Chapter 72 - Search

Trust me, he’s alive.” I said. She rubbed her chin and looked at me earnestly.

“I knew it. That means he’s a proper first-rate asshole!”

“Well, the only way to see that first-rate asshole is for you to keep surviving no matter what. So, you have a choice to make.”

As I had spent more time with her, my mother’s character began to dawn on me. There are things you don’t learn as children. It seemed she responded to calculated logic and benefit rather than some lovey-dovey emotional dopamine. She had a strong spirit and weighed her benefits against her risks.

“Where?” she asked me, referring probably to the address of the postcards.

“I can’t say exactly” I replied.

“What?” “Come on, Mom. You should know by now, that even the walls have ears.” I looked back at the bedroom door that I had slammed shut, now it was opened ever so slightly, so slightly that you might not even notice it if you didn’t have enhanced Werewolf senses. Julio.

My mom nodded. “Fine, whatever” she replied. I was a little satisfied. My mom could certainly hold her own, even more so than me in a fight. “But what’s going on?” she asked me.

“Harris - I’m going away. For a small trip.”

“What? Where?” I waved my hands for her to be quiet.

“Chill. Everything’s still hush - hush.” I warned her, looking back at the door. “The point is, Harri, you may be staying by the Alpha’s side for a while,” I said to her.

“Why is that?”

“Insurance” I stated seriously, not intent to explain further than that.

She seemed to get it. “I see,” she remarked.

“I’m sorry,” I said.

“My daughter’s going to be going on her very first expedition. What’s there to be sad about? You must be someone really important for them to use” she cleared her throat “This insurance you’re speaking about. I suppose I can’t ask why?” she asked me.

I shook my head.

“Alright. You have a safe trip there, and back. I won’t be going anywhere” she replied loudly. I grinned, even if it was somewhat uneasily.

“There’s one more thing,” I said.

“Hmm?”

“Catherina” I started.

“What about Catherina Reyna?” she asked with the flair of Catherina’s full name. “I need to find her” I replied. “Well, haven’t you been talking to her all day?”

“Yes, but she’s disappeared. Nowhere to be found at the pack house.” I explained.

“Well, what do you want me to do about it?” she asked.

“She’s been coming around here, hasn’t she?”

“Occasionally. Once or twice, she stops by to see how I’m doing. Pretty mannered girl she is” said Mom.

I wondered about that. Perhaps she had been looking for an opportunity to kill my mom that never presented itself? It sounded ghastly, but I couldn’t trust anyone 100% right now.

“You guys had some chats, yeah?”

“Occasionally”

“Did she ever mention to you, maybe somewhere she goes to clear her mind? Unplug?”

My mom moved her head to think while a dormant memory was resurfacing. It was of Catherina always playing the drama queen by going off on a tangent or leaving us to play by ourselves when she was upset. And If I was right -

“Well, she did mention going to a small parking lot 2 months ago. Sometimes she would leave, and say if anyone needed to contact her, she would be there. Well, not sometimes, it only happened once.” Mom replied.

“Do you know where that is?” I asked.

“Do I look like I’ve stepped out of this house, much less this neighbourhood? I don’t know anything about any parking lots.”

No matter, it would be easy to find.

“Thank you, Ma,” I said, rising, and relocating the seat of the Kitchen Countertop.

“When do you leave?” she asked me quietly.

“Somewhere around first light tomorrow” I replied.

“Is it going to be dangerous?” There was no point in lying to her.

“Most definitely” I replied.

“But I have an edge.”

“Which is?” I pointed to my head, and my mum chuckled. “The Goddesses be with you, Naomi”

I left Ma’s place quickly and cannoned down the road outside the suburbs. It was paramount that I get a drop on Catherina as soon as possible. How would I confront her? Was there evidence? No, but people have an uncanny way of revealing themselves when they think they’re alone.

That was my last shot, and the fact that she wouldn’t think or at least had forgotten, talking to my mother about her hiding spot. If it was even real in the first place, and not something she made up in passing conversation. The mouth of the street was morbidly empty, and so were the roads on both sides. This side of Winnipeg was as close to a Ghost Town as it gets. Looking straight away at the horizon, from both sides, there was not a single facility, taking less of a parking lot, in sight.

I began to panic about how much time I would lose If I decided to explore each side, until I realized that I was being an idiot, and pulled up my phone. Going to the right was a small parking lot belonging to Ed’s Diner, according to my GPS, so I took flight. It was less than a mile away, so I decided to walk instead, not like I could’ve easily ordered a taxi either.

Everywhere was dead silent. I strolled in casual human form, but when I realized again, that no one was around to witness, I put on my werewolf running shoes. My calf muscles transformed into that of a land animal, and I began a sprint on the concrete sidewalk. I wouldn’t have been able to do this a week ago, but things were returning to me.

Little mind-to-muscle connections like these became clearer to see, to activate. Being more in tune with Adrianna, using her dominant force to plough through hard conversations and get what I want. There was I time that I thought I and her were of two different ethers, and it was as if I had something foreign living inside me, but that was not how it felt today.

I felt like myself again, the talented Naomi Holt who had a bright and prospective future as a Gamma in the Night Phantasm.