To the guest Cinnamon: First, thank you for the kind words. Second, you were correct in saying that the story idea is right up my alley, and I absolutely love it. It is very intriguing.
Reyna woke to a door opening. Her eyes snapped open, and she blinked in confusion. Reyna blinked a few more times and rubbed her eyes with the palm of her hands. What the hell had happened? She was supposed to take a nap for an hour or two and then steal everything. Instead, there was a setting sun outside. How long had she been asleep?
Reyna saw three people step into the room, and Chiron took up the rear. He seemed surprised to see her. Reyna stared back at him and examined the three different people. One was that woman with gray eyes. The same one that caused Reyna to get punched in the face because she couldn't just serve some idiot.
There was another woman who was the second bartender. She had been nice enough, from what Reyna remembered. Both of them were wearing backpacks over their shoulders. The third person was a man. Reyna slowly took all three of them in.
Her eyes were automatically drawn to the woman with gray eyes. Her blonde curls descended around her neck, and there was a serious look in her eyes. She was wearing her uniform, an orange shirt with blue jeans, and there was a laptop in one hand. Her other hand supported her backpack.
The other woman looked to be about the same age as Reyna. Granted, all the different creatures aged at different intervals. What was old for one was young for the other, and Reyna wished she didn't remember all of the differences. Reyna focused on the woman's eyes that seemed to change colors depending on what angle Reyna looked at her from.
The third man seemed to be the same age as Reyna or maybe a year older. He had blonde hair that his hands kept running through. Glasses rested on his nose, covering up blue eyes. They all looked surprised to see her.
Reyna couldn't bring herself to speak. She just stared at them, feeling like a deer caught in the headlights. Chiron walked towards her and smiled, "How are you feeling?"
"Better," Reyna answered truthfully. While her body was still sore, it wasn't as bad as before. She sat up and studied the three people. Reyna needed to get going.
"Why don't you have dinner with us?" Chiron asked before Reyna could make an excuse to leave. "We have plenty of pizza."
Reyna's stomach growled at the thought of food. She found herself nodding. Chiron smiled at her and spoke, "Annabeth, can you help me grab the pizza? Piper, plates? And Jason, can you help Reyna walk to the table?"
The three nodded and scattered without a word. The gray eyed one, Annabeth, walked back the way the group came. Chiron followed behind her. The other girl, Piper, walked towards the kitchen. And, the man, Jason, walked towards Reyna.
"I can stand on my own," Reyna began. She stood with much less difficulty than she had earlier in the day. Jason nodded and backed away. Reyna looked him up and down. He was standing straight, but he fidgeted every few seconds.
Reyna awkwardly walked past him and went to the bathroom. She took her time and wished that there was a window she could climb out of. Instead, she stared at the sink for a few minutes before finally washing her hands for much longer than she needed to. Then, she made her way back into the living room, looking for an open window along the way.
As she made it to the living room, she eyed the door. Chiron approached her and spoke, "If it's too awkward, we can save you some food."
"It's fine," Reyna said after a few moments. She stretched out and groaned as most of her body popped. "I should leave after, though."
"Are you sure? It's a full moon," Chiron informed. A small frown came to Reyna's face. A full moon? Since when? "There are not many werewolves in this city, but most of them are not kind. And I'm not sure if you know about the full moon."
"No," Reyna lied. She followed Chiron towards the kitchen. "What's so wrong with it?"
"There are many old stories about the violence of werewolves," Chiron began. They walked past the kitchen and towards a dining room. Reyna saw a large table with a number of chairs and a large space for Chiron to stand and eat. "Most of the stories are embellished by hunters. The same hunters that would track and torture werewolves and other creatures for fun."
"The embellished stories say that werewolves grow violent around the time of the full moon. They transform and lose their mind, killing everything in their path. It's nothing more than lies," Chiron finished with a bitter scoff. Reyna watched as cans of soda were passed around.
"What kind would you like?" Piper asked. Reyna just managed a shrug. Piper still smiled at her and gave her a can of Coke. Reyna took it with a quiet thanks.
"Werewolves do have difficulties controlling their emotions around the time of a full moon, but they won't just transform and kill people. That is a conscious decision that they make," Chiron explained. "They become hyper focused on one emotion during the full moon. It becomes super intensive for them. Did you know that a full moon is when werewolf will mostly likely commit suicide? If sadness is the prevailing emotions. The high point of this statistic is on the first full moon of winter."
"Chiron, you're ranting again," Annabeth interrupted gently. A sheepish smile came to Chiron's face. Reyna watched as the box of pizza was set on the table, and paper plates were passed around.
"Sorry," Chiron said. He looked at Reyna. "The point is that the hyper focus on one emotion can be dangerous. If the emotion is anger, the werewolf may lash out at the slightest thing that upsets them. It is usually the emotion that a werewolf experiences the most. Some months are sadness. Rarely is their happiness, but the werewolf must learn to control themselves."
"Or, they do something stupid," Reyna guessed. She knew a werewolf's pack would teach the young how to control themselves. Each werewolf was different, and not every method worked for everyone.
"They also get an excess amount of energy," Jason said as his fingers tapped on his soda can. His knee was moving enough to shake the table. "If they don't let that extra energy out, it only makes their emotions worse."
Reyna nodded. She knew that the easiest way for werewolves to get out that excess energy was sex. The only problem with that was how into sex werewolves could get. Around the time of the full moon, that hyper focus could be deadly. The world would turn red, and the werewolf could quite literally fuck their partner to death if they were a creature that couldn't handle it.
