The meet up went along smoothly, no incidents of the wolfy kind or otherwise. Naomi hung to the back of the room, making several phone calls and texts on her phone, seeming to stay as far away from other people as she could.

 

When they were done and the room had emptied out, Miles was already starving again. He sighed, slumping back against a wall and glancing over toward Shawn. “Can we go eat or something?”

 

Shawn looked at him like he was nuts, having seen how much he'd eaten that morning. Darren and Naomi – who had come forward after the room was clear, her phone put away for the moment – were keen to go out with him.

 

“How the hell can you be hungry again, man?” Shawn asked in disbelief as they left, looking for a stand to get a bite for a while before leaving the building, deciding it was not worth the money – especially with how hungry he was. “You almost bought out the entire cafe this morning.”

 

Miles shrugged, looking back at Naomi. She was close behind him, her eyes on her phone again, this time looking for a well rated restaurant from the looks of it. Now that he was looking at her, Miles noticed she had several scars littering her jaw and neck, just barely there, probably not visible to the human eye except under extremely good light. Her hair seemed to be self-cut, sheared about two or three inches from her jawline in varying lengths, mostly ruffled and out of control. She was wearing a maroon band in a vain attempt to tame it a little. The maroon matched with her jeans, which were obviously well-worn by the scuffs and tears over them. She wore combat boots loosely laced and a loose top that billowed in the light breeze. He guessed her wardrobe was for easy access in case she had to shift.

 

Huh. Would he have to invest in an expanded clothes collection? Would he ruin whatever clothes he wore when he transformed? He wondered how much of this was like the movies... He'd have to ask her later. He then wondered if Naomi would be teaching him anything soon. She seemed awfully busy with something... that werewolf cop theory was looking a little more likely.

 

Miles had to stifle a laugh at the somewhat hilarious image of that half human-half wolf creature he'd seen in the alley in a police uniform as they finally found a little diner that was rated decently.

 

Miles felt like he could've ordered the entire menu's worth of food, but he restrained himself, especially after the look of concern from Shawn. He was a growing wolf-man... he needed his food.

 

“Miles.” He jumped, hearing Naomi's voice calling his attention. He looked up, seeing her eyebrows jump up as she glanced to her phone. Oh. A text. He hadn't noticed it, seeing as he was somewhat... distracted.

 

He pulled his phone under the table to open the text to read, frowning as he did.

 

I need to meet with you tonight, somewhere private. Your room will be fine but I would suggest not having Shawn there, just in case.

 

First off, Naomi texted like a robot or like someone who was passive-aggressively upset about something. Second, just in case? His control seemed to be spot on, especially around Shawn... For the first time since he'd woken up, Miles was nervous. The idea of Shawn not being there made the werewolf thing a lot more daunting.

 

Miles started typing back, chewing on his lip anxiously.

 

Whatever u say r u sure Shawn cant come? Id feel better bout it

 

Naomi made a face, and a second later Miles got a short text.

 

Yes.

 

Then...

 

Work on your grammar, you heathen.

 

Miles rolled his eyes, and just to spite her...

 

nvr. bite me

 

Naomi audibly groaned and kicked him under the table.

 

“Are you two flirting or something?” Darren asked, giving them an odd look.

 

“No!” Naomi practically shouted, pausing and clearing her throat before she elaborated at a much lower volume. “No, that's silly.”

 

Perfect defense. Really. A for effort.

 

“Just asking a few private questions is all.” He shrugged. “No biggie.”

 

Darren nodded, shooting Naomi a teasing glance before returning to his conversation with Shawn.

 

Shawn, he noticed, seemed to be in a bit more of a daze after the little interaction. He also seemed to be keeping a much closer eye on Naomi now. Miles wasn't gonna freak out about it. He had a lot to process in the past twenty-four hours, he wasn't going to blame the man for a little caution and dazing.

 

Of course, after that all manner of conversation ended, as the waitress was bringing over their food. Miles' mind was taken off of the thought of meeting with Naomi later, and Shawn's absence from said meeting, and was immediately taken over by the mini mountain of pancakes, bacon and eggs.

 

 

An hour later, feeling pleasantly stuffed and walking back to the hotel in the cool evening air, Miles had no way to ignore what was going to be happening soon.

 

He was nervous. He had absolutely no idea what Naomi would be showing him, or teaching him, or whatever she had planned. His stomach was doing flips about inside him, his head reeling as he picked at the strings of denim inside his pocket. Would she be helping him shift on his own? What if he couldn't do it? What if it hurt? He swallowed, trying to keep his breathing even, focusing, automatically, on Shawn's calming scent.

 

If Naomi did plan on training him, he'd be screwed. He didn't know what it was, why Shawn's scent made every negative emotion just melt away. They had been friends for a long time but... that was when Miles was just human. The... wolf or whatever... it had no reason to see Shawn as a comfort. If anything, Shawn should be a threat for the wolf, right?

 

Miles chewed his lip. He didn't know anything about wolf social behaviors, hell... he didn't even know if werewolves and wolves would be anything alike in their social behavior. He still had so many unanswered questions, some that Naomi seemed rather reluctant to divulge any semblance of a resolution to.

 

“Hey, Miles.” Miles jumped, looking back to see he'd just started to stray further down the sidewalk past the hotel entrance. Shawn gave him a concerned look. “You alright?”

 

Miles shook his head, then nodded and gave a smile he hoped looked genuine. “Fine.”

 

He was not fine. He thought, as he followed the group into the building and into the elevator. His heart must've been going a hundred miles a minute. The elevator arrived on their floor, and Miles tried to compose himself somewhat, wiping his sweaty palms on his jeans. He would be okay. Everything would be alright. Naomi would make sure there'd be no issues, right?

 

He barely registered saying goodnight to Darren, and he could hardly recall Shawn leaving, a little worry, mingled with something else he couldn't pin down in the younger man's tone. His scent was bitter, not something Miles wanted to be hanging onto when he was going to possibly be shifting for the first time consciously.

 

“Don't worry too much.” Naomi muttered, leading him to his room. “We'll take it nice and slow...”

 

Miles heard a distant slamming from Shawn's direction, but he couldn't focus on it now. Not with the Alpha's firm hand on his shoulder steering him to the center of the room.

 

Please, don't let me be terrible at this...