Thank you for reading!

Shy Walking Shadows;

Book 1 of the Blood Moon Series

And just as I promised, here is a list of the characters :D

I attempted to put them in order as they came in/were seen in the story, but I'm sure a few are a bit wonky.

Kierra McHone; Human/Werewolf (Gray) - Main character, older sister, prophecy child, Silver Wolf. She starts off as an overbearing & overprotecting sibling, but by the end has changed, coming to realize that her little sister is more than capable of taking care of herself. Burdened with a past no one wants and a future that's unclear, Kie throws herself into her new role with childlike abandon

Faline McHone; Human/Vampire (Ocelot) - Main character, younger sister, prophecy child, her cat is highly uncommon in the area. Starts out as a bud in her big sister's shadow, but is given room to grow in the most unlikeliest of places, really coming in to her own and flourishes

Tristan Danielson; Human - Kie's best friend from high school, doesn't have a very large part in book 1 but does return later

Asher; Werewolf (Gray) - Werewolf cursed by a Witch to remain forever in animal form, he aids Kie as much as he can while retaining many secrets

Nicolaus; Vampire (Mountain Lion) - Sire to Faline, he attempts to Convert her the same way he was over a century ago, his torture so severe that it split his mind, there's more to this man than meets the eye but can it be seen before Kierra kills him

Anthony; Werewolf (Gray) - The one who Changed Kierra and companion to Nicolaus for over ten years, although not exactly 'sane' himself, he kept Nicolaus in check as much as possible

James Carrigan; Human - A figure from Kierra & Faline's past having been a boyfriend to their mother, convicted child molester/pedophile, stalked/searched Kie out for years until he found her again, it is found out that he has ties to the human trafficking ring

Fred; Human - Bastion's 'step-father', also a convicted sex-offender/pedophile, kept Bastion caged for use to either himself or rented out for money, ties to human trafficking ring as a collector of product who would then hand them off to others after some brief documentation was made, assumed he had a hand in drugs as well

Bastion; Human - Child saved by Kierra shortly after she Changes, if she hadn't sated the bloodlust that rises after initial shifting on James and Fred, the kid would have been in a whole lot more danger, his abuse leaves scars on both his mind and body but getting saved by monsters really puts things in perspective for him, putting his trust in select few, he's leery about joining the world again but as long as he has his black wolf protector by his side, he feels he can face each day, he is adopted by and given Kierra's last name

Bridge Vagrant; Human (?) - The dark-skinned man Kierra comes across under the bridge when running home with Bastion and Asher, he's protecting his turf from invaders and completely stumps Kierra on just what it is that he might be. She assumes human, but his scent is smothered by too many other smells to tell for sure

Blonde Werewolf; Werewolf (Dire Gray) - The Werewolf who leads Kierra by false trail away from the safety of her home, having been the second contracted to kill her since the first was taking so long, considered a rogue; not much is known of him as of this time other than the fact he was a Dire wolf, which is very rare and the reason for his size. If he had wanted Kie dead, she would be. Instead, his skinned pelt is in a box that was left to her by another unknown

Avina; Human - Slave/submissive, pretty much raised in the bordello, she is one of Lady's favored, she is the first one to become friends with Faline when she wakes in the brothel and is the one to feed her when asked, Lady trusts her implicitly as Avina does her

Trisha; Human - Slave/submissive, an older woman who acts as the brothel healer, although a slave, she's not available for 'use' by patrons or for sale, in the subs hierarchy, she's essentially the matriarch although not the oldest female slave there(she is, however, the oldest human female slave), another of Lady's favored

Bash; Human - Slave/submissive, the male who first helps Faline with moving a chair when she first encounters the kitchen, can read obviously since he reads her sister's name off the painting for Avina

Lady Dobra; Vampire (Leopard) - Mistress of the bordello, she owns and operates it out of the Pecatonica Wetlands where it also serves as a safehouse for supernaturals, favorite of the Master to where if anyone were to lay a hand on her in harmful way they would instantly have a death sentence on their head, known to be a sadistic and cruel woman but has 'mellowed' over the years, has her sights on Faline and aims to claim her in all ways

