text: Reluctant Werewolf Being a werewolf wasn’t my defining characteristic, though there would be people who said otherwise. I just wanted to run my coffee shop and have enough money to break even, and to be left alone. An introvert I was not, not exactly. I’m a people person, but there are only so many times that fellow werewolves and vampires could come in, pretending they were there for coffee but actually heckling me, that I could deal with. Before I was bitten, I prided myself on being able to control my temper; I was pretty much a pacifist, unless I saw someone coming to harm. Now it felt like my anger was constantly bubbling just beneath the surface of my skin, and all it took for me to lose it was a minor incident. How foolish I’d been, not believing in monsters. They were all too real, and they were annoying. I walked downstairs and began to prep everything, unlocking the doors so my employees can come inside for their shifts. I make myself a cup of strong, black coffee, still fatigued from the night before. One of the baristas, Caleb, walked inside, cheeks flushed and chapped from the brutal wind. “Morning, Leo,” He said, sitting down at a table before he clocks in. I brought him a cup of coffee, along with milk, sugar, and cream. He gave me a grateful smile in reply as I set it on the table. “I hate to be the bearer of bad news,” He said after taking a few sips, “But the vampires are lurking again.” “Again?” I cried, rolling my eyes so hard it felt like they were going to fall out of their sockets. “At this rate, I’ll have to get a damn protection order. This has gotten way out of hand.” Leo smirks over the rim of his mug. “I don’t even get their problem with you. It’s not like you bother them.” “As far as I know, I don’t *bother* anyone! I just work and go home!” I said, exasperated. I didn’t want the authorities involved, necessarily, but I was so tired of being heckled for no apparent reason. It wasn’t my fault I’d been bitten, after all. I’d just been in the wrong place at the wrong time. As if reading my thoughts, a vampire walked up to the door, all clothed in black, a scarf around his neck to protect him from the cold. “Yo, Leo! You got any coffee? I have money!” He called through the frosty glass, waving a twenty at me. His fanged teeth were bared in a smirk, bright ruby eyes glinting in the winter morning. “You and I both know you don’t want any coffee, Vlad. You want to come in here and bother me.” He widened his eyes innocently, though his shoulders shook as if he were holding in laughter. “Who, me? I’d never. And besides, who are you to turn down a paying customer?” “Fuck off. You want some coffee so bad, you can hit up a Starbucks,” I growled, and to my own horror, it came out as a low, deadly snarl with a powerful timbre. Caleb was watching the exchange, and he smirked; I wondered if he was wanting to flip Vlad the bird. Vlad just shrugged, laughing. All he wanted was to get under my skin, and he’d succeeded. “I’ll be back later, Leo. With some friends this time.” “You’re lucky I’m not calling the police! Get out of here before I rip you to shreds!” I watched his retreating back as he walked down the street. When he turned the corner, I turned the closed sign to open. \*\* My next problem came at lunch time, which was already a harried time for us, even with three employees and myself. I was no Starbucks, but I had to admit that I made some damn good coffee. Our chef, Sam, took pride in what he put in the windows under the counters, both sweet and savory: paninis, muffins, sandwiches, cakes, soup, cookies. The kid was half the reason I got so much business; everyone loved his food, including me. If I could have, I would’ve hired him as my personal chef. Caleb was in the middle of serving a tray of drinks to two sets of parents and their toddlers when the werewolves walked in. I groaned; how many variations of the word no did I have to use for them to understand? The local werewolf tribe had been trying to recruit me since I’d been bitten, and I wanted no part in it. I didn’t enjoy my disease; I didn’t use my strength and new sight to any advantage. I liked pretending I was normal, and the monsters in my town seemed determined to shatter the illusion.