by Chase Connor
I stumbled slightly in my panic to back away. The Andrew…thing…suddenly realized I was still there and its eyes shot to me. Its eyes didn’t look human. They looked feral and animalistic. And hungry. My eyes darted back and forth. I had so many options—but there was no way any of them were good enough. There was no way I could outrun a…wolf. There was no way I could dash into the woods and be safe. Running straight down the highway would only leave me an open target. Same problem with the field. I felt a scream bubbling up in my throat, but I knew screaming wouldn’t help either.
Backing away still, I kept my eyes on this creature that used to be Andrew as it slowly shook off the remnants of its daze. I didn’t know if a person could reason with a wolf—but I knew that I hadn’t been able to reason with Andrew in human form. Werewolf Andrew had to be a lot harder to deal with. Werewolf?!? Did that thought actually go through my head?! I looked around quickly again, trying to decide what to do. Could I somehow fake this thing out and get back into the car and drive off? Could I fight it? What was I supposed to do in a situation like this?
AROOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
Andrew-wolf howled at the moon again, then its eyes were back on me.
And it lunged.
Then I was splattered with blood and…other things.
Tires squealed as I sputtered and wiped at my face.
A pickup squealed to a stop next to me.
The passenger door opened.
“Get in the truck, Rob!” I looked up, my face covered in Andrew juice.
Lucas was in the driver’s seat of the truck, motioning hurriedly for me to get inside of his pickup. To say I was stunned was the least that could be said. I stood there and sputtered for a moment as Lucas waved me towards him. I didn’t know what the fuck was going on. What the fuck was going on in Point Worth???
“Get in the fucking truck now, Rob! Being hit by a truck isn’t going to keep a werewolf away for long!” Lucas bellowed.
I shook my head clear of thoughts, raced to the truck and leaped inside. Lucas shoved his foot to the gas as I closed my door and we sped away. Lucas kept glancing into his rearview mirror as we drove down the highway on our way into Point Worth. I grabbed the collar of my shirt and pulled it up in an attempt to wipe the blood and guts off of my face. I was shivering and muttering gibberish to myself as I tried to keep myself from upchucking Indian food all over the cab of the truck.
Lucas only let off of the gas slightly when we crossed the city line into Point Worth. He aimed his truck towards Lake Erie, and I sat there muttering and shivering, wondering what I had just witnessed. Had I really just seen a…werewolf? Is that what Andrew was? Is that why he had acted the way that he had? Werewolves weren’t real! Were they? Had I taken my Paxil that morning? Was this an effect of taking medication and getting drunk the night before? Was I losing my mind??
“Sorry for screaming at you like that,” Lucas stated calmly as he drove towards the lake. “But I couldn’t risk him coming back before you got into the truck. He would’ve just been more pissed off. Werewolves don’t get distracted from a meal for very long.”
I turned my head slowly to Lucas, my eyes wide and my mouth in a disbelieving gape.
“What. The. Actual. Fuck?!” I squealed, which did not exactly make me proud. “What the…who…why…I’m covered in blood!”
“Werewolves don’t carry diseases.” Lucas seemed to think this was soothing. “Besides Lycanthropy, of course. But you won’t catch that unless he bit you or scratched you deeply. He didn’t did he?”
“What?!” I squealed again.
“Did he bite or scratch you?”
“Well…uh…I mean…what? No.” I stammered.
“Good.” Lucas sighed. “Mrs. Wagner would absolutely destroy me if I let that happen to you. I mean, not that it would be my fault exactly, but she still wouldn’t be in a forgiving mood.”
I sputtered and stammered for several moments, unable to form a single coherent thought as I sat there, blood drying on my face. Lucas just watched me out of the corner of his eye as he chewed at his lip. We drove further, and it quickly became clear to me that we were going towards Lucas’ house on the lake, away from Oma’s house. I didn’t even know if I wanted to be at Lucas’ house since I had just seen another person I recently met turn into a wolf alongside the highway.
