“Tacos,” Darryl and I said in unison.
She stared at Darryl again. “Youdon’t seem to be having fun. Is Norwich a little too festive?”
“Festive? This is on a different level. Does the entire town shut down for Halloween?”
“Shut down? No. The town comes alive! Have you ever dreamed of living in a place where werewolves and humans not only coexist but thrive together?” She lifted her hand in the air, pointing to the mix of hundreds of people in the giant hall. Werewolves, humans, and half-turns laughed and danced, some sitting at tables while playing games. “This is what Norwich is really about, but we’re aware of the rumors.”
“What are you?” Darryl asked, his ears pressing against his head.
“I’m the Nor-witch.” She let out a fake cackle but quickly dialed it back when Darryl didn’t respond. “Eh, that joke is getting old anyway.”
Mosavi noticed Darryl’s hostility from across the room and rushed to the table, sliding a drink in front of Willa before sitting in the seat next to her. He said nothing, but his ears pulled tightly against his head in the same angry gesture.
“I want you out of my town.”
“Dear,” Willa said, tracing her fingers over his. “This is a night to relax and enjoy. You don’t do that enough lately.” After a moment, Mosavi’s ears shifted slowly upward as Willa turned back to us. “You both should be enjoying the night. These festivities aren’t just for fun.” She looked around and lowered her voice. “This celebration belies the danger. We are besieged from all sides every day, but on this particular day, the shields have to go up.” Her eyes flashed blood red. “And yes, I am siphoning magic from every werewolf gathered here, even you, Darryl.” She pointed to the disco ball on the ceiling. “Without that, and enough werewolves to feed it, the coven would descend upon this place.”
“How do I know you aren’t feeding our essence to coven right now?” Daryl asked.
“You—” Mosavi paused and took in a deep breath through his teeth before quieting his voice. “Willa is the reason Norwichexists, and why werewolves have a real refuge—not just a refuge, a modern life with all the amenities of civilization instead of being forced to live as animals in the woods or on the streets begging for food. Our kind continues to fall, and the organization has done nothing but watch.”
“The organization?” I asked, prompting Mosavi to let out an exhausted sigh.
“The… Administration of Werewolf Oversight and Opportunities.”
Willa smirked and Darryl let out a snort. At first, I didn’t get what was so funny until I put together the acronym. I’d received correspondence from them before, but it wasn’t until now that I put it all together.
“Is that really what they’re called?”
“It was created by a human who hated werewolves. He had an unfortunate accident not long after,” Mosavi replied, grinding his teeth. “But you know how bureaucracy is. They’ve been sitting on that name change for about ten years.”
“I’m confused. I thought witches couldn’t survive long without a coven,” Darryl interjected.
“It is possible, obviously. I haven’t had one in over a century,” she said, holding Mosavi’s hand. When she looked at him, it was as though nothing else in the world mattered.
“If this is an act, it’s pretty damn convincing,” Darryl said, almost swallowing his words as if enthralled by the display.
“We saved each other, and we’ve been saving werewolves since we took control of this place two years ago. Cody and his pack didn’t end up here by chance.” She smiled at me again. “I never did get around to apologizing for how long that took. Committing federal offenses while not getting caught takes a bit of time.”
“What?” I asked, dropping my voice to a whisper. “Was this illegal?”
“None of you are in government records anymore,” Mosavi said, glaring at Darryl. “Unlike you. Still in your hovel with all the rotten fish?”
“You mean my beach house on prime real estate worth over ten million today?” The larger werewolf flashed a grin. “Yes. I’m still there.”
The darker werewolf crossed his arms. “Are you working for them?”
“AWOO? No. They tried, but like you, they weren’t able to make me an offer I wanted.”
“At least you are not a total fool.”
“Hold on a minute. Where the hell has our money been coming from?” I asked.
The mayor raised his brows and cocked a half-grin but didn’t respond. Willa, on the other hand, occasionally glanced up at the glowing disco ball while fidgeting with the straps of her gown.
“Are you okay?” I asked, catching her attention.
“Of course.” Her eyes brightened. “We should enjoy the rest of the night.”
