A Werewolf Valentine's

by C. M. Stunich

  “Lincoln?” Deb asked, reaching up unconsciously and fluffing her hair. “Why would Lincoln be coming here?” Josiah raised his dark brows and tilted his head to the side, sucking up chocolatey goodness through his straw as he stared at our friend. I'd known Deb for forever, and Josiah had met her back in sixth grade, so we both basically knew her inside and out.

  “He's coming to pick up his phone,” Josiah said with a slow smile. “That, and I kind of hinted that maybe you'd be around when he got here, you know?”

  “Well, I don't want to see him,” Deb said with a righteous sniff. Josiah and I exchanged another glance. It wasn't even two months ago that we'd all gone ice-skating together and the two of them had spent more time tongue tied to one another than they did on the ice. Puh-lease. She was totally excited he was coming. “He broke up with me, remember? Over a text message.”

  “That's not how he tells it,” Josiah said, almost singsongy as he moved over to stand closer to me, pressing his shoulder into mine with a rush of heat. Being near him like this, even as casual as we were being right now, it made the world feel like it wasn't such a big, scary place after all, like maybe I could tackle this thing if I had him by my side. “He told me you basically broke up with him and that he texted you to test the waters.”

  “Do you want to read what he wrote me?” Deb snapped back, preening as best she could in the side of a stainless steel trash can. She'd even crouched down to examine her makeup in the wobbly surface. And that was so unlike Deb. Normally, she wore baggy sweaters and old jeans stained with paint, and didn't care that two of the three pairs of glasses she rotated through during the week were taped. God, she still has it bad for Lincoln, I thought as she stood up suddenly and threw on a disinterested air that was actually kind of funny. That, too, was so at odds with her usual personality that I had to laugh.

  “Hey Linc,” Josiah said as we turned around to greet out friend. Lincoln's short blond hair was slicked back, his face cleanly shaved, his jeans and shoes gleaming with that freshly purchased sort of an air. He was dressed in a white shirt that was suspiciously perfect looking and free of wrinkles, like maybe he'd just bought that, too. On the front was a broken heart with the words Eff Valentine's Day on the bottom. No, seriously, that's what it said.

  “Um, Lincoln,” I said, trying my best to smile and get through the moment, pushing back the weirdness of the wolfsbane tea and the silver shoe and the … crossbow and axe. Oh, and Deb's sudden insistence that we talk about sex. I mean, I'd always intended to tell her, but with all of the craziness that had occurred during Christmas break—you know the whole turning into a werewolf for the first time and then infecting my boyfriend thing—I just hadn't gotten the chance. And then we'd gone back to school and Josiah's mom had been going whacko and well, you get the point.

  “Hey,” he said, looking big and awkward and far too old for his age like he always did. Lincoln was big and muscular and kind of dorky, even if he tried to hide that side of himself from his football buddies. “What are you guys up to?”

  “Here's your phone,” Josiah said, reaching into his pocket and pulling out the cell. He passed it over into Linc's hand with a nod of thanks. “And here's your girlfriend,” he whispered slyly, grabbing my arm suddenly and pulling me away from Deb. “Meet us at the pizza place in an hour!” Josiah called as he whisked me away and left Deb and Lincoln standing there with their mouths agape in horror.

  “They're just going to leave,” I told Josiah as we stopped at the edge of The Square and hid behind a small cluster of trees. Josiah peeked around the trunks, and I waited to hear his report as I sucked down a yummy mouthful of cool, cool vanilla.

  “I don't think so,” Josiah said as he pulled back, and smiled at me over his shoulder. “Looks like they're going to talk for a while.” He turned around and hopped off the cluster of roots he'd been perched on, standing up straight and looking me right in the face. A blush suffused my cheeks; I couldn't help it. I decided I'd blame my intense attraction to him on werewolf magic. It only seemed fair, considering all the things my wolf had put me through.

  “I wish I knew what they were fighting about,” I said with a small sigh, “sipping up the last of my milkshake and chucking the cup into a nearby trash can.

