After the hour drive to the nearest town down dirt roads and one lane highways, I stop in front of the farm store on the edge of town. As I step out of the truck I sniff the air, I don’t know why. Except for the raccoon family there are no other shifters living in this area, but something smelled off to me. Keep eye open, the raspy voice says; and I head inside the store. Jake a young man who is waiting for his father to die so he can inherit the family farm is working the counter.

I walk up to the counter and he smiles at me, I mentally shake my head. He wasn’t married as yet, and thought any unattached female was his to hit on. “Hi Jake, I need my regular order; plus a couple hundred pounds of the special rabbit feed.” He looks up the items in the computer, and nods his head. “No problem Nancy, we have them all ready bagged up. Your truck out front?” I nod my head and he has me sign the receipt that will debit my account, a trail for Simon to know where I was. He then goes into the back to get my order out to my truck and I wander the store looking at the small selection of cat items.

Country people like dogs more, but as most have barn cats they carry some cat things. I saw a flea treatment that I take off the shelf to read the label as I hear the door open. My head whips up as I smell shifters, and I wander farther into the store straining my ears.

Jake comes through the rear door giving me a questioning look and I nod to the front, he nods a thanks and walks to the front. “Hello there can I help you Gents?” I sigh, worse it’s male shifters; I smell the air again. I detect canine and woods, so wolves. I reach the back wall and lean against it keeping my head down, thankfully this group wasn’t being loud.

I hear a deep voice say, “I just need directions. Me and my family are coming back from a vacation and we took a wrong turn because my brother was hungry.” I hear the males laugh and Jake responds, “Well you take the road out front another twenty miles and you’ll hit the interstate highway. You’ll pass through the main part of our town first thought.” I hear the wolves thank Jake then leave, though I see a few of them sniffing the air before they leave.

Thankfully I always put a drop of home made essential oil on my forehead before I leave the house. It masks my true scent from other shifters, and lets me pass by them without notice. Doug was annoyed the first time I did it. All shifters have sensitive noses, and we can’t stand perfumes, or any additional scents added to things. I make my own soaps and cleaning supplies, to which I add essential oils I myself make.

The original test run with Doug only took a week, as I had to find one that properly masked my scent in a natural way. He had told me that my scent was turned earth and roses, amusingly he learned later that ‘roses’ was not totally accurate. As I use an essential oil made from a lavender colored rose to mask my scent. He told me that I no longer smelled like me, also that I really didn’t smell like a shifter either. I figured if I had to visit Simon this way I could enter his office building without every shifter there looking at me.

Simon worked for a company that took care of supernatural beings’ finances, shifters and vampires tend to have large family wealth. The federal government while they know we exist, aren’t happy with the long standing wealth some of the older families have.

Jake comes back after the males leave, “you alright Nancy? You afraid of strangers?” I nod my head and he pats my shoulder when his boss walks in from the back room. “Ah Nancy, we finished loading your truck for you. I also had it tarped as I know how much you hate town, and figured you came out to get a few things done. This way nothing gets wet while you run around.” I nod a thanks to him, this was the shop’s owner a friend of my mom’s and the raccoon family. He knew what we were, in theory.

He looks at Jake, “so who was it?” Jake tosses his thumb over his shoulder, “jus some tourists lost.” He rolls his eyes one the word tourist, typical country guy there. I thank the two of them and head out the door catching a whiff of pine needles and ocean waves. I look around and see nothing and I shrug it off.

I hop into my truck and head into the center of town first stopping at the butcher shop to place an order for on the way home. A hundred pounds of chops and beef roasts will last me all winter, with my other meat sources. The woman at the counter nods her head smiling, “hey there nice to see you Nancy. Thank you for signing that copy of your book for my little one,” I nod my head. The locals know I write books, and what my pen name is thanks to one of Doug's sister’s. He was not happy when he found out she told everyone. Being a raccoon she doesn’t understand why I don’t like crowds, oddly Doug does.

I prepay for my order, she tells me if I’m not there by five she’ll have her son run it to my box in the morning. I head out and look about town and decide to stop at the grocery store first and pick up some of the fruits I love but can’t grow, yet. I have plans to build a greenhouse, once I figure out how I’ll do it myself.

When I walk into the store I get a text from Doug, save me! I grin and text him back, sorry this is all part of growing up. Maybe you’ll like the next one you meet. I head to the produce isle looking the fruit over and I catch a whiff of wolf, with that odd scent of pine needles and ocean waves. Great, came the voice in my head; no like wolf. I whole hardheartedly agreed with her. I start scanning the fruits so I could get out of the store quickly and get buzzed by Doug again. NO I won’t the next batch is triplets! I chuckle at my poor friend, well since I don’t understand how this ‘mate’ thing works just get it done and you can come home.

