Gaze (✔)

Chapter Twenty-Nine: Home

Three months later

Clara couldn't help her eyes from darting up at every new person who entered the diner.

Even months after her first shift, her heightened senses were distracting, and every new smell had her wolf perking up within her mind, eager to find the source. Living as a werewolf hadn't exactly been easy – it was, after all, a lot to get used to. But she lived with a lightness now that reminded her of her childhood, and found each new experience as exciting as they were daunting.

She glanced back at her brother. He had the ghost of a grin on his face – probably laughing at her again. Things had become much easier between them, especially since Luke was beginning to show signs of shifting. At first, he'd been angry and, although he wouldn't admit it out loud, he was scared. But she visited him as often as she could, and unlike her early experiences, he had a constant stream of advice and support from her – and, surprisingly, Wyatt. Clara had heard them on the phone for the first time about a month ago, and he'd even come with her to Boston to visit Luke once. She suspected they'd get even closer when Luke moved to the pack.

Joanna, of course, was Luke's biggest supporter. She'd stayed in Boston since the incident with Sam, and although she told Clara that Luke had been a pain in the beginning, it seemed the power of the mate bond had won out again. She suspected Jo was part of the reason Luke had agreed to move.

After insisting for so long that he would be fine on his own in the city, he'd decided to try pack life, even if it was just until he fully harnessed his wolf and the new abilities that came with it. Clara couldn't be more excited – it seemed that after so many years of strife and violence, things were settling down. She couldn't believe how much her life had changed. She had even enrolled in the nearest community college.

"You're like a damn puppy." Luke snickered.

She scowled at him. "Oh, shut up. There's too many smells in here, it's distracting."

Her brother shuffled in his seat and leaned forward, absently chewing on a piece of bacon. "Tell me about it."

Clara paused for a moment, closing her eyes and breathing in slowly. At first, the assault on her senses was too much, and she wrinkled her nose. The smell of fat and grease was certainly prevalent, wafting from the kitchen and off of the plates that surrounded them. And Luke positively stunk of Joanna. She smelled tobacco, sickly sweet perfume, the bitterness of alcohol and even...cat hair?

She opened her eyes and nodded to a young man sitting alone at a booth, chewing a mouthful of eggs nearly loud enough for human ears in the crowded diner. Luke followed her gaze. "See that guy?" Her brother nodded. "He got high as a kite last night. It's still on his breath."

"And that one," she gestured subtly towards a tall man in a sharp suit, hunched over a newspaper at the counter and sipping coffee with a grimace. "He's got a new kitten."

Luke laughed loudly, attracting eyes as he always did, and picked up another piece of bacon. "I've got to say, that's pretty cool." He leaned back, putting a long arm up on the edge of his seat. "How far does this stuff reach?"

She wrinkled her nose. "I can smell a guy taking a piss around the corner." Her brother guffawed, glancing out the window as if he could see him. "And there's...someone familiar. I'm not sure who."

Luke raised his eyebrows. "I reckon there's a whole lot of familiar in this town that you'd best not run into."

She smiled bitterly. "Well isn't that the truth."

* * *

After she'd dropped Luke off at his and Jo's apartment, Clara had gone in pursuit of that familiar smell again. She told her brother she was taking a walk while he packed up his things, but something about the scent had perked her interest – and wariness.