Alright
let’s go back to more recent times. With this chapter I’ll be talking about another
point of survival, something that honestly is the most important of the Rules
about which I’ll be speaking. It’s something with which every lycan struggles.
It’s the heart of many of the other problems with which we lycans have to deal.
If you are wondering about what I’m speaking, it’s quite obvious: Anger
Management. Our transformation is tied directly to our heart rate. The easiest
way to up someone’s heart rate is to get them angry. Unfortunately, not only is
our transformation directly connected to our heart rate, but also our emotions
are heightened extremely so as lycans. We unfortunately were given the worst
combination of traits: heightened emotions and transformations tied directly to
our heart rate.

It’s
been ages since I had my last true incident involving anger issues, however,
we’ve seen many of my mates who’ve had issues with anger. Believe it or not the
best method I’ve found for dealing with my anger is deep and measured
breathing. It is how I’ve kept my state of employ at the jobs I had at both
Leland and now CU Boulder. I actually work in the sandwich shop right next to
campus. I’ll tell you that the people who come in their can be extremely
frustrating and I would’ve blown my lid a while ago had my boss not been very
careful about my heart rate. In fact when he saw my note of being a lycan on my
application (they actually give you a choice nowadays between these four
options: Lycan, Werewolf, Direwolf, or Human) he gave me a heart monitor that
bluetoothed to his phone. He pulled me away if ever my heart rate got above a
certain level. Anyways, this is going to actually be a pretty short chapter,
because I honestly don’t think that it needs to be covered exhaustedly.

So
let’s meet Michael. He’s a lycan of African American decent and actually could
be called a werejackal (H. lycaon
mesomelas). He and I started dating not long after Jeremy died. He and I
dated a while and were coming upon five months dating when I was accepted into
the University of Colorado at Boulder. You see I’d gone through the typical
four years at Leland and graduated. After which I went to work for a marketing
firm in New York City, New York. Until the 2089 elections and the first lycan
executive official came to office. Then I moved to Colorado where I lived with
first James and then Jeremy. I’d gotten a job at a Denver marketing firm before
dating Jeremy; I couldn’t stand living in Breckenridge after James’ death. And
then Denver became too much for me. I moved up to Boulder. Why? Because I was
actually looking to start another undergraduate degree.

We
met the night of the full moon, on the side of a road. Now had I let my wolf
fully take over, I don’t think we’d even be talking about Michael. You see, the
lycan and its werewolf cousin are opportunist carnivores. In other words if
they find an injured animal on the side of the road, they dig in. However, when
I saw that jackal the size of a bear I just helped get him to the nearest
veterinarian I could find. I couldn’t help myself. I wanted to see what he
looked like in human form. I wasn’t disappointed to say the least.

***

Michael
and I had been dating for about a month when his quarterly review came up. It
was something that lykos especially feared. It wasn’t an easy thing knowing
that you could very easily be graded harsher than a human, because of the fact
that you could turn into a bear-sized canine. He’d dressed in one of his best
business suits and was about to leave. He looked at me and smiled nervously,
“Shall we celebrate when I get home?”

“I
don’t know, Mike. Jones seems like a kind of hard-ass. Are you sure he’ll give
you a good review?” I replied.

The
answer I received was a deep kiss. I just melted in my mate’s muscular arms. My
eyes went half-lidded from the deepness of the kiss, Ni Gozi! He was such an amazing kisser. When he broke the kiss I
was panting, looking into his beautifully golden eyes, when he asked jokingly,
“That answer your question, love? I’m absolutely positive that I will receive a
very positive review. We can celebrate tonight by going hunting in Loveland.
C’mon, love. It’s been forever since I’ve experienced the thrill of the chase.
We’ll find a big buck and chow down.”

“No
sé… I’ll say this: Get a good review and I will give you the best night of your
life.” I stated with no small amount of seduction in my voice.

He
murred in excitement. “Have a good day at work, my darling.” He bade
cheerfully.

I
smiled as he left. I had no honest clue as to my future. However, I knew one
thing that man with his gorgeous, dark caramel skin and his optimistic attitude
and let’s not forget his near-perfect physique was in it. Now don’t get me
wrong Nikola was built, but he paled in comparison to this man. Six-foot-eight,
two hundred eighty pounds of pure muscle, and extremely intelligent. He was a
purebred alpha with a line that went back to ancient Nome, Egypt, where his
ancestors had been bitten both by one of Nyctimus’ brothers the night of their
wedding day. He’d shown me the family tree that his family had meticulously
updated with each new generation. It didn’t surprise me, however. The most
ancient families of Lycans often did this. Even though, unfortunately for
Michael’s family they were of sub-Saharan African descent. They were slaves of
the Egyptian empire during the reign of Shebitku. It was somewhat of a stain to
their pride of being one of the five ancient families. There’s the Mendels, the
Lýkoys (my family), the von Preußens the Cesares and the Xiangs. All of these
families owed their long line of mystical lycanthropy to an original bite from
one of Lycaon’s fifty sons. Though only the Cesares and the Mendels know whose
bite started it all. The only thing of note that my family was sure of was that
the ‘she-wolf’ who took in Romulus and Remus came from my family line. Her name
giving the Romans their word for wolf. Lupa.

