Good morning, Ladies,” Mary said. Her voice was bright, cutting through the crisp morning air.

  ?The girls woke with the pack. The sun was just starting to crest the trees, and the forest floor was damp with dew. “I'm glad to see your wolves are well,” she said, reaching down to stroke Fred, who leaned into her hand like a puppy.

  ?“Sorry, Sarah told me you didn't want her hunting but...” Kim started, her voice a little rough from sleep as she shifted back to human form. The cold morning air hit her bare skin immediately, but the heat of the hunt was still fading from her blood.

  ?“But you're wolves, my dear,” Mary interrupted gently. “It's been too long since this God-forsaken part of the world has had any wolves. Anyway, I didn't tell her not to. I told her to be careful.”

  ?Fred barked at her when she started to walk.

  ?“Well, come along then,” she said to the massive wolf. “But I won't be feeding you! You look like you ate a bear.” She scolded him with a smile.

  ?Sarah chose not to shift back, opting to frolic with the other wolves as they walked back toward the house.

  ?When Sarah was well up ahead, rolling in a pile of leaves, Kim turned to Mary. “Mary, can I tell you something?”

  ?“Well, I assume that’s why you've chosen to walk naked in the woods rather than wait until we get back to dress,” Mary smiled, though her eyes were sharp. “I imagine it's private?” She looked cautiously at Sarah.

  ?“Well, I won't ask you to keep it a secret. But it's something I would like you to know before I tell anyone else.”

  ?Mary nodded, understanding the dynamic quickly. She looked ahead. “Sarah! Dad's at the house.”

  ?Sarah’s ears perked up. She abandoned the leaves and bounded off, most of the pack in tow, racing toward the scent of her father.

  ?“Daniel’s here!” Kim was almost as excited.

  ?Mary put an arm around Kim’s bare shoulders, sharing her warmth. “He will be here all day,” she promised. “Now, what were you going to tell me?”

  The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  ?“Well, last night after we fell asleep, I heard an animal fight in the woods. It sounded like it could've been a wolf, so I went to check it out. When I got there, I saw three Sasquatch closing in on... well, I thought it was a big coyote.”

  ?Mary shrugged dismissively. “That's sort of like four of the same thing.”

  ?Kim didn't get the reference. “It could've been a coywolf.”

  ?“Oh gross.” Mary’s face scrunched in disgust.

  ?“You don't like coywolves more than coyotes or Sasquatches?”

  ?“I’m old, sweetheart. I don't like most things. But coyotes I can stand. To think a wolf would debase itself to mate with one, though? I'd rather mate with a raccoon. Or that disgusting principal at your school.”

  ?Kim decided not to let her reaction to Bullinger derail the conversation. “It's just... well, I scared off the apes before they could kill him. He was hurt, so I took him to some game. It was weird. Eating in the moonlight... it healed him.”

  ?Mary's face turned instantly serious. The playful snobbery vanished. “You said you thought he was a coywolf. Tell me, was his fur black?”

  ?Kim nodded.

  ?“The kind of black that seems to make everything around it a bit darker?”

  ?“Well... maybe.” Kim found herself feeling a bit protective of the lonely creature.

  ?“That was no coywolf.” Mary stopped walking, looking deep into the trees as if she could see the shadow lurking there. “Sweetheart, that was a Dog Man.”

  ?Kim’s heart sank just a bit. “An evil werewolf?”

  ?Mary collected her thoughts. “Evil isn't the right term, exactly. We Werewolves are... Defenders of this world. The world as God made it. We don't like Sasquatch, Faeries, or anything that exists 'between' the worlds. And we hate those things that are an affront to it: vampires, witches, demons, and the like. Life flows through us. A Dog Man is... a perversion of that. They have the drives, but twisted. They will hunt Faeries and Sasquatch to extinction. They will hunt humans like they will animals. And eat them.”

  ?Kim shivered, and not from the morning chill.

  ?“Now, I have killed humans. Daniel has killed humans. But consuming their meat twists a werewolf. Instead of being resistant to the effects of magic and warped reality, they are more susceptible to it. You become more immune to it the older you get. They become less.”

  ?“Perhaps worse. Perhaps tragic,” Mary continued, her voice softening. “They hate what they become. Usually, there is a split between them and their human side. The change is painful. The full moon is a terror. Worse, the sides tend to hate each other. To the point that the Dog eventually hunts and kills the things the Man loves.”

  ?Kim was horrified. “That's why Inanna wanted to get Sarah to eat a human.”

  ?Mary nodded solemnly. “Yes.”

  ?“Do we kill it?” Kim asked, her voice small. “Is Daniel going to kill it?”

  ?“Not always. We've had many children. Not all have made the right choices.” Mary stopped and stroked Kim's face, her touch gentle against Kim's cold cheek. “This is a hard life. You weren't born to it, and you didn't ask for it. Most Dog Men are the same. The choice to kill one of our own is never simple.”

  ?“Now come along. Daniel will need to be told. I've left him alone with your friends. I don't know how long Macy has.” She said with a wink.

  ?Kim shifted and took off running.