

_"I'll be on all fours howling at the moon while you're eating sweet potatoes with marshmallows and sipping spiked eggnog."_

#

A Werewolf Christmas © C.M. Stunich 2012

"Smashwords Edition"  
A Werewolf New Year's © C.M. Stunich 2016  
DeadBorn © C.M. Stunich 2012  
The Feed © C.M. Stunich 2012  
Crushing Summer © C.M. Stunich 2013  
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.  
For information address Sarian Royal Indie Publishing, 89365 Old Mohawk Rd, Springfield, OR 97478.  
www.sarianroyal.com  
ISBN-10: 1938623355 (eBook)  
ISBN-13: 978-1-938623-35-6 (eBook)  
Cover art and design © Amanda Carroll and Sarian Royal  
"Optimus Princeps" Font © Manfred Klein  
"Dead Seceratery" Font © Andrew Heart  
The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, businesses, or locales is coincidental and is not intended by the author.

to my readers,

without whom these words would be just letters on a page.

thanks for giving them your magic.

Sign up for my newsletter to get *three* free books sent straight to your email! You'll also get exclusive first looks at new releases, contests, coupons and more.

Head to www.cmstunich.com for more info!

Dear Reader,

Thank you for picking up your copy of _A Werewolf Christmas_! You're holding a young adult paranormal romance like no other in your hands. This story originally started off as a stand-alone short and can still be read by itself for a satisfying conclusion, but if you enjoy Syvlia, Josiah, and their families, their story continues in _A Werewolf New Year's._ If there's anything better than werewolves and Christmas trees, it's werewolves, champagne, and fireworks. ;) After you're done reading, if you have a spare moment, could you leave a review? And then come and visit me on my website at www.cmstunich.com. You can also find me on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest.

Happy holidays!

Love,  
C.M. Stunich

I knew as soon as I opened the box that it was going to be bad.

"It's empty," I said, recalling with horrifying clarity my fifteenth birthday. The empty package I'd received then had been a precursor to a long and horrible discussion about puberty and the teenage body. _Gross._ I should've known that when they told me I could open an early Christmas gift that I was in trouble. I looked up and noticed that my mom was taking off her _shirt._ "What the heck are you doing?" I asked as I turned away and tried to focus on the tree and the twinkling red and green lights.

"Honey, maybe we shouldn't jump into this so quickly," my father said as he adjusted his glasses and cast a suspicious glance at the mini blinds. They were closed which was strange enough since it was sunny and bright outside, the first beautiful day we'd had in a while. The snow was pure and white, still hours away from defilement. As soon as my brothers woke up, the whole winter wonderland bit was going out the window. They're monsters I tell you, _monsters._

"Okay, this is seriously giving me the worst case of déjà vu ever. What the heck is going on?" I kept my face averted and watched as my mother's blouse came crashing to the floor in a silken pool. "This better not be one of those weird, new age experiments where you try to show me that my body's beautiful by flashing yours. Just so you're aware, I think that's freaking nuts."

"Listen Sylvia," my mother said as she put her hands on her hips and stared down at me. I glanced up at her and saw that she was still wearing a white camisole. _Thank god._ "Your father and I have something to tell you that you might not like." She paused and the two of them exchanged a worried look that spoke volumes. Whatever they were going to say, I wasn't just going to _not like_ , I was going to _hate._ Boarding school? _No, too cliché._ They've finally decided that Trevor and Chase are demons sent from the fiery depths of the earth to torture me? _Nope, they're blinded by those cute little faces._ Maybe...

"You're getting a divorce," I said as I shook my head. That had to be it. What else was there? "I knew it." My mother frowned and pulled her brunette curls into a ponytail. Her amber eyes were locked on mine and in them, I saw fear. Not primal, animalistic terror, nothing as creepy as that. I think it was fear of rejection. It was an odd emotion to see on my mother's normally confident face.

"No..." she said and then frowned. "Why would you think that?" I ignored her question and threw out another guess. If I distracted them long enough, maybe I could get out of this alive. My grandmother was due over at any minute and much as I disliked spending time with her, I would welcome her visit for the distraction it would bring.

"Having a new baby?"

"No, Sylvia, honey..." She looked down at my father and wrinkled her nose.

"Sweetheart," he began as I put the empty box down and turned so that my back was to the tree. If they were throwing around terms of endearment like that, it was even worse than I'd first thought. "You do know that there's going to be a full moon on Christmas this year?"

I shrugged.

"I guess. Who cares?"

My father swallowed nervously, Adam's apple bobbing up and down his slender throat.

"Well, your mother has a special condition..."

" _We,_ " she corrected as she slid her eyes over to him and then back to me. "Have a special condition."

"That's right," he said as he sat up straighter and adjusted his khaki suit jacket. He always dressed up for my grandmother whether he wanted to or not. She wouldn't accept things any other way. One time, she'd come to visit and found him shirtless and in a pair of pj pants. Granted, she was six hours early, but that hadn't mattered. She'd turned right around, jumped in a cab and flown all the way back to Florida. _Hope that happens again,_ I thought bitterly. _Good riddance. As long as she comes in, causes a scene, and frees me from this mess. Maybe I can sneak out the back door while she's yelling at them?_ "This... condition is something that's passed from woman to woman along your mother's side, and it's... it's..."

"Chromosomal?" I asked, trying to be funny. Nobody laughed. I crossed my legs and leaned forward, waiting for the bomb to drop. They seemed intent on dragging the torture out for as long as possible.

"Not exactly," my mother said, no signs of a smile hovering anywhere around her lips. She was dead serious. She paused as a thump sounded from upstairs.

"That's just Chase," I said casually. "He falls off the bed sometimes. Don't worry, he won't wake up." My brother was special like that. Did I also mention that he slept on the top bunk? He was a heavy sleeper. Neither of my parents commented, very aware of their son's unusual talents.

"But it has been passed from mother to daughter in our family since the beginning of time." I snorted, but my mother cast me a glare that nobody else could match. She and I both had these orange-yellow eyes that intensified our stare, made us seem supernatural somehow. It even worked on the bullies at school. People had stopped bothering me after the seventh grade which was good because I didn't like attention, good or bad. I just wanted to blend in, be like everybody else. As long as I had my family and my boyfriend, Josiah, I was happy.

_Josiah,_ I thought with a contented sigh. My mother narrowed her eyes on me which took the look to a whole new level. I straightened up quickly and tried to pay attention.

"One day, when they're old enough, I'll have this talk with your brothers. There's a slim chance they could pass it on to their daughters, too," she said and then swallowed. "Or possibly their partners."

"Huh?" I asked, getting this squirmy feeling in the pit of my stomach. The gross factor was really starting to amp up. "Is this like an STD or something? Is this syphilis? Do I have congenital syphilis?"

"Oh goodness no!" my mother yelled, hand flying to her chest. Her face was pink tinged now, but not nearly as red as my father's. With his pale skin and brown hair, he looked like Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. Appropriate, considering the holiday season. "How could you even say that?" she whispered as she sat down hard on the edge of the couch.

"Then what the heck are you talking about?" I asked as I slapped my hands on the knees of my blue flannel pants with the snowflakes. I was all about the Christmas season this year. I had underwear with pine trees on them, socks with Frosty the Snowman, and a robe with red and green stripes. I would never let Josiah know that though. When I saw him, I was going to be wearing my white parka with the black faux fur accents, my black ski pants, and my new white boots with the fuzzy pom poms.

"Sylvia," my mother began as she untucked her camisole from her skirt. I had thought the stripping was over, but I guess I was wrong. Mom kicked off her heels and continued talking. "This condition, it isn't a disease per se."

"Per se?" I asked as I looked over at my dad. He was glancing at the mini blinds again. What was he expecting to see? We lived on the dullest street in the dullest city in the dullest state. There were no stalkers out there, no peeping toms, no gremlins.

"In fact," my father said as he and my mom shared a secret smile, and I stuck my tongue out. "I like to think of it as a special gift." I pointed at them both and narrowed my eyes. The famous Noe Family amber eyed glare could go both ways.

"You said this wasn't an STD, and that it was passed from mother to daughter on Mom's side of the family. How did dad get it?" My father blanched and sat back into the pile of stuffed Santas that my brothers had left on the couch.

"Well, it's not a disease," my mother said carefully. "But it can be sexually transmitted." I don't think I said a word, maybe moaned a little though. Yeah, I might've done that. _Wait till Josiah hears about this._ I snapped my gawping mouth shut. What the heck was I talking about? Josiah could not know about this. But then... if we were ever going to be intimate together, I would have to tell him. With the biggest (potential) date of my life just days away, this was not just bad news, it was _the_ worst news possible.

"This is what you wrapped an empty box up for?" I asked, thinking of my excitement when I'd first taken hold of the package. It was shaped like a hatbox with chocolate and gold striped paper and a massive bow in crimson velvet ribbon that had hung so elegantly, like my parents had yanked it right off our Christmas card. How could something so perfect be so _wrong_? "Christmas break, just days before the big day. Why are you doing this to me?"

"We're not doing anything to you, honey, and trust me, if I could've waited, I would've, but you're sixteen years old and the full moon is coming." I raised my hands up, palms out, in a _What the heck is your problem?_ sort of a stance. This beating around the bush thing was not working for me. "I just don't want you to change without understanding what's happening to your body." My mother looked away and I could tell from the stiffness in her shoulders that whatever memories she was entertaining, they were not pleasant. "All my mother—your grandmother—told me was that something big was going to happen." My mother sniffled, and I could see that this thing, whatever it was, had scarred her for life. "I just never expected this." She sighed and shook her head. When she turned back to me, her lips were pursed tight. "Sylvia, on Christmas Day, when the sun goes down, when the moon is full—"

"I'm going to turn into a werewolf and howl at the moon?" I joked. Both of my parents stared at me like I was nuts. But not in the way that you might think. They weren't giving me a look that said I was being silly or rude or anything of the sort. They were looking at me like I'd guessed right. That was the strangest part of it all. "Um, hello?" I asked as they continued to stare in silence. Without another word, my mother stood up and unbuttoned her skirt. "Mom?" She dropped it to the floor. I continued to wait, expecting some kind of explanation. Was this a joke? It had to be, right? It had to be. Had to be. Had to...

My mom slipped off her camisole, and I wrinkled my nose as I caught sight of her lacy bra. _Nasty. Mom wears lingerie? That is just gross._ When she started to take that off, too, I looked away and stared at the pile of presents like they were the only things in the room. I had to think that way, you know, or I'd be scarred for life, too.

"Sylvia," my mother said, but I wouldn't look at her. I didn't want to see my mom naked. For _any_ reason. "Look at me!" Her voice was garbled, low and deep, not like her at all. I snapped my attention back to my mother and found... something. A melding, shifting, shaking mass of skin and fur and all sorts of craziness.

I screamed.

"Sylvia," my father soothed as I scrambled back across the white carpet and slammed into the Christmas tree. A shiny, red bulb fell right off the branch and smacked me in the head. I hardly noticed. My mother was _melting,_ growling and changing into a monster right before my eyes. It was unbelievable.

I kept screaming.

"Sylvia, honey, please," my dad whispered as he slid to the floor and tried to crawl toward me. I picked up a present and thew it at him. The silver and gold package hit him right in the face and made him grunt with pain.

My mother dropped to the carpet as her legs buckled beneath her, drawing into her body until she was standing on two, delicate gray paws. Her arms were the next things to go and before I knew it, she was padding toward me, furry tail wagging gently. But her face was still mostly human.

"Sylvia," she whispered as her lips drew out and formed into a pointed muzzle. "Don't be _afraid._ " The last word was barely a word at all, more like a yip. I stopped screaming, took a massive breath, and screamed some more. When she got close enough to me, I picked up a package that I knew contained my brother's new Wiffle bat and held the green and red present out like a weapon.

"Don't come any closer," I whispered as the thump of little feet sounded from upstairs. My brothers were up. My father's brown eyes swung to the staircase and nearly bulged out of his head with fear. They hadn't wanted them to know about this, but they had a right to. Mom was a monster. Mom was a... a... I couldn't say it. This wasn't happening. _Not_ happening. Mom-Wolf didn't listen. She just kept coming while gray and white fur sprung up over her forehead and cheeks. By the time she was in swinging distance, she was completely transformed. The only part of her that was left intact were her eyes. They were still amber, still just as intense. I stared straight into them and didn't know what to do. I couldn't hit Mom with the bat, but...

"Wow!" Chase shouted as he hit the landing on the stairs and pointed excitedly at Mom. "We got a dog for Christmas! Trevor, hurry up!" Chase leapt over the banister just as my mother's tongue came out and slapped a sloppy dog kiss across my face. I stopped screaming, but I did scuttle backwards like a crab and rise to my feet, wrapped Wiffle bat still in hand. "What is your problem, Sylvia?" Chase asked as he adjusted his red pajamas and straightened himself so that he was standing at his maximum height, all four foot nine of him. He had to; Mom was so tall that when she raised her head to look at him, they were nearly the same height. He approached her slowly and glanced over at Dad as if to ask permission.

My father nodded and sat back with the present I'd thrown tucked between his knees. He did not look happy. How was he going to explain this one away?

"Yeah!" Trevor yelped as he stumbled down the stairs and joined his brother in the living room. "What's his name?"

" _Her_ name," my father said with a tired sigh. "Is, uh, Wolfie." He pushed his glasses up his nose and tried to catch my eyes. I looked away purposely and dropped the Wiffle bat by my side.

"Wolfie?" Chase asked as he wrinkled his nose. They both stood there patting Mom's head and squeezing her ears between their groping fingers. "That's a stupid name. Can we change it to Sakura? That's my favorite name. It's from _Naruto._ "

"We can't name her anything," Dad said as my youngest brother, Edwin, came down the steps yawning. He looked at Mom for a long moment and then sat down on the landing with his glasses dangling precariously off the tip of his nose. Even though he was the youngest one of us all, he was the most mature. Mom said he had an old soul; I just thought he was weird. At least he wasn't as annoying as Trevor and Chase. "We're just dog sitting. In fact, she'll be gone before your grandmother gets here."

"Aw man," Chase said as he threw his arms around Mom's neck and squeezed the life out of her. "This sucks. Who dog sits for like two minutes anyway?"

"Her owner had an emergency to take care of. Sylvia's going to walk her home as soon as she gets dressed."

"Can I go?" Trevor asked as he tried to elbow Chase out of the way. The two blond demons stared one another down and Trevor was relegated to petting Mom's furry butt. My dad stood up with a sigh and tried to get my attention. I kept my gaze away from his and refused to acknowledge his previous statement. _I_ was not going anywhere with the Mom-monster, with the _werewolf._ I was going to get dressed, pay my respects to grandma, and call Josiah to come and get me early. No way I was sticking around here any longer than necessary.

"No," Dad said with another long, drawn out sigh. I don't think things had gone quite the way he'd wanted them to. _If what my parents said was even remotely true, then he's a werewolf, too. Can't trust him either._ I swallowed hard and neglected to remember what else they'd said. I was not a werewolf. Not. Not. Not. "Your sister has to do this."

"Come on, Dad!" Chase yelled, jumping up and down like a jack-in-the-box. " _Please._ " Dad ignored him and came over to me. When he reached out and tried to take the Wiffle bat, I let him.

"Don't do this, Sylvia," he whispered. "You can't run from this. This is your heritage."

"Maybe not," I whispered as I started to back away. "But I can sure try."

I turned around, ran up the stairs to my room, and slammed the door.

I sat on my bed for a long time, just staring at the wall and trying to make sense of what I'd seen. My mom had stripped naked, shifted into a nightmarish beast (okay, so she was actually kind of cute, but that's not the point), and now my parents expected me to do the same.

