The Werewolf Queen

by Brandi Elledge

  I knew how much it hurt him to think about my mom. If I did have questions, I wasn’t sure I could ask him. Somewhere in the distance, I could hear him starting his old pickup truck. As it rumbled to life, I tore into my mama’s letter.

  Baby Girl, my best friend, Hannah, can catch glimpses of the future, and she told me that I would one day have to choose between my life and another. She also told me I would never get to watch you grow up. That was a hard pill to swallow. When Hannah broke the news to me, I wanted to leave you and your brother a letter for when the time was right. I’m assuming the time is now. You see, sweet girl, Hannah knew what my decision would be, and since she knew I wouldn’t get to witness your journey first hand, she told me of what your life will be like. My girl will be powerful once she comes to age. That’s good and bad. She showed me that with a power like yours, there will be many that will come after you and try to make you their slave, using your power for their good. My dear friend has allowed me so many glances into the future that I feel like I was really there. With that being said, I am proud of what you will accomplish. Don’t tell your brother of this letter.

  When your brother is ready, he has his own letter that his father will give him, if he hasn’t already given it to him. I love you, baby girl. My little Sadie, you’re a rarity, a one- of-a-kind power manipulator. Always do good with your powers. I’ll be watching over you.

  Love, Mama

  I let the note slowly fall to the floor, as I threw the blankets off of me. So many emotions flooded me at once. Grief washed over me as my heart squeezed with love. A mother that I never met, but who’d loved me dearly, was giving me advice from the grave. My eyes became blurry as I stood up on shaky legs and made my way to the kitchen. I was in desperate need of coffee. There sat Jo in one of the mismatched vinyl kitchen chairs. “I’m guessing you knew?”

  “Well, duh. Seeing stuff is kinda my thing.” She gave me a sheepish look. “You mad at me?”

  “Miss all knowing, if I was mad at you, wouldn’t you know it?” I went to the cupboard and got down two mugs. After pouring us both some coffee, I handed one cup to Jo and slipped into a chair, facing her.

  She took a slow sip of coffee. “So, you want to talk about it?”

  “I don’t know what I want to do, Jo. I thought I was a dud, and now I find out I’ve got like the best power ever, but the catch is hordes of bad guys will probably come after me.”

  “I’m assuming my mother told your mother something?”

  “Yep.”

  “It’s more than just the obvious.” Jo pushed her short hair behind her ears. “Sadie, you’ve been marked as a key player. Your destiny is to find an object that will help save the earth. Others know this, so of course someone will try to kill you, and those trying to befriend you to use you.”

  “Kill me? No. I’m good. Thanks.” My hands shook around the coffee cup. “I don’t know what you’ve seen, but I’m just an eighteen-year-old girl that didn’t even plan to go to college. Who in their right mind would mark me to save the world? I mean, what kind of idiot—”

  “Shh!” Jo’s eyes were round as saucers. “You never know if she is listening. I’ve personally seen her help you with information in the future. If you piss her off, she might not help you later on. We don’t want to change fate.”

  “Um, you’re freaking me out right now.”

  “Good. You should be. This shit’s serious.”

  I gave her a steady look. “I’m a part-time waitress at Bubba’s, for Pete’s sake. Marked by fate or not, I am no match against killers. Against Degenerates. In case your psychic powers haven’t given you a clue yet, I’m not prepared for all of this.”

  Jo’s beautiful face scowled at me. “Well, this is the hand you’ve been dealt so—”

  “Just roll with the punches, right?”

  Jo got up and came around the table. She reached out to lay a hand on my shoulder. “Everything’s going to be—Sadie?” As soon as she made contact with my skin, I saw… myself in a battlefield with bodies all around me and a bloody sword in my hand. Jo flung herself away from me. “Holy crap, Sadie!”

  I looked up at Jo. “What? What was that?”

  Jo sighed. “You just siphoned off of me.”

  “And what exactly does that mean?”

