Chapter 27 Hunter Orange Silk

"Hello, Uncle Trevor." Sara said into the cellphone after being greeted by her honorary uncle.

"Hey sweetie. Have you had a chance to look at the papers?" He asked. Sara heard a voice in the background on his end of the connection.

"Not yet. No." She admitted.

He sighed.

"I'm going too. I've just been really busy." She said slightly stretching the truth. "I have work, a new apartment to arrange, and I wanted to spend time with Sebastian."

"You have a job? Nothing came up when we ran your social security number." He said sounding confused.

"I - um -didn't use it. I'm paid off the books." She said wanting to bang her head on the wall for opening her mouth.

"Sara, that's not a good idea. All income has to be reported to the IRS. You need to talk to your employer and have him put you on the books." He told her sternly.

"Yeah, yeah, I should." She mumbled stirring the veggies and strips of deer meat over the low flame.

"I'm sorry, Sara. I don't mean to sound pushy." He really sounded contrite. "But could you look over those papers? If you have questions about anything you can call any time. The sooner the better actually. You'll have to make appointments with the bank managers to have the accounts transferred to you on your birthday." She heard papers  shuffle in the background. "Your father appointed investors on each account. You can keep them or hire someone else."

Sara sighed.

"Are you okay?" He asked.
"Yes." She said putting down the spatula. "Just a little - overwhelmed." She confided honestly.

"You know, Sara, most people would be thrilled to be millionaires." He told her without a trace of humour.

"I've live three years in a cave, lost four parents, been locked up in an institution, and been scared over half of my life. I would trade every penny to have my family back." Her voice was thick of sorrow.

"I know, sweetheart. I miss them too." He said sincerely.

"Do you -" she started to ask but stopped.

"No. Don't do that. Finish your question."  He urged.
She took a deep breath and asked. "Do you know anything about her? My birth mom." She asked still unsure if she should. Was it being disloyal to the Allen's to wonder? They never made it a secret she was adopted. They claimed to be lucky to find her and be in her life. Even when in the institution her dad still said he had no regrets about adopting her, loving her, or raising her. He insisted she was still his little glow-girl.

"Not much or not enough, really. She didn't have much on her. She - Sara, wouldn't you rather have this conversation in person?" He asked counseling. She said no. So against his better judgement he continued.

"She was fully dressed but had died due to complications of birth. You were wrapped in a piece of green blanket that had been torn from a larger blanket. If I remember correctly she had six hundred dollars in her pockets, a wolfs eye key chain, no keys, a napkin with the name Saline wrote on it. She," he paused, thoughtfully, "She had on mismatched shoes." He was silent a moment thinking of the oddity of the barely remembered fact. "No ID, no purse. The police did find a bag - a blue gym bag - farther down the alley. That thought it could be hers but there was no proof." There was a long pause.

Sara couldn't help her thoughts. "Was she a -" Sara blinked and felt a tear slide down her cheek. Her turmoil must have been clear in her voice because Trevor called her name. "Sorry." She cleared her throat. "I'm - I'm curious. Was she a prostitute or a druggie?" 

"No. No." He said adamantly. "Despite the mismatched shoes, dirt and blood she wore nice clothes. Her tox screen came back clean too. It's simply that no one could identify her. Nothing matched her, no dental or medical records, no missing persons report,  nothing." He explained. He sounded frustrated at the lack of information. "And, Sara, before you ask, no. No one figured out why she was in the alley. It's wasn't a bad neighborhood, but it wasn't the best either. The ME said she died between four and five in the morning. She was found at six by the manager of the diner. The pediatrician determined you were born between midnight and one. He said -"

Sara cut him off. "Midnight? You said she died from complications of birth. She died hours later. She had time to get to the hospital. Hours."

Trevor cleared his throat.

"Uncle Trevor would she have lived if she had got help?" Her voice Rose as she poised the question.

"She may not have known she needed help, Sara. But the ME thought it may have been a possibility, yes." Even over the cell phone is voice give away the truth. Her mother could have lived if she had went to the hospital.

Sara felt hot tears roll down have face. Her chest constructed in pain and a sob broke free. She had wanted answers but only ended up with more questions. Why couldn't she ever just have the answers she needed?

"Sara! Sara, answer me. Answer me or I'm calling that PI. Sara, talk to me, honey."

Sara heard Trevor's pleading voice from the cell phone she didn't remember dropping. The fire burned under the pan of meat and veggies. The low thump of music played somewhere on the third floor below. It sounded close with her heightened senses. The refrigerator hummed to her right. The scent of burnt broccoli rose from the pan on the stove. Blindly she reached out and shoved the pan to the back of the stove.

Run, Sara. Evodine pleaded softly. Run, Sara thought, yes.

She turned and left the apartment. She didn't stop at the elevators but moved down the hall to the stairwell.

On the stairs she held on to the rail. Her pace slow. Still she relied on luck to place her foot on the next step. Her vision was too blurry to see properly.

