Damian's Wolf - 11. Discovery

Jordan’s heart nearly stopped as the words left Halor’s lips. How had he known? Jordan had been so careful to hide his disease from everyone.

“Jordan-” Blanche started.

“Miss Reyla, I just want you to know that if you are going to fire Jordan, I won’t be working here anymore,” Damian said suddenly, his ears flattening.

Blanche shook her head.

“Jordan, can you open tomorrow?”

“Um… sure,” Jordan said.

“I’m getting too old for this drama,” Blanche sighed, heading into the back room once more.

Jordan sat on a chair behind the counter, head in his hands.

“Fuck… Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck…”

A man entered the store and Jordan took a deep breath, putting a small smile on his face. He wasn’t fired yet.

“Hello, can I help you with anything?”

“Got anything on werewolves?”

“Um, sure. Any particular race?”

“Human. Specifically turning humans.”

It was an odd request, and Jordan hoped the man wasn’t going to turn anyone. He couldn’t tell it the human was a wolf, but the line of questioning was definitely suspicious.

“We should have something this way,” Jordan said, heading toward the left wall of the store. “Neko to the far left, human in the middle, and elf to the right of that. I’m not sure if there’s anything like what you’re looking for, but you’re welcome to look.”

“Thank you,” the man smiled.

Jordan swore he saw a flash of the man’s canines, but he could have been wrong.

“Jordan, can I speak with you please?” Blanche called.

“Ready for a test?” Jordan smiled at Damian. “You can help him, right?”

“Um…”

“You got this. If you need help, just call for me,” Jordan added as he hurried into the back room.

He found Blanche in the small room off of the back room that served as an office. The woman sat in front of a small computer, typing with a speed Jordan would have found surprising if he hadn’t seen her do it before.

“What can I do for you Miss Reyla?” he asked a little nervously.

“First of all, relax about the werewolf thing,” the woman said quietly. “A detail like that only makes me respect your dedication to this store more. You have never missed a day of work due to the moon. Second, can you let Damian know he has my permission to go forward with his bake sale? You and I will have to work out a date for it, but I like his cooking. Maybe he can give me the recipe?” she smiled.

“Sure. I’ll let him know.”

Jordan let out a sigh of relief.

“Oh, and Jordan? Thank you for getting Damian a better shirt. I hope you two were able to get some food last night?”

“Yeah. My friend took us out for dinner.”

“Good. You know, Halor tried to convince me Damian stole money to get that shirt. You let Damian know he’s not in trouble here. I know that was the change from the biscuits.”

“Thank you Miss Reyla,” Jordan smiled.

“Now get back out there. You have a job to do,” Blanche smiled at him.

Damian was tucking a gold coin into the register when Jordan stepped out of the office. The werewolf’s eyes widened at the sight of the gold.

“How many books did he buy?” he asked, hurrying toward Damian.

“Just the one. It said it was marked at six silver. He told me to keep the change,” Damian said quietly. “And to give you this.”

The neko handed Jordan a card with a wolf’s face on the front.

“North Astara Wolf Pack.”

“Shit…” Jordan groaned. “How did they find me?”

“My guess? Halor must have told them there was a rogue werewolf here. He seemed more interested in watching you than in buying a book.”

Jordan flipped the card over, reading the name on the back.

“Ryan Coirus, Pack Recruiter.”

There was a number below it, and a note scribbled on the bottom.

“Please call me at your earliest convenience.”

“Nope,” Jordan muttered, stuffing the card in his pocket.

He had no desire to be stuck in a pack of werewolves.

“Hey, Miss Reyla said you could run the bake sale any time you wanted,” he added, turning to Damian.

“Okay. Do you mind taking over out here? I want to go talk to her about the best day to do it.”

“Of course. Have fun,” Jordan said, patting the neko on the back.

The werewolf began sweeping again, picking up the bits of dirt Halor had missed. He was glad the elf was gone, even if it might cause him problems in the future. The store would be better off without him for sure.

They closed early that afternoon, Blanche handing Jordan a small bag of coins they locked up.

“Pay day is a day early,” she said with a smile. “I figure we can put this whole problem with Halor behind us and start fresh with a new employee.”

Handing a gold coin to Damian, Blanche smiled before heading to her car.

“Do you kids need a ride anywhere?” she asked.

“No, thanks,” Jordan denied. “I need to go shopping tonight. My bike should hold everything I need for the next week.”

“Well, have a good night, and I’ll see you both tomorrow.”

Blanche drove off, leaving Jordan and Damian alone.

Damian flipped the coin in his fingers, staring at it.

“I didn’t do enough work for this,” he said quietly.

“She gives out a bonus to new employees,” Jordan said with a smile. “Use it to get some clothes and some food. I’ll take care of rent.”

“You still want to live together?” Damian said, surprised.

“Did you think I was going to kick you out on payday?”

“Well, it’s a small apartment and I have money for a hotel now-”

“You’re welcome to stay as long as you want, in case I didn’t make that clear earlier.”

“Thank you,” Damian smiled broadly.

They left the store. Jordan leading the way down the street. He was sure Damian could find his way to the apartment, but the werewolf really didn’t want to risk the neko getting lost.

A bird flew fast the two, landing on the other side of the street. Jordan heard a quiet murmur from Damian, turning toward the neko. Damian was drawing in on himself, his tail moving back and forth slowly as he stared at the bird.

“Damian? You okay buddy?”

The neko jumped at Jordan’s voice, the bird flying away with a squawk.

“Yeah, I’m okay,” Damian said, his eyes tracking the bird.

“Sorry I disturbed your hunt,” Jordan chuckled.

“Eh, crows are fattening,” Damian shrugged. “I didn’t want him anyway.”

Jordan laughed.

“Spoken like a true cat. Why don’t we get some real food?”

Jordan unlocked the door to their apartment, letting Damian inside first. Their dinner had been filling, a large burger for each of them, and still inexpensive. He would shop for food tomorrow after work, but they had earned a night out.

“I could have paid for my share of dinner,” Damian said quietly as the door closed.

“You have more important things you need to buy. This was my treat,” Jordan said.

They had been arguing this point for nearly half an hour already, neither giving in. Jordan hadn’t even let Damian see the dinner bill, paying when the neko had gone to the restroom.

“Well you know what? If you’re paying for dinner, I’m going to count this as a date,” Damian said suddenly.

“You know what?” Jordan echoed back. “I think I agree. This was our first date.”

A second later, his mind caught up with his mouth, and Jordan sighed. It was too late to go back now.

“Well then, if this was a date,” Damian grinned impishly.

Suddenly the neko was in Jordan’s face. Damian’s lips pressed against Jordan’s chastely, and then the cat stepped back again.

The two stared at each other, Jordan in disbelief and Damian in concern. It took a moment, but slowly Jordan smiled. They were doing this then. It took a load off his shoulders. Maybe later he would have to worry about the dangers of having sex with the neko, but for now he was just going to enjoy his first real relationship.

Unless…

“So does this mean we’re dating?”

“I guess it does,” Damian smiled under his hood.

Jordan stepped forward again, his lips pressing against Damian’s just as chastely.

“I think I like that idea,” he whispered, his hand brushing Damian’s hood back.

He continued stroking the neko’s hair, drawing small purrs from Damian’s lips as the cat wrapped his arms around the wolf.