A satisfied

smile was plastered on the woman’s lips when Emma moved out of the bed. The

spring inside the cushioned bed made a creaking sound as she moved. It was

their background when she and the naked woman played doctor a while ago.

She picked up the shirt from the floor together with

the pants. She careless discarded them half an hour ago. With urgency, she put

her clothes back on.

“Are you sure you’re not going to spend the night?”

Said the woman. Her voice was a little scratchy from screaming.

Man, she was loud. Emma would not be surprised if the

next-door neighbor made a complaint to the landlord.

“I am. I don’t want to deal with your boyfriend in

the morning.”

The woman giggled. The thin blanket that covers her

front crumpled on her lap when she sat up. Her fake, big tits stand for

attention. Emma remembered burrowing her face between them.

“We can have another go before you leave. Felix will

not be here until six.”

Emma smirked. She scooped the jacket off the floor.

“I’ll see you soon.”

Her footsteps were very light as she left the

one-bedroom apartment in the sub-orbs.

Since it was already past midnight, only a few people

were loitering in the streets.

Angela was one of her ‘friends’. The woman called her

for a quick fix and Emma did the same if she was in the mood.

They met when her car broke down. They were in the

same place at the same time. She gave the car a temporary fix and told the

woman to send the car to the car shop.

The next day, the woman was in the shop with her car.

Emma had the woman in bed at night on that same day.

Holding the jacket in her hand, she waited at the bus

stop. Beside her were night shift workers who would rather spend the night at

home than be in the street at this frigid night.

Emma was seated at the very back of the bus. No one

was sitting next to her. The nearest was the junkie-looking man in front of

her. His hand was shaking. Perhaps, due to substance abuse.

Her eyes looked at the brightly lit lamp posts

outside. Despite the time of the day, it appeared that the city was not asleep

even at night.

If she happened to listen to her father, she would

have been working as a medical practitioner by now. Her dad was a frustrated

doctor. He was not given an opportunity to have his degree back in the day

since he got into trouble with the law. He went with the wrong crowd and spent

time behind bars for his mistake.

Her father was sentenced to five years in prison for

robbery. He and his former friends broke into a convenience store. One of them

killed the staff while the others were the associates for robbery. He and the

other went out of the prison earlier than the one who was charged with

homicide.

Emma straightened when she felt a sharp and pointed

object on her side. She glanced at her left.

It was the man who was previously seated in front of

her. The junkie. His hair was obscuring his vision but it did not hide the

darkening circles under his eyes.

“Give me your phone and your wallet.” He whispered.

“I don’t have a phone. I don’t have a wallet either.”

She answered.

“Stop talking.” He said. It was followed by a sniff

as if he had allergies. He even scrunched his nose like he was about to sneeze.

Her left arm lifted. She moved her elbow and made

sure that it made contact with the man’s neck.

The guy did not seem to expect that he would fall back on

the seat. His head bounced on the headrest. The icepick dropped on the floor

and it generated a noise.

“This woman is hurting me.” The man pleaded. His hands

were in the air.

“And this man is trying to rob me with that icepick.”

She answered.

A man stood up from the middle part of the bus. His face

showed no symphony to either of them.

“I’m a police officer.”

Emma gave him a glance. Indeed, he was in uniform

under the varsity jacket that he was wearing.

“It’s not me, officer. This woman punched me.”

“I can check the CCTV to verify your statement.”

“Not because she’s a woman, she’s innocent.” The

junkie appealed. He was looking pitiful as if he was the victim.

“Right. Ma’am, can we go to the precinct for your

official statement?”

She nodded.

They sat at the back. The police officer gestured for

her to stand first when they arrived at the bus stop.

The officer was startled when Emma stood.

She was no longer surprised. She was quite tall for a

woman and the officer was a little on the short side.

She stood five feet and ten inches and the two men

were of the same height. About a couple of inches shorter.

“You’re a little early today.” The woman behind the

desk greeted them when they reached the precinct. “You hunt by yourself?”