By the time she made it to the first floor she was running. Sadness and sorrow nipped at her heels and she ran faster.  It didn't matter she couldn't outrun them she tried anyway.

She passed the ATV garage without a glance. the sun hadn't completely set, so the trees cast interesting shadows that Sara would have loved in another circumstances.

Run on four feet, Sara. I will hold you up. Evodine promised.

Sara didn't consciously visualize the shift. She simply wanted to be wolf and with the rip of man-made fabric she was.

The shift brought Evodine's consciousness closer to the surface. But Sara felt no animosity towards her as she would have a few months ago. She felt Evodine's sadness. They had always wondered about the birth mother. Now they knew too much and not enough. They whimpered. A foreign, almost familiar, consciousness pushed against their mind. Together they pushed back blocking the other mind from theirs.

Their paws pounded the ground, eating up distance. The pain still followed. But together they fought it sturdily.

Sara, stop. The Luna command slide right past the barrier they placed against the other mind. Sara's muscles locked. She flipped tail over muzzle in a graceless tumble.

What happened?  The Luna asked. It was a request for answers not a command.

Sara didn't think the Luna was asking about the tumble. The fact that it had been a request made her want to answer. She gathered a mental image of the conversation with Trevor and sent it to the Luna. She stood and shook the dirt and forest litter from her fur. 

How about company on your run?  The Luna said but the tone was far from light.

Do I have too? Sara asked unsure of the rules for new shifters. I have Evodine. She added as if it would make a difference.

I'm sorry, Sara. It's for the best. I'll send Victoria. Stay put till she finds you.

The last line had been delivered as a command. Sara had no choice but to obey.

Sara chose to believe the order "stay put" meant in the visual vicinity of the spot she had received the order. So she paced back and forth, waiting.

Sara? Sebastian's voice filled her mind. Apparently the barrier no longer existed. Evodine yipped in response. Are you okay? He added.

We're fine, Sebastian. She rushed to assure him.

Trevor called me. He was freaking out. Then I couldn't contact you over the pack link. Sara felt his alarm.

I'm sorry. She replied feeling like a jerk.

She heard the soft fast pads of another wolf approach.

It's me. Victoria said stopping Sara's instinctive growl midstream.

Sebastian, Victoria's here. Were going for a run. I need it. Do you want to join us?

You and I together in wolf form - unmarked. Probably not a good idea. Unless you've made your decision to stay. He told her softly but with meaning.

Oh. No. I. Um. I'll see you later. If she had been in human form she probably would have blushed.

Sara and Victoria ran. Victoria stayed a few passes away. She didn't seem to mind if Sara lagged behind or ran ahead. She didn't intrude on Sara's thoughts unless she needed too.

When Sara slowed or stopped to inspect something Victoria hung back unless Sara asked questions.

It was strange that her focus could be on multiple things at once. Even thoughts of her mother. It was true her pace slowed when the thoughts surfaced. She still wanted questions answered. She just didn't know where to start.

If she were a cop she might have a clue. Tango and Cash, maybe. The guys from the movie Let's be cops  had more knowledge than she did. And they weren't even real cops.

How could you find — Sebastian found her. Trevor had hired him. He was private investigator. She could do that. She would have to wait till her birthday and she had the money but then she could.

We're private investigators like cops? She had no idea.

She needed to go home and sign those papers. Maybe if she knew who her mother was she'd know who she really was. Did she have any family? Brothers, sisters. Oh dear God, did she have a father?

Victoria? She called over the link.

I'm here. Came the ready response.

I think I'm ready to go home. But I have a problem... I don't have any clothes. They ripped when I shifted. Sara said.

That's easily taken care of. There's a clothing pantry built into the back of the ATV garage.

Sara turned towards the ATV garage. That was welcome news. She wouldn't have to slink back into the apartment in her underwear.

It took half an hour to make it back. Sara followed Victoria behind the garage. There were a set of doors that slid as Victoria brushed passed. Sara followed. The doors swung behind her. A light  came on.

Motion sensor. Victoria said.

She moved over. Sara watched as the woman shifted. When she stood there in human form Sara wanted to laugh. She wore bright orange and camouflage patterned silk lingerie.

Sara shifted. Ammusment still on her mind. She couldn't help her chuckle as she looked at the  lingerie. "Hunter orange, really?"

"Ha. Ha." Victoria said, grinning. "My mate happens to love it." She pointed to the shelves. "Get dressed so I can go see if he's still awake." She said with a grin.

The shelves were piled high with a rainbow assortment of hospital scrubs and sweats. On the bottom shelf were multiple sizes of black flip-flops.

Sara dressed in gray sweats. It seemed that Victoria had stashed away her own clothes and shoes.

"When you get a chance, drop all that off at the front desk." Victoria said waving absently at the sweats Sara wore.

               __________________________AUTHORS NOTE ______________________________

Victoria Is actually really cool. I hope Sara ends up a little more like her at some point, secure in her skin- as human and wolf.