"Not going to happen," I whispered as I stood up and grabbed my phone off the nightstand. A call to Josiah should cheer me up. No matter what happened, he could always make me laugh. I paused for a moment as a freakish thought crept up on me. _Aren't werewolves dangerous? Don't they kill people on the full moon?_ If there was any chance, any at all... "But I'm not a werewolf," I said cheerily and as far as I knew, neither of my parents had ever killed anyone. There hadn't been any telltale signs either, no bloody paw prints on the white carpet or freshly dug holes in the backyard. I mulled over this for a moment and decided to call Josiah anyway. With what my parents had just put me through, they were going to have no choice but to say yes to my request to have dinner at Josiah's on Christmas. That whole _"you need to be with your family"_ crud was not going to work anymore. If they tried that again, I could use this werewolf thing against them. Actually, this was a blessing in disguise, right?

"Hey, Sylvie," Josiah said, his voice deep and warm, the sound bringing goose bumps up across my skin—even if he was talking absurdly loud to compensate for the sound of Christmas carols in the background. His mother was obsessed with _Frosty the Snowman_. She had the song in six different languages and from thirteen different performers. The woman was nuts. Or so I'd heard. I'd actually never met her, but that was the plan. Christmas Eve at my house and Christmas Day at Josiah's. Very grown-up. My parents said that it was unnecessary, that I was too young to be so serious about a guy, but then, they were walking hypocrites. Mom and Dad got married when she was _fifteen_ and he was _sixteen._ With their parents' permission, of course. Still... "What's up?"

My mom is a werewolf and I might be, too.

"I kinda need to get out of the house early. Could you come get me in a few hours? I just need to get dressed, and say hi to my grandma." There was some rustling in the background.

"No problem," Josiah said. "Family driving you crazy?"

"You have no idea," I said with a sigh as I sat down on the edge of my bed and tried to imagine his smiling face. That old phrase, _tall, dark and handsome,_ that was Josiah in a nutshell. I still don't know how we'd ended up dating. He'd just sort of... asked me. Out of the blue. I'd been shocked but pleased. Now here we were, six months later. Not bad for a high school relationship. "Be here, say nine o'clock?"

"No problem," he told me and then his voice got muffled as he cupped his hand over his mouth. "I had a dream about you last night, a nasty one."

"You're disgusting," I told him, but I did laugh, couldn't help myself. "I'll see you soon." _Just hope I'm not a few_ _feet shorter and a whole lot hairier._ Josiah chuckled.

"Later Sylvie." And then he hung up. _I can't wait until we can say the 'L' word. It's hard to end a phone call without it, so awkward._ I set the phone down on the bedspread next to me and nearly died when a scratching noise came from my bedroom door followed by a low yip.

It was Mom.

"Leave me alone!" I yelled as I stood up, turned on my computer and started some music. I wasn't talking to her, not right now. I needed time to process. She'd just sprung this craziness on me like it was nothing, like our family had weak ankles or something. Just a little oddity to get over. She should've been prepping me for this for years. You can't just tell someone that a supernatural creature exists, that they _are_ one, and that in a few days, they'll be changing into one whether they like it or not. That's not fair. In fact, it's downright _rude._ "I don't want to talk to you right now!" I shouted over the thumping beats of some new club song. I didn't know the name, but it was catchy. After a few verses, the scratching stopped. Pop music was like kryptonite to my mom. _Or should I say 'silver bullet'?_

With a sigh of relief, I moved over to the closet and pulled back the folding doors. My new coat was just dangling there, tags still attached, waiting for me to put it on and look fabulous. I pulled it off the hanger and slipped it over my shoulders. Josiah was going to flip when he saw me in it. I tugged the fur collar up around my face and tried to make pouty lips in the mirror over my dresser. When the howling in the hallway started, even I was hard-pressed to ignore it. I tried, really, I did. Eventually, when the howls morphed into mournful yips, I was forced to crack the door and peer down into Mom's amber eyes.

" _What?_ " I snapped as I raised my brows and pursed my lips. At least in werewolf form, Mom wasn't able to scold me or complain about my attitude. She couldn't say _no_ either.

I smiled evilly.

It was the holiday season, but... Santa would forgive me for blackmailing my mother, wouldn't he? _Oh well. If he doesn't then screw him. I don't care if I get coal in my stocking, just so long as I get to go over to Josiah's after I open it._

"Mom, can I go over to Josiah's on Christmas? I'll wait until after we open presents, of course. I can even stay for breakfast." Mom barked at me, but that's about it. She wanted in my room, that much was obvious. She kept sticking her muzzle into the crack and trying to push her way through. I could see she wasn't trying that hard. Honestly, I bet Mom could've knocked me down and forced her way in, no problem. But she wouldn't ever do that, so at the moment, I was the one with the upper hand. "If I let you in, you have to let me go, okay?" Mom pawed at the ground, dropped her head and snarled at me. The fur around her nose wrinkled and for a split second, she really did look like a monster. I took a step back but kept my hand on the door.

When the doorbell downstairs rang, Mom's attitude changed completely. Her tail dropped between her legs and she let out a low whimper. It was kind of pathetic actually. If she really had been a dog or wolf or whatever, I would've let her in, no problem, given her a scratch behind the ears or something. I stood my ground and stared down at her.

"Grandma's here," I told her with a frown. "And you know, she _hates_ big dogs. If she sees you, she'll spend the rest of the week complaining about mange and fleas." At the mention of my grandmother, Mom turned on her heel and galloped down the hallway. When she reached the end and saw that the door to her bedroom was shut, she cast a quick glance behind her and started to shift. A human hand was the first thing to appear, right on the end of her furry leg. The lumpy, melting monster she was becoming grabbed the knob and let itself into her room. I watched in disgust and noticed that my father was standing at the bottom of the stairs, watching me. "If you want me to meet you halfway, then you have to do the same." Dad just stared at me while the knocking at the front door intensified into a rapping frenzy. "Better get that," I said as I retreated back into my room and closed the door. I didn't slam it this time. No way I was attracting Grandma's attention upstairs while I was still in pajamas. Not uh, not happening. I already had to listen to her tell me that I was the least pretty of all her granddaughters. She had nine of them, and one of them was a baby. Let's just say that she wasn't exactly a confidence booster. _But Josiah is._ That thought got me up, got me undressed and into the shower.

I shaved my legs (which were hairy enough that I almost really believed I _was_ a werewolf), washed and conditioned my hair, and climbed out just in time for good old Grandma to walk in on me. "What the hell?" I shouted as I spun away and tried to get my towel wrapped around my butt.

"You shouldn't use that word around the holidays," she said as she stayed right where she was. But she didn't leave. Most people would've in that situation, let me tell you. "It invites the Devil to join in on the Christmas festivities, Sylvia." I rolled my eyes and tapped my foot on the bathroom rug. I didn't want to piss her off, but I was kind of, you know, naked. "Dear sweet Jesus, girl, what have you done to your back?" I reached a hand behind my back and tried to find out what the _hell_ she was talking about. When my fingers first brushed my spine, all I felt was nice, soft, supple skin. It was only when I dragged them down further that I encountered... _fur? Is that fur?_ "You must get that hairy back from your _mother,_ " she spat. _You have no idea,_ I thought as I spun around so that I was facing Grandma Virginia head on.

She was still dressed up in her outerwear: coat, mittens, scarf, hat, the whole works. The coat was beautiful, mind you, but it was all fur, _real_ fur, and not like the kind on my back. Some poor animal (maybe animals) had to die for it. The saddest part was that Grandma Virginia had like, a hundred other fur coats just like it. Her scarf was beige, just beige, no stripes, no patterns, nothing. And it matched her hat and mittens perfectly. On her feet were a pair of winter boots, real leather of course, with fur trim. She was a walking, talking, furry column of death.

She stared at me with her round, blue eyes and pursed her full lips. They were fake, I think. Probably the only thing _faux_ on her whole person. _Those and her boobs,_ I thought smugly. Grandma Virginia still thought she was hot stuff, and I mean, she looked pretty good for someone in their late sixties. Didn't give her the license to rag on me, though. I wanted to ask if she'd gotten another face-lift, but I held my tongue. Virginia was happy with what 'God' (I think this was the last name of her plastic surgeon) gave her. Nobody was supposed to know that she wasn't born that way.

"Well, hurry up," she barked as she turned away and threw a last, disapproving glance over her shoulder. "You and your mother need to learn some manners. Keeping a guest waiting? _Pish_." Grandma sniffed rudely and without a single 'I love you,' or 'good to see you,' she was gone. As soon as I felt it was safe, I jumped back into the shower.

"Oh my god. Oh my god. Oh my god." I sprayed the entire can of mango-peach shave gel down my back and started attacking the stripe of gray and black fur that was hovering just above my tailbone. "This is not happening," I moaned as I examined the razor blades. They were clogged with hair, just full of it. I actually had to get out, dig through the drawers under the sink until I found the replacement blades, and climb back in. I used all six of them. I even had to scoop handfuls of dog hair out of the drain. Dog hair that came off of _my_ back. "I think I'm going to be sick." I threw up in the toilet and immediately had to flush it down as another wave of nausea struck me. "Gross."

I wasted no time in grabbing my toothbrush and toothpaste. A dirty mouth is not a kissable mouth, and I wanted mine to be utterly suckable. I brushed my teeth vigorously and went straight for the mouthwash, hoping that Josiah wasn't going to show up while I was still standing here, dealing with either family stuff or werewolf stuff. That's when I noticed my canines. It was just a slight thing, just a bit of a point where before there had been almost none. I leaned closer to the mirror and tried to examine the inside of my mouth. Yep, they were definitely pointier. _The better to eat you with, my dear._ I stepped back and slammed into the bathroom door.

"No," I whispered as I blinked amber eyes at my reflection. My hair was still brown and I didn't see any ears sticking out _yet,_ but I swear to you, when I woke up, my teeth and my back, were normal, too. Now... "I'm hallucinating," I told myself. "This is all just a trick of my overactive imagination. No problem. No problem at all." I snapped my mouth closed, picked up my blow dryer and attacked my hair. A good do, a little makeup, and a pretty outfit. That's all I needed. Everything was going to be A-OK.

I left my hair down, making sure that it was as sleek and shiny as possible and tucked a white beanie on my head, just in case ears were to suddenly sprout up. It was cute anyway, with a black flower on the side that matched the ones that decorated the white tank top I was wearing under my coat. I layered a long sleeved, pink shirt over it first, put on my ski pants, my boots, and then threw on some green eye shadow, some clear, shiny lip gloss, and just a dash of blush, to make me look cheerful. I was going to need all the help I could get.

My mother and I came out of our rooms at the same time and locked eyes across the hallway. She looked pretty, dressed in the same outfit she'd been wearing that morning, but there was something about her expression that was _off._ It could've been the fight we'd had, but I was willing to bet on Grandma. I tucked my phone and my wallet into the front pocket of my coat and started towards the stairs. We hit them at the same time.

"You might've told me I was going to grow _fur_ on my back," I whispered as we both grabbed the railing on opposite sides of the staircase and started down. Mom tried to give me the famous Noe glare, but I kept my gaze averted.

"I tried to," she snapped back, voice just this side of a growl. "But you wouldn't listen." I shook my head and paused on the landing. Mom stopped, too, and we stood there in silence for a moment. Grandma was criticizing Dad in the kitchen, and my brothers were already outside. It was just the two of us, the perfect chance for her to apologize.

She didn't.

"The next few days are not going to be easy, Sylvia. I don't even know if Josiah's going to be able to come over on Christmas eve." I spun to face her, eyes wide.

"You _promised,_ " I said and was proud to hear that my voice, too, could border on the edge of a wolfish snarl. Mom tilted her chin up to the ceiling and closed her eyes.

"This is your first change, honey. It's almost impossible to control the symptoms. What if you sprout a tail in front of him, hmm?" I just stared at her.

"A tail?" I asked and I think my voice squeaked a bit. I sucked it up, pursed my lips, and put my hands on my hips. "Why didn't you tell me about this, like, a week ago? Two weeks ago? Forever ago? What is your problem? You wait until the very day that I start to grow a fur coat to reveal our family's hidden past? Why?"

"I was..." Mom paused and dropped her gaze to mine. Her fingers were curling tightly into fists, the only sign of how nervous she really was. Otherwise, she looked the picture perfect executive in her cream blouse and khaki skirt, face stoic and skin smooth as silk. "Afraid." I blew a puff of air out in disgust.

"You're afraid?" I asked her as I opened my mouth and ran my finger across my new teeth. Guess they'd gotten sharper since I'd looked, and my hand came away with the tiniest drop of blood quivering between the whorls of my fingerprint. "A few hours ago, I was as normal as could be. Now, I'm a walking Halloween experiment gone wrong. Why is it happening so fast?" I asked as I resisted the strongest urge to itch my back. I hoped to god it was just razor burn. _What if the fur grows back? What if Josiah and I are making out and his hand goes up my shirt and he finds out and he stabs me with a wooden stake and—oh, wait, stakes are for vampires—and what if he shoots me with a silver bullet or something?_ Even if nothing happened, even if he just thought I had a hairy back, I'd die. I really would.

"The first full moon after your sixteenth birthday initiates the changes. The closer you get to the moon, the quicker it will happen. With only two days to go, I'm surprised it's just happening now. I was hoping you'd notice sooner and come to talk to me about it. I just... I had no idea how to break the news to you. Sylvia, this is hard on _both_ of us."

I took a deep breath and noticed that the sounds from the kitchen had ceased. Mom and I had mere seconds before Virginia found us both sweating bullets on the landing. She could smell trouble, angst, and deceit _plus_ she had eyes in the back of her blond head. Ms. Virginia Lake (she never did take her husband _s'_ names) was a scary woman to be around. And she just happened to be my grandmother. She had the whole nagging, demeaning, overly critical part down, but she didn't have any of the good stuff. You know, the knitting or the pie baking or anything like that.

"Mom, all I want is to spend a few hours at Josiah's on Christmas. That's it. I'm not asking to marry him or carry his kids or..." I frowned and wrinkled my nose. "His pups or whatever. I just want to have pot roast and open gifts. That's all I want in exchange for this creepiness. After I get home, we can go running in the forest or hunting down homeless people or whatever it is that werewolves do." _Nobody can say I'm not determined,_ I thought. Some might think single-minded, but I knew better.

Mom was already shaking her head.

"I don't think you're quite understanding where I'm coming from here. Christmas Day, the day of the full moon, you will be _incapacitated._ The change could happen slowly over the entire day or all at once, and it's hard to predict exactly when. It could be at eight or ten or midnight, I just don't know."

"This sucks," I told her, trying to keep my voice low enough that Virginia wouldn't hear. "So what, now I have two involuntary bodily functions to look forward to each month? I get period cramps, nausea, and _then_ I get to grow ears and a tail? Great." My mom smiled and leaned forward to press a kiss to my forehead. I tried to pull away, but she caught me behind the neck and gave me one anyway.

"It only happens this way the first time. After that, as long as you shift at least once a month, you'll have complete control."

"Do I have to eat people?" I asked her, but she didn't get the chance to answer.

"There's a boy in a _pickup_ truck outside," Grandma Virginia said as she sashayed into the room. She'd finally taken off her coat, but I wished she'd put it back on. Underneath, she was wearing a red dress that was way too short for anyone, let alone somebody her age. She was hypocrisy incarnate, my grandma. Conservative yet... dare I say, _loose?_ Old fashioned yet modern. Cranky yet flirtatious. I hoped to end up nothing at all like her.

