Levi put his hand on my shoulder. “It’s okay if you can’t get it all done. There’s a lot to deal with. Remember, this is a learning environment. I said tonight just because that’s when I’d be back. I only want to see how much you can get done.”
“Sure,” I muttered. “See you tonight.”
I hurried back to my room, only throwing one glance over my shoulder to see Levi sprinting into the forest, his fur fluttering in the breeze. The snow was still melting, nearly all gone now, which made the walk easier.
I settled on my bed and flipped through the pages to get a sense of what was happening here. What I found surprised thehellout of me.
Hidden Grove wasn’t just a little village tucked away with no one’s knowledge; it was extremely well-functioning and self-contained. There were electricity and water bills, which told me the water wasn’t from a well, and the electricity wasn’t stolenfrom a nearby pack. The bills came from Harrisville, which was the closest human town. That was nearly thirty miles away. It must have been a hell of an undertaking to the dig the water and power lines that far.
Not only that, but he had contracts in Harrisville to buy fertilizer for the gardens and feed for the animals. It looked like he’d done all he could to keep Hidden Grove off the map from other shifters.
Sighing, I pulled out a pad of paper and pencil and started working on balancing the pack’s bank account. Two hours later, Linnea knocked on my door.
“What are you doing, girl? It’s the nicest day we’ve had in weeks out there,” she said. “Come enjoy it. The high is going to almost get to fifty today.”
“Ah, yes. A balmy forty-nine degrees. Let me put on my thong bathing suit.”
She huffed and leaned on the doorjamb. “You know what I mean. Come on. Some of us were going to go for a hike later. Join us.”
I remembered the hungry eyes of the Red Maw men, and a shiver ran up my spine. I didn’t even want to think about venturing into the woods. It actually made me a little wary thinking of Linnea and the others going out alone. When we got back yesterday, Levi had told Rainier and a few of the other men who lived in Hidden Grove what happened. They’d decided to run more patrols to ensure the rival pack wouldn’t try to push any closer. Levi was certain that the way he’d dealt with the intruders would be enough of a deterrent, but I wasn’t that positive.
“I’ll stick around here,” I said.
“Really?” Linnea looked disappointed. “It’ll be fun.”
“Yeah. Levi gave me some work to do. I should probably get it done before leisure time.”
“You’re such a teacher’s pet,” she said, but there was no malice in her words. “Is it at least interesting? Something to pass the time while I go enjoy the wilderness?”
I groaned. “Not really. I don’t think Levi chose this task because it’s fun or interesting.”
“Speaking of Levi… Do you know why he spread the word that we shouldn’t go too far into the forest for the next little while? Rainier told us all last night at dinner, and none of us can understand why. He wouldn’t elaborate. Said we had to go on the hike as a group too. All he said was that it was for safety reasons.”
I swallowed. Levi didn’t want anyone to panic. He’d told Rainier to be vague and had asked me to keep what had happened quiet for the same reasons.
“Not sure,” I lied. “Maybe he’s worried about another storm coming through?”
“Doubtful. Yousureyou don’t want to come?”
“I’ll be fine. Have fun,” I said.
Once she left, I got back to work, only taking a break a few hours later to grab a sandwich and some potato salad for lunch. I brought it back to my room and ate while I worked on a plan to reorganize the supplies in the storage building. After lunch, I headed over there to begin the actual work of moving and cataloging all the items. The building operated like a big commissary, where everyone could get what they needed. It definitely needed organizing. Bags of fertilizer were stacked beside cans of gasoline—an explosion waiting to happen. Canned foods sat on the same shelves as hand tools, and for some reason, the dried foods were in a back corner along with stacks of clothing and blankets.
Sighing, I started reorganizing, writing down the new locations for each thing and creating a map where everything could be found. Three hours later, I was done and dead on myfeet. I tacked the map up by the door, along with a sign-out sheet. That way, Rainier and Levi could tell who was taking what and when.
The sun was setting as I returned to my room. The books were balanced, the inventory taken care of, and I’d written up a calendar so Levi would know when each bill was due. Gathering everything together, I headed to his cabin. I’d just wait there until he returned.
I’d only barely sat down on one of the porch chairs when the familiar, lean shape of his massive wolf emerged from the forest. He stepped up onto the porch before shifting back.
He raised an eyebrow. “All done?”
“Mostly,” I said. “I figured you’d want to take a look and see if it passed the test.”
“Come on in out of the cold,” he said, opening his door. “I’ve got something in the fridge that I wanted to try on you. It might stir your inner wolf to come out.”
“Really? In the fridge?” I looked at him incredulously.
Looking at me with a pained expression, he shrugged as he stepped inside. “You’ll need an open mind, but I’ve heard it can help.”
