Bright Moon by Andria Canayo

glossy hair was combed in such a way that his bangs covered
his face and he had to continuously jerk his head in order to see
at all. He was a teenager, probably still attending high school,
and he wore the store’s uniform. He straightened a display of
cotton shirts as he watched her between twitches. She ignored him
and went the other way. When she looked again, he was gone and she
went back to find the jeans. She was startled from her shopping
when the boy returned with a man in a security guard uniform.
    “Excuse me, miss?” he asked as he
approached, stopping at the rack she stood near. “Are you Clara
Rita?”
    “No,” she lied quickly, feeling trapped and
suddenly very alone. “You have the wrong person.” Her attempt to
put some distance between herself and the guard was thwarted when
he took a hold of her arm.
    “I’m going to have to ask for ID,” he
stated.
    Panic gripped her as she stared into his
brown eyes. “I don’t have my ID. If I’d known I’d be interrogated
in the middle of shopping, I would’ve brought it.”
    “What’s your name?”
“Callan,” she said the first name that popped in her head.
    “Callan?” the officer asked
disbelievingly.
    “Yes,” she affirmed with forced bravado.
    “Callan what?”
    “Smith.”
    He raised a brow at her.
    “I’m sorry, I hope you find who you’re
looking for, but I have a lot to do today if you’ll kindly let go
of my arm?” He did not heed the hint.
    “Ma’am, I don’t believe your name is Callan Smith .”
    “I have no control over what you
believe.”
    The black and white peppered mustache under
his nose twitched. “I have eyes ma’am and I would appreciate it if
you didn’t insult my intelligence. Do yourself a favor and don’t
make a scene here. I’m giving you a chance to come quietly.”
    Her mind rushed to think of something she
could say to get out of the situation, but was saved the trouble
when Tyson’s voice growled over them. “Do yourself a favor and let
her go.” He came from nowhere as he had a tendency to do, bearing a
scowl that would have incinerated the guard if it were any more
severe. The teenage worker stepped back while holding his bangs to
one side.
    “Who are you?” the man demanded. “I’m going
to have to ask you to step back, son.”
    Tyson laughed. “Let go of her, now.”
    “I am authorized—” he started to oppose, but
the sentence was never finished. The guard went flying before
anyone knew what happened and landed on a stand of brightly labeled
clearance items that crashed to the floor. The young man was
suddenly frozen and stared with buggy eyes.
    “Tyson!” Clara said through her teeth. “You
didn’t have to hurt him!”
    “He’s not hurt.” He nodded toward the guard
who was getting to his feet. People began appearing around shelves
and wracks of clothing, eager to see the unfolding drama. Tyson
grabbed her wrist and jerked her so quickly that she dropped her
bag. She ran to keep up, but he didn’t stop until they came to the
car and he pushed her in.
    “What just happened?” she asked him
breathlessly as the engine roared to life. “How did they know who I
was?”
    The car sped out the lot, jolting when he
didn’t heed the speed bumps. “Parker must have you on TV.”
    “TV? How is that possible?”
    “He could have reported you as missing, or
as someone involved in a crime. They must have seen your picture on
the news or something.”
    “Maybe it would be better for all of us if
this Parker person actually met me,” she commented in an offhand
manner. Tyson turned to her with a horrified expression.
    “Why would you suggest such a thing?!”
    “I can’t help but think if he knew me he
would know he had the wrong girl.”
    “How would he know that?”
    “Do you really think anyone who’s a…a…”
    “Werewolf.”
    “Yes.” She began nervously toying with her
hair. “Nobody like that could love me, could they?”
He glanced at her as he drove. “What