Blackmailing A Werewolf

Chapter 1

Tessa stepped outside and paused. Tipping her head she stared at the swollen moon as it hovered above the pine trees. Tomorrow night it would be whole, and so would she. The moon tugged at the wolf beneath her skin, made it curl around her heart flooding her veins with the thick blood of the wolf. Not tonight. Tonight she must play her part of the human daughter of the Fletcher family enjoying a movie night with her brother. Tonight she had to pretend to be human, even if there was no one around to see her.

Shuffling towards the log store, slippers padding against the moss covered stones, her eyes sort out of the darkest shadow in the courtyard. The spots where things like her go to hide. Not that her pack would ever let another wolf on their territory. The head of a rake twists into something more before her eyes, a drooling zombie lumbering towards her. She blinks - it's gone. Maybe she shouldn't watch so many Walking Death marathons with Walter after all.

Sighing, she collected the logs, ignoring how they pricked her fingers the way the cold did her neck. A twig snapped. She froze. Glancing to the stone wall which separated her house from the woods she searched the shadows looking for something out of place. That's the thing though everything looks out of place in the woods at nighttime.

"Walt, stop trying to scare me." Older brothers - it's in their job description to torment little sisters and scare the life out of them. Any second now Walter will pop from the shadows with a cheeky grin and a cackling laugh. Except, when she glanced into the house the silhouette of Walter's head in front of the fire mocked her. Licking her lips she hugged the logs to her chest. The wind howled and slammed into her back.

Nothing is here. She would be able to smell it if it was.

"Stop being stupid." She muttered under her breath. The trees don't hide a boogeyman, or zombies, or vampires. It must have been a badger. Nothing lives in the woods. She knows that. The only thing dangerous outside right now is her.

Yellow eyes appear over the wall.

Wood clatters onto the cobblestones, with a shout Tessa fingers became claws as naturally as her skin prickled with goosebumps. The wolf's blood is thick within her, veins bulging out of her hands turning into a medallion yellow colour. Growling, her canines elongate around her tongue and she snaps them at the eyes.

Behind her, a light flicks on in the farmhouse casting a djon glow over the courtyard and there is a thunder of footsteps.

And there he is perched on the stone wall, yellow eyes slowly bleeding into their usual azure blue. Raised veins melting into his creamy skin, his bare feet painted in mud.

"Walter you idiot!" Tessa grabs a log and lobs it at her brother. His hands snap out and he catches the log, his claws piercing the barks. Laughing he plucks the log and tosses it behind him like it was a piece of lint and his strong Lancashire accent says.

"Don't be such a scaredy wolf."

"I hate you!" She chucked another log forcing him to duck, throwing his arms out to keep his balance. A human wouldn't have moved so quick, a human would have been smacked in the face by the log, a human would have fallen and impaled themselves on the gardening tools beneath.

"It's not my fault you are so jumpy." He jumps off the wall, his ash curls fall into his eyes, with a laugh he brushes them aside. "I don't know why, after all you are the scariest thing in these woods."

"You are so dead." The tightness in Tessa's chest made her want to scream and cry at the same time. Walter's pranks always had that effect on her, flaring her nerves and emotions in the way only a sibling can. She jabbed her gnarled claw at the window. "You seriously made a dummy to trick me into believing this."

"You gotta put the effort into this kind of stuff, if you want the end result to pay off." Walter stood in front of her craning his neck to look at her with a crooked smile, he ruffled her hair. "Besides, I needed a dummy to fool the dummy."

"Say that again." Grunting Tessa planted her hands on his chest and shoved him backwards. Except he didn't move. He gave a wolfish grin.

"You're gonna have to try harder than that cub."

She shoved him again with a shout. This time he stumbled backwards, throwing his arms out for balance. She smiled. How dare he call her a cub! She wasn't some cub anymore he could boss about, she should have known better than to fall for one of his games. Tears pricked at her yellow eyes.

"What is going on out here?" The backdoor smashed open and they cringed as the light bombarded the night. Tessa ducked her head letting her strawberry hair conceal her from her mum's gaze. Sally Fletcher stood in the doorway, fluffy dressing gown drowning her, but not distracting from the scowl on her face which could melt metal. She has the kind of stare which could make Medusa into stone. "Tessa! Don't fight with your brother."

"B-but he is the one who started it!"

"Walter-" Sally snapped her hands to her round hips.

"Snitch." Walter interrupted lunging for Tessa. Ducking beneath his swinging arms Tessa scampered away, he always forgets her wolf is the fastest. Or maybe he pretends not to acknowledge that fact. After all it can't be easy knowing your little sister is going to be the alpha one day and not you.

"Stop it. Both of you." Eyes flaring a brilliant bloody burgundy Sally stepped between the two. The ear of her bunny slipper flopped over and her claws poked them in the chest. The finger with the alpha ring, a curling wolf with a winking rugby eye, jabbed Tessa in the chest. It made Tessa's wolf shiver, urging her to roll over and present her belly. A sign of submission to the alpha. "I thought I said you two could only watch one more episode tonight if you behaved."

"We only watched one episode last night..." Rubbing his neck, Walter put on his charming smile. "Technically it's the next day now so..."

"Do not get smart with me, mister. And what are the two of you doing out here half transformed. Any jolly camper could walk past and see you."

"It's half two in the morning mum. I think all the campers will be in their beds." Tessa smirked when she met eyes with Walter. They both rolled their eyes. General parental annoyance always seemed to drive them together.

"You never know who could be watching Tessa. You need to remember that." Shaking her head, Sally's bob of brown hair spun out around her as she turned back inside. "Bed now, both of you."

"Yes mum."

Puppies, they trailed after.

A twig snapped. Tessa paused. Hand on the threshold of the house holding her breath she strained her superior hearing. Nothing. Only the sound of a badger scurrying through the undergrowth. Sighing she shook her head.

No more television for her tonight.

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That's all for now - bye bye!