Chapter Two

“I beg your pardon!” Erin said haughtily. She didn’t know which one annoyed her the most – that this strange man had the audacity to call her his mate or that she felt he might be telling the truth.

“Erin, there you are!” Farida said and waltzed into the back room in her flowing chiffon kimono with beautiful Aztec prints. Her chocolate skin glistened with health and her full Afro hair looked like a dark halo around her head.

“I see you’ve finally met our boss, Mr. Devon Grey,” Farida continued cheerfully, completely oblivious to the tension in the room. “Devon, let me officially introduce you to our new intern, Erin Brown.”

Erin couldn’t believe her ears – this weirdo was the owner of the gallery? Great!

“This is the Devon Grey?” She asked incredulously.

“The one and only!” Replied Farida proudly.

While Devon may not be a known face due to his reclusive lifestyle, his talent and work have made him famous in Alsaka and the entire northwest region of the country. His paintings have been featured in several art exhibitions around the country and he has also won many awards for his outstanding pieces. Curiously, not many people know what Devon look like and Erin can now see why – the guy may be a genius with a paintbrush, but he wasn’t quite right in the head.

“Oh, what a… pleasure to finally meet you in person,” said Erin, unconvincingly.

“Sure,” he said, still looking at her strangely. He finally turned to Farida and said, “I’ll be in my office if you need me.”

“Of course,” she said and stepped aside to let Devon pass on his way out of the back room. Once they were alone, Farida returned her full attention to Erin.

“So, are you ready to start? Are you excited?”

“Yes, and yes,” said Erin with a laugh. She loved Farida’s bubbly personality and she was sure that working with her for the next couple of weeks would be fun.

“Great. Now let’s begin with the inventory. Some customers will be stopping by today to pick up a few pieces and we will…”

As Farida continued talking, Erin couldn’t help but be drawn once again to the giant wolf painting that featured a werewolf with an uncanny resemblance to her. Now that she has seen Devon in person, she knew without a shred of doubt that he was the male werewolf in the painting. But how could he have known her? He may not have a remarkable face, but Erin was sure that if she had ever met him before, either in human or wolf form, she would have recognized him today thanks to her sharp memory.

“Outstanding, isn’t it?” Farida asked beside her, jerking her back to reality.

“Huh? Oh, I’m sorry, I got carried away with my thoughts,” Erin apologized, slightly embarrassed. “What were you saying?”

“The painting,” Farida nodded at the masterpiece that has held Erin’s attention since the moment she set eyes on it. “It’s breathtaking, isn’t it?”

“Yeah. Is this one of Devon’s works?”

“Yes. He spent months working on it in his office and as soon as he finished it last week, he brought it down here.”

“Why here? Why not out there in the main gallery?”

Farida shrugged. “I don’t know. He has vehemently refused to display it and wouldn’t say why. You can’t imagine how frustrating it is for me to leave this beautiful body of work to remain hidden here like this. Trust me, if this baby makes it to the front, it will be snatched up within seconds.”

“I know,” Erin agreed. “Does it have a title?”

“A Werewolf Fantasy,” replied Farida quietly. “I love it.”

“Very apt.”

“And there’s a story too. According to Devon, that stone in the painting levitating above the wolves is called the dream stone, passed down from generation to generation by werewolf ancestors. Legend has it that the stone has the power to take the keeper to their past or future to seek the truth they wish to know.”

Erin replied with a raised eyebrow and Farida raised her hands in surrender.

“Don’t look at me, I didn’t make up the story, Devon did. And the best part? There is an actual stone to prove that this werewolf legend thingy is true.”

“Are you serious?”

“Hold on, let me show you,” said Farida, and she walked over to a small desk at the end of the room and retrieved a small tan pouch from the drawer. She brought the pouch to Erin and emptied the content onto her open palm. The translucent stone was cool to touch and was the size of a large lemon. It looked like a diamond but it didn’t have the luster to qualify as one.

“It’s – it’s beautiful,” Erin whispered, mystified. “Where did he get this?”

Farida shrugged. “He didn’t say. Besides, I kinda believe he made that story up to give the painting an air of mystery, not that it needs that to sell by the way.”

“You may be right,” Erin said, her eyes still glued on the stone.

“And on that note, I say we get on with our work for today,” said Farida.

“Sure,” replied Erin, handing the stone and pouch back to Farida for safekeeping. She couldn’t shake the feeling that there might be an element of truth in Devon’s story about the stone. It may all sound somewhat woo-woo to Farida, especially the bit about werewolf ancestors since she was human, but for Erin, it was believable. Her werewolf ancestry thrived on legends and many of them were true, so this story about the dream stone might just be legit after all.  She made a mental note to ask her sister-in-law, Aubrey, about it later tonight at the Full Moon Feast.