The Half-Wolf's Choice

Chapter 2: Growing Pains

*Alice*

Red eyes and the pain in my leg pierced through the darkness of my dreamless sleep. I could feel every bead of sweat trickle down my forehead, and in my ears boomed every beat from my heart like a colossal drum.

Then came the sounds of cars driving past, people arguing, water pipes creaking, dogs snarling…all as though they were right inside my bedroom. The air of which felt like a furnace.

The heat became too much and the beads of sweat finally woke me. The sun had already risen and I had slept through five of my alarms.

“Agh!” I exclaimed as torrents of pain cracked my head like a bad hangover, and winced again when I set my feet on the ground.

My right leg was bandaged, the leg that the demon wolf had sunk its teeth into.

“No…it wasn’t real, you i***t. There was no wolf. I was just rattled after Richard showed his face,” I reassured myself.

I must have dreamt that part. Perhaps I stumbled across a gang war and my mind twisted the events due to trauma. YES! That must have been it.

I must have gotten hurt in the crossfire, stumbled home and -

The sound of my kettle whistling was like nails on chalk. I gasped and clutched my ears. Then came the scent of fresh coffee…and that of cologne.

Someone was in my apartment. A man. I don’t know how I knew but I knew.

I grabbed the lamp off my chest of drawers and brandished it like a weapon. I had no idea who to expect; Richard, one of the thugs from the gang clash last night? Perhaps they followed me home because I had seen too much.

Whatever it was, I wasn’t going to sit helplessly and wait for their mercy.

I kicked open my bedroom door, lamp raised to strike the intruder…and then froze when I saw who it was.

Cayden Veil. He sat at my small kitchen table dressed in a thick leather leather jacket, nursing a steaming mug of coffee while another was placed opposite him.

He smirked when he saw me with a lamp raised above my head like a berserker.

“Ah, you’re awake. I made you some coffee. You didn’t have any milk so I had to make it black.” He gestured smoothly to the mug.

“What the f**k are you doing in my house!?” I demanded and hoped my voice did not sound as shrill as it felt. “Leave right now or I’m calling the police!”

But Veil did not move except to take a sip of his coffee. He looked at me as though I was the most curious creature he was observing at a zoo. It infuriated me.

“Is that any way to talk to someone who carried you home, gave you painkillers, bandaged your leg and stood guard over you all night long?”

I was right; I stumbled across a gang altercation last late. And the person responsible was right here making himself at home.

“Well considering I was injured over your little gang war, I feel my reaction is more than justified…especially considering a known criminal is sitting in my kitchen!”

Was it wise to talk to someone of his reputation like that? Probably not. But I had had enough; I was tired, hazy and in pain.

“My ‘little gang war’ keeps the good people of this town out of the clutches of others who would exploit them, extort them, and make them too afraid to walk their own streets. My ‘little war’ allows me to keep you all fed and businesses lucrative.”

Veil stood up and reached into his jacket. My heart leapt fifty yards and I took a step back…but Cayden Veil merely revealed a business card.

“Here’s my number if you have any trouble, concerns or…questions,” he said sweetly, offering me the card.

I kept both my hands gripped on the lamp, I did not want to be caught off guard, especially around him.

When I didn’t reach for it he placed the card gently on the kitchen counter.

“And why would I have questions exactly?”

Cayden moved past me and opened the door, the scent of his cologne wafted passed and embraced me. No, it was more than just cologne. It made me weak in the knees and even more light-headed than I already was.

“Because…things are going to become…interesting for you, Alice Fairfox. It’s best to have friends around who you can count on.”

“Is that your way of threatening me?” I accused him.

“Trust me, Alice, you would know if I was threatening you. I make a point of not being ambiguous about it.”

The crime lord flashed one more charming smile which made my heart flutter against my will before taking his leave.

I was now alone, and feeling as though he had been a figment of my stressed mind.

“This is a dream, this is a dream, this is a dream,” I muttered to myself over and over on my way to work. “I had a chance encounter with a handsome charismatic gangster and now I’m hallucinating about having him in my apartment.”

But I knew that was not the case. The wolves may have been an hallucination, a distortion of memory due to trauma. But Cayden Veil was not. He had been in my apartment. I could smell his scent on me.

