A Werewolf Fantasy

"I beg your pardon!" Erin said haughtily. She didn't know which one annoyed her the most - that this strange man had the audacity to call her his mate or that she felt he might be telling the truth.

"Erin, there you are!" Farida said and waltzed into the back room in her flowing chiffon kimono with beautiful Aztec prints. Her chocolate skin glistened with health and her full Afro hair looked like a dark halo around her head. "I see you've finally met our boss, Mr. Devon Grey," Farida continued cheerfully, completely oblivious to the tension in the room. "Devon, let me officially introduce you to our new intern, Erin Brown."

Erin couldn't believe her ears - this weirdo was the owner of the gallery? Great!

"This is the Devon Grey?" she asked incredulously.

"The one and only!" replied Farida proudly.

While Devon may not be a known face due to his reclusive lifestyle, his talent and work made him famous in Alaska and the entire northwest region of the country.

His paintings had been featured in several art exhibitions around the country and he had also won many awards for his outstanding pieces. Curiously, not many people knew what Devon looked like and Erin could now see why - the guy may be a genius with a paintbrush, but he wasn't quite right in the head.

"Oh, what a... pleasure to finally meet you in person," said Erin, unconvincingly.

"Sure," he said, still looking at her strangely. He finally turned to Farida and said, "I'll be in my office if you need me."

"Of course," she said and stepped aside to let Devon pass on his way out of the back room. Once they were alone, Farida returned her full attention to Erin.

"So, are you ready to start? Are you excited?"

"Yes, and yes," said Erin with a laugh. She loved Farida's bubbly personality and she was sure that working with her for the next couple of weeks would be fun. "Great. Now let's begin with the inventory. Some customers will be stopping by today to pick up a few pieces and we will..."

As Farida continued talking, Erin couldn't help but be drawn once again to the giant wolf painting that featured a werewolf with an uncanny resemblance to her. Now that she had seen Devon in person, she knew without a shred of doubt that he was the male werewolf in the painting.

But how could he have known her? He may not have a remarkable face, but Erin was sure that if she had ever met him before, either in human or wolf form, she would have recognized him today thanks to her sharp memory. "Outstanding, isn't it?" Farida asked beside her, jerking her back to reality.

"Huh? Oh, I'm sorry, I got carried away with my thoughts," Erin apologized, slightly embarrassed. "What were you saying?"

"The painting." Farida nodded at the masterpiece that has held Erin's attention since the moment she set eyes on it. "It's breathtaking, isn't it?"

"Yeah. Is this one of Devon's works?"

"Yes. He spent months working on it in his office and as soon as he finished it last week, he brought it down here."

"Why here? Why not out there in the main gallery?"

Farida shrugged. "I don't know. He has vehemently refused to display it and wouldn't say why. You can't imagine how frustrating it is for me to leave this beautiful body of work to remain hidden here like this. Trust me, if this baby makes it to the front, it will be snatched up within seconds."

"I know," Erin agreed. "Does it have a title?"

"A Werewolf Fantasy," replied Farida quietly. "I love it."

"Very apt."

"And there's a story too. According to Devon, that stone in the painting levitating above the wolves is called the dream stone, passed down from generation to generation by werewolf ancestors. Legend has it that the stone has the power to take the keeper to their past or future to seek the truth they wish to know."

Erin replied with a raised eyebrow and Farida raised her hands in surrender.

"Don't look at me, I didn't make up the story, Devon did. And the best part? There is an actual stone to prove that this werewolf legend thingy is true."

"Are you serious?"

"Hold on, let me show you," said Farida, and she walked over to a small desk at the end of the room and retrieved a small tan pouch from the drawer. She brought the pouch to Erin and emptied the content onto her open palm. The translucent stone was cool to the touch and was the size of a large lemon. It looked like a diamond but it didn't have the luster to qualify as one.

"It's it's beautiful," Erin whispered, mystified. "Where did he get this?"

Farida shrugged. "He didn't say. Besides, I kinda believe he made that story up to give the painting an air of mystery, not that it needs that to sell by the way."

"You may be right," Erin said, her eyes still glued on the stone.

“And on that note, I say we get on with our work for today," said Farida.

"Sure," replied Erin, handing the stone and pouch back to Farida for safekeeping. She couldn't shake the feeling that there might be an element of truth in Devon's story about the stone. It may all sound somewhat woo-woo to Farida, especially the bit about werewolf ancestors since she was human, but for Erin, it was believable.

