The lighting inside the Apothecary is dim and slightly rose-colored and different plants hang, drying, from the ceiling all throughout the shop. The shelves are filled with jars of dried herb and roots, stones, crystals, and things Max can’t identify. The back corner is floor to ceiling bookshelves and Max is in heaven. For the first time in weeks, he’s not overthinking anything.

Narhi smiles from the counter while Max hardcore examines some low hanging herbs and smells the jars. There’s something off about his expression.

“Oh, the pup has a new friend?” A redheaded girl is suddenly at the counter in a cloud of smoke. Her eyes are a sparkling yellow surrounded by glittering black eyeshadow and her smile is thin and sharp, surrounded by dark green lipstick.

“He’s the Sheriff's nephew.” Narhi looks back over his shoulder, elbows resting on the wooden countertop. “His name is Max.”

The girl leans over the counter, her hair in dreads over her shoulder, her pale coffee-colored skin covered in freckles. “Don’t bullshit me, Narhi.”

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

“I’m a witch.” She leans on her palm like that’s supposed to mean something.

“I know what you are, Abbie.”

“Then you should know that if someone has a mark, I’m the first to know.”

Narhi’s eyes glow dangerously and he turns at lightning speed to look her in the eyes. He doesn’t say anything. He doesn’t know what to say.

“It’s not every day a wolf imprints on someone.”

“Shut the hell up, Abigail.”

“Is it him?”

“I said shut up.” Narhi’s muscles tense, fangs growing sharper, an intense glow in his eyes.

“Oh, relax, pup.” She says it calmly, but her eyes are just as intense, a sparkling black smoke seeping slowly up from her shoes. “I won’t tell anyone. You know how witches feel about karma.”

They stand off for a moment before the air clears and Narhi puts his fangs away. It’d be a bad idea to make a scene somewhere like this where Max could see him at his worst. Narhi’s knuckles are white, his fists clenched, his eyes downcast.

“He’s not a wolf.”

“That’s fairly obvious.” She leans on the counter again. “How unfortunate for you. You’re just going to have to court him the old fashion way.”

“No, Max is… He’s so…”

“Oh, no, he’s straight isn’t he?” Abbie giggles like a fangirl, fully enjoying the juicy gossip. “Ugh, I live for this drama.”

“I'm pretty sure he's bisexual.” Narhi glares and Abbie puts her hands up in surrender. “And It’s not that… It's just-”

“Hey, Narhi!” Max calls from a shelf, just out of earshot, and he sounds like he just found something important. He stops just a couple feet away, jar in one hand, smoothie in the other, feeling the palpable tension. “Um… what’s… going on?”

Abbie’s yellow eyes look Max up and down and her smile is sly across her face. “O. M. G.” Her whole face brightens up, mystery gone, and radiating sunshine and rainbows. “Puppy boy made a friend, I’m shocked.”

Exasperation consumes Narhi’s face. “Max, this is Abigail. Abigail, Max.”

“Hi, I’m Abbie. Don’t ever call me Abigail, we’re friends now.”

“Oh.. Uh, okay?” He turns to Narhi with a face that says, ‘should I be scared’? And Narhi can only smile at him.

“Abbie’s a hedge witch.” Narhi leans back on the counter, trying not to sound as nervous as he feels. “One of the less scary kind. She’s cool.”

“I’m Max.” He’s not smiling, but he’s not frowning or apprehensive either and that’s pretty good for Max. “B-but you… already… know that.”

“Omg, he’s shy. So cute. So, whatchya got there?” Abbie asks, her chin in her palms. Her smile fades when Max holds up a jar with a single bunch of purple flowers and her eyes meet Narhi’s with concern.

“Wh-what… is this?”

“It’s called Aconite.” Abbie tilts her head, curiously.

“What I mean… is, um… what’s the… significance of it?” He fishes for a not dorky way to say, ‘what magical shit is this used for?’.

“It’s wolfsbane.” Narhi says quickly. “It’s poisonous, especially to wolves.” He turns to Abbie, accusingly. “Why are you selling it here?”

