Moon Struck: Book 1 (When, Were, and Howl)

by Raleigh, Jeanette

  Ali regained her human form, and Rob and I explored the barn. We found a cardboard sign asking for help and a dirty backpack. I nosed around, but there wasn't much else to find. There was a tunnel through the hay and I worked my way into it only to find a burrow that apparently the werewolf slept in.

  “Jen, are you almost ready to leave?” That was Ali. She sounded a little worried. That meant her raccoon sense was giving her a warning. And she and I listened to those warnings of hers. We'd been saved from maiming and arrest a few times when her tingly sense gave us cause to flee.

  I scurried back out from the tunnel, laughing because this time, I was a wolf. Usually my trips down small areas involved some amount of fear and a healthy dose of caution. I felt powerful, strong, invincible. And my hindquarters itched. I scratched at the spot while Rob and Ali argued over whose house I'd be going to next.

  Apparently, Ali wanted a sleepover...Rob did, too. It's nice to be wanted.

  They agreed to meet at Ali's (which meant Rob lost the argument), and we'd regroup from there.

  As Rob pulled onto the gravel road, I saw the wolf loping back to the barn. We'd left his cardboard sign and backpack intact. Ali might not be the most law abiding person on the planet, but she is compassionate. She took a few dollars out of her purse, which made Rob feel guilty, so he took a twenty out, and we left it for the wolf.

  My neck itched. I tried to reach back with my fangs, with my claws, with anything. Why was everything itching all of a sudden?

  I should have known another lesson in humility was coming. I was a mouse, for Pete's sake! How much humility do I need?

  “Jen are you okay?” Rob asked.

  “Grrr ..yip.” Which was my version of. “Rob, can we please not talk about the fact that my shoulder itches, my tail itches, even my belly itches. Maybe I'm allergic to hay.”

  Of course, he just heard “Grr..yip” and started talking about how I'd feel better after a shower and that we could cross this guy off the list.

  Ali lived in a small one bedroom apartment. It was a cozy little place. But one were to another, I can tell you, she was very patient when she discovered exactly what my little problem, err, problems were.

  She was watching me try to scratch and she knelt beside me, ruffling her hands through my fur. “Uh, Rob, if you want to take Jen home with you, that would be cool with me. I'm sure she'd be more comfortable in a larger house.”

  Okay, Ali was using her smarmy voice. What was going on here?

  Rob fell for it. He grinned, “I thought we'd have to roll dice or draw cards. You want to come with us to the park tomorrow? We're going to try the next name on the list.”

  Ali's knees creaked when she stood. “You know, I'd love to, but I have to work tomorrow and I really need to get some sleep.”

  The universal signal for 'Please get lost.' Ali didn't use it much. She'd lived her life half-exhausted. Only as her special best friend in the whole world did I know this. Maybe she had a lead she didn't want to share or she was planning to revisit the wolf and cause trouble.

  Ugh. Now my neck itched. This was beyond annoying.

  With hurried goodbyes, Rob led me out of Ali's apartment. Glancing back over my shoulder, I do believe Ali was smirking at Rob.

  “Ali sure changed her mind fast. She must have realized how tired she was once she got home.” Rob rolled the window down for me. At least I could enjoy the wind in my face while we went.

  We were past the halfway point to Rob's house when his cell phone rang.

  “Rob here.”

  “Hey, Rob, it's Ali.”

  She sounded smug.

  “What's up?”

  “Jen has fleas.”

  The coward disconnected the call. I whipped my head around, feeling frantic not only on my own behalf but for Rob as well. She could have kept me and helped me hide it from Rob.

  Now I was a bug ridden disease carrier. How horrid.

  I whined. Rob tossed the phone onto the seat next to me. “So you heard?”

  I nodded and felt like crying. Everything had gone wrong for me. Fleas. A pestilence. Fleas?!

  A warm hand rubbed the top of my head. “It happens to the best of us.” Rob said. I'm not sure if he meant it. I figured once I turned human again, I'd ask. I'd sure feel better if he'd gotten fleas at least once.

