The Girl Who Cried Wolf

Kylie hummed as she biked home from the diner where she worked as a waitress. It’d been a particularly good day, and she’d gotten lots of tips. She sighed as she pulled up to her apartment building. It was a modest place in the not-so-nice part of town, but it was all she and her father could afford. She lugged her bicycle to the third floor, where their apartment was located, and was not happy with what she saw there: Their landlord.

“This is your last warning, Lucas! Pay your rent before the end of the week, or I’ll evict you and your miserable rat of a daughter.”

“Don’t you dare talk about my daughter like that!” Kylie’s eyes welled up with tears at the coughing fit that followed her father’s angry outburst. But those tears quickly turned into anger when she heard their landlord’s mocking laughter.

Kylie hauled her bike up the last three steps and stomped down the hallway. When she got to their door, she purposefully hit their landlord with her bike as she took it into the apartment. Then, after a dropping a quick kiss on her father’s cheek, she faced their devil spawn of a landlord.

“You’ll get your money. We still have the rest of the week before we’re late. Now, leave before I sue for harassment.”

“Hah! You barely have enough money to feed yourselves, much less hire a lawyer. You’re just filthy, no-good…”

Kylie didn’t wait for their landlord to finish hurling his insults at her and her father. She slammed the door and sighed, leaning her bike against the wall and placing her helmet right on top.

“Hey, Dad.”

“Hello, pumpkin. How was work today?” Kylie walked over to where her father now sat in front of the television and placed another kiss on his forehead.

“It was great. I got some really good tips.” Kylie smiled and shook her purse, making her father smile in return. The sight saddened Kylie, though, because even his smile was so weak.

“That’s great news, kid.” Another round of coughing accompanied his statement. Kylie held back her tears. Her father was suffering from lung cancer, but they had no money to treat it properly. All they could do was keep buying painkillers and a few other drugs to help minimize the side effects.

He wasn’t getting any better.

“Did you take your medicine today, Dad?”

“Yes, I did. No need to worry.”

“But you also went to work, didn’t you?”

Her father sighed and shook his head. “Of course I went to work.”

“But you’re not well. You need to rest!”

“You know I can’t do that. I need to help make money too. I can’t put everything on you.”

Kylie swore under her breath at the stubbornness of the men in her family. Not that she knew many of the men in her family. From what she’d been told, her father was an only child. Her mother had died when she was very young, so the only other man in her family had been her older brother, who had left six years ago. They hadn’t heard anything from him since.

Kylie sighed as she entered the only bedroom in the apartment and walked to her side of the room, which was separated from her father’s side with a tarp. She quickly stripped out of her clothes as she responded to her dad.

“I need you to stay alive, Dad. I-I can’t lose you too…”

There was pin-drop silence in the apartment after that. Kylie sighed as she stepped into the en-suite bathroom. When she emerged, in just a towel, she sat beside her dad and took his hand in hers.

“Dad…”

“Don’t worry about me, pumpkin. But there is something want to discuss with you.”

“What’s that?”

“I think we should relocate.”

“What? But we don’t have any money. Where are we supposed to go?”

“Detroit. Your mother and I got married there, and we lived there briefly before moving here. We actually still have a house there—I couldn't bring myself to sell it. So many memories…” Kylie smiled as she watched her father relive old memories of her mother.

“It also happens to be the place where we made your brother…”

“Ew, TMI, Dad!” He let out a bark of laughter, followed by some heavy coughing. “You really think we should move back there?”

“Yes, I’ve already put in my resignation. I’ll get my annual bonus in my last paycheck, and you have your savings. That will be enough to tide us over until we both get new jobs.”

Kylie still wasn’t convinced moving was the best option. She would have to make new friends, find a new job, and begin the whole process of blending in again. She didn’t want to go through that. And then there was their pack…

“And the best part is that over there, they have a whole werewolf community that’s separate from the humans. Not like here, where we can’t even shift, much less go for a run. You’ll enjoy it.”

“But…”

“No buts, pumpkin, I’ve already been to see the alpha, and he’s contacted the Detroit pack to initiate our transfer. We just have to wait for them to accept us, and then we will be on our way.”

