Page 20 of Bare Skin (Skin Deep 5)
I was rummaging through my supply closet at the Howling Death lodge when a knock came on the jamb. Looking over my shoulder, I nodded at the large werewolf filling up the doorway. “Hey, Tryn.”
“You’re up early,” he observed.
“Yeah,” I confirmed, returning to scanning the shelves.
He didn’t leave nor did he say anything else, so I just kept gathering up the equipment I needed while my packmate stood there.
I wasn’t one for small talk, or really talking in general. For one thing, I wasn’t good at it. For another, it was boring and trite. I figured it was one of the main reasons why I preferred numbers and technology. Those things were straightforward. Once you knew formulas and how things worked, they just made sense.
People didn’t make sense, no matter how hard I tried.
And that witch, Shiloh, was the most nonsensical of all.
“What are you up to?” Tryn finally asked.
“Gonna install some surveillance for Stout & Spirit.”
“I thought you did that last night?”
“I tried, but the owner got mad and told me to leave.”
“Aw geez, Orson.” When I turned around, Tryn had a hand on his face. “What did you say to her?”
“Nothing,” I growled. “Besides telling her what I was there to do. She went off and started yelling, saying I broke into her place even though her door was unlocked.”
“Why would she do that?”
“Hell if I know.”
Tryn crossed his thick arms, eyeballing me like a parent lecturing a pup. “Well, did you ask her if you could do the install?”
“Well no, but—”
“It’s pretty important to ask first, Orson.”
“Derric told me to do the install, so that’s what I went to do!” Frustration roughened my voice and I could feel my wolf getting agitated. He was snapping his jaws, feeling defensive and cornered, his hackles raised.
“Take it easy,” Tryn growled in warning. “I’m not attacking you, just trying to help you learn this stuff.”
“You might as well give up,” I snarled. “It’s just not sticking.”
There were so many rules to communicating with others, and none of them were consistent for every situation. I could walk into the lodge and grab a drink and food from the kitchen without asking anyone, but I couldn’t do that at Stout & Spirit. Usually, there were no problems when the alpha gave me an order and I obeyed, but this time, there was. For every rule, there was an exception, and I couldn’t keep it all straight. There was no formula to dealing with others, which was why I avoided most people outside my pack.
Aside from Sawyer’s mate, Riley, I was the wolf most recently initiated into Howling Death. And it came not long after my introduction to a non-feral society in general.
Tryn came up to me and clamped a large hand on the back of my neck. “I’m not giving up on you, Orson. We’re packmates. You’re my brother. I know it’s frustrating, but you’ll learn this stuff. It’s not easy, even for people who are well socialized.”
I shook my head with a big sigh. Derric may have been the alpha, but Tryn was the glue which held the pack together. He was everyone’s friend, and genuinely so. I knew he was sincerely trying to help me, not blowing smoke up my ass. He also had some witch blood in him and seemed to know things beyond what his keen wolf senses told him. I just wished he’d be able to see that I was a lost cause.
“So you’re trying this install again,” he said, clapping me on the shoulder before dropping his hand. “What are you doing differently?”
“I’m putting a few cameras in the trees to watch the front door and exterior of the bar,” I answered.
Tryn closed his eyes, tilting his head back, and I knew I’d answered wrong. Again.
“I was hoping you’d say you were apologizing to Shiloh and asking permission this time.”
“Apologize for what?”