Plenty of time to take in the sights later. Right now, I’ve got a job interview to get to.
The idea of being in the city, having a place to go, a meeting to keep, made her even more enthusiastic. She hurried down the sidewalk, and as she did, she noticed that everyone else seemed to know what they were doing. They weaved around the other pedestrians, effortlessly getting where they needed to go.
A hard thud hit Lexi in the upper back, sending her a few steps forward.
“Hey, watch it!”
She looked up to see a young girl, no older than sixteen, glancing up at her from her phone, an annoyed expression on her face.
“Oh, sorry!” shouted Lexi, realizing that she’d gotten in someone’s way. But the girl, if she’d even noticed, didn’t seem to care.
But Lexi wasn’t perturbed. Instead, she vowed to learn how to move in the city, to be no different than anyone else that lived there.
She headed down the block, spotting the now-familiar front of the coffee shop. Before she could make the rest of the trip, however, a man ten or so feet down the sidewalk, tall and handsome and dressed in a suit, waved to get her attention.
“Excuse me!”
For a moment, Lexi wasn’t sure if he was talking to her. But he waved his hand again and smiled, approaching her like they were old friends.
“Excuse me,” he said again once he was in front of Lexi.
“Are you talking to me?”
“Yes,” he said. “Sorry to bother you, but I was wondering if you could help me find my way.”
“You want me to help you?”
“If it’s not a problem. I mean, you clearly look like you know your way around.”
Lexi smiled, flattered by his comment. “Um, sure. But I’m kind of new in town, actually.”
He smiled right back. “No worries. If you don’t know, then you don’t know. But I’m looking for the Richardt Center. It’s supposed to be around here.”
She frowned, the name totally unknown to her. “Sorry, no idea.”
But he only smiled back. “That’s fine—I’ll ask around a little more. Thanks for your help all the same.”
“Sure!”
He gave her one last smile before sidling around her, vanishing into the crowd. And as she passed, Lexi caught the scent of something on the air.
It was the scent of a shifter.
It put her ill at ease, wondering if the man was one of her people. But she quickly pushed it out of her mind, hurrying the rest of the way to the coffee shop.
Once there, she stopped in front and took in the name—Blueprint Coffee. Another smile spread across her face and she steeled herself before heading in.
And when she came out an hour later, she felt more confident than ever. The interview with Madeline, the owner, had been more like a great conversation than anything else. Over the course of their time together, the two of them discussed books and music and movies, all the things that Lexi loved but had a hard time coming across out in the woods.
When they finished, Madeline happily offered Lexi the job, telling her to come in tomorrow morning to get started. Lexi felt like she was walking on air when she stepped out of Blueprint, like her new life, the one she’d always wanted to live, was finally starting.
Still on her high, Lexi glanced down the street in the direction of the apartment.
OK, he said to come back ASAP. But there’s so much damn city to see! I doubt he’ll be too pissed if I take a little stroll—just around the block.
Lexi, coffee in hand, turned the next corner and headed down the road, basking in the city vibe all around her. She kept on, taking one turn then another then another.
And before too long, she was lost. She looked around, trying to see if she recognized anything she might be able to use to find her way back. But she realized, to her shock, that she was on a street totally devoid of people.
She was alone.
But not for long.
“Now,” said a familiar voice. “It’s you who looks like the lost one.”
From around the corner stepped the man in the suit she’d seen before, the one who’d asked her for directions.
And the shifter scent followed along with him.
“Who are you?” she asked. “What do you want?”
He grinned. But this grin wasn’t warm or friendly—it was cold and menacing.
“We want to get to know the new omega in town,” he said. “Find out what brings her to our fair city.”