Broken Souls by Jade M. Phillips

dropping open when I finally caught sight of what was happening.
    Two fully transformed werewolves stood in the middle of the
circle, their snarling lips curled back to show bloody gums and sharp
glistening teeth. They rounded each other, the bristly hair on their backs
standing straight up. One was pure black and the other a muddled grey. The
black one stood a foot taller than the other, its hind legs thick with muscle
and its back almost to the height of my shoulders.
    I found myself agreeing with Cloe that this place was
certainly wild, and my nerves fired up from just standing there. I shifted my
gaze around the bar trying to catch a glimpse of Jax, knowing it would be quite
a task to find him through the chaos. I tried to move away from the crowd but in
the effort my body was tossed back and forth, bumping into broad chests and
backs. Though I wanted nothing to do with the cruel animal fight, a ferocious
growl brought my focus back to the scene.
    The black wolf lunged at the cowering grey one and they
rolled together in a blur of fur and bared teeth. A loud yelp came from the
brawl and the large black wolf moved back to reveal the smaller one lying still
on the ground, blood running from a gash in its side.
    The crowd exploded in cheers and whistles, yet I trembled inside
from the brutality of it all. My stomach grew unsettled and I was certain I’d
get sick. Right when I was sure I couldn’t take anymore, the two wolves morphed
into their human forms, the winner of the match being none other than Jax, the
werewolf leader. A couple of men approached the one lying on the floor, his
chest still moving with breath, and relief flooded me that he was not dead. The
sea of bodies parted as the two men dragged his limp body away from the crowd.
    I looked to Jax, and suddenly blanched with embarrassment when
realizing he was in his birthday suit, as naked as the day he was born.
Apparently, when shifting from a human form into a werewolf form, clothes were
either ripped off or deemed unnecessary. But I was spared the need to blush
when a man quickly handed Jax a robe and he covered himself from prying eyes. His
face was twisted into a perpetual frown and his black ponytail hung long
between his shoulder blades. The crowd around him patted him on the back and
congratulated him. I couldn’t help but grimace at the fact that he was my new
roommate. Fan-freakin-tastic.
    Maybe if I reasoned with Pandora she would let me live with
Morin the witch, or maybe she’d even let me live with her. There was still
enough time until daylight for me to make it back to Vampire Hall. Heck, it was
worth a try. I hustled away from the scene and toward the Saloon exit but three
young men blocked my way— werewolves; I could tell by their dogish scent. The
taller of them stepped forward and ran his hand down my shoulder in a most
inappropriate way, and the way the other two stood behind him indicated he was
the leader of their little bunch.
    “Now what would a pretty little vampire as yourself be doing
in a place like this,” he assessed. And I assessed he would be leading
himself straight into my fist if he didn’t move aside and let me pass.
    “If you will excuse me I have somewhere I need to be,” I
said as firmly as possible, trying to move around them.
    “Not so fast,” a shorter and stockier man bounced me back
with his chest. “It’s been a while since we’ve had any vampire fun.”
    “Listen,” I said, getting ready to make him a knuckle
sandwich for dinner, “I’m new here and if you think—”
    “Ohhhh,” the tall one cut me off. “A newbie vamp. That
explains your scent. Even better.” He looked to his companions. “Newborns are
weak, less of a fight for us when we take her to our room.”
    White-hot anger arose in my chest, and my fangs throbbed to
be released. I shifted my eyes to search for Jax, thinking I might need some
help, but he had already disappeared into the mob.
    “What pretty hair,” the third one said