“You have this all thought out, don’t you?”

“Yes.”

“And you insist we need to move?”

“Yes. Trust me, you’ll love it.”

Kylie sighed and nodded her head. She knew there was no way she was winning this argument. Her father might be sick, but he still knew exactly how to get what he wanted.

“Alright. Let’s do this.”

***

Two weeks later, Kylie was standing in front of her parent’s old house. She sighed and huffed when she realized there was a lot more work to be done than initially planned. The grass in front of the house was overgrown, and the house looked like it could use new paint. She quickly went to inspect the interior while her father stayed on the porch with their luggage. She was happy to see that her father had been right when he’d said that they wouldn’t need to buy new furniture.

But the whole house needed a good dusting and airing out.

Kylie sighed as she took off her jacket and pulled her hair into a bun. Then, she rejoined her father, sitting on the first step of their porch.

“So, what do you think, pumpkin?”

“It’s a wonderful house, Dad. It needs a whole lot of cleaning, but by the time I’m done, it’ll be as good as new.”

“I’m glad you like it. Your mom did always say she wanted us to come back and live here as a family.” Kylie placed her head on her father’s shoulder and rubbed his arm.

“It’s okay, Dad. We’re here now. I’m sure she’s happy.”

“Yeah…”

After a few moments of silence, Kylie jumped to her feet and flexed her shoulders. That was when she noticed the curtain in the front window of the house opposite them slipping back into place.

“Great. Nosy neighbors,” she sighed under her breath. “Okay, Dad, you stay here. I’ll go in and get started on the cleaning.”

“While you do that, I’m going to head over to the local market and get groceries and maybe take-out for tonight. Tomorrow, we can make a proper list of all the things we need.”

“Alright.”

Kylie watched as her father walked down the short driveway and turned left before going back into the house to begin her chores. She took out her iPod and plugged her headphones into her ears, dancing and moving her hips to the music as she worked.

About an hour later, Kylie was finished with the three bedrooms and the bathroom upstairs, so she went to get started on the kitchen. She sighed as she began wiping and dusting, but she was done in no time. She’d just begun pulling out old pots, pans, and kettles to give them a thorough washing when she felt hands on her shoulders. She knew at once that whoever had touched her was not her father, and she immediately went into defensive mode. She grabbed a frying pan by the handle and swung with all her might.

Smug satisfaction filled her as she hit her mark. She raised the pan again to strike, but her assailant moved out of the way and raised his hand. It was then that she noticed he was holding a cake in the other.

Kylie lowered the pan slowly and pulled out her earbuds.

“Who are you, and what are you doing here?”

“I’m Kent, gamma of the Fang pack.”

Kylie scoffed and raised her pan again. “Sure, and I’m Beyonce.” She was about to swing at his head again when he growled low in his throat, causing her to stop immediately and show her neck in submission.

Yep, he was gamma.

“Put the pan down.” Kylie hesitated. She had serious issues with people telling her what to do. “NOW!”

She whimpered and put the pan down. He sighed and stretched out his hand.

“I feel like we got off on the wrong foot. Let’s try this again: I’m Kent, gamma of the Fang pack.”

“I’m Kylie, and um, I’m new here. I just moved in with my dad.” She took his hand and shook it.

“Yeah, I know. I came here to welcome you.”

Kylie was embarrassed. She’d whacked her gamma in the head with a pan when he’d been sent to welcome her.

“Um, thanks, and sorry for…” Kylie gestured with her hand between the pan and his head. Kent laughed and waved it off.

“It’s okay. It takes more than that to defeat me. And if your go-to self-defense is a frying pan, you need training.”

Kylie absent-mindedly nodded her head. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d shifted into her wolf, much less trained.

“Yeah, I do.”

“Good, drop by the packhouse this weekend. We train there regularly.”

“I will.”

“Alright, see ya then.”

Kylie nodded and walked him to the door, waving him off as he went.

Kylie watched in mild annoyance as father laughed till tears were falling from his eyes. She’d just told him about the incident with Gamma Kent, and now he couldn’t—or wouldn’t—stop laughing at her. Deep down, she was happy to see her father happy, even if it was at her expense.

“Dad, stop!”