  “You sure about that?” Josiah asked coyly, looking ridiculously adorable in a red hoodie with a white bow and arrow on the front. The back said Help I've Been Hit, and the front said With Love's Arrow. Yep. We were all about themed holiday stuff—particularly themed holiday stuff with ridiculous phrases on it. “Because Lincoln may or may not have let some information slip and lemme just tell you, it's scandalous.”

  I raised my eyebrows as Josiah paused in front of me, giving me a slow once-over that curled my toes and made my breath hitch.

  “Aren't you going to tell me what happened today?” I asked, pretending I wasn't interested in hearing my friends' gossip. But I was. I soooo totally was. “Why didn't you come to school today?” My mouth twisted up into a smile of its own accord. “I got your poem, by the way.”

  Josiah's smile was heavy and lopsided, like he was excited about the poem … and totally bummed about whatever had happened at home.

  “Let's just say, I was never meant to be a poet,” he said as he tossed his milkshake into the garbage and stepped up closer to me, reaching down to curl his fingers through mine, “but I meant what I said in it, you know.”

  “What happened today?” I asked because if I let him, he'd get even more mushy and sentimental and … sensual. I thought about the condoms he'd brought to my place, of the two I'd snagged from his stash and stuffed into my messenger bag. Even now, I had one in my pocket. My pocket. Whoa.

  “Sylvia,” Josiah started and I could sense something really bad coming my way, “Mom wants to pull me out of school and send me to some boarding school place run by werewolf hunters. Hunters, Sylvia. They think they can change me back.”

  I was already shaking my head, starting to back away from Josiah, but he grabbed my hands and held on tight.

  “They can't change you back,” I told him, and somehow in my gut I knew it was true. “Becoming a werewolf … is like discovering who you really are inside. It's not something that can just be undone.”

  “I know,” he said, and his voice was soft as he pulled me close and wrapped me in his arms. Sometimes, it just felt darn good to be hugged. We stood like that for several long minutes, Josiah running his fingers through my hair and me not even blushing or caring that people might be looking.

  When we pulled apart a few minutes later, I felt better, stronger. Like, if we were together, we could face down anything.

  “What did my dad say?” I asked, because I knew I'd get a hundred times more information asking Josiah than I would from my own parents. A wet breeze teased strands of my brown hair around my face, promising that even though it was sunny out right now, rain was coming—and soon.

  “Shall we walk?” Josiah asked, holding out his arm for me to take. “And I'll fill you in on the way.”

  I slipped my elbow through his and we started off down the sidewalk, towards the edge of The Square and across the street to all the shops. There were no less than six clothing stores on this side of The Square alone, so I figured it wouldn't be hard to find something to wear to the dance. Besides, it was infinitely better than the mall—less crowded, more local shops, more sunshine.

  Josiah filled me in as we headed towards the first shop, a cute little boutique with paper hearts and pink, red, and white paper lanterns in the windows. There was a big shiny banner in metallic gold that said Valentine's Day Sale hanging from one side of the store all the way to the other.

  Apparently, Josiah's mom had simply refused to take either Corine or Josiah to school this morning, and had invited Aunt Lizzie over to talk with them about the school, some place in Connecticut with a fancy name that I'd never heard of before. But then, of course I hadn't heard about it. It was a school just for werewolf hunters … aaaaand my boyfrie
nd's mom wanted to send her two werewolf children to it. Talk about some serious crazy sauce. Elsie must've been slathering it on everything she ate.

  “When was she planning on taking you guys there?” I asked with a sort of empty, hollow feeling in my gut. Suddenly, it didn't seem so important to go dress shopping. And then, of course, I realized that here I was, standing in the store with my date, looking at outfits. If I picked something out, Josiah would totally make me try it on. I'd been out shopping for clothes with him twice before and honestly … I think he liked it.

  “She mentioned looking up flights for Monday morning,” Josiah said as he paused and rubbed the edge of a silky white sleeve. He stared into the fabric for a moment and then snapped his dark gaze up to mine with a forced smile, his brown hair clean but mussed, completely free of gel. I couldn't help myself; I reached up and ruffled it with my fingers. “Let's not talk about that anymore,” he said as he grabbed the white dress off the rack and lifted it up to my body. “I'd much rather help my date find an outfit for Friday.”

