“Why would I have to go back to Oak Mountain? I thought my work there was done!”
Adrian’s stepfather chuckled. “I know shifter business is rather dull, but your mother would want me to make sure I’m covering all bases. She trusted me with your life and I intend to honor that request.”
“What shifter business?” she demanded. She had been off Oak Mountain for the past month and it had been hard for her to settle back into her old routine back in Stonybrooke. She had just graduated with honors from Stonybrooke Shifter’s University. Their business school was renowned around the world and she was ready to utilize her degree. Having her father stepping in now and dictating where she lived went against everything she had worked so hard to do to create a life for herself.
“There are a lot off private matters; a political climate that is going to make it difficult for people like you… humans, to stay safe without a good level of protection. I would just feel better if you were close by. There are big things happening out in the world and we don’t want the shifters in Stonybrooke to treat you badly because they know you’re connected to a bear-shifter.”
“Why would that matter?” Adrian asked, puzzled. The wolf-shifters she had known were exceptionally open-minded, at least in most of her classes. Sure, there were many who looked down on all humans in general, and others who were wary of anybody who was an outsider to their territory, but the idea that she would be in danger just for being one of the many humans co-habiting the wolf-shifter’s sprawling city seemed ridiculous.
“As I mentioned, the issues are a bit too sensitive to communicate over the phone. What I need from you now is to come to Oak Mountain. I’ll make sure you’re provided for. I always do. But it is important to me to know that you’re safe. The bear-shifters are strong and reliable. They can keep you safer than you would be on your own.”
“I hope you realize how ridiculous this all sounds,” Adrian said with a sigh. “You can just admit that you miss me, right?”
Her stepfather chuckled. “You know what? I do miss you. It’s been lonely without you and your mother around.”
Adrian’s smile faltered. She missed her mother too. It had been about three years since she had lost her, but it felt more like an eternity.
“It would be nice to have some family around, I guess,” Adrian said with a quiet sigh. “But this isn’t forever, right? I was going to do some job hunting now that I have my degree.”
“Well you know that you won’t have to worry about that here. At least not right now.”
Adrian pursed her lips. She hated being in her stepfather’s debt. Not that he ever saw it that way, but she was an independent person. She had learned young that the world was unkind to you if you didn’t fit into all the boxes that people expected you to fit into. It could be impossible to impress someone who was already determined to hate you based on something as petty as appearance alone.
Maybe that was why she had enjoyed being around the shifters so much. They were the least shallow people she had ever met. They sensed a person’s energy rather than fixating on their appearances. Instead of judging other people’s personalities based on what they looked like, the shifters relied on their own intuition and the behaviors of the person they were dealing with. it was a rather pure way to live, and something that as a big girl, Adrian had grown to appreciate.
“All right,” she finally agreed. “But I need to know that I’m going to be kept busy. I need to know I’m pulling my weight. I’m not just going to be a charity case. I want to earn a living and be independent, okay?”
“I wouldn’t have it any other way,” Adrian’s stepfather said, his voice sounding more cheerful than she had heard it since they had lost her mother. “I can’t wait to see you again.”
They chatted for a few more minutes before they hung up for the night and Adrian went to her bed and sank against her pillows, sighing heavily. She wasn’t very familiar with Oak Mountain, and the fact was that she couldn’t think of the place without the intrusive thought of Kent filling her mind. The man had been a horrible prick to her, despite being the best lover she had ever had. She never wanted to see him again, and had a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach every time she was reminded of him.
But it was a big mountain. There was the possibility that she wouldn’t even run into him there at all. As long as she stuck to her work and kept her head down, maybe she would be able to live there without confronting him again and having to re-live the most humiliating night of her life again.
Either way, there was nothing much that she could do about it. She had already told her stepfather that she agreed to live on Oak Mountain, at least until whatever danger he was hearing about had passed. And she was going to have to deal with the consequences of that decision, whether she liked it or not.
***
“Need a hand?”
“No, thank you, I’m all right.”
Adrian smiled at her stepfather, who was standing in the doorway of the cabin he had secured for her. he had wanted to help her move into a luxurious place she would never have been able to afford on her own income, but she had insisted on living within her means. He had seemed proud of her decision to do so, and had gone above and beyond to help her make the move go as smoothly as possible.
“When do you think that you will be up to starting work?” he asked, eyeing the cozy living room.
“I could start today, if you want,” she replied, unpacking the last box for the living room with a small sigh of satisfaction.
Adrian worked fast and was proud of how quickly she had managed to make the sterile, empty little place feel like a home. Because she had been raised by a single mother, she understood at an early age the importance of making a house a home. It had been hard for her mother to support her for much of her childhood and because of it, they had had moved around a lot as her mother sought out the place where she could finally settle down and make enough income to stay put.
Every time they were forced into a new apartment, the first thing her mother always did was set up Adrian’s bedroom and the living room so they would both have somewhere comfortable to spend time as they slowly began to settle in. Adrian had carried on the tradition anywhere she moved, even with her mother being gone now.
“Today? But you just got here,” her stepfather said incredulously. “It seems unwise to over-do it. I’d feel better to give you a chance to adjust first. This is a big change.”
“It’s not the biggest change,” Adrian said with a shrug. “And besides, you’re here. I have some sense of stability, so try not to worry so much.”
Her stepfather grinned and nodded slowly. “I understand. But I would still feel better if you wait to start work until next week. It’ll give us a chance to figure out where you would be best suited while you start to get to know the mountain. It’s really a beautiful place. I think that you’re going to like it.”
Adrian smiled. “I already like it,” she admitted. “I found myself missing the smell of the trees back in Stonybrooke. I know it’s a natural place out there too, but it’s so much a city compared to Oak Mountain. Everything is so rustic here. It’s nothing like the rest of the world out there.”
“There really is nothing like it,” he agreed, his eyes sparkling. “I’m glad to know that you like it here. Give me a call Monday, then. We’ll get you set up at the office. Until then, I want you to come to dinner every night, just to catch up. That is, if it isn’t too much trouble for you.”
“It’s not,” Adrian said, her heart warming. She had missed this man so much. He had come in and raised her from the time she was nine years old. Nobody else in this world cared for her as much as he did. She felt terrible about dismissing him for so long just because it had been hard for her to be around anything that reminded her of mom.
“Great,” he said, a broad smile stretching across his face. “You know where to find me. I’ll see you there around six.”
“See you then,” Adrian agreed.
With that, her stepfather smiled and slipped out the door, getting into his car and driving down the mountain.