Once Upon a Wolf

Chapter 1

CHAPTER 1

Present day, a small town in Minnesota

"You're dating a what?" I asked, amused, almost laughing as my fingers tugged at my upper T-shirt, adjusting my name work tag. A small cream badge with my name 'Zoey' on it.

I stared with a questionable brow at my best friend, Alice, of fifteen years. I shook my head, clearly, she was more deluded than I thought. I knew once she dated the hottest guy I ever saw on the face of the planet, it would make her bonkers. But this... this was too much.

Alice rolled her eyes and bit the inside of her cheek. "Shit Zoey, I knew you wouldn't believe me." She tapped her left foot. "I'm telling you; I think Brett might be a werewolf!" she grabbed my arm and looked at me with unsmiling eyes.

"Ha-ha-ha-ha!" I laughed out loud and uncontrollably. "So, now you're dating a werewolf? That's peachy." I giggled that my stomach cackled and gave her the thumbs up. This was too out of the blue. I continued packing out the DVDs onto the top shelf. Yes, I worked at the only DVD shop still operating in my small town of Hopkins. But hey, business survived. It seemed the old folk still enjoyed popping disks in and out of DVD players.

Alice grabbed a few DVDs and looked over some old romcoms from Kate Hudson with her mind distracted. I eyed her, upset she left me alone to fend for myself. Ever since she met her boyfriend- oh, I forgot, wolf-boy, exactly eleven months and fourteen days ago, I hardly ever saw her. Bloody lost her to her phone and daydreams.

Does long relationships even work? The dude lives all the way in Oregon, somewhere in the woods, for crying out loud!

"I'm being serious, Zoey. There's something weird going on." Alice thought out loud. Now I lost my best friend in freaking delusions.

I sighed and pursed my lips, watching Alice gaze at the Star Wars: The Last Jedi clutched in her hands. She hated sci-fi! "Maybe there's something going on with you, Ally? How can you think your boyfriend is a fairy-tale creature? How can you think that's even possible?" I questioned.

She shook her head. "I think I've seen something." She whispered and bit her lower lip.

My head turned left and right down the third aisle where we stood. "Why are you whispering? We're freaking alone in the store." I chuckled.

"IT'S SAFE TO YELL OUT THAT YOU'RE DATING A WEREWOLF!" I teased.

"That's not funny." She jabbed my left rib. I flinched from the pain. It freaking hurt.

"That's shit is funny. Just a little." I looked at her and her eyes dropped to her auburn hair as she played the locks between her fingers. Alice looked like a bikini model and had a body like one with blushing red hair. I wasn't exactly trendy dressed in tomboy clothes. My thick black hair, I always kept in a ponytail, matched my pale tanned skin. I mean, how can light brown skin be pale? That's right, mine!

But I didn't care much about looks, not as much as Alice did with her pouty pink lips.

I exhaled in defeat and rubbed the side of my temple. "Ok Alice, what did you see or notice?" I had to indulge my friend's fantasy.

"You'll just laugh." She shook her head bitterly.

"C'mon, I promise I won't." I crossed my heart like a good little girl.

"You're the only person I can feel safe to express myself." She continued, drawing closer. "You don't have any other friends to go blabber this to."

I tilted my head. "Oh, jeez, thanks." I chuckled with the pop of my brows.