Enter the Wolf King

Chapter One

        Derek felt the unease prickle at the back of his neck as he and Chloe stood at the counter of the little coffee shop, he could have sworn he'd caught the scent of something familiar. The place was too crowded, all the scents and sounds blurred together. Derek's gaze drew towards the young man on the stool across the room, strumming on a guitar and singing to entertain the people gathered around him. From him Derek's gaze traveled towards the door, or more specifically to the guys who had followed the two of them into the building.

        "Derek,"Chloe hissed taking his hand, she'd noticed them as well. They tried to blend in with the crowd, one of the guys even bobbing his head along with the musician's tune.

        "I know," Derek said when her grip tightened on his hand. Taking a deep breath to try and calm himself, Derek looked around the room, as he did he found his attention brought back to the musician, and he was startled when the guy looked back at him. The young man held Derek's gaze, like he was trying to communicate with him as his voice carried over the crowd.

        "Derek," Chloe called to him again, dragging his attention back to her. "There's a back door, maybe we can sneak out?" Derek looked where she gestured, down a small side hall where the kitchen and the washrooms were located. He looked back at their pursuers, they'd spotted them and were maneuvering their way through the crowd. Derek looked at the musician again, they locked eyes a second time, the guy grinned and winked. Then just as the pursuers came close to him, he hopped off the stool, stumbling into the men and knocking them over,even going as far as to 'accidentally' whack one of them in the head with his guitar.

        "Go, go!" Derek said as he urged Chloe towards the back. He could hear the crowd kind of laughing, as the musician mumbled apologies while continuing to trip up the men at his feet.

        Derek and Chloe managed to slip into the crowd on main street, but only just barely as the men chasing them had shouted out for them. Holding tight to each other, the two maneuvered through the crowd, Derek's heart pounding, he could feel the panic beginning to bubble to the surface. The men couldn't be seen between all the other people around them, the muscle in his arm gave an involuntary spasm, and a fresh spike of panic surged through him as Derek and Chloe looked at each other. There was no way they could get out of this crowd and somewhere safe in time for the change.

        Suddenly, Derek felt an arm wrap around his shoulder, the weight forcing him to bend slightly and the sudden shock freezing him in his tracks. Derek turned his head just enough to see that the one belonging to the arm was the musician from the coffee shop.

        "Breathe," the man told him. Derek, who hadn't even realized he'd been holding his breath found himself obeying the command, and with a whole new level of shock he stared wide-eyed at this stranger as the overwhelming and unmistakable scent of werewolf washed over his senses, Derek felt his heart plummet into his stomach.

        "Don't worry about that right now," The musician said calmly in response to Derek's reaction. The guy tugged on him, and weaved the three of them effortlessly through the crowd, and before long they were far from the crowd and standing in a secluded little alley behind an apartment complex, pursuers effectively left behind.