  “Is there even going to be a Friday?” I asked, feeling sick to my stomach again. But I did take the white dress in my hand and examine it carefully. It really was a pretty dress. Josiah had good taste. “How can we go to the dance with all of this stuff going on?”

  “Dad's got my back,” Josiah said and I raised my eyebrow, thinking of cranky old Ted and his bushy brows and his hatred of the city snowplows. He hadn't exactly seemed taken with me. “He still thinks that Corine and I got caught doing 'drugs', but since Mom couldn't or wouldn't specify, he's now decided he thinks it was just pot.”

  “As of November, it became totally legal,” I said, lifting up a finger as Josiah grinned at me. Overhead, the speakers started playing some old nineties boy band stuff that my mom had listened to when she was a kid. If I wasn't careful to keep Josiah distracted, he'd probably start dancing to it. Strangely enough, he was really good, too.

  “Exactly. And Dad was a total pothead in high school, so he doesn't see anything wrong with it. He thinks Mom's overreacting majorly. So don't worry about the dance, Sylv, I will be at your house to pick you up, come hell or high water.” Josiah paused a moment to smile at one of the employees and then followed me through the sea of clothing to a holiday themed rack with brightly colored party dresses. “Sylvie,” Josiah said, like he could sense I was still worried about everything. “I'll take a hundred silver crossbow bolts to stay with you. Besides, your dad seemed pretty adamant that if he had to, he'd let me move into your place before he'd let my mom send me across the country.”

  Holy crap. Now I knew my dad was dedicated. I felt like Dad would be more likely to let Grandma Virginia move in than he would Josiah. But Dad was a werewolf, too, and he knew what it was like to fall in love young. I felt a warm little glow in my chest, like my parents might actually trust my instincts. It was a nice feeling.

  “That …” I tried not to smile, but it came anyway and Josiah poked me in the cheek. I smacked his hand away and then bumped our shoulders together as we stood side by side and started going through the row of beautiful dresses. There were pink ones with full skirts and tiny white hearts, swarthy red dresses made of velvet, flouncy yellow ones with tiny crystals on the bodice. “But can my parents really do anything if yours decide to send you across the country?”

  “Corine's declared that she'll move out if my mom tries anything, and I mean, she is eighteen so it's kind of in her right to do whatever,” Josiah said, sidestepping my question a little. Corine might be eighteen, but Josiah was decidedly not. He was only sixteen; we had two years to go before he could legally make his own choices. “Oh, uh, Mom cast a spell on me this morning …”

  Josiah tried to keep his voice down, but my sudden snort of disbelief drew the employee's attention for a moment before she went back to browsing through her phone. I think she was sending Snaps of her boobs through Snapchat because she kept pulling her top down with one hand and taking photos. I noticed a temporary tattoo stuck onto the surface of her right boob. Or heck, maybe it was permanent? I sure hoped not because it said Valentine's Day is for Diamonds and Sex. Tacky much?

  “What kind of spell?” I asked as I pushed apart a pair of pale pink dresses to look at the one in the middle. It was made of a peach colored lace, the hems, bodice and sleeves decorated with shiny red sequin hearts. It had a sweetheart neckline, inch wide straps, a short bouncy little skirt that flared out at the hips.

  “This one,” Josiah breathed, sliding it off the rack and holding it up for us to look at together. “You have to try this one on.”

  “What kind of spell, Jo?” I said, putting a hand on my hip and giving him my most serious look. With my amber eyes, I knew I could pull it off. I'd seen my mom do it a hundred times, a thousand. Possibly millions. Anyway, I wasn't sure if spells actually worked or not, but at this point, I wasn't about to discount anything. I could freeze time, so what point was there in questioning other unbelievable things?

  “She drew some complicated symbols on my bedroom door and hung this weird wreath made of ash branches and holly over it. The first thing she did when I opened the door to head into the hallway was douse me with holy water infused with lavender.” A tight smile. “But don't worry, I checked, I'm still a wolf.”

  And I knew that was true because I could feel it, could feel his beast rumbling around inside his chest, brushing up against the shadowy spirit of my own.

