Dancing with the Shadows // #wattys2019

Chapter 1

4 years later

Caia stood by the window, overlooking the city below her. It was a haze of gray and noise, and she was trying to bring it into focus with her third coffee of the morning.

She hadn't been able to sleep. Again.

But this was par for the course. With her final year at Columbia drawing to a close, between her job, classes, and training, sleep was a luxury. Caia leaned her head against the cool window, knowing the respite would be short-lived.

Still, though, she lived for these moments. These rare, beautiful moments when she could look out at the skyline and breathe.

New York. Her city. Her home.

After the disastrous graduation, she'd fled here within three days, seeking shelter in her grandmother's apartment in Queens. She'd stayed there during the summers and holidays until her grandmother died during the April of her sophomore year. Her grandmother had rent control, a deal the landlord said flat out would not extend to Caia. She had considered trying to fight him on it, but, the commute between Columbia on the Upper West Side and Sunnyside was not at all pleasant. With the rising rent, she decided she might as well pay a bit more to be with her friends in Manhattan.

So, now, Caia was hauled up in a cramped, but nice, little place in Hell's Kitchen, with closet-sized bedrooms and brick faced walls. The commutes to get to her job in the Financial District and classes were easily accessible. She'd set herself up with a pack as well, Midnight Star, which partnered with two others, Ember Moon, and Wild Thunder, to sort out the wolves in the five NYC boroughs.

Because there was no way in hell she was able to stay attached to her old pack, Silver Claw. Silver Claw, the pack with the closest alliance to Sacred Shadows. Silver Claw, the pack whose territory had a minuscule human population, that would know everything about her, from the clerk at the boutique gossiping about what she wore to prom, to the pharmacist knowing and sharing exactly what kind of medicine she was taking. She had not stuck around long enough for the talk to begin about her rejecting the Alpha of their ally, their friends. She was not going to deal with the blowout. She hadn't stepped foot on Silver Claw's land since she'd left four years ago, and she had no plans to return any time soon. Her parents, if and when they wanted to see her, came to New York. They understood why she'd done what she did. Her friends had been up once or twice, but, she hadn't expected more than occasional messages as they all went to their own colleges anyways. It was all for the best.

Which brought her to this morning, where she'd been up since 5 am, having gone for an early morning run, weight training, checked over a paper, run through the notes for her meeting this morning, and now, was trying to take a five minute break before her boss called her into the room.

Caia had started working for the Morninghill Capital investment firm as an intern the summer before she started her senior year. They'd kept her on, with the promise her grades stayed intact, and now she was all but an official banker. She just needed to complete her degree before they could give her clients and the full salary.

"Kimber," the voice snapped her out of her thoughts, and she whipped around to see her boss, Teleri, a partner at Morninghill and Delta of Midnight Star.

"Hi, sorry, I'm coming," Caia picked up her bag and hurried towards the conference room door where Teleri was standing. She'd started putting Kimber as her 'preferred name' on forms and introducing herself as such as soon as she reached New York, and while it had taken a little bit to get used to, she could switch between Kimber and Caia easily now.

"You ready for this?" Teleri asked.

"Of course," Caia nodded, downing the rest of her coffee, and throwing the cup into the garbage can by the door.