Rougarou Girlfriend: Gisela (special preview)

The lineage of mayors in Hearthway Hollow is a short one. For the longest time, there hadn’t been any sort of government outside the Elders and their circle. It wasn’t until the nineties that a bodying town government was formed. It was in an attempt to protect the human interest, which was slowly growing in Hearthway Hollow.

I used to work with the parks department, a rather new and fledgling wing of this government. From the time I moved to Hearthway Hollow when I was a teen, I had worked there doing gardening and clean up, moving my way up through the ranks until I was head of it. I was asked if I would run for mayor when the elections were coming up. I was backed by Mrs. Locklear, who I knew was important to the town, but I never realized how important until I became elected.

It was when I was elected mayor that I was informed of the secret of Hearthway Hollow and how it was my job to protect it, as well as the humans within the town. I had known Adam since I moved to Hearthway Hollow, we were the same age, graduated together, all that. Finding out he was the Alpha of this werewolf town was a bit of a shock. It all was, really. 

I decided, rather than dwelling on that, I would do my best to help Hearthway Hollow and lead the people there. Despite the fact I was a human, I was often asked to join in on meetings with Adam and the Elders. They wanted my input as the elected official in order to make decisions for the best of the pack and town as a whole. Sometimes it felt strange being the token human. Looking at Billy, Mrs. Locklear, even Adam, I couldn’t help but feel inadequate a lot of times. Especially when it felt like I was just playing mayor. After all, it was Adam and the Elders who led Hearthway Hollow, what did I really contribute besides an alibi for the town?

One afternoon as I’m in my office, Mrs. Locklear walks in. She strides into the place like she owns it, then sits down in one of the chairs before my desk. She has a quiet look to her, but I know there is nothing quite so silent about her. Mrs. Locklear is calm composure blanketing an active volcano. I have learned that where there is a Locklear, there is sure to be a commotion.

“What is it, Mrs. Locklear?” I ask. “If there is another meeting with the Elders tonight, I am afraid I cannot attend. I have a date that I am looking forward to.”

“Nothing like that, Gevaudan,” she says with a slightly sly tone. “There’s just something I feel you should be informed about. You see, my daughter is coming home for a visit this weekend.”

I purse my brow slightly. “Your daughter?”

Mrs. Locklear nods. “She was the first child that my wife and I adopted. Remember the Cabin Girl?”

It was a news story that had happened while I was still in high school. The ranger station was mapping out how to expand the nature reserve when they found a cabin in the woods. Inside, they found the body of a man who had died merely a few days before. Upon further inspection, they found a young girl hiding in the basement, terrified. The story was widespread through Hearthway Hollow, but the girl was kept hidden to protect her.

“I never knew you adopted her,” I reply.

“That was what we thought was best for her, Kaga and I. We didn’t want her headlined as ‘The Cabin Girl’ to affect what could be a very normal childhood. We homeschooled her until the hype died down and we let her make decisions she felt best suited her. But Kaga and I soon discovered we didn’t have an ordinary little girl on our hands.”

I was prepared for this story to take the usual course. “She was a were as well?” 

“No,” Mrs. Locklear sighs heavily. “Our daughter was something else.” She leans forward slightly in her chair. “Gevaudan is a French name, correct?”

I nod. “Why do you ask?”

“Then you must know the story of the Rougarou.”

I furrow my brow deeper at her. “It’s Cajun, not French. But my father used to have a story book he read from to scare me and my brothers.”