The Patient Wolf (Wicked Urban Fantasy #1) by Karen Hodges Miller

could turn with her mother. But for now, her daughter needed to be safely in bed while her mother changed. It meant Ana couldn’t often run with her pack, something she heard about constantly from her grandfather, the leader. But she would take this time to slip out of her human form and worship the moon in the way of her ancestors.
    Her backyard was tiny, but private. The privacy fence was solid and high. Many of the neighboring shotgun houses had converted their attics into second floor bedrooms, but the sloping roofs meant that there were windows only on the front and back of the houses surrounding her. No one could see as she slipped off her robe, stretched her muscles and began the change.
    Her legs and arms stretched and elongated and she crouched on all fours. As her ears grew larger her hearing became more acute, her nose, elongating, also became more sensitive.
    Another wolf was nearby.
    Was it the rogue who had killed only last night?
    Now was not the time to find out. Not with Sophie asleep and vulnerable upstairs. Ana quickly returned to her human form, slipped her robe back on, and went inside locking the door behind her.
    In the dark the wolf continued to watch. He could be very, very patient.
     

 
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    Chapter 9
     
    Saturday morning Ana helped Sophie pack for her overnight with her father and stepmother. They lived only a few miles away but their neighborhood, their house, and the lifestyle they lived were completely different from Sophie’s weekday world with her mother.
    Sophie was required to pack a tennis outfit for the weekly lessons at the country club, and a dress in case they decided to go back to the club for dinner. The typical worn t-shirts, old shorts and torn jeans she dressed in after school each day just weren’t good enough for Melanie. Sophie had to pack “casual wear” for lounging, playing, or doing homework. If some of Melanie’s Junior Women’s Club friends stopped by Sophie had to look “presentable.” And for some reason Ana had never understood, Sophie never had what she needed at her dad’s house. Her daughter did keep some things there: a toothbrush and other toiletries, plus some extra clothes, but it always seemed as if the outfit she particularly wanted was at the house she wasn’t staying in at the time.
    It all made for Saturday mornings that were just a little tense as Ana and Sophie got ready for Melanie to pick Sophie up. It wasn’t that she didn’t love her father or didn’t want to see him. Ana knew that Sophie did. It was just that Sophie felt that she was required to change into a different person every Saturday morning. And the transformation was painful for both of them.
    As usual, Sophie complained about the tennis lessons.
    “Mom, I hate tennis. I’m the worst in the class and Ava always makes fun of me, she thinks she’s the next Serena Williams or something. All the kids are such snobs. Why do I have to keep taking these stupid lessons?” Sophie crammed underwear and socks into her backpack as she spoke. “Why can’t dad understand I’d much rather practice for track on the weekends? I’m good at that. I’ll never be any good at tennis. I’m like you, I was built for running. Not chasing a ball around a court. I might as well be playing fetch.”
    Ana ground her teeth. “I hope you don’t say things like that in front of your father.”
    “Of course I don’t. I don’t see how you were married to him and he never figured things out. When I get married I’m going to be completely honest with my husband whether or not he’s….”
    “Sophie, you really don’t understand what you are talking about. There are rules you have to follow. It’s much more complicated when you get older.”
    “That’s what everyone always says,” Sophie groused. “Where’s my tennis skirt, mom? Have you seen it?”
    “It’s right where you left it last week,” Ana said, handing her the short, white skirt.