"That's Josiah," I said as I skipped down the last few steps and pressed a kiss to my father's smooth cheek. He usually preferred to have a goatee, but that wasn't acceptable around grandma. "Love you," I said quickly as I snatched the front door and practically threw myself outside. If Virginia started asking questions about my boyfriend, I'd never escape. In fact, I'm not even a hundred percent sure that she knew I was dating anyone at all.

"Heads up!" a voice shouted from my left, seconds before a snowball pegged me right in the face. I slipped on the icy sidewalk and crashed to the pavement on my back. "Oops, sorry, Sylv," Chase said as he leaned over me and brushed bits of snow from my cheek. "I thought you were Trevor."

"You're the devil," I whispered to him as he chuckled evilly. _If I have to take a human sacrifice on the full moon,_ _he's the first to go._

"Are you okay?" Josiah asked, jogging across the snow toward me. Despite the stars in my vision and the ache growing in the back of my head, he looked _delicious._ Good enough to eat (and hopefully that wasn't the werewolf side talking).

My lips pulled back into a goofy smile of their own accord, my heart starting to pound frantically inside my chest. I might've been splattered with wet snow, but I felt warm inside when I saw Josiah, almost hot—even with my butt firmly parked on the icy pavement of the walkway.

He was dressed in a dark coat and pants with black boots, a white and red striped scarf, and matching fingerless gloves. When he reached down and took my hand, his fingers were still warm from the heat of the truck. Josiah pulled me right to my feet and against his chest.

I felt the breath rush out of me in a whoosh as our eyes met and the skin on his forehead crinkled as he smiled at me. My fingers curled into his jacket and I found myself leaning close, pressing the lines of our bodies together. _Please Santa, don't let Grandma see this._

"Oooh," Trevor shouted from the opposite side of the yard. "I think they're going to kiss!"

"Go to hell," I told my little brother as I resisted the urge to get on my tiptoes and actually prove him right. I looked Josiah right in the face and whispered, "Get me out of here." He smiled, kissed my cheek lightly, and tugged me away from the house of demons, werewolves, and evil grandmothers.

"You will not believe what I've been through today," I said as I buckled my seat belt and tried to decide what portions of the story I could actually tell him. Josiah never stopped smiling, just reached into the cup holder and retrieved a steaming drink of unknown origin. I took it from his fingers and sipped it tentatively. "White chocolate mocha!" I hissed, and then downed half. "Thank god."

"You sounded like you needed it," he told me as we pulled away from the curb and made our way slowly down the icy road. It had been salted earlier, but the sun was out and the piles of snow in the nearby yards were draining into it, making a kind of pavement slushy that could be deadly. Josiah was a speed maniac when he drove alone, and I was always terrified that someday, I would get a call that he had died in an accident. That's one of the reasons (just one) that I liked to be with him. When I was in the truck, he drove like an old dude. Much safer.

"This is freaking delicious," I told him as I melted into the headrest and tried to control my thumping pulse. _Wait for it..._

"Not as delicious as you," he told me earnestly and I rolled my eyes.

"You disgust me," I said as I wrapped my hands around my drink. "On opposite day." Josiah laughed and picked up his own coffee. I watched him curl his long fingers around it, raise it to the smooth curve of his lips. His dark hair was sticking out in odd directions, spiked up with gel once upon a time, but disheveled from the beanie that was now lying abandoned across the dashboard.

"Where are we off to?" I asked as we turned the corner and moved into the flow of traffic that was headed straight for the mall. "We're not supposed to meet up with Deb and Lincoln until four." _Ice skating, can't wait._

"My parents are going to be out of the house all day. Want to hang out in my room? We can watch _Gremlins_ or something. I'll even give you a shoulder massage." I gave him a look. "What?"

"You just want to make out," I told him as we paused at a red light and watched a group of carolers move through the crosswalk. I didn't even know people did that anymore. It was kind of cute. I smiled.

"What's wrong with that?" he asked me. I took another drink of my mocha.

"Nothing," I said. "Just that you should be honest about it. I was thinking the same thing, you know." Josiah grinned.

"We're on the same wavelength," he told me seriously. I snorted and nearly lost some of my mocha out my nostrils. Being with Josiah, even just for a few moments, had nearly erased the horror of the morning from my mind. _Werewolf, werewolf, werewolf._ I frowned. _Nearly_ was the key word in that sentence, I supposed. "Hey, did you change your hair or something?" he asked me as he tilted his head sideways and inspected my face with careful eyes. I realized my mouth was open and snapped it shut. _Did he see the canines? Are they that obvious?_

"Um, no," I said and then gestured with my chin at the light. _Drop that subject, drop it now._ "It's green, you know." Josiah turned back to the road, but continued to smile.

"You look extra pretty today," he told me as I raised my brows and tried to give him the amber eyed glare.

"You're laying it on thick," I told him. "Just because it's the holiday season doesn't mean you're getting any special gifts, if you know what I mean." Josiah laughed, but he didn't respond which was fine by me. I'd rather not talk at all then talk about my changing appearance. Whether he was seeing something related to that or not, I just wanted to avoid it all together.

I sipped my drink and waited as Josiah took me down a series of side streets that led to his parents' house. It wasn't much different than mine. Honestly, the two neighborhoods could probably get melded together and nobody would even notice. Suburbia central, that was where we lived, and I couldn't think of a better place. Calm, normal, boring. _Sigh._ Just my cup of tea.

We parked in the driveway and Josiah took me through the front yard, past an ostentatious display of plastic snowmen and inside the front door. There was mistletoe hanging from just about every doorway, wreaths punctuating any empty wall space, and lights, lights, lights. Most of them were white, but there were some green ones wrapped around the refrigerator.

Josiah helped me out of my coat as I looked around at the decor. I had thought my parents had gone crazy with the decorating, but they didn't even come close to matching the Wakeham family. There were poinsettias everywhere along with advent calendars galore. Silver garland wrapped the banister on the stairs, and paper snowflakes hung from the ceiling.

"My mom really likes the holidays," he told me as I caught a snippet of _Frosty the Snowman_ playing in the background. I nodded my head and tried to remember what the house had looked like the few other times I'd been here. I was having a hard time thinking past the Santa decals on the windows and the stuffed gingerbread men sitting on the side table next to a bowl of pinecones. Or maybe it was just because I hadn't come over much before. Josiah hadn't wanted me to meet his parents, and I hadn't wanted him to meet mine. I think we were both embarrassed, but tomorrow, we would take the plunge, and whether my family agreed to it or not, I was going to be here on Christmas Day. They owed me that.

"I can see that," I told him as he took my hand and led me up the stairs. The decorations continued all the way to Josiah's room and even managed to sneak inside the door. Josiah's black and gray bedspread had been replaced by a red one with a dizzying Christmas tree pattern. He kind of shrugged when I asked him about it, and laughed it off. It was one of those family things, I guessed. We all had familial secrets that we didn't want to discuss. I understood that. "Hey," I asked him as he slid onto his bed and gave me this searing look that melted the snow on my boots in an instant. "Can I use the bathroom real quick?" No way I was kissing him without examining my body and checking out my teeth. And my furry back. And I should probably see if I had ears or claws or a tail yet. None of those things would go over well in a make out session.

"Yeah, sure," he said and smiled. He looked like a slice of chocolate cake in his black sweater. I wanted to eat him up. _Oh god, is that the pull of the full moon already?_ I turned away abruptly and threw myself into the bathroom. I turned on the water for privacy and stood in front of Josiah's mirror, pulling back my lips and examining my canines. They were sharp, but if I was careful, we should be okay. As for my back, it was still bare, if not a little itchy. No more werewolf bits, at least not yet. Maybe they came in clumps? _I sure hope not._ When I came out, Josiah was lying on his back and staring at the snowflake cutouts on his ceiling. Outside his window, I could see real snowflakes twirling and dancing in the morning air. _Ah, December._

"Everything okay?" he asked me as I joined him on my belly and scooted close enough that I could feel the warmth of his body against mine. "Something still bothering you from this morning?" I nodded and wondered what I should tell him. The truth would've been preferable but was absolutely, one hundred percent out of the question.

"Hey Josiah," I said as I picked at the threads on his blanket. "What do you know about werewolves?" It was just a casual question, a hook to be used to fish for information, but Josiah took it seriously. He sat up suddenly, body taut and alert. For a moment, I panicked, certain that Josiah was about to reveal that he was a werewolf hunter or something and that he was going to kill me. Instead, he grinned wider than I'd ever seen and got to his feet

"I thought you'd never ask," he said as he moved to his computer and pulled up a folder titled _My Fave Movies._ Inside it was a collection of files with semi-familiar names. _An American Werewolf in London, Teen Wolf, Underworld, Ginger Snaps... Twilight?_ I raised my eyebrows and pointed at those files in particular. He had the whole series. Josiah flushed red, from neck to forehead. "Uh, those are my sister's," he said and then tried to distract me by pulling up _Ginger Snaps._ "Have you seen this one?" he asked me. "It's the best movie ever made, in my opinion." I shook my head.

"No," I said as he turned around in his chair and pulled me onto his lap. His body was warm and comforting. I folded myself against him and waited to hear his explanation for the bizarre collection. How strange was it that I had just found out that I was actually a living, breathing werewolf and now, on that very same day, I was discovering that my boyfriend was actually obsessed with the cursed beasts? Coincidence? I think not. It had to be fate. I swallowed hard and tried to remain casual.

"Can I tell you a secret?" he asked me as his hand rubbed up and down my back, comforting, soothing. I nodded. "You have to promise not to get angry, though." I sat up and looked down at him.

"If you cheated on me, you're dead," I promised and I meant it. I would go werewolf rogue and take out his lover, seriously, no joke. Josiah kissed me on the lips and kept talking as if I hadn't spoken. I had obviously touched on a favored subject of his, something that he had never brought up before. I wondered why.

"When I first saw you," he told me as he pressed another kiss to my mouth. He was trying to butter me up which was a bad sign, but I let him keep talking. Better to know now than later. "I noticed your eyes. They were so... _are_ so beautiful. It's why I asked you out." He continued on, even faster than before as if he was afraid that I'd be angry with him. "That was before I knew you, of course. It's not just about that anymore, but it's what got me interested. See... you kind of... you kind of looked like a werewolf to me. I thought it was... sexy." I just stared at him, just stared and stared and stared. Was he playing me? No, I could tell from his face that he was serious.

"You have a werewolf fetish?" I asked him and he nervous laughed.

"Not a fetish, not exactly. I just love werewolves, always have."

"Why didn't you just tell me that?" I asked him as he clicked on _Ginger Snaps._ It opened with a woman in her backyard, raking leaves while a child played in a sandbox. Josiah stared at the screen for a moment and gave me a sidelong glance.

"I didn't want you to get upset. You know, about the eye thing. I thought if I told you, that you might guess."

"That I looked like a werewolf to you?" I said as I gave him my best _Are you serious?_ look. Josiah turned his face to look at me and then paused. He was staring at my mouth. I snapped it closed just as a scream resounded from the computer. The woman on the movie had just found her dog's mutilated body, presumably from a werewolf attack. Great. Just great.

"Hey, what's wrong with your teeth?" he asked as I pushed away from him and stood up. I paused next to his bookcase and bent down. On the bottom shelf was a whole slew of novels I'd never noticed before. The rest of the shelves were filled with comic books, but here on the bottom were werewolf books galore. Including the entire _Twilight_ series _._ I pulled one of them out—a hardcover I might add—and flashed it at him. "That's... er... can I see your teeth, Sylvie?"

"I don't want to talk about them," I told him as I shelved the book and stood up. "I just got some dental work done, and it didn't go so well." Josiah's dark brows scrunched up.

"When? I just saw you yesterday." I stalked across the room, threw my arms around his neck and kissed him _hard_ on the mouth. It was enough to shut him up. If Josiah liked werewolves, then he _loved_ making out. I dragged him to the bed, straddled him, and French kissed him like my life depended on it. Kind of overdramatic, I guess, but that's what I did. When I cut his tongue with my teeth, I knew I was in trouble. It wasn't just the blood passing between our lips that was disturbing, it was the look on his face. "You... what?" He looked just as confused as I felt. I rolled off of him, stood up, and snatched his phone from the dresser.

"Why don't I call Deb and Lincoln now and we can just go skating early? It gets dark at, like, five or whatever so we can look at lights right after. We'll just shift our whole day. How does that sound?" Josiah stared at me like I was a crazy person. I was acting weird, true, but I couldn't help myself. The secret I had just learned, the one that was completely and utterly unbelievable, was _this close_ to coming out in the open. I was doomed, doomed I tell you.

"Sylvia, I don't know what's going on, but..."

"It's just my family," I told him as I clasped my arms behind my back. "Nothing to worry about, nothing at all." Josiah kept staring at me. Several long, awkward moments of silence passed between us.

"Sylvie," Josiah said and his throat was tight, eyes wide. There was sweat beading on his upper lip. "Your, um, your hat fell off." I reached up, touched my hair and felt... ears. Furry ears. They were popping right out of my head like daisies. I blanched and suddenly, I was having trouble swallowing. "Sylv, are you a... are you a _werewolf_?"

My eyes rolled up into my head and I passed out.

I think a lot of guys would've thought I was playing a practical joke on them. I mean, come on, a werewolf? And Josiah had _just_ revealed his secret love of lycanthropes to me. It was all falling together too perfectly.

"What... I mean, god, I don't even know where to start," he said as I sat huddled in his computer chair with a red and green blanket around my shoulders and a cup of cocoa between my hands. We were still watching _Ginger Snaps,_ but the more I saw, the sicker I felt. There were two sisters and one of them was infected with this 'condition', as my mother had called it. She'd just taken out a school counselor _and_ a janitor. I swallowed hard and looked away from the screen, right into Josiah's eyes. "Tell me," he whispered as he scooted forward on the bed and tried to put a hand on my arm. I pulled away. He'd been trying to talk to me for the past hour, and I'd been ignoring him.

"I just found out this morning," I croaked as I sipped the cocoa and tried to block out the violence on the screen. "I swear it. It's... it's a family thing. My mom passed it down to me."

"I can't even believe it," Josiah said as he reached up and petted my ear. It felt good. Is that weird? "Are you sure you're not just screwing with me?" I opened my mouth in a rictus grin and let him see my teeth, _really_ see them.

"And this morning, I had a patch of gray and black fur on my back." Josiah reached for my shirt and I slapped his hand away. "I shaved it off." He raised his eyebrows.

"You shaved it off?" he asked. "Isn't that going to look kind of weird in your wolf form?" He paused long enough for my attention to get dragged back to the movie. The redheaded sister, the werewolf, was at a Halloween party. She was half transformed, face scrunched, hair gray, _hideous._ No wonder the other kids thought she was wearing a costume. I grabbed my hat off the desk and pulled it over my head.

"I'm disgusting," I moaned as Josiah slid off the bed and came around beside me. He knelt down and took my hand in his. "By the time Christmas rolls around, I'm going to look like I'm wearing a cheap Halloween costume." I squeezed Josiah's hand in mine and was glad to see that at the very least, my nails were still my own, decorated with blue sparkles and snowflake stickers. He kissed the tips of my fingers and then rested them on his lips. They were soft and maybe just a little bit swollen. "I hope I didn't hurt you," I told him as I brushed his mouth with my nails and saw him shudder.

"I don't think so," he said as he smiled at me and stood up. "I think you might've nicked me, but that's all. Don't worry about it." He reached out and cupped my chin. "In fact, I think most of the blood was yours. You probably hurt yourself more than you hurt me." I stared at him for a moment, a long, horrible moment that stretched into eternity.