As I finish the text I notice it got quiet near me, which in a grocery store of any kind is odd. Then it hits me, the wolf smell was all around me and I hear a deep voice say. “Well now what is this thing?” I slowly look up carefully avoiding looking anyone in the face, the smell coming off the one in front of me tells me this is the one with the odd scent. He doesn’t smell like ‘wolf’ to me but he doesn’t smell like a ‘special’ either, it was odd.

He leans over and smells me, “you don’t smell human.” He sniffs again, “but I can’t tell what you smell like at all. Are you covering your scent?” He sounded shocked and I just nod my head looking down, weird wolf. I agree with her statement again, he is an odd wolf. I know he is a wolf as his scent is mingled with the other wolves.

I get shoved from behind, I had expected something like this; so I kept myself calm and just fell to the floor. I hear a growl come from the odd smelling one, and the one from behind me says, “what Alpha? She’s just some wimpy super that isn’t powerful trying to hide mixed with the humans.” I could hear the sneer in his voice, I slowly lift myself. “Apologies for being in your way, please excuse me.” I go to leave when an arm from the ‘Alpha’ is in front of me, I glance in his direction avoiding his face. “You don’t need to apologize, he shoved you;” the Alpha growls slightly. “Are you alright?” I nod my head and he moves his arm and I rush out of the store not wanting fruit any more. I could feel his eyes on me the whole time I fled the store.

I rush into my truck just as I get buzzed again, what happened my da said you got shoved in the store? I swear under my breath, I forgot his father worked in the grocery store. Nothing important, just some wolves passing through. I catch my breath then and I decide to head to our one luxury store here. The bookstore, I don’t go in often because I’m a local celebrity; but the smell of books relaxes me.

I head inside and the teenager at the counter drops her book, no school? I tell my other self it’s summer the kids don’t have school then. The teenager rushes me with a hug, “oh my God! You’re her! You’re Dixon Hills! I’ve read all your books, the boss said you lived nearby. Oh. My. God!” I hold up my hand and see the shop owner come out from her office after hearing the teen squeal.

“Ah Nancy good to see you, we have a new batch of Sci Fi in the stacks.” I nod her a thanks and head back there as I step out of human hearing I hear her reprimand the teen. “Listen carefully, she doesn't come in here often as she hates crowds. Treat her like anyone else and you might see her again, it looks like she had a rough morning.” I certainly did, I shudder at the thought of the wolves. Then I spend the next hour pouring through the science fiction section. Five new books later I decide I am ready to go and have lunch. I felt better and there was no way those idiot wolves were still around.

I hopped into my truck again and drove to the Chinese restaurant, when I walk in the woman running the counter smiles at me nodding to the rear of the seating area knowing I preferred the seat facing the door at the back of the place. I sit down and she brings me a hot pot of green tea and waits, all I say is “hot” and she grins and heads into the kitchen.

This is a very special restaurant, the owners know how to cook according to a shifter’s pallet. They broadly know what type I am because my mom first brought me here when we went shopping for chicken coop parts. The owner was thrilled to meet me, he always puts something extra on my plate when he knows I am here. Usually fried shrimp, which I love and I have no idea why due to what I am.

My food comes out with six large fried shrimp on top of the rice bowl, and I dig into my food when I hear the door open. I smelled wolf, no we EAT! I keep eating and carefully watch the front where the group of wolves were, they were sniffing the air. Nice thing about this place, they might catch a whiff of my scent in the front. Yet the rest of this place had so much spice in the air you can’t tell one from another. I was also behind a plant, while I had a clear view of the door; they could not see me.

“Why are we still here Alpha?” Asks one of the younger looking males in the group, the Alpha glares at the man who shrinks back. “The women are waiting in a hotel by the highway, if you are in such a hurry to get your head ripped off by all means go on.” I see the Alpha sniff the air some more, a male who looks about the alpha’s age asks, “what is it about that super? She’s obviously not a shifter or she’d not be hiding her scent.”

He shakes his head, “there is something about her. My wolf side said we must find her, so we will comb this town till we do. I think that busted truck is hers it has her odd smell all over it.” I see a hand wave at me from the kitchen, the owner is miming should he get rid of them. I shake my head, as being wolves they could hurt him. He walks to the counter instead of his wife and says, “are you here to eat? If not I must ask you to leave,” the young male takes a step forward and the Alpha grabs him.

“I’m sorry, yes we’d like to eat. I do have a question, do you know who owns that truck out front?” The owner crosses his arms, “why do you want to know? You are not from around here, and we protect our own people here.” The Alpha sits at a table and the others follow suit, “I need to talk to her is all. It’s important that I do,” the owner leans back and hands them menus. He walks away speaking to them and winks at me, “well I’d say that would be up to her now wouldn’t it?”