Bane of My Existence

Chapter 1

The music was loud. Even from a block away, the bass reverberated through Kinsey's bones. She huddled into her jacket and slipped a glare Sabrina's way. This wasn't exactly what she had in mind when she said she wanted to go out tonight. Kinsey would have much preferred their cute and quiet cafe in the heart of the city--a block away from their apartment. Not a rowdy bar in the warehouse district, with very few lights and even less people on the streets.

The noise wasn't even what scared her the most.

It was the people inside.

The shifters.

They had revealed themselves to the public just over a year ago. It had come as a shock to the world. People who could turn into animals? That was stuff in books, not real life. Kinsey had read enough supernatural stories to know she would have preferred them to stay that way. As stories.

And if books and horror movies didn't convince her that shifters were bad news, her sister, Carissa, made a point of it during their family Sunday dinners. She showed her videos of shifters lifting cars over their heads and of them tearing a pig's carcass in half with one swipe of their razer sharp claws. That was just in their human form. Their animal forms were just as dexterous, if not more deadly. Humans were banned from walking in the woods around the city to avoid running into them while they hunted.

Sabrina squeezed her arm, pulling her to a stop just a few feet from the Howling Moon bar. She fixed a pair of sharp gray eyes at Kinsey's reluctance; they appeared more blue under the bright neon sign of a howling wolf looming over them. "You said you would help me with my research." She waved flippantly at the grand wooden entrance. "Where else am I going to find inspiration for my next hit than in the biggest shifter bar in the city?"

Kinsey groaned. Her family would kill her if she was caught hanging around shifters. Since the shifters came out to the world, her family sided with the half of the population who would rather remain ignorant of the existence of shifters or preferred to think of them more as animals than people.

Kinsey had the humbling experience of being best friends with someone who had entirely the opposite opinion--and made a killing off their existence.

Which brought her to her current living conditions, sharing a one bedroom apartment with Sabrina until Kinsey could find a place. Her parents had expressed their great discontent with Kinsey's choice of friends. Kinsey bit back, reminding them they wouldn't even be in the house they were in now if it weren't for Carissa's money. They did not appreciate the reminder that they had once lived on the east side of town, barely able to afford to pay rent. If it weren't for their scholarships, neither Carissa or Kinsey could have afforded to go to university to become rich and successful scientists for their parents to leech off of.

So they kicked her out.

That was a month ago.

Kinsey sighed, ruminating when she wasn't supposed to be. "I suppose after a drink or two, they won't be so scary."

Sabrina clapped her on the back, a proud, smug grin splitting her face. "'Atta girl! Let's go."

Sabrina basically dragged her through the front door. They were instantly hit with an overwhelming sweet yet musky aroma and blinding flashing lights. Kinsey would have taken a step back to give her eyes a moment to adjust to the assault on her retinas if it hadn't been Sabrina's sole determination to explore the unknown. She pulled her through the crowd, which made Kinsey feel even shorter than she already was, given that the average height of these people appeared to be six feet.

They found a booth off to the side. Thankfully, most of the flashing lights were at the entrance to greet new patrons and Kinsey was finally given a moment to see.