“Darryl, go sleep in my bed,” I whispered. “You’re gonna break the couch.”
The huge werewolf sat up, the sofa complaining under his weight as he rubbed the gunk from the corners of his eyes.
“What are you doing up?”
“Trust me, I don’t wanna be.”
“Want a swimming lesson?” he whispered in a slurred voice, his eyes half open. Even when tired, it was all werewolves thought about.
“Darryl.” I shoved him and sat back against the cushions. “Happy Halloween, by the way.”
“Can’t believe the luck. It’s a full moon, too.”
“What did you bring for the costume party?”
Darryl stood up and stretched. “Oh, you’re gonna love this.”
He unzipped his large duffel bag and fished around before pulling out a smooth, gray sheet of fabric. After he firmly shook away the creases, he slipped it over his head and pulled it about halfway down.
“What do you think?” he asked.
It was the cutest shark costume I’d ever seen. The head was like a hoodie with spaced rows of little plastic pointed teeth and large eyes with big, black pupils. Darryl poked his head out from the mouth; the rest of the costume covered him like a snug-fitting armless jacket. It even had a long shark tail with enough space for the werewolf to tuck his own tail into.
“I honestly was not expecting it to be this adorable.”
“Right? A surfer buddy’s wife made it custom for me. What are you gonna wear?”
“I don’t know. Roscoe said he wanted to go with a theme, so I’m leaving it up to him.”
“You sure you wanna do that?” Darryl slipped out of his shark costume, folding it neatly before stuffing it back into his bag.
“Well, I was sure at first, but you just made me concerned.’”
“Roscoe’sthemesare always… interesting. He really likes to get into character, too.”
“Of course I should know this by now.”
“It actually turned into a fun tradition. Roscoe would dress up as something elaborate, get piss drunk and get into character. I remember one time, the host of the party bent over to grab something out of the cooler and he shouted ‘this is Sparta’ before kicking him head-first into the pool.” Darryl rubbed his chin. “He did that about three times before people got fed up with his shit and booted him out.”
“Oh God,” I muttered under my breath. “At least he won’t be drunk.”
“Sounds boring, though.” He folded his arms. “Maybe I should have a little one-on-one with Darius.”
“I’m trying to keep the peace, so I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
“I’m surprised he hasn’t tried to keep you locked away,” Darryl said, sitting back on the couch. “That’s what he tried to do to me. Indoctrinate me into his cult of stuffy creeps.”
“Well, he probably wanted to do that to me, too, but his wife keeps him in check.”
“We’re pretty rare, Cody. All werewolves have small amounts of the vironoct, but only a few can tap into it like we can. A huge sign is usually when a half-turn shifts later in life, or that’s what I’m told. It’s why I kinda knew about you.”
“I remember you telling me you were a late bloomer.”
Darryl nodded. “Yeah, but when Darius found me, I had to lie low. I can’t prove it, but I think he’s the reason the organization never found me. I remember he was angry with me when I turned him down, but he also left me alone. That was about the time I met Roscoe. Say what you will about the guy, but he knows things that he has no business knowing.”
“I think I know what you mean.”
“I don’t know whether the guy plays dumb, or if he really can’t remember certain things, but he has this innate sense I can’t figure out. Like, he’s really wise, but he’s also an idiot.” He eyed me and smirked. “Confused yet?”