“But I can’t! I can’t believe you did that. I wish I were here to see his face!” Kylie sighed and continued eating her dinner.

“Well, it’s a good thing I’m going to start training next weekend. Once I get a job, that is.”

Her dad nodded and continued eating, smiling at his daughter. She was growing up to be just like her mother.

“I think maybe you should go for a run tonight after dinner. The moon is out. Let your wolf play.”

I felt my wolf stir within me. She wanted this, and even though I was tired, I needed it too. It had been forever since I’d gone for a good run in my wolf form.

“But what about the humans?”

“This is a gated community, Kylie. It’s one of the main reasons I brought you here. We don’t need to worry about humans. The few humans who do venture into these parts know about us and keep our secret.”

“Okay.”

Her wolf was excited; she pushed Kylie to finish dinner faster than she normally would. When she was done, Kylie cleared the table and washed their plates. Then, she kissed her father on his balding head and bounced out the back door into the night.

Kylie breathed in deep, inhaling the cool, slightly chilly air. She opened the wire fence, went into the woods, and after settling herself behind a tree, stripped. She felt the rush in her bloodstream as she summoned her wolf, and she groaned at the pain that came with the snapping of bones and swapping of skin for beautiful, white fur. The pain was not as intense as the first time she shifted, but it was quite close.

“That’s what you get when you don’t let me out for months on end.”

“Shut up, Jazmyn.”

Her wolf stretched her limbs and pranced around in a circle, testing her legs. Then, she took off at a sprint. As she picked up speed, the wind against her face felt like freedom, and she went even faster, disregarding her surroundings.

That proved to be a mistake. Jazmyn had smelled a body of water and was running towards it when she was rammed in the side. She stumbled and fell but quickly got back on her feet, crouching in a defensive position. She might not be a seasoned warrior, but she would rather fight to the death than run with her tail between her legs.

But when she got back on her feet, she couldn’t see her attacker. She turned around slowly, letting her eyes pierce every hidden corner and shadow of the woods, but to no avail.

“Jazmyn, where is he? Do you see him?”

“No, but I will soon.”

That soon came sooner than they thought. It all happened at once: She smelled the most beautiful scent she’d ever smelled in her life. She closed her eyes to savor it.

“Do you smell that, Jazmyn?”

“Yes. Mate.”

“What?!”

Kylie was extremely excited when Jazmyn confirmed what she’d been thinking. She’d been starting to give up hope of finding her mate as she was now twenty-three. Most werewolves found their mates when one or the other turned nineteen. She began looking around earnestly, searching for her soulmate.

Just then, a huge brown wolf with a powerful aura stepped into the clearing. His wolf form was taller than hers. He padded closer to her and rubbed his side against hers. He was marking her with his scent. Jazmyn purred at the display of possessiveness from her mate. She turned around and licked his snout. She walked around him, raising her tail and flicking him right beneath his jaw. She heard him growl, and he jumped away from her. Then, he ran.

At first, she thought he wanted her to chase him, but when she did, he stopped to growl menacingly at her.

The rejection Kylie felt was almost overwhelming. Both human and wolf had waited so long for their mate, but he didn’t want them. Jazmyn sat on the damp soil and whimpered. She remained in that position for a while before sadly getting up and going home with her tail tucked between her legs.

***

The days that followed were torture for Kylie. It was as though the Moon Goddess was punishing her for all her past transgressions. None of the coffee shops or diners in the neighborhood were hiring, and if there was an opening, she didn’t make the cut. At least she still had her werewolf training to look forward to.

Her father had noticed the change in her mood, but he had chalked it up to stress. She hadn’t told him about meeting her mate or his subsequent rejection. She didn’t have the strength to break his heart even more.

The weekend finally arrived, and Kylie jumped out of bed early, getting dressed in a pair of black leggings that showed off her shapely legs. She paired them with a long-sleeved, body-hugging, turtleneck crop top. She looked at herself in the mirror and smiled.

“At least, I don’t look like the crap I’m going through.”

