stands, and I’m sure it’s due this weekend, but I don’t feel ready to face him.

There’s this desire inside me to uncover more—more about Waindale and the werewolves and Adam. Vivian is always there to answer my questions, but I want to hear about it from someone else. I wish I could ask Adam, but the last time I flung questions his way, he was caught off-guard by them.

After school, I make my way to the Waindale Library with directions from Grandma. It isn’t far from the high school, like most things, and I find myself at the eclectic place just as the sky turns wet. The glass doors give in against my weight, and I wander into the cozy room, up to a barren counter.

“Uh, hello?” I call out softly. My eyes detour around the library as I wait, seeing only an older woman sat at a table with a few books splayed out. Large bookshelves stand in rows behind her.

Eventually, a man emerges from a back room and is surprised by the sight of me. “Oh, hello there. Have you been there long?”

“Um, no, not long. I’m new to town. Could I set up a library card or?”

After establishing myself at this library and taking a crisp new library card with my name on it from the man, I ask where I might find information about the town’s history. He points me to a back corner. Back corners happen to be my favorite.

There aren’t many books on Waindale—three or four at most. I pick up one and skim through, but the majority of its contents are too focused around city planning. I grab another, and it covers all towns in Washington. Waindale has a page. Where it’s fun facts are supposed to be is only a single, scrawny sentence. Waindale, the town saved by wolves. My lips part. My heart speeds up, and I read the sentence over again. That can’t be it! Saved by wolves? What does that mean? Did the author feel no need to explain?

Quickly, I take another book from the shelf. It’s small and thin and is claimed to be written by a Waindale native. A leather chair is set up with a lamp in this unloved corner, so I take up residence and start on page one.

The chapter title reads, Waindale, Washington. Founded in 1913. The first residents were trappers and a family that owned a dairy herd. The family had issues with cows being slaughtered and eventually left town. Due to the wildlife problems, not many people found Waindale to be a homey place, a place to set up a farm or business. My fingers grip the pages harder—finally, what I’ve been looking for. Skipping further ahead, I perk up at the mention of wolves. A large pack of wolves camped in the surrounding forest, and when they finally seemed to die off, people returned to town. They set up a post office, timber yards, fishing boats set sail, and Waindale Academy was founded in 1920. Wealthy people from Waindale and surrounding towns sent their children to school there.

Eventually, the wolves came back, subtly. A cow now and then went missing. A hunter spotted one in the forest two or three times, but they posed no immediate threat. Skipping further ahead, the chapter titled: Wolves Attack steals my attention completely.

My phone vibrates in my pocket. I’m late for dinner. I check out the book and keep it safe from the rain in my backpack as I hurry home.

That night, after grandma has gone to bed, and as my mom stays up to finish her novel in the living room, I curl up in bed with my book. Just as I open to the chapter, my phone lights up. It’s Vivian.

Adam can come tomorrow. You have to. I’m thinking around noon.

My stomach drops. I don’t know; I text back. You know, if I’m ready to.

She answers. You said you would! Wrenley! Not to pressure you, but you’re getting your ass over here!

I toss my phone to the side and turn back to the book only to no longer find interest. I close the book and set it on my nightstand. My anxiety has crept up and left a bad taste in my mouth. Every time I see Adam, something terrible happens to me—I’m embarrassed, caught-off-guard. My eyes wander to the window. He isn’t there. I miss the days when he was. I wanted to hear his voice so badly back then. I was too focused on hearing the sound of it rather than possible words.

I fall asleep without answering Vivian. In the morning, I wake as my mother lightly taps at my shoulder. The sight of her confuses me.

I sit up and swipe hairs from my face. “Mom? What is it?” She never does this. She knows sleep has been precious to me these days.

“Vivian is here. She said it’s urgent,” my mother explains apologetically. “I told her you’re sleeping, but she’s a little relentless—like her mother.”

As my Mom reminisces in her head about her high school days with Tali, I achingly get up and hobble to the front room. Grandma is there, handing a sitting Vivian a glass of juice. Vivian’s eyes harden at the sight of me.

“Good morning, Grandma,” I say.

“You know it’s almost eleven, right?” Vivian asks.

“I haven’t had the best sleep schedule, as you know. I know I didn’t text back, but isn’t waking me up a little extensive?”

Vivian smiles to my Grandma. “Can we talk in your room, Wrenley?”

She leads the way and closes my bedroom door behind us.

“Vivian, I—”

“No, Wrenley. No. I’m sorry, but I’m done putting myself on the line. I know you don’t know much about packs and how everything works, but I can’t just order Adam around. Revealing myself, letting you in, setting up a meeting—none of it is my place to do. I’m taking risks, and you don’t seem to care.”

My shoulders sink. “I’m sorry. I don’t want you to put yourself on the line for me. I don’t want you to get into trouble, really.”

Vivian sighs. “Then why are you making this so hard? I mean, you’re mates. I don’t understand why it’s so hard to get you two together.”

“You know it’s because I’m human. Adam and I aren’t supposed to be mated in the first place.”

"So?” She questions, more emotional about the whole thing than I previously thought. “The Moon Goddess mated you two for a reason. She doesn’t care that you’re a human. She just knew that you and Adam are supposed to be together. I thought you were starting to understand.”

Sitting on the end of my bed, I glance out the window as she stands before me. “I thought I could build up the courage,” I mumble.

“Courage? It’s just Adam. You’ve talked before.”

“I know,” I say, looking to her. “But to me, he isn’t just Adam. He’s like my soul mate. You aren’t supposed to know someone is your soul mate before you get to know them. It’s a realization that comes with time. But, apparently for you guys, there’s no need to waste time at all, huh?”

“Just give him a chance. He’ll have everyone on his back about you, and he’s still willing to give you one. He wants to know you, Wrenley. We only get one mate, and I know Adam wouldn’t just throw that opportunity away. You don’t know each other now, sure, but he would really like to if you let him.”

“Why can’t he tell me all this?” I ask.

“Adam is an Alpha, but when you’re around, well, he’s worried. He doesn’t want to do anything to scare you off. Just give him time, and he’ll be the one telling you all this, I promise.”

I take a breath and watch her face become more and more pleading. “Okay. I’ll come.”

"Okay, good. All you have to do is get ready immediately because we’re running low on time.”

“What? Really?”

Vivian hurries me up and into the bathroom. My heart begins to race as reality sets in. I’m going to see him now—not a week, or a day, but now.