"Are you kidding me?!" My voice squeaked at the end in excitement. I have not had a lot of interactions with any supers and their culture outside of reading about it, training with a select few, and killing them. This was a rare opportunity for me. "I'm excited to see how it all works. I have always been fascinated with pack life." They both gave me an odd look, like I was being weird, so I forced myself to calm down, shoulders relaxed, as I let my excitement fall from my face.
They just didn't get it. When you’ve lived with a mother like mine, and a colony of people who are willing to let you go just as easily, the thought of having a whole group of people you considered family was so foreign to me. I wanted to see how it all worked.
Gears cleared his throat. "As long as you're safe, it shouldn't be a problem. We usually have a couple of members who don’t shift and still run with the group, so you can follow them.”
“That sounds good, but I can probably keep up with you guys. I have trained for long-distance running.” I didn't want to be left behind as I was observing their rituals. A cruel chuckle came from the back seat, and I couldn't hold my tongue. “What’s your problem now?”
“I bet you that there is no way you can keep up with us for even a mile.” Dino smirked with disbelief, thinking that this ended the conversation, but he was so wrong. I don’t give up that easily.
“What are the stakes?” He sputtered for a second, obviously not thinking I would take it this far.
Gears smiled as he chimed in, “What do you want?”
I tapped my finger on my chin, pretending to think really hard about it. “Since this is just between Mr. Smiles and me… If I win, I want you to breakdance at the get-together.” I crossed my arms as I smiled at Dino and puffed out my chest.
His eyes narrowed on me. “Fine.” His eyes lit up brilliantly as he smiled with all his teeth, and I got nervous. “If I win, then you have to strip dance for us.”
I was slightly shocked by his request, but as soon as that smile turned smug and sure, I stuck out my hand to shake on it. “Deal.” He immediately grabbed mine and squeezed hard.
“Deal.”
Gears shook his head, about to say something, when I saw the mage owner open their door and look straight at us. “Okay, boys, I think it's time to get out of here.” Gears started for the exit just as the owner took a few steps towards us, and I waved at him.
Gears followed my directions as we made our exit and were deposited onto an on-ramp for the freeway. No black SUV in sight. We all breathed a little easier the farther we got from the city, finally relaxing as we exited the freeway and headed for the compound.
As soon as we arrived, we immediately headed for Gears’ shop to unload. I hopped out and shut the door when I saw Rabid, Bricks, and Duce making their way over to us. “Looks like the cavalry is here,” I said as I went to the back of the vehicle.
“Good. Then we can get this all unloaded in one swoop,” Dino explained as he picked up a few rifles and followed Gears inside.
I turned and saw Rabid leading the pack with a frown on his face as he stomped his way up to me. “What is all this?” He motioned to the Humvee, and I winced.
“Well… you see-” I started, but Gears interrupted just in time.
“We ran into some trouble, but, luckily, Celine had a whole underground bunker full of stuff, and we were able to get away in this bad boy.” He tapped his hand against the vehicle. “It drives like a beauty. Much safer than bikes out in the open.” I knew what he was trying to do, and I wanted to give him a big kiss right on his lips for it.
Rabid’s eyes widened when he said we were in some trouble, his gaze snapping to me. I immediately put my hands up, expecting him to start yelling at me for getting his men in a sticky situation. Except instead, his eyes roamed all over my body, searching for something. When he was done, he glared at all three of us and gruffly said, “We will be talking about what happened later. Bricks, Duce, help get these weapons wherever Gears wants them.”
Duce swaggered up to me, putting his arm around my waist as he whistled, “Damn, Cupcake, you weren't lying when you said you had a stash. Each sweet layer is just getting sweeter and sweeter. When am I going to get the glass you promised?”
That's when I punched him in the gut. He doubled over, clutching at his gut, as I bent over at my waist and whispered in his ear, “All you need to do is ask, Pumpkin, and I will rain down glass like there's no tomorrow.”
I gave him a smack on his bent-over ass before he looked up at me and gave me a wobbly smile as he winced. “That's my girl.”
After all the guys put the weapons away, the tow truck arrived and dropped off Dino and Gears’ bikes, and Gears moved the Humvee into the garage. By the time we got all of that done, it was dinner time. Apparently, Brick's made some homemade pizza while we were out, and we had pizza and beer.
It was a pretty low-key night, with us telling three of them the whole story while we ate and drank. Rabid was huffing and puffing for most of the night, which was to be expected. Bricks surprisingly asked a lot of questions about the house and what I had, then tried to pry out why I would need so much stuff. I played it off that I was just over-prepared, which isn't technically a lie. Duce balanced himself between complimenting my savviness and laughing at Dino. For the most part, it was one of the most normal nights of my life.
As the night wound down, Gears told me that he needed to work on the cameras and weapons placement plan and would be getting in late, so I could have his room to sleep in. I thanked him, telling everyone ‘goodnight’ before I climbed up the stairs.
Just as I rested my head on the pillow, smiling as I thought about my day, I heard a buzz from my phone. My smile fell away as I grabbed my phone and looked at the text message.
Progress?
Just that single text from Glenn popped the bubble I had been living in, and reality came crashing down on me. I sat up and I set the phone down between my legs. My eyes traveled around the room, smiling at Gears’ piles and organized mess. This was all temporary.
I snatched my phone back up, my thumbs flying as I texted him back before I chucked the phone at the wall.
Almost.
