Paranormal Fantasy Summer! - Excerpt From The Werewolf on Cooper Street by Kat Gracey

Chapter One


“I know I’m late again, I’m so sorry, Frank. I’ll be there in just a minute,” I panted into my phone as I jogged along the sidewalk.
This is the third time this month, he’s going to fire me.
“Get your ass…”
Before I could hear the rest, I crashed into someone and dropped my phone on the ground.
“Fuck!” I cried, scooping to pick it up. The screen was cracked. “Hello?” It looked like Frank had hung up on me.
Looking up, I found a man looking down on me with the most mesmerizing blue eyes I’d ever seen.
“I’m so sorry,” I rambled, finding it hard to look away.
He scowled at me.
“Watch where you’re going,” he snapped.
Turning right, he headed down Cooper Street, leaving me standing there like an idiot.
I was going to walk on when I realized that not many people went down Cooper Street. At least humans didn’t. But given the eyes and the impressive physique, I’d guess that guy was anything but human. Fae maybe. Or something else. They all lived in that end of town, separated from the rest of us.
Personally I didn’t understand it. When the supernaturals revealed themselves eight years ago, everything changed. We all had to adapt to knowing that magic existed, that there were beings with wings, pointed ears and various powers. Not long after the Fae, and a few other species outed themselves, including werewolves.
The government liked to lump them altogether under the heading of Other. They had to give them a place to go, so they sanctioned a few streets in the lower end of the city for them to set up and work. Other cities did something similar, but even more refused to allow them in at all.
While they weren’t prohibited from crossing into the other side, they needed a good reason to go there.
I watched him until he disappeared from sight. Most people feared them, but I had to admit I was curious. The idea of magic being real was enticing, but you couldn’t admit that out loud. I especially couldn’t with my father being in the government.
“Shit! Work,” I cried as I snapped out it.
I raced down the road to the bar, hoping Frank would buy whatever excuse I came up with in the next two minutes.
Crashing through the door, he glared at me from behind the bar.
“What’s your excuse this time?”
He crossed his arms and waited.
My brain whirred as I tried to come up with a valid excuse.
“I…slept in. I’m sorry.”
Why bother lying? Anything I came out with wouldn’t be a good enough excuse anyway.
“You can’t keep doing this, Ella. I need my employees to show up on time.”
“Should I go?” I asked.
No one would blame him for firing me. Not even me.
He paused for a moment, then sighed heavily.
“Go get the mixers from the back.”
Relieved, I hurried to do as he asked.
“But if it happens again, you’re out!” he yelled after me.
Dumping my jacket and purse in the back, I grabbed the mixers for him. I wasn’t stupid enough to think that Frank liked me enough to give me another chance. My guess was he wanted to stay in with my father. He was in charge of zoning or something, I never really listened when he talked, and he could make trouble for business owners if he wanted.
I barely spoke to my father. When I was old enough to move out, I got the hell away from him. He wasn’t a nice person. Too concerned with his career and his image to give a shit about me.
Every now and again he summoned me to see him, mostly to berate me, then he ignored me for weeks or even months at a time.
If I didn’t need this job to pay rent, I’d tell him where to stick it. I don’t want anything from my father. I even changed my surname to my mother’s maiden name in a bid to distance myself from him. It didn’t help that I lived in the same city I grew up in though. People already knew whose daughter I was.
Trying to stay on Frank’s good side, I made myself busy cleaning tables and putting out the chairs.
The reason I was up so late had to do with my boyfriend, Leon. He insisted I listened to his new album. Then he insisted on playing it again when my eyes started to glaze over.
We get on well together, but I’m not into heavy metal music. He has his own band and they are trying to get a record deal. I guess he wanted me to tell him how wonderful they were, but it all sounded the same to me. Now he was in a mood with me. I’d make it up to him tonight. Maybe open a bottle of wine and watch a movie together.
The bar opened for a lunch time crowd and usually got quite busy. It was after two before I finally got a break. When I took a seat in a booth to drink a coke, I spotted my best friend, Amy, making her way toward me.
She slipped into the booth opposite me.
“Hey, do you want to go out tonight?” she asked.
“Uh, I don’t think so. I have a long shift and I didn’t get much sleep last night.”
Amy pulled a face.
“You’re no fun.” She pulled out a compact and started fussing with her hair. “I heard that the supes opened up a club down on Wilson.”
“They did?” I asked, suddenly intrigued.
It seemed weird that they’d do something so…human.
“Yeah, like anyone would go there.”
Amy was not a fan. She loved to gossip about them, but she’d never dream about going anywhere near them.
“I think I saw one today. Actually I walked into him by accident.”
Amy snorted.
“Surprised he didn’t turn you into a toad or something.”
I rolled my eyes. She was always making stupid little comments like that as though the supernaturals were fairytale characters. I mean that was how we all learned about them originally, but I couldn’t believe she wasn’t more curious about them.
“No, he just looked annoyed.”
And hot. But I didn’t say that part out loud.
“So you’ll be in here all day?” Amy asked.
“Yep. Why?”
“No reason. I guess I’ll find something else to entertain me. Catch you later,” she said, blowing a kiss.
I watched her walk out, wondering why the two of us were friends. Amy and I were in high school together, but after we left, we stopped having anything in common. Yet, we remained friends.
She was the party girl, I was more a stay-at-home kind of girl. At least around here. It was the same thing over and over and I didn’t want to spend my nights in a bar when I worked in one all day. Especially when Amy dumped me five minutes in to drape herself over some guy.
Besides, I had Leon. I didn’t need to go out anymore.
Finishing my drink, I got back to work.
Shortly after four, the bar emptied out. It had happened a few times lately. I think it was because we were so close to the supe district and it got dark early this time of year. Not that the supes were nocturnal, at least not all of them, but stupid stereotypes persisted.
“Why don’t you head home?” Frank said a half hour later.
“What?”
“It’s not going to get any busier, at least not until the hardcore alcoholics come in, but that will be after your shift ends. Go on home.”
“But I was going to stay late to make up the time.”
Frank gave me an ‘are you kidding me’ look.
Raising me hands, I said, “Okay, I’ll go. But let me know I can cover anyone’s shifts.”
He nodded and waved me off. I grabbed my things and left, actually relieved to go home early. I could make Leon some dinner and hopefully he’d get over my less than enthusiastic reaction to his music.
As I passed Cooper Street, I found myself looking for the man from earlier. It was dumb, he was long gone, but still, I took the time to look.
What is it like in there?
There were documentaries and interviews, but they wouldn’t show the real truth.
Remembering Amy’s disapproving comments, I forced myself to look away. She wasn’t the only one who thought like that and I didn’t need any more eyes on me. I already felt like everyone watched my every move because of my father.
A light rain started to fall as I reached my apartment. It was a modest two bedroom I shared with Leon. He used the second bedroom to rehearse, much to the annoyance of our neighbors.
Unlocking the door, I dropped my purse by the door and headed inside, wondering if Leon was home yet.
I heard a bump from the bedroom.
“Babe?”
Heading for the bedroom, I heard more bumping. In fact, it almost sounded like…
My heart pounded in my chest as I opened the bedroom door. I was right. The sound I heard was the headboard banging against the wall. And the reason became abundantly clear as I saw Leon’s naked ass as he pounded into a blonde on the bed.
“Leon!” I screamed.
He stopped and looked over his shoulder and I got a good look at the woman.
“Amy!”
She gave me a sheepish smile. “Oh hey, girl, you’re home…early.”

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