  Chapter 15

  I waited in the car while Rob stopped at Were-Mart. For a Were to buy flea shampoo is kind of like a human buying hemorrhoid cream. Embarrassing. Personal. Humiliating. But people get hemorrhoids, and werewolves get fleas. So do weremice, but I've never had the pleasure until now.

  Rob was a great sport. He bought the flea shampoo while I leaned my head out the window watching people come and go. People aren't inclined to pet animals outside of a Were-Mart. Can you imagine petting your neighbor? It's just not the polite thing to do.

  After a few minutes, Rob returned with a brown bag which he threw in the back seat. “Well worth it if I get to keep you with me for the night.” Rob's not one to speak first and think later, but that statement came out a little more intimate than he'd planned and his cheeks turned rather pinkish.

  I giggled, which must sound enough like laughter in a wolf because Rob started laughing, too.

  The tricky part came with the actual shampooing. I wouldn't walk into Rob's house with fleas. I sat down on the stoop and no matter how many times he told me to come in, I shook my head and stayed put. It's hard to win an argument when the person you're arguing with isn't talking and isn't budging.

  So Rob said, “What do you want me to do?”

  I tossed my head in the direction of the brown bag hoping he'd guess.

  “Shampoo outside? The water will be freezing.” He waited for me to change my mind. When I didn't he grabbed the shampoo bottle and followed me outside.

  It's funny but the whole ride home, I was wondering how I was going to get the shampoo on. I wanted Rob to help me. And I didn't want to ask. I mean, shampooing for fleas is not at all attractive or sexy or anything like that. But it is intimate.

  I never day dreamed about my first shower with Rob, which is probably just as well as it would have been a disappointment. After a line of shampoo along my back, I was lathered and sprayed. Neither Rob nor myself was comfortable with him touching the tummy area. We weren't that close yet. I wondered if we ever would be, and then reminded myself to stop thinking about it.

  He avoided my hind areas. With my luck that's where all the fleas were hiding. As he lathered my back, Rob said, “Well, at least you'll have a funny story to tell your kids.”

  I was glad to be in wolf form. Because I had no idea how to respond to that.

  Then he turned on the hose.

  And sprayed me.

  I howled. Awooooooooooooooooo. It was so cold.

  Rob's shirt was half tucked into his jeans and he shrugged, “I told you it would be cold. You can go in and take a warm shower if you'd like.”

  He squirted me again with a spiteful grin.

  Well, that was not at all sporting. I ran up really close to him and shook from head to toe, letting the cold water beading up on the tips of my fur splatter all over him. He wasn't dressed in real estate clothes today anyway, so I figured he was fair game.

  With a laugh, he sprayed me back, which was terribly unfair since I had no hose or even a tiny little water pistol, but I used what I had and shook again, letting the water fly everywhere until he was soaked.

  “Okay, you win.” Rob laughed, shutting off the water. He cocked his head and looked very wolfish when he said, “You know? I never realized how much fun you were.”

  I might only have wolf teeth to smile with, but what he said went right to my heart, so I used my canines to full effect.

  Nothing exciting happened that night. We didn't discover we were soul mates or anything. Rob picked out some movies for his home media system with the help of my veto votes, and we spent the evening watching movies. The television is a bit different as an animal. T
he colors look different and the sounds are sharper.

  Rob didn't actually mention the fleas again, and I was able to forget for a while what happened.

  Rob let me sleep in his play room, a room fully stocked for the times when his wolf was out to play.

  Chapter 16

  The morning went smoothly and without incident. I felt content hopping out of the passenger door. I yawned, showing my teeth while waiting for Rob to unlock the office. I'd slept all night and here I was ready to nap all day. There was a blessing to having wolf paws.

  I should have known something would happen to ruin my plan of a quiet day curled up where the sun streams through the window. Even I wouldn't have guessed that my grandmother would be tracking me down on a Tuesday.

  My grandmother came striding into Rob's office at precisely 9:00 A.M, which is technically our opening time.

