Damian's Wolf - 1. A Day in the Life of a Wolf

Jordan bit into a burger hungrily. He had been out all night and would have a repeat tonight.

“I see you’re on your period.”

A young elf sat across from the man, a playful smile on her face.

“Shut up Arisa,” Jordan muttered, taking another bite.

Arisa smirked, reaching to grab a fry from Jordan’s platter. A sudden growl stopped her in her tracks, and she held up her hands.

“Okay, okay, I get it,” she said. “I was wondering where you had gone off to last night.”

“It hit around eight. I was in class, had to ditch.”

He finished the burger and started in on a second.

“You know, I’m surprised no one has found out about you. We all know the history of your people-”

“They aren’t my people,” Jordan growled. “I never asked for this.”

“Down boy,” Arisa laughed. “I just don’t see why you insist on hiding it. Don’t you long for those with your same… affliction?”

“Disease, you mean.”

‘Call me a disease all you want. You were grateful for me last night.’

Jordan scowled, picking up a fry. He hated when his other self spoke. The wolf was always awake during the full moon.

He tried to block him out, tried to keep the wolf from speaking. But he never could, and it upset the werewolf. How was he supposed to become a mage if he couldn’t get the willpower to keep the parasite in his brain silent?

“You only hate it because he never told you,” Arisa accused. “Face it, if Eric had asked you, you would have jumped at the chance to be a wolf.”

Both Jordan and his wolf growled at the name and Arisa smacked his nose.

“Don’t growl at me. You know I’m right.”

Her face lit up.

“You know what you need?”

Jordan sighed.

“For the last time, I’m not getting laid. Never again. Look at what happened the last time.”

He stood up, pushing his fries toward Arisa.

“I need to go catch up on last night’s lesson,” he said, turning to walk out the door.

The streets of Astara were full of elves and humans going about their day, the sun rising into the sky. Jordan jumped on his motorcycle, kicking the engine to life with a roar. The bike was a purchase made in a moment of weakness. It made him feel powerful, like he had at least some control over his life.

He hated it. Jordan wasn’t some edgelord trying to turn heads. But he couldn’t just get rid of the bike. His symbol of freedom had become yet another thing locking him into a miserable existence.

There were others out there like him, packs that looked after their own. But he had no interest in joining a pack, of being watched by society as a curiosity. He was doing just fine by himself. A year alone as a werewolf and counting. And despite his wolf’s urgings, he was not about to change anything.

A commotion caught the werewolf’s eye as he pulled up to his studio apartment. Glancing at the alley next to his home, Jordan spotted a calico tail vanishing behind a garbage can, and he smiled, his mood instantly lifting. The neighbourhood cats had been avoiding him since… the change. But now it looked like they were returning finally.

Jordan unlocked his door, stepping inside the tiny apartment. He felt like collapsing on the bed right away, but he also knew he wouldn’t be able to sleep anyway. Not with the moon full.

Grabbing a bowl, he filled it with milk and set it in front of his door, hoping he wouldn’t forget it was there tonight. He wanted to encourage the cats, and he hoped the milk would help.

‘Cats…’ his wolf scoffed. ‘Who needs them?’

Jordan growled. He removed his shirt, walking into the bathroom.

“Everything was fine with my life until you showed up,” he snarled, turning the shower on.

The pipes rumbled as the water sprayed out, lukewarm the hottest it would get. The wolf in him hated the water, but he would just have to suffer. Jordan always enjoyed relaxing after a night spent under the moon. It was one of his few pleasures and nothing was going to take that away.

Jordan turned on his television as he dried his short brown hair, needing some kind of noise in the deafening silence of his apartment. Sometimes being alone was just too damn lonely.

“We all know about the pockmarks on the far side of the moon. They weren’t made by asteroids. Who else could have put them there but aliens? And there is the case of Te Hara pei Arudan, the fight of the werewolves over 500 years ago. Multiple accounts spoke of a strange red flash that killed one of the observers. No weapon at that time could have that kind of power. The answer? Aliens-”

Jordan changed the channel with a sigh. All these conspiracy theories about the world. Why couldn’t the history channel just talk about history?