“It’s not for sale. It’s for education.” She defends, folding her arms. “And it can be used to make antidotes if you know what you’re doing. I don’t know how it got out here. It should be put away.”

“This was in my dream.” Max interrupts. He’s staring at it almost like he’s in a trance. “At a cabin in the woods… by a lake.”

Narhi feels his heart sink to his stomach, his words coming out almost like a whisper.

“What did you say?”

Suddenly Abigail is beside Max, lifting the jar from his hand. “Come with me. It’s not safe to talk about this here.” Then she’s walking to the back where another set of curtains was masked by darkness.

Behind the curtains is a fortune telling room where Abbie sets the jar down next to a crystal ball. She snaps her fingers and three chairs appear from sparkling black smoke.

“Have a seat.” She sits gracefully, legs crossed, fingers laced in her lap, and waits for the boys to exchange glances before sitting down.

“What’s… all this?” Max looks nervously at Narhi.

“Has he been to the lakehouse?” She asks casually and the boys stare at each other.

“That night, in the woods.” Narhi starts. “Was that the only time you were there?”

“Yes?” Max looks confused.

“And you didn’t see anything in the woods that night like what you saw in your dream?”

“No? Wh-what is this about?”

Abigail looks at Narhi like, 'where'd you find this guy?' She doesn't say it, but the gesture is obvious.

"He was raised by humans."

"Oh, lamb." Abbie looks at Max, a hand on her chest. "Okay, well, a couple of years ago there was an accident that shook the town.” Narhi looks on edge as she starts to explain and Max can’t help but watch his eyes while she continues. Narhi avoids his gaze. “A wolf pack and a young Kushtaka girl are coming back from a gathering of some sort when their car disappears in the woods where they live. Days later the car is seen in the lake and a beast appears in the woods near their home and kills most of what's left of the pack. The creature is foreign with massive spiritual energy and the lake is overrun with Aconite, forcing the three survivors from their home. Since then the woods have been off-limits, especially at night.”

Max feels a deep sadness in his chest and, for the first time, he realizes that it isn’t his. It’s Narhi’s.

“Is that... what you were anxious about… on my first day of school?” Max toys with the straw of his drink and Narhi wonders where he put his down at. “You said… I might hear some things… Well, I haven’t really…”

Narhi looks like he wants to answer, but he can’t bring himself to open his mouth and something tells Max he’s trying to keep it together.

“It’s a touchy subject for people in this town since everyone has their own opinions about what happened. And, of course, most people think the wolves are all cursed now, which is ridiculous.” Abigail sighs and looks at Max. “It was a huge loss for many because the wolves were the original founders and protectors of Rowanwood. But also because a great deal of the wolves were cops and their Alpha was the Sheriff before Laurent took charge. His name was Aatu Narhi.”

“Oh…” Max looks at his smoothie and feels uneasy. “That’s why you were there… Looking for the beast that night. It was… your family.”

“I thought I might find a clue if I went to the lakehouse and I knew Keelie would be off duty.” Narhi finally looks Max in the eyes and no one is cruel enough to comment on the scratchiness of his voice when he says it. “Because you were coming that day.”

“But… But why did I… have that dream? This-this has nothing to do with me.”

“Now that’s the question.” Abigail stands, her hands on her hips, and steps up to the boys. “I know this is probably not the time to say this, but I think between the three of us, we may finally have the pieces we need to solve this mystery.”

Narhi looks at Max with a conflicted stare. “You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do.” And Max looks like he’s really thinking about how to answer.

“I don’t want to… keep having dreams like that…” He reaches a timid hand out to Narhi’s and grips it, ignoring the wolf boy’s tomato red face. Or not noticing at all, it's hard to tell. “And… I want to help you… because…” The next part looks like it’s difficult for him to say. “Because I get that. You know… what that feels like… to lose everyone.” There’s a shared understanding in their eyes and Narhi feels his heart skip a beat. Then the sound of a camera snapping a picture catches both of their attention and Abbie puts her phone behind her back as fast as she can.

“My bad.” She grins. “I thought it was on silent.”