  “Maybe try this one on, too?” Josiah asked, holding up a ridiculously short little red thing that looked more like a fancy top and definitely not like a whole dress. I gave him a look and he laughed, putting it back. “Okay, okay, but I had to at least try, right?”

  “You're such a perv,” I said, tucking the white and peach dresses up against my body.

  “I know,” Josiah said with yet another grin, following me over to the dressing rooms and waiting outside.

  I tried the white one on first, my mind completely and utterly preoccupied with nervous thoughts about spells and wolfsbane and boarding schools. Ugh, no way, I thought as I saw myself in the mirror. The white dress just didn't suit me; it was too tight in some places, too loose in others.

  “Hey, where's my fashion show?” Josiah asked from outside the curtain as I quickly changed out of the ill fitting dress and into the peach one, the sequins rustling like rain as I slipped it over my head and struggled to zip up the back. A few seconds later, I heard familiar voices and peeked out the curtain to find Deb and Lincoln heading across the store towards Josiah. Neither of them looked particularly happy. Uh-oh.

  “Hey, Deb, can you help me in here?” I asked as she pushed her way past Josiah and sneaked into the little room with me, smiling as she saw me in the dress. Even without being zipped in the back, I liked the way it looked on me, the way it made me feel. This is it, I thought as I fingered one of the shiny red heart sequins. I could tell, even without showing it off to Josiah. In fact, maybe I wouldn't show him yet? Maybe I'd make him wait until Valentine's Day?

  “This is a really great dress, Sylv,” Deb said as she helped me zip it up, and examined my reflection in the mirror. I smiled back at her, wanting to ask about Lincoln but far too aware that the thin curtain was the only thing separating us from prying ears. “Oh my god,” she breathed as she found the abandoned white dress and picked it up. “Do you think I could try this one on?”

  “Have at it,” I said as I smoothed my hands down the flouncy skirt of the peach dress, my yellow-gold eyes reflecting back at me from the mirror. “Because I think I've just found the one.”

  After we were done at the shops—Deb with the white dress and me with the peach—we stopped at the pizza place and ordered a ridiculous heart shaped pizza with the word LOVE spelled out in pepperoni. Deb and Linc never stopped glaring at each other, and they refused to speak directly to one another, using Josiah and me as go-arounds. It was a little uncomfortable, to say the least.

  Afterward, Deb took Josiah and me back to the house, dropping
us off in the front yard with a quick goodbye before she disappeared into the fading orange-navy darkness of sunset. Above our heads, a herd of gray rainclouds had floated in and were threatening a downpour of monsoon proportions.

  “I wish you'd let me see the dress,” Josiah joked, bumping me playfully with his elbow as we walked up the porch steps toward the front door. I think we were both perfectly aware that things were going to get serious here in a minute.

  Before going inside, we paused and turned to look at each other, almost as if we'd be drawn to stand like that.

  I could smell his sweet spicy scent, feel the warmth of his body. I wanted nothing more than to bury myself in his arms and stay like that all night.

  “You can see it when you come to pick me up,” I told him with a lift of my chin and a smile. It was a little tight, but Josiah didn't let that deter him, cupping the side of my face with his hand and giving me a slightly more genuine smile in return.

  “I'm already looking forward to it,” he promised, and then he leaned in and kissed me softly on the mouth, his lips gentle but eager, clearly desperate for more. I leaned into him and his hands went to my hips, my hands curling in the soft cotton fabric of his hoodie as we kissed with tongues, long and slow and deep. I could feel my toes curling inside my shoes, goose bumps dotting my skin. A boy that could kiss like this? Definitely a keeper. His kiss felt like more than just a kiss, like a promise, a whispered I love you. It was loving and sweet, but with just enough spicy heat to make things interesting.

  “Ew! Gross! Mom, Josiah and Sylvia are locking lips on the porch!”

  I jerked back from Josiah as he laughed and I managed to grab onto my little brother's arm before he could retreat back inside the living room window. Trevor screamed as I yanked him close and pressed a big, wet, sloppy kiss to his forehead.

  “MOM!” His screams quadrupled in volume as he scrambled away and I leaned back with a laugh, letting him go as Josiah opened and held the front door for me.