Lazy Wolf Shifters

*Ainslee*

“I’m not thrilled to see you again either,” the thin, tall vampire says. I manage to toss the bow behind the door, but I’m pretty sure he’s already seen it.

He doesn’t seem to care, which is contrary to everything I’ve ever heard about vampires. I stand there, staring at him, trying to figure out what the fuck he’s doing here.

“Ainslee, invite our guest in.” My mother’s words are clipped as she is likely talking through a fake smile. That or she’s terrified. Maybe both.

“He’s tall,” Brock says. The vampire’s eyes flicker to my little brother, and I don’t like how he’s looking at him like he wants to chomp the child in half.

“Brock, Sinead, go into Mom and Dad’s room.” I turn and give them a pointed look, and they both know better than to argue. They meander in that direction, not disobeying but not in a rush to get out of the room with the strange new visitor either.

I remember my mother has asked me to invite him in, which I haven’t done yet, but it doesn’t matter. He’s coming inside anyway, so I step aside. Behind him stands another vampire, smaller, wearing what appears to be a guard’s uniform, though I’m not sure. I’ve had more up-close-and-personal contact with vampires today than in all my other years combined, but I don’t know all of their uniforms or who most of them are. The only one I might recognize if I saw him is the king.

The guard is carrying a large basket, and the moment he walks in, my mouth drops open, my eyes bulging. The container is practically overflowing with all kinds of scrumptious foods. The aroma of meat, cheese, and freshly baked bread hits my lungs, and my mouth begins to water. I have to close my mouth before I start to drool.

The first vampire says, “His Majesty sent this over to make up for the bread you dropped in the mud.” With that, he turns on his heel and heads toward the door while my mother is gasping for air, about to hyperventilate because she can’t believe what she’s just been presented with.

While I am thankful, I am also offended. “What?” I ask, following after him. “Hey, that’s not what happened,” I remind him. He’s walking way faster than I ever could. “Wait!”

He sighs, stopping in the road outside of my house, dropping his head back in exhaustion. “What?”

I catch up to him. “I didn’t drop it. He knocked it out of my hand, remember?” I don’t sound as angry now as I was before, which I want to pat myself on the back for. I’m not knocking heads together, just stating the fact.

He shakes his head. “It doesn’t matter. Why can’t you just graciously accept His Majesty’s gift and get on with your day, hmm?”

I don’t like the way his eyes narrow on me. They’re a glowing green, and it’s unsettling. But I’m so confused at this point, I continue to ask the question that’s been on the tip of my tongue since he first accused me of dropping the bread. “His Majesty who?” I repeat. “The king isn’t in town.”

He snickers, and again he’s wagging his head at me, like I’m some sort of an idiot. Fuck, maybe I am. “Go back into your little hut, eat the fucking food, and stop complaining all the time. I really don’t get you people.”

“You people?” My eyes bulge, and I’m ready to fight again. Goddess, he’s right. Why can’t I just go back inside. Say thank you, walk away. The other vampire, the guard, is standing near me, highly uncomfortable. This man waves him away, and I prepare myself to let my tongue lash him thoroughly. “Us people do an awful lot for you people, you know?”

He scoffs. “If you say so. Go away. Shoo fly, shoo.”

“We do.” He’s already starting to walk off again, but I move beside him. I’ll never keep up if he doesn’t slow down. He knows this, and despite me irritating the hell out of him, he’s now amused and wants to hear what I’ll say next, I presume. “We work in the mines to provide precious metals to make the weapons you use to destroy your enemies, even us.”

“We don’t need weapons to destroy you.” His fangs elongate, and I take a step back, wishing I could shift even a little bit so I could do that, too.

Swallowing hard, I continue down a path I shouldn’t be on. “That might be true now, but we used to be strong. Now, we’re all starving to death.”

“Then go get a job!” His arms flail in both directions, and I take another step back. He’s angry about this for reasons I don’t understand.

And misinformed.

That doesn’t stop him from continuing. “You whine and complain about not having enough to eat, about not being able to afford bread, or give more blood to buy it, but there’s work to be done. Go work on one of the farms or a ranch. Do something. Stop sitting around like a lazy little bitch.”

“What the fuck did you just call me?” Yes, it’s happened. For the second time this day, I’ve lost my ever-loving mind.

I hear Lenny say my name in the distance, but he’s not running toward me to drag me away from this crazy vampire this time, he’s keeping his distance. The logical part of my brain, which isn’t functioning at the moment, wouldn’t blame him if it had any control.

It doesn’t.

“We are not lazy! It’s your restrictions that prevent us from doing those things. Do you not even know your own laws? We want to work. We want to grow more food, to harvest it, turn it into the things we need to survive, but we’re not allowed to.” I realize then that he probably didn’t care about the bow because he doesn’t know it’s illegal for wolf shifters to have weapons of any kind. Anything more than a steak knife will get us arrested. Our own people will imprison us for breaking the vampires’ laws.

“You’re insane,” he tells me, turning away from me again.

“Yeah, maybe I am,” I agree. “But I know that my stepfather will work fifteen hours in the mines today, and for his hard work, he’ll be rewarded with one hundred thirty-five vlads, which is exactly enough for him to buy three loaves of bread. Once a week, he’s given meat and vegetables so he doesn’t die. That’s it. That’s what he survives on. Meanwhile, I give more blood than any creature should ever part with so that I can feed my family.”

“Why can’t your mother work?” He rolls his eyes.

“Did you not hear her coughing up a lung?” I shake my head. “Half the town is sick. No one can afford medicine, not that there is any, and there’s no doctor or healer, just the techs at the clinic where we give blood. So she continues to get worse every day. Let me guess. My baby sister should probably get a job, too.”

“I’m not going to waste another minute talking to you, filth.” He snarls at me and then lunges in my direction. I hurriedly back up, running into a brick wall that shouldn’t be there as he laughs and walks away.

I stare after him for a moment before it dawns on me that there can’t be a brick wall in the middle of the street. Slowly, I turn around and encounter yet another vampire.

But this one is smiling.