Emma
The door clicked shut behind Trudy. I turned to the others, my pulse pounding in my ears. "Did any of you know about this?"
If they did, I was sure they would’ve told me. I don’t know why I even asked them. Probably because my head was spinning, and I felt strangely upset and unsafe thinking about werewolves running loose around Mystic Hollow.
Beth shook her head, strands of blonde hair falling into her face. "No, we didn't."
"Same here." Deva crossed her arms. "First I've heard of it."
"Me neither," said Carol, biting her lip.
I rubbed the back of my neck. "So, what now?" I settled on the couch at the back of the main room, trying to make sense of it all. "You thought people were just getting mugged?"
Like me, I almost said, and held back. Somehow, mugging made me feel safer. Maybe because it meant that it was a person who wanted something, like money, rather than a wild animal that could attack and infect any of us.
"Exactly," Carol said. "It's been happening for weeks. We figured it was some thugs."
"Or desperate folks," Beth added. "Times are tough. This economy sucks."
"Okay." I took a deep breath. "But werewolves? Really? Are there many in town?"
Did they have a whole community like the mermaids, vampires, and shifters? Or what are we working with? I need to wrap my head around this whole thing.
"There are only two that we know of in town," Carol answered quickly.
That was a relief. Two, I think, I could handle. It also gave us a small list of suspects.
"The two werewolves have been around for years." Beth leaned back in her chair. "They're sort of local legends."
"It just doesn’t make sense for it to be them though. They should have better control than this." Carol frowned. "Infecting people isn't something that justhappens."
"Control?" I tried to wrap my head around the situation. "You mean they can stop themselves from... what? Biting people? Infecting them? Both?"
"Exactly," Carol nodded. "They've been werewolves long enough to manage their urges."
I was so confused. Were werewolves like snakes that can control when they release their venom? If they scratch someone, do they become werewolves? I have no idea how this works.
"How does someone even get infected?"
"Through a bite," Deva replied. "But only when they're in their werewolf form."
"This isn’t some kind of virus you catch from a sneeze or something."
"No, it's much more direct than that," Beth added. "And a lot rarer, because of the control thing."
"Is it just during the full moon, then?" I leaned forward, elbow on my knee.
"Initially, yes." Deva pushed a strand of hair behind her ear. "Only the first few transformations are tied to the lunar cycle."
"Like in the movies," I said, half-joking to mask the unease settling in my stomach.
"But after that," Carol picked up the explanations, "they can change at will. It's not just full moon business anymore."
The idea of werewolves roaming around by choice wasn't comforting.
"Yep, any time they want." Beth reached for her mug, took a sip, and set it down with more force than necessary. "But there's a catch."
"Which is?" I asked.
