All Chapters of Empire of the howling moon : Chapter 1
- Chapter 8
8 chapters
Chapter 1
The fluorescent lights in the convenience store flickered as Stewart Lennox counted coins onto the scratched counter. Forty-seven cents short. The cashier, a tired woman with graying hair, looked at the diapers and formula with something like pity."I can cover the rest," she said quietly.Stewart's jaw tightened. "Thank you, but no."He grabbed the formula, left the diapers. His daughter needed to eat more than she needed a fresh diaper right this second. The walk home took twenty minutes through streets that had grown meaner over the years, past shuttered factories and houses with boarded windows. His phone buzzed. Unknown number. He almost didn't answer."Stewart Lennox?" The voice was smooth, cultured, achingly familiar."Who is this?""You don't remember me? I'm wounded. Though I suppose it has been fifteen years."Stewart stopped walking. His heart hammered against his ribs. "Rowan?""The very same. I heard you were back in town. I'd like to meet. Are you free tomorrow?""I'm no
Chapter 2
The medical facility occupied an entire floor of Crestmont Tower, though Stewart had never heard of any businesses offering healthcare services in the building. The doctor, a thin man named Voss with pale eyes and careful hands, directed him to an examination room that looked more like something from a spa than a clinic."Just a standard physical," Dr. Voss said, his voice soft and professional. "Mr. Ashford is very particular about the health of his employees. Strip to your underwear, please."Stewart complied, folding his suit carefully. The room was cool. Clinical. Dr. Voss moved around him with practiced efficiency, checking reflexes, listening to his heart, peering into his eyes with a small light."You're in reasonable shape for a man under stress," Dr. Voss observed. "Blood pressure is elevated but not dangerously so. When did you last eat?""Breakfast. Coffee and toast.""Good. The blood work will be easier on a lighter stomach."The doctor prepared a syringe, tapping the vein
Chapter 3
Stewart took a taxi home, afraid to drive in his current state. Everything felt too sharp, too intense. The driver's cheap cologne made his eyes water. He could hear the man's phone conversation through his earbuds, every word crystal clear. When they passed a restaurant, the smell of cooking meat made Stewart's mouth water with a hunger that felt almost violent.Claire was feeding the baby when he walked in. She looked up, and something in her expression changed. "You look different.""Good meeting." Stewart set his jacket on the chair. "Really good. Rowan came through. The job is real.""What kind of job?""Security. Asset management. He's drawing up contracts." The lies came easily. Too easily. "It's six figures, Claire. Six figures with benefits and bonuses."She set down the bottle. The baby fussed. Claire ignored it, standing slowly. "What's the catch?""No catch. He needs people he can trust.""Stewart." She crossed to him, took his hands. "Look at me. What aren't you telling m
Chapter 4
The warehouse district had been abandoned for a decade, a graveyard of industrial ambition. Building 47 squatted among its fellows like a predator at rest, windowless and foreboding. Stewart parked three blocks away, as instructed by the text message that had come through at noon. Walk the rest. Let them smell you coming.The sun was setting, painting the sky in shades of blood. Stewart's enhanced senses picked up traces he'd never have noticed before. Scent markers. Territorial signs. This wasn't just a meeting place. This was their hunting ground.The warehouse door stood open. Inside, sodium lights cast everything in sickly yellow. Forty people, maybe fifty, occupied the space. Men and women of every age and description, but they all shared one thing: an intensity, a presence that set Stewart's new instincts screaming.Pack.Rowan stood on a platform at the far end, Marlene beside him. When Stewart entered, every head turned. The silence was absolute. Crushing. He forced himself to
Chapter 5
The Sunday morning sun felt like an accusation. Stewart sat at the kitchen table watching Claire make pancakes, Danny chattering about cartoons while the baby gurgled in her bouncer. Normal. Everything looked so devastatingly normal."You barely touched your coffee," Claire said, sliding a plate in front of him. "Are you feeling okay?""Just tired." Stewart forced himself to take a bite. The pancakes tasted like ash. Everything tasted wrong now. Too sweet, too bland. His body wanted meat. Raw meat. The craving made his stomach turn.Claire sat across from him, studying his face with the intensity of someone who'd learned to read the smallest shifts in mood. Seven years of marriage, most of them hard. She knew when he was hiding something."Stewart.""It's nothing.""Don't do that. Don't shut me out. Not now, when things are finally looking up." She reached across the table, taking his hand. Her skin felt impossibly warm. He could feel her pulse against his palm, steady and trusting. "
Chapter 6
The next morning arrived with a message from Rowan: *Stay home today. Rest. Tonight changes everything.*Stewart called in sick to the warehouse—his last connection to his old life. His supervisor barely cared. They'd already processed his resignation paperwork, received the notification that Stewart Lennox had secured better employment. Another body replaced, another desperate man sliding into his spot on the factory floor.Claire was energized after the dinner, talking about the people she'd met. "That Julia seemed nice. And Marlene is intense but I like her. They're like a real family, you know? The way they interact.""Yeah," Stewart muttered, staring at his coffee. A family of predators."Rowan asked if I'd be interested in helping with their charity foundation. Event planning, fundraising." Claire was practically glowing. "Can you believe it? Me, working with a charity. Actual meaningful work instead of just surviving."Stewart felt his control slipping. The wolf was too close t
Chapter 7
The pain was worse than anything Elena had described. Worse than dying. Stewart collapsed to the floor, spine arching as his skeleton restructured itself. His jaw stretched, teeth elongating into fangs. Fur erupted through his skin like a million needles piercing from inside out.He tried to scream but the sound came out as a howl.Elena burst back in, holding him down with supernatural strength as his body convulsed. "Don't fight it! Let it happen!"But Stewart couldn't stop fighting. His human mind clung desperately to consciousness as the wolf tried to take over. The collision of two beings in one body created a psychic agony that transcended physical pain."You're making it worse!" Elena shouted. Other hands joined hers. Rowan. Marlene. Gabriel. Holding him down as he thrashed. "Let go, Stewart! Let the wolf have control!"He couldn't. If he let go, he'd lose himself. Lose everything that made him human. But his body was changing whether he accepted it or not. His hands became paw
Chapter 8
Stewart returned home Tuesday afternoon to find Claire reorganizing the kitchen. New appliances gleamed on the counters, gifts from Rowan that had arrived while he was gone. She turned when he entered, and for a moment, her smile faltered."You look different.""Just tired." Stewart set down his bag, hyperaware of every sound in the house. Danny's breathing upstairs. Emma is sleeping in her crib. Claire's elevated heart rate. "How were the kids?""Fine. Your mom helped yesterday." Claire approached, touching his face. "Stewart, you're burning up. Are you sick?"His temperature ran hot now, the wolf's metabolism keeping him at near-fever levels constantly. "Just worked hard. I need a shower."He escaped before she could ask more questions. Under scalding water, Stewart tried to wash away the memory of blood and hunt. But the wolf was still there, coiled tight, waiting. Elena had warned him, strong emotions could trigger partial shifts. He needed to stay calm. Controlled.When he emerge