After a couple of hours browsing, Rosalina and I picked a bedroom and living room set. They weren’t exactly fabulous, but I couldn’t complain. The bed was better than the one in the loft, which would now go to the guest bedroom, where I looked forward to hosting Rosalina every once in a while, just the way she was hosting me.
We grabbed a couple of burgers on the way to the office and ate them at Rosalina’s desk. When we were done, I packed Aaron’s potion in a tight container, and we headed back to Rosalina’s apartment. It wasn’t until we were on our way there that she brought up the topic of my werewolf teacher.
“Eric Cross,” she pronounced the name like a curse. “Do you think it’s smart getting involved with him?”
I didn’t think it was, but I couldn’t see any other choice. “I’ll be careful.”
“He’s a monster. The things people say he did, and the way he manhandled you. Aren’t you scared?”
I nodded. “Of course I am. I’m terrified, but I’m also terrified of not being able to control myself, of hurting you, or my sisters, or anyone. It’s an awful feeling.” We stopped at a red light as a jumble of feelings unpacked itself inside my chest. “There’s an entire night I can’t remember. I don’t know what I did. I just have flashes of awful things. I’ll learn as much as I can from Cross in five days, and then it’ll be done. I don’t think he’ll hurt me. He’s paying a favor back to Damien, so that means he has some kind of honor.”
Rosalina rolled her eyes as I stepped on the gas and crossed the intersection. “Honor.” She laughed. “He killed an entire pack.”
“We don’t know if that’s true. They could never prove anything.”
“I can tell you’ve made up your mind. Just be careful, Toni. Werewolves are strange creatures.”
“Um, thank you.”
We both laughed.
“You know what I mean,” she added.
I did know, and it scared me more than anything to think that I would change and then Rosalina would think I was strange just like the rest of them. What if in the end, she wanted nothing to do with me? What if I wanted nothing to do with her? What if a year from now my life was nothing like I’d dreamed it would be? I didn’t want to lose myself inside a pack, give up my independence. Did that mean I would have to be a lone wolf? Was that a guarantee for a miserable life? I had no idea, hopefully a week from now I would know better.
That afternoon, I took a short nap and went to bed early at Rosalina’s insistence. The plan was to do the tracking trance early the next day, and considering how wiped out it always left me, rest wasn’t a bad idea at all.
Sunday morning, I cooked cheese omelets for Rosalina and me, and we ate in front of the TV, watching old cartoons like two little girls. My favorite was The Roadrunner, and Rosalina’s was Daffy Duck. They only played Bugs Bunny reruns, though, but we still laughed at his antics.
When we finished eating, I prepared the potion and set it on my night table. It smelled of fresh strawberries and honey, either Aaron’s or his mate’s favorite flavors.
Casting away my weariness, I dipped my hands in the potion, lay in bed, and got to work. The trance came over me quickly, and I rushed through the motions as much as I could.
I activated my sense of smell next, and after only a few seconds, a rush of pleasant smells assaulted me. Pistachio, raspberry, peach, sugar, Oreo cookies, milk. A strong memory hit me, and I thought I knew the place, but I had to be sure.
Quickly, I released my next sense. My ears revealed the sound of many voices, a jumble of words that, at first, I couldn’t identify. There was also the sound of a whistled tune I didn’t recognize, then I started to pick up a few of the words, which repeated over and over: concrete, crunch, and cookie.
Got it!
I snapped out of the trance, smiling from ear to ear.
Rosalina squeezed my hand, looking surprised. “Already?” she mouthed, pronouncing the word slowly so I could read it on her lips.
“Yes, this was the easiest trance ever.”
She nodded vigorously and held one finger up, which meant I’d only been under for one minute. I lay back down, relieved. I felt exhausted down to my bones, but I would get my sense of smell and hearing back in an hour. I could sleep it off, and after that, Rosalina and I would go stalk Aaron’s mate because I knew exactly where to find him.
THAT EVENING, ONCE I’d regained my strength and senses, I drove us to Ted Drewes Frozen Custard, one of my favorite places in the world. Ted’s was a landmark in St. Louis, a place with the best frozen treats in the city. Every year locals and tourists lined up outside to get their preferred flavors. My mouth watered as I thought of mine.
“I hope we find him,” Rosalina said as we approached the parking lot.
“We will.” I felt certain.
The scents had been so clear that they’d immediately taken me to Ted’s. I’d been there many times as a kid with my family, and I still went as often as I could, craving the flavors and atmosphere. So it was no surprise I’d identified the location right away. One good thing, this was the only open location this time of the year. He would be there.
“I think today I’ll get a Dutchman,” Rosalina said. “What about you?”
“Hmm, good choice.”
The Dutchman had chocolate, butterscotch, and pecans in it. I knew all their flavors.
I thought about what my choice would be for a moment, recalling all the scents. “I’ll have to go with a Twisted Caramel.” Caramel was my