A human and werewolf having sex near a full moon? No go. Werewolf and vampire? Weird, but it could definitely work. Vampires were strong enough to take it. Ogres, cyclops, or any large creature like that? Well, Reyna knew from experience that the only time a werewolf could handle that was during a full moon.
Now, packs wouldn't allow their young werewolves to mate, so they mostly ran them around for a day straight until they wore themselves out. It became more difficult to run out energy like that as they got older. When a werewolf turned sixteen, violence and sex were introduced if you were in a pack.
Outside of a pack? Well, Reyna had to make due. She didn't have anyone who could teach her how to control herself, so she did the best she could. Reyna couldn't afford to transform and accidentally go crazy. She would probably have been put down by the police.
Reyna found that violence and sex were the best outlets for her. There wasn't many formal fight clubs anymore, so she usually had to turn to sex. Granted, it wasn't like she had a choice most of the time. Reyna sighed and shook her head, trying to suppress those memories.
This month, the sheer amount of running she did seemed to have calmed her. She would be relaxed this full moon, but this wasn't something she could repeat every month. Especially not the "being stabbed and running for her life" part.
"Do you think I'll be okay tonight?" Jason asked Chiron. Reyna glanced up in curiosity and nibbled on a piece of pizza. Her mouth was practically watering at the smell, but she was in public. It wouldn't look good to attack the food like a rabid dog.
"You'll be fine Jason. That's why we're here," Piper reassured. She reached out and rubbed Jason's arm.
Jason looked at her and frowned, "I'm just nervous."
"You'll be studying too hard to be nervous," Annabeth promised. "Finals are soon, and I know you've been slacking."
"Not everyone likes to study for hours a day," Piper teased. She ran a hand through her hair and gave Jason a bright smile.
"Let's hear that tough talk when you're scrambling at the last second to cram," Annabeth scoffed. Reyna looked at the table and continued to eat her food quietly.
Reyna knew humans and other beasts attended a school to learn things like math or history. Packs had their own schooling that would prepare their young for a life in the outside world, but not many werewolves left their hometown, or forest, to go too far.
As for attending school, Reyna never had. She had been taught how to read and write in her native language and then was forced to teach herself English as she grew up. Reyna couldn't read much English, and forget writing it. But, she could hold a conversation well enough.
"Just don't be nervous, Jason. You'll be fine," Piper reassured. Reyna watched the three of them carefully as she grabbed another slice of pizza. There was five boxes in the middle of the table, and Reyna realized she had already eaten half of one. She forced herself to slow down.
"Jason is a half-werewolf," Chiron informed. Reyna nodded slightly. "For a full werewolf to be born, just one of the parents has to have the gene. There is a chance that the gene will not properly develop, leading to a half werewolf."
A bright light came to Chiron's eyes as he spoke, "Half-werewolves do not keep all the traits of a full one. It all depends on luck. Some can still transform into a wolf, but they lack the extra strength and speed of one. It is the opposite for some."
A frown lined Chiron's face, "Most half-werewolves are kicked out of their packs, for something they can't control. It makes life harder for them."
"I didn't get the cool speed and strength," Jason began. "But, I can transform! I just have to deal with the emotions and mood swings during the full moon."
"Are you still weak to silver?" Reyna asked after a few moments. She had never actually met a half-werewolf before. In her hometown, they didn't make it long enough for her to meet them.
"Nope," Jason said with a huge grin.
"If my research is correct, only werewolves with increased strength and speed are weak to silver. Ones that just have the ability to transform do not have that weakness, but the amount of time they can stay changed is limited," Chiron explained.
"I'm able to do it for an hour," Jason said, looking proud of himself. Piper gently bumped his shoulder. Jason smiled at her. Annabeth studied the two with a look of amusement.
Reyna fell silent as the three friends talked to each other. Well, Piper and Jason talked about their studies. Annabeth opened her laptop and typed intensely with one hand while she ate with the other. Reyna felt eyes on her and then glanced at Chiron.
Chiron was keeping an eye on her and had a curious look on his face. Reyna glanced down at the box of pizza that she told herself she would stop eating from. An empty box stared back. So much for the whole don't give anything more away.
"I'm going to step outside," Reyna said after a moment. She slowly stood and made her way towards the front door. After stepping outside, Reyna took in the houses all around her. Most were moderately sized and had decorations of bright lights and candy canes littering the yard. Reyna shivered slightly as a harsh wind cut through her.
Winter was arriving, and it would make her life more difficult. Having to live on the streets was hard enough. Living on the streets during winter was near impossible, especially if she couldn't get enough food to keep herself going.
What other option did she have? Reyna couldn't go back to her pack. Not after what happened. And her birth family? Forget it. Reyna had made no friends and plenty of enemies. She hung her head.
Reyna could try to find an apartment, but she didn't have any money for a down payment. Hell, she didn't have any money at all. Everything she had went for the Lycaonthrope Remedium, or silver cure as most people call it.
Until her stab wound healed, she couldn't sell her body. Most beasts that paid for sex would get their money's worth, and Reyna knew she couldn't handle it in her current state. And, she was tired of being treated as a toy.
An angry sigh left her, and she slowly rolled her shoulders. Her eyes moved to the moonlight that shone down on her, and it lifted her spirits a little. Reyna closed her eyes. Tonight, she would sleep on Chiron's couch. As soon as the sun rose tomorrow, she would get the hell out of this city.