Chapter Two

Minna hummed as she stepped into the kitchen, gathering all the herbs she would need for a tea as she waited for the water to boil.

"It's not often I find you here Julian, what troubles you?" She asked once the water boiled and placed the calming tea before him.

Julian sighed and lifted his head off the table and took the tea with a slight grimace, taking a sip of the bitter taste. It took several more sips for him to feel its effects and smiled thankfully at Minna. "I have a meeting with the Howlers tonight, again."

"Still unable to find a solution?" Minna asked softly.

"No, though Dax has settled somewhat since he found his mate. We still cannot agree on the hunting grounds or border issues." Julian sighed, pausing when a muffled thump echoed from above. "New guests?"

Minna eyed the shifter knowingly and hid her smile behind her own cup. "Just one, I found her walking the highway last night just before dark, poor dear crashed her car. George said he'll take a look and assess the damage."

"What was it that...?" Julian trailed off as he caught sight of the woman stepping into the kitchen.

Fae... she had to be. Her fair skin was a contrast to her vibrant red hair that was pulled back into a messy bun; blue eyes gazed sleepily at them both through darkened lashes. He felt his breath hitch for a brief moment as her tongue darted out to wet her lips.

"Good morning dear, there's fresh fruit on the counter if you're hungry. I can also make you something if you want something more substantial." Minna greeted with sparkling eyes and a teasing grin for Julian's plight.

"Fruit is fine Missus Abernathy." She replied.

Minna waved the girl off. "Minna please dear, are you okay? Are you sure the fruit is enough?"

"I had the oddest dream and my stomach hasn't seemed to settle yet," Ari explained as she picked up an Apple from the bowl and a couple of strawberries.

Minna frowned slightly at that, pouring another cup of tea and handing it to the young woman. "Do you wish to talk about it?"

"No, it's okay, oh... hi?" Ariella greeted as she turned and finally caught the man at the table, his warm brown eyes familiar but can't recall from where.

He was tall, this she could tell from the way his denim-clad legs were stretched out before him and lean but she knew that knit sweaters hid a lot of muscle mass. High cheekbones and stubble graced his square jaw in a light brown, he was handsome.

"Hello," Julian replied and drained the last of his tea, he had to leave or else he'd do something stupid. "I best be off, I'll let you know how tonight goes Minna, excuse me."

Ariella watched the man go with a frown, chewing the strawberry she popped into her mouth slowly. Did he leave because of her entrance or was it because he had to leave in general but then that thought made her angry as the little insecurities piled on up. "I didn't mean to scare him away."

"Oh honey," Minna started with a chuckle. "Julian isn't good around new people, it's not you specifically. He lives next door but he likes to come over for breakfast and some of my tea when he has a meeting to get to in the next town over."

Well, that made sense; she too wasn't comfortable meeting new people, especially not first thing in the morning. Ariella gave the woman a small smile in understanding as she bit into the apple, her free hand picking at the hem of her shirt.

"Oh, thank you for washing my clothes too." She said.

Waving the young girl off Minna smiled, "it was no trouble dear, are you ready? George should have brought back your car by now, we'll go to the small boutique afterwards and get some more clothing and everything else you'll need."

"Yep, sounds good, thank you."

X

The drive into town was much quicker than the night before, the town appearing much different as well. It was still charming of course a mishmash of old brick and wooden buildings, a town that reminded her of those in movies or tv shows where everyone knows everyone and wave how-do-you-do to one another.

They even passed a gentleman in a suit with a top hat and cane that dramatically swooped it off his head and bowed in greeting as he saw both she and Minna drive past. A small huff of laughter escaped her lips at the scene and a smile wide on her face till they got to George's, her car sitting on the lift in the garage.

"George!" Minna exclaimed.

George popped his head out from one of the benches at the back and smiled wide, "Minna love, I suspected ye to be here soon. Miss Ariella, I'm afraid ta say that it's not lookin' good. It'll take a couple of weeks for me an' ma boy to fix it, busted the radiator and a few other things, luckily ya weren't going faster or the car would have been a ride off."

That... was not good news. Thankfully she was able to work from home as long as she had a decent Wi-Fi connection and her laptop and her laptop was in the boot of her car thankfully as she had all her work stuff with her when her asshole ex called to inform her about his decision and everything else in that clusterfuck...

"That's okay, I guess I expected as much." Ari sighed and turned towards Minna. "It seems I'll be staying for a while then is that okay with you? I can pay for my lodgings."

"Oh honey that's okay, you can stay till everything is sorted out," Minna exclaimed as she pulled the young girl under her arm. "We'll let you get back to work George thank you, I'm going to show Ari here the town."

George smiled at the women before him. "Aye love, that'd be good. Sorry 'bout the bad news Miss Ariella and enjoy our humble town."

"It's okay George, can I get my laptop out of the boot?" She asked eyeing the car up on the lift.

"Oh I have it here waitin' for ya miss Ariella, here ya go," George said as he hurried over to one of the counters and grabbed her laptop bag which also thankfully had a phone charger and her purse.

"Thank you so much."

Both Minna and Ari said goodbye before Minna began to lead Ari over to where the main street of town was, pointing out all the historical features of the town as they did so. Good Glen was old, it had old stories and some of them were true while others were just local legends that were stories and made the town what it was today.

By lunchtime they had everything Ariella needed for her stay in town from hairbands to a suitcase to pack everything away. First was a warm winter jacket which Ari now had wrapped firmly around her small frame and a knitted scarf.

"Shall we get some lunch? Joe makes an excellent burger." Minna asked as she held open the diner's door for Ariella.

The loud rumble that came from Ari's stomach was enough of an answer for both the woman who entered the small diner with smiles and laughter.

"Minna, what a surprise why don't you join me?" A young man stated as they walked past, halting the kind woman.

"Silas? I didn't know you were back dear, may Ari join too? She's staying with me and I was just showing her around town when we decided to stop for lunch. Ariella this is Silas Paxton, he's the elder brother of Julian and goes to school in New York." Minna introduced.

Ari smiled warmly as she shook the man's hand. "Nice to meet you."

Silas inhaled sharply and resisted to raise his brows in surprise as he caught a faint smell of his brother's scent on the woman. It wasn't strong but he must have been near her when he gave off the protective pheromones claiming she was his. "Pleasure Miss Ariella. And I'm only back for the next few days while Benjamin settles a few things several towns over for work."

"Oh how lovely," Minna hummed happily. "Tell me all about school."

The afternoon was a lovely affair. Ari was able to learn more about the town and its people, more about Julian and Silas growing up as well as where the best places to wander and see the sights before darkness fell.

It was a good day, tomorrow was a mystery.