“Why do you need the shields? Why not just commune with your kin?” Darryl asked, also likely noticing Willa’s unease.
“My kin? They are not my sisters. The witches of the woods are vengeful, and they will stop at nothing to drain me of my magic and enslave my Darius. We are going to win this fight, though. As more werewolves arrive, my wards grow stronger, and the town can expand. Humans and werewolves, they’re all welcome. It is Darius’ dream, and I will do all I can to make it come true.”
Mosavi smiled warmly as they pressed their foreheads together, Willa kissing him on the nose.
“Draining werewolves to protect werewolves from being drained.” Darryl looked up at the disco ball, now glowing a pastel yellow. “I don’t like this at all.”
“It’s completely safe,” Willa said. “The werewolves will be weakened for a day or two before they’re back to normal. This building is quite literally the center of town, so the barrier extends all the way to the woods on all sides. We’ve got more werewolves now, so it’s a lot stronger than last year.”
“Everyone knows to stay out of the woods, right?” Darryl asked.
“It’s one of the laws,” Mosavi replied before glaring at me. “When they aren’t being broken by undisciplined half-turns.”
“Cody broke a law.” Darryl choked out a loud laugh. “If it were any other situation, that would be more unbelievable than a lucid witch.”
Roscoe appeared in the doorway holding several tacos while being shoved into the room by two other werewolves. He looked around until he found me, then trotted over while shoving one of the tacos into his mouth.
“Want one?” he asked with his mouth full, holding one of the meat-filled shells in front of my face.
“Well, that’s up to you.” I held up the bottle of poppers Willa gave me earlier. I’d always thought poppers were pills, but apparently, I’d had it all wrong for years. “It’s either sex or tacos. It can’t be both for obvious reasons.”
Roscoe shoved the rest of the tacos into his mouth before grabbing my hand. “Oooo!”
Werewolves. If there was one thing Roscoe loved more than food… As we walked out of the center, I caught a glimpse of Austin stripping off his costume while Adam ran away, the werewolf’s eyes glowing a furious yellow. It seemed the vironoct had worn off faster than usual.
He looked down at the floor before finally disappearing after Adam.
“I think I should see what’s going on.”
“Nah, let them handle things for once. Let’s have fun!”
I wasn’t entirely sure when I’d lost my thong, but I was drunk enough that my embarrassment vanished in a sea of propositions and catcalls. I never thought I was ugly, but I was so self-conscious that I also never found myself particularly attractive either. My history with men wouldn’t have been enough to write a one-page report on, and the few terrible experiences I’d had made it hard to think of myself as worthy of affection.
Before I’d met Roscoe, I’d been a pretender. I worked at a gay bar, but I secretly despised the culture and every man I served. Forcing myself into the thick of what I hated had only isolated me further, because I never felt like I belonged. None of it had helped me accept who I was, but my gradual evolution into lycanthropy was changing that. While human Cody could hide in the shadows, avoiding confrontation and heartbreak, half-turn Cody couldn’t hide from anyone.
“Let’s fuck in the hay maze,” I said, pulling on the golden cord tied around Roscoe’s neck, leading him through the haunted labyrinth. “Always kind of wanted to be railed by a minotaur.”
“Yer bein’ unusually nasty,” Roscoe said with a grunt, straightening the horns on his head that had come loose. “Wish it was a full moon every night.”
We approached the stacked hay bales but were beaten to the action by a few other partygoers who had the same idea. A human man, a werewolf, and a woman. The only one who noticed us in the dark entryway was the werewolf, and when he silently beckoned us over, Roscoe looked back over at me for approval. It might have been a night of debauchery, but Iwasn’t that loose. With a shake of my head and smile, I pulled a reluctant Roscoe out of that part of the maze.
As we stepped out of the shrubs, I stopped and gazed at the moon. If I had to describe the sensation, it was like being plugged into an outlet after being completely drained.
“I sure am glad there are no trick-or-treaters in Norwich, because everyone has lost their minds.”
“Wasn’t expectin’ the town to turn into one big orgy,” Roscoe said, his voice almost a whisper.
“You almost sound disappointed.”
“Don’t get me wrong, it’s hot, but there’s somethin’ missing. Halloween ain’t the same without kids dressing up and lookin’ fer handouts. Makes me all nostalgic.”
“You remember trick-or-treating as a child?”
“Naw, I’m talkin’ about when I was living in the city, looking for hand-outs.” He nudged me with his elbow. “Every Halloween, I’d get lots of candy to hand out to the kiddos, but I’d always run out too soon.”
“You ate it, didn’t you?”
He wrapped an arm around my waist and laughed in response.
