Page 7 of Sawyer

As I locked up the shop for the day, Chris glanced over at me. "Hey, you want to grab a beer with Lisa and me at the bar tonight?" he asked.

I shook my head. "No, it's alright. I want to catch up on some work."

Though we both knew that wasn’t the real reason, Chris just nodded and waved goodbye before heading home.

I just wanted to go home, wash off the wet dog smell, heat up some leftovers, and mindlessly scroll through my phone while half-watching the latest true crime documentary.

But at least twice a week, Chris would ask, and I’d always decline. He’d smile, wave, and the cycle would repeat again the next week.

Ever since I moved to Pecan Pines, I hadn’t done much besides work at the shop and then back home. I hadn’t fully assimilated into the town yet, but I was working on it.

I had come a long way since I first got here. Back then, I wasn’t even sure I wanted to stay.

Honestly, I didn’t know what I wanted. My life had stopped in its tracks, and I’d been on autopilot, just trying to take it one day at a time.

But Lisa and Chris convinced me to stick around, and somehow, my life had taken a one-eighty.

It's funny—if anyone had asked the 'me' from back then, I never would’ve imagined I’d be doing this well now.

I wasn’t avoiding shifters anymore; at least I wasn’t visibly reacting when I interacted with them.

I wasn’t dating, but I was happy with where I was. Maybe it was time to move forward.

I chuckled to myself, silently vowing that the next time Chris invited me out, I’d say yes.

Or better yet, maybe I’d take both him and Lisa out.

As I turned to head home, I heard footsteps behind me, quickening as they caught up.

“Hey! Finally caught you!” a voice called out.

I turned around to see a guy jogging toward me, out of breath but smiling.

He grinned and held out a flyer. “I’m Aaron. I run a small shop on the other side of town. We’re having a little get-together for human-owned businesses in a few weeks. Just a conversation about the recent changes in town. Thought you might want to stop by.”

I took the flyer, glancing at the details. “I’ll think about it,” I said, tucking it into my pocket.

Aaron nodded, gave a quick wave, and jogged off.

As I watched him disappear down the street, I felt a twinge of reluctance.

I didn’t really want to get involved with the politics between humans and shifters in town, especially after what happened a few months ago.

A shifter-owned bookstore had been attacked in broad daylight—by another shifter from the same pack. I didn’t want to get dragged into anything like that.

I sighed, my thoughts drifting to what Lisa had told me about the town’s history. Apparently, things had been calm until about ten years ago when a new alpha took over the Pecan Pines pack.

Ever since, there’d been some tension—tussles, mostly. Most of the shifters were decent, but there were enough bad apples to tarnish the pack’s reputation.

The town sheriff had to step in more than once to handle the troublemakers.

Now, there was talk of another change in leadership.

A new alpha had recently taken over, and the town was on edge, wondering what it would mean for them.

Understandable, really. People were wondering if things were going to get worse, or if, maybe, they might finally get better.

But I didn’t want to think about all that tonight.