Chapter 1: Freya

I shouldn’t be here. Looking up at the sky, I saw the full moon and felt her presence. I wasn’t controlled by her light as the common, simple minded wolves but my father’s blood still coursed through my veins. I felt her pulling me closer and closer to my destination, urging me to break down and run as a wild animal.

Shaking my head, I tried to refocus my thoughts. My father had just died. It wasn't time for being wild. Entering werewolf territory meant I needed to keep my wits about me. On a good day wolves hated outsiders, tonight if I looked at one the wrong way they’d have killed me for sure.

A vibration in my pocket prompted me to unlock my phone. Latharn, my one friend left in this world of course was reaching out to make sure I was okay. All good on the dog front?

Smiling to myself I answered. The dogs seem to be well trained tonight.

A howl from an alley caused me to turn quickly. Two humans, fully naked, the man on top of the woman, thrusting into her were clearly not caring about anyone seeing them but then I realized why. All around me groups of varying numbers were getting together to gyrate and fondle each other. Guess I had spoken too soon.

One thing I had known about the wolves was their inability to keep it in their pants during the full moon. Their blood ran hotter than normal during this time as their goddess in the sky beckoned them to procreate. How fortunate, then that I took more after my mother. She was a kitsune, a fox of mystic and magic. Rather than run wild and allow herself to be controlled by the moon, she maintained control over her senses. My father told me stories about her all the time.

Unfortunately, all I had to go on were memories from my father. She had died giving birth to me. Now… I sighed. The one connection I had left to knowing her was gone. The real reason I was here was now crossing my mind. My father’s last request. Six months ago, he had passed, and only now was the lawyer going to share his will. Luckily for me I was able to take a few days off work. Apparently my father had a substantial estate here, or rather his family did, and I needed to sign some papers to either accept it or release it to the next of kin.

This was werewolf territory first of all and second of all it was over two states over from where I lived. It took half a day to get here. If I accepted whatever this estate was, I would have to move here, find a job, and deal with the local social life. Those inconveniences alone were enough to reject whatever I was left.

I had begged and begged my lawyer to do this either by proxy or through the mail but of course no one in this primitive town was answering any sort of communication. Rather than allow this back and forth to continue, I took it upon myself to come here with the paperwork necessary. All I needed to do though, was find who was next in line after me and transfer everything to them. It would be quick, easy, and why wouldn’t they want it?

Originally, my plan was to take this journey during the new moon, the wolves would have been at their weakest and less rowdy and I wouldn’t have to see far more of them than necessary. Unfortunately, my job took on a few new clients and told me they could only afford for me to go on vacation now. So here I was walking the streets of this den of debauchery. Luckily my father’s cousin was easy enough to find. Rosetta Wallace, owner of the bar Howler’s Place. She was the only person on my list so I hoped she was cognizant so I could find out who needed to get ownership of this mystery estate. Tomorrow I’d go see it and take pictures to show this next of kin tell them it’s all theirs and then next day be on my way.

The smell of piss and barbeque filled my nose as I continued down the street. This wasn’t looking good for my destination. The bars here looked more like the skeezy biker bars a woman of my standing should never even think of going into. It was a tiring secretary job that forced me to network with the elites of society so being around the underbelly of this backwater town caused me to grind my teeth.

It was the middle of the summer and I had been travelling, so I was wearing comfortable clothes. Gym shorts, running shoes, and a tank top. My long black hair was pulled up in a high ponytail. The humidity was terrible and keeping my thick hair off my neck was key. Even now, while the sun was fully set the air was like hot soup.

The bar came into view, but it was of course where far too many male werewolves were hanging out. They were crowding the front door joking, pushing each other, half of them on the verge of shifting. I could hear it in their voices the closer it grew to midnight the harder it would be for any of them to maintain their human form.

I saw my chance when two particularly insecure wolves started growling as if they were about to start fighting to sneak past and enter. The scene inside was not much better but at least in here they were all focused on the bar. A few tables to the side were neglected and that was perfect for me while I assessed the situation.

An older fair skinned woman with greying hair cut that was cut short was taking charge behind the bar barking orders at a few other girls who were dressed to show off their assets. The men were clearly enjoying the show, hooting and hollering, waving money in the air; their extra tips were surely going to be what got the girls to come over.

"Fuck you boys!" The grey-haired woman called out over the crowd, "You keep your filthy hands to yourself tonight."

I rolled my eyes at the display and decided to sink into my seat pulling out my phone and earbuds to listen to music. I was getting over-stimulated here, and I needed to relax. I wasn’t normally controlled by the moon but tonight something inside of me was wanting out. Maybe it was the fact I was so close to so many wolves? It didn’t matter. I closed my eyes and allowed the classical tunes to lull me into a sense of false security.

The old wood decorations smelled like stale cigarette smoke and the dated cowboy decorations were old stretched leather. I would have given anything to not be here right now. If I could be back at my apartment in front of my fireplace, reading a book while it rained. Being by myself was always the preferable option, at work I was wuiet, out in groups I was too chatty. Being alone I felt like myself again, just be and the book I was reading. No obligation to anyone else and that was the most freeing feeling in the world. Even Larthan knew I hated crowds. He was great at making sure to always be the buffer between me and other people. Larthan wasn’t here now, though and I was becoming far too aware of someone looking at me from across the room.

He was tall, towering over every other man at the bar by at least a head. His skin was tanned and he had several scars all over his body. His outfit of choice gave away his werewolf nature: black tank top, jeans that were slightly baggy and ripped in several places. His black hair was shaggy but was still short, just barely falling into his eyes. Those eyes were what had me. They were a piercing blue that seemed to glow as he stared at me without blinking. He was seeing me as if I were the only thing on his mind. I didn’t need to be his choice for the night. Judging by his looks alone, I’d say he never had an issue with finding the perfect partner for the evening. That physique meant he could scoop me up with one hand and hold me against a wall- NO! I shook my head, casting the moon goddess’s thoughts as far from me as possible. She was trying her hardest to get me to submit and I had to admit throwing this delicious building of a man in my path was well played.

I had one trick up my sleeve that I wasn’t supposed to use too much, as it made me extremely exhausted but if I needed to do it, I was prepared. He took a step toward me, and I saw my chance as someone passed in front of him, cutting off his line of sight only for a moment, but that was all I needed.

Kitsune: one wonderful power we all had was the ability to create illusions. My own personal one that I had perfected through the years was turning invisible. It didn’t work on other kitsune, but other kitsune were never the issue. Hiding from everyone else was what I needed. Kitsune knew to leave each other alone, we were loners by nature. I snapped my fingers, setting the illusion into place. I had about an hour of alone time where everyone in the town wouldn’t be able to see me. The thought brought a calmness to my soul as I finally settled back down to relax.

I didn’t care to continue to look at the icy stare of the stranger. He was old news anyway. The crowd was starting to thin and eventually I’d be able to talk to the employees here or hopefully the owner. I reached back into my bag and pulled out a book flipping to my marked page. I’d check on the crowd again after a few songs. Right now was meant to help me relax. That’s when I felt a tap on my shoulder and looked up seeing once again Mr. Icy Stare.