"Would you stop thanking me already? It's getting creepy. I have a reputation and I keep to it. I'm the guy who covers for everyone without compensation. Sometimes even the boss. You get that," Chris said when Maeve thanked him again for covering for him. But his words only bit at Maeve all the more.
In truth, a lot of the staff at the eatery were nervous about how Chris actually felt about covering for them, though, that didn't stop them from abusing his ever-present, ever-reliable nature. Maeve had heard some of their peers mocking him. They imagined he must have been down so bad on cash to not skip a day at work in the last few months.
Maeve could only relent after Chris started working the register again.
"Oh, by the way," the young man said as he pushed his glasses up. A look of concern was suddenly over his eyes. "I heard that you had a rough day yesterday. You seemed alright when you came in today, but when you suddenly stepped up with that girl…"
Maeve was taken aback.
"Who told you that?" she asked a bit too sharply. Chris didn't react unpleasantly though.
"Bridget passed by here earlier. She told me about it – how you went out and didn't return until late. She said you looked shaken."
Maeve opened her mouth and closed it swiftly. She found it difficult to believe that Bridget really went out of her way to talk to Chris about that. Chris was a friend to both of them, but only the sort of friend you knew would hold a door open for you, and not the kind who'd slam it into your nose and call it a joke while you both laughed.
"Oh, I see," Maeve said. She fumbled for a reasonable response. "It's okay. It was just a misunderstanding. I got wrapped up in a thing… it was just stupid." She hid her eyes from his gaze.
Chris only gave her a curious look before shrugging and saying, "If you say so."
And the day went along.
After work, Maeve was surprised to find that Melanie had been waiting just outside Frank's Fried Friends. The slightly plump girl had hurriedly explained that she had made rounds in the local confectionaries though, and had just now arrived to wait for Maeve.
Maeve split off from Chris who merely gave Melanie a nod of acknowledgement. She took the long way home intending to chat with Melanie for a little longer than it would take her to get home from work.
Strangely, she wasn't afraid of running into vampires, though the thought of Tony made her skin tingle unpleasantly. Perhaps it was the fact that she was with a fellow werewolf that gave her courage… or perhaps it was because she knew she had protection from the shadows.
The latter was more likely but it didn't really make Maeve particularly happy.
"Ah right, about the wolf. Totally forgot you were asking about that," Melanie said when Maeve asked that they continue this subject.
"You said yours was burning right, when you dreamt about it?"
"I said it was wreathed in fire, but yes."
"What does it even mean? This dream and the wolf."
Melanie beamed, as a teacher would after seeing their star student eagerly ask them a question.
"It's a sign of the Howling, that the moon has acknowledged you as its son or daughter. The wolf you see is YOUR wolf – how the moon interprets the awakened part of you. In time, when you transform, your form will match the one from the vision."
Maeve reeled. Again with this talk about the moon's sentience.
"Match how? Do you burn when you… transform?" The words 'burn' and 'transform' seemed exceedingly silly as they left her lips.
Melanie barked in laugher.
"No, silly! It's not literal. When you change your form, you have limited human reason. Your personality is different." She looked up at the sky where clouds were hiding a portion of the bitten moon. "Some of us become unreasonably furious, some shy, some murderous. But that's what's unique about a Luna. They are said to gain the ability to control themselves. Unlike an Alpha, they don't have to assert anything for dominance. All known Lunas have been able to compel other wolves simply by… being."
There was longing in Melanie's voice.
"You really want to become one, huh?" Maeve said, feeling both sympathetic and curious.
"My parents made sure the dream budded in me. I literally can't remember ever wanting anything else other than that," Melanie said, but the beam in her eyes dimmed. "But I can't achieve that without an Alpha. When I saw Ryan and uh…"
"Aaron?"
"Yes, yes, Ryan and Aaron, I had thought they came to help because they were interested in supporting me." Melanie's eyes glistened moistly. "Ryan definitely fit the profile of a powerful Alpha. I wished he could have… you know?" She shrugged miserably.
Maeve disagreed.
"I thought Aaron would suit that title best. He has the look of a bigshot," she said, recalling the mysterious light in Aaron's grey eyes. She never forgot.
Melanie gave her a suspicious glance.
"No, he doesn't. His face looks like a cardboard box with holes," she said with a distasteful shake of her head. "An Alpha must have a decent-looking face, not to mention a bold frame."
Maeve found herself disagreeing, but the beauty of Aaron's face wasn't a hill she was willing to die on.
They had made a decent few rounds around several blocks, lost in conversation when Melanie suddenly said, "So, would you mind telling me where you live? If it's not a problem, I would like to drop by when I'm glum."
Maeve wore a weary smile.
"I'm living with a friend and her family right now. I just moved in so I can't be too accommodating, especially with people they don't know. If I was still living in my apartment, I wouldn't have hesitated to share my address," she said. But the real reason was that she couldn't involve the Pages with any odd 'company'.
The Pages were already at risk. The last thing Maeve needed was her and Melanie's combined presence to draw enemies to the Pages' house.
"Oh, that's okay," Melanie said. "Your friend and her family… Do they—"
"No, they don't. And I intend to keep it that way."
Melanie gulped audibly. The tone in Maeve's voice might have been threatening. She pretended as though she wasn't a little rattled.
"I can understand that." She said it very meaningfully. "Anyway, I better get home while it's still a little bright and lively. Though I guess we're both somewhat safe."
"Yeah," Maeve said a little begrudgingly.
They split with hand waves at a junction and Maeve went straight home. Upon arriving, she found the sedan and hatchback parked in the driveway and was instantly reminded about Bridget's strange inclination to tell Chris what had happened to her.
She wondered if she should confront her about it.
Her keen ears drew in the sounds coming from the house, as well as the smell of sweetened dough with cinnamon, the vague odor of whisked egg whites and frying chicken. She heard Mr. and Mrs. Page talking and Bridget's dainty steps (she only realised now how light they were) as she climbed up the stairs.
When Maeve opened the door, the slightest of awkward silences ensued before being killed by Mr. Page from the kitchen.
"Welcome home," he said with a bright smile. Mrs. Page beamed at her.
Maeve couldn't help returning a genuine smile. She was still feeling unburdened by yesterday's events. All the darkness from that night had been devoured in the dream by the light of the wolf, her wolf, as well as Melanie's strangely sweet company.
Roddy and Billy were helping whisk the eggs and pour the mix for what might have been muffins into several baking trays. The former was distracted by Maeve's entrance and poured some of the mix onto Billy's head. The little boy stomped on his foot.
Maeve smiled. She chatted with Mr and Mrs. Page for a short while about her day. She could sense their surprise and caution. They appeared to be waiting for the slightest hints of her unease, but they couldn't find it. Their hearts were anxious.
She left them to go change before dinner.
"Hey," Bridget said when Maeve entered their bedroom. She was plenty more awkward than her parents. "How did your day go?" She was rubbing her face with a towel.
"As well as any other. Yours?" Maeve took off her shoes and gave them a cautious whiff.
"Draining."
There was a pause.
Both girls acted as though the other didn't exist for what might have been an hour.
"So, you dropped by work in the morning?" Maeve asked.
"Yeah," Bridget said and turned to her. "I had a package to deliver for John. Why?"
John was a fellow staff member. Bridget was closer to him than Maeve.
"You told Chris about me? About yesterday?" Maeve asked.
Bridget frowned. Her eyes darted to and fro, but not in the way an anxious, suspicious person would.
"Yeah," she said, while batting her eyelids furiously. "I guess I did."