Page 14 of Howl You Doin'

Sweat trickled down Fiona's back as she hauled another load of debris away from the playground site. The sun beat down mercilessly, but she refused to let it slow her down. A few feet away, Jenny and two other pack members were dismantling the remains of a twisted slide.

"Hey, witch!" Jake called out. "Got a minute?"

Fiona wiped her forehead with her sleeve. "Only if you stop calling me 'witch.' I have a name."

"Fair enough." He grinned, revealing dimples that transformed his whole face. "We could use your help with these support beams. They're being stubborn."

As she approached, Fiona noticed the scorched metal poles. Her fingers tingled with the familiar pull of her magic. "Stand back."

"What are you going to do?"A teenage wolf – Tommy's older sister, if she remembered correctly – asked.

"Watch and learn." Fiona placed her hands on the metal, letting her power flow. The heat built gradually, focused and controlled, until the metal glowed red-hot. "Now pull!"

Jake and his team yanked, and the poles slid free like butter from a warm knife.

"That was awesome!" Tommy's sister exclaimed. "I'm Amy, by the way. Do you think you could teach me about magic sometime?"

"I'd love to, but shouldn't you ask your parents first?"

"Mom says you're cool." Amy shrugged. "She liked how you handled that angry tourist yesterday."

Fiona remembered the incident – a man throwing a fit because the community center's pool was "members only." She'd managed to deflect his tantrum without singeing his eyebrows off, which she considered a personal victory.

"Speaking of handling things," Jenny called over, "anyone know where these bolts go?"

"Color-coded containers in the supply tent," Fiona answered, pointing. "Red for rusty, blue for good condition."

"You've really thought of everything, haven't you?" Jake helped her load the poles into the wheelbarrow.

"I try." Fiona pushed her hair back, grimacing at the dirt that must be streaked across her face. "Though I didn't account for looking like I lost a fight with a mud pit."

"It's a good look on you," Jake teased. "Very earthy. Almost like a real wolf."

Their laughter carriedacross the playground, drawing smiles from other workers. Fiona felt something warm bloom in her chest that had nothing to do with her magic. For the first time since moving here, she felt like she might actually belong.

Fiona wiped more sweat from her brow as she settled onto a bench, gratefully accepting the water bottle Amy handed her. Her muscles ached, but the good kind of ache that came from honest work. Movement caught her eye, and she spotted Caleb near the center's entrance, deep in conversation with two guards.

Even covered in construction dust, he cut an impressive figure. His broad shoulders were tense as he gestured at something on a tablet, dark hair falling across his forehead. The scowl on his face could have melted steel.

"Does he ever relax?" Fiona muttered, taking another sip of water.

Emmett chuckled as he sat down beside her. "Caleb? Only when he's sleeping, and I'm not even sure about that."

"He's going to give himself an ulcer if he keeps this up."

"That's our alpha for you. Always putting the pack first." Emmett stretched his legs out in front of him. "You should have seen him three years ago when that flash flood hit. Spent four days straight helping evacuate families, wouldn't rest until every last pup was safe."

"Really?" Fiona watched as Caleb's scowl deepened at whatever he saw on the tablet.

"Oh yeah. Last winter, he gave up his vacation to help rebuild old Mrs. Henderson's roof after that big storm. And when the Miller twins both got sick with wolf pox? He sat with them for a week straight so their single mom could keep working."

"Wolf pox?" Fiona raised an eyebrow. "Is that like chicken pox?"

"Worse. Much worse. Imagine chicken pox combined with uncontrolled shifting and the worst case of fleas you've ever seen."

Fiona winced."And he volunteered for that?"

"That's Caleb. Last month, he even-" Emmett stopped as Caleb approached them, his boots crunching on the gravel.

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