When Riley pulled into the Greenwood parking lot on Saturday morning, Gabe and Alley were not waiting for her on the swing as they had been on her last few visits. The only person she saw at all was Celia, who was pacing back and forth on the top of the levee, staring down into the water. “Hey, Riley!” Celia yelled, waving, when she heard her car door shut.

Riley grinned and waved back. She put her backpack down on one of the picnic tables at the shelter, and walked uphill toward the patrolling fox warrior, enjoying the beautiful day. The field, recently mowed, was a checkerboard of light and dark green squares. The lingering dew reflected the morning sun.

“I’m at work right now,” Celia said as Riley approached, “but if we stay close to the water, we can talk.”

“This is your job?”

“Yes, this is my full-time occupation. Seven days a week I’m out here for as much as I can stand it, pacing around near the lake and the streams, looking for potential problems.” Celia smiled as she pulled her phone out of her pocket and tapped out a text.

Riley grinned and shook her head. If patrolling was Celia’s first job, her second job was gossiping. Riley and Celia didn’t speak much whenever Riley came to camp, but as soon as she got in her car to drive back to Oxford she would get bombarded with texts from Celia about who was doing what. It wasn’t unusual for her phone to go off a dozen times before she even got back home. Celia was like a walking live Twitter feed for the clan. “Does everybody work for the clan?” Riley asked.

“No, most people do their paid work outside of camp.” Celia stared at her phone as she spoke. “Pash, Xander, Ivan, Katrina and I work for the clan. Ivan and I have full-time patrol jobs, Xander does reconnaissance, Katrina’s the clan’s tracker, and Pash is oldest, so she’s Head Warrior. She’s in charge of the Lodge and all the people in it, and she makes sure we have whatever we need at home.”

“How old are all the people who live in the Lodge, Celia?”

“Well... Pash and Xander are twenty-eight. They’re best friends, and they’re kind of the Mom and Dad of the house. They look out for the rest of us. Ivan and Belman are twenty-four, and I doubt you’ll interact with either of them much. Ivan spends most of his time as a hawk, and Belman spends most of his time chasing Veiled girls.”

Riley chuckled.

“Alley, Violet, Katrina, Darren, and Perry are all twenty-two or twenty-three. That group grew up together, went all the way through school together, and they’re very close. They love each other, they hate each other... lots of history and drama going on with them. Then I’m twenty-one, and Gabe is nineteen.”

Celia began walking toward a trail that began at the right edge of the levee. Greenwood Lake, rippling sunlight below, snaked around a small tree-covered peninsula. “We call that 'the island,'” she pointed at the grassy beach on the other side of the lake. “It used to be one, when the lake was higher. And up there,” she pointed, as they entered the forest, to some steps which snaked up a steep hill, “is our prayer circle. It’s a great place to go if you want to be alone or need some time to think.” Celia walked toward the right instead; Riley followed. “This part of the trail is affectionately referred to as Lovers’ Lane, thanks to some of Elder Richard Fish’s antics when he was younger. Whatever you do, don’t ask him to tell you the story. You’ll never think of fish in the same way again. Alley actually threw up when she heard it. That was the most sensitivity anyone has seen her display in a long time.”

“What do you mean?”

Celia cringed. “I shouldn’t have said that, Riley! I’m not supposed to talk about it.”

Riley blushed. “I don’t want to pry.”

Celia stopped walking and looked around for a moment, then sighed. “No, I seriously think you should know since you’re around her so much. It’s like this: Alley has charmed every guy in the Lodge except for Gabe. And when Alley charms a man, he loses most of his interest in other women. Permanently, we think.”

What? “Why would she do that?”

Celia shrugged. “To be fair to her, I’m not sure how much of what she did was intentional. It took Alley forever to find her powers, and when she finally did find them and was trying to figure out how they worked, these were the guys who happened to be nearby. Her charm does wear off some over time… all of them used to be obsessed with her 24/7, but now they’re okay when they’re not around her. Except for Ivan… he’s a lost cause. But if any of them is around her for more than a few minutes — even now, years later — they start staring at her and, like, drooling. They hate it, and so does she. But there’s no way to turn it off again.”

“Oh, that sucks!”

“It does. That’s why Violet hates her, by the way. Once upon a time, Violet and Xander were going out. I don’t know how serious they were — that was before my time — but once Alley did her thing, Xander would barely talk to Violet anymore.”

Okay, I guess Violet does have a reason to be bitter. “Why is Ivan a lost cause?”

“Hawks mate for life,” Celia replied sadly. “Once a male hawk has accepted a woman as his mate, there’s no going back. In Ivan’s mind, when Alley charmed him, she chose him. And whether she wants him back or not — and she doesn’t — he will never move on. He physically can’t.”

Riley immediately pictured Reed in that situation. “That’s terrible!”

“It is. For all of us. The Lodge is touchy about the whole subject of dating. Most people go out with Veiled men and women from time to time… to hook up, honestly. But no one in the Lodge will date each other. Gabe is too much like our little brother for any of us girls to consider, and no matter what the older guys think of us when they’re not around Alley, we all know exactly what they’re thinking when they’re near her.”

Riley wasn’t sure if she felt most sorry for the men, the women, or Alley. “And things have been like this for years?”

Celia nodded. “After a thousand fights, we agreed not to talk about it. Alley avoids all the guys except Gabe so she doesn’t accidentally create more problems. And everyone appreciates that, but the damage has already been done.”

“Why does she stay here? I mean, if she spends all her time avoiding everyone she lives with, why not go live somewhere else?”

“It’s not that easy to leave, Riley. Alley’s Miyala. She’s part cougar. No one out there will ever know about or understand the most important part of who she is. The people who do know — who understand her and love her even when we’re furious with her — are here. She doesn’t want to go, and we don’t want her to, either. We may want to kill her sometimes, but she’s still our sister.” Celia shrugged. “I’m sure you feel the same way about your brothers.”

“Absolutely. Both of them.” Great analogy.

They rounded a corner to the left and found themselves facing a rickety plank bridge about thirty feet across. There were ropes on either side for handles. It was missing more than a few boards. There was a twenty-five foot drop and a tiny creek at the bottom. “Is this thing safe?!”

“It hasn’t collapsed yet.”

Riley carefully followed Celia across the trembling bridge, gripping the ropes and trying not to breathe any more than necessary. When she finally reached the other side, she laughed. “I did it!”

Celia chuckled. “You’re lucky you’re with me and not the bears. They bounce the bridge on purpose.”

Riley shuddered.

“Speaking of guys,” Celia’s voice dropped, “Gabe is crazy about you. We’re all getting the biggest kick out of watching the two of you together.”

“I can tell.” Riley's glow brightened.

“We all watched him grow up, and he’s such a nice guy. It’s great to see him meet someone he likes so much. He says he can’t tell if you like him or not, though.” Celia smiled at Riley. “If you are interested, you should flirt a little more.”

“I’ve never been much of a flirt.”

They rounded another corner to the right and Celia stopped. The trail had come out by the parking lot in front of the chief’s house, behind the swing on the old oak tree. Beyond, sitting at the pavilion, was Gabe.

When he saw the girls emerge from the forest, he stood and waved.

Celia turned toward Riley and whispered, “It’s not a bad thing that you don’t flirt much. But if you’re too standoffish, then Gabe may not make a move that you both want him to make.” Celia turned and walked back into the woods. “I have to turn back now. This is where the creek stops. I’ll see you later!”

DO I want him to make a move?