  Before she even saw me, Grandma was admonishing me. “Jen, when a family member calls, the polite thing is to call back. I've been looking for you all over town.” Grandma paused when she actually looked around the office and didn't see me.

  When I heard her voice, I'm afraid my instincts might have had me diving behind the huge sofa Rob put in his office to make it look more homey and elegant. Yes, I was well-hidden before Grandma saw me. The couch itself isn't terribly comfortable. The back and cushions were too stiff.

  With a laugh Rob whispered, “What happened? Did you miss dinner?”

  Out loud he called to the other room. The darker part of me wanted to glimpse his backside as he went to greet Grandma but I'm afraid from where I hid, I could only see his dress shoes.

  He greeted her warmly and invited her in to have coffee with him. If she accepted, he would lead her right to the couch where I was hidden and being the werewolf she is, she'd smell me. Would she recognize my scent as a wolf? I'm not sure how, but my Grandma knows things.

  And then I'd have to come out of hiding. I could just see him merrily introducing Grandma and cringed. In a way it would be cruelty beyond measure, because I was now exactly what she wanted me to be, a wolf.

  I should have given Rob more credit.

  Rob swooped in and charmed my Grandma. I listened discreetly, from my hiding place. When she agreed to coffee, he grabbed his coat off the rack. “I know a great little place down the street. Jen loves the coffee cake.”

  “Speaking of Jen. She hasn't been answering my calls. And don't tell me she's vacationing in Hawaii. That friend of hers needs to practice lying a little more. She gets too enthusiastic for the story.”

  That was Ali in a nutshell. If we ever got caught at anything, it was because Ali was the one spinning the tale to get us out. Her explanations were fun to listen to, though, so I've never had reason to complain.

  “Jen's okay. She asked for a week off to sort some things out. I just spoke with her this morning.”

  “Well, the whole family is on alert, so the next time you see her, you tell her to call me.”

  What? For me? Family on alert is not necessarily a bad thing I suppose. It's to keep anyone from falling through the cracks when they're having a rough time. But I've never had anyone worrying about me before. I'm the steady one, the one who attends all family gatherings without question, even if they do make me miserable....mostly because the alternative would be more miserable.

  The last time we were on family alert was when Aunt May broke her leg. We took turns taking her shopping and helping her quilt, reading stories. I grew quite fond of Aunt May and even now spend a few hours dropping by every now and then to help her quilt.

  “I'll tell her. She's not supposed to check in for a while, so don't worry if you don't hear from her in the next few days.”

  The door shut on whatever my Grandma murmured. It was probably a threat to hunt me down if I didn't make the requisite phone call.

  Wiggling out from my hiding spot, I returned to my warm place in the window where the sun was streaming in. As a wolf, I had enough fur to keep me warm. It wasn't long before the sun felt too hot. So I traipsed back to the shade.

  Rob spent a long time out with my Grandma. Bored, I pushed Rob's nerf football off the top of the desk and started tossing it around the room with my teeth. It might sound a bit childish, but imagine being stuck in a pair of rooms with absolutely nothing to do. It was the nerf ball or my sanity.

  I may have gotten a little carried away.

  The nerf ball sustained damage. Major damage. The kind of damage a nerf ball gets when chewed and drooled on and thrown and pounced on. And when a little piece came off, it seemed just the thing to hold the battered toy between my two paws and gnaw on the end. Something about chewing really feels good to the canine teeth.

  I'm lucky Rob returned to the office alone, because I didn't hear him come in. Here I was thumping my tail happily destroying his favorite office toy when I hear, “My football. My favorite office stress reliever.”

  To be fair, his distress looked genuine. I had no idea a silly little ball would mean so much to a grown man. It's not like it really did anything but sit on his desk or maybe get tossed in the air a time or two when he was on the phone with a client.

  I grinned, showing the clean white teeth recently refreshed by chewing on his favorite toy.

  “Jen, you can't play with a man's ball like that.”

  Giggling, I ruffed, “I'll buy you another one.” Somehow my attempts at reconciliation were lost in translation.

