You look up.
Ed is standing in the doorway. "So... things didn't go that great with Blackwell."
"Yeah, you could say that."
"Well..." he shifts from foot to foot. "I know you probably don't want to talk about it or anything... but just in case I thought I'd ask."
"Thanks Ed. It means a lot."
"Want to catch Pokémon with me?"
You stare at him for a second. "What?"
He pulls out his phone with a dramatic flourish. "I downloaded Pokémon Go. The game. I know. So retro."
"Retro? That game only came out the other year."
He squints at you. "I'm pretty sure it came out in like, 2016, aka a million years ago."
"2016 wasn't that long ago," you protest.
"Wow. You sound old."
"2016 was—"
"It was a lifetime ago," he promises. "But, I'm in the mood for some good old fashioned nostalgia. So, I'm going to go for a walk and see if I can catch something cool." He flashes his crooked grin. "Think you can keep up, old man?"
He flashes you his crooked grin. "Excellent. Come on. Let's get out of here. Unless you want to stay and feel bad for a bit longer?"
You laugh. "No. I think I'm good."
You follow him out the door, through the den, and out into the night. He picks a direction, seemingly at random, and walks, phone held in front of him.
Twenty minutes and half a dozen Pokémon later, you're sitting on a park bench, gazing out over the river.
"Hey," Ed nudges your knee with his. "It's pretty cold. Want to go back to the den?"
"In a bit," you say back.
He hums in agreement and leans against you, his body heat warming you as you sit in silence, watching the city lights flicker on the water.
"In a bit..."
Next Chapter
[b]Chapter Five[/b]
The days that follow your meeting with Blackwell are strange in their normality.
You heal from your injuries. The kids get enrolled in a school scheduled to start next month. The Alpha gets a job as a janitor — a night shift — but he seems convinced no one will notice his monthly absences. Sergi and Nikolas have a fight about something, spend a day glaring at each other, and then make up again just as quickly. Minjo gets a new ultrasound of her baby, which looks very... well... like a baby.
It's all so ordinary.
No strays, no vampires, no secret meetings.
You even start to get a semi-regular sleeping schedule.
Next