The Taint of Wolves

Taking Control

Chapter Fifteen: Taking control.

I wanted a job.

I mulled it over after another quiet morning in the kitchen. Nothing in this house, except what had been brought from my apartment, was mine. The Alpha Supreme had said nothing about it, but I didn't like the shift in control. Money meant I could leave whenever I wanted and my sparse savings tucked away upstairs would only bring me so far.

I could have lived on the streets again, hiding under bridges. Cold and wary - knowing that my claws could gut an attacker, but sleeplessness still plagued me.

I left in the morning, dressed in my most normal pair of clothes. Normal as in, no bedazzled ducks or rain-clouds on my raincoat. I left a note in the kitchen for Lux and stepped out into the sunlight. It was early still as I walked through the housing estate and out into the town.

There were shops spread out around me; shops where I could work. Clothes shops. Children's little boutiques and toy-shops. That shop with shining clips. I didn't try that one. I was afraid that I'd end up nabbing something on the sly. The café? I imagined being snapped at. Snarled at. No.

Eventually, as people began to move, I found my way to the town-hall. It was the same old routine this time around, only now I hadn't been living on the side of the road for months. The town-hall was old and drafty and an older woman was fussing over a leaky radiator as I stepped inside.

She looked up as I walked inside, eyes crinkled and warm. "Hello dear."

She distinctly smelled of mint. There was no Lycan in her blood and as I neared, I saw the faded scar clamped onto her neck. Wearing an old cardigan and slip on shoes, she looked as if she would break if I sneezed in her direction. I eyed the arching ceilings and the cold draft. "I'm looking for a job."

She examined me critically. "You're one of the newcomers to our little town, aren't you?"

"Yes."

"You know the Alpha wouldn't see you starve?" She said kindly.

"His money isn't my money." I told her frankly. "And I don't like to sit around."

Her attention flickered to my neck. To my own branding mark that would not look as faded as hers. "Did you bring any school or college certs with you."

The same old shame burned my cheeks. "I actually... I didn't finish school, but I'm not..." Stupid. "I'm a good worker. I cleaned in my last job and I never missed a day."

Her lips thinned but that kindness in her eyes did not fade. She held out her hand to me, her joints swollen and awkward. Gingerly, I took her hand and let her shake it, feeling her bones like fragile stems of glass beneath my grip. "My name is Trudie."

"I'm Nova."

Trudie smiled softly. "Nova Blue Linden. Anyone who knows Supreme Alpha Young knows who you are. A lot of us would never have the lives we have today if it wasn't for you."

"Are you close to the Alpha then?" I tucked my hands close to me, eyeing the drafty hall behind her.

"I am a listening ear." She said. "He's been good to me and he bears a lot of weight on his shoulders. I listen to people who need someone to listen. If you are looking for a job...well, I tend to the town-hall and set it up for meetings and gatherings. Usually, I'm able to do it on my own, but I'm getting old and weak. I might need some help some-days. I don't want the place to fall into disrepair just because I'm slow. The children throw plays here, we have music performances in the summer and we have...gatherings for addicts and victims of the Law."