  Rob trudged to his leather chair and sort of fell into it. I think he was at wit's end, honestly.

  “Your grandmother didn't believe a word I told her. She thinks you're hiding.”

  I just tilted my head with the nerf ball between my paws and let my tail strike the floor a few times, just to let him know I was listening. It's not like I could do anything about my grandma anyway. And she was the least of my worries. Having paws and the ability to chew nerf balls into tiny pieces of fluff didn't appeal to my expectations of an idealized future, and yet I felt content and satisfied.

  “She asked me several personal questions, ranging from my salary to if I wanted children. I think she knows I'm interested in you.” That got my attention. My head jerked up and Rob and I maintained eye contact for a good fifteen seconds.

  Andrea.

  Of course she would tell everyone about my crush after a family alert regarding my status as a missing person. Maybe they thought he dumped me and I ran. I'm just lucky they trusted Ali and Rob when they said I was okay. Otherwise, I might have ended up on flyers all over the neighborhood and a police report with my description, which would have included my weremouse description, a humiliation I'd never live down.

  Of course Grandma would come and scope Rob out herself.

  I shrugged and gave Rob what I hoped to be an innocent look.

  He just shook his head and mourned his nerf ball, “That football makes up for your desk. You know I had that for three years.”

  Wow, a whole three years. I bet it's a collector's item by now. I picked up the ball, hoping there wasn't too much drool and dropped it at Rob's feet. I understood dogs a lot better now. I was giving him a message. Something that said, “Here's your toy back. Thanks for letting me play with it. I'll probably take it again even if you don't want me to.”

  He picked it up without wincing. There are some benefits to working with a werewolf. Rolling it around in his hands, he seemed to be inspecting each gouge mark carefully. Nerf balls aren't exactly made of sturdy material.

  Rob's hands were much too large for the toy. With a grin he tossed it rather sharply right next to my face. I snapped sideways and caught it in the air, chewing it a few times to hold on properly.

  “Your grandma told me you're a mouse-were. It's no reason to avoid going out on a date with me...if that's what it is. If you really don't want to go out, I won't say another word.” The innocent hope on Rob's face eased the tension in my soul when he said mouse.

  I nearly choked on the ball. Ratted out by my own grandmother. I felt humili
ated and shy, relieved and nervous all in the same breath. He knows. He still wants to go out. Maybe he was just trying to make me feel better. But he looks like he still wants me. At least now the truth was out.

  Chapter 17

  Francis turned out to be as annoying as those vampires in the movies who want to suck your face while they are sucking your blood. Apparently, he had a thing for me. What kind of thing, I can only guess, because he wasn't forthcoming. It wasn't lust or love, probably not even snack-related, which left what? I hid from Francis when he stepped into the front room.

  Rob is usually the one who tells me that a visitor was coming, but this time, I smelled and heard him about the same time that Rob did. I hid under the couch which gave me a view of my office, which is also the reception area.

  The vampire stood with a slack mouth staring at my desk. I wanted to knock on his head and ask if there was anyone home. I might have sighed from my hiding place because Rob looked in my direction suddenly with a frown and a raised eyebrow. He has classic features, a smooth jaw line, just the right amount of cheek and nose. And those beautiful eyes. And that silky black hair with a bit of a wave. I sighed. Definitely love.

  “Where's your assistant?” Francis blinked a few times. Guess there was someone inside.

  “She's busy.” I do believe Rob gave me a secret smile just then when he said, “It's hard keeping up with her. I have a few houses I think you'll like. Would you like to see them?”

  Looking at my empty seat, the vampire nodded slowly. “That would be fine.”

  “Shall we take my car?” Rob opened the door and held it for Francis. “I'll be down in just a second. I need to grab my phone.”

  Grabbing his keys, Rob unlocked the bottom right-hand drawer of his desk. I'd known from the first day of work that the drawer was off-limits. After his wild nights, I had a rather vivid imagination of what kind of kinky sex objects might be locked away only to be brought out in the light of a full moon.