The Wolf Who Loved Me

Shocker

"This is Alejandra," Ruby says cheerfully. "She's come here about the missing people in her neighborhood." Alejandra stares right at me. Her eyes are dark and deep, like she can see right through me. My wolf wants to run and hide.

"Would you like some coffee?" Ruby asks, starting to stand up.”Lina, could you get her a cup of coffee please?”

"No!" I say it too loud, making everyone jump. "I mean... I'll get it."

Ruby looks confused but sits back down. "Thank you Lina"

My hands shake as I make the coffee. When I bring the coffee back, Alejandra takes it with a smile that makes me shiver. "You're very kind," she says, watching me over her coffee cup. "You can see me, can’t you?" Alejandra grabs my hand fiercely. “People are disappearing," she says in a low voice. "Supernatural creatures. Werewolves, ghosts, all kinds of beings - all vanishing. If you can see me, then you’re like me, and if you’re like me, you’re in danger."

Ruby walks back in with a note and pen, “considered going to the police yet?”

"The police can't help," the witch cuts her off, releasing my arm. "We’ve tried everything.”

"Could," Alejandra stands up jerkily, "Lina would walk with me? She could take notes and get the information you need. You are the assistant here, right?”

"Receptionist. And I have work..." I try to refuse. I’m not in danger, I could leave Silvercrest right now without looking back. To where, a voice whispers. You have nowhere else to go

"Go ahead!" Ruby smiles. "You deserve a break after helping save the Advocacy Group today."

The sun is setting as we walk through Silvercrest's streets. We leave the shiny new buildings behind and head toward the old part of town, where the buildings are made of old red brick. We turn left into a pub. The stale air of the pub clings to my skin like a second layer as I follow Alejandra through the dimly lit entrance. The floorboards creak beneath our feet, the sound almost lost beneath the low murmur of conversation and the gentle clinking of glasses. Smoke hangs in thick clouds near the ceiling, carrying strange scents my wolf can't quite identify. Not tobacco, not m*******a. "Sit," Alejandra commands, gesturing to a worn leather booth tucked away in the darkest corner. Her presence seems to part the crowd like water around a stone. "You look like you're about to faint." She's right. My legs feel weak, my hands trembling slightly as I slide into the booth. The leather is cracked and peeling, but somehow still warm. "What am I doing here?" I whisper, more to myself than to her. "What is this place?" Alejandra's eyes catch the light from a nearby candle, turning them molten gold for just a moment. "This is Hollow Ash. A sanctuary for those who don't quite fit in the shiny new Silvercrest you've been admiring." A bartender approaches, his movements too fluid to be human. As he gets closer, I notice his skin has a faint blue tinge, like moonlight on water. "The usual, Alej?"

"Two, please." She turns back to me. "You've been seeing things, haven't you? Things that shouldn't exist in your perfect human city?"

The bartender returns with two glasses filled with swirling amber liquid that seems to glow from within. The drink smells like honey and starlight, if starlight had a scent.

"It's safe," Alejandra assures me, taking a sip from her own glass. "Helps calm the nerves."

I wrap my hands around the cool glass, watching the liquid swirl. "You said people are missing?" Pain flashes across her face, quick but deep. "Yes. Seventeen so far. A construction worker who helped build the new transit system. A flower shop owner who's been here for decades. A teacher from the old district. Three children." Her voice catches on the last word. "All gone without a trace."

"And the police?"

"Oh, they investigate." Her laugh is bitter. "They take statements, file reports. But they don't look too hard. Most of the missing are from the old neighborhoods, the parts of the city that haven't been 'modernized' yet. Poor people. Immigrants. The ones society finds it easy to forget."

"But you think there's more to it."

"I know there is." She takes another drink. "Because they're all like us. Supernatural beings trying to live peaceful lives among humans."

My mind spins. "Ghosts?"

"Look around you. Really look." The man at the bar has wings folding against his back, nearly invisible unless you know to look for them. A woman in the corner seems to flicker like a candle flame, her edges blurring into smoke. Two teenagers playing pool shift and change as they move, their features never quite settling into one form.

"How..." I swallow hard. "How is this possible?"

"Silvercrest has always been a sanctuary city, even before the humans built their glass towers and electric cars. The ley lines cross here, creating natural magical barriers that help us hide in plain sight. For centuries, we lived in peace alongside humans. Different species, different cultures, all finding ways to coexist."

"What changed?"

"Progress." She spits the word like it tastes bad. "Development. Certain humans decided the old neighborhoods needed to be 'cleaned up.' Ancient buildings torn down to make way for luxury apartments. Sacred spaces paved over for parking lots. And now..." She trails off as two men approach our table. The first is tall and lean, with dreadlocks that seem to move on their own, like living shadows, his skin is dark as midnight. The second man is completely bald, his brown skin smooth as polished wood, not a single hair visible anywhere - not even eyebrows or eyelashes.

"Alejandra," the first man says, his voice deep and melodious. "We've been looking for you."

"Malik. Deon." She nods to each in turn. "Meet Lina. She's new to our little community." They slide into the booth. Up close, I can smell what they are - wolf, like me, but wilder somehow. More primal.

"Another stray?" Malik asks, his dreadlocks writhing slightly. "Or something more interesting?"

"She is with the community advocacy group," Alejandra says meaningfully. "The one Blackrock's trying to shut down."

Both men go still. The air around us seems to thicken with tension.

"You work for them?" Deon's voice is surprisingly gentle despite his intimidating appearance.

"No! I mean, I just started today. And we stopped them from shutting us down."

"Brave," Malik comments. "Or foolish. Sometimes it's hard to tell the difference."

"Speaking of Blackrock," Deon reaches into his jacket, pulling out a manila envelope. "There’s something you should see, Alej." He empties the contents of his backpack; several photographs of dark haired people with striking features. An elderly couple who look to be in their 60s. A man and woman in their late twenties who could be siblings, their faces serious in what appears to be a formal portrait. And then… My heart stops. I pick up the photograph.

Aiden stares back at me from the last photograph, his blue eyes seeming to pierce straight through the paper. He looks strikingly handsome even in this unaware picture- he's leaving what looks like a high-end restaurant, his suit jacket slung over one shoulder.

"Why do you have this?" My voice comes out barely above a whisper. Alejandra leans forward, her eyes intense. "Malik seems to think they're connected to the disappearances."

"What do you mean? Why would they be connected to this"

"The Blackrocks?" Deon says. "Because they’re all werewolves darling."