“Okay.” I started to get my wits back. “Okay. Okay. Right. Okay. Um, just what the fuck, Lucas? What the actual fuck just happened?”
“Andrew.” He jerked his head backward, indicating the road behind us. “Werewolf. Tonight’s the first night of the full moon. Mrs. Wagner wasn’t thinking when she set you two up. Well, she wasn’t certain he was…well, that he was a werewolf when she started this whole thing.”
I just stared at him with a disbelieving, shocked stare.
“She shouldn’t have set you up with him at all, regardless,” Lucas muttered.
“Okay.” I nodded with an unhinged laugh. “Everyone here is fucking insane. Or I am. I’ve completely gone ‘round the bend here.”
Lucas squealed to a stop in front of his house. Then he threw the truck into park and turned the key in the ignition. He opened his door and leaped down as I sat there, looking around for answers that weren’t going to present themselves in a way that didn’t sound completely insane.
“You better get out and follow me quickly,” Lucas said through the open door. “It’s best to not be outside during the full moon around here.”
Because I couldn’t decide what to stay, I jumped out of the truck and followed Lucas up to his house, looking over my shoulder every few feet. Lucas unlocked his house and pushed the door open, ushering me inside quickly. I stepped over the threshold of his house and suddenly felt ten times safer than I had outside. Lucas promptly shut the door behind us and latched the door. I stood there and looked down at my hands, noticing that they were sprinkled and splattered with viscous blood.
Lucas stepped around me, coming to stand in front of me, his eyes meeting mine as I stood there looking at my hands. Finally, I looked up at him and lowered my hands to my sides. He was looking at me with concern—no longer looking confident and brave—now that we were inside. The Lucas I knew was staring out at me, shy and unsure.
“You…plowed into Andrew,” I stated simply, almost calmly.
“Yes.” He nodded. “Well, a werewolf, actually. It wasn’t really Andrew. And he’ll be fine.”
I held my hands up, palms out.
“I’m wearing his blood.”
“It takes more than a hit-and-run to kill a werewolf.” Lucas chewed at his lip. “He’ll be really sore tomorrow maybe, but he’ll be alive.”
“Yeah.” I shrugged. “Sure. That’s comforting.”
I laughed crazily and then my whole body twitched in a shiver.
“Are you going to vomit?”
I just stared at him.
“Do you feel sick?”
“Uhhhhhh…” I looked around as though someone would pop up and tell me how to answer these questions.
“I know this is kind of…weird.”
“If there was a more blasé way to describe what just happened, I don’t know what it would be, Lucas.” I snapped. “I just watched my date turn into a goddamn werewolf and get run over by a pickup!”
“I didn’t run him over.” Lucas looked down, chastened. “Just kind of…sent him reeling, really. He’s fine. I promise.”
“Honestly, I don’t know if that’s comforting or terrifying!”
“Well, comforting, I hope.” He shrugged. “I mean, at least that way there can be a date number two, right?”
I sputtered.
“Are you completely insane?!? Why would I go on a second date with someone who just changed into a wolf in front of me???”
“He’s just a werewolf.” He frowned at me. “It’s not like he’s a serial killer or anything.”
“I’d gladly take a serial killer right now!” I screeched at him. “Even if he wanted to use my ski
n to make a pashmina!”
“What’s a pashmina?”
“It’s like a shawl made out of Kashmiri wool,” I said, then shook my head. “Wait! That’s what has got you confused right now? My date just turned into a goddamn wolf!”
“Werewolf.”
I growled at Lucas.
“Yes. Let’s argue semantics when I’m covered in my date’s blood and guts, Lucas!”
“You should really clean up,” Lucas suggested gently. “Maybe it’ll make all of this a little easier to—”
“I really don’t think a hot shower is going to make me readily accept that my date was a goddamn werewolf! I am totally freaking out here, Lucas! I went on a date with. a. goddamn. werewolf. And werewolves are real! I’m losing my fucking mind! I mean, am I going to wake up in a mental hospital?! What the actual fuck is going on?!?”
