64
Lucy
I woke up feeling refreshed and rested, even though there was a bit of pain in my neck.
“Come on,” Tina said, nudging me out of the car. She opened her door and climbed out, and the sunlight nearly blinded me. It was near dawn wherever we were. The sun was already recoloring the sky.
I gasped as I looked into the distance and saw water.
This had to be the ocean. There was a single building there that looked like some sort of office building.
“See you later!” Cara said as we got out of the car.
Tina took my hand and led me toward the front doors.
“There’s no need to be shy. Everyone already knows you’re coming. You’ll meet Diana and everyone else formally. They’re super nice….”
I looked around. The walls were all made of glass on the bottom floor. I could see a group of people on the balcony outside in the back. It looked like it led down to the beach. The back doors opened, and I could smell the salt of the ocean.
My heart raced.
“Welcome back, Tina!” The woman behind the receptionist’s desk said. Then, her eyes focused on me and went soft. “Are you Lucy?”
I nodded. “It’s nice to meet you.”
“It’s nice to meet you too, dear. Why don’t you head on up to see Stacy? She said you can debrief later, Tina.”
“Sure thing. I’ll show her the way.”
We walked to an elevator at the end of the corridor. The elevator went up to the top floor, and Tina walked me down to the big doors at the end of the corridor. She smiled at me.
“You’ll be okay,” she said. “Stacy is really nice.”
She knocked, and a soft voice came through the door. “Come in.”
I entered and looked around. The office was really big. It was as big as the luna’s room had been, but maybe a little bigger. There was a small seating area in the center of the room in front of a large desk. The woman sitting behind it was younger than I expected. She looked like she might have been in college or just graduated, but her eyes seemed much older than she looked.
She smiled at me. Her dark eyes sparkled in the early morning light.
“Good morning, Lucy. Please come on in. Take a seat. I’ll be done in just a second. Help yourself to breakfast, hm?”
I blinked and looked over to the table she gestured towards and gasped. There was a small buffet on the table and a few jugs of drink.
“Thank you.”
I crossed the room and started to make myself a plate. I hadn’t tried a lot of the food that was there, but I took a little bit of everything before sitting down. I was pouring myself some juice when she stood and walked around the desk.
I blinked as I realized she was in her pajamas. She slid into a seat across from me and made herself a plate.
“Karlie didn’t tell me much about you other than you needed help, so tell me, Lucy. Who are you?”
I blinked at her. “I don’t even know how to answer that.”
She smiled. “Let’s start with who you’re not, then.”
My lips twitched. “I’m… not the luna of the Blue Moon Pack.”
She nodded. “That’s a good start. Do you want to stay in the supernatural world?”
I winced. “I don’t think so. I didn’t really enter it on my own… Dagon said that I didn’t have to stay in the supernatural world….”
She nodded. “You don’t. As far as I understand it, you’d be free to live wherever so long as you didn’t cause any trouble.”
She bit into a pastry and hummed. “How much education do you have? Have you gone to college?”
I shook my head. “I never even went to high school.”
She tutted. “Honestly, just when I thought my impression of werewolves couldn’t get any worse… How long were you with those Blue Moon jerks?”
I frowned. “What… month is it?”
She blinked. “It’s July.”
I winced. “Three months or so… I was… sold on my birthday.”
Her eyes darkened, and she shook her head. “That’s fucking despicable. Let’s talk about happier things. Like the future and what you might want to do, hm? There’s the supernatural version of the GED, but it won’t do much for you in the human world. I could get you set up for that pretty easily. I have some supernatural connections that could make sure no one thinks it’s weird… unless you’d rather just go and get a job?”
I pushed a piece of fruit across the table. “I don’t…. have any money, so I’m not really sure how I’m supposed to live if I don’t.”
She smiled. “It there’s one thing you can count on, it’s the fact that the supernatural world has money to burn. As a refugee and… whatever else they’re calling you in their system, they owe you so much. Someone else will pay for it: the GED, a college degree, and anything else you want beyond that.”
I winced. “But… what about my living arrangements?”
“You can seek refuge here if you’d like,” she paused and frowned. “I think I’m technically supposed to ask someone about the logistics, but you can stay here.”
“I… don’t think I’d make it as an escort.”
She chuckled. “I don’t think so either. You’re practically shell-shocked. I was thinking more of a renter situation. We could use another clerk.”
“A clerk?”
She nodded. “You’d take phone calls, handle some paperwork, and generally answer some emails. You wouldn’t be involved with the clients other than the occasional billing issue. It would look good on your resume to have some office experience even if you don’t end up going to college.”
She wrinkled her nose. “Much better than just… flipping burgers or packing boxes or whatever people can be hired for.”
I fiddled with my fork. “I wasn’t allowed to pack boxes… I just moved them.”
She blinked. “Someone hired you without a high school degree?”
I nodded. “My… adoptive parents got me the job. They said I needed to earn my keep and pay them back for taking them in.”
She shook her head. “That’s absolutely foul. Well, never mind them or those idiots who paid the system that trafficked you. From now on, you’re focusing, one day at a time, on getting onto your feet in a healthy way.”
She checked her watch. “I’ll call my connections in the supernatural world and have a little pow-wow about the next steps. For now, eat your fill, and I’ll show you to where you’ll be staying.”
“You were serious about me staying here?”
She grinned. “Of course.”
She wiggled her eyebrows. “Wait until you see the bathroom. Ugh, I know the Blue Moon Pack is pretty wealthy, but I know for a fact that my rooms are top-class.”
I smiled at her. “I’m sure it will be great.”
She grinned. “It’s going to be better than great. Is there anything you have questions about that I can answer now?”
I shook my head. “Nothing right now.”
“Great! Eat up, and I’ll show you to your room!”
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