Welcome back to Day 10 of the April A to Z Blog Challenge! Today is the letter J, so that’s perfect for a side character from my upcoming novel, Capturing the Wylde Wolf. Remember, as with all my character spotlights, I can only share so much without giving away story spoilers. Strap in for a long one, folks!
Juliette Moreland
Juliette was born to wealthy parents and spent most of her life living on their estate in northern California. To say she was spoiled would be an understatement, but she was still expected to get good grades, go to college, then either work at one of her parents’ businesses or start a career elsewhere.
Her future ground to a halt when she saw a bewitching young man on the first day of her sophomore English class at university. Tobias was tall, muscular, and tan. His black hair was short but flowed freely atop his head and a dark passion burned through his eyes—at least, that’s how Juliette described him in her journal. She was instantly attracted to him, and he clearly felt the same was.
For weeks, she would catch him staring at her, a small smile teasing the corner of his mouth. Juliette would blush and turn back to the professor, heart rate accelerating, but she never had the courage to speak to him. Her concentration waned, and homework grew more challenging as she found herself frequently daydreaming about him.
When they were assigned to work together on a class project, Juliette was so nervous she was sick to her stomach for days. Tobias approached her after class and formally introduced himself, reaching out for a handshake. When her fingers met his, she was sure she would melt. After stumbling out her phone number, they agreed to meet up on Friday evening to plan out their project.
Café of lust
Friday came around, and Juliette was a mess. She went through no less than seven outfits and three hairstyles before finally settling on a plum-colored blouse and dark jeans, trying to walk the line between dressed-up and casually. When her makeup was done, she sat on the edge of her bed, staring at the clock for forty minutes until it was time to leave.
When she arrived at the coffee shop, Tobias was already there, waiting at a corner table. He greeted her with a smile. Her legs went wobbly, but she managed to sit down without falling, then spent the next couple of hours trying to not imagine him kissing her.
By the time they finished their drinks and had planned out their writing assignment, Juliette’s stomach was growling. As he walked her to her car, his hand brushed against her arm, and in a surprisingly bold move, she instinctively wrapped her arm around his. He didn’t pull away.
Back at her car, he invited her to dinner, and she happily accepted. It was a decision she would regret for the rest of her life.
Too good to be true
After an amazing dinner and a lot of bonding, Juliette found herself once again being walked to her car. She desperately didn’t want the night to end. When she was in his presence, she felt like she was in a haze, unable to focus on anything but imagining his arms around her. She was at peace. Happy. Safe.
With a heavy reluctance, she reached for her car door. Suddenly, she found herself being spun around, and Tobias was kissing her, arms cradling her back as her legs momentarily lost strength. Juliette felt drunk—well, what she imagined being drunk felt like based on the movies.
The next morning, she awoke in her bed, confused. How had she gotten back to her room? Juliette tried to remember the night before through the pain of her pounding headache and dry, scratchy throat. Everything came to her like snapshots.
She remembered Tobias kissing her at the car, then inviting her to his place—which she accepted without hesitation—and following him there. He offered her some wine, which she drank. They fooled around on the sofa. Then she was in his bed. As they finally joined, she remembered him saying he liked it rough, and she nodded in agreement. Then . . . teeth? It was as though his teeth got sharper. His eyes seemed to change somehow. And he bit her . . . hard. Then nothing but darkness until she woke up in bed.
Juliette threw a hand to her neck and saw a strange bite mark. It was almost human, but not quite.
No going back
She texted Tobias to find out what happened, but he didn’t respond all weekend. He didn’t show up to school on Monday, either. Juliette tried to remember where he lived, even retracing her steps from Friday night, but nothing worked. When Tobias was a no-show all week and no one could reach him, the professor assigned her to an already existing group for their writing assignment.
His disappearance was reported to the police, but when they searched his home, the place was empty—completely empty. He had just moved away without a word to anyone. But Juliette’s nightmare had just begun.
Her health deteriorated, plaguing her with constant migraines, body aches as if her bones were breaking, and nausea that had her wanting to rip her stomach out. The nightmares were the worst of all.
After weeks of hospital visits, no one could find anything wrong with her beyond what looked like some kind of bacterial infection that couldn’t be identified. Juliette was placed in isolation, and her parents came to stay nearby.
The truth comes out
One night, a new doctor came to visit Juliette. He injected something into her arm, and then she fell into blackness again. She woke in a different room, alone. When the same doctor returned, along with two other people she didn’t know, he was in regular clothes.
Hours of explaining to her that Tobias was a shifter who had turned her wouldn’t sink in. She refused to accept that she would soon become a monster like in some ridiculous fairy tale. Even the knowledge that Tobias had been “dealt with” for what he’d done was no comfort as reality started to sink in.
As misfortune would have it, these people—other “shifters,” apparently—had brought her parents to visit her. While they were explaining Juliette’s situation to her disbelieving parents, she started to panic, and her heart rate rose. The more upset she got, the less in control she felt. Suddenly, claws slowly emerged from her fingertips, and her jaw stretched as elongated teeth grew. Her panic grew, and she was sedated. The last thing she remembered was the horrified looks on her parents faces.
A new reality
Months passed with Juliette switching between depression and rage. Her parents wanted nothing to do with her and told her to stay away from anyone they knew, lest everyone see her true self. They only kindness they showed was providing a generous monthly allowance for her to start a new life.
Nearly a year later, Juliette had learned to control her shifts and had settled into a rhythm. She learned of a pack in Wisconsin that had formed to give “stragglers” a home if they desired, and she decided it was the right place for her to be. There, she could truly start over.
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I hope you enjoyed this sneak peek into another Capturing the Wylde Wolf character. Much of the backstories I’m sharing in these blog posts can only be found here! I have listed some further stats below.
Juliette Moreland
Age: 21
Height: 5’4”
Build: Slender
Weight: 122 lbs
Hair color: Chestnut brown (& wavy)
Eye color: Brown
Personality: Aloof, needs attention, superiority complex that faded during her change but comes back soon after as a coping mechanism, hides her hurt to not seem weak
Come back tomorrow for a spotlight on the female lead character!