in their late teens. Simon’s early awareness had given him the gift of knowing how to control his wolf spirit better than many of the elders, but it also left him a bit…off.
I was also learning more about what caused his reckless behavior. When Simon was just a young man, he was in a relationship with another werewolf. It had been love at first sight. Simon and Meredith were inseparable, so when Meredith was accepted into the University of Edinburgh, he went with her. Simon and Meredith had the kind of love that most people dream about, but it wasn’t meant to last. While racing together in wolf form, across the fields of Perthshire, Meredith was shot by hunters.
Simon managed to transform into his human form and drag Meredith away, but she died in his arms.
Their story is as tragic as their love was true. The loss of Meredith changed Simon and it didn’t take a brainy, rocket scientist to see that the guilt continued to eat at him every day. Simon was a survivor, but I often wondered if he regretted that ability. His reckless behavior seemed to indicate a desire to join Meredith, sooner rather than later.
The one thing that Simon hadn’t bargained for was Cal. Cal had been born with the spirit of the alpha wolf inside of him. When Cal reached maturity and began to communicate with his wolf spirit, he also became the alpha of the werewolf pack. Not only was Cal the pack’s alpha, the one werewolf they were bound to obey, but he had also earned the respect of his pack members—including Simon. Simon had become loyal to Cal, and when Cal was put into a coma while fighting to save a young pack member, Simon had stepped up to fil his shoes as pack leader. When Cal returned to consciousness, and learned of al that Simon had done, he nominated Simon to be his second in command. Now Simon had something to live for.
So what was he doing freaking out in front of Mr. Green Genes?
“Someone needs to switch to decaf,” Emma said, turning off the car and pul ing her keys from the ignition.
“Do we go out there or stay here, you know, where it’s safe?” I asked, only half joking.
Simon had become a good friend and I trusted him, sort of, but he looked real y upset and I had been manhandled enough for one day. I picked at my nail polish while debating what to do.
“We might as wel go save the day,” Emma said, rol ing her eyes. She pushed away from the steering wheel and climbed out of the car.
“Yeah, but where’s Cal?” I asked. “Isn’t that, like, his job?”
I may have taken a bit of extra time gathering my things while scanning the growing crowd looking for a certain shaggy head of hair. Where the heck was Cal? I spun in a circle one more time and final y caught sight of him. Cal stood with his hand on the chest of a guy I’d never seen before. Had he just broken up a fight between Simon and this stranger?
I turned to show Emma where Cal was, but she was already walking over to Simon. Nothing like tossing a bit of fuel on the fire. Emma and Simon never went a day without arguing, so I wasn’t confident that Emma could calm him down. Son of a dung beetle. I jumped over the concrete parking marker and onto the sidewalk, running to keep up with Emma.
“How dare he?” Simon shouted, waving his arms in the air. “How could he hit me in the FACE?” Simon was shaking his head in anger and disbelief, but I caught sight of a bruise forming below his right eye.
Not good. Simon may have become used to the jagged scar that crossed his face—he claimed it added to his rugged charm—but a black and blue, puffy welt was not something he was going to accept. Simon was the most vain guy I had ever known. There were top models who didn’t gaze into mirrors as often as Simon. No, he wasn’t going to just walk away from this.
“Let me look at that,” Emma said. She interrupted his pacing and reached up to press on the bruise.
“Ouch!” Simon shouted. “Bloody hel woman, what was that for?”
“I’m sure you did something to deserve it,” Emma said.
“Wel , you’re not going to do that again…ah!” Simon said, wincing.
“Stop being such a baby,” Emma said.