Suddenly, my face was in Lucas’ hands, and he was pushing his lips against mine. My whole body seemed to deflate as Lucas wrapped his arms around me and kissed me deeply. When he finally pulled back, I had somehow calmed down significantly.
“You have blood on your chin,” I stated simply.
“It’ll wash off.” He looked deeply into my eyes, his arms still around me.
“You’re gay.”
“Yes.”
“I thought you were straight.”
“I didn’t say I was straight.”
“You didn’t say I was wrong.”
He shrugged.
“Let go of me. Please.” I stated lowly.
Lucas slid his arms from around me, making sure I wasn’t going to collapse as he let go of me. I stepped back slowly, putting a foot between us. I was so turned on, and I had no idea when or how that had happened. I had just gone on a date with the most arrogant and boorish man I’d ever met in my life. Then I watched him turn into a werewolf on the side of the road. Then I got splattered with his blood when Lucas ran him over with his truck. Lucas—the guy I’d just gotten drunk with the night before. The guy I thought was straight and was going to be my new best friend. Everything was spiraling out of control. If I weren’t already insane, this night would get me there.
“I’m sorry.” Lucas blushed but didn’t look away. “I shouldn’t have just kissed you like that without asking. It’s just…well…it’s hard not to kiss you.”
“It was a nice kiss.” I nodded.
He smiled.
I shoved him.
Lucas winced as he took a step back to correct his balance.
“What the fuck is wrong with you?!” I bellowed.
He looked down.
“What the fuck is wrong with everyone here?” I growled. “Ever since I got here, weird shit has been going on—and now my fucking date is a werewolf. I mean, I keep saying that—but how can you not keep saying ‘werewolf’ when you see someone turn into one???”
“Look, I’m sorry about the kiss, Rob.” Lucas held his hands out defensively. “But, it’s just, the danger, excitement, fear, you’re so good looking and I just…”
Something took me over, and I pulled him to me and pressed my mouth over his, my arms wrapping around him as I kissed him passionately. His hands went to my head and his fingers laced through my hair as we fed at each other’s mouths. Before I knew what was going on, he had pushed me against the wall next to the door, and his body was pressed along the length of mine. I was breathing heavy against his mouth as our tongues fought each other and our lips pressed against each other’s. Then I came back to myself and pushed him away again.
“Jesus!” I growled.
“Why did you stop?” Lucas was panting.
“Because this is all so fucking fucked up!” I wanted him so badly.
This wasn’t like me. I didn’t do things like this.
You never got splattered by werewolf blood before either. I thought to myself.
Then I rushed Lucas and was shoving my mouth over his again as we stumbled into the back of the couch, a tornado of arms and legs as our bodies did their best to become one. I pushed Lucas against the back of the sofa, my mouth feeding at his as his hands ran over my stomach, my chest, and around my body to settle on my ass. He grabbed my ass roughly and pulled me into him, almost sending us toppling over the sofa as my hands grabbed his coat and pushed it off of him and onto the couch behind us.
My fingers found the hem of his shirt and yanked it up roughly. I pulled back from him just long enough to yank the shirt off over his head and then my mouth was back on his. Lucas pushed my coat off of me, letting it fall to the floor at our feet as we continued to kiss and desperately explore each other’s bodies with our hands. My mouth moved from his and traveled to his jaw, his neck, to the front of his throat, slowly trailing my way downwards. My mouth was on his chest, one pec, then the other.
Lucas’ fingers trailed through my hair as he gasped and panted and I trailed my way down his chest. I slowly started to lower myself as I kissed a trail down his chest to his stomach. Lucas was moaning desperately as my lips and tongue explored his flesh and his fingers urged me to go lower. My fingers were trailing along the waist of his jeans as I sucked at his flesh, tasting as much of him as I could as I made my way lower.
You just saw a goddamn werewolf!
I stood quickly and pushed away from Lucas, growling loudly in frustration as I put distance between us and turned away.
“Wha…” Lucas was panting behind me. “What are you doing?”