  “It’s extremely complicated, but the gist is your power enables you to leach off of other supernaturals’ powers, basically.”

  My hands shook as I yelled, “So I saw the future? You’re telling me I was on a freakin’ battlefield?” No, absolutely not. Nope. Not happening.

  Jo studied me like I was a mythical creature, her eyes rounded and her mouth slack with shock. “Wow, I knew what you were to become, but, man, it’s still freaky.”

  I screamed at her, “You’re freaked out? You didn’t just see yourself on a battlefield with blood on your hands!”

  Jo wiped her palms on her jean shorts and sat back down in her chair. “Well, it could be worse. You could have seen yourself dead on a battlefield.” I just glared at her. “Listen, you’ve got to take a crash course, because we don’t want everyone coming to your party tonight to be as equally freaked as I am. I’m the only one allowed to be called crazy. It’s a title I’m proud of, and I think I wear it well. Plus, you might decide to leave this one-horse town one day, and you know the law. Non-supernatural beings cannot know that we exist. If they ever find out about us, then it upsets the natural balance of things, and it’s punishable by death.”

  “I’m not going to the party. I can’t.”

  “Yeah, that’s not going to work for me. You have to go, or it’ll set you on a different path.”

  Ugh. “Tell me what I need to do.”

  “You’re going to have to start putting up a wall when you’re around your family, me, and everyone in this town. That way you don’t siphon off their powers. Imagine placing one brick on top of another until there is a barrier on every side of you.”

  I put my head on the table. At least I had a power. I made a mental agreement with myself not to panic. This power could be viewed as a gift. I just had to look at that glass as half-full. “Okay, I can try to do that, and what else?”

  Jo resumed pacing back and forth in our tiny kitchen. “Until you know the extent of your powers and you’re more equipped to handle them, maybe you should try and refrain from touching anyone.”

  I looked up at her. “Is there a good side to this?”

  “Yes. You can use other supes’ powers to benefit you when you need them to. But not all supernaturals. Some will be off limits to you. I’m not really sure why, but I know it has nothing to do with them being too powerful. It’s more like some supernaturals don’t have an aura or at least one that you can see. I haven’t seen everything, so it’s kind of hard to explain.”

  “Well, that’s not reassuring, now is it? So, the ones that I will be able to siphon off of—wait, how do I even siphon off someone?”

  Jo gave me a nervous look. “I don’t know how much I can say. Just… look for the aura surrounding the supernatural being. Then imagine calling their aura into your own body. Because you siphon off of others, you can feel their powers when they are around you, and from what I’ve seen when you’re in immediate danger, that will help you. Kind of a heads up to watch your back.”

  “I guess I need to get through the night. Once my brother arrives tomorrow, we can work on figuring out my power together.”

  Jo looked down at her clasped hands. “I’m starting to cross a fine line of what I should and should not say.” She tapped a finger on her temple. “You know how this works. It’s like a static filled switchboard that never turns off. I can’t seem to figure out the right frequency. I know that’s why my mom went crazy.”

  I started to reach for her hand but caught myself just in time. She said no touching or I’d siphon. This might be harder than I’d thought. “Jo, you’re the smartest person I know. You’ll get the hang of this. I promise I won’t let you go crazy.”

&
nbsp; She gave me a half smile. “Maybe I’m already headed there. Regardless, there’s things I have wanted to tell you for so long, but I know without a shadow of doubt, it could alter your future. I can’t say much more but trust me when I tell you, you will learn how to use your powers, and you will have the best teacher.”

  My brother was pretty impressive. “I’ve got one last question. Before I passed out, I had a vision. Do you think it was me siphoning off of you, or do you think I was wigging out?”

  “What was it about?”

  “Two hot guys—”

  “Let me stop you right there, sister.” Jo held up a hand. “How hot were they? Like, make your ovaries scream?”

  Was she avoiding the question? “Yeah and then some,” I answered truthfully, as I thought of the dark stranger.

  “Descriptions? And what was the vision about?”