Madaline; Vampire (Lynx, Canadian) - A patron/inhabitant of the brothel, Nicolaus's 'sister', she's a conceited and spoiled peacock of a woman who isn't happy unless all attention is on her, very jealous of Faline, wants to be in Nicolaus's bed something fierce but he wants nothing to do with her, sends another Vampire after Faline in an attempt to get her out of the way

Orion Angevin; Shifter (Lion, African) - An enforcer for his clan; second to the Pride leader, he's been spending time on/off at the brothel to make sure no lions or Clan members are 'on the market' as well as keeping an eye out for those he knows are missing. Has given Faline his protection which is a pledge made by lions that they take very seriously and not something they take lightly nor give to just anyone

Max; Vampire (Bobcat) - A patron/inhabitant of the brothel, the one sent after Faline by Madaline, he has a love for facial jewelry and abusing weaker females, known to be a good fighter so Faline having beaten him as good as she did was quite a blow to his ego and builds quite a grudge

Ava Snowfield; Shifter (Snow Leopard) - Kierra's best friend, known since both were really young, shares a past much like Kierra's that caused her to leave her life of being in public schools with humans where she'd been part of an experiment, owns a farmstead in Rock Cut Forest Preserve

Lily Snowfield; Shifter (Snow Leopard) - Ava's twelve-year-old daughter, even though she goes to a Shifter school, her chaotic shifting patterns have her home quite a bit, really takes to Bastion and becomes his best friend and teaches him everything she knows about the horses she raises, which in turns helps her to stay in human form for longer periods of time

Xavier Steele; Were-animal (Maned Wolf) - Mercenary, playboy, troublemaker. A man out of sorts with his life, he's the epitome of a gypsy. While he can't exactly blend, he uses what he has to his advantage and uses them well. He never thought he'd come across a Silver Wolf, let alone be the (first)one tasked to off her. If it weren't for this long-legged Dogdeer, Kie would never have found Faline, and she knows it. He'd already considered himself lucky, but then another twist, she calls his animal. Then again just days later, she bites him. Becoming the Silver Wolf's self-appointed bodyguard, this maned wolf wants more of the life she has opened his eyes to, but can it compete with his wanderlust?

Gary Rhodes; Human - Bossman for Rhodes Publishing and Kierra's former 'employer', a very manipulative self-absorbed male who uses his position and charm to get what he wants, whether it be for work or pleasure. He has worked 'with' Kie for a few years and doesn't particularly like her attitude but highly enjoys the money she and her marketing agent brings his company. It's only too late when he realizes he's gone too far with Kie when he raised a hand towards her, her attitude getting the best of him, she revealing a glimpse of her inner self really shook him and has him wondering if he's been slipping too much of that white stuff into his smoke

Ms. Granite; Human - A bit of a naive younger woman who works as a secretary in Mr. Rhodes's place of business, she works hard for crap pay, so does a little extra work for the man on the side to assist in paying off school loans

Benjamin Thomas; Vampire (White Bengal Tiger) - Jack-of-all-Trades it seems, but he's just really well connected, which tends to happen when you've been around as long as he has. Kie first meets him as the editor for the publishing house she's with, becomes friends and hangs out with from time to time as weight-lifting buddies, she never suspects what he is, he's that good at hiding. Vampire mojo isn't supposed to work on Werewolves, but Kie is young, so he was able to work a little magic on her in his basement cubby which she then returned, pulling his tiger from him. She later fears that having done so may have messed him up in some way as he seems to become drunk whenever near her scent or touching her. She isn't totally wrong

Lucia Ramirez; Werewolf (Red) - The Howler's Bane Red Wolf Alpha's mate, while the Alpha female to her pack, Lucia does not have the dominance a true Alpha female requires. Her and Alarico's pairing is a love match, not a power-mating. She makes a very big mistake in the way she treats Kie and ends up paying for it, presenting her belly to another female in front of her whole pack(If her and Alarico's mating had been a power-mating, she would have just lost her position instantly). Because of this she hates Kierra and is under the assumption Kie wants to steal him from her

