Gusty Emotions on Wet Roads

Ch. 4 - Turn for the Worse

The next night, Evelyn sat under her covers as she surfed the web for free economics webinars. Her room lit by the soft glow of fairy lights and her computer screen. The soft snores of her pack barely contained within their den provided a soft music that made her feel full and anxious.

Her father had come to her after he had returned from a discussion with the South Point pack concerned. She followed him into his office offering him some comfort through soft touches from her magic. He hadn't accepted her or rebuked her. It worried her.

"The finances have gotten worse." Her father had said almost as soon as she shut the door. "Our last reserves are almost empty, and there are no other stocks to sell."

The floor wavered beneath Evelyn. What?

"And with the East Lake treaty now void..." her father trailed off as he glanced at her. His wolf brushed against hers softly.

Evelyn felt heavy. If she had still been with Lucas, her pack wouldn't be in the situation. If she had been enough for him, her pack wouldn't suffer more. If she had.. 

"I've been talking with Oscar about what we should do, but I wanted to ask you if you had any ideas as to how we could cut budgets to help with the situation." He said as he slowly paced the room.

Evelyn didn't know how to respond. She had thought things had been okay. Not great – the Mountain Peak pack hadn't been the largest or richest pack to begin with. The hard blows from the death of the Luna and the beginning of the recession happened in quick succession. And, with that deadly combination, most members were now forced to live in the pack house.

In fact, the pack had just finished adding on another section to the den. The space was needed to accommodate the latest members moving in due to foreclosures. Not great – but everyone could eat their fill, and they didn't have to check their expenses much.

"I'm sorry to have thrown this on you considering –" He sent her a sympathetic look as he paced, "But, as Luna-elect your input is ..." He trailed off, searching for the right word.

"Needed?" Evelyn offered as she began going over the options. Her father only nodded. His wolf trailed over her again softly. 

She didn't really know anything about finances or budgets. Granted, she knew the basics. But, this seemed more in-depth than that. And she needed to help more than by just offering to help meal plan now.

For now, the conversation had ended with her offering to help meal plan and take on more hours at her job. Her father had seemed happy with her offers and encouraged her to only take on more hours if she wanted. 

But, Evelyn hadn't been satisfied.

The pull of the pack magic dragged her to do more than that. She was an alpha and the Luna-elect. She had been for years now, and the need to help her pack out in anyway always weighed heavy on her. Especially after the past week where she had neglected her pack altogether.

So, there she sat, deep diving in a google search to find webinars and online lectures on economics to help with the greater problem of finances. Maybe something she learned would turn the tide of their finances. That would help settle her nerves more than just meal planning with Beta Liara tomorrow.

Evelyn didn't go to bed until she had signed up for several economics introductory online free lectures and seminars. A red "2:30 am" blinked at her as she closed her eyes and forced herself to sleep.

It still didn't feel like it was enough.

---

She shifted from foot to foot as she waited awkwardly for her order at the McDonalds nearest her pack house on the border town. Evelyn kept a tight hold on her wolf magic. It wouldn't be good to freak out the other wolves in the place just because she wanted to feel less awkward. She always found that the "waiting area" for McDonalds was always awkward. There was nothing to look at except the "modern café" decorations that every golden arch establishment was now switching to or the other customers.

It was never just regular eye contact with these people either. It was that awkward type of eye contact no one really knew who was going to look away first, but they also didn't want to be that person to look away first. Maybe, it could be described by as random staring contest. A random awkward staring contest. In the middle of McDonalds.

"297?" the teenage girl in the McDonald uniform called out, holding the cold beverage. The blonde stepped forward and grabbed the coffee. The teenage worker cowered slightly at the sight of her. Saying thank you, Evelyn did all she could to not seem too frightening to the Redwood submissive. Dealing with them more than she needed was not on her list of things to do right now.

She walked over to the two-seat table she had settled into to study. Sadly, McDonalds was her choice place to study for her notes. The pack house was just too rowdy - all the time. Not that a crowded restaurant was much better. At least here, she could put in headphones and expect to be left alone.

She dully scanned over her hurriedly scribbled notes. Occasionally, the white pages would be marked by a bright pink as she highlighted key points, before continuing to read.

Evelyn needed to understand finances and stock as quickly as possible. She had decided to "take charge" of the den finances. It helped her soothe her itch to do something – and to help her forget. If she kept herself busy, she wouldn't have to remember in the most "opportune" times. And she would be helping her pack too. It was really a win-win.

Evelyn smiled sarcastically as she took another sip of her frappe. She needed all the help she could get to forget.

She couldn't help the long glance she gave the family sitting a couple of booths in front of her. Her chest ached, and her eyes stung. She rapidly blinked and looked away. Now, was not the time to think about that. She had things she had to do. She could let herself feel everything that she needed when she was alone. Until then, Lucas was going to be pushed from the forefront of her mind.

Taking another sip, she sighed heavily.  She could never focus on stuff like this. For economics, she had almost resorted to looking herself in a room with nothing but a lamp, so the only thing she could do was either look at the wall or study. She would probably rather study the wall than the book in-front of her. Or in this case think about that asshole.

  A buzz from her cell stopped her pitiful study session.

"Hello?" She asked, shouldering the cell. The blonde took another sip. Cold crept down her throat.

"Evelyn? Where are you?" Her dad's voice filtered in through the phone. Her father is such a worry wart. She rolled her eyes and leaned against the table.

"I'm at the usual place. Why? Is something wrong?" Her notes were forgotten. Was something wrong? Was the pack okay? Did her brother get hurt?

"Everything is fine. I just wanted to make sure you were in town. Can you grab some milk on your way home? Christopher just drank the last of it." She let out a breath of relief as she heard Christopher try to defend himself on the line.  

"Yeah. No problem. I'll head home in an hour." Fingers idly began to play with her pen. She didn't think she could do this for an hour.

"Okay. Be safe, and don't forget the milk." He said gruffly. Evelyn sighed.

"Love you. Bye dad."

"Love you too." Her music started again once the call ended.

Standing up, the blonde closed her books and placed her pens and highlighter into her old backpack. Evelyn shouldered the bag and smoothed out her white t-shirt. Grabbing her books, she headed out to the pack truck. She dumped her books and purse into her back seat before starting it.

Pulling up to the Wal-mart, she turned off her car, shouldered her bag, and headed into crammed store. An on slot of scents barraged her senses. The citrus of the fruits and the earthy-ness of the vegetables, the stench of multiple humans and their sweat, and the horrendous mix of the Fabreeze and glad section that she tried to avoid at all costs. It was overwhelming. She felt like she would keel over and die by just walking by it.

She moved swiftly through the bodies of humans and the occasional werewolf. Those of her pack bowed their head slightly to show respect, while those of the Redwood pack just looked at her with disdain. Evelyn didn't care. It's not like she liked them either.

Grabbing the milk, the blonde werewolf headed to the cashier to pay so that she could head back to the Mountain Peak pack house. There was dinner to be made and a much-needed perimeter run to do.