Stakes Claim On Her

103 years after the war.

The murmur of the lobby, the occasional squeak of freshly polished shoes on linoleum, and the fresh scent of flowers and honey the wall air freshener pumped out greeted me as I walked out of the back room to start my morning shift.

The same eight to eight shift I worked six days a week, but I would never complain; partly in fear of what would happen if I was ever to speak out against a werewolf and partly because I know that I have it better then many in this world.

Many humans in this world know only struggle and hunger and abuse.

The pack territory you lived in almost entirely determined what your life is like.

I hear some packs treat their humans as equals.

What a dream that would be.

Here we fall somewhere in the middle.

Humans have some tights.

They are free to work, educate themselves, and own businesses.

But if you couldn't make a living within the human communities, and they didn't have an open position for pack jobs you were on your own.

Humans aren't seen as equals here and if a wolf asked you to something, as long as it is within pack laws, you had to do it.

If you didn't, you could be beaten.

The punishments for humans are mostly the same for wolves who break the laws, which is sometimes worse for us because the punishments are meant for bodies that can handle a lot more than we can.

Usually, you are given lashes, while tied to a post in front of the pack housing center, where many of the prominent wolves live.

The punishment is extremely humiliating for humans; you are stripped naked before being lashed.

Wolves are much more comfortable with nudity than humans are, so the stripping part is never an issue for them.

I only ever hear stories of what the world was like before werewolves took over.

A place where humans weren't whipped for disobeying silly orders.

The wolves don't allow the history to be taught in schools, probably fearing humans would want to bring the world back to the way it was.

Their thinking is how could we want for something we don't know existed? But they made the mistake of thinking that they could keep the history of our freedom a secret.

Not that it mattered.

Their grip on our lives was too strong.

There would be no rebellion anytime soon, no matter what we know.

A rough arm and sharp shake snapped me from my thoughts.

"Hey! I'm talking to you!"

A deep voice spoke to me.

head and looked at

creases on his face, and

was dressed finely, in a pressed navy

was clearly of higher status, like

the woman standing behind him told

with her head bowed

average, if it wasn't for the shiny gold collar wrapped around her neck and the chain that snaked from the collar to the cuffs on her wrists

wasn't just any

She was a pet.

the man standing before me was

see many of his kind in the werewolf world, as the supernatural

ever seen a

in his late forties, early fifties when he was

were much less common in the

wolves felt pets were

outlawed pets when he

moderate

Bernard permits those from other packs and from other countries who own

no

is conference

spits out, clearly angered by my lack of

fully on the man,

lobby, and the receptionist will show you to the room,’’ I spoke as softly and as kindly as I could, as I always

strike me, and no one would do anything,

roughly let go of

up in my thoughts I hadn't realized he

left of the man

my skin usually did

touched us in a kind way,

brushed it off and continued to greet people and direct them wherever

incident with the vampire was

whispered close to my

turn around to face the person who spoke the words and come face to face with Adam.He was nice

up?" I

darlin?” he

"Lunchtime."

for lunch, seeing as I tend to get lost in my thoughts and forget the

say, it's one of my many

follow Adam through the lobby and back into the employees only

hallway and into the dimly lit and rather dingy little room the

back wall are paper bags filled with

go to sit at

chair rocks and almost knocks me only the

and clear, he obviously found my

so not funny,'' I grumble as I open my

usual hunk of bread

Adam laughing through