It was lunch time, a late lunch, as the three of us sat at a table on the outskirts of the food court in the seventh gates mall. Around our feet countless bags filled with new clothes were propped up and Mathew looked exhausted.
"I don't understand why you need so many things?" He looked to me.
"Danica only got two dresses and some jeans…" Jenny held up her hand.
"Because most of my stuff was destroyed in the fire. Remember? And Danica blew all her money on a violin." I raised an eyebrow.
"Fire?" She sighed.
"Our house was burnt down during the attack. But no one was inside." She sighed then grinned. "Which means I can buy a whole new wardrobe!" Mathew nodded and looked to the bags that held men's clothes.
"But why do I need so many?" She giggled.
"You wolf out a lot of clothes." He sighed.
"Point taken…" He grumbled as his phone rang then pulled it out of his pocket. With a surprised grunt he sat up as he looked at the screen. "I'll be back… Boss man is calling." He slipped away to answer his phone. Jenny shook her head.
"That's unusual… But he's the Beta." She turned to me with a grin.
"So how long have you secretly played the violin?" I shrugged.
"Since I was four. My mother insisted I learn to play something." I smiled sadly. "On weekends I use to busk just out the front of this mall." She giggled.
"Was that how you earned your pocket money?" I nodded.
"When my mother died Harry made me keep practicing and I hated her for that…" I felt a pang of guilt for my confession.
'Fuck what's wrong with me? In just two days I have revealed more about myself to people than I would dream about. Rodger new about my failed love life and now Jenny, and soon Mathew, would know about my ups and downs with music.' I snapped out of my thoughts.
"But I soon realized the violin brought back the good times with my mother and not just the bad." I sighed. "When Harry passed away Gilbert the old tyrant who checked in on me, when I was emancipated, would come by two or three times a week to make sure I was doing my homework and kept up my practice. When I refused to play the violin he got mad and told me I was wasting my talent… the next time he stopped by he gave me a guitar and told me to get good or he'd cut my phone lines." Jenny burst out laughing.
"Wait so you play the guitar too?" I nodded.
"Yeah, I took one look at that old jazz guitar and fell in love. I found out later it was his. He used to play and even has six jazz records to his name… but after arthritis set in in his hands he could no longer work the strings. He said it broke his heart when the day came, he could no longer play… so it was buried in his apartment at the back of the wardrobe. It took him two days to dig it out." Jenny nodded.
"You don't know how much you miss something until its gone." I nodded.
"He still invites me over and I play while he taps out drum on that terrible electric thing he's got." We laughed then looked up as Mathew ran back and placed a hand to Jenny's back.
"I'm so sorry, but Jenny I need your help. Danica, could you look after the bags we need to go out and search immediately. Hunters have attacked a group of our warriors nearby." She jumped to her feet and I nodded.
"Go, I'll wait here for you. Just stay safe you two." They nodded and quickly made their way out of the mall." I frowned and looked to the bags. "I'll have to stay here…" I got up and ordered another coffee before sitting back at the table and using a newly purchased belt I tie some of the bags together so if I had to move them I could take them all in one go.
It had been an hour and I read through nearly all of Jenny's magazines. With a grunt I reached for the last one. Not knowing why, I looked around and saw twin boys of about eight, wandering around the mall. They seemed to be looking for someone or something. As they began to get closer I could smell they were werewolves. I lowered the magazine and stared.
One of the boys stopped in his tracks and looked around at me. He nudged his brother and the identical face shot around. The two seemed as though they were about to run.
"You two get over here!" They flinched and walked over to my table their heads down and hands clasped in front of them. "What the hell are you two doing out on your own?" I looked around. "Where's your parents?" They shrugged.
"Our dad is probably at home." One boy volunteered.
"And your mother?" The second boy bit his lower lip and said nothing as his brother looked at me a little teary eyed.
"She's dead." I nodded and pointed to the two seats Jenny and Mathew had occupied.
"Sit down." They did and looked around nervously. "How'd you get here?" The talkative boy cleared his throat.
"Our fathers girlfriend brought us here. She was going to take us to see the Phantom plaza. But we were told to wait and she didn't come back so we came to see if she was getting the surprise ready." I raised one eyebrow and looked to my watch.
"At this time of day? But there's no fighting going on. Why would you want to go there?" The boys grinned and wiggled in excitement.
"Do you know where it is?" I frowned.
"Not from this side… " Truthfully, I had no idea how to get into the Phantom plaza from this side. I had only ever entered through the back door. The boys looked crestfallen. With a shake of my head I had a look at the menu. "Do you guys like pancakes?" They nodded and I waved them over to the counter as I stood up. "Order what you want. You can eat while we wait for your guardian to turn up." The boys grinned and began to order. I bit my thumbnail and looked around.
'I could take them to the security office… but with hunters around that could bring unwanted attention and their guardian is a werewolf so she'll be able to sniff them out.' My thoughts turned dark as I remembered what Mathew had said about an attack. 'This girlfriend… couldn't have been the one attacked… could she?' I gritted my teeth and paid for the food then returned to my seat as the boys sat eagerly and waited.