Alarico Ramirez; Werewolf (Red) - The Howler's Bane Red Wolf Alpha who owns a bar that shares the same name located in Downtown Rockford, he's the first actual Alpha Kie meets, on their first meeting Kie never realizes the level of power he puts out because of what/who she is, but Xavier and the rest of the wolves could(this will come more into play later), she never gives him her name, just the alias Silver and her number in case he were to hear anything about Faline. He hasn't had dealings with Vampires in over 30 years, and its heard that he has a real mean streak

Kerry; Shifter (Serval) - Slave/submissive, the woman who had waylaid a Vampire who had been going after Faline, she's then later saved by Faline and becomes a permanent part of the kitchen crew, volunteered to donate to Faline when she'd been dying, can read & write and is semi-new to the bordello

Maii; Shifter (Coyote) - Submissive/ex-slave, starts out at the brothel with Faline who he follows around, she being the first person he felt safe around. His past is unknown as he doesn't speak, but he does make sounds while in animal form like normal. When Faline is saved he is sent with her by Lady, reason as to why is unknown, but it's figured it's because he is useless there. His coloring/markings are unusual; the white fur over his face looking like a skull mask, and since no one knows his actual name, the name given to him means 'Coyote' in Navajo. He is later adopted by Kierra and given her last name

Trinity; Shifter (Clouded Leopard) - Slave/submissive, the woman who was sent to Faline by Lady when she knew Faline wouldn't feed on Maii, she approached Faline in the showers

Joey; Were-animal (Bobcat) - Slave/submissive, male who volunteered to donate to Faline when she was dying, becomes one of the regular kitchen crew, can read and write, his cat is grayish-blue

Salem; Werewolf (Gray) - Slave/submissive, female who volunteered to donate to Faline when she was dying, becomes one of the regular kitchen crew, can read & write, her animal form is a black wolf

Lex; Shifter (Lynx, Canadian) - Slave/submissive, a very laid back male who becomes part of the regular kitchen crew, he is the most playful of the group, having a playboy-ish attitude, his cat pelt is gray-colored

Marie; Werewolf (Arctic) - Slave/submissive, a shy woman who becomes part of the regular kitchen crew, her animal form is a white wolf that has black markings on its back

Ty; Shifter (Clouded Leopard) - Slave/submissive, one of the few black subs Faline comes across and becomes part of the regular kitchen crew, he's quiet, patient and very observant, his cat has a darker colored coat

Scarlett; Shifter (Red Fox) - Slave/submissive, skittish female who becomes part of the regular kitchen crew, she's small, has a southern accent and her animal form is a gray and red fox

Danica; Human - Slave/submissive, a young girl who ended up at the brothel by currently unknown means, she's saved by Faline before she could be secreted away into a back room by a pedophile who infiltrated the premises, unusable/not available to patrons or for sale, she becomes an apprentice under the healer Trisha

Steven Meyers; Human - A pedophile Faline caught before he could drag Danica into a room, associated with the sex trafficking ring, dirty state attorney who scopes out the 'goods' at bordello to report back for others to claim, it's assumed he's killed after lengthy interogation

Unnamed Male; Werewolf (Gray) - Male who stood between Kierra and her path into the bordello to rescue Faline, she punishes him by calling his wolf to the forefront, forcing him to shift

Dirk; Werewolf (Gray) - Young male who approached Kie at the store, one who mentioned 'Pack Grounds' and a 'Gabriel' as the Gray Alpha, gets really excited when realizing who she is

Mariska McHone; Human - Kierra and Faline's mother, is kept in the dark about what happened to her daughters, ignores everything she does see in favor of wanting a break from her everyday life when she does come to see them, has a small part but will be seen again later

Shaun; Human - Mariska's current male companion, oblivious and doesn't know what a wolf looks like

Pretty sure it's obvious that those with minor roles I didn't include, and I suppose I didn't have to add Trinity and Bash, but I have character sheets written up for them. They also make appearances in future books, as do some others ;}

I will be adding at least one more page to this before it's fully complete(Since I've just about hit my word cap on this one), so please stick around :D