She sighed and put on her sneakers. After packing a small gym bag, she made her way to the packhouse. Her wolf was in high spirits today because she would get to mingle with other wolves. Wolves are very social animals, and Kylie felt bad that she’d been denying Jazmyn this experience. Kylie briefly considered biking to the packhouse but thought better of it. Here, she was finally able to channel her wolf’s energy into certain activities and not look weird. She began her walk to the packhouse and got there in less than ten minutes.

As soon as she crossed the gates, she sent a quick text to her father, letting him know she had arrived safely. Then, she began walking across the wide expanse of land towards the huge house in the distance.

As Kylie got closer to the house, she spotted a few people who looked around her age. They were all wearing something similar to what she was, so she assumed they were here for training too. She sped up to join the nearest group, and they walked to a clearing behind the huge house.

Kylie stood in awe of the place. It was a wolf's dream exercise area. A sight to behold. Everything was perfect, right down to the untamed woods in the distance, which called to her wolf.

“Wow…”

“Wow is right.”

Kylie turned her head and saw a very pretty girl smiling at her. Her wolf stirred inside her. Somehow, this girl’s scent was familiar.

“Hi, you must be the new girl.”

“Yes, I am. My name’s Kylie.”

“Oh, I know. Kent told me all about you.” The girl chuckled, and Kylie groaned. It was beginning to look like that moment would haunt her forever.

“Oh my, does everyone…”

“Oh, no. Don’t worry about that. I haven’t told anybody, and Kent only told me and my brother.” Kylie breathed a sigh of relief and wondered who her brother was. Jazmyn was still trying to place this new girl’s scent.

“Thank the goddess.”

“Anyway, I’m Alexandria, but you can call me Alexa.” Alexa stretched her hand out, and Kylie took it, giving it a firm shake.

“Nice to meet you, Alexa.” Alexa tugged Kylie by the hand towards where the others were standing, awaiting training.

“C’mon, I’m sure the boys will just shit themselves over that body of yours.”

“Alexa!” Kylie protested, but Alexa just giggled and tugged her into her circle of friends. Before any introductions could be made, however, they were interrupted by another group of girls. By the looks on Alexa and her friends’ faces, these girls were bad news.

“Hello, Alex.”

“It’s Alexa,” Alexa growled at the other girl.

“Oh, sorry, it’s just that I tend to mistake you for your brother, especially after…you know…”

The girls behind her sniggered, and Kylie rolled her eyes. She focused her attention on Alexa and saw the change in her posture. She was a snide remark away from jumping on the brat. Kylie immediately grabbed Alexa’s elbow, strong enough to hold her back should she decide to do anything stupid, like lunge at her. Alexa threw a look her way and calmed down, but then Kylie caught the attention of the bitch instead.

“Oh, and who might you be?”

“Someone with better manners than you?”

There were several oohs from the crowd—even Alexa looked a bit shocked. Little did they know that Kylie had years of experience dealing with girls like her. Kylie could feel the waves of anger rolling off Queen Bitch, and the girls behind her whimpered and bared their necks.

“She’s an Alpha, Jaz.”

“I won’t submit.”

Kylie smiled. She was glad her wolf had spunk. Just like her human.

“How dare you? Who do you think you are?”

“No, who do you think you are, strutting around like you’re hot stuff and taking people down?”

That did it. Kylie saw the way her shoulders tensed, and she knew she was about to attack. Immediately, Jazmyn came forward, lending her strength to her human and bracing herself for a fight.

“Get in line!”

The order broke the spell, and everyone ran to obey. But there was no doubt that Kylie had just made a new enemy.

“Today, we’re going to focus on speed. Both as a wolf and as a human. We’ll begin in human form.”

The man, whom Alexa quickly explained was the beta of the pack, looked around at all of them, then turned to Kent. He must not have been pleased because he shook his head.

“Everyone, get into formation. We’ll start with some warm-up exercises, then we’ll work our way up. Kent, you know what to do.”

Kent bowed his head and waited until the older man had walked back into the building before turning to the trainees.

“Okay, people, pick a partner!” Everyone scrambled to do as he’d said, and Kylie paired up with Alexa. They went through a few simple cardio exercises, and soon, it was time to spar.

“Hey, stick with me. I’ll show you all the tricks.” Kylie nodded and positioned herself beside Alexa. Kent saw her and waved to her; she waved back. He came over as everyone was gathering in a circle around a wide platform.