“What is going on?” I panted. “This isn’t like me. I don’t…this isn’t…I don’t do this with guys I don’t know. I feel totally crazy right now.”
Lucas was trying to get himself under control behind me, his breath still coming out raggedly.
“It’s the full moon.” He stated hoarsely. “It makes everyone crazy.”
“This isn’t my first full moon, Lucas.” I spat over my shoulder, but I couldn’t put any real anger into it.
“You haven’t been home for a full moon in a very long time.” He said this like it explained everything. “Not since you became an adult.”
“Makes perfect sense,” I stated simply, though it didn’t.
“Don’t you want to…”
“Yes.” I turned to him, feral and aroused. “But no.”
I took a step backward, putting more distance between us.
“I want to.” Lucas was biting at his lower lip.
Staring at him, I saw him completely bare-chested for the first time. Saw the definition of his chest, his perfectly sculpted abs, his honey-tan skin, the specks of blood that my clothes had transferred to him. The moistness of his lips. The dark waves of his hair. The gilded jade of his eyes. The veins at his waist that trailed beneath his jeans. I swallowed hard and steadied myself, forcing my eyes up to his.
“We need to slow down,” I said, holding my hands out as though making a barrier between us. “Take a breath.”
“Okay.” He nodded shakily, trying to control his breath. “Right.”
He was chewing at his lip. I wanted to chew his lip for him. I averted my eyes so that I might stop thinking those thoughts. I counted to ten, took deep breaths, tried to ignore my arousal. Lucas got his breathing under control as the two of us stood there, less than six feet apart, doing our best to not attack each other with our mouths, lips, tongues, hands, and fingers.
“You can’t tell Mrs. Wagner about tonight,” Lucas stated steadily.
“Do you think I’m going to tell people about this?” I looked at him like he was crazy. “I mean, she wouldn’t believe me. She’d fucking commit me.”
Lucas looked around anxiously.
“What?”
“Well,” Lucas chewed at his lip, but out of nervousness instead, “she’d believe you, but she’d have my hide.”
I licked my lips, not to be sexy.
“Are you going to tell me what that means?” I asked.
“I probably shouldn’t.”
“I really think you should,” I growled.
“She’ll think tha
t I wasn’t doing my job.” He said simply. “And that will piss her off. And the last thing I need is someone like Mrs. Wagner mad at me. So…please don’t tell her.”
“Someone like Mrs. Wagner?” I squinted at him.
“Ya’ know…a witch.” He leaned forward to whisper nervously. “No one needs one as an enemy.”
I just stared at him.
“Did you…not…know that?” He cringed.
“How long have you been clinically insane?”
“You just saw a werewolf.” Lucas frowned at me. “Why is your grandmother being a witch so crazy?”
“Because!” I threw my hands up. “Because…because she’s my grandmother. I think I’d know if she were a fucking witch, Lucas! Not that I know what to actually look for…but…what the fuck is even going on?!?”
“It’s not really my place to say.” He looked away.
“What are you?” I laughed crazily. “A leprechaun??!”
Lucas frowned at me.
“I’m…I just help out sometimes.” He said simply. “Ya’ know, when there’s…like, a werewolf attacking her grandson…or something.”
“Makes perfect sense.” I nodded with an exaggerated smile. “I mean, how crazy of me to think that all of this is absolutely insane. Andrew’s a werewolf, my grandmother is a witch, and you’re just lending a hand where it’s needed. All perfectly reasonable and sane.”
“You’ve been living in L.A. for ten years.” Lucas snorted. “I’m sure you’ve seen crazier things, Rob.”
Glaring at him was all I could manage.
“Are you mad?” Lucas was chewing at his lip again.
“I don’t know what I am.”
Lucas looked at my crotch.
“You look…aroused.”
I rolled my eyes, but then they wandered to his crotch.
“That’s the pot calling the kettle black.” I sighed.
“Well…I want you.” He said simply. “I’ve wanted you since I laid eyes on you at Mrs. Wagner’s house the day I delivered her manure and tiller. Well, that’s a lie. I’ve wanted you since high school.”
