Land of Wolves

Chapter 40

My phone rings, and I glance at the caller before huffing and dropping the device back into my car's center console.

Caleb's taken to calling me twice a day, once in the morning when he gets to his office and once in the afternoon when I get home from work. I ignore every single one of them.

The first few times, I was foolish and answered, but it quickly became apparent that he has no intentions to speak about HPAW and wishes to brush his little confession under the rug. Instead, he wants to ask about my day and talk about mindless nothings.

Usually, I love that, but not now.

We can't keep ignoring the elephant in the room, and I'm unwilling to talk to him until he's ready to address it.

Mary looks up as I push open the library doors. She nods in greeting before turning away and focusing her attention back on her computer, and I eagerly make my way to the back corner of the building where my half-read book is.

The library is quiet today, and I thankfully don't encounter any wolves as I grab my book and return to my little reading chair. This spot seems to be one of the most private in the library, and only occasionally will somebody walk by.

It's nice.

I tuck my knees into my chest before grabbing my shirt and pulling it over top of them so I'm bundled up into a tight ball. I'm sure it's stretching out the fabric, but it's comforting so I do it anyway.

Besides, now that I've got a job and a paycheck on the way, I can buy myself a new shirt if this one becomes unwearable.

I doubt I could afford any of the same quality Caleb took upon himself to supply me with, but I'm not picky. As long as it covers my stomach and keeps me from catching frostbite in this cold, I'm happy.

I flip to the page I left off on before getting back into reading. I'm still utterly obsessed with the book, and it captures my attention just as quickly as it did before. I find myself engrossed in the fictional world the author created within minutes, and I gnaw mindlessly at my bottom lip as I flip page after page.

"Why do you do this?"

I jump about ten feet in the air and accidentally bite down on my lip. A sharp metallic taste fills my mouth as I look up and meet Mary's curious expression.

She stands only a few feet in front of me, her arms crossed over her chest and her heeled foot tapping impatiently on the ground. How did I not see her approaching?

"Do what?" I ask.

Mary gestures to my huddled-up form with a wave of her arm. I look down at myself before awkwardly clearing my throat and removing my legs from my shirt. The fabric doesn't conform to my skin as it did before, and I'm pretty sure I look more than a little pitiful as I stare up at her.

"Read here," she explains.

Is there something I'm missing?

"...You want to know why I read in the library?"

Mary nods. "Yes."

"Because I like books?"

My answer comes out as a question, my confusion only growing. What else am I supposed to do in a library if not read? I know some wolves come here for a quiet place to work, but they usually have a few books surrounding them.

"Yeah, but why don't you ever check them out?" Mary asks.

Check them out? There's definitely something I'm missing, because I have absolutely no idea what she's talking about.

Mary cocks her head to the side.

"You know you can make an account, check out books, and take them home for three weeks?" she asks.