I couldn’t move.  Couldn’t breathe.  Not just because of his hands on my shoulders and the way he was making me face him – although my eyes were glued to my lap – but because of what he said.  What he offered.  Was it really possible for everything I’d been through to end?  For them to stop bothering me?  To stop beating me up if I happened to glance at them wrong?  Was it really possible for all this to just…stop?  If I just accepted his protection, then I would be safe?  Was it really that easy?

     Then reality dropped back on me like a heavy burden crushing my soul.  No, of course it wasn’t that easy.  There had to be a catch.  Maybe I’d become his slave.  Maybe it just meant he’d torment me, but not everyone else.  Would that be better?  Maybe?

     He seemed to understand some of my hesitation.  “Look, you don’t have to decide right this minute.  Think about it.  I know I’ve just dropped a whole lot of info on you and you probably need to process this all, but if you’re willing, I’m offering.  And even if not, I’d like to be friends.  I can tell you more about what’s going on, help you to understand, if you like.  Or we can just talk about normal stuff, I don’t know.  I can show you some of my photos, or we can go watch a movie, or something.  Whatever people normally do when they hang out with friends?  But at least you can get to know me better before you decide anything.”

     I almost laughed when he talked about going to the movies, but I wasn’t sure I remembered how to laugh.  I had no idea what people normally did when they hung out with friends.  My last friend had been when I was 15 years old and he’d almost killed me.

     Then my brain finally caught up with what Ren had just said and any sense of a laugh disappeared immediately.  Ren was offering to be friends.  He knew what I could see, he knew how strange I was, but he was still offering to be friends.

     Why?  What did he see in me that made him want to do that?  It couldn’t be anything in me personally, I couldn’t imagine anyone really would be that interested in a small, terribly introverted man who couldn’t look at someone when they spoke, could barely hold a conversation, ran when frightened, wore threadbare clothes, lived in a dingy apartment, and had nothing really to offer anyone. All I had was my weird ability to see things which I shouldn’t see.

     Which meant that was why he wanted to be “friends” – because of my ability, but not in a good way.  Probably to keep an eye on me, to make sure I wasn’t really a threat.  That had to be it.  Which meant I probably couldn’t say no, or he’d get upset.  He was trying to be nice now, but who knew what would happen if I angered him.  He said himself that angry fae were trouble and dark fae were terrifying.  Maybe if I said no he’d get upset with me.  That didn’t seem worth the risk.

     “I – maybe – I, I guess.”

     He beamed, and before I could process it he did it again – he hugged me.  Swiftly letting go, of course, but totally confusing my brain when he did.  He seemed genuinely happy that I’d agreed, like he actually wanted this and was not just pretending to try to manage me.  Had I read this all wrong?

     No, no, even if he was kind and friendly like I hoped, there was still that one bottom line I couldn’t get past.  There was no reason for him to want to be friends with me.  There had to be another explanation.  Maybe it was something simpler, maybe it was just that he pitied me, or he felt obligated after I’d helped him, with what little I’d done.  I really hadn’t done much – just called Honey and told her where he was.  That was it.  He really didn’t need to feel obligated.  And as far as pitying me goes, well…I guess it was better than being hated or having someone worried enough that I was a Hunter that they beat me up.  So maybe he was kind, truly, maybe he just pitied me.  That made the most sense.  I mean, assuming my whole “I want to trust him because he actually seems nice” thing was accurate.  That or maybe it was a bit of both – he felt like he had to do something because I’d helped him, and he pitied me, so this was the best result.

     “Can I walk you home?”  Ren asked.  “I mean, if that’s where you’re going next.  Unless you had more errands to run first.”

     I shook my head.  “No, no more today.”  It was too late for most places to still be open and have their manager there or whoever handled hiring, so job hunting was over for the day.  I didn’t have class tonight – it was on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturdays – so it was time to return home.  I might as well let him walk with me, he was going to follow me instead and watch from a distance if I said no, right?