He wrapped the towel around his slender frame, pulling back a curtain over the window looking into the alley. No cats in sight. Jordan hoped he hadn’t scared the animal away.

Opening the fridge, the werewolf grumbled. There were no wolf potions in the fridge and he didn’t have the money to buy a new batch.

“Looks like I’m running again tonight.”

“As we should. Why bottle up who you are?” his wolf said.

Muttering darkly, Jordan grabbed an energy drink and closed the fridge. He grabbed a book from the short shelf near his bed and settled into the bed. Maybe getting lost in a story would help his mood.

Five hours and one neko/elf romance later, the werewolf stood and stretched, listening to his back crackle. He needed to get ready for work, as tired as he was. At least he didn’t have class tonight.

Jordan dug through his dresser, searching for clean clothes. He needed to do laundry and had planned on cleaning tonight, but with the full moon, his plans were put on hold.

“I should have done laundry instead of reading…”

But it was okay. He found a clean set of clothes. Jordan was good for one more day.

Dressing quickly, Jordan checked his phone, making sure he was still early. He was tired and didn’t want to drive to work. Luckily, the bookstore was only a half-hour walk away.

The werewolf grabbed his keys, making sure the dog door was unlocked before locking the main door. He noted with a smile that the milk bowl was empty, and slid the bowl through the door. Turning back to the street, Jordan began walking.

It was nice being around so many books. But it was such a pain having to shelf all the new ones. It did give him a chance to see the new releases though. Some of them were pretty cool Jordan reflected as he slid the last book into place.

The door to the shop dinged as someone walked in and Jordan turned to look at the customer. A figure stood awkwardly in the doorway, baggy clothes and a grey hoodie hiding any defining features. Jordan couldn’t even tell if it was a man or a woman, let alone what race it was.

“Can I help you?” he asked.

“I- I’m just browsing…”

A man then, though the voice was a little high. Probably came in seeking shelter from the wind.

“If you need anything, let me know,” the werewolf said, making a conscious effort to avoid peering into the hood.

If his customer didn’t want to be known, it wasn’t his business.

His wolf was less polite.

“Smells like a stray. We should bring him into our pack.”

Jordan ignored the thought, returning to behind the counter and picking up a book about nekos. The wolf was insistent though, and Jordan found himself spending more time watching the mysterious person than reading.

He caught a peek of the man’s face, smooth with large almond eyes. It was like no face he had seen before, and it drew him in. He wanted, no, needed, to know this person.

The man vanished behind a shelf, and Jordan set his book aside. He needed to sweep anyway. Grabbing a broom, the werewolf made his way through the store, taking his time as he picked up the dirt off the floor.

Finally, he found the man seated crosslegged, a large book in his hands. Jordan saw a picture of an armoured elf fighting a wolf in the book, and he smiled.

“That’s one of my favourites,” he said.

The man jumped, looking up guiltily.

“Sorry,” Jordan apologised. “I’ll let you get back to your reading.”

“No, that’s okay. I should get going,” the man sighed, replacing the book on the shelf. “This isn’t a library after all.”

“You don’t have to leave on my account,” Jordan said. “I would never want to get between a reader and a good book.”

“No, really, I should get going. I’m supposed to be job hunting. I just came in here for a quick break.”

“Oh? Well, good luck with your search,” Jordan smiled.

“Thanks.”

The man turned toward the door, taking a few steps before stopping.

“Actually, you aren’t hiring by any chance, are you?”

“I’m not sure,” Jordan said apologetically. “If you’d like you can leave your number and I’ll ask my boss.”

The man shuffled his feet uncertainly.

“Um, actually that’s okay,” he mumbled.

He hurried out of the store before Jordan could say anything. The werewolf blinked, watching the figure run down the road.

“Fuck… I didn’t even get his name…”