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The smile on Aiden’s face could light up the night sky. He was quick to follow, joining me by the front door of “Spooky Halloween,” the rest of our group already deep within the aisles. I darted inside the store, racing behind the shelves as Aiden came in second. This had just become a game between us, one I was more than happy to win at. Quietly, I crept from aisle to aisle, reaching the back where a “staff only” door sat. To be honest, I wasn’t sure what I wanted to be for Halloween. The discovery of werewolves—of lycanthropes—was still pretty fresh on my mind.

And as if able to read it, Aiden rounded the aisle directly in front of me, standing at the end wearing what looked to be a werewolf’s mask and a pair of gloves. I smiled coyly, grabbing a nearby vampire costume and dangling it in front of me.

“A classic monster duo, then? Not entirely original, Aiden, but everyone loves a good classic.”

Aiden remained silent, stiff. A creeping cold began up my spine as I forced a grin, finding my feet firmly cemented in place.

“Unless… that’s Noah or Laura behind that mask?” I asked with a nervous laugh. “What, y-you two stooping to espionage, now?”

As the figure stepped toward me, it became entirely apparent that I didn’t know this person. Somehow, I got my feet shuffling, back thumping against the staff door as the vampire costume dropped to the floor.

“Trevor, please tell me you just have a twisted sort of humor?”

The closer the stranger got, the clearer it was that they weren’t just wearing a mask and gloves. Darkish hair poked out from their shirt sleeves, a throaty growl revealing a pair of canid teeth that absolutely sealed the deal for me.

I hadn’t even realized I pushed through the door until I was suddenly running through the storage room, the pounding of feet following close behind.

Chapter Fifteen  

T

he double doors crashed against the walls as I slid past rows of untouched boxes, stacked nearly to the ceiling with Halloween goodies galore. I barely had time to catch my footing as four pairs of limbs came thundering toward me, claws scraping against the linoleum floor as a much louder snarl escaped the lycanthrope’s throat. Without even thinking, I slammed into the exit, stumbling into a back alley before throwing the door shut behind me.

“Crap, crap, crap, crap.” My mind threatened to spin out with the rest of the world as my eyes darted around the alley. A huge dumpster sat against the wall, perfectly positioned to be shoved aside. Adrenaline coursed through me as I pressed my body against it, grime-encrusted wheels creaking as it slowly slid against the exit door. Just as it covered the exit, a loud bang rattled the metal exterior, followed soon after by furious snarling.

And to think, I’d only had one round of werewolf self-defense.

My first instinct was to run toward the streetlights, pooling out into the very public downtown area. If I was gonna be chased, someone would know about it. Forcing my feet to move, I hardly got into a jog before a delivery van rolled in front of the alley’s mouth. Fear froze me in place as I waited for a tidal wave of werewolves, or zombies, or whatever else existed in the shadow depths of mythology. To my relief, it was just the poor timing of some delivery guy.

Not even poor timing—the absolute worst, most inconvenient timing the world had ever seen.

“What the hell—?” The rest of my curse choked into a panicked shriek as the dumpster slammed forward, its innards spilling out across the asphalt. A flash of something shiny pulled my hand forward, fist closing around what looked to be a metal fork before I dove out of the werewolf’s way.

“Out of the lycanthrope—!” I corrected myself out loud before another scream slipped out. Not the time, Aria. Not the time.

I found myself slowly getting backed into a corner as my aggressor prowled close. They found no use for their disguise anymore, dropping the gloves and mask to the ground as the shadows of the alley overtook them. The darkened fur sent me into a tizzy—there was no way this was one of Clyde’s friends, right?

“V-Vanessa, if that’s you,” I barely got the words out; the body shape wasn’t the same as hers. On all fours, it was impossible to even discern the gender.

My back bumped against the concrete wall, fork held outright in my hand. The tip trembled terribly the closer my attacker got; they were clearly getting way too much enjoyment out of this. Without my input, I suddenly lunged out, catching the monster’s snout with my fork. It let out a pained whine, backing further into the shadow while oversized claws pawed at its nose.

“H-hah!” A well of bravado filled my chest as I held the fork outward. “You’re not getting me that easy.”

The lycanthrope responded justly by lunging forward and clamping its jaw around my shoulder. A choked scream tried clawing its way out as it shook me like a rag doll, throwing me aside with a spray of blood. Whatever gasp of air I was going for failed utterly, the entirety of my spine throbbing as I crumpled into a heap. Bloodied saliva hung over me as the beast stared me down, fangs glittering and eyes wide in anticipation; even with my fork still in hand, I couldn’t put the right command together in my head to act. The fluorescent bulb hung above us, as if the universe was throwing a spotlight to my last moments alive.

Then, the light personified, given enough physical matter to grab the wolf by the throat and chuck him aside.

I blinked furiously, trying to piece the image together. It was another lycanthrope, its fur far shorter and more lightly-colored than my attacker’s. He—it had to be a he, with that body shape—stood on his hind legs and let out a howling snarl, claws bared and chest completely exposed to the enemy.

The darker wolf scrambled to all fours, glaring at its enemy before fully charging into him. Their arms interlocked, teeth snapping and snarls escaping their chests as they wrestled across the alley. With whatever sense I had left, I managed to push myself to my feet, fork in hand, and inch slowly along the wall. The last thing I wanted to do was get in the middle of all those teeth and claws.

At least, until the fair-colored lycanthrope was clawed brutally across the face.

“H-hey—!” I suddenly charged forward, slamming all one-hundred-and-twenty pounds of myself into the attacker’s side. We both went teetering forward, the lighter wolf catching me with one arm and slashing the attacker’s stomach with the other. Dark Fur let out a pained howl, its arm covering the wound before it attempted to scramble up the side of the wall. My guy wasn’t about to let him go, though, gently setting me down before starting after him.