Anyways
I watched him leave with a large smile on my face before I went to get ready
for work.

***

“Can
I get a Pakalolo blunt and a drink?” a rather hefty college freshman asked. He
was maybe nineteen by looking at him and definitely human. His B.O was
overpowering to my lycan nose. It was almost as if he hadn’t showered in
months. I also smelled the distinct smell of burnt cannabis on his person. I
hated dealing with potheads, the smell of cannabis always lingered for so long
after they had left the shop. I’d explained this to the manager several times
and he’d just said that we’d get those customers here with the theme of the
shop being that of cannabis and those who smoked it.

“Sure
thing, Lou. Anything else for you? A goo-ball, perhaps?” I asked the shop’s
only regular. He’d been coming here since January.

He
looked at me with that typical pot-head paranoia I was so used to now. Then it
looked like he remembered who I was, “Sure, Gabi. Tell me, man. How are things
with Mike?”

“Jovial
as always—that’ll be 8.50—He’s got a performance review today. He wants to take
me out tonight to celebrate.”

“Sounds
awesome, man.” He replied in that typical stoner drawl. He handed me a debit
card.

I
swiped it and handed it back to the man. Knowing from months of seeing him that
he’d not ask for a receipt. He was sweet enough, and didn’t mind that I
‘preferred the company of men’ as some put it. He was always pretty happy in
the last five months that I’d known him. The exception being the first week of
May, he’d literally started crying when I asked him how finals were going. I
had actually gone in feigning a concerned family member to try and find out his
grades. I don’t know why he was crying, he aced every single one of them. I
think he was just trying to get some sympathy that he did not need. Or maybe
there was something else that had been bothering him. I hadn’t pushed the
issue, because it wasn’t truly that much of my concern. I had started caring
for the teen though. He seemed to need a caring adult in his life.

“…Hello?
Can I get a Pinner Dank and a toasted brownie?” the next customer broke me out
of my reverie. I jumped a little in surprise.

“Huh…Oh
yeah sure thing. Do you want a drink with that, ma’am?”

“No
just the sub and the brownie, please.” She shoved the card in my face.

“Total’s
going to be 7.45” I replied tersely. The woman who had broken my reverie had
been extremely demanding and unintentionally rude. I could feel my boss’s eyes
drilling into my back and my heart pounding behind my eyes. I could also feel
my teeth starting to elongate into fangs. I swiped the rude woman’s card and
almost growled out the next question, “Receipt?’

“No
thanks.” She replied and went on her merry way.

I
felt the boss’s arm on my shoulder the next instant and sighed, “del Lobo go to
the back. I’ll handle things out here while you cool down,” the boss ordered. I
obeyed I headed to the back and took a deep breath, calming my nerves and
halting my transformation in its tracks. I still was a little angry at the
lady, but she didn’t deserve to have her face mauled off for her unintentional
rudeness. Yes she does. My wolf
replied. I could feel my subconscious roiling with anger toward that woman.
That I understood. The wolf had always taken things and blown them out of
proportion. It was always wanting to maul a rude customer’s face off. However
we—or rather I—knew that wasn’t a good idea. I’d rather like to stay a lycan.
Being a direwolf didn’t sound like fun. Thank the heavens I’d already dealt
with the hellish onslaught of customers during lunch. It was now around 2.30 in
the afternoon and people were just trickling in now. It wasn’t too big of a
deal for me to commune with my wolf.

It’s been way to long since you’ve let
loose, my dear Gabriel. The wolf said.

I’m not letting you loose and losing my job.

No you are right. How about tonight with
Michael. That jackal is a beautiful mate. You two have only messed around. I
haven’t met his ‘wolf’ truly yet. Let me mate him tonight, Gabi. Then I’ll
leave you and these annoying humans alone for a while.

This isn’t debatable, is it?

The
wolf was silent. That was that. I was fully mating Michael tonight, bringing
together two ancient Lycan families in the old tradition. If my wolf wanted
this. To truly mate with Michael he
had decided. What was I saying? I had decided. My heart, my wolf, and my mind
had all came to the same solution: Michael was to be my life mate. I literally
squeed. My heart rate dropped, my anger subsided, and I was absolutely giddy. I
just proved how ADD lycan emotions could be.