     I got up and took a few steps away before realizing he was still waiting for my answer.  Apparently, though, when I paused and looked in the general direction of his feet and waited, he realized I was letting him come with me.

     Instantly he popped up, grabbed the water bottle I hadn’t touched, and hurried to catch up with me.

     “You went to class yesterday, right?”  He asked curiously.  “Do you attend college?”

     So…had he been the one following me yesterday, too?  He didn’t seem to realize that his comments revealed that he’d been following me, or maybe he just didn’t care if I knew.  Probably didn’t care.  It wasn’t like I could do anything about it even if I didn’t like it.

     “I take classes when I can.  Just one right now.”

     “What are you studying?  How far along are you?”  It felt like he had dozens more questions he wanted to ask but was trying to hold himself back.

     “IT.  I guess about at the end of my junior year?”  I wasn’t exactly in any year, but the credits I had earned were approximately where a junior would be at the end of their second semester.  Well, once I finished this class.  If I finished this class.  Then probably another 2-3 years and I could finish up my degree.  I mean, assuming the current setback didn’t push those plans back by too much.

     “IT?  Wait, so you’re good with computers?  I didn’t see a computer at your place though.  That’s kind of unexpected.”  He mused.

     He didn’t seem to be asking a question, so I didn’t explain that I didn’t have a computer because I couldn’t afford one.  That conversation got old.  There were a lot of things I didn’t have because I couldn’t afford.

     A gust of wind swept over us and I shivered slightly, sinking further into my coat.  More of a jacket, really, but it was the warmest thing I had.  With temperatures starting to drop as fall progressed, I knew being cold while I walked would be a regular thing.

     Then I felt something and reflexively glanced over at Ren before jerking my head back, despite by curiosity screaming at me to keep watching.  Because he was doing magic, and I wanted to watch.  Not quite the same as what Honey and Sorrel had done the other night, but I could still see the warm golden glow that drifted towards me.  In fact, I was too curious to remember to be afraid until I realized what he was doing when I found myself not as cold as I had been a moment before.

     Was he warming me up because I’d shivered?  With magic?  That seemed to be the only explanation but it left me with more questions than answers.  One main question, really.  Why?  I mean, it felt nice, but…why did he do it?

     He continued with a new line of questioning before I had a chance to even consider asking him – not that I would have, that was too risky.

     “You know, I’ve never met someone like you, someone who would deliberately taunt a wolf into following them just to save a stranger.”

     I stopped in surprise.  I mean, I shouldn’t have been surprised, he’d basically just admitted to following me yesterday even when I’d been to class, which meant he probably saw the whole wolf thing.

     Ren stopped, too, and turned to look at me.  “Yeah, um, so I was kind of following you yesterday, I was curious to learn more about you.  Rude, I guess, but to be honest a lot of supernaturals learn to follow people surreptitiously.  It’s how we find out if someone is dangerous, human or supernatural – that’s how we find out if someone is a witch, for instance.  Observe them.  And, uh…okay there’s not really a good excuse for it.  Sorry.”  I could feel the embarrassment radiating from him, but it didn’t really bother me as much as he seemed to expect.  I was far too used to them following me around to care.

     “You saw all that with the wolf?”

     “Oh.  Yes.  Well, basically.  You ran into me, almost, then it came running after.  I have to admit I was a tad surprised to see it tearing around the corner after you.  At first I thought you are just the kind of person to attract danger like that.”

     I felt an immense amount of relief wash over me.  The person I’d nearly run into was Ren.  And he seemed okay now.  So it must have worked out.

     Ren continued, oblivious to my relief.  “I took care of it, we’re good at that, but it wasn’t until later that we were checking out the security cameras and I realized you’d actually deliberately gotten it to follow you.”

     Okay, now I was confused.  He was checking out the security cameras?  Why?

