Page 32 of Mytho Investigations: Side Stories

WEREWOLVES AND OTHER WORRIES

WEREWOLVES AND OTHER WORRIES

The collapse of the mytho world into the human one ten years ago hit everyone hard, the worst of which was the werewolves, who became trapped mid-shift.

With hands like paws, jobs are limited. Humans take one look and cross the road out of fear… or at least they did for the first ten years.

Jake always tried to look for the positives in life. Werewolves have a good reputation as hard-working orderlies and cleaners in the hospitals. The pay is terrible, but he has a job. Although humans are used to seeing them, they are too scared to harass them.

One night, after a shift, he heads to his local bar to unwind. He does not expect to be hit on in a bar by a human man…

CHAPTER 1

Jake’s favorite bar was only open for an hour after he finished his shift, long enough for him to have a couple of drinks before going home to sleep and doing it all again the next day. He ordered and sat, staring at his… It had been long enough since the collapse that he’d become accustomed to having something that more closely resembled paws instead of hands.

He couldn’t quite remember what it was like to have hands, proper hands, human-style hands. He’d only been shifting for a couple of months before the collapse, not long enough to miss it. All he’d known for the last ten years was this partially-shifted form.

He drank his beer from a stein, which was much easier for him to hold than a glass. Most of his fellow orderlies left for home after one beer, leaving only a few other werewolves, one satyr, and a couple of elves. Everyone else was human.

Some were humans from Tariko, but the only way to tell was if they didn’t freak out at the sight of mythos. Or at least that had been the way to tell at first. Now most Earth-born humans grudgingly accepted their presence. But there were still pockets of trouble.

And still fusses were made when anyone discovered that a human was dating a mytho.

At twenty-five, Jake should be thinking about what he was going to do with his life and what kind of breeding pair he wanted to be part of. He could date another werewolf and settle down and have little furry children, but if he wanted that, he would have done it already.

He’d mucked around with a few werewolf guys, but he didn’t want that either.

In truth, he didn’t know what he wanted.

It was harder to date outside of his kind because of the way he looked. He wasn’t pretty like an elf. And, well, mythos remembered what werewolves had looked like before the collapse, which meant they weren’t into the way they looked now.

He stared at his black claws against the glass of the stein. The rough pads on his fingers, and the thick, dark hair on the back of his hand. He’d watched enough human horror movies to know he belonged in their nightmares.

Which only left other werewolves, and he was pretty sure he’d dated or slept with everyone he was interested in already.

A man walked up to the bar, stood next to him, and ordered another drink. His gaze drifted over Jake. Jake braced for a comment of some kind. That kind of lingering look didn’t bode well.

“I’ve seen you here a few times,” the man said.

It was hard to tell how old he was in the dimly lit bar, but he seemed over thirty, with dark hair and shoulders that were broad enough to suggest he considered working out as a serious hobby.

“Is that a problem?” Jake asked, hoping to bite off any trouble before it happened.

“Nope. Only that I noticed you’re sitting here alone.”

“The others just left.” It probably wasn’t a good thing that he was alone.

“I know. I waited.”

Jake turned on the stool to look at the man. It definitely wasn’t a good thing someone had noticed the way he often stayed for an extra drink and left alone. Next time, he’d leave with the others.

The man lifted a hand as if sensing the change in Jake’s attitude. “I’m not looking for trouble.”

No, but he was looking for something. Jake inhaled, taking in the man’s scent but not finding anger or aggression. Only… nervousness.

The man’s beer arrived, and he remained standing next to Jake like they were friends.

Weird.