***

“So
Mr. Mendel, you obviously know that your quarterly review is being posted
today. That’s why I called you in here. Anything you want to say before I
continue.” Marcus Argentus asked Michael. The man was about in his late
forties, quite pudgy, and really did not seem the kind of man that would
actually be capable of running a law firm with the highest success rate in
Boulder County.

Michael
just shook his head no. He did not need to add anything or try and excuse any
of his behavior. He was honestly one of the best lawyers in the firm. He’d won
seventy-five percent of all their cases in the last six months since he’d been
hired. “I have not the need nor the desire to say anything other than I am
thankful for the opportunity to work with this firm. It allows me to stay close
to my beloved. And not have to commute.”

“Ah…yes.
How are you and Gabriel doing?”
Argentus asked not unkindly.

“I
believe that we’re about to become the lyko equivalent of married tonight. If
I’m understanding what my jackal’s been telling me.”

“Really.
That’s awesome. I wish you all the best and a long future. I also give you this
advice: Your greatest ally in the courtroom is your worst enemy in the bedroom.
Honesty and trust is how a relationship survives, Mike. I know once tonight is
through there won’t be much you can do about it, since Lycans literally mate
for life, but understand this, young lyko. A relationship isn’t a court case.
You aren’t trying to trick the jury into believing your side of the story is
the right one. In the courtroom of love, the Jury knows when you’re lying.”

“Thank
you, sir. I’ll be sure to keep that in mind. Now, I don’t mean to sound in a
rush, but could we please move on to the performance review.”

The
older gentleman nodded understandingly and grabbed a folder, legal length of
course, and pulled out a packet with a blue rear cover signaling it as the
original copy of a legal document. He looked down and started, “Well I don’t
think I need to tell you much. Your case record speaks for itself and is, by
far, one of the best in the firm. However, you often do not seem to work well
in groups and seem to run away from socially difficult situations quickly. If
you were a normal human I’d say you had some minor form of autism. However, I
understand that you are merely protecting yourself and others by trying to not
get aggravated to the point of no return. It wouldn’t do to see one of my best
council members turn into a DireWolf and be carted off to Mellinworth.” He
looked at Michael to see him looking down and to the left, lifting one of his
arms to the back of his neck and rubbing it nervously, “To be honest, Mendel,
it would be in your best interest to seek out an anger management councilor. I
will also hook you up with a Bluetooth heart monitor if need be.”

“I
understand, sir. However the best
thing for me to do in aggravating social situations is to leave. I don’t need
anger management. I already have that down. I am a purebred alpha Lycan of one
of the Five Families. I know how to deal with my anger. If I don’t may Lycaon
spit on my grave.” Michael said matter-of-factly, “I’ve also got a heart
monitor already.”

“I’m
sorry I didn’t mean to offend. It just seems like running away from a social
situation is not the best way to make a good impression. However, I think many
understand.”

“Lycans
becoming known was actually one of the best things to happen to our race in the
last three thousand years. Lycaon’s children, those who spawned the race of
lycans the ones whose bite still runs through my veins, they might actually be
proud.”

“However,
it’s also created an assumption that many autistics fall under as well. It
creates a problem that instead of believing one has a mental issue with
communication like autism, it is believed that they are just lycans trying not
to scare others in there wolf form.”

“Yes
that is indeed a problem. However, I believe that we have veered far from the
point of this meeting. Is there anything else that needs to be said?”

“Well,
Mr. Mendel, I must ask you what you think about a promotion to senior partner.”
The portly man stated.

“No
you mustn’t, I accept.”

“Well,
Mr. Mendel, I’m glad. You have just become one of the youngest partners this
firm has had since its founding. Congratulations. You start your new position
on Monday.” He dismissed the lyko and Michael went back to work on his current
case.

***

“Ahhh….what a tiring day!” I said as I
got inside the door. It was about an hour before Michael would stop working on
whatever case he was currently and head home so I decided to call Javier. I
grabbed my comm-link and selected Javier from the holographic display. The link
rang three times before Javier answered.

“Hello?”

“Hey
Javi, what’s up? I have exciting news.”

“Hmm?
What might that be?”

“I’ve
found him.”

“Who?”
Javier’s voice sounded like he feared the next answer. The man still had
feelings for me. Apparently.

“Javier, te lo introduje en el mes
pasado. Él es mi parejo por la vida. Creí que estés emocionado, no enojado.
¿Qué es tu problema con Michael?”

“Your what?!”

“My
instinct tells me he’s the one. Javier you understand, don’t you?”

“I
understand, Gabi…It’s…It’s just that…I thought that…we’d be life-mates.” Javi
sounded so down-trodden.