"Wait, what?"

Josiah tilted his head to the side.

"Yeah, I think you cut yourself worse than you cut me. I wonder if it's already healed. Do you have powers like that? Can I look?" I stood up suddenly and nearly knocked the chair over in my frenzy. _Oh my god, what if I infected him? What do I do?_

"I need to call my mom," I said as I raced to his door, flung it open and ran head to chest into an older woman. She was wearing a knitted sweater with baby Jesus on the front.

"Are you okay?" she asked as she reached out and helped steady me. I paused and looked up into her face. She was the striking image of Josiah, with long raven hair, a gentle mouth that looked like it smiled more often than not, and rosy cheeks that said she'd just come in from the cold. "Oh my god, are you Sylvia?" And then she hugged me.

" _Mom_ ," Josiah said from behind me as he reached out and adjusted my hat. I supposed it wouldn't do to flash my ears at anyone else today. I was lucky that Josiah was taking this all in stride. I might not get so lucky with the general public. "You're traumatizing Sylvie. Leave her alone."

"I'm just so happy to finally meet you," she said as she pulled back and brushed some hair from my face. "You are coming over for Christmas dinner, right?" I stared at her and didn't know what to say. What I did know, however, was that I needed to keep my mouth closed. If I kept letting it gape open, half the world would know I was a freak before the day was out. "I'm making a fresh roast beast," she said, and I'm mortified to admit that I actually knew what she was referencing. _How The Grinch Stole Christmas,_ anybody? "And I've got a special present picked out for you."

"Sylvie will be here, won't you Sylvie?" Josiah asked. I nodded but didn't speak. I didn't know what to say. _Thanks for the invitation, but I'll be on all fours howling at the moon while you're eating sweet potatoes with marshmallows and sipping spiked eggnog._ Great. This was just great. This was the chance for me to meet my boyfriend's family, really get involved in his life, and I was going to have to do it with a leash and collar around my neck.

"Okay," she said as she brushed her hands up and down my arms. I think she was waiting for me to speak; I wasn't going to. If she saw the fangs, she'd think I was one of those weirdos who got their teeth filed to look like a vampire. What if she banned Josiah from seeing me? That would just mess me up inside. Then again, there was a slight chance that her son would soon be growing a pair just like them. I had to talk to my mom.

"I'm looking forward to it," I mumbled, but I think it sounded more like, _I'm rooking forgerd to git._ Mrs. Wakeham nodded and stepped back. She was staring at my amber eyes with interest. I glanced away. _So much for first impressions. Could this have gone any worse?_

"Well, Sylvia and I are heading to the rink to meet up with some friends. I think we'd better go." Josiah grabbed my hand, kissed his mom on the cheek, and pulled me down the hallway. I followed him down the stairs and didn't even stop to put on my coat; I just grabbed it and stumbled outside into the snow. It was drifting gently down from the sky, melting against my cheeks and getting stuck to my eyelashes.

"God," I said as he followed me out and closed the door quietly behind him. "Your mom probably hates me now." Josiah shook his head and watched me fumble with my phone.

"My mom doesn't hate anybody. Don't worry, you'll be fine." He paused as I called home. "Everything okay?" I didn't answer him, didn't know how to. This... _condition_... if it was sexually transmitted then that meant it was probably passed through, uh, bodily fluids. Mom had never told me not to kiss Josiah, but then I don't think she thought he'd be gulping down mouthfuls of my blood either. Thankfully, she answered on the second ring.

"Sylvia?" I let out a sigh of relief. "What's wrong?"

"Mom, uh," I looked over at Josiah. He was so handsome with little specks of white decorating his dark hair like stars. He watched me watching him for a moment.

"You need some privacy?"

"Just for a second," I said and he nodded, grabbing the knob and releasing the soft tones of Christmas jazz into the frosty air. I waited until the door was completely closed before I said anything.

"Okay, Mom, can you, like, not freak for a second?" She stayed silent. "Hello?"

"What happened?" she asked, and she didn't sound happy. I hadn't even told her the situation yet and already, she was pissed. This was not going to go over well for me.

"Um, I think I might've infected Josiah." More silence.

"Did you use a condom?" she asked and her voice was breathy and far away, like she was about to pass out. Not good. I wrinkled my nose.

"No," I said and before I could continue, she was sighing deeply and heavily, like the whole world had just come crashing down on her shoulders.

"Jesus, Sylvia, I thought—"

"Mom!" I interrupted before she could get too far into her rant. "We didn't have sex. We just kissed, but I nicked my tongue with my shiny, new teeth that you didn't bother to warn me about. He drank some of my blood." I shivered and wished I'd brought along a pair of mittens. It was _cold_ outside.

"How much?" Mom whispered. I could almost see her scanning the room for Grandma. I could just imagine the hell we'd be living in if she got word of this. _I told you not to marry that woman, Bruce. I told you she was a_ monster. _Probably kin to the devil if you ask me._

"I don't know how much," I said, thoroughly grossed out at the idea. "What kind of a question is that anyway? A teaspoon? A tablespoon? What does it matter?" Mom sighed and I could just see her shaking her head in disappointment. She had no right to do that, none at all. It was her fault this was happening to me anyway. Don't they have cures for this sort of thing? On _Ginger Snaps_ they were talking about monkshood. Apparently it was a type of plant associated with werewolves. What would happen if I ate some of that? Maybe boiled some water and made tea out of it? I could even try wolfsbane or silver jewelry or...

"It's okay, it's okay. It doesn't even matter. You just can't kiss him again, at least not for a while."

"Why?"

"Well," my mother paused and I could tell that she didn't really want to get into this with me right now, especially not over the phone. "The reason the disease is transmitted so easily during... during... intercourse is because you have to... uh... _share_ fluids. Saliva is okay since it doesn't contain enough of the magic to cause a transformation. Blood, however, blood would do the trick. Just so long as you haven't ingested any of Josiah's blood, everything will be okay."

"Magic?" I asked and then shook my head. _No time for that, Sylvie. Later. Ask about that later._ "Mom..."

"Hurry," she said as she dropped her voice again. "I'm hiding in a closet from your grandmother. She's looking for me." I thought for a moment about the situation. If I told her now, she'd make me come home right away. I glanced up at the kitchen window and saw that Josiah was watching me with his warm eyes, waiting to spend the day with a girl who belonged in a freak show. And he didn't care, was even _excited_ about it. This could be my last chance to enjoy myself before I was grounded for the next several years of my life. When my mom found out that Josiah was going to be a werewolf, she'd flip.

"Love you," I said cheerily as I stared at one of Mrs. Wakeham's plastic snowmen. Was that just a trick of the light or was it scowling at me? Creepy.

"Love you, too, honey. See you tonight." And then she hung up. I tucked the phone back in my pocket and gestured for Josiah to join me on the front porch.

"You okay?" he asked again. I thought for a moment and then nodded. _I turned you into a werewolf,_ I thought as I grabbed his face with my hands and kissed him fiercely on the lips. No point in holding back now. It was already too late.

"Yeah," I said with a smile. "Everything is perfect."

When Josiah and I pulled up outside my house that evening, the neighborhood was awash in a sea of red and green lights, twinkling white bulbs, and smiling Santa Clauses. He parked the truck at the curb and turned to face me in the glowing darkness. Snow was still falling outside, making the atmosphere as romantic as anything I'd ever seen.

"I had a great time," I told him, making small talk because I didn't know what else to say. I had to tell him that he was going to turn into a werewolf. That wasn't a secret I could keep any longer. Josiah deserved better.

"Me, too," he said with a smile, teeth as white as the snow outside our windows. He had a great smile, confident but not haughty, big but not creepy, shiny but not blinding. That was my Josiah. "Except I was kind of a failure at the rink. Guess my talents don't include ice skating. You, on the other hand, I have feeling you could be a figure skater. You rocked the ice." I grinned and then slapped my hands over my mouth. Our friends, Debra and Lincoln (who were attached at the hip and who I liked to refer to as a single entity known as DebLin), had noticed my teeth, too. As had the woman at the skate rental counter, the waiter at the diner, and a pair of teenage girls in the parking lot. Luckily Josiah had been right there the whole time, willing to throw himself under the bus for me. He'd told everyone that he had a _thing_ for werewolves and that I was humoring him as an early Christmas present.

"You're a sweetheart," I told him truthfully. "Even if you pretend to be a lecherous wretch."

"Thanks," he said with a laugh. "I think." Josiah looked out at my house and I saw his eyes travel up and down the row of glowing candy canes, past the Elvis themed Santa Clause and up to the display of deer on our roof. "I wish we could stay out longer, troll a few more neighborhoods. The decorations are off the charts this year, and not just the Christmas ones. That house with the Hanukkah display was crazy awesome." I nodded, thinking of the massive, glowing dreidels that had littered the lawn.

"Personally," I said. "I liked the house with the word _Yule_ shaped out of snow. That was pretty impressive. The letters were as tall as me." I reached up subconsciously and checked my hat for the hundredth time that day. Luckily for me, nothing else had popped out while I was out on the town. I was especially worried about the tail and had been touching my butt all day. Josiah had volunteered for the job, but I'd politely declined. I cleared my throat and we sat together in silence for another moment before he spoke up again.

"About the werewolf thing..."

"Yeah, um," I began as I nibbled at my lip. "I kind of, uh, wanted to talk to you about that. See, I never did tell you that it was possible to actually pass the—" A knock at the window stopped me mid-sentence. It was Chase. _You little blond brat,_ I growled inside my head. I rolled the window down and glared at him, making sure that my eyes were as narrowed and as mean looking as possibly. "What?" I snapped. Chase sniffled and rubbed at his face with his blue mittens.

"Grandma Virginia says you better get inside before somebody questions your virtue." Chase wrinkled his nose. "Whatever that means." He paused and peered around me. "Hey Josiah!"

"Hey Chase," Josiah called back. The few times I'd sneaked Josiah over while my parents were out, he'd bonded with my brothers in a way that I envied. I was guessing it was because he didn't have any younger siblings of his own and thus thought that they were fun. I kept telling him that it was because he didn't have to live with the little devils, but I don't think he believed me. Maybe he was just sympathizing with them since he had an older sister, too? Who knew?

I sighed and turned back to Josiah. He'd be back tomorrow for dinner, so it wasn't like I was going to run out of opportunities to tell him. Maybe I was even overreacting? _I'll go in, tell Mom, and then tell Josiah if I have to._ It was a coward's way out, true, but I just couldn't drum up the courage to tell him. I leaned forward, wrapped my arm around his neck and kissed him.

"We'll talk tomorrow," I whispered into his ear. "Call me, early." Josiah nodded, returned my kiss and leaned back while I climbed out of the truck and was forced to listen to Chase making kissing noises all the way up the stairs to the porch and into the house.

Grandma Virginia was sitting on the couch in a leopard print robe with a glass of wine in one hand and a true crime novel in the other. She didn't read romance novels like most other grandmothers. Her tastes ran a bit darker.

"If I was your mother," she said, casting a glance at my father's back. He was struggling to replace the star on top of the Christmas tree with a bloody Jesus figurine strapped to a cross. Another one of grandma's little eccentricities I was guessing. "I wouldn't let you stay out so late, especially not with a boy that drives a rusty old pickup truck." She shivered, disturbed by the very idea that I could actually sit in a vehicle that was more than three years old. Incredible.

I pulled my phone out of my pocket and glanced at the screen. I already had a text from Josiah.

_You're the prettiest werewolf girl I ever did see, and your ears are mighty cute. Night._ I forced the grin back from my lips, careful to keep my face neutral in Virginia's presence.

"It's only eight o'clock," I told her, being cautious to keep my teeth hidden, but she was no longer listening. She was staring at my brother, Edwin.

"Woof, woof," Edwin said as he sat with his legs crossed in the middle of the living room. He was wearing pajamas with polar bears on them and staring at me with a very familiar amber eyed gaze. He was the only one of the boys that had it. _Wonder if he's a werewolf, too._ "Woof, woof," he said.

"Now Edwin, knock that off," Grandma Virginia said as she leaned forward and smacked him in the arm with her book. "It isn't your sister's fault that she's ugly. She got her looks from her mother."

"Thanks Gram," I said as I gave a twitchy smile that probably looked more like a grimace. "That's real nice of you."

"Hey Sylvie, honey," Dad said, blocking out Grandma's mean words, not because he didn't care, but because he was so used to them. I think if he'd heard, he would've at least tried to defend me. As things were, I doubt he even noticed. "How was your day?"

"Fine," I said as he gave me a kiss on the cheek. "Where's Mom? I need to talk to her." Dad and I shared a secret glance while Virginia was busy needling Edwin.

"In our bedroom. Need me to come with you?" I shook my head.

"No, thanks. I'll be fine."

"Okay," Dad said as he raised his eyebrows and gave me a look. I knew he suspected something was wrong, but I don't think he'd have guessed in a million years what it was. I wanted to tell Mom about Josiah first. That way, if things went bad, she could tell Dad herself and I would only have to look at one horribly disappointed face tonight. Luckily, Trevor and Chase came tearing around the corner and into the living room, shooting one another with water guns filled with apple cider. "Hey!" Dad shouted, leaping forward in an effort to keep Virginia out of the spray. If she got wet, we were all in trouble.

I used the commotion as cover to scoot past Edwin (who was still making barking noises) and headed up the stairs.

Mom was sitting on her bed in a pair of silky white pajamas with her laptop in front of her and a bag full of nail polish by her side. She was working _and_ painting her nails, a true multitasker.

"Mom?" She looked up, saw me, and smiled.

"Hey Sylvie, come on in." She paused. "And close the door behind you. Your grandmother's hearing seems to be getting better with age." She rolled her eyes, and I smiled. Poor Mom. Of all the mother-in-laws to get, Virginia was probably the worst. Plus, we didn't get any homemade pecan pie around the holidays. Bummer. I not only closed the door, but I also locked it. I checked the knob, just to be sure, and then pulled off my hat. Mom put her hands up to her mouth. "Oh Sylvia," she chuckled.

"It isn't funny," I told her as I slid my coat off my shoulders and threw it over a chair near the door.

"Oh, but they're so precious," she said as her face reddened and she continued to chuckle. I sat down heavy on the edge of her bed and started to take off my boots.

"They popped out during a make out session. Josiah saw them. He knows." She stopped laughing.

"You told him?"

"He guessed," I said with a sigh. "Apparently, he has a thing for werewolves." I pulled off my socks and sagged with relief when I saw that my toenails were still normal—no claws yet. "You know what he told me? He said that the reason he asked me out in the first place was because I had amber eyes, like a _werewolf_. And then he saw the teeth and you know I suck at lying and well, one thing led to another and he saw the ears. It didn't take a genius to figure it out." Mom mused on this for a moment.

"I see." I saw an opening there and took it.

"Plus, I ran into his mother by accident and since I couldn't talk 'cause of the teeth and all, I ended up just having to accept her dinner invitation." Mom stared at me, and I could tell she wasn't happy. "She made a _Grinch_ reference!"

"Sylvia, I'm not trying to be a hard-ass or anything. It's just, if you think the changes today have been bad, they're only going to get worse. It's your body's way of transitioning you slowly, so that the first time doesn't hurt. We can't predict what will change and when." I looked away and tried not to let my anger get the best of me. This wasn't Mom's fault, not really. It was just something in her genes, like our amber eyes and our brunette hair. Not telling me earlier was her fault, however. Not giving me all the information in advance, so that I could prepare for it, that was her mistake. "I'll tell you what," she said as she reached out and laid a hand across mine. "Why don't we wait and see what happens? If you think you're up to it, I'll let you go over there." I almost squealed as I spun to face her. "Don't get too excited. This isn't a for sure thing. I'm just saying we'll see. A few hours early in the evening might be okay. Promise me though that you'll be truthful about your symptoms, and that you'll make the _right_ decision, even if it isn't necessarily the one you want."

