Autumn Moon

Lone Shewolf

Avery waited in her car outside of the cafe, picking pieces off her egg and cheese bagel from two blocks down, ignoring her wolf's protests over the lack of steak on the sandwich while waiting for her shift to start.

"Alice, steak is extra and we have to pay rent."

"One good tip and it would have covered the cost of the steak. The egg is protein but id rather meat. You don't know what our body needs."

"I know what our body needs, and i know what's just a wolfie craving."

Alice grumbled in the back of Avery's mind as Avery took the last bite and exited her car. She was instantly accosted by the smells of the small town, while the streets were tidy and quaint, the dumpsters behind the building assaulted her nose in a way humans couldn't possibly even notice.

She ducked into the cafe, smiling at an older couple sitting in the back corner near the bakery case. They came in every other morning, were respectful, and tipped well.

She shot into the back, signed in on the sheet hanging on the inside of the kitchen doors, and slipped on her apron. She took a moment to pick a book off of the small bookshelf near the back wall before heading behind the counter to wait for customers to stroll in.

She lost herself in her book, taking a moment to check out the regulars almost an hour later. She lost herself back in her book for almost 45 minutes before the cook came out and asked for his regular before he began prepping lunch. She pulled three shots and set to steaming almond milk, almost missing the sound of the bells on the front door.

She glanced over and almost fumbled the frothing cup when the family walked in. She had seen the man from afar before, but with Alice's warning, stayed away. Alice had been the first to point out the few wolf families who lived in town, and warned Avery they may be territorial.

Avery smiled brightly and finished the chef's coffee and ran it back to him while the family looked over the menu.

She took a deep breath inside the kitchen doors and painted on her brightest smile before reentering the main room, finding the man and woman waiting by the bar to order while their two pups examined their board game collection.

"Welcome in. What can I get started for you?" Avery pulled her small paper pad out of her apron and waited while the woman glanced at the menu one last time.

"May I have two Americano's with a splash of cream each and two mint hot chocolates please?"

"Coming right up!" Avery got to quick work, doing her best to ignore the male of the couple starring at her while she worked. She wished she knew if he was just a creep or an inquisitive wolf. She didn't even know what to expect from other wolves besides the fear of them trying to run her off, which was very much alive with how Alice was growling in the back of her mind.

She took their order to the counter and began ringing them up when the woman cleared her throat, making Avery look up quickly. "Is there anything wrong with your drink, ma'am?"

" Oh no, not at all, hon. We were just wondering if you were part of a family pack around here or Silverlight? We haven't seen you around here before and we're just curious. I'm Emma, and this is Jason." They both smiled, but Avery remained nervous.

Alice stood on edge but quickly explained to Avery it seemed they were simply worried about a strange wolf in the same small town as their pups.

Avery looked at the kitchen door to make sure the cook wouldn't overhear. "Honestly? No, but I was raised around here and just stick to myself."

The couple looked at each other for a moment and Jason nodded his head. "Do your parents live in town as well?"

Avery opened her mouth to answer but closed it right after. She had no clue where her parents were, if they were alive, she hadn't even been able to find her way back to her old packlands when she had tried the year prior. She opted to plaster on another fake smile.

" Is there anything else I can get you two?" The woman responded with a look of realization and pity, while the man looked unsure of her.

"No thank you ma'am" Emma said softly with a smile, taking Jason's hand and calling to her kids as they headed towards the front door.

Avery did her best to keep Alice from speaking through her mouth as Jason hung in front of the building, taking a photo of their sign on his phone. Anxiety crept up her spine as he looked at her through the window one last time before walking out of sight. She steadied her breath and braced herself against the counter.

She spent the rest of her shift in a fog, simply working as efficiently as possible while her mind was elsewhere. Alice paced the entire time, begging her to simply leave work, pack, and go.

" How Alice? We have $900 in the bank, that is it. How far do you really think we will get?"

" Then pack a small bag we can carry and we will go on foot! I didn't like how he looked at us. We should run. it has kept us alive since you've had me!"

"That was avoiding humans with bad intentions or the putrid tracks in the forest, Alice, not leaving home. Where would we go? You can't just walk into a pack, they may attack us, and we will be outnumbered. You know better than this. If we stick out for a few more weeks, maybe we can find somewhere else in another small town, but we cannot just leave without a plan!"

"Safety is more important than a plan! Other wolves are bad! I've seen your nightmares, I can feel your memories, we have to run, our brother told us to."

"Michael is long gone, I know it. I don't know how, but I do. And when he told me to run i was a child, we were being attacked, that different Alice. We have to stay safe."

" It's my job to keep you safe Avery, and you're fighting me when I'm trying!"

Avery cut the conversation short when the clock rang, signaling the end of her shift. She collected her purse and waved bye to the cook and smiled at the barista coming in the door to take over. Alice had it in her head that they would just come across their people, their mate, and live happily ever after. Alice was certain they could stay alive on the journey to find their other half and home, but with not much money and no training, Avery didn't see how.

She couldn't even remember her parents' names or the pack she had come from. How did Alice know they wouldn't chase her away time and time again? Her small apartment was the closest she had had to a home in twelve years, and while it made her nervous, she couldn't run over one suspicious wolf.

If anything, maybe they would continue coming to the cafe and become comfortable with Avery, and she would finally have someone to talk to her and teach her about herself in ways that Alice couldn't. She wished she had grown up around her own kind and hadn't been fully unprepared for her first shift, alone in the woods behind the group home. But at least if she could connect with Jason and Emma in any way, they may be able to steer her in the right direction, or let her know more about their kind.

All she knew was what she remembered from her mother and her stories about mates, the assurance from Alice that the moon was the Mother Goddess and watched over them, and that she could shake a migraine with very rare meat most of the time, but beyond that, she really had no clue.

She drove to her small apartment and let herself in, not bothering to turn on the lights before collapsing on her secondhand futon. Alice kept switching between timidly agreeing with Avery's points on why friendship with these wolves would be beneficial, and the urge to run for self-preservation.

"Alice, I don't want us to be alone anymore. And we have so many questions."

Alice settled down and sighed. "I know Avery, I just don't know who to trust. Wolves are meant to feel connections with many around them, and we feel none. I believe it makes me overly cautious, but I'd rather be that way and stay alive."

Avery felt her eyes begin to water and answered out loud while she hugged herself;"I know Alice, I know."