Cecilia was pacing her studio, she couldn’t focus on anything, not the work for her clients, not her personal art, not pack matters, NOTHING. She could only think about one thing and it was driving her crazy.

It had been a week since she had seen Hammer and the separation was putting her wolf on edge. She had tried emailing him, calling the number he had written on his paperwork, but he never answered. He was avoiding her, and she was very close to hunting him down. She’d be able to sniff him out in wolf form.

She stopped pacing, her fingers toying with the bottom of her top, her bottom lip between her teeth. She didn’t notice Oscar come to the door, his eyes narrowing at her behavior.

“Bad idea.” His low rumble startled Cecilia, who quickly put her hands behind her back, looking guilty.

“I don’t know what your talking about Oscar.” Cecilia replied, a blush spreading over her cheeks.

“I’m talking about how you shifting into your wolf and wondering though town to find Hammer is a very bad idea.”

“How did you…? Never mind, it doesn’t matter because your right. It’s a terrible idea.” Cecilia ran her hands through her hair, a frustrated growl slipped out. “I don’t know what to do Oscar. He’s avoiding me and there is this pull inside me to make sure he is ok, to protect him.”

“It’s instinct Cecilia, you know that. You’re strong, you can resist giving into your base needs.”

Cecilia rested her hands on her hips, bowing her head, taking several deep breathes, trying to regain control of herself.

“Fuck Oscar, this is all so complicated. What do I do?”

“Go shopping with me!” Franny’s head popped out from behind Oscar’s back. Her electric blue hair was tied up in two messy buns on the top of her head and she wore a pair of huge bright purple glasses, to match the purple and lilac cheetah print jumper she was wearing. The jumper had spaghetti straps and wide legged pant legs that went to midcalf. She had paired them with hot pink high tops, her whole look was both hard to look at and impossible to look away from.

Franny’s look was a sharp contrast to Oscar’s black long sleeve t-shirt, dark wash denim jeans and black combat boots, his hair was up in bun. Cecilia had on a dark green tank top that had wide arm holes that showed her black sports bra, dark jeans, and knee-high brown combat boots. She had worn her hair down, which was unusual for her. Cecilia and Oscar looked like they belonged in a biker gang, Franny like she was about to host a YouTube show for children.

“Shopping?” Cecilia asked, she sounded doubtful.

“Yeah CeCe! We can go shopping, get some things, maybe have lunch, mani/pedis! A little girl time, get your mind off things.”

“What about the shop? We have clients.” Cecilia was grasping, hoping to avoid getting dragged out with the wildly energetic Francesca.

“You have no appointments today and Oscar is here to handle the walk-ins.” Franny bounced further into the room and grabbed Cecilia’s hand, “You’re not getting out of the CeCe. It won’t be too painful, I promise.”

Cecilia looked past Franny to Oscar, who was leaning against the door, his arms crossed, a smirk on his face and she knew there was no way she was getting out of it.

With a deep sigh Cecilia ran a hand through her long red-brown hair, “Fine, lets go shopping Franny.”

*********

Cecilia was amazed. She was only 4 years older than the 22-year-old Franny, but she was feeling exhausted by the seemingly boundless energy the girl had. They had been to nearly every odd and obscure shop in town. Franny loved thrift and consignment shops, saying that she found the best things there.

“Hey CeCe, look at this one, it’s new!” Franny gestured at a quant little store front, bottles and jars filled the window, giving off an old apothecary vibe. An old wood sign hung above the door, “S.H.S. Apothecary.”

“An apothecary? What’s the point when there’s a drug store down the street?”

“These look homemade, organic. They’re better for you. Let’s check it out.”

“Franny, I’m tired and successfully distracted, can’t we just go home?”

Franny turned and frowned at her friend. Cecilia was looking at her phone scrolling, an intense look on her face.

“Yeah you look distracted and relaxed right now.”

Cecilia looked up, guilt on her face, “I’m sorry Franny, your right. One more shop couldn’t hurt.”

Cecilia slid her phone back into her pocket, trying not to think about the messages she had just received. As they moved to go into the shop, CR suddenly felt uneasy, like she was being watched. Glancing around she noticed a tall, lean man with dark hair that she hadn’t seen before watching the store. The intensity of his gaze set Cecilia’s instincts on edge. She glanced back at Franny quickly and when she looked again, the man was gone.

Cecilia tried to shake off her uneasiness as she followed Franny.

She was shocked when she walked into the little shop. Shelves filled with jars of shampoos, conditioners, lotions, ointments, and other similar products lined the walls. All meticulously labeled with ingredients, scents, and what benefits each provided.

The shop was busy but not so crowded that it was uncomfortable to be in. Cecilia and Franny explored the shop, picking out a few things to try. Franny looked around for any form of worker so they could make their purchases. Cecilia was looking at her phone again when she heard Franny inhale sharply and let out a quiet “OH!”

Cecilia’s head snapped up and looked over to where Franny was looking. Two women she recognized were talking to a tall man whose back was to them. He was wearing a crisp button down with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows and black slacks. She knew him without even seeing his face. His red curly hair was tousled like he had run his hand through it a hundred times. Her wolf side nearly howled with excitement. The tension and ache in her chest that she had been feeling evaporated but was replaced by a multitude of other emotions.

She narrowed her eyes watching him. He was polite and friendly to the woman, smiling and chatting. She could feel the jealousy bubbling up. He nodded and turned, walking back through a door that must lead to a back room. Cecilia ignored Franny’s whispered protest and followed Hammer through the door.