     He must have seen the confusion on my face.  “Oh, wait, I guess I should back up.  So, you ran by me, right?  Then it came through.  Fairies are often called on to help with animal issues, shifter or otherwise.”  He started walking again, nudging me with his elbow as he did and I obediently fell into step with him.  “Shifters probably represent the largest chunk of supernaturals – those who can shift into an animal.  Not all the same type, and usually whatever type a shifter is will be passed on to their kids.  Anyway, for predator-type shifters there are a lot of rules when living in a city.  They can’t go hunting, for obvious reasons.  We don’t let them raise animals to hunt, either.”  His tone displayed his distaste for the idea.  “Okay that might be a fae thing but we’re too connected with animals to ever understand why anyone would hunt them.  But back to the wolf.  Predator-type shifters have more trouble controlling their animal and losing their minds, I guess.  If they’re not careful, they can go full feral and usually can’t even recall their human form or identity any more.  So they already have to be careful and then in a city, they can’t just go hunting.  I don’t know what was wrong with that guy, exactly, but he went and attacked Nathan.

     “Nathan’s a friend of ours.  Or, well, he and his family are.  We’ve known them for forever.  He’s closer to Sorrel than to me but we all hang out a lot together.  He’s a rabbit shifter.”

     “English lop,” I murmured, “with the ears.”

     I hadn’t meant for him to actually hear me, but he paused for a moment in surprise before continuing.  “Yeah, the long ears.  We used to tease him about stepping on them when he shifts but he never does.  Anyway, he works with a company that handles landscaping in parks and a few corporate plaza-type places.  He was out there last night trying to wrap up some work and got attacked.  We figure the wolf smelled his prey scent even if he wasn’t shifted.  Not sure if the wolf shifter was already in wolf form, because if he was human it shouldn’t have been enough to make him shift and attack unless he was already very close to losing it.

     “Nathan wasn’t expecting an attack so he didn’t even have time to try to defend himself.  The wolf got scared off by noise from some group of teens before it could finish the job.  Which we figured out by checking the security cameras – we do that when a supernatural is involved in an incident, trying to figure out how much damage control we need to deal with.  Mom was looking into it for work and Sorrel was helping since he and Nathan are friends.  Anyway we saw you come; call 911 I’m assuming, since they showed up soon; but before they arrived you drew the wolf away.”

     I could feel his questioning eyes on me and felt like I had to explain that.  I wasn’t suicidal, if that’s what he was wondering.

     “He was unconscious and couldn’t do anything,” I mumbled.  “At least I stood a chance since I could run.  But, um, thank you for stopping it?”

     Ren suddenly threw one arm around my shoulder in a brief half-hug, startling me yet again, but he released me almost as quickly.  “Not a problem, that’s part of my job.  Err, not a job, exactly, but part of being fae.  Like I said, they call us in with animals.  If someone goes feral, that’s on us to catch them usually.  With actual animals, we can get them to calm down, and shifters trust fae, somewhat, too.  Plus we can catch them more easily than most things without injuring them.  Like I just grew some vines – we can grow things in seconds if we need – to trap him in place, then used magic to knock him out before calling for our police to pick him up.  They’ll deal with the consequences, which could have been way worse for him if he’d killed Nathan.”

     He paused before slowly continuing.  “When a predator-type shifter hunts in the city or gets too close to losing themselves, we end up giving them an option of taking some medications that essentially mute their animal side.  They can’t shift any more.  They hate that, their animal side is part of them, but the alternative is to lose their mind and turn so feral they are just the animal, so they usually take it.  If they want to stay in Avenglade, they have to.  We sometimes have to monitor predator-type shifters closely because of issues like this.  Not sure what will happen to him, but you helped him, too, even if you didn’t realize or intend that.  If he’d killed Nathan, he could be looking at permanent prison time in addition to losing his shifter side.”

     That hadn’t been my intention or even a thought – helping the wolf – but I guess Ren saw it as kind of a good thing.  Helping a supernatural.