Kyra
Living without Derek was lonely.
She’d thought she’d understood loneliness, growing up as the only child in a family that had no pack. And then later, in a house full of vampires. She’d always been alone and had grown accustomed to the solitude.
But in those first weeks after she left the pack, she reached a whole new level of loneliness.
She had no idea what to do with herself.
As soon as Derek got the vampires moved, he secured a trust fund for her with coven money and had it all moved to her name, in a separate bank. The coven no longer had access to her money. She had a million dollars and didn’t need a dime.
She’d always meant what she said about valuing teachers, but she’d never thought she’d actually get to be a teacher. Oddly enough, she’d never bothered to imagine a life beyond her mission.
That was something else the brainwashing had robbed her of – a future. She had trouble even imagining it.
She needed a career, something to throw herself into.
She moved to Kentucky, which seemed so utterly different from Alaska. There she enrolled in college full time, and with all the credits she’d amassed over the years of pretending to be human, she had two years’ worth of credits with good grades. She was still intrigued by the idea of teaching, but she also felt the need for penance, and after reading the course descriptions, she decided she wanted to major in social work, so that she could give back in some way. It sounded trite to say she wanted to help people, but it was true.
She went to the bookstore and started reading in the self-help area, and realized that to be an effective social worker, she needed to work on herself. The first thing she did was find a therapist. She didn’t wait to find one who was a shifter, she’d save that for later. She found a highly-recommended human shifter, and she altered the facts of her life. By changing a few of the details to make it sound like she’d gotten roped into a cult who dealt with the mafia, she was able to speak freely.
If she ever slipped up and used the word vampire, the therapist would just think she was using nicknames. Therapy helped a lot, which was good because the human medicine wouldn’t be strong enough for her. She also made sure that she shifted into her wolf form every day, and she hunted as well to keep her skills strong.
She considered joining a pack, but she wasn’t quite ready for that yet.
The weeks turned into months, and missing Derek did not get any easier.
Six months to the day after she left, she considered using some of her money to fly back to Alaska. She wasn’t even going to try and visit Derek. She just felt the overpowering urge to check on him.
But she resisted the urge. Derek had her phone number. He hadn’t called or written. He’d told her to keep in touch, but maybe he meant that she should send a Christmas card, not actually try to communicate with him.
So she went on with her day, going to class, going to her internship at the after school program for at-risk kids, and then back to her small house to study.
That evening, she was sitting on her porch despite the chilly weather, making sure none of the neighbors could see her. In Kentucky, the people thought thirty degrees Fahrenheit was intolerably cold and didn’t venture out unless it was about fifty-five. When they found out she’d lived in Alaska, they had all kinds of questions.
Christmas was coming up and that made her feel more alone than ever. The vampires, in all their dysfunctional glory, had loved Christmas, and had held onto many of the traditions. They’d always had a Christmas tree that glowed with lights. Dainty glass ornaments had sparkled on the tree and underneath they’d stashed gifts wrapped in thick paper and tied with large ribbons.
She didn’t miss them, not really, but they had been familiar to her, and now nothing in her life was familiar.
She’d bought a tree and tried to make it festive, but it just seemed sad. She couldn’t recreate the cold elegance the coven had bestowed on anything they decorated, but a more casual tree didn't work either. She’d finally taken the tree to the after-school program and let the kids take over, and they’d done a wonderful job.
She had no one to buy gifts for either. But maybe she’d get something small for all the kids. They would love some sidewalk chalk and bubbles – even the teens.
She went inside and made herself a cup of hot cider and picked up her social work theory textbook. There was no point in feeling sorry for herself. She had made a life for herself, sort of. She still didn’t have any friends, but that was mainly because she was scared to let it happen. Several of the women in her classes had made an effort, and one of her new year’s resolutions was going to be to actually attempt some friendships.
She was halfway down the page, highlighter in hand, when she felt something.
She capped the highlighter and sat up, looking around. What in the world? It felt like… she was afraid to even consider it. It had been six months since she’d felt that little ping in the back of her mind.
There were no shifters in the area she’d chosen in Lexington, Kentucky, and she’d made that choice deliberately.
But there was no mistaking it. This was a wolf shifter.
She hopped over her porch railing and landed in the yard, scenting the air. She really hoped no one was looking, because they'd see her in a sweatshirt, shorts, and socks, out on the frosty grass.
She closed her eyes and centered herself.
Derek?