That was another strange thing; I could smell…everything. I could hear everything as well. All my senses were dialed so high that my throbbing head was not getting any better. My skin also felt hot to the touch but I didn’t feel sick at all. Aside from my headache and the pain from my bandaged leg, I was perfectly healthy.

I needed to focus. I had rent to pay and finances to recover if I ever wanted to rebuild what I lost. What was stolen from me. There was no time for any form of distractions.

I opened up the pub and began managing the daily breakfast rush. The regular patrons came in and ordered their usuals. I served them with a smile and my usual chipper attitude while I harbored deeply unsettled feelings beneath.

“You alright there, Alice?” Carl the mechanic pointed to my bandaged leg. I had covered it with my pants but I was walking with a slight limp.

“I’m all good, Carl. Just overdid it with stretches this morning.” I replied and then hurried away.

“Poor girl,” I heard a woman say.

I spun around but saw that the lady who had spoken was in a booth at the opposite end of the pub. There was no way I could have heard her. Right?

“I heard she came from an old money, wealthy family from New York,” the woman said quietly to her friend, “Then her family’s business suddenly went bankrupt - poor dear lost everything.”

“You’d never tell she comes from money; she’s so kind and down to earth. A bit dainty sure but -”

I shook my head, and grabbed a glass from the bar. It shattered in my hand.

“s**t!”

Swiftly, I cleaned up the mess and tried to get back to work but the murmurs began to get louder and louder. And my bandaged leg began to itch.

I quickly escaped to the back room and began to scratch.

“Alice are you - what happened?” Jade exclaimed when she entered and saw my leg.

“It’s nothing, Jade”

“That doesn’t look like ‘nothing’. What happened to you? And don’t give me the tough girl act.”

After the last few hours I had, I was glad for the tough love. I told Jade everything; my confrontation with Richard, Cayden Veil showing up, the gang fight and getting injured (I left out my hallucination about the giant wolves), and then waking up to Cayden Veil in my apartment.

“My God, Alice! Why the hell did you come to work today?” Jade covered her face. “Cayden Veil is bad news, you just met him once and already got caught up in whatever beef he has going on with Marcus Silus. And not to mention your ex… You need to call the police.”

“Veil was a chance encounter. And as far as Richard, I don’t think he’ll come around again.”

‘Are you sure about that?” Jade looked at me sternly. “I know men like you ex husband and they don’t quit easily. Was Richard ever a quitter when you were with him, or was he stubborn and persistent as hell.”

I thought about Richard's gambling addiction that had cost me everything.

“No, he’s not one to quit.”

“Then go home, get some rest, then go straight to the police station in the morning.”

“What about-”

“I’ll have Tina and Joel cover your shifts. And you’ll still get paid.” Jade hugged me tightly.

I owed her so much. And she was right, I needed to get some rest and clear my head.

As soon as I headed home I already started feeling better. Even my leg felt better. I should probably see what it looked like and apply more bandages when I got home.

“There you are.”

I froze when. There stood Richard at the side entrance of my apartment building. I reached for my pocket and my heart skipped a beat when I realized my pepper spray was upstairs in my apartment.

“Go away, Richard. I have nothing to say to you unless you’ve decided to sign the papers.”

I tried to push past him but he blocked me.

“Move, Richard.”

“I’m not going anywhere without you,” Richard said. “Now we’re going to head up to your apartment together, pack up your s**t, and head back to Chicago.”

“Ha! You are out of your mind if you think you can demand anything from me.” I pushed past him.

Richard grabbed violently onto my wrist…and with that single movement he released all my frustration and anxiety that had been boiling inside.

I struck his square in the chest, not hard, not nearly close enough to my full strength. Probably not even hard enough to knock out his wind.

However, when my fist made contact with his chest…Richard eyes went wide. He gasped in pain as his feet left the ground and he was sent flying into the steel dumpster.

CRASH!

Richard fell to the ground. A giant dent was on the side of the dumpster where he collided.

I stared at him in shock, glancing around before I ran upstairs as fast as I could.

I was losing it. That did not just happen! I didn't just do that…I couldn’t have. It was physically impossible

I ran into the bathroom and splashed ice cold water over my head a few dozen times. And when I looked into the mirror, I knew that I must be going mad.

Because staring back at me was not my reflection. Staring back at me was a silver wolf with glowing golden eyes.