  “If I tell you about my vision, and you know who they are, will you tell me?”

  She started biting her bottom lip, and I knew she had no intention of sharing info with me. I gave her a small smile before I walked out of the kitchen. Jo was still asking questions, but I was no longer listening. This time I flipped her the bird. How do you like me now? I could hear her laughter as I walked down the narrow hallway. She couldn’t answer my questions, and if I was being fair, I understood. She said she would alter my fate, and who was I to mess with fate? Didn’t mean I wasn’t frustrated. I went back to my bedroom and flopped on my bed. I didn’t want Jo to see my frustration. After all, none of this was her fault. Apparently, the grass wasn’t always greener on the other side. I got what I’d always wanted, but now trouble might be on the horizon.

  Chapter Six

  When Jo and I arrived at the town hall, the place was already packed with family and friends. Even that conniving Stacy was there. Who invited the wall-crawler? Fortunately for me, the first person we ran into was my grandmother, who I affectionately called Granny. This woman was so terrific in every way; I was convinced that those that didn’t have a Granny got the short end of the stick. Her gnarled hands went to grab me up into a warm hug but Jo intercepted her. If Granny thought that was funny, she didn’t say anything. I’d eventually tell her what was going on if Jo didn’t beat me to it. But not tonight. Tonight was for celebrating. White as snow hair was pinned up in a bun on top of her head, highlighting her green eyes. Granny had dressed up for the occasion. Usually, she was in baggy sweatpants and a slogan T-shirt. Yesterday’s read, “BLINK…if you want me.” Most grandmothers channeled their inner Jackie Kennedy or Martha Stewart. Mine channeled her inner thug.

  She let go of Jo and whispered to us both, “There is young blood over by the punch bowl. He has been asking for you, Sadie, and he is drop dead gorgeous. Like phat! For the first time in forty years, I think I felt something in my who-ha. It was like wazzzap!”

  “Granny!”

  She patted her hair. “What, child? I might be old, but I’m still a woman.”

  Once again, Granny didn’t have her glasses on. If there was a hot boy in this town, I would have scouted him out a long time ago, and Jo would have stalked him. She was the best stalker ever. I was sure her psychic skills helped. Granny leaned in close to Jo, whispering something in her ear, when Dad walked over to us, smiling. “I’m so glad all my favorite girls are having a good time.”

  My smile fell from my face as he put a hand on my shoulder. Oh no. Something funny was happening. I concentrated on the man in front of me and was shocked when I saw what must be his aura. It was beautiful. I reached out to touch the light pink swirl and grinned when it curled around my hand. I dropped my hand in embarrassment after I realized what I had been doing. “Dad, your back is acting up again. Why don’t you go have a seat?” Everybody looked at me, eyes rounding in shock.

  Then Dad gave a false laugh. “Hmm, that’s interesting. It’s not annoying when I’m the one wielding the mind reading powers, but I’m not so sure how to feel about being on the other end.”

  Jeez, I had been here less than five minutes, and I’d already forgotten about my dang walls I was supposed to be building, even around my own family.

  Granny was a healer, just like my mama was. She laid a hand on Dad’s back, and he let out a hiss. After a couple of minutes, he smiled fondly at her. “Thanks, I was in quite a bit of pain.” Granny pinched him hard on the arm. “Ouch! What the heck was that for?”

  “That was for not coming to me when you first started hurting. How many times have I told you not to be so stubborn, Russell?”

  Jo shook her head at all of us. “I can’t tell you why, but trust me when I say we don’t want anyone here knowing you came into your powers, so build your walls constantly. Go mingle, birthday girl.” She snagged my dad’s arm. “I need to talk to you for a second.”

  They headed across the open space towards the foyer. Call me suspicious, but I was about to go and eavesdrop on that convo.

  Granny stepped in front of me, blocking my path. “Shoo. Go find the punch bowl. You’ll thank me later.”

