She froze in place inside the stall. Could they see her wolf legs beneath the door of the stall? She backed up against the tile wall. Her heart was pumping even more rapidly, if that were possible, as she barely breathed.
“Closing in two minutes,” a woman said, sounding impatient. It was the woman who’d been talking to the students.
Instinctively, Alicia knew she couldn’t be caught in a wolf’s form. She’d discarded her bra, panties, and heels on the restroom floor. With the shift hitting her so quickly, she couldn’t do anything else but drop them. What would people think? That she’d eaten Little Red Riding Hood? Or that she was Little Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf all wrapped up in one?
Oh God, what was she going to do? Since being turned, she’d never been in this bad a fix. As her grandfather used to say, this would learn her. She could never, ever be out in public again during the phase of any moon—waxing, waning, or full. So much for not having to shift all last week. She was making up for it now. It seemed she’d never get rid of this condition or learn to control it.
At least she hadn’t wanted to rip out people’s throats, like the old werewolf tales portrayed. And she had her human conscience, so she wasn’t totally a feral animal. And she was a beautiful wolf, not some hideous beastly creature. Not that any of it mattered while she was stuck in a restroom stall as a wolf with women’s garments strewn about her paws.
Concentrate! She tried again to will herself to shift.
Another minute went by, and knocking sounded on the door. Yes, all right. She knew. It was nearly closing time. She’d worked on the clock before. She knew how employees wanted to go home when it was time to go, and how rude customers were to expect employees to stay all hours at their convenience.
“Ma’am?” a woman said, then heels clicked across the floor toward the stall.
Wolves couldn’t sweat, or Alicia would have been perspiring up a storm. They panted when they were overheated, but she didn’t want to even do that, afraid the woman would hear her. Instead, she stood frozen like a furry wolf statue in the corner of the stall, as far away from the door as she could get, her mouth shut tight, her ears focused on the woman’s approaching footfalls. The slight tremor in the floor reverberated through Alicia’s paws as she kept her eyes riveted on the door.
Two choices. She instinctually knew she had only two choices. Bite the woman and turn her into what Alicia was. Heaven forbid. She wouldn’t want to wish this condition on anyone ever! But then the woman would scream bloody murder. The other two employees would come running or call the cops, or both. Then she’d have to bite all of them, too. Or kill the woman. Which would be the same scenario. In the end, they’d put her down like a vicious wild animal.
A rough knocking on the stall door nearly gave Alicia a heart attack.
“Ma’am? Are you all right?”
No, no she wasn’t all right. Please… don’t… come… in!
“Ma’am?”
When Alicia still didn’t respond, the woman hurried out of the restroom.
She was going for the authorities. Probably worried a dead body was in the stall. Would be, too, if they caught Alicia like this—and killed her.
She paced some more. Shift, damn it! Change! Turn! What were the magic words?
“A woman’s in the stall. She was the one who bought Mr. Silver’s photograph. She looked to be late twenties or so, not all that old, but I think she’s died or something. She’s not responding,” the woman said frantically to someone outside the restroom door.
“Did you look under the stall?” a man asked, his voice darkly controlled.
Alicia glanced at the bottom of the stall door. If anyone peered underneath, they’d see her. And that would be the beginning of the end. Shrieks would ensue. Her heart would fail.
“No. I… I didn’t.” The woman sounded a bit shaken.
The door opened, and heavier footfalls approached. A man’s footfalls. Oh, God, oh God, please, please help me.
She felt the heat race through her bones and muscles, her nerves and blood. And prayed it was the change. And not caused by the frantic panic filling her blood. That she would once again be her normal self. Normal self. She laughed at herself over that. This proved she’d never be her normal self again.
Just as the footfalls ended abruptly at the stall door, the shift swiftly overtook her. She stood naked on the tile floor, the cool air conditioning sweeping across her bare skin, and she quickly squeaked out, “Sorry, I fainted. I’m pregnant. I’m sorry. I’ll be right out.”
It had been the only thing she could think of in her haste, remembering the time her mother had said she’d passed out when she was pregnant with Alicia.
As quickly as Alicia could, she jerked her panties off the floor and yanked them on. She fumbled with her bra after that, realizing the man was still standing outside the stall door, waiting for her to open up—probably in case she “fainted” once more. Heat again shimmered through her, but it was more of a skin-deep heat from embarrassment. If he opened the door now while she was half-naked, what in the world would he think she’d been up to?