"Promise me that you won't renege on this offer if I tell you something else." Mom gave me a look. I stared her down. I could tell she was tired and worn out, probably from Grandma's constant nagging. _I've got this._

"As long as you didn't rob a bank, kill someone, or commit tax fraud." She tried to smile, but it didn't quite reach her eyes.

"Not exactly," I said as she raised her eyebrows. I took a deep breath, squared my shoulders, and looked her right in the face. "I turned Josiah into a werewolf."

I woke up on Christmas Eve with a tail. I might not have even noticed it, but for some reason, Edwin was in my room, under my blankets _pulling_ on it.

"That hurts," I said as I slapped him away and flung up the covers. "Get out of my room."

"Woof, Woof," Edwin said as he cupped his hands up by his ears and swiveled them around in a poor imitation of the fuzzy triangles that were even now sticking out of my hair. I grabbed my beanie off the nightstand and pulled it over my head. "Woof, woof."

"Get over here," I said as I grabbed Edwin under the arms and lifted him off the bed. I wasn't worried about him telling anybody. Edwin just wasn't like that. Besides, who would believe a three year old anyway? "Can I give you a piece of advice?" I asked as I moved him into the hallway. He immediately sat down, crossed his legs and started _woofing_ again. "If you ever have a daughter, please, please, please tell her that she's going to turn into a werewolf _before_ she starts growing new body parts. It might help keep her sane throughout the process."

"If that's a barb directed at me," Mom said as she shuffled down the hallway and checked over the banister for any signs of Virginia. "Then it's horribly misplaced. I am not in the mood for games today." She paused and patted Edwin on the head. He was the only boy in the family who didn't have blond hair and blue eyes like Dad. In fact, he looked like a werewolf, too. "Have you spoken to Josiah yet?" she asked.

"It's eight in the morning," I groaned as I tried to ignore the new sensations emanating from my rear end. Having a tail is not as cool as it sounds. In fact, it was kind of... _gross._ The darn thing was so sensitive, it was like having a piece of my spine dangling around back there. "I shouldn't even be up yet."

"Call him now," she said as she gave me the evil eye. "He has a right to know, Sylvie." I sighed and tried to be grateful that Mom hadn't bitten my head off, _literally._ She'd been alarmed, of course, but not mad. I think she even blamed herself for the whole situation. If she'd told me everything in advance, none of this would've happened.

"Fine."

"And we need him to come over as soon as possible. If we can distract Virginia enough to find some alone time, I'm going to give you kids a crash course on what to expect."

"Don't say anything gross," I said. "Like the whole sexually transmitted aspect, can you keep that to yourself?"

"I'm sorry, Sylvie, but Josiah needs to know that any sexual escapades could result in a transfer of the condition."

"Great Mom, thanks. Keep saying _sex_ around Edwin. Maybe you can traumatize him as much as you've traumatized me? We can share a room at the mental institution, save you some money."

"Get in your room and call Josiah." I rolled my eyes and retreated to my bed. Josiah picked up on the first ring.

"I didn't get any sleep last night," he said. "I just couldn't stop thinking about you and your..."

"Condition?" I supplied.

"Right."

"Josiah," I began as I struggled to talk around the lump in my throat. "How early can you get over here?" _No point in delaying the inevitable._

"Um, my aunt and uncle just got into town with my cousins. Give me like, two hours for face time?"

"Sure," I said as I gathered up the courage to give him the truth, the full truth and nothing but the truth. _I turned you into a werewolf._ "I have something I need to tell you."

"Shoot," he said, voice chipper and full of excitement. I hoped my next words weren't going to take that away. I mean, he liked werewolves, right?

"I, uh, I... so..." _It's like pulling off a Band-Aid. Just get it over with!_ "My blood... your blood... kissing... wolf."

"Huh?"

"I turned you into a werewolf, Josiah. Tomorrow night, when I turn, you turn. I infected you. God, I didn't know. I'm so sorry. Please don't hate me."

Silence. Silence. Silence.

"Fifteen minutes," he said and hung up. I tried to call him back, but he didn't answer.

"Crap." I flung myself off the bed and into the shower where I soon discovered another patch of fur. Well, two patches of fur to be exact. "You have got to be kidding me!" I shouted at the blue tiles around me. Apparently the logical transformation order of the wolf was this: back fur, fangs, ears, tail, _armpit_ fur. You heard me. _Armpit fur._ "I don't have time for this." I neglected to shave, instead reverting to just the basics. Knowing Josiah and his driving habits, he might be here in ten minutes. That is, if he didn't kill himself on the icy roads. _Please let werewolves have super healing abilities, I beg of you, oh God of Supernatural Things!_

I washed my hair, conditioned it, and soaped up. That's all I had time for. In fact, I was still drying off when my mom came into my room and knocked at the bathroom door.

"Josiah's here," she told me and then paused. "He seems like a nice boy." _As if parent-boyfriend relations weren't complicated enough, but now I have parent-boyfriend-werewolf relations. This sucks._

"Yeah, Mom, thanks. Can you keep him away from Grandma while I get dressed?"

"Sure thing, honey," she said as she moved away and closed my bedroom door. If ever there was a time to try and break the world record for fastest presentable dresser, this was it. My first priority was to bind my tail. I used some bandages from the first aid kit to bind it against my inner thigh. I had to tuck the furry thing between my butt cheeks which was kind of gross, but really my only option.

My unpleasant business taken care of, I attacked my hair with the blow-dryer, slashed on some eyeliner and threw on my best Christmas outfit. I'd picked it out in advance, thankfully. I had green and red striped leggings, a black miniskirt, a red camisole, and a black knit sweater. With my new boots, my beanie, and my candy cane earrings, I was good to go.

I found Josiah in the living room, protected from Grandma's invasive questions by Chase and Trevor's incessant chatter. _Apparently, the little creeps are useful for something._

"And then I killed the boss with my special move. Blood went everywhere! It was _so_ cool. Sylvia was all like, _Oh my god, that's dumb,_ because she played and couldn't beat the boss in seven tries, and I beat her in one. She thinks I don't know that she plays video games 'cause she sneaks downstairs after everyone's asleep and mutes the sound."

"Hey!" I said, as a slight pink tinge colored my cheeks. "That's private information, you little snot." I grabbed the hood on Chase's stupid reindeer pajamas and threw it over his head. The faux horns looked absolutely ridiculous on him. Josiah was already smiling at me.

"Apparently," my mom said, doing her best to keep a faux smile on her face. "Your brothers already know Josiah." Oops.

"Remember, Sylvia, that a woman's virtue is her most important aspect," Grandma Virginia said, ever the hypocrite. _If only you believed that,_ I thought meanly. The woman had more lovers than I had fingers, and she was dating them all at the same time. _That's right, you horrible Scrooge, there is no privacy in the modern world. I know all about your sexual exploits._

"Hey Trev," I said as I gave my little brother a gentle elbow to the side. "Didn't you say you wanted Grandma to read you _The Night Before Christmas._ Maybe you should get it for her?"

"Yeah!" I watched gleefully as Chase and Trevor exploded into action, fighting over the book as Grandma Virginia struggled to find a way out of it. That would keep her busy for a few minutes at least. My dad, who was apparently in on the whole thing, stepped in and took charge.

"Boys, why don't you relax? I'm sure Grandma wouldn't mind reading the book a few times. Take turns on her lap, please." I grabbed Josiah's hand and pulled him to his feet, tugging him along the hallway, past my brothers' gingerbread cutouts and into the kitchen.

"You are so lucky," I whispered as he pulled me into his arms and kissed me. "If my grandmother had really gotten the chance to lay into you, you'd have been doomed."

"That blond chick is your grandma?" he asked, releasing me abruptly when my mom came through the white wooden shutters behind us. I stepped back and tried to look more confident than I felt. Inside, my stomach was flip-flopping painfully.

"Well," my mother said, running her hands down the front of her black dress nervously. "We don't have much time to talk, so I'm going to get straight down to business. I've asked your father to keep Virginia and the boys away, but God only knows how long that will last." She peeked over the shutters and then motioned us to take a seat at the dining table. "Hurry, sit. What exactly do you know, Josiah?" He exchanged a nervous glance with me and turned back to my mom.

"Honestly, Ms. Noe, all I know is that you're a werewolf, Sylvie's a werewolf, and now I might be a werewolf, too?" The inflection in Josiah's voice told me that he was excited... no... no, _ecstatic_ at the prospect. _Thank god. He's not breaking up with me, whoopee!_

Mom didn't respond right away. Instead, she turned on some music and cranked up the volume to Elvis' _Blue Christmas._ The King's distinctive tones filled the room and hopefully, blocked our words from the rest of the family.

"You're certain that you not only tasted her blood, but that she also tasted yours?" Mom spun around and I had to admire how pretty she looked with the string of pearls around her neck and the bit of holly pinned to her chest. Very elegant. Grandma could say what she wanted about my mother, but I thought she was beautiful. Josiah nodded his head and glanced over at me again.

"Yeah, for sure," he said as he pulled off his beanie and laid it across the table in front of him. As usual, his hair was now spiky and mussy, just the way I liked it. He looked immensely handsome in a crimson sweater, a pair of black slacks and the sexiest pair of snow boots I had ever seen. They had these big, gold buckles on the front which gave them this 'Santa Clause Does Rock 'n' Roll' theme that made me crazy weak in the knees. "She cut her tongue and nicked mine. Why?" Mom sighed and started to pace the floor with her hands on her hips.

"An exchange of bodily fluids is what it takes to turn someone. Unfortunately, unlike with Sylvie, you won't show any symptoms. We're going to have to just assume that you're infected, take you out to the forest with us, and see."

She sighed again.

"So... I really could be a werewolf?" he asked, looking delightfully cheerful about the whole thing. Mom nodded, but she didn't speak, not until Josiah started asking questions. He was good at breaking the ice with people. He could befriend anyone, anywhere. He had this easy grace about him that was infectious. Hopefully, things would work out between Josiah and my parents. Virginia... well, she was the opposite of Josiah. She never got along with anybody. Maybe their two personalities would cancel one another out, and she wouldn't be able to cause trouble? I could wish on a Christmas star, couldn't I? "Do we have super strength?"

Mom paused and turned to him with a smile, some of her anxiety melting away.

"Yes." She looked out the shutters again and turned back to Josiah. "I could pick up a car and throw it." I raised my eyebrows.

"Go Mom."

"We heal quicker than usual, too," she said and Josiah smiled.

"I was just gonna ask that. Any other superpowers?"

"Well," Mom said as the sound of howling demons (i.e. my brothers) drew closer. "I can't say this is for sure related to the lycanthropy, but I do make a mean pot pie."

"You made it through a whole day with my family," I told Josiah as we stood shivering on the front porch. It was long past dark and time for him to go home, much as I despised the thought. It was so dark out, so quiet and romantic. The whole street was lit up with the soft glow of Christmas lights, bathing the two of us in this spectrum of soft colors that highlighted Josiah's cheekbones and lips and gave this fantastical tint to the night air. "You must be a saint," I whispered as he stepped closer to me, pulled off my beanie and kissed the tips of each of my ears. _Wait till I show him the tail,_ I thought with a shudder. It was horrendously uncomfortable, you know, stuck down there as it was. "Grandma only called you, what, thirty-six, thirty-seven different racial slurs? That's not bad, not bad at all."

"Sylvia," Josiah said as he pulled me into his arms and hugged me tight. "Thanks for the scarf. I can't believe you knitted it yourself. You're the cutest girl alive, you know that?" I pushed back a bit and examined the black lump of yarn around Josiah's throat. It was the ugliest scarf ever, but I'd tried. It's the thought that counts, right?

"You shouldn't lie during the holidays," I said as he pressed a kiss to my forehead.

"I hope when you open my gifts tomorrow, that you're not too disappointed. I mean, you gave me a scarf, an infectious disease, _and_ a fruitcake."

"Hey," I said as I pretended to slap him. "First off, the fruitcake was from my mom—not from me—and second, I didn't mean to turn you into a werewolf. It just kind of happened."

"I know," he said and then shushed me with a kiss. "And trust me, if I don't end up growing ears and a tail tomorrow, I'm going to be spending Christmas night sobbing alone in my room. I want this, Sylvie, I really do." I rested my head against his chest with a sigh and let him move us both in a gentle sway that mimicked the snowflakes falling just outside the confines of the porch. _Ah, bliss._

A window slid open not far from us, startling the heck out of me. Josiah clamped his hands over my ears.

"Sylvia," Grandma Virginia barked. "Get back in here before the neighbors start to talk." She slammed the window and both Josiah and I cringed as the glass shuddered dangerously.

"Guess that's my cue," he said mournfully. We kissed goodbye and separated slowly, as if the act itself was painful. When Josiah hit the first step, he paused and turned back to me. "Sylvie?"

"Yeah?"

"Whatever happens at my house tomorrow, whatever you see, promise you won't run away?" I gave Josiah a strange look. "I'm serious. Promise." I sighed.

"I promise, Josiah. Now go home and dream of sugarplums."

"I'm going to go home and dream of you," he said, ducking out of the porch just before I managed to scrape together a snowball and throw it at him. "Good night, my little werewolf girl."

Christmas Day started with a bang and did not let up.

I woke to find my stomach covered in dog hair and couldn't even go downstairs until I'd trimmed the _claws_ on my feet. When I finally managed to get dressed and get out of my room, I had to listen to Trevor and Chase scream and tear into their presents like Tasmanian devils. Edwin, on the other hand, opened them so slowly that it was painful, not at all like you'd expect of a three year old. Plus, Mom kept giving me these _knowing_ looks that kind of creeped me out and made the entire experience uncomfortable. She kept whispering things like, "How do you feel now, honey?" and "Any other _changes_?" All of this combined with Grandma Virginia's offensive gifts (who buys acne medicine as a present?) made me absolutely _desperate_ to get out of that house.

"Are you sure you're up to this?" Mom asked as she crossed her arms over her chest and examined my outfit. I'd had to modify my previous clothing choices as the tail, the armpit fur, and the belly hair were sort of... noticeable. The tight fitting red dress I'd been dying to show off to Josiah was now crumpled in a pile on the floor. I'd had to resort to the old sweater and slacks routine again. It was all I could do. At least I was getting good at talking without showing my teeth. It gave my voice a sort of odd lilt, but I figured that Josiah's family wouldn't notice since they'd never met me before.

"Yeah, Mom, I'm fine."

"Go over the plan with me again." I rolled my eyes.

"I'll go over to Josiah's, open presents, have dinner, and meet you and Dad at Siempre National Park no later than nine o'clock. I got it, okay? Can I go now?" Mom sighed and gave me a kiss on the cheek. _She wouldn't be acting so nice if she knew what you were hiding from her. She doesn't know about the tail, the armpit fur, the claws. If she did, you'd be under lock and key._

"If you have any problems..."

"I will call you," I said as I moved over to the window and pushed aside the curtain. Josiah was already waiting. "Josiah's here. I gotta go."

"Tell your brothers and your dad 'Merry Christmas' before you leave!" she called from behind me as I flew down the stairs and around the newel post like I was in a race.

"Merry Christmas!" I shouted as I moved past them. The key to getting away from Grandma Virginia was record speed, before she had a chance to open her mouth. I managed it in the nick of time.

