Page 101 of The Lone Wolf Café
It was the only thing keeping me sane. The one bit of solace I found in being locked inside a metal crate like an animal, right before the full moon, was that Rowena was right there next to me.
But it was still a risk. Once we inevitably transformed, we didn’t know how our moon-glowed selves would react to each other. We were intimately familiar with each other’s scents, but we were still from separate packs, and had never endured a full moon together.
We could harm each other.
Or worse.
But it was a risk we had to take. There was only one crate.
Rowena’s hand began to shake. I squeezed closer to her, wrapping my other arm around her thin body to offer her comfort. But in the process, I realized my own hand was shaking.
It’s time.
Unlike our regular wolf shifts, which happened as swiftly and naturally as breathing, full moon transformations could be uncomfortable. Painful, even. Something about our bodies being forced to shift against our will seemed to pull us apart from the inside.
Rowena hissed through her teeth, her breathing coming in rapid pants. Her trembling hand was still interlocked with mine, and I could feel those pretty purple nails changing. Lengthening. Sharpening.
“Fight it,” I whispered. “Fight it as long as you can.”
“I will,” Rowena replied, her teeth still grating together. She lifted her free hand, which was trembling like a leaf in the wind, and stroked my red hair.
Hair that was already turning into fur.
“You’ve got this.” Rowena whispered.
Then she kissed me.
That was the last thing I remembered before everything went black.
Wisteria Grove. The café. Rowena.
Even my own name.
They all flew out of my mind, like loose papers caught up by the wind. Scattering in a million different directions.
Every time I tried to think, to remember who I was and how I ended up in this crate, my thoughts fell apart. They writhed and collapsed and twisted on top of each other until nothing made sense.
All I knew was that I was no longer Nettie.
I was something else entirely.
A light appeared. Bright as the full moon. So bright it nearly blinded me.
I tensed my muscles, becoming more aware of my form. I had four paws, a coat of thick red fur, large pointed ears, and a long snout full of sharp teeth.
And I was hungry. So hungry.
I needed to eat.
Now.
A shout rang hollow and distant in my ears, like I was hearing it from miles away.
I ignored it, hunger clawing at my stomach, impatience causing me to clench my fangs.
Thoughts came in singular words.
Hunt. Eat. Run.
