Bite Me

Chapter 4

A sweet and familiar scent drifted through the open doorway, making Ava lift her head and call out Clair's name. 

"Hey, Clair. Could you please take over at the counter? It's pretty slow."

Clair had been her employee since she had come back from college about six months ago. She had graduated with a masters degrees in business, but, since there weren't any exciting jobs at Lakeside, Ava had given her a job. 

Many people around the world would have frowned at a human working in a shifter-owned bakery, but Ava had gotten very lucky with this town. 

It wasn't that the people in this town liked shifters. Since most of the residents here were human, they understandably did not like shifters - finding them terrifying and spooky. 

Before she had arrived, the people of this town had dealt with a man with a pack that liked to loot, rape, and murder. The people had learned to appreciate Ava just the way she was, very sarcastic but charming. 

Well, she wasn't exactly charming, but she did not have any murderous tendencies ... most of the time. 

~~~~~~~~~~ 

The people in the town had reported numerous conflicts with the pack that was terrorizing the town, but the human police couldn't do much. The police were forced to report the issue to the Shifter Council, who'd demanded that the wolves fix the issue somehow. But the wolf packs  were not structured the was feline prides were. 

Felines had a leader, a governing body. They might not officially be acknowledged in America, but they called their leader King. If someone stepped out of line, the King had rules in place to take care of it -  so all felines would think twice before making the same mistake again. 

Wolves, on the other hand, had a Principle Head, and when it wanted to act, it was lethal. But the pack only took action when a problem directly threatened them. The rest they put on their 'To Do List For a Decade or Two Later.' 

Ava felt sorry for the wolves. Not all of them were bad; in fact, most of them weren't, but their Principle Head was so corrupted, they couldn't do a thing about their awful authority. That's why there were more and more loner wolves each year, more than any other kind of shifters. Ava's cat hurt from the isolation, but not nearly as much as a wolf did. Their species were clearly meant to live in groups. 

It was the wolf and friend, Viera, who had told Ava about Lakesides unknowingly. Ava had lived in Los Angeles and the city of angels was so full of drama. Although they paid well, Ava had grown tired of having to deal with growing issues with angels, nephilims, and demons. 

She had been searching for a place to escape and settle down at the time, somewhere so private, a pack could get away with murder. The idea of this type of isolation sounded perfect to Ava, so she had visited the town to see for herself. 

People had been very suspicious but after a couple of visits at the local bar, they were hopeful enough to tell her to disappear from the town before the Alpha of the wolf pack heard of her presence in the town.

They had really feared the Alpha. At first, Ava wasn't sure if she wanted to settle in the little town after living in the city for seven years, but the Alpha had showed up in her hotel a day or two after she had arrived in town demanding favors for letting her stay. 

Yeah, like she would sit by and do as he said. She had handed him his bloody balls and slit his throat open. 

The humans in the town had been thankful in the beginning, but had grown to be cautious. They had learned that Ava was capable of easily disposing a large, dominant male as well as overpower his entire pack of wolves with were dominant vibes. They had wondered if they had just discovered that the light at the end of the tunnel was the headlight of an oncoming train.