The Wolves of New Orleans

*Lucas*I paced back and forth in front of the door of my father's office. He had made a massive business decision without my knowledge. Even though he held half the shares, this was my company. I created this empire for us, and it wasn't easy. I had to turn every traditional crime that plagued our family for generations and make it into a sustainable company that could lead us into the future. The legal, viable part held the cover to our most illegal dealings, but with that I was able to employ over three hundred people and provide generous incomes to them and their families. My father's thoughtless action to bring in an unvented outsider into our home and privacy could destroy everything. To say I was mad was an understatement.He had been under a lot of pressure lately from almost everyone, and the stress of it all had to be the reason why he would do this, why he would jeopardize so much for one person. There was also the possibility that he was losing his mind in his age and his

*Lucas*The beast inside me tried to break through the surface, lightning ran under my skin, popping every cell in my body, it was almost too painful to control. Kennedy's smooth as silk hair ran across her face in the small breeze that wafted between us, the golden strands glinting off the sun. I had never wanted to reach out more and stroke the soft looking locks. The attraction was immediate, but what she was doing to the animal that lived inside me was new to me. I didn't know how to react, my instincts were to protect her, but she was in no danger, except from myself, and my head told me to run, run and let the beast out. I stood locked jaw and frozen in place, I was afraid if I moved this meeting would end short. So, I just peered down at her, I was sure I came off as a creep, but I couldn't look away. Her face was smooth and delicate, with tiny features that made her look even more youthful than she was. Her hazel eyes devoured me, making my body twitch uncontrollably. I had

*Kennedy*I needed to collect myself, Lucas was my boss and I had only had this job for four hours, Icouldn't afford to mess this up. My hands shook from his contact, I folded them in my lap untilthe quivering was subtle enough that it wasn't noticeable."I have found three major vulnerabilities, and one anomaly I'd like to discuss." Shuffling throughmy stack of papers, until I came across my notes. "First, your email signatures aren't encrypted,I was surprised this went unnoticed in a company like Massi Tech. A scammer could easily copyyour signature and request money or plant a virus in your system. In fact, I duplicated an emailfrom Grace, and sent it to Tony. He unsuspectedly clicked on the download attachment andreceived a virus that spread to both of your computers and cellphones."Lucas and Tony both had a quizzical look, as if trying to make sense of what I had said. "Let meget this straight," Lucas started, "In the matter of hours, you found a major issue, hacked in

*Lucas*Ripping through the underbrush off the thick trees, I snapped at the paws of Galen. I was gaining on him, my speed was out matched. Galen took a sharp left, and his hind legs stumbled out from under him, causing him to tumble into a thicket of branches and vines. For the second time today, I pounced on him, pinning him to the ground. My teeth clamped down on his shoulder, biting through fur and flesh, he howled, the sound pierced my ears. There was a good chance that I was going to be deaf by the end of the night. My command to submit wasn't working, I was about to slip back into human form and drag him to the feet of my father, when a mass of solid flesh hit me. I flew in the air rolling head over tail for about thirty yards. Fiora stalked towards, drool dripping from gnarled lips, her coward of a husband crawled up behind her, letting Fiora be the one to lead the fight. Fiora lunged, taking advantage of my disorientation. Her claws grazed under my ribs, breaking skin. I bu

*Kennedy*Over the month I had accomplished more for the Massi's than their whole IT security team had in a year. At least that was what Tony had told me. I was sure he was exaggerating until he handed me a five-thousand-dollar bonus check in addition to my very large paycheck. I had never seen so much money in one place. Lucas had made a point to spend as much time with me while at work as possible. He would bring his laptop into my office, stretch out on the couch with Linguine sleeping at his feet, and peppered me with questions in between answering emails and phone calls. I happily responded while I monitored the systems and employees, asking just as many as I was receiving. The bond was growing into something that was tangible and the mysterious physical attraction I had was even more persistent, almost overwhelming at points. My body was in need of a break from him, which was why I was happy to be working at Tia's this weekend. The busy season was in full swing, bringing in