“I did. Found them on the bus. Can you get her

details please?”

“Emma?”

The tall woman turned when he heard her name.

A well-toned guy entered the precinct. He was not in

uniform. His shirt was plastered on his biceps and washboard abs.

“Hey,’ She greeted when she recognized him.

It was Boom Dela Vega. He is a maritime police

officer. It was surprising to see him on land.

“You know this woman, Boom?”

They both looked at the police officer who came with

them from the bus.

“She’s my friend. She owned the auto shop near the

port.”

“Oh?” The officer said. “Can you leave a statement

before you go, ma’am? SOP.”

“Sure.”

“Please follow me.”

“I’ll be here when you’re done. I want to speak with

you about something.”

Fifteen minutes later, she and Boom went out of the

precinct. They went to the nearest coffee shop that operates twenty-four-seven.

It mostly catered the uniformed officers nearby.

“What’s up?”

Emma capped the hot coffee between her hands. She

stared at the man opposite her.

She met Boom when she went to the public beach a few

years ago. She was with a woman that she was dating back then. That time, Boom

was still new to the police department. He was about twenty-two and fresh from

the academy.

She helped him apprehend a man that assaulted his

wife publicly. She recently resigned from her post in the military due to her

father’s deteriorating health.

“She’s back?”

“Who?”

She grabbed the cookie from the plate. She did not

realize that she was hungry. She spent so much energy at Angela’s place. That

woman can drain a person.

“Her wife.”

“Oh? So, you thought because the wife went away, you

will have a chance to be with her?”

His silence was enough confirmation for her question.

Emma finished the large cookie in four bites. She

peeled the banana muffin and bit half of it before placing it back on the

plate. She focused her attention on her friend who appeared to be waiting to be

scolded.

Her friend has been in love with the same woman since

he was a teenager. Unfortunately, the woman loves another.

“Man, they are married. They are fully mated. The

woman loves her wife. She never dated anyone even when the woman was gone for

years. What do you expect?”

Yes, Boom has been smitten with a woman who is also in

love with another woman.

“I expect a friend who speaks as if she cared.”

She chuckled. “You went to the wrong friend, man.”

Boom rolled his eyes before he sipped on the hot

Americano he ordered.

Her friend is a full-blooded werewolf. He belonged to

a pack though his job required him to stay in the city. However, he remained a

part of the pack. Boom also knew that Emma was a werewolf. They recognized each

other the first time that they met.

“Aren’t you wondering who your mate might be?”

She snorted. She also sipped on her coffee.

“I forget that part of my life, Boom.”

“How could you? I mean, you have a wolf. You speak

with your wolf.”

She looked at her friend intently.

“My wolf understands that we do not belong in the

pack. Besides, if we have a mate, we already met our mate by now.”

Emma is already thirty-two years old while Boom is

twenty-eight. Both of them have not met their mate yet.

Most werewolves meet their mate between seventeen to

twenty-one years old. Some others were unlucky to meet their fate later in

life or not at all.

A mate is a person that the Moon goddess is given to

her brethren. It is the destined person for each and every werewolf shifter. A

mate can be recognized from the time that a person shifted at the age of

seventeen.

A person’s fated mate can be recognized differently.

One thing is for sure, the attraction was immediate and overwhelming. Well,

according to the people who already met theirs.

“You know what? I wish you meet your mate soon so

that you can stop whoring around.”

Emma shrugged. She sent her friend a smile.

“I don’t do relationships. You know that. I can only

maintain friendship and companionship.”

“You also ruin relationships, man. I recognized the

woman’s scent from your clothes. You used to see her. What was her name again?”

Instead of answering her friend, she sent him a smug

look.

“F*ck! Angela has a boyfriend. I saw her with a guy

the other day.”

“She called me.”

“Damn! You’re a wh*re, E.”

“I can’t say no to a beautiful woman.”

Boom threw a crumpled tissue on her face that made

her laugh. It echoed in the coffee shop.