For as long as he could remember, Jackson had always been able to pick up on a strange energy in town in the days leading up to the full moon. It was the way you could sometimes step outside and feel the electricity charging the air before a storm. The idea that the full moon brought out the crazies was common enough, and Jax thought it probably stemmed not only from the trouble some shapeshifters stirred up once a month, but also most normal humans' inability to explain the traces of supernatural energy they were sensing without actually believing in the supernatural.
Jax also knew that after the full moon the next night, things would start to settle down again, at least for another three weeks or so. There was a large shifter population in Willow Creek, and the majority of them were born into it. From what he understood, that determined whether or not a shifter could change at will during the month — and there were always shifter sightings going on. The locals were used to it. It was the tourists who tended to raise a fuss whenever they happened to spy a wolf or wildcat skirting the edges of the woods, looming a little larger than your run-of-the-mill variety...and they were in the middle of the summer tourist season right now.
He'd just left the coffee shop for the day and was on his way down to the noodle shop to pick up a late lunch before getting some writing done. He heard the rhythmic beat of footfalls behind him, not slow enough to be a stroll nor fast enough to make him think the person belonging to those feet had stolen something. As they grew closer, Jax stepped to the side — but happened to bump into someone coming out of the storefront door at the same time. Instinctively, he reached out to steady the person, and his arm closed around a decidedly feminine figure.