Oliver I felt like the air was sucked out of my lungs when I looked into the door frame and saw Elsie standing with her hands on her hips. Her hair was rolled in foam curlers with a white silk scarf tied around them. A peach satin and lace teddy skimmed the top of her thighs. A white silk kimono robe had slid off of her shoulders, resting in the crooks of her elbows. She was the most beautiful sweet patootie I had ever seen; she didn't seem real, even with the rollers. I was sure my jaw hung ajar as soon as I had caught a glimpse of those pale milky thighs. I no longer felt the needle piercing through my skin. As soon as I saw Elsie, the world seemed too slow, and I let my full attention fall on her. When did I become such a sap? As I let my eyes wander up to her face, I found a sour expression. Why did she look like that? Shoot, I had goofed up and stood her up this morning. She probably thought I was a nogoodnik now. I had forgotten about her between the bo

ElsieI knew as soon as I saw that kid talking to Jules after the show, things weren't going to end well. I saw the excitement in Jules's eye, the same one he got when he would find a new rogue werewolf with skills he could make a buck off of. It was the same look he got when he found Birdie hiding out in the woods, abandoned by her pack. I swear it was like dollar signs were popping out of his eye sockets.I didn't get one thing though, why did Jules get that look about this random human? What was so special about him? What did Jules see in Oliver that I didn't? I didn't see the money.The first time I set my eyes on Oliver was in the river. The twit was lurking behind some rocks and startled the troupe. I've never seen a human run so fast before in my life. I almost felt bad for him, especially with Grady there. Grady wasn't a pretty wolf, that was for sure. If people thought he was menacing in human form, they would defecate themselves if they caught a glimps

ElsieI spent a few hours hiding away in Shirley and Carl's compartment. Shirley was two years older than me, and she was my best friend. She was loud, confident, saucy, sassy, and demanding. Past her rigid exterior, she was the most maternal person I knew.Shirley was the one who found me half-dead on the bank of a river. She was the one who convinced Jules to take me in. He couldn't see my face behind the bruises, blood, and mud. Shirley was the one who cleaned me up and helped me adjust to my new life without my mate.Once upon a time, Shirley was the daughter of an Alpha, but now she was rogue just like me. Ironically both of us were rogues because of love. I was a rogue because of Clyde, and Shirley was a rogue because of Carl.Carl was just an average human who liked to play with fire...in more ways than one. One day he accidentally wandered onto Shirley's pack's territory. He was captured and would be slaughtered in front of the whole pack at dawn.

OliverMy first morning on the train, we pulled into a station on the outskirts of Philadelphia right after the sun rose. The train was alive with energy as I pushed open my curtain. Everyone was thrilled to get out and be free from their confinement. I threw my feet over the edge and wriggled out of my bunk."Morning, Oliver," a woman with brown hair squeezed past me. I had no idea who she was. I couldn't even tell you if I had met her before. I wondered if she was a wolf or a human. Eventually, I would figure who everyone was and what they were."Mornin'," I grunted as I glanced up and down the aisle, searching for Grady's intimidating shadowing. I finally spotted him and snaked my way through the crowded corridor until I came upon him."Come on, kid." Grady nodded his head towards a door. Before I had a chance to say anything, Grady was already departing the train. I hastily jumped after him.I was terrified knowing that Grady was a werewolf, an

Oliver The days began to slip away like sand between my fingers.  I started to find my rhythm in this place.  My days were filled with dirt, sweat, and a good heaping tablespoon of anxiety.  I kept my head down and worked hard.   I met other humans in the troupe.  There weren't many regular humans.  There was only a handful of us who weren't connected directly to a wolf.  The humans were in charge of mainly running the food stalls or being a roustabout.  I was the abnormality; I stuck out like a sore thumb compared to the rest. Jules gave me a real job.  I was with Grady.  I made the rounds up and down the train a few times a night and circled the tents with him.  We lapped the freak show tent the most during perfor