Her werewolf ancestry thrived on legends and many of them were true, so this story about the dream stone might just be legit after all. She made a mental note to ask her sister-in-law, Aubrey, about it later tonight at the Full Moon Feast.

***

Six hours later, it was time for Erin to pack up her stuff and go home after a busy day of work. Who would've thought there was much work to do in an art gallery?

Farida had been such a great supervisor, patiently taking her through the gallery inventory, showing her the basics of curating remarkable pieces of art, guiding her through intricacies for displaying the right pieces on the main floor, and which spots were best for different paintings depending on their sizes and visuals. It had been such a wholesome experience for Erin that she couldn't wait to come back to work again tomorrow.

She couldn't help but notice that she didn't get another glimpse of Devon after their awkward meeting in the morning. As she backed out of the parking space in front of the gallery, she thought she saw someone stepping away from a window upstairs just as she looked up. She suspected the person might be Devon and she wondered why he had acted so strangely with her earlier. She wondered if he had never participated in the Full Moon Feasts and how come she had never noticed him before.

There weren't many werewolf packs in their clan and newcomers were always introduced on their first attendance, so if indeed he had attended before, she would have seen him and recognized him when they met today. And he'd called her by a strange name too - what was it? Edwina? Or was it Edna?

Erin shook her head as if to clear away her thoughts. The more she thought about her encounter with her new boss, the more the situation confused her. For the first time in her adult life, she was looking forward to the feast tonight because she was sure that was the best place for her to get answers to this new puzzle that she has stumbled on with Devon.

***

Later that night, barely an hour before midnight, she ran beside her parents as they made their way to the forest near the Denali Mountain where they would be congregating with their fellow werewolves.

When they arrived at the rendezvous, other clan members were already present and everyone was in their werewolf form. As usual, the Chief, Gary Silver, took his spot on a raised boulder in front of the gathering to address everyone. He was a majestic silver wolf with an air of authority that is befitting of his position.

"Family, friends, welcome to this quarter's Full Moon Feast," said Gary proudly. "You all know how much I love these meetings because it's our only way of keeping in touch with our werewolf ancestry over time. I am glad that centuries of living among humans have not robbed us of the memory of who we truly are."

There were murmurs of agreement across the gathering. Erin tried not to look bored, but she feared that this intro from Gary was the beginning of a long windy speech that might not end any time soon, and that was one of the reasons why she hated coming for this feast thing.

"Being that we are very few compared to our human neighbors, it is important that we stay close and never miss an opportunity to welcome a new member into our fold. With that said, I would like to introduce to us a new member of our clan; a werewolf who has achieved notable feats in his chosen career, won accolades for his admirable talent, and has only recently set up a business that is already creating employment for locals. Please welcome into our midst, Devon Grey." Erin felt the hairs on her spine rise when she heard the name. Devon was here? How come she didn't notice him before?

As if to answer her unspoken question, a huge grey wolf stepped out from the gathering and made his way to the front to stand beside Gary. When he turned around and faced everyone, Erin recognized him as the wolf she had seen in the giant painting at the gallery.

She didn't know whether he had spotted her in the crowd already, but the moment he turned his face to look in her direction, their eyes met and she saw the recognition registered there.

"In case you are wondering why none of you have ever seen Devon before," Gary continued speaking. "It is because he has been quite the nomad, traveling from place to place to practice his craft, but now, he is finally ready to establish some roots and make his home amongst us. It is my pleasure to also announce that Devon has found his mate and I am hoping that he will reveal the identity of the lucky she-wolf to us tonight."

Erin stiffened where she stood when the last part of Gary's speech sank into her brain. Devon had told her this morning that she was his mate but she had chucked that aside as some sort of confusion on his part.

Now here he was, about to announce to the entire clan that she was his mate, when she doesn't even know him. Didn't she have a say on who she's supposed to spend the rest of her life with? Was she supposed to just accept this stranger as her mate with no questions asked?

"Over to you, Devon," Gary said excitedly. "Please, go ahead and tell us who your mate is. The suspense is killing me."

There was a smattering of laughter in the gathering because everyone could relate to Gary's sentiment. Announcing a mate on a night like this was one of the most auspicious things to happen in the werewolf clan.

While everyone eagerly awaited Devon's announcement, Erin found herself digging her claws into the cold earth, dreading the words that were about to come out of the grey werewolf's muzzle. With her heart pounding furiously in her chest, she stood and watched helplessly as Devon opened his mouth to speak.