Life’s Spiced Up with Some Werewolf Reads
Struggling to make ends meet while drowning in student debt, Sloane faces little sympathy from her wealthy, emotionally distant parents, who care more about appearances than her happiness. After an unpaid internship leaves her career in ruins, she struggles to build a future on her own. But is her disappointing life about to take an unexpected turn—or is she destined to keep fighting alone?
Grandma Ruth: I THOUGHT IT LOOKED CHEERFUL. Byron: It is visually overwhelming. I laughed. Visually overwhelming. That was exactly what it was. Without thinking, I downloaded the flyer. Five minutes later I’d straightened the alignment, cleaned up the typography, adjusted the colors, replaced the clip art, and exported a cleaner version. It was a professional…
The correct choice was clear. I’d always been excellent at identifying correct choices. Making them was more difficult. Sloane: Traveling around this area for a little while. Vague. Technically true, if traveling around the area included trips between my apartment, the grocery store, and the post office. Mason: What area? I froze. Patty: Don’t interrogate…
Byron: This equation is wrong. A photograph followed. The problem involved two cyclists leaving different towns at different speeds, because math textbooks were committed to creating unnecessary transportation emergencies. Hudson: It isn’t wrong. Byron: Then why doesn’t my answer match? Hudson: Because you distributed the negative incorrectly. Byron: I didn’t. Mason: You did. Byron: Nobody…
Julie: Those are lovely. Trevor: mail me one Sloane: I don’t think frosting travels well. Trevor: cowardice Hudson: Ignore him. They look great. The compliment made me stare at the tray longer than necessary. It had been less than two weeks. I knew that rationally, this wasn’t the real connection I felt like it was.…
Mom returned her attention to the documents. “Maybe through Millie.” “Great-aunt Millie?” I asked. “Possibly.” “How?” She turned a page. “I don’t remember.” Julie inspected one fingernail. “Wasn’t she adopted by Millie’s stepdaughter? You know, the one who married into the Marmell Pack.” “Great-aunt Millie never had a stepdaughter,” I said, though I immediately questioned…
“Of course it is.” I walked away before she had a chance to bring up some random grievance. The collection of explanations remained absurd and contradictory. Still, every version agreed on one important point: Sloane wasn’t related to me. It shouldn’t have given me such a wonderful feeling of victory, but it sure as hell…
Hudson: I’m not a machine. Sloane: You’re right. Machines usually come with manuals. Hudson: I don’t need maintenance reminders. Sloane: You ate most of a protein bar yesterday and considered the matter settled. I couldn’t argue with that. Hudson: You’d get bored after two days. Sloane: Is that a challenge? Hudson: Just a fair warning.…
Mason: Big enough to scare the shit out of everyone in the gymnasium. I read the message twice. A wolf. Not a mascot costume. Not a student called Wolf by people who were too committed to the bit. A literal wolf. What the hell? My stomach turned over. Hilary: Did anyone record it? Mason: I…
I played it. Julie stood in the same living room I had seen in pictures from family dinner. She smiled into the camera, wearing a tank top and shorts, raised both hands in a tiny flourish, and transformed. The white wolf from the patio photograph appeared. The fur at the end of its tail remained…
Patty: Physically, yes. He may, however, never recover emotionally from the trimming required. A picture of Trevor’s wolf appeared with one uneven patch near its tail. The animal looked deeply offended. I laughed again. That was the strangest part. The proof changed everything, yet nothing inside the conversations had changed. Patty was still hilarious. Trevor…