Stella

 

When the sun rose the next morning, Stella knew she needed to leave. Rick was sound asleep next to her so she gently wiggled away from his side. He stirred for a minute and then rolled over, still sound asleep. Stella hurried and dressed, then grabbed her bag full of clothes she had packed several days ago.

She went out the door and hurried to walk down the street to Austin’s house. It took a few minutes of light knocking to bring Kate to the door. Stella motioned her inside.

“Is Austin home?”

“No, he went somewhere with Jasper this morning. Is everything okay?”

“Yes and no. I need a favor, but you can’t tell anybody. I mean that, Kate. I’m trusting you with the safety of the pack that you not tell a single soul where I am.”

Kate nodded nervously.

“Are you sure you can do that? If not, I need to know now so I can figure something else out.”

“Yes, I’m sure. You’re scaring me, though, Stella.”

“I need to stay in the apartment over the bar for a bit. Nobody must know I’m up there, and you can’t let anybody up there while I’m there.”

“Okay. Are you leaving Rick?”

“No, but I need to be close by, yet distanced for a while, if that makes any sense.”

“Does this have to do with what Rachel told you yesterday?”

“It does. I’m sorry I can’t tell you more. I need to get to the store, and then get over there. Is that going to be a problem?”

“No, nobody goes up there, and even if you were to be moving around up there, no one can hear anything down in the bar.”

“Great. Thank you, Kate.”

“You’re welcome. Good luck, Stella,” Kate said, hugging her before she left.

Stella turned and opened the door, and then had a thought.

“Kate, keep the baby away from the bar from now on. Understand?”

“Why?”

“I can’t say, but trust me. The baby is safest away from the bar. Don’t take her there for any reason.”

“Okay, I won’t.”

Stella nodded and then took off to Jasper’s to get her car. A quick stop at her home allowed her to get the things she needed from Grandma’s healer supplies. Then she drove to the grocery store and picked up essentials she would need for the following days. Three miles from The Kamp there was a park. Stella pulled in, and left her car there with the keys inside. If she was lucky, a local thug would steal it to help keep Rick off her trail for a bit longer.

Using an oil, Stella cloaked her scent and took off on the long, hot walk over to The Kamp. As she got closer, she dipped into the wooded area that ran behind the bar in case Austin had decided to stop by. The parking lot was empty, making Stella’s mad dash up to the apartment easy. She finally rid her arms of all the bags she had been carrying and put her groceries away.

She wondered if Rick had woken up yet as she spread her herbs and oils out on the table. As angry as he would be, she knew it was best that she keep everyone in the dark until she absolutely needed them to know more. A burst of anger rang through her mate bond with Rick. He had apparently realized she was gone. Stella winced at his anger and pain, and then quickly tried to shut the mate bond down. A healer’s bond with a shifter was stronger because of the healer’s special magic. She and Rick could do more than just feel the other’s emotions. They could communicate.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you, mate.” Rick’s voice pushed through her weak barrier.

“Rick, you must let me do what I need to do. Know that I am safe.”

“Stella, I’m your mate. We’re supposed to do this together.”

“We will, but first I need to protect us.”

With that, Stella focused all of her energy on blocking Rick’s continued attempts to communicate with her. When he finally quit his attempts, she moved on to her reason for being in the apartment. Stella had brought Grandma’s book where she had written down all the spells and chants she had done over the years. Running her fingers over the old pages, she let her grief take hold of her for a while. Living in a world without Grandma was something Stella had never imagined. Grandma wouldn’t want her tears, though. She would want Stella to keep her memory alive by using the powers Grandma had given her to keep their pack safe and alive.