Renegade

1

The jingle of the keys seemed like an unwanted sound that echoed through the quiet surroundings. At 3 AM, Winter Lewis, is up and trying to open the backdoor of The Hound's Basket pub. She needed to prep in time for the breakfast service.

At 19 years old, Winter believes herself to be a competent sous chef under the tutelage of her boss, Mary. It was not a five star diner so she figured she should not be so proud of herself. However, it is a great boost of confidence as far as she was concerned.

Winter had been passed from one foster family to another. She could not put a finger on it but ever since she woke up in that some kind of private hospital when she was a kid, she did not have any recollection of who she is and who she belonged to.

She had been greeted by different faces but none of them were familiar. At the back of her head she could feel that she should know them but they had told her they found her outside the walled compound and treated her until she got better. She remembered being friends with a young boy while she was there recovering but Winter could not remember his name or face except that he had icy blue eyes that almost looked white when light hit them.

They did not take her in as a ward or hired help but instead gave her to an orphanage at the next town. Winter stayed an orphan until she was 10. A middle-aged couple had come by the building and decided to adopt her. She was happy at first but when she turned 14 something happened that she could not actually believe was true. It was a transformation that was totally out of this world.

Winter had repeated to herself that it was a nightmare and what she experienced was just a bizarre dream brought on by the flu that she had been suffering during that time. Her foster parents as their two sons had tried to tell her that it was not uncanny and that they knew what had occurred. She was told that she was not the only one who had that ability.

Winter did not want to believe and she used all her might to forget and suppress the urges that had been plaguing her ever since that incident. She fought nail and tooth against the scary transition and raged a verbal as well as a battle of wills with the voice inside her head. Finally, the haughty and dominant female voice of the wolf inside her head had retreated and by the time she was 16, the burning need for transformation had ceased.

Her foster parents were surprised at what she had achieved but respected her wishes to just forget and move on from it. She just wanted to be normal. Jill and Gabe, her foster parents, decided to move away from the city and they ended up in a small town somewhere between Alaska and the Canadian border. 

"f**k!" She cursed, momentarily distracted as her hand slipped from the key she was gripping. The lock seemed to be jammed. She mentally cursed again thinking that she should have checked Rico's work since he was the one tasked to check the jammed lock.

Winter gritted her teeth as she pulls the key out of the lock and tried again. Finally, after some tinkering and shaking, the lock gave way. She breathed a sigh of relief as she pushed it open and entered the kitchen. It was cold but then again, the whole town had always been cold. 

She rubbed her hands together and turned on the heater as well as the lights. She took off her jacket and opened her small locker by the wall beside the employee's bathroom. She brushed her white blonde hair away from her face and began tying it into a neat bun.

A few minutes later, the kitchen is filled with steaming pots of water and defrosting meat by the sink. Most of the diners that came in were truckers passing through as well as the people in town who had jobs that required an early start in the day.

The Hound's Basket is one of the two places you can actually get close to a decent, almost-sophisticated diner in Redwater Town. It is a quaint little town near Skagway Alaska with a population that was more or less around 3, 275 people. Winter loved working there because it allowed her to make friends with a lot of people as well as meet new people from different places.

Winter left the kitchen after prepping most of what is needed. She had been working there for almost three years and by now everything that was her duties were like second nature for her. She turned the lights on, set up the bar behind the long counter with stools and put on the three percolators.

She looked at her watch and realized that it was already 4:30AM. She grinned and waited for the back door's bell to jingle which usually ushered Mary and her son, Jackson. While Mary cooked, Jackson bussed tables while she worked behind the counter as well as the cash register. On occasion, she switched with Mary in the kitchen. 

Jackson Colt is 2 years older than her and is obviously crushing on her. He had asked her out but Winter thought it was weird to be dating her boss' son as well as co-worker. Plus, she isn't one bit attracted to Jackson. He's tall, pretty handsome and a sweetheart but for some reason, he was more like a big brother to her.

"Good morning!"

The cheerful voice from the kitchen and Winter went to the the front door and turned the sign from CLOSED to OPEN.

"I'm up front, Mary!" Winter called out while she made her way towards the kitchen. 

"Thanks for prepping the kitchen, honey!" Mary greeted her with a huge smile. Winter always thought that her boss is such a sweetheart. She rarely raised her voice and there was nothing that seem to rattle her. If she would describe her, Winter thought that Mary looked like Santa Claus' wife!

"It's what you pay me to do." Winter replied, rolling her eyes.

"Coffee ready?" Jackson asked giving her a huge grin. She always wondered how he could be so cheerful so early in the morning. He looked extra fresh today like he had been on a run before coming over with his mom.

Winter nodded and thumbed towards the location of the counter. He nodded and proceeded to get himself a cup. He asked if his mother wanted one but she declined and began unwrapping the bacon and sausage links.

"Do you want me to get started on the hash?" Winter asked.

"Can you grab a couple more eggs? I heard that Rayburn's crew is coming in for breakfast. You know how they  go through our over-easy!'

Winter grinned and grabbed another dozen eggs from the back. She looked down and sniffed, why did she smell blood? She had not checked the back pantry since there was no need for extra ingredients yet. She wondered if Mary got new meat?

"Hey, Mary? Why does the pantry smell like blood?" She asked as she placed the tray of eggs beside the ones that were already out.

"Oh." Mary replied, her eyes dimming a bit with worry but it was gone in a flash that Winter thought she imagined it. "I think it's from the deer meat I got yesterday. I thought Jackson cleaned it up. Would you please get him for me?"

Winter nodded and went out to get Jackson. "Your mom wants you! You forgot to clean up some blood spill in the pantry!" 

Jackson's eyes grew wide for a minute before he rushed towards the kitchen, almost spilling his coffee. He stopped to try and wipe it but Winter told him she got it. While she was wiping the spill on the counter, she heard them talk about the blood.

"You have to be careful, Jack!' Mary said, lowering her voice. "What if she saw that!" 

"I'm sorry. I know I shouldn't have left it there but I forgot since Marcus wanted me to do two things at almost the same time!" Jackson reasoned. 

"Shh... Keep your voice down. Just take care of it and call Marcus to get it before it causes suspicion!" 

Winter frowned, curious at what was going on in the kitchen. She was about to go and ask when the front door's bell chimed and people began trickling in. She smiled as she recognized a few of the regulars. She greeted them all and began getting mugs and filling them with coffee.

Three regulars seated in their regular stools by the counter and she placed their mugs in front of them while asking if they were getting their usual breakfast. They nodded and thanked her for the coffee. The three men worked for the Police force and never seemed to miss breakfast in the Hound ever since Winter could remember.

Soon, the pub was filled with more regulars and the kitchen started getting busy. Winter had to help Jackson with some of the orders and she did not complain. The Hound was like her second home and she loved the warmth and camaraderie it represented in Redwater.

By the time brunch rolled in, she noticed that the usual chatter in the dining area suddenly became muted. It was like a heavy silence just descended in it. There is also a sudden weird energy in the air and Winter could not help but glance up from the cash register.

Winter's eyes were drawn towards the open front door and she almost gasped in surprise. She felt her body shiver and it was suddenly hard to swallow as icy, blue eyes met hers. She felt her breath hitch in her throat, feeling that she knew whose eyes were those.

"Well, well..." She vaguely heard Jackson say as he placed another bill beside the open register. "The prodigal son returns!'