Chapter 31

The weekend had finally arrived, and as I was lucky enough to have weekends off, I was spending the morning in the bookstore with Lila. It was during a lull in customers that I saw the book. It was tucked away in a corner of the shelf, almost as if it had been deliberately hidden. The cover was worn, the title inked in faded letters: 'The Lycan Legacy of New Orleans'.

I pulled it out, feeling the weight of its pages and the history that lay within. Lila looked up from the cash register, her eyes widening when she saw the book in my hands.

"That's an old one," she said, her voice low. "Most folks don't even know it's here."

"What's it about?" I asked, my curiosity piqued.

"Lycanthropy," she said, her eyes sparkling with a hint of mischief. "The werewolf legends of the city."

I raised an eyebrow, a smile playing on my lips. "You don't say?"

"It's not just stories," she said, leaning in closer. "Some say it's based on real events."

The hair on the back of my neck stood on end, and I coul