Howls of Chaos. Gabrielle Boyd

town. I thought I would take a break from doing hair and go back to school for the fifth time.

      You’re probably wondering, “How do werewolves blend in so well in the public?” Well, we have had centuries to practice. Sometimes we have had to leave places because people have realized and suspected something about us, especially when we live in small country towns or suburb areas.

      Most of the time we live in large cities—well, before we moved back here. Carlos has been around since the fifteenth century, so he is pretty clever when it comes to blending in. So am I now.

      When you are a werewolf, you have to control your actions. Not only on a full moon, but any time and any place. It’s not true about changing only during a full moon. Werewolves can change whenever and wherever they please. But when you have fully turned, it’s best to be out in the wilderness when you do because you really don’t have control over what you do.

      Over the years, Carlos and I have learned to control our actions (most of the time). We haven’t attacked or eaten anyone in a while, and we usually feed on cows or deer. But anyway, since we moved back to Chaosville, we bought a big, brand-new house in the country. Now when we get ready to turn, we can just go out in the backyard and hunt deer.

      The house Carlos and I purchased had only been on the market for a few months. Mr. Robby Yates, a local businessman and realtor in Chaosville, had built the house for his niece. But she got married and moved to Mississippi with her new husband instead.

      Carlos saw the house and decided to buy it without my consent, but he knew I was going to like it anyway since he claimed it was spacious. The house was a beautiful, two-story home with brick siding. It had four bedrooms and four and a half baths. It was nice. The kitchen had a breakfast bar area, a three-car garage, and a gym. The only things it lacked were a game room and a pool like our house in Cali.

      Hey there, beautiful. Ready for your first day of Chaosville Community College?” asked Carlos.

      “Hmm, not really! I want to go to the office with you and play slutty secretary,” I said with a laugh.

      “Ha! You’re wild,” said Carlos while making me breakfast.

      “Hmm, what’s that baby?” I said, walking toward the breakfast bar and grabbing a chair to sit down in.

      “Rare lamb,” said Carlos.

      “Oh, yummy,” I said. The two of us sat at the breakfast bar and ate breakfast together like usual. Carlos read the local newspaper, The Chaosville Gossiper, while keeping a gradual conversation with me at the same time.

      After eating breakfast, I did my hair and put my makeup on. I felt like dressing up today since it was my first day attending college in a couple of decades.

      I began to search through my wardrobe. Finally I came across a pair of dark denim capris and a sexy, tropical-looking shirt that showed a little cleavage. The shirt was fitted and had sequins on the upper part, and it flared out at the bottom. It was a cute summer-but-could-be-autumn top. I rocked a pair of platform sandals along with the rest of the outfit and wore a pair of sunglasses with rhinestones on the sides. My purse matched, as well.

      After getting ready, I went back into the kitchen where Carlos was still reading the paper. “Look at you! You’ve got it going on this morning,” said Carlos, who turned away from his paper when I walked in the room.

      “Thanks! I thought I might as well dress up since it’s my first day of school,” I said with a big smile.

      Carlos then grabbed me around my waist, turned me toward him and kissed me. “Well, you have a good day at school, and try not to get in any trouble,” said Carlos.

      “Really, you act like I’m a kid, but I’ll try not to,” I said.

      “Make sure you don’t get mad at anyone, and don’t get overly excited either,” he said.

      “Yeah,” I said. I grabbed my car keys off the breakfast bar and went out to the garage. I got into my Infiniti, backed out of the garage, and drove off to school. The college was about ten minutes away from our house and traffic wasn’t too bad this morning, but still I took my time getting there.

      Chaosville Community College was pretty big for a junior college. It had quite a few buildings of all sizes. College kids were everywhere. Some were walking to their classes, and some were just hanging out.

      I’m probably the oldest thing on campus, I thought. I began to walk to my first class, which was American Literature. As soon as I reached the building where the class was to take place, a nice, handsome guy opened the door for me.

      “How are you doing this morning?” asked the guy.

      “Fine. And you?” I replied.

      “I’m ready for class to start. By the way, my name is Mason,” he said with a smile while reaching out to shake my hand.

      “Alexsys,” I said, shaking his hand. Good thing I shaved my palms this morning, I thought.

      I began to walk to my class. “Hey, wait,” said Mason.

      “Look, whatever it is you are trying to sell, I’m not buying it. Plus, I have to get to class,” I said.

      “Huh, what are you talking about? I’m not trying to sell anything. I just saw that you had the same textbook in your arms as I do, so I figured you were heading to Mr. Slapson’s class.”

      After Mason said that, I quickly remembered that folks down south are a lot friendlier than they are in other places. “Oh, I am so sorry. I didn’t mean to be so rude. I don’t know why I thought you were trying to sell me something,” I said, gazing up at Mason.

      Mason is pretty tall, at least six foot two, with a muscular, athletic build. Then I noticed his dreamy blue eyes and his nice, pearly white smile. He has light blonde hair that is almost white, and his bangs were pushed over to the side. The rest of his hair was covered up with a baseball cap. He had a nice tan, as if he had been outside all summer. I knew Mason was an athlete because he wore a pair of shorts and a shirt that said “Chaosville CC baseball,” along with the baseball cap. Plus, I could just sense that he was an athlete.

      He seemed to be a down-to-earth, nice, southern gentleman, but could probably be one of those guys who would turn into a complete douche bag once you got to know him. Even though he wasn’t really my type, I was checking him out. Plus, I had Carlos; why would I sabotage what we had? Carlos isn’t too fond of me having guy friends, but still, he does not mind it.

      “So, are you a freshman?” asked Mason.

      “Yeah, can’t you tell?” I said while walking up the stairs alongside Mason.

      “Actually yeah, I sort of thought you were. Are you from here?” he asked.

      “Do I look like I’m lost or something?” I said.

      “I was just kidding,” said Mason with a slight grin.

      I smiled. “I’m from all around, but I just recently moved here from California.”

      “So, why did you move all the way from Cali to down here?” asked Mason.

      “Well, my boyfriend and I just recently bought a house out by the Oldton’s Cabin,” I replied.

      “No way! Are you serious? You’re Carlos’s girlfriend?” asked Mason.

      “Yeah. How do you know Carlos?” I asked in a mildly aggressive tone.

      “Robby is my dad; the man that sold y’all the house! Plus, Carlos just opened the new law office in town,” said Mason.

      “Wow! It’s nice to meet you. I didn’t know you were Mr. Yates’s son,” I said.

      “Well you do now. He has a daughter too,” said Mason. “My sister, Mallory, she has this class too. We usually stop