#Chapter 174: Losing a Tail

Matt

I stocked up on clothes for Celeste, making sure to grab multiple of everything, just in case she wolfed out again. I picked up a few things for myself as well, but I didn’t need as much. While my clothes were slightly baggy, they didn’t bother me if I had a belt on. Celeste, on the other hand, was swimming in fabric.

It was one of those combat stores, run-down and off-putting from the outside. The sort of place respectable people didn’t shop. It was perfect for what I needed.

I put the clothes in my car and walked down the street, heading for a corner store at the end. Ted sent me out with a few bills and a plea for a carton of cigarettes. We weren’t supposed to leave the compound if we could help it, and Ted was getting desperate for nicotine. His boyfriend, Andrew, called it a nasty habit, but Ted didn’t seem to care.

“I need it,” he’d insisted. I was taking pity on him.

I was halfway down the road when the hairs on the back of my neck stood up. I reached the corner but didn’t