WyldWerewolf

– “I don’t trust her, Ly. She was asking questions about Athena and what I knew about her and her past.” Trevor shuddered. “She’s almost like Athena in her appearance, too, though she’s a negative.” Amelia looked up from the paperwork in her hands to look at both tigers. Lysander was standing in front of the window that overlooked the dance floor, a spot becoming his new normal these days, and Trevor sat in a chair in front of his brother’s desk. “Well, from what I can find, you’ve got every reason not to trust her,” The vixen handed the younger brother a few pages. “Her name is the only thing she didn’t lie about. Well, her first name anyway.” “Sergio has more kids?” Lysander turned to face his brother. “And why not? He’s a businessman, and his children are part of that business.” “What?” The orange tiger frowned, “What do you mean by that?” “We’ve had reports that he’s had other offspring that he would put in some kind of foster care, and when they’re old enough, he picks them

- - “You know, you should say something to her.” Monty chuckled, lightly punching the tiger on the shoulder, startling him. “Someone else might sweep her off her feet right under your nose if you don't.” “It’s not that simple, Monty.” Trevor sighed, watching the she-wolf across the room as she curled up in one of the benches, reading a book, unbothered by the dim lights and loud music. “She’s still shy around people, especially men.” Monty frowned. “It’s been months, Trev, since she walked into your brother’s office. If you don’t ask, you’ll never know.” He looked at Trevor, eyes searching for something in the boy. “She trusts you, kid; she might even trust you with her heart.” Trevor opened his mouth to say something, but the rat moved on, warning that the club would be opening soon. Trevor sighed and went to check his station, making sure it would be in order. Lysander hired a new employee, one he said checked out with far too many fake credentials. Neither would be surprised if

– “Athena, slow down!” She heard Trevor call out to her, but she ignored him, laughing as she ran down the aisles. Freedom ran in her veins today, and nothing was going to slow her down, not even her friend and guardian. As the tiger groaned, she laughed harder, knowing he’d have to catch up if he wanted her to slow down. The bookstore the tiger had taken them to smelled amazing! It took her mind off the fact that there were dozens of strangers. She ran her fingers over the spines of the books as she browsed, looking for something that would suit her tastes or something new that would pique her interest. By the time Trevor had caught up to her, she’d picked out and held onto four or five. “You’re going to be the death of me one day, darlin’,” he panted, leaning against a shelf. “You really shouldn’t run off like that.” Athena glanced at him, a mischievous glint in her eyes. “Oh, pft. You know I’m only keeping you young, Trevor.” He shook his head, unable to argue with her. “Fine,

– Grasping a little can tightly in her hand, Athena walked back to the house she shared with the tiger as quickly as possible. Her heart pounded, and her pulse hammered in her ears. Her breath came fast and short despite the effort she made to calm herself down and control her breathing. Fast, pounding footsteps on the ground behind the she-wolf sent a chill down her spine. Glancing around, Athena dipped behind a corner, hiding in the shadows as the footsteps slowed to a stop close by. She took a deep breath, held the can in front of her, and stepped out. With a scream, Athena pressed the button and aimed it at her pursuer. “Sonofa–!” Trevor’s voice hollered from the other end of the spray. “What the hell!” Athena dropped the can and gasped. “Trevor! I am so sorry!” “You’re good,” the tiger waved a hand at her and groaned. “You did the right thing. I just wanted to catch up with you and make sure you were okay. It’s okay.” “You sure?” Athena grabbed his arm as he fanned his

– “I didn’t realize that this stupid desk had so many screws,” Trevor muttered darkly. Athena looked over at Trevor, an eyebrow raised. “Did you bother with the directions? Or are those too mainstream, too?” “Gawd, one joke, and I live with it for months!” Athena smiled, tugging on her black braid. “It’s only been two months, and I don’t bring it up often.” Trevor laughed and, shaking his head, returned to struggling with the desk she had bought. It had been two months of relative peace. Lysander had given her a job as a busser, letting her work mostly in the back until she was more comfortable in public. Lately, she’d been working as a server and had found that she liked it. When asked, Lysander refused to talk about what information he’d found or, more likely, hadn’t discovered. Athena never revealed any more than she had to about the nightmares, which lessened over time, or about her brother, who remained nameless. The most they could do was carry on as if everything was fine