She tugged the dress over her head and decided she didn’t look pregnant in the least, but she was extremely flushed and now perspiring. She was sure she looked overcome. Just like she felt.
After slipping her bare feet into her pumps, she wrenched open the stall door and smiled a diminutive, weary smile—at least that’s how she tried to make her expression look. Although she knew she had to look overwrought in any event.
“I’m sorry. I must have fainted again. Not enough electrolytes. My mother had warned me.” She rattled off the words, feeling truly light-headed and still worried her furry wolf half might try to take over again.
Then she headed for the sink and washed her hands, just like she would have done after using the facilities, if she’d used them.
The man still watched her warily, but she wasn’t sure whether he thought she was lying—he did look at her flat belly beneath the dress—or worried she’d faint again. She couldn’t look at him, couldn’t look to see his expression. But then a horrible thought occurred to her. What if he’d thought she was doing drugs?
She took a couple of steps forward, then grabbed his arm as if she might pass out again, and this time the expression on his face was one of pure horror. Not that she was faking much of anything. Her head wouldn’t quit spinning.
He grabbed her around the waist and sputtered, “D-do you need an ambulance?”
“No, thank you. I haven’t been eating enough. Or drinking enough fluids. I’ll… I’ll be all right.”
Still, he didn’t let her go, and for the first time in her life, she really wished she had a hero type like him—like Jake, rather—in her life. Practical, no nonsense, she’d never really felt she’d needed anyone. But now?
“Get her something to drink,” the man said quickly to the woman hovering near the door.
Alicia sighed. She really needed help. Then she felt a wave of depression hit all at once. How could she see Jake or anyone when she was a damn werewolf? Wouldn’t she want to do to him what Ferdinand did to her? Bite him? Change him? Make him live like she had to live? Her heart sinking into a pit of despair, she knew she couldn’t get in touch with Jake directly. Not now, not ever.
“Are you sure we can’t call someone for you?” the man asked as he helped her toward the restroom door.
“No, thanks.”
The woman who had sold her the photograph had stepped into the restroom now, too, with the picture wrapped in paper cradled in her arms. She pointedly looked at the envelope half-sticking out of Alicia’s purse.
“What about him?” the woman asked quietly, as if she thought Jake was the father of Alicia’s baby and they’d had a falling-out. The other woman must have told her what had happened.
Poor Jake. He was now thought to be the father of a nonexistent baby, and he was truly the dream lover of a woman who was part wolf.
“No,” Alicia said again, almost sounding desperate.
The man and women shared concerned, knowing looks.
The man continued to help Alicia out of the restroom, and she did really feel shaky from nearly being caught in the altogether as a wolf. He must have sensed her unsteadiness and held on tighter. When they left the restroom, the other female employee had a cell phone in one hand and a chilled bottle of water in the other, ready to call 9-1-1 probably, and everyone was looking a lot more worried than irritated about leaving work late.
That still bothered Alicia. She hated that she really had inconvenienced them. But Ferdinand was the one to blame for all this. Damn his black soul.
“Mary said you were trying to locate Jake Silver,” the man remarked.
“I gave her the envelope he left for her.” Mary pointed at the incriminating evidence in Alicia’s purse pocket, halfway exposed.
“Does it have an address?” The man sounded really annoyed with Jake, so Alicia figured he thought Jake was the father of her faux baby, too. How could things get into such a mess?
“A phone number,” Alicia said. “I’m to call him.” She tried to sound as enthusiastic as she could under the circumstances.
The man and the two women exchanged glances. They thought Jake was a villain.
“He has a home in Silver Town, Colorado,” Mary blurted out, as if she wanted Alicia to know the truth in case Jake had steered her wrong.
“Thanks,” Alicia said very sweetly.
Maybe she could call Silver Town and leave a message with someone else to get word to him that she was all right, and that would be it. But she didn’t dare call Jake directly because she was afraid he’d try to locate her—and what a disaster that would be.
The man helped her to a chair, and the woman gave her the water. Alicia only wanted to leave as quickly as she could before she had another damnable urge to shift. Politely, she drank a little of the water, never being one who could drink a glass of anything in a hurry. But she was trying her damnedest while everyone watched her expectantly.