"You look like a man, swaddled in all those baggy clo—"

I hit the icy porch, skidded a bit, and regained my footing. I was down the steps and clomping through the thick blanket of fresh snow before Josiah had a chance to turn off the engine.

"Let's get out of here," I said as I swung myself into the cab and gave him a quick kiss.

"That bad, huh?" he asked with a big grin as he poked the flower on my hat with a long finger. "I was hoping I'd get the chance to come in and say hi to Sweet Old Grandma Virginia."

"You know what she got me for Christmas?" I asked as Josiah pulled away from the curb and started idling down the icy streets. "A box of scented tampons, a gift certificate to a tanning salon, a workout video, and a push-up bra."

"Wow, all that?" Josiah asked jokingly as he hunched over the steering wheel. It was an odd position to see him in. Usually, he leaned back against the seat, nice and casual. The way he was sitting now, it looked like he was hiding something from me. Then I noticed the sweater. Had I not been so distracted by my supernatural growth spurt and my hateful grandmother, I probably would've seen it right off the bat.

"What's this?" I asked as I picked at the sleeve. It was knitted much more skillfully than my ugly scarf, but it was kind of ostentatious, what with the green and red stripes and all.

Josiah cringed.

"Your family gets you tampons; mine gets me..." He didn't finish his sentence, just leaned back and flashed me the smiling baby Jesus knitted across his chest. Little Jesus' blankets were done up in pale blue and clashed horribly with the surrounding colors.

"Wow," I said and couldn't hold back the laughter. "That's the ugliest thing I've ever seen!" I chuckled so hard, my belly was in stitches.

"You just wait," Josiah said, cheeks red. "You'll get yours."

Thirty minutes later, and I was standing in Josiah's living room in a white and green sweater with a Persian cat knitted onto the front, Santa cap on its head and everything. There was even a Chihuahua in an elf outfit on the back. _I take it back._ This _is the ugliest thing I've ever seen._

"This is really beautiful, Mrs. Wakeham," I said as I stood surrounded by a ring of unfamiliar faces. There was Uncle Jeff, Aunt Lizzie, Cousin Delilah, Cousin Antoine, Cousin Luther, Josiah's Dad, Ted, his sister, Corine, and a partridge in a pear tree. "Thank you so much; I really appreciate it." Josiah put his arm around me and hugged me hard.

"You know, on the way over, Sylvia was actually telling me how much she loved my sweater."

"Isn't that nice?" said Mrs. Wakeham, dressed delightfully in a sweater of her own. Hers, of course, had Frosty on the front, to match her earrings I assume. "Well, we are so glad to have you over, Sylvia. Josiah's told us so much about you, I feel like I know you already." I smiled, making sure that my lips were closed tightly, keeping my fangs hidden.

"Can we get to enjoying this good ol' fashioned family Christmas?" Corine asked, snapping her gum and twirling her ebony hair around her finger. "Ned's picking me up in an hour. I need to unwrap the hair straightener Mom bought me, so I can get ready."

"For Christ's sake, Corine," Josiah's dad boomed as he moved across the living room like a Spanish bull, all massive and gruff and hairy. He was even wearing a pair of light up reindeer horns on his head that flickered between green and red. "Try not to sound so enthusiastic."

"See," Josiah said as he leaned in and kissed me on the cheek. "Your family doesn't look so bad now, does it?" A flash exploded in front of me, and I stumbled back, blinking stars away from my eyes.

"One more shot," Aunt Lizzie said as she shoved her smartphone in my face and took another picture. She glanced at the screen and smiled. "You'll love these when you're older, Josiah. It's a hoot to take out the scrapbook and look at all your old flames. You won't believe the duds I dated." She laughed and turned away as if completely unaware that she had just insulted me.

"Nah," I said as Josiah gave me a sympathetic look. "Definitely not as weird as my family."

"Hey," he said as he squeezed my hand. "I warned you. You promised you wouldn't run away, don't forget."

"Okay, everyone. Now that we're all here, let's break out the sugar cookies and the cider. Then we can get to the presents." Mrs. Wakeham spun away and turned down her Frosty music while Josiah's family shuffled into the living room and took their seats. Josiah and I sat together on the floor next to the Christmas tree. It was massive, much taller and fuller than the one we had at home. It was also so covered in ornaments that it was almost impossible to see the branches. Presents were piled in mounds that towered over my head, and I had to send up a prayer that there wasn't going to be an avalanche of smiling Santa Clauses and puffy bows.

"Josiah," Mrs. Wakeham said as she passed us by with a gold tray full of frosted cookies. I selected a Christmas star and nibbled it to avoid the burden of trying to make conversation. I was very, very conscious of my teeth. "Why don't you start by giving your special someone her gift?" I tried to smile through the mouthful of sugar. Mrs. Wakeham winked at me as Josiah pulled a tiny box out from beneath the tree. It was wrapped in elegant crimson paper with a golden bow. I took it gently from his hands, trying to still the fluttering in my heart. That wasn't too difficult, considering there were several sets of eyes trained on me, examining, scrutinizing.

"Now, Sylvia," Ted began as he rubbed his scruffy jaw. "Tell me, do those eyes run in your family?"

"Dad," Josiah hissed as he glared at his father. "Knock it off."

"I'm just asking the girl a question, son. It's not everyday you see someone with yellow eyes. Had a dog with eyes like that once."

"Teddy!" Mrs. Wakeham (who had only introduced herself as such and not provided a first name) scolded. "Leave the girl be, so she can open her present!" Ted grumbled, but at least he stopped talking.

Josiah put his hand on my knee for comfort as I removed the paper and found a turquoise jewelry box. I flashed him a cheeky smile and opened it with a gasp. Inside was the most beautiful silver bangle I had ever seen.

"Josiah, it's gorgeous," I said as he reached over and lifted the bracelet from the black velvet cushion. _So much better than the crappy scarf I gave him. God, now I feel guilty._

"May I?" he asked as the family continued to stare, tainting what otherwise might've been a very romantic moment. I nodded and bit my lip seductively as Josiah locked eyes with me and started to slide the metal across my skin.

As soon as it touched me, I knew I was in trouble.

Painful heat seared my flesh, shot straight up through my arm and into my brain. I jerked back reflexively and accidentally punched Josiah in the face. The bracelet flew through the air and landed in Uncle Jeff's cider mug.

"Oh my god," I said as I covered my mouth with my hand. "I'm so sorry!" Without waiting for a response, I stood up and bolted into the downstairs bathroom. Or the closet. _Oops. Wrong door._ I grabbed my coat, stepped back and decided to go outside instead. I didn't even make it off the porch before Josiah was there, nose bloody and leaking down his face in two lines of red.

"Sylvia, wait!" he said as he grabbed my arm and pulled me against his chest. "It's okay, it's okay, it's okay."

"I... oh God. I don't know what happened."

"Silver," Josiah said as he leaned back and showed me his own hand. He had red blisters along his skin, just like I did. "I felt it, too. I just didn't react fast enough. I'm sorry."

"Silver?" I squeaked. "I'm not allergic to silver." Josiah smiled softly and adjusted my hat for me.

"You mean, you _weren't_ allergic to silver. You are now; we both are." Oh. Right. Werewolves. I groaned and put my head against my boyfriend's warm chest.

"Your family hates me now."

"Nonsense," he said as he pulled back and kissed me gently. "Come on, let's go back inside. It's freezing out here." I shook my head. No way I was going back in there now. "I'll make up a good lie for you. Besides, you promised." And I had. Josiah had me cornered with that one.

"Fine," I said as I let him pull me in by the hand. His family was waiting, all eyes on me as Josiah took my coat, put it back in the closet, and dragged me into the living room.

"Allergic to silver," he explained as he showed them my hand, careful to keep his out of sight.

"Dear God," Mrs. Wakeham exclaimed as she rose to her feet. "Do you need some ointment, darling?" I let Josiah answer for me, determined to deflect any negative attention that might come my way.

"That's alright, Mom, but Sylvie's okay," he said as he took the bracelet from Uncle Jeff. When he grabbed it, he covered his hands with the ends of his sweater and used the pretense of cleaning off the apple cider to keep it from touching his skin. "I guess we'll plan a date to go and exchange this together," he said as he put it back in the box, closed the lid, and handed it to me.

"Now then," Mrs. Wakeham said as Corine groaned and snapped a massive bubble of gum onto her face. "To get back in the mood, why don't we sing a Christmas Carol? I was thinking _Frosty the Snowman_ might just do it..."

By the time we sat down for dinner, I was feeling confident again. It seemed that everyone had forgotten about the bracelet incident and things were going quite well. Thanks to the magic in that old silk hat, of course (yes, that's a Frosty reference again).

And then I noticed that my fingers looked a bit strange. This first sighting occurred during a long and drawn-out speech by Mr. Wakeham about the beauty of the holiday... and the terrible job the city snowplows were doing in the neighborhood.

I barely heard a thing he said.

I was too distracted by the covert shifting my digits had just undergone. They were kind of... stubby. I tucked them under the red tablecloth and tried not to freak out. _When did this happen?_ I wondered as I stared hard at my hands and tried to catch them in the act. Unfortunately (or maybe fortunately depending on how you looked at it), it was like watching plants grow. I mean, they obviously did it, but it wasn't something that could be seen by the naked eye. Somehow, during the last hour, my fingers had shifted without my knowledge or consent. I hadn't felt a thing.

I tapped Josiah's knee under the table and tried to get his attention. At first, I think he thought I was flirting with him because he just wrapped his hand around my fingers and squeezed gently, eyes drooping seductively as he winked at me and tried to listen to his dad's speech. It wasn't until the claws sprouted, rapidly and sporadically on two of my fingers, that he noticed something was wrong.

Josiah jumped in surprise and slammed his knees into the bottom of the table. Glassware clinked precariously and in less than a second, all eyes were on him.

Josiah cleared his throat.

"I, uh, sorry. Just getting hungry," he said. Ted narrowed his eyes on his son, but at least the distraction got him off the topic of snowplows and onto the prayer. I had no idea what religion the Wakeham family was. The baby Jesus on Josiah's sweater suggested some sect of Christianity, but the blessing was like nothing I'd ever heard, focused more on the changing seasons than it was on any kind of theological being.

That was great and all, but couldn't it have lasted all night long? Did we really have to eat? I mean, I swear, I nearly had a heart attack as I watched the family pass a plate of sliced ham over to me. How was I supposed to grab the dishes with my ever changing hands? When Aunt Lizzie turned to me, I gave her my best closemouthed smile.

"I think those blisters have really gotten the best of me." I turned to Josiah and gave him a look of sheer desperation. "Would you mind passing the plates for me?" He didn't hesitate, not one bit, just reached out and grabbed the ham, dishing me a massive portion that I was dying to dig into. I was _ravenous._

Aunt Lizzie wrinkled her nose and tsk-tsked under her breath.

"Women that can't handle pain have a lot of trouble birthing healthy children." _Oh my god, not only am I werewolf, but I've just time traveled to 1822._ "And you know," she said, fluffing her red curls. "The Wakeham family men always have big babies. When Luther was born he weighed over ten pounds. Doubt a girl of your stature could handle that." _You look like Mrs. Claus with your big ugly nose and your tiny eyes, you hateful person._ Actually, Aunt Lizzie bore a striking resemblance to my grandmother—in personality only, of course.

"Why don't we talk about something else?" Josiah suggested as he doled out some mashed potatoes for me. I watched them with interest while my brain struggled to find a way to eat them. I had this terrible urge to just drop my head to the plate and lick it clean, but I didn't think that would go over well with Mrs. Wakeham. At the moment, it seemed as if she actually might like me. Currently, she was smiling across the table and pointing at her nose with a finger.

"You got a little something on your nose," she said and, once again, all eyes swiveled to my face. I reached up an arm and tried to rub it away with the crook of my elbow. It was the best I could do. When that failed, Josiah grabbed a napkin, dipped it in his water and went for it.

"What is that?" Corine asked, leaning forward. "It looks like chocolate cake. Mom, did you make chocolate cake?"

"No," Mrs. Wakeham said slowly as if she was thinking hard about the mysterious substance on my nose. "Maybe it's gravy?" But it wasn't. I knew what it was, and from the look on Josiah's face, so did he. Unknown substance, black nose, wolf. It was as simple as that. Guess that explained my sudden detection of unwashed armpits from Aunt Lizzie's side of the room and undiluted bleach water from Mrs. Wakeham's. I was starting to sweat now; beads of moisture were collecting on my forehead and dripping down the sides of my face. _Uh-oh. Mom was right; mom is always right. Crap._

"I think I'll just go to the bathroom and take care of this," I said as I tucked my hands in the front pockets of my pants and stood up. I barely made it out of the dining room before I started to stumble. Not only had I just gotten a wolf nose (because what else could it be?), but also a wolf's _paws_. Something was not right with my legs. _Oh dear god._

"You okay?" Josiah asked as he caught up with me. I shook my head.

"No," I said as I realized how quickly I was changing. Minutes. I had minutes. "No. It's happening. We have to go _now._ Call my mom." Josiah nodded and pulled the phone out of my pocket. "And I'm not trying to run away—even though I think your family is insane."

Josiah smiled and kissed the tip of my nose.

"I know."

"Everything okay?" Mrs. Wakeham asked as she peeked around the corner into the living room. I threw myself into Josiah's arms, attempting to hide the rapidly shrinking lines of my calves and the new tuft of fur that had just sprouted over my lips. _Why there?_ I mean, come on, seriously? A _mustache?_ The pull of the full moon was not just vindictive; it was truly evil. _I hate being a werewolf._

Josiah wiggled the phone in the air over my shoulder.

"Sylvia's mother called. One of her little brothers just fell and broke his arm. She wants us to meet her at the hospital." Mrs. Wakeham put a hand to her mouth.

"Oh goodness, should I come with you?"

"No, no," Josiah said as he essentially dragged me across the carpet and towards the front door. "I'm sure it'll be fine. I'll call you later, Mom."

"Okay," she said, sounding disappointed. _Great. Good first impression, Sylvie. Way to get Mom's approval._ I was an idiot. I should never have left my house in the first place. "Well, Merry Christmas then."

"Merry _Klipsmas,_ " I drawled as strange things happened to my mouth and my tongue that I did not want to think about.

"Merry Christmas, Mom," Josiah said as he grabbed our coats and pulled me out into the snow. This was seconds before my hat fell off and my hair, my human hair, started to turn gray.

Let's just say that I barely escaped that house with the secret of my lycanthropy intact.

Josiah parked the truck half on the curb and half off, but I was past the point of caring. My hands were covered in fur and my tail was stuck under my thigh in the most uncomfortable position possible. By the time he came around and opened my door, my mom was right by his side.

"Oh, Sylvie," she said with a sigh as the two of them helped pull me out of the cab and onto the sidewalk. I could barely stand; my feet were already shifting into paws, making me unstable and clumsy. "Come on, I'll show you where to take off your clothes." She glanced over at Josiah as he helped me stumble along the snowy ground. It was blindingly, perfectly white, reflecting the glow of the full moon and highlighting all three of us with a silver sheen that made us look like angels. "Now, Josiah, I want you to listen carefully. When Sylvie shifts, you'll feel a little tug, right here." Mom touched her chest with her free hand. The one that was carrying me was unbelievably strong, proving that she hadn't been joking about the whole supernatural strength thing. She didn't even remotely need Josiah's help to keep me propped up. "When you do, I want you to relax into it. It'll happen fast, and it'll hurt, but I want you to keep as quiet as you can. Do you understand?" Josiah nodded, but he didn't say a thing. When I sneaked a glance at him, he was smiling.

