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MAYA

“ I need you to postpone my meeting with the Mayor,” Derrick said over the phone. “I’ll be at my son’s baseball game, so move it to somewhere in the evening. Let me know when you’ve done it, so I will plan accordingly.”

“But…” I stopped talking as I heard the beep of the phone, he had cut the call.

“Fucker!” I cursed as I took off my headset and dumped it on the desk.

It was neatly arranged, like the rest of my house.

Thanks to the nature of my job, I was privileged enough to work from home, and while that came with troubles of its own, I found I enjoyed it immensely.

In my opinion, the benefits outweighed the troubles exponentially.

I reclined in my seat as I studied my monitor, before me was Derrick’s schedule for the week and there was nothing on it about a baseball game. What a douchebag, he was using the poor kid to lie. I wonder what excuse he gave his wife.

Derrick was just another rich businessman who believed everything should go his way because he had money. Because how on earth did he expect me to postpone a meeting with the Mayor of New York? As if he didn’t have better things to do.

I groaned as I twisted my neck to the side, getting the satisfying creak .

But then, what do I know? I’m just a Virtual Assistant, trying to make a living in New motherfucking York!

The city where everyone was trying to get at you, and if you dropped your guard for too long, you could lose everything.

Still, Derrick was my client, and I had to deliver. So, I went about composing an email which I forwarded to the Mayor’s secretary. When I was done, I ran my hand over my face as I let out a deep breath. I was tired.

I glanced over at the digital clock beside my monitor, the time was 07:43 PM.

And below the time, I could see the date.

I pushed away from the desk and got to my feet with a sigh.

I’d been on that chair for over four hours at a stretch, and as I stood up, my body wept for joy.

I stretched myself as I walked out of the study.

The rest of the house was quiet, just as I liked it.

It was exactly what I had intended when I rented a soundproofed apartment with top ventilation in the heart of New York.

I didn’t want the noise and filth of the city getting into my safe space, with my heightened sense of smell and hearing, it can make living unbearable.

This apartment cost me a lot, but I paid it willingly, the price to pay for comfort and being alone in the world. I stopped being a wolf the night I failed to turn, that was the night my life got destroyed and I’ve never recovered from it. How can someone recover from such a thing?

I managed to endure everything for the next two years, but the moment I clocked eighteen, I packed my bags and left the pack.

Turning my back on anything that had to do with wolves.

I was done with them, and I was going to live my life like a normal human being. Just get a job and make me some money.

Unfortunately, the life didn’t leave me alone. It followed me to the middle of New York. And every full moon, I am reminded once again of what I could be, but never will be.

I was cursed, even before I was born.

This is just because I am my father’s daughter.

The Lockworth bloodline was cursed by the witch Akira.

She had cast a spell that stopped Lockworth’s offspring from ever attaining their full wolf potential.

So, whenever a full moon emerged and I tried to change, the spell would block it and I would be stuck midway. An extremely painful experience.

My father never had any children after me, so I am the only one to suffer the curse. Over the years, we have tried everything possible to break the curse, but nothing can be done. The witches are scared of Akira and would not try to undo something she cursed herself.

And in the end, I gave up.

Nothing was working out, so I had to move on with my life and make something meaningful for myself.

But once every month, when the moon is at its highest point in the sky, I would turn again and stop halfway. My twenty-fifth birthday was a few days ago, and I have never turned into a wolf in my life. Everything that could be wrong with me, was wrong.

I made my way to the wall fridge and took out a bottle of water, the fridge was looking sparse and almost empty. I needed to restock as soon as possible.

I had been following astrology, so I would know the exact day the next full moon would come. And it was going to be today. I was ready for it. It’s always a painful process, but it has been happening for over nine years now and I have gotten used to it.

In my living room, my television was on mute but it was on the news channel. I walked past it and made my way to the window. It was shut against the world, keeping everything out. I parted the curtains and looked out over the nightlife of New York City.

I was seven floors above the ground and that gave me a good view of the city. It was breathtaking indeed, and the sight alone made everything worth it.

I saw the night sky as well, a few clouds were drifting lazily by. I could see that the moon was already climbing out. Another full moon for this night.

“Fuck…” I muttered as I thought of the pain that was about to come.

I was tired. This life was tiring. Because as far as I was concerned, there was nothing the full moon brought to me except pain and torment. Painfully reminding me of the fact that even though I come from wolves, I will never be a wolf.

I opened the bottle in my hand and drank its content in one go, letting the cold water course through my throat and cool me from the inside.

It was time.

I closed the curtains just as the moon emerged fully from the clouds and shone down on the entire city.

I stood still like a rock, closed my eyes, and silently counted down from five. By the time I hit three, a sharp pain shot through my ankle. Bringing me down to the ground with a scream. It always started with the ankle.

I was wrong, I was yet to get used to this.

“Argh!” I screamed again as blinding pain washed through my body in waves, the bottle slipped out of my grip and clattered to the floor, rolling away as I fell flat on my face.

I felt my face become full, as whiskers and fur began to grow out of my skin.

Then, my ears felt like they were being pulled by devilish pliers.

My head ached severely, it was as if a thousand hooves were marching heartlessly on it.

I curled up on the floor as my body was wracked with pain. As claws jutted out of my fingers, I clawed at the floor continuously. Just praying for everything to end. My eyes were shut tight, I could feel the tears burning through my eyelids.

And then, the ache in my head cleared and just behind my closed eyelids, I saw a face. It was so striking and handsome that for a second I forgot I was in pain. He was standing in the dark, yet, I could see him. It was as if he had a spotlight shining light over him alone. But I saw no light.

All I saw was him.

At once, the image vanished and the ache was back with full force. Almost causing me to contort my body in impossible ways.

When it was over, I lay on the ground, my entire body racking with sobs as the pain subsided. Slowly, the fur and whiskers withdrew from my skin and the headache passed. Leaving a bitter taste in my mouth.

I slowly pushed myself up, using the back of my hand to wipe my tears. That was it for this month. Until the next.

As I got up, the memory of my vision flashed through my head once more. I could still recall the face, it had appeared amid my torment and it brought me relief. And now that I was no longer in pain, I could think clearly.

I know who the strange man in my vision was.

He was going to be my mate.