  She gave me a little shove, and I headed in the opposite direction of the punch bowl. My luck, Granny was talking about Michael, and I would be stuck there for the next hour talking about nuclear fusion. Cute, but so boring.

  The sad part about living in a small town was when someone had a birthday or there was a special occasion, everyone in the town was invited. My face hurt from smiling, and I was tired of dodging Michael. I went outside to sit on the porch rail to get some fresh air. I needed to figure out if I was really marked as a key player. If I was, then I needed to know who to talk to about becoming un-marked. I mean, surely there was someone in charge.

  One minute I was looking at the beautiful garden and plantation oaks then poof—it all just disappeared. I couldn’t blame it on the punch bowl being spiked because thanks to my avoidance of Michael, I hadn’t had any punch. It took me a second before I realized I was having a vision, which was confusing because I was nowhere near Jo.

  The dark stranger pulled on his open collar and grimaced. “Okay, James, let’s try to make this as quick as possible. I feel like I’m in hillbilly hell.”

  Jamison stopped walking up the steps of the building. Wait. I recognized that street and the building. It was the town hall. “I happen to like this small town, CG. What do you find so distasteful?”

  He gritted his teeth. “You cannot possibly count this as a town when there is not one damn red light. The nearest airport is an hour away from here, and the worst part is I cannot understand a word anyone says. It’s like they are completely incapable of putting G’s and T’s on the end of their words.”

  As CG opened up the town hall door, Jamison laughed and clasped his brother on the shoulder. “Quit being so pessimistic. I like to think they talk like this because it’s more efficient. Quicker to the point without all those letters that aren’t needed, and you have to admit their drawl does sound charming.”

  “Let’s just find what we’re looking for and make sure we don’t leave here without it.”

  Both brothers stood out like a sore thumb. One light. One dark. Both were around six feet four inches tall and muscular; their suits fit them snugly. They scanned the crowd for someone when the busty brunette, Stacy, made a beeline for the brothers.

  James smiled his disarming smile and murmured to his brother, “Please let this be her. I call dibs.”

  The pretty brunette grabbed both brothers’ arms and purred, “Well, hello boys, I’m Stacy. I don’t know what has brought you to this small town, but I find myself very thankful. Would either of you like a drink?” She batted her eyelashes. “What can I get y’all?”

  Before James could say anything, CG said, “We’re looking for someone. Sadie Grey?”

  My heart sped up, but I couldn’t shake myself out of the vision. Poor Stacy looked like she was about to spit fire. “Well, of course, you are.” She made a big production of studying her nails. “I just saw the tramp dodging Michael as she slipped out to the back p
orch.”

  Both boys started moving towards the doors leading to the back porch.

  James turned around and winked at Stacy. “Thanks, sweetheart.”

  Stacy stopped pouting for a second to return the smile. “Anytime, big guy.” With that, she was on to her next pursuit. Freaking wall-crawler.

  The dark one opened the doors and saw a profile of a girl straddling the porch with her focus on the garden in front of her. His nose flared. Emotions welled up inside of him and then like a faucet, he turned them off.

  It was the blond one who broke me out of the vision.

  Jamison said, “I sure as hell call dibs.”

  Chapter Seven

  I blinked my eyes several times. Both boys were staring at me, and I realized that I didn’t see the future. I was seeing the present. I unabashedly studied two of the hottest men I’d ever encountered in my life.

  I hopped off the rail to go and search for Jo; she would know what to do, and this time I wouldn’t let her weasel out of giving me answers.

  The black haired boy stopped me from leaving. “Excuse me, are you Sadie Grey?”

  I gave a nod. I needed to remain calm. They didn’t know me. Or maybe they did? Maybe these were the bad guys my mom talked of. I couldn’t let them know I was scared to death. I crossed my arms over my chest and tilted my chin up. “Last time I checked. And you are?”

  “I am CG Bradford, and this is my brother, James,” CG said. “We hate to interrupt your birthday celebration, but we need you to go with us.”

  “So much for subtlety,” Jamison said.