Mayor’s Office

The mayor tried to ignore the thunder in the distance. Like every year, the sound sent goosebumps down her arms. Yet the annual autumn storms weren’t half as bad as the fact that she had to keep this town from collapsing.

She turned in her desk chair, away from the oak table, and looked out the window across to the lawyer’s office when the door burst open.

She flinched, turned quickly, and spotted the man in his fifties who was known as the head doctor at Blairville Hospital.

“Dr. Copeland,” she began, putting on her well-practiced smile. “I’m glad it’s you.”

The doctor looked anything but thrilled. His expression was tense, his beard, a boatman’s ruff, and dark blond hair were neat, as always, and his doctor’s coat, along with suit pants, dark brown vest, and white shirt, fit neatly, but the mayor knew this man was a loose cannon.

“I don’t have much time!” the doctor pressed out, taking a deep breath.

“Then I’ll be brief,” the mayor continued, lowering her eyes to the documents on the table in front of her – quite a few cover letters from concerned citizens. “You can’t have your pack approaching people. You know the rules.” She looked up and caught his tense gaze. “People’s safety comes first,” she said.

“I always follow the rules,” the doctor snorted. “And so does my family.” His hands balled into fists, veins popping out on his arms, turning dark. “No one in the pack would harm a soul.”

The mayor tried not to stare at his arms, looking back into his eyes.

“I understand...”

“You do not!” the doctor snapped at her angrily. “All you Quatura care about is keeping your own head above water! We’re a thorn in your side!”

She pressed her lips together.

“As mayor, I’m all about making sure the treaties are followed.”

His irises flashed yellowish. “Then you should start restricting the DeLoughreys!”

When he uttered the name of the richest family in town, his jaw tightened to the point that she feared it would jump out.

“Who do you think is behind the missing persons cases in Fogs Forest?” He moved closer to the desk that thankfully separated them. “Wildlife?” He propped himself up on the desk. “Humans?”

“Doctor Copeland...”

“No!” He pounded his fist on the surface of the desk. “I’ve been silent long enough!” He pushed off, stepping back but not breaking eye contact. “Get a grip on these monsters before they become a threat not only to us but to the entire city!”

Just as quickly as he had appeared, the doctor disappeared. The door crashed shut, and the windows shook alarmingly.

It took five minutes for the mayor to exhale her breath. Then she rose, stared for a few minutes after the doctor, from the second floor, as he crossed the street in a rage towards the hospital, followed by reporters. When he was gone, she left the office through the side corridor to avoid the news channel reporters and strode toward the lawyer’s office with growing anxiety.

Heart racing, she entered the old Victorian-style brick building, passing a few legal assistants before taking the stairs upstairs.

The office door stood open, revealing a view of the beautiful young woman in the black lawyer’s dress. As always, she wore fine luxury dresses that flattered her elegant body, adorned with subtle silver jewelry, which the mayor knew was white gold.

“Miss DeLoughrey,” she began, clearing her throat and braving herself to enter the office.

The young woman with a heart-shaped face and dark brown, almost black hair did not even turn around but continued to put folders on her shelves.

“Miss Blair,” she said tonelessly. “I know why you’re here.” She spun to return to her desk. “And no, the clan has nothing to do with the Alpha’s accusations.” Only now did she look to the mayor, catching her gaze with her turquoise green eyes.

“I didn’t know eavesdropping was one of your qualities?” the mayor remarked with growing tension.

She knew that this lawyer’s beauty was only a facade. There was something dark behind it.             

Still, the mayor didn’t know if the woman was a Transformed or a Legacy Ruisangor. In general, she knew far too little about this family.

“That man is louder than my godson’s car,” the lawyer sighed, continuing to put away her papers.

The mayor’s gaze fell on the porcelain vase filled with dark red roses, but quickly wandered back to the woman’s feminine, if slim, figure.

“You’re staring, Mayor.” The mayor looked up, caught, but did not meet the lawyer’s gaze. “And I know you don’t trust me, but I don’t think I would work for the town if I had bad intentions for its residents.”

Maybe she did not have bad intentions, though the mayor wasn’t quite sure about that. But the lawyer’s clan head and his sons...

“The clan has changed,” the young lawyer continued. “Treaties were signed for this two centuries ago.” Her look was serious. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to be in New York tonight. My plane leaves in an hour.”

The lawyer folded up a folder, shoved it into her black leather handbag, reached for her black silk coat and the black fedora hat, and strutted confidently through the office on her high heels, past the mayor.

The footsteps linger throughout the attorney’s office. However, they moved into the subconscious as the mayor’s gaze slid through the English-style office, finally lingering on the vase.

The DeLoughrey seal was displayed in gold on the black porcelain. It featured a full rose blossom framed by a baroque crest.

Chapter 5

Bayla

After I had packed my relatively small stock of laundry into the much too large closet, I folded the suitcase shut and looked at the other suitcase. Unfortunately, I didn’t have a bookshelf in this room. I guess I would have to ask Mum if I could get one because books definitely didn’t belong on the floor. However, they had to put up with just that space until then.

One by one, I unpacked each book and stacked them next to the window. A place where I would spend a lot of time with my Canterbury Classics over the next few days, because what else could I do in a small town that was completely unfamiliar to me?

After I finished stacking books, I packed both suitcases into the remaining free part of the closet, wondering for the third time today who it had once belonged to.

When I left, I would pack them in the trunk, because there was no question of this Julian helping us again. Mum and I would manage on our own. Just as always.

A glance at my alarm clock told me that it was time for dinner. Already for half an hour, it smelled of delicious food in the house, and my stomach growled insatiably. I hadn’t eaten in what felt like forever, even though it had only been six hours since I had devoured a damn good cheese sandwich. My mouth watered at the thought.

On my way out, I picked up my toiletry bag, which I still had to take to the bathroom.

My eyes fell on the last two doors in the hallway that I didn’t know. One of them had to lead to a bathroom. I decided on the one next to my room and took a step toward it to push down the handle. Carefully, I entered the darkened room and flicked on the light switch.

Of course, it wasn’t the bathroom. Instead, I had landed in another bedroom.

In terms of floor plan, it looked exactly like mine, except it had more furniture, which was surprisingly filled with stuff. In the middle of the room, like mine, was a wooden bed. The sheets on it were covered by a midnight blue bedspread. There was a bedside table with picture frames, a desk, and lots of books lying all over the place that instantly caught my interest.

They seemed to be very old copies. In addition, there were ceiling-high bookshelves filled with more books and pictures on the walls.