– Watching as Athena explored his small home, he hung up and tapped the device against his chin. She seemed interested in almost everything, as if she’d never seen some of the most mundane items in her short life. “I’ve got a second bedroom; it’s never been used. Meant to rent it out but never got around to it. It’s clean, and there’s a bed and, I think, a dresser in there. Let me know if you need or want anything, and I can order it for you.” Athena paused and looked back at Trevor, a small, shy smile on her lips. “Thank you.” “It’s nothing really.” He paused, tilting his head, “You’re not mad at me? For the whole alley thing?” She shook her head. “No, it had to be done, and you were right. It was the best and fastest way to get down the street. I may hate doing stuff like that, might hate myself for doing it, but I can’t be mad at you. You were doing what you thought was best.” Trevor closed the space between them, taking her hands in his. “No,” he said, startling her with his

Trevor blinked, awed as the timid little pup transformed into something confident and strong. As she finished, he could tell she was still uncertain about trusting him to lead her to safety, but at least she was willing to try. “Can we just get this over with, please?” She muttered, wrapping her arms around herself. “I don’t want to stay like this for long…” Trevor nodded and held out his arm. “Sure thing, doll. Just try to look like you’re in head-over-heels love with me and maybe a bit drunk?” He grinned sheepishly, feeling uncomfortable now. “After this, I’ll give you full and complete permission to take a good, solid swing at me.” Athena laughed loudly as they stepped onto the sidewalk, drawing the gang’s attention. Her smile only dropped briefly before she steeled herself and pressed her body closer to the tiger’s. He could feel a tremor run through her; he patted her hand and grinned widely, playing up his part as much as he could. They walked closer to the gang, confidence

“Yo, Boss-man,” the orange tiger grinned. “Checking in on how things are going.” He glanced over and winked at Athena. Lysander huffed, rubbing a hand over his face in frustration. “It’s not going well. Apparently, we have no space in the safe houses tonight.” “Not surprising, this time of year. Everyone’s either got a baby to worry about, or some other young pup was dumped,” He paused, tilting his head as he took in the girl’s appearance. Something seemed familiar about it, but he couldn’t place it. He shrugged, turning back to Lysander, “Besides, I dunno how many would take someone her age, no offense. She’s far too old.” Amelia nodded her agreement. Lysander tented his fingers, pressing them against his nose. After several moments, he sighed, “You’re right. So, where does that leave us? The only other options are you or–” Trevor’s emerald eyes lit up. “You mean you’d let me sweep this sweet thing off her feet and shelter her from the chaos of the world?” He laughed, picking

Athen blushed, waving to him as she walked down to the door marked for Employees. She raised a hand and knocked several times as hard as she could, glancing back at the dance floor and bar behind her. Her ears twitched as the click of the door opening pulled her attention back. A dark red vixen stared down at her. “I’m sorry, dear. Are you lost?” The woman raised an eyebrow, hand on her hip as she took in the wolf’s appearance, gaze flicking up and down the wolf’s appearance. “Let her in, Amelia. It’s likely the young she-wolf Darrell sent me.” A man’s voice came from farther in the room. Amelia moved aside, ushering in the girl in. The fox closed the door behind them; the loud ‘thump’ in the near silence of the office made the girl jump slightly. “Welcome to my club,” the man spoke again, drawing Athena’s eyes toward him. A white tiger sat in a tall back chair behind a desk. “Come closer, we won’t bite. What’s your name?” “I’m Athena,” she murmured, “Athena Forsythe, sir.” “No

The warm air didn’t bother her as she pulled her hood tighter down over her head. Her eyes were glued to the ground as she walked past dozens of people along the sidewalk, avoiding them by moving out of their way as quickly as she could. A group of young men gathered beneath a streetlight a few buildings from an alleyway, caused her to pause for a moment. She could hear laughter and awful taunts from their circle, each holding onto something she couldn’t quite see. A few of them called out to her, spotting her tail easily despite the attempt to stuff it up her jacket. “I bet you like it ‘doggie style,’ don’t you, bitch?” “Get outta town, ya furry freak!” “Wanna show us how much you pant, girlie?” She pulled the hood farther down over her face as she strode past them quickly, pulling the bottom of the jacket down as well just before she passed them. Dusty, worn-out, ill-fitting shoes peeked out of torn and baggy jeans, adding to her disheveled appearance. They shouldn’t recognize