Read Werewolves of New York: Nathaniel for Free Online Page B

his true colors came out. He became irritable. Snapped at me all the time. He stopped having sex with me…” Her eyes went back to the past. “Except this one time. It was so angry and raw I could feel how mad he was that I wasn’t who he’d wanted me to be. Which, between you and me, was the hottest sex we’d had in the three years since he’d put the ring on.” Her eyes clouded as she looked at the empty space on her finger. “You know when you get married you think it will be forever. I guess sometimes you can’t predict the future.”
    “No, but you can still be hopeful and give it your best shot.” Michelle watched as her client nodded, picked up the menu and began to read. It was clear Laura’s mind wasn’t on the printed words before her; she wanted the distraction as the subject had gotten a little painful.
    Michelle gently offered, “You loved him.”
    Laura glanced up from far away. “What? Yes, at first. But it’s more the loss of a dream. That’s the worst thing about divorce.”
    “I’m sorry.”
    “It’s okay,” Laura said with a wave. She perked up with a wicked smile. “I just want to meet a man who can go toe-to-toe with me. I’m telling you, that angry sex? I liked it.” She picked out her red hair, making it wilder with her fingers. “I think I need French Fries.”
    Michelle chuckled and realized it was the only sound to be heard besides the quiet background music. Everyone around them was locked on the T.V. screen. She looked at it, curious to see what had the whole room rapt. To her horror, there was a reporter standing outside the alley she’d been attacked in. “Can you turn it up?” The bartender glanced over to her and nodded, grabbed the remote.
    The reporter grew louder by the second. “They still haven’t found the animal that killed Gene Carol Williams here a little past 3:30 a.m. last Saturday Night. As we’ve told you, police say the body was torn to shreds, but now we hear that the zoo is denying any animals have escaped, assuring us they are on full lockdown. What was it that killed Gene Carol Williams that night, and are we safe?”
    Laura’s voice came through the fog. “So scary.”
    Like someone had just packed her gut with ice, Michelle stared at the screen. “Oh my God,” she whispered.
    Laura glanced over. “Haven’t you seen this? They’ve been talking about it for days.”
    Numb, Michelle shook her head, admitting quietly, “I don’t watch the news.”
    Laying down the menu and picking up her fresh glass, Laura shrugged one shoulder. “Smart. It’s always bad anyway. But can you believe it? I think the zoo is lying. I think they caught the beast and don’t want to draw bad press. You’re in marketing, what do you think? Would it be good to tell, or better to keep it secret?”
    “Keep it secret,” she mumbled, her mind on the attack.
    Blinking to her menu, she did what Laura just had: hid her feelings by focusing on the mundane problem of whether to order sliders or Buffalo wings.
    “Your phone’s ringing. Go ahead and grab it. I have to use the ladies room.”
    Michelle looked from Laura walking away to her phone silently lighting up on the bar-top. It was a phone number she wasn’t familiar with. Sliding to answer, she heard her voice still shaken as she said, “Michelle Nero.”
    “Ms. Nero? We’d like to interview you this Friday. Are you available?”
    She sat up straighter, her eyes on the T.V. screen. A commercial was playing and the sound was back down, but Michelle could only see that alley. That was no animal. Animals don’t talk. “Sure. Who is this?”
    “My name is Darik. I’m with D.D.E.N. Inc., an architecture firm here in Manhattan.” His calm deep voice lifted the fog. “We hear you’re good at getting new business for your clients and we want to meet you. If you’re free on Friday? Tomorrow we’ll be out of the office.”
    “Yes. I am free Friday. And I’m glad for the day to prepare so I can present