"There you guys are," Dad said as he jogged over to us, snow crunching beneath his boots. "I was getting worried." He smiled down at me and pulled the beanie from my head. "Look at those little ears," he said affectionately. "So cute."

" _Dawrdd,_ " I moaned, voice halfway between human and wolf.

"Leave her alone, Bruce. Don't embarrass the poor girl," Mom snapped at him as we moved behind a small brick building. It was hard for me to see, hunched over as I was, but I think it was the park's bathroom. The life of a werewolf, how luxurious.

It was darker back there, shrouded by the branches of reaching pine trees and the eaves of the roof. Combined with the holiday, the frigid air, and the thick blanket of snow on the ground, it gave us the privacy we needed to... well, let's not sugarcoat it. We had to get naked. In weather that was well below freezing. Wonderful.

"Now," Mom continued as Josiah helped prop me up against the building. "Remember, stick together out there and enjoy yourselves. Like your father said, don't think of this as a curse, think of it as a gift. When you feel the wind in your fur and the ground spinning away beneath your paws, you'll see what I mean."

" _Whadeba,_ " I drawled as I let Josiah take my scarf off and stuff it in the plastic bag my father had just handed him. I'd meant to say _whatever_ , but I was hoping that they'd get the message in my sarcastic tone. _Alright, alright already. We heard you the first time._

"Be back before sunup, so you don't have any problems getting dressed, and most of all, use common sense out there." I was beyond responding at that point. My mouth was being pulled away from my face like it was made of clay. I noticed with horror that Josiah was staring at me and looked away. I was incapable of undressing myself, however, seeing as my hands were now fully formed into paws. My dad watched Josiah take off my coat with a sour expression on his face.

"Maybe I should get that," he said as he moved towards us.

" _Dawrd!_ " I yelped as my mother put her hand on his arm and steered him away. She forced Dad to look into her eyes and the fight was over before it had even begun. I felt like there was something going on between them that I should know about, but at that point, I didn't much care.

"Leave them be, Bruce," she said as she glanced back at us with a smile. "They're good kids. Give them a little _privacy_. And Josiah," my mom and boyfriend exchanged a long look, "bring her home safe. We'll see you at the house in the morning."

"Of course, Ms. Noe," Josiah said as he unbuttoned my coat and pulled it off of my hairy shoulders.

Great. My first time getting naked in front of anyone and I was not only covered in hair, but also hideously mutated. Not the story I was hoping to share with Deb about the whole experience.

"And Sylvie, good luck. I love you, honey."

" _Ig bruv bu bu,_ " I whined in a wolfish warble, but I think she got the point. _I love you, too._

"Come on Bruce." I watched as my parents moved around the corner of the building and disappeared into the snowy night. I think they were leaving to get naked, too, which was kind of gross. I tried not to think about it. Otherwise, the whole thing was just kind of emotional. Days ago, I hadn't even known that werewolves existed and now, I was halfway turned into one.

"Come on Sylv," Josiah said as he tugged on my hands and dropped me to my side in the snow. "Time to take your boots off." He started to undo the laces, but ended up just tugging them off. My socks came along for the ride, sliding right off my paw shaped feet with ease. When he reached for the zipper of my pants, he grinned. "I'll admit," he said as he started to tug them down. "That when I fantasized about taking off your clothes, I didn't expect it to be anything like this." I snapped at him with my muzzle; it was all I was capable of. "Holy crap," Josiah said, eyes wide with awe. He was staring at my candy cane panties. I tried to bite him again, and he backed off as I struggled to my feet. All four of them.

_I'm doing it,_ I thought as I moved forward, feeling my muscles contract and expand in ways I'd never experienced. My vision was changing, too, giving me the ability to see into the darkness of the trees. Images assaulted me from spots where previously, all I'd seen were shadows. My hearing was picking up, too, giving me horribly disgusting snippets of my parents _giggling_ and undressing one another. None of this compared to the new scents that were assaulting me at a feverish pace. There was one smell in particular that was horribly distracting. It was spicy and warm and yummy and so obviously Josiah that I nearly threw my head to the sky and howled when his warm hand came down on my back.

"Nice stripe you got there," he said as I tried my best to glance over my shoulder. It's harder than it sounds in wolf form, but I could tell that there was something off about the fur along my spine. _Yeah, because you shaved it off._ I gave a rough bark of embarrassment and tried not to shiver as Josiah grabbed my panties and pulled them down. Even though I was a wolf, and he was still a human, it gave me this warm flush that started in my chest and moved downwards. Apparently, even werewolves can get turned on. _Right. Like_ that's _not seriously weird._ "Can't run around the forest with candy cane underwear on," he said as he fingered the fabric for several seconds longer than was really prudent. I spun around and grabbed the edge of his jacket with my teeth. "Okay, okay," Josiah chuckled as he put my panties in the plastic bag. "I'm coming."

I watched him undress only as long as it took him to take off his coat, shirt, and shoes. When he got to his pants, I had to look away. I wasn't ready for my first view of Josiah's naked body to be in this form. I wanted to be able to enjoy it.

"S-s-sylvia?" he chattered. I turned around slowly and found Josiah completely nude, one hand across his crotch, the other crossed over his chest. "I can f-f-feel the tug." I stared at him, tail wagging back and forth as I tried to be as comforting as possible. It was hard though, to be denied so many of the usual motions that you might use to express your feelings. I could open my mouth and pant and although it _looked_ like a smile, the wolf part of me knew that it wasn't, not really. There were other things that I needed to do, with my ears, my eyes, my tail, to express myself in this form that Josiah wouldn't understand until he was finished shifted. I stepped forward and nuzzled his hand gently.

With a sudden cry of pain, he collapsed to the snow and began to melt, just like my mother had before. While my transformation had been slow and gentle, his was rapid and painful.

I watched with no small amount of guilt as Josiah's body folded in on itself and sprouted dark, ebony fur. It was completely unlike mine which was scruffy and gray. His was sleek and smooth and shiny, and like the night sky, it was peppered with bits of white, like stars. When he stopped moving, I padded forward across the snow and nuzzled his side. His head snapped up and soon, he was scrambling to his feet. Even as a wolf, Josiah was tall, dark and handsome with long, lean legs, a tail that was much fuller and prettier than mine, and a pair of chocolate brown eyes that were no different than the ones he had when he was human.

_You're pretty,_ I told him with a scamper to the right.

_So are you,_ he said by raising his rump and letting his tail wag. Seconds later, we were exploding into play, moving through the dark trees and across the snow like we were flying. The joy I felt in my heart was all consuming, radiating out to my limbs, sending me sprinting over fields of white that glimmered like diamonds. Josiah stayed right there alongside me, communicating without speaking, telling me with every movement of his tail, his ears, his paws, that he was happy, too. I couldn't imagine being there without him. This 'condition' that I had been so resistant to at first didn't seem so bad anymore.

Josiah led me up a hill and through a cluster of bushes, straight to the edge of the world where the cliff fell away beneath us, showcasing the lights of the city, the flush of the moon, and the brilliance of the stars above. When he threw back his head and howled, I joined in with him. It didn't seem so stupid anymore. His voice and mine joined in a glorious choir, both mournful and joyous, melodic and lilting, the world's most perfect song.

_This,_ I thought as I felt the thrill of the wild in my veins. _Is the best Christmas ever._ I was even more convinced of that fact when Josiah started to lick my face. It was more romantic than it sounds, trust me. _I could spend all night_ _doing this._

Apparently the Christmas star was listening to my request because for once, my wish actually came true.

_Ready to shift?_ Josiah asked with his eyes.

_Do we have to?_ I asked back. Josiah shook his head playfully and bumped his nose against mine. He switched his gaze to the sky, and I could tell that he didn't want to take any chances on making it home before daybreak. I supposed I didn't blame him. After all, we'd been out for so long, it was hard to tell how much time had passed. Wolves didn't think like people did, not by a long shot. Time didn't feel quite as restrictive in this form. As long as we were fed and healthy and happy, time was irrelevant. _Oh well,_ I thought as he started to melt, changing and unfolding right before my eyes. _It's not like we can't do this again. We could do it every night if we wanted to._

I turned away and was wondering how the heck he'd figured out the whole shifting into human thing when my body started to change. Apparently, it was as simple as that. And weird, too. My arms and legs stretched and contracted and moved around me while I sat still, a silent bystander to a process that was as old as the trees, the sky, the moon. I didn't understand it, but that was okay. It was what it was, and I'd accepted that.

Josiah and I got dressed as quickly as possible, too distracted by the cold and the excitement of the night to look too closely at one another. My parents' car was still in the parking lot, so I sent a text to my mother's phone to let her know that we were okay and that I'd see her at home. That way, she wouldn't worry when she came back and found our clothes missing.

"Want to sleep over?" I asked Josiah as we climbed into his pickup. He looked me right in my amber eyes and grinned.

"Did you even need to ask?" he said as we pulled out of the quiet parking lot and onto the empty highway. Even though it technically wasn't Christmas anymore, it was still early and cold and the roads were dead, giving us the ability to make it home in record time. We tiptoed in the front door, careful not to wake Grandma Virginia or any of the little demons. Good thing, too, because if she'd seen Josiah and me together, she would've been convinced we were headed for the depths of hell.

When we hit my bedroom, Josiah and I undressed as quickly as was humanly possibly and leapt into bed with all the intensity and the energy that we'd had as wolves. If I'd thought running wild through the forest was thrilling, well, then, it was only because I was speaking from lack of experience. That had been exciting, freeing, adventurous. This, this was... _merry Christmas, Sylvia._ And that's all I had to say on the matter. When we were finished, we lay together in the silent dark and watched the snowflakes drift by outside my window.

"This has certainly been an interesting couple of days," Josiah said, voice muffled by the crook of my neck. I tugged the blanket up around his shoulders and rested my head against his hair.

"Can't argue with that," I said with a smile. I'd been decimated with a family secret, infected my boyfriend with a curse, turned into a werewolf, _and_ had my first time, all within a three day span. Not bad. Not bad at all.

"Merry Christmas," Josiah whispered as I snuggled against his body and got lost in the warmth of his skin, the beauty of the stars, and the majesty of the falling snow. _I could live a thousand years and never be happier than I am in this moment,_ I thought as I heard a car door outside. _And my parents are home safe._ Not that I'd been worried. They obviously had quite a bit more experience with this whole werewolf thing than I did. Still, I'd be glad to have everybody together under one roof. Things seemed more complete like that, cozier.

"Happy holidays," I replied as I listened to footsteps come up the stairs. But they didn't go towards my parents' bedroom. They came straight towards mine. "Crap!" I whispered fiercely as Josiah's head snapped up and the door cracked open.

"Sylvie," my mom began and then froze.

"We used a condom," I blurted into the silence. Josiah grimaced but didn't say a word. Mom and I looked at one another, amber eyes boring into each other's souls as I waited for her to tear me apart. She didn't.

"Merry Christmas, kids," she said and then made as if to leave. At the last moment she paused and looked back in at us. "You know," she said softly. "There's something else I should tell you." I groaned, but she didn't give me a chance to complain. "Wolves—at least the _were_ kind—mate for life. Have fun kids." And then she was gone.

Josiah and I exchanged a glance and I noticed that a grin was already spreading across his face.

"What?" I asked him, still convinced that I was going to get it come morning. Mom would not forget so easily. At the very least, I'd get another empty box and a lecture on the human—or werewolf—reproductive system.

I sighed.

"I don't have a problem with that, do you?" he asked, pressing a kiss to my cheek, his lips warm and smooth against my skin.

I smacked him in the arm.

"Shut up," I whispered, but I'll admit, I was blushing. "Don't screw around with me."

"I'm not screwing around with you," he said as he kissed me again, this time on the lips. "After being with a werewolf girl, I don't think I could ever go back to the regular kind, you know?" I tugged the blankets away from him and turned over. But I was smiling. _I'm just not going to let him see._

"Go to sleep," I said as this warm, fuzzy feeling crept around me. Maybe I was susceptible to it because technically, it was still the Christmas season. Or maybe it was because it was so cold outside and so warm in, the house cloaked in this inclusive feeling of togetherness and family. I'm not exactly sure why, but I believed him—with every ounce of my heart.

"Happy Werewolf Christmas," he said as he wrapped his body around mine and settled into the bed with a gentle sigh.

"Happy Werewolf Christmas," I responded back as I drifted to sleep and had visions not of sugarplum fairies, but of the quiet whispers of the forest, the feel of the earth beneath my paws, and the beautiful eyes of the boy that had shared it with me. I had the best gift of all snuggled under this roof with me—my family (even if it included Grandma Virginia).

I had the gift of love and all was right with the world.

Dear Reader,

Thank you for reading Syvlia's story! As crazy as her family is, I have to say: I only wish my mom had dropped a werewolf bomb on me during Christmas. ;) As you turn the pages, you'll find links to stalk me online, grab your next C.M. Stunich or Violet Blaze (my pen name!) book, or read full chapter excerpts from some of my other novels in the back. Once again, I hope you have a wonderful winter, enjoy the holidays, and continue to get lost in the magic of a good book.

P.S. Indie authors count on readers like you to leave reviews, so if you have the time, I'd love to hear your thoughts! Thank you!

Best wishes,  
C.M. Stunich

# "New Year's Party Guest List: an entire pack of werewolves... and one werewolf hunter."

#

**Description**

Sylvia Noe is a werewolf.

And now, so is her boyfriend, Josiah. Of course, accidentally infecting her high school sweetheart with lycanthropy was never part of the plan, but it's nice to have somebody other than her parents to shift with (embarrassing, much?).

Too bad Josiah's mother is actually from a long line of werewolf hunters—a line that doesn't end with her. Josiah's sister has just turned eighteen and is ready for her first kill. A few fireworks and some champagne isn't going to stop her from crashing Sylvia's New Year's Eve party in her search for werewolves.

Oh, and then there's that tiny little fact that Sylvia's mother just happened to mention about werewolves mating for life. What's that about?

## **Chapter One**

I woke up to a werewolf lying in my bed next to me.

When I first cracked my sleepy eyes and saw Josiah, I almost screamed. But then last night came rushing back to me, and I found my lips breaking into this goofy stupid smile. My heart felt all melty and fuzzy and gooey as I snuggled closer to him—totally gross, I know.

"Good morning, my little werewolf girl," he said as he rolled over to face me, our noses almost touching, my lashes kissing his forehead like butterflies as he leaned in to press a gentle kiss to my closed mouth. No way was I willing to trek into a full-on make out session without brushing my teeth first. Now why wasn't _that_ a werewolf power? I would totally kill for perfect-minty-breath-all-the-time magic. How useful would that be?

"Good morning," I said, memories of snow beneath my paws flickering across my brain. The night was so... magical, full of silver moonlight and new experiences. Speaking of... My face blanched as I remembered my mother peeping into my room last night. Sure, she was understanding and cool in the glittery darkness of falling snowflakes and the supernatural thrill of growing ears and a tail, but I had a feeling I was going to get it today—especially from my dad.

My dad. _Oh God!_ Not to mention the fact that Grandma Virginia was still here. If she saw Josiah, we were both in serious trouble.

"Is your mom going to be okay with you staying out all night?" I asked, and then watched as Josiah went through his own mini panic attack. His brown eyes got huge and he sat up suddenly, tossing the covers aside as I shivered and tucked my knees up close as I watched him scramble over to his jeans for his phone. He was still wearing his black boxers, but otherwise, he was naked.

I flushed red from head to toe as I sat up and yanked the sheets close. All I had on was a tank top and... a pair of panties with champagne bottles all over them. Weird, yes, but they came in the holiday underwear pack with the candy cane ones. Honestly though, these were not the strangest set of cotton undies in the bunch. The St. Patrick's Day pair had a giant grinning leprechaun face right over the crotch.

