Page 5 of Howl You Doin'

"Oh, fine." She dug in her bag and pulled out a slightly squashed muffin from earlier. As she tossed crumbs to her feathered companion, she watched the lighthouse in the distance.

"At least here I can be myself," she said softly. "No more hiding what I am. No more pretending to be just another 'normal' wedding planner for the mundane clients."

Fiona brushed the sand from her skirt and gave her feathered friend a final wave. The seagull squawked, probably disappointed there weren't more muffin crumbs forthcoming.

"Time to go adult," she told herself, checking her reflection in a shop window. Her red hair had finally settled from its earlier Phoenix Rise-induced pyrotechnics. "You've handled bridezilla vampires. You can handle this."

The community center rose before her, its red brick facade warm in the late afternoon sun. True to Nina's description, a silver moon mosaic sparkled above the entrance, catching the light in hypnotic patterns. Through the windows, Fiona glimpsed groups of people – mostly wolves, given their territorial auras – going about their business.

A pairof teenage shifters exited, deep in conversation.

"I'm telling you, Marcus, that's not how you howl at the moon-"

"Whatever, you sound like a choking chihuahua-"

Fiona slipped past them, pushing open the heavy double oak doors. The interior smelled of wood polish and something distinctly lupine – like forest after rain. Activity buzzed around her: a yoga class with mats floating slightly off the ground, agroup of elder wolves playing what looked like magical mahjong, and kids racing through the halls with partially shifted ears and tails.

At the front desk, a harried-looking woman juggled three phones and a stack of floating papers.

"No, Mrs. Henderson, the full moon pottery class is next Wednesday- Yes, I know it's usually Tuesdays, but- Hold please." She spotted Fiona. "Can I help you?"

"Hi, I heard you might be looking for a new manager?" Fiona kept her voice steady, though her fingers tingled with nervous energy.

The woman's eyes narrowed slightly. "You're not pack."

"No, but I have extensive experience coordinating events and managing facilities." Fiona pulled her resume from her bag, proud that it didn't burst into flames. The Phoenix Rise Latte was definitely wearing off. "I specialized in supernatural ceremonies in Boston."

"Boston?" The woman's eyebrows rose. "That's quite a change."

"Sometimes you need a fresh start." Fiona gestured at the organized chaos around them. "And this looks like exactly the kind of challenge I'm looking for."

3

CALEB

Later that day, Caleb crouched down, scrubbing at the crude spray-painted symbols defacing the community center's brick wall. The acrid smell of paint thinner burned his sensitive nose, making his eyes water. His muscles tensed with each stroke, anger simmering just beneath the surface.

"Those Nightfang idiots couldn't even spray paint properly." Wade dragged a trash bag filled with broken glass across the parking lot. "Look at this - their alpha symbol's backwards."

"Really helps narrow down the suspects to whoever flunked basic geometry." Caleb dunked his sponge in the bucket, splashing solution onto his pants. "Damn it."

"You know, when I signed up to be your second, I pictured more epic battles. Less janitorial work." Wade tied off the trash bag with a grunt. "Though I guess this counts as cleaning house, technically speaking."

"If you're done with the puns, grab another sponge." Caleb pointed to a particularly offensive message about his lineage. "This isn't going away on its own."

"Neither is the bigger problem." Wade grabbed supplies from their pile and joined him at the wall. "Thompson's probably already running his mouth to Victor about everything he learned while working here."

"One problem at a time."

"Speaking of problems - incoming community members to your left."

"Alpha Caleb!" Mrs. Henderson's floral perfume hit him before her voice did. "What's going to happen to my pottery class?"

Caleb suppressed a groan as more pack members emerged from their cars, clustering around him. The paint thinner fumes made his head spin as he straightened up.

"The community center isn't closing,"he said, addressing the growing crowd. "We're just between managers at the moment."

"But I heard Nightfang-" started Jerry from yoga class.

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