Chapter 164

Sarah POV

ArcoNova: What a waste of a petty garden. The poppies weren’t hurting anybody.

Diamonds&Purlies: So, yet another anti-human pack of wolves has decided to destroy something beautiful in the name of, what? Wolf purity? The moon? How messed up in the head do people have to become to think this sort of thing is good, is a proper action?

GinnyWolf: I’m gonna cry.

MyTimes32: All you just fuck off. This is what you can accept when you mix wolves and humans. If Sarah would just go back to her human whatever life, everybody’d be better off.

PersonalAd234: OMG! What cute doggie!

ChampaignTastes13: Why attack a garden? Stoopid.

WhatWeChooze2Do: What a weird life somepeople live. Someone in our territory actually has a “poppie garden”? WTF? Do they have personnel bath slaves 2? Does somone wipe there bum?

Rosemary&Sage: I’d move, personally. Maybe a deserted island somewhere?

FasterCar89: I’m just glad no one was hurt, but yeh, Sarah needs to piss off.

GinnyWolf: People in this territory don’t say bum, @WhatWeChooze2Do

Blorp69: Does anyone know if Grace was there? Did she chase after the dog? She might have. Horrible People suck.

JohnPPPPP: And how would Alpha Zane keep things going from there, @Rosemary&Sage. Nice to see you, tho.

Pardyondoods: Selene, excellent name for a doggie.

S: Sarah kept others from getting hurt and protected the children and their dog. She’s an inspiration to us all.

ChampaignTastes13: It was a bomb, right? Is the dog dead?

GinnyWolf: The dog’s OK, but I think someone else died.

MyHelperz: I hope Sarah’s dead. And someone should fuck her skull while they’re at it.

GinnyWolf: GROSS U SUCK

S: I think you should take that back, @MyHelperz, before you regret it.

MyHelperz: OOOOH I’M SO SCARED @S.

JaneDayviellers: How many acers did the fire burn?

S: You probably should be scared, @MyHelperz, but I’d prefer it if you just didn’t say things like that anymore. No one wants to hear about it.

Diamonds&Purlies: At least 10, I think. I know several people were injured.

I put my phone down and looked out over the hedge maze. That was about all the comments I could take for now. I wasn’t even sure whether their misinformation were irritating or comforting.

My phone buzzed then, and I checked to see Lainey had sent me a link.

I clicked on it, and it was a GoFundMe set up for Selene’s veterinary care.

I wanted to laugh and cry and maybe just curl up into a ball for a few days. I didn’t understand people at all, really, and I texted that reaction back to Lainey.

I looked at the time on my phone and made myself not curse out loud. The girls would be home soon, and Zane and I had plans to talk with them about music lessons. Of course, we would really be talking with Grace, but we knew she wouldn’t want to talk without Chloe by herself.

I had faith that Chloe would allow Grace to speak for herself, but just in case, I would be watching. Zane and I had spoken about the concern that Chloe might unwittingly, unintentionally push her more introverted sister into the shadows, and we knew the only way to prevent it was to be vigilant.

Sooner than I was ready for, I heard the girls come in downstairs. I went down to greet them and help them sort out their backpacks (Those randoserus were really sturdy.) and pet and coddle Selene.

I wondered what the dog might think about having her own GoFundMe account, and then I wondered what we should do with the money if it actually raised some. Perhaps a donation in Selene’s name to the local ASPCA? Or should we just use it for the inevitable vet’s bills?

Then I thought about whether Selene should have a Facebook or Instagram account. It would be a way to show the family without showcasing the girls. Perhaps I should have Selene on Let’s Talk!

Perhaps I was going social media insane. I decided to talk to Lainey about it.

I led the girls into the kitchen for some juice and tried to get my sanity back in order. Zane casually joined us, and the children saw right through both of us.

“What’s going on?” Chloe demanded, sitting there on her barstool at the kitchen island and eyeing us all narrowly.

“We’d like to talk about the parent-teacher conference we had,” Zane said. He smiled, an expression full of love and a gentle warmth, and the girls just nodded.

“OK,” Chloe said.

“Now, I know I should go into detail on both of you,” he said, “but just for now, I’d like to talk to Grace, OK?”

Chloe nodded and looked at her sister, who blinked at us and then nodded too.

“Your music teacher, Ms. Glim, is thrilled at your singing, but she was worried I wouldn’t like that you were so gifted.” He smiled again. “As if I could be anything but thrilled at your talent.”

“You are?” Grace asked, and her voice was very small.

“Of course I am.” He then told her about her great-grandmother, Gloria Stradt, and then he had to apologize that he hadn’t told her sooner when it turned out she’d heard of her.

“Daddy,” Grace scolded, though it was mild. “Everyone knows who Gloria Stradt was.”

“My apologies,” he said solemnly. “I didn’t keep it from you on purpose. I just didn’t realize you liked music so much, but now that I do, I’m so very glad.”

“Really?”

“Really.” Zane looked at me for backup.

“Your father told Mr. Glim he was delighted,” I told her, smoothing a hand over her hair with a smile that bought me a smile in return. “Your painting is wonderful, but it seems you’ve been getting a little bored with it?”

She shrugged. “A little.”

“Well, I do think you should keep it up for a while, just to be sure, and maybe learn a few more technical things because knowing how to render something in perspective and things like that can be useful. But if you really like singing . . .”

“I love it,” she said, and it was the firmest I had ever heard her voice become. “I loved it when I heard the third-level choir rehearsing, and it was like something inside me just got all warm and excited, and I knew I wanted to sing like that too.”

“Then you will,” Zane said. “And we’ll be so happy you’re enjoying yourself.”

He came around the island to hug his girls, and I wondered, if Zane and Grace hadn’t come into my life, would I have ever realized this early passion in Chloe for wood carving? Would I have known to support her like Zane was supporting Grace?

I had read so many things about being a werewolf, but ultimately I was human. It wasn’t impossible to understand things from other cultures, I didn’t think that, but it was damn hard.

I realized Chloe was watching me.

“What do you think, honey?” I asked.

She thought about it, then nodded. “We need to get Grace a voice tutor. All the really good singers at school have one.”