“You
do realize that I still consider you a friend even after what you did to
Nikola. Javi, look. You are no longer my alpha, solely my friend and as such I
wanted you to know what’s about to happen.”

I
heard the sound of glass shattering from the other end of the comms and then
the connection ended. I didn’t realize how much he still cared for me. I think I
may have just created a monster. I think Javier may have snapped. The amount of
loss that lyko had felt was bound to have consequences on his psyche.
Apparently it did. I had to get to Michael. Now.

***

“Have
a good night, Len. Say hi to Maria for me, would you?” Michael said as he
walked out of the elevator towards his car and the man in the elevator went
down one more level. Michael loved being on the ground level. Easy in. Easy
out. That made it simple to get out of the office building. He fumbled for his
keys in his pocket before he clicked the unlock button sounded and the
satisfying horn of his 1995 Jetta sounded. He walked up to the vehicle opened
the passenger rear door before plopping his briefcase down on the seat.

He
was about to get into his car when he heard panting. He snorted. Yet another
challenger. It had to be. He was an alpha wolf after all. He expected to be
constantly challenged for power constantly. However then he heard the growl. It
wasn’t challenging it was murderous. Apparently this Lycan believed that
Michael had done something wrong. Then a bear-sized Mexican Red jumped up the
ramp from the basement. It wasn’t me, Michael was sure of that, it had to be
someone else. That’s when he saw the gleam in his eyes. The color of his eyes
made him remember a reporter from San Tomas, California. He’d been Gabriel’s
Alpha before Michael and I’d started dating. “Javier, What the hell?”

“YOU…TOOK…MY…MATE!!!!!!!!”
exclaimed and he lunged toward the mid-change Michael. That’s when I flung through
the air and tackled the large wolf. We tumbled a few times before we both
skidded to our feet facing each other.

“Javier, No soy tu parejo. No soy un socio de tu manada.
Por favor, ¡Déjanos en paz!” I growled soothingly to the
deranged lycan. He was mad with rage any lyko could have told you that.

“Gabi,
What the hell is he doing here?” rumbled the now fully changed black-backed
were-jackal, “Why did he just try and attack me?”

“Later.
We need to calm him down before he does anything he’ll regret.” I said to
Michael.

“Look,
Javi. I admit you’ll always have a special place in my heart but you and I were
never meant to be.”

“That’s
bullshit, Gabriel. You know it is.” Javi growled back at me.

I
sighed a little knowing this was going to take work. I spoke to Javier’s wolf,
“Ferzo ne zif rana hrna.”

Javier
tilted his head in confusion. “I don’t need to listen to reason, Gabriel…What!
YOU’RE ON HIS SIDE?!”

He
looked defeated. The wolf had spoken to him. It understood what I already knew.
Javier and I weren’t destined for each other. He slowly transformed back into a
human. His face redder than usual as though he were still angry. Or he was
embarrassed. I changed back with Michael and walked up to him to hug him
fiercely. “I’m so glad you’re alright.”

“I
could have dealt with him on my own, love. You know that.” He grabbed the back
of my neck and lightly squeezed. I lowered trying to get away from his hand,
“Also really need to check your place. You and I aren’t mated yet. You are
still my beta for the meantime.”

“Gabriel.
If this is the one you wish to mate with, tonight is going to be the best night
for it. Full Moon, on the solstice, no less. It’s the ultimate night to be
mated. I wish you the best. However bittersweet this is for me, I’m glad you’re
happy, Gabriel. And also Michael, if you hurt Gabriel del Lobo in any way shape
or form, you can guarantee that I will be there to make you pay.”

“Ve, Javi, ve. Necesitamos tiempo para prepararnos. Eso
es un gran evento.” I said giddily whilst Michael held
me in his arms.

Javier
Patrón del Lobo, the man whom I’d come to know as my alpha nearly lost his
sanity that day. But it seemed, as he left, that he was going to be fine. He
was a good man, even if his temper was one of the worst I’d ever dealt with. It’s
something that every Lyko must find: their anchor. The thing that keeps them
grounded and allows them to stay in control of these extreme ups and downs of
emotions that go alongside of being a lyko. Otherwise you end up a Direwolf—if you’re
a lycan that is—and get thrown in the ‘slammer’. Otherwise known as Mellinworth
Prison for the Criminally Insane. That’s where the government tossed all the Direwolves.
It was a lyko prison.

The
easiest key to anger management for a lycan is to find their grounding element.
For Javier, it was his best friend, crush, and eventual mate—I was that lyko.
For myself, It’s Michael. He’s slowly become the man who keeps me in the here
and now. He keeps me well loved and I return the favor.