“Hey, Kylie. Glad to see you took my advice.”

“Yeah, I thought I could use some training.”

“Yup, you definitely could use some training.” Alexa hit his arm playfully, and Kylie blushed.

“Hey, new girl!”

Kylie and Alexa turned towards the ring, where that bitch girl was standing. Alone. Kylie groaned and Alexa growled.

“Come over here and show me what you’ve got!”

“Or…”

“Or nothing really. We all already know that I’ll kick your ass, but it would be nice to do it in front of everyone, don’t you think?”

Kylie growled at the disrespect. This bitch might be of alpha blood, but Jazmyn didn’t recognize her as such, and Kylie secretly wondered why. Before she could respond, Kent spoke up.

“I don’t know what you think you’re doing up there, Shanelle—” But before he could finish, Kylie placed her hand on his arm, halting his words.

“I’ll do it.” Kylie said it with such confidence that even Shanelle was shocked. Alexa pulled her back by the elbow and whispered in her ear.

“Are you sure you want to do this? She’s a formidable opponent.”

“I am too, Alexa.”

Kylie might not have had proper training to develop her fighting skills, but she was no pushover, and she wanted to make sure that this Shanelle girl knew it. Kylie stepped onto the platform and adopted a stance opposite Shanelle. Kent looked from woman to woman and muttered something underneath his breath.

“Okay, ladies, here are the rules: No weapons. No claws. And whoever draws first blood is the winner. Do you understand?”

“Yes, Beta.”

“Yes.” Kent cleared his throat. “Beta. Sorry, yes, Beta.”

“Okay. Fight!”

Kent stepped back, and the two women began circling each other. Before Kylie knew what was going on, Shanelle was rushing at her, swinging and kicking. Kylie managed to dodge most of her blows, but she still got hit. Hard. By the time Kylie was able to get away, she tasted blood in her mouth.

“Let me take over.”

“Not yet. I can’t use claws.”

“What makes you think claws will be involved if I take over?”

Kylie smirked and let her wolf surface. A werewolf mid-shift usually had their fangs and claws out, but due to her time living among humans while still having to defend herself when she came home at night, Kylie had mastered how to channel her wolf’s strength without any visible signs—except a change in eye color.

Kylie took a deep breath and charged Shanelle, who was still smug about the damage she’d been able to do. Shanelle quickly raised her hands in defense, shielding her face and upper body from the attack. So Kylie went for her legs, swiping them out from under her. Shanelle fell on her back with a thud, but she was quick to rise to her feet. Kylie could see that she was pissed, and that made her next attack sloppy. Kylie got one good punch in to her face, and it lowered Shanelle’s defenses, so Kylie went in for the kill. She kept punching her face and ribs in rapid succession, giving Shanelle no time to recover.

Soon, Shanelle could barely stand on her own two feet, and she swayed hazily. Kylie was about to punch her again, but before she could, Shanelle fell to the ground like a sack of beans.

Everyone was silent. Then, cheers erupted, Alexa’s the loudest.

Just then Kylie caught a scent. It was the same one from the woods, the scent of her mate. Kylie inhaled deeply and stood transfixed while her wolf did cartwheels in her head.

“Maybe he’ll claim us today.”

“Or maybe he won’t.”

“Don’t say that.”

“I just don’t want us getting our hopes up. Remember how he treated us in the woods?”

That was all her wolf needed to calm down. Kylie hated to do that to her, but she had to be the reasonable one.

Soon enough, her mate appeared. People parted, and by his aura, she could tell that he was a high-ranking wolf. Again, her wolf’s chest puffed with pride, and time seemed to stop when his eyes met hers.

He had the brightest blues and stood over six feet tall. He had broad shoulders and lean muscles too. Just how she liked her men. He gave her a once over and then went straight to Shanelle. Kylie’s heart broke as she watched him sit on the floor beside her. Taking her into his arms, he brushed her hair back lovingly and kissed her cheek. Kylie watched as he stood up with Shanelle in his arms and, with one last look at her, walked off towards the pack house.

All of a sudden, her victory seemed meaningless. And she felt her heart break all over again.