Werewolves Don't Wear Cowboy Boots

Prologue

Belfast, Ireland

Bridget did not remember seeing the bodies of her parents. She remembered the way she shivered with fear after her brother tucked her away into the closet, and the terror she'd felt when she couldn't open the door. She remembered the sounds of snarls and the whimpering of her brother -- or maybe it had been her own voice making those pathetic noises? And blood. Sprayed across the walls and pooling in the floor, there was no missing the blood. Even that, though, she'd barely glimpsed.

The young man who eventually pried open the closet door blocked much from her view when he drew her out and carried her through the dark house and into the night.

She cried for her mum and her da, and for Colum, and the man stroked her hair and made soothing noises. "There now," he said. "It will be alright, love."

"You have to go back for Colum. Colum's hurt!"

The man put her down on the back of a car, the chill of the metal penetrating her nightdress and making her shiver. "He'll be alright, little one. Is he your brother?"

She nodded through her tears. "C-can I go to him?"

The man patted her hair in a comforting sort of way and looked at her. He had a handsome face, with dark, kind eyes and long, curling dark hair. "Not just now. Are you hurt? Did anything bite you or claw you?" She shook her head and he smiled and squeezed her hand. "That's good, then. What's your name?"

"B-Bridget," she said in a trembling little voice.

"Well, Bridget, you can call me Bran. I'm going to see to it that you and your brother are safe. Do you understand?"

She nodded. Her gaze drifted to the strangers walking in and out of her home, and Bran looked at her with sad eyes. "There now, let's see about that brother of yours."

******

Note: Well, this is only mildly terrifying. Hello, there! After much quibbling and self-doubt, I finally decided to just do the thing and post a story already. This is a new experience for me. I mean, I don't generally share stuff (because, again, scary). But also, this is a first draft and I'm making it up as I go along. That last part if pretty typical for me, but showing it to the world as I'm in the process of making it up is .... certainly not. So ... here's hoping for the best!

Also, be aware that Bridget can have quite a colorful way with words when she's in a temper, and there might be some mild violence as the story progresses.