Chapter Ninety-Four

That stopped me for a minute. I looked back at my mother, and she smiled. “Carl here is what you would call a nomad. He was a part of my father’s pack, but trailed with me to your father's, and then to here. He refused to swear fealty to Vince, so he stays off pack lands. He set up shop here, and since he is one of the few warriors skilled enough to make descenting spray, Vince tolerates him.” My mother went over to Carl and kissed his cheek.

“Always a pleasure to see my Luna,” Carl said.

“Oh, so he meant he follows you?” I bounced my finger between the two, and my mom looked up at Carl, who also gave a tiny nod.

“Yes, and no. Carl here is also a shaman.”

“A what?”

“A shaman.” My mother held out her hand, and I walked over to them. “Your father had his grandmother’s help with his pack. My father had Carl.” I could see it in her eyes. She was asking me to understand.

“Shamans are like grandmother?” I tilted my head, and Carl laughed.

“Yes, and no.” This time it was him. “We are blessed by the goddess, but our gifts are different. We connect to the land and the goddess, but we mostly get these feelings.”

“Feelings?”

“Yes. Say a wolf comes in, and he is sick. I might get the feeling of pain, or feel uncomfortable. I can’t see a clear picture, but I know something is wrong.” He tried to explain, but laughed. “It’s not much of an explanation, but if you had it, you would understand.”

“Daddy? Who are you talking to?” A little girl came from the back room.

“Come here, Carly.” He waved her over and picked her up from the ground. “I want you to meet someone very special.” The little girl was adorable, with bright blonde pigtails and chocolate brown eyes. Her mouth was smudged with what looked to be peanut butter and jam.

“Carl, you never told me.” My mom covered her mouth, and I could see tears welling up in her eyes.

“You have had it rough, and I couldn’t risk it.” His eyes danced between us. “Vince would have tried to take her.”

My mother gasped, and I knew something was about to happen. I walked back to the door and locked it, flipping over the open sign for good measure. “I don’t know what’s happening, but I think this would be a good time to get away from prying eyes.” I stared out of the door and searched the empty parking lot.

“What’s wrong?” My mom started to come over to me, but Carl grabbed her arm.

“Something is coming.” I turned back to Carl, and he nodded. “You knew?”

“Not exactly, but I brought my kid with me today when I’ve never done it before.” He hugged the little girl tighter.

“Why?”

“Because you needed to see there were people loyal to you.” His words were a whisper as his eyes clouded over. I looked back to the parking lot, and I saw Vince and Brandon walking over.

“Mom.”

“Yeah, baby?”

“Take Carly, Carl, and hide.” My mom pulled Carl and the little girl into the back room, and I turned back to the store. I scanned the room quickly and saw a shelf of descenting spray. I rushed to it and grabbed a bottle before throwing it onto the ground and stepping on it, breaking the bottle and sending the liquid rushing out.

The smells from around the room disappeared, and I went to the back room and grabbed a wet floor sign and the mop. My mother’s wide eyes met mine, but I held my finger to my lips. There was a knock on the door, and I could see the fear in little Carly’s face, but my mom held her tightly as Carl just stared out with his blank eyes. It was like he wasn’t there anymore.

I walked back out. “Just a minute,” I called and put the wet floor sign out. I stomped in the liquid, sending it splattering more on the floor. The knock sounded again. “I said just a minute.” I put as much exasperation as I could into my voice and then opened the door with the mop in hand. “Alpha Vince. Brandon.” I jumped back in surprise. “What are you two doing here?”

“We were fol-”

“We came by to see Carl and restock up on some essentials,” Vince cut Brandon off.

I nodded and wheeled my mop bucket back to the puddle. “Carl had to run out for some restock, but he should be back in a few hours,” I lied as I turned back to the two men. “Is there anything I could help you with?”