Josiah pulled his phone out, his hair mussy and sticking up every which way. It would've been cute if he didn't look so terrified.

"My phone's dead," he told me as he turned and pleaded with his eyes for a charger. I pointed across the room next to my desk where the white cord dangled from a plug. Josiah dove for it, shoved the end into his phone and took a huge breath, glancing over his shoulder at me.

He gave me a soft smile that had my heart constricting painfully in my chest.

"I had a good time last night," he said and my cheeks flared crimson. "And I'm not just talking about _that_ ," he rushed to explain as I groaned and dropped my face into a pillow. It even smelled like him—this spicy warm scent that made me feel like I was home. It was mulled cider mixed with pine, and it was _incredible._ I figured my werewolf senses must at least partially transfer over to my human side because I swore I could also smell Grandma Virginia's Beyoncé perfume wafting from down the hall.

That particular smell... not so pleasant.

My hearing, too, seemed enhanced. I swore, I could hear the pitter-patter of little feet...

My door burst open in a rush and one of the little demons appeared, staring at Josiah's bare chest with a slack jaw.

"Get out!" I screamed, tossing a Santa Claus pillow in Chase's direction as he stood there in wide, blue-eyed horror. The pillow flopped uselessly onto the floor between my bed and the door.

"Why is Josiah in his _underwear?_ " Chase asked, wrinkling his face up as Josiah scrambled around on the floor for his shirt, tossing my _bra_ aside in his frenzy. The padded piece of white lace flew through the air and landed directly at my little brother's feet.

"Hey, isn't that the thing Grandma got you for Christmas?" he asked as he bent down to pick it up.

I scrambled out of bed in my bubbly champagne undies and lunged for the bra, snatching it from Chase's hand and turning my little brother around by the arm.

"Gross! Why are you in _your_ underwear?" I shoved him a few steps into the hall and slammed the door in his face as he turned around and shouted for my dad. "Dad! Sylvia and Josiah are hanging out in their underwear!"

Crap.

In the back of my mind, I'd been hoping that maybe, just maybe, I might be able to sneak Josiah out of the house before either my dad or his mother caught sight of him. And then, of course, I was praying that my mom would decide to be totally cool and hip and modern and _not_ tell my dad that Josiah and I had... well, _you know._

_"Wolves—at least the_ were _kind—mate for life."_

Her words sounded suddenly loud inside my head as I bit my lower lip and grabbed my pants from yesterday off of the floor, kicking the pair of discarded candy cane underwear beneath my bed. Even though it was totally embarrassing and not at all sexy to dress frantically into yesterday's rumpled clothes in front of one's date, Josiah and I both did it.

By the time the inevitable moment came when my door flew open and my dad stood there looming large and shoving his glasses up his nose, we were both fully clothed. _Thank god for small miracles, right?_

My heart was pounding in my chest as I looked up at him.

And then the bra that I'd tucked under my shirt but had forgotten to put on tumbled out and hit the floor at my feet in a lacy pile. _Crap._

"Bruce," my mother started to say as she shoved him aside with her shoulder and came to stand in front of me. "You remember how this all works..." she began as I looked into my father's blue eyes, saw the sweat beading on the side of his face, felt terror incarnate sweep over and consume me.

His mouth opened in a violent roar and then... he pushed his glasses up his nose with a single finger and said—in one of those embarrassing know-it-all understanding adult voices—"Did you you use a condom?"

"Dad!" I wailed as I slapped my hands over my face and wished I could run and hide in the bathroom. But there was no way in hell I was abandoning Josiah to this. It was almost _worse_ than having them both yell at me.

"Um," Josiah began, and then paused as his phone rang. "That's probably my mom," he said by way of explanation and my parents both nodded.

"Why don't you answer that," Mom said as she looked over at me with the famous Noe family glare and reached down to _take my hand._ Uh-oh. It was time for one of _those_ moments, the gentle mother-daughter talks about love and life and changing bodies that were so embarrassing. I wondered what empty box she'd decide to wrap up this time? "Come on, Sylvia."

She shooed the three of us into the hallway and closed the door to give Josiah some privacy.

And then she just looked at me a minute before reaching out and cupping my face gently with a warm hand.

"Oh, sweetie," she said as I flushed the same color as the shiny red bulbs on the Christmas tree. As fanatical as my parents were about Christmas, I knew that by the end of the day, that tree would be down and the entire house would be covered in New Year's decorations for their annual end of the year party. It was a pretty big deal—Mom invited all of her out-of-town friends from high school and college, all the aunts and uncles and cousins I didn't see the rest of the year. "I think we should go out to lunch today, just me and you."

"If you think I'm going to a restaurant to talk about..." I couldn't even say the word. Mom apparently had no problem with it though.

"Sex, Sylvia. The word is _sex._ If you're old enough and mature enough to be having it, then you're old enough and mature enough to call it by name."

"I need a drink," Dad said as our eyes met and he blushed an even deeper shade of red before turning on his heel and heading down the steps. I could hear Grandma Virginia yelling at the boys from up here. It could be the werewolf hearing, but then again, Virginia's nagging sessions were so loud and boisterous, they could probably be heard by aliens in space.

"Can we _please_ not talk about this?" I asked as I threaded my hands together and started to beg. I was so not beyond begging. Mom pushed some of her silky brunette hair over her shoulder and kept smiling at me.

"Sylvia, there are some things you need to know about werewolves..."

"I kind of figured them all out last night," I said with a roll of my eyes. Still, I couldn't stop a shivery chill from tracing across my skin when I thought about Josiah and I racing through the woods, the glittering perfection of freshly fallen snow beneath our paws, tongues lolling as we chased each other with tails wagging. It was... otherworldly.

"Well," she said as she reached out and touched my face again. I pushed her hand away and wrinkled my nose, trying my best _not_ to listen to the frantic conversation Josiah was having with his mother in the next room. It didn't sound like it was going well. "I'm glad everything went okay last night, but Sylvia, there are other things we need to discuss. Werewolf politics for one," she began and I raised a hand to cut her off.

"Werewolf... _politics_?" I asked as I opened my eyes and just stared at her. "What do you mean by _politics_?"

There was a long, uncomfortable pause as my mother shuffled her feet and sucked in a deep breath.

"Sylvia, there's more to being a werewolf than just shifting forms. There are rituals, customs..." She swallowed hard and forced the last words out. "... and werewolf hunters to be worried about."

I felt my face pale again as I stared at her, her beautiful face framed against the rows of garland and lights that crawled up the downstairs wall like shiny festive spiderwebs.

"Werewolf... hunters."

Great. Just great.

Not only did I grow claws at the first and only dinner I'd ever had with my boyfriend's parents, but I also had an embarrassing conversation to look forward to with my mom, a Grandmother that thought scented tampons made good presents, and... werewolf hunters. _Hunters._ That so did not sound good.

"Mom..." I started, pausing when Josiah let himself out my room looking sheepish and downtrodden. If he hadn't decided to flash me a sexy little half-smile and a wink, I might've been seriously worried about him. Josiah Wakeham was always bubbly and outgoing and fun. The guy with the slumped shoulders standing in front of me looked like a completely different person.

"I really hate to do this," he started, looking first at my mother and then over at me. "But my mom wants me home like, yesterday." He cringed a little and my heart started to pound as I wondered how bad he was going to get it. What if his parents grounded him or something? There was still an entire week left of holiday break, and I could already feel my body itching to change again. I thought we could spend the next few days tromping through Siempre National Park together—in wolf form, of course.

"If she needs to talk to me, I'd be more than happy to explain the situation—"

"Josiah's fine, aren't you, Josiah?" I asked as I grabbed his arm and started to drag him away from my mother and her blue and white striped Christmas pajamas. The last thing either of us needed was our parents meeting. Not yet. The awfulness of that scenario was hard to even fathom at this point. "I'm gonna walk him out," I whispered as I checked the coast for Grandma Virginia.

I could still hear her yelling at the boys in the kitchen, but I knew that wouldn't last long. Even if all she was doing was complaining, Virginia didn't like to spend much time with her grandkids. The only thing worse than that in her opinion was drawing on the walls with lamb's blood and trying to summon the devil.

Once I got Josiah safely parked on the porch, we both paused to stare at each other.

His brown eyes were warm, his sexy mussy hair tucked safely back beneath his beanie as he put his hands in his front pockets and looked over at me. I tried not to meet his gaze, but I couldn't help myself. After last night... everything seemed so raw and passionate between us. _Raw and passionate? What am I, a romance novelist?_ Gross. I cringed just _thinking_ of all those bare chested muscle heads on my father's books. Yeah, you heard me. My _dad_ liked to read romance. Totally embarrassing, huh?

"I feel guilty running out after your first time," Josiah started as I clamped my hands over my thankfully very human ears and shook my head. "Like one of those a-hole guys that my sister dates."

"It was _your_ first time, too," I reminded him and he smiled.

"Yeah, I know, but _you're_ not the one that's running away," Josiah told me as he reached out and ruffled my white beanie, tugging playfully at the black flower on the top. "I don't know what it is, but it's like... like I can _feel_ you when I close my eyes."

" _Ahhh,_ " I moaned as I shoved him back a few steps with my hands on his chest, the drip-drip-drip of melting snow surrounding us. Icicles hung menacingly from the eaves of the porch. "Don't talk like that. Go home and see if your mom's planning on killing or just maiming you." I paused and groaned, putting a hand to my face. "She probably _really_ does hate me now, huh?"

"I spun that whole _brother-breaking-his-arm_ story into something tearful. We _might_ be okay. I mean, as long as she doesn't find out about the whole werewolf thing." A pause as he glanced up thoughtfully and bit at the sensual curve of his lower lip. "Or the whole _sex_ thing."

"Okay, that's _it._ Good- _bye,_ Josiah. I'm going back inside." I started to turn away when he reached out and grabbed my arm, pulling me back to him for a long, lingering kiss that was so hot and spicy I'm pretty sure the snow started to melt faster. His gloved hands grasped my upper arms in a gentle grip as our lips slanted together, tongues gently exploring each other's mouths.

When he pulled away, I was breathless and panting.

"I'll text you as soon as I can," he said, taking a few steps back and starting down the stairs backwards.

"You're going to slip on the ice and break your head open," I told him, crossing my arms over my chest as he smiled and touched his hands to his lips, pretending to blow a hundred kisses my way.

"Catch you later, my wolfy _mate,_ " he said with a warm chuckle, spinning and starting down the walkway with the hideous black lump of a scarf I knitted him flapping in the wind.

# _"In a few days, the whole world will fall to the undead. It's inevitable."_

#

**Description**

I'm being chased by the DeadBorn and everything's gone chaotic.

Just last night I was playing baseball in the park. Now, hordes of undead swarm the streets, roused by a magic that's raging out of control, drawing the lifeless from their graves and luring demons from a different world. And they're all after the one person that I care about most: my girlfriend, Holly. She's being chased by a necromancer who won't stop until she finds her. Not even if it means bathing the world in a wash of blood.

The DeadBorn are almost impossible to kill. A simple head shot won't do the trick. We have to break them into pieces, smash them until they're nothing. And those are just the lopers. There are other DeadBorn, too, ones with fire in their faces, some that spew acid, and then there are the ones that can take down helicopters.

We'd already be dead if it weren't for Holly's dreams. She says she knows what to do, and I think we're just going to have to trust her because there's no time for anything else. We can't run; we can't even hide.

The necromancer knows where we are, and the legion is coming.

## **Prologue**  
_Outbreak_

_Ten Minutes Before_

_They say the passage of time heals all wounds._

But not mine. Never mine. My wounds are the type that fester, that ooze, that grow necrotic. I have tried to forget, tried to let time heal me with callous fingers. It hasn't worked. Not one bit. That little part of me, that infected, pulsing, aching wound has now burst, showering my soul with despair and I think I've lost it. I think I've lost my heart.

I press my fingers to the cold earth as rain crashes down around me, like bullets peppering the soil with divots.

" _I have to get it back," I say to cold marble, to stone that can't reply. Not like she could if she were here. The absence of her warmth has left this wound inside of me, but I know I can heal it if I try. I brought her heart back before, turned white fingers pink and glassy eyes full. I did it before and I can do it again._

I close my eyes and I search for that wounded part, grab hold of it and wrap it around me. I take my fervor and my love and my desperation and I push that down into the earth until I feel the echo of a response. I take shallow breaths. I have never tried anything quite so big as this. When has there ever been the chance? They locked me away before I could ever try, when I was just a girl, a sad, lonely miserable girl and they took the one thing away from me that meant everything.

" _Everything," I whisper as I hear footsteps pounding towards me. My captors have found me, chased me down like a dog with nets and shots full of chemicals that cloud my brain and block my gift. "She means everything."_

Earth explodes, the dead rise, and the living scream.

## **Chapter One**  
_Vino_

_Ten Hours Before..._

I'm lying on my bed with my headphones on, wishing my mother would send her book club friends away. They always pull at my hair, kiss my cheeks, and run their fucking nails over my forearms. They also haven't read a book in years.

"Galen!" My mother's voice cuts through my music, and I pull out an earbud. She wants me to come downstairs and visit, eat cupcakes that the women bake to get me to hang around. But their eyes rove too much, cut too deep into me. Their husbands never touch them anymore, so I can understand in a way, but it still disturbs me. I ignore her and pull out my phone to call Holly. Holly. I smile and in my head I can see her swollen lips and the way her mussy hair sticks to them when the wind blows.

"I'm watching that video you made for class," she says by way of answer. Holly's strange like that. "It's so fucking incredible, Galen. I can't stop watching it." She pauses and I hear an intake of breath.

"Galen!" My mother's voice is buzzing closer, like a swarm of bees.

"Can I come over?" I ask suddenly, wanting to see her. I can hear her nodding, face brushing against the speaker on her ancient phone. Then she hangs up. I smile wider and sit up, stretching. I fetch my shirt from where I've thrown it over my desk chair, sniff it and decide it's clean enough. I also pack a pair of jeans, a sweatshirt, some deodorant. I'll be spending the night, always do. Holly's mom likes me better than wine. I wish I could say that was true for the woman knocking on my door.

"Galen!" I ignore her and open my desk drawer. I don't want Holly to think I'm expecting something from her, but I want to be prepared, just in case. I take a handful of condoms and stuff them in my backpack. I grab my baseball bat in case we go to the park and face off against Holly's rivals, the girls who think they'll beat her out for any potential scholarships. Holly wants to go pro and she knows the competition is tough. "Galen!"

I open my window and climb out so that I'm standing on the roof, facing the highway and the flow of traffic. I inch my way over to the balcony that comes off of the guest room and hop over the railing. There's a set of wooden stairs here that leads down to the backyard. I take them two at a time and pull my bike from the mess of blackberry bushes that have taken over the better part of my father's flower beds. When he died, my mother let them have the yard, claiming she'd never set foot in it again. She was telling the truth.

We don't have a shed or a garage, so I spend fifteen minutes cleaning spiders and thorny branches from the spokes. By the time I set off, the sun is dipping into the horizon and I'm already yawning.

The ride to Holly's is a long one. I have to cross three bridges and two highways. It takes me an hour, but when I finally arrive, dinner is on the table and Holly's father has a new comic book to show me. He collects them, whether they're worth something or not.

"Look at this," he says to me as soon as I walk in the front door. I left my bike on the porch and just went in. I never knock. "Batman, number 150. Came out in 1962. The guy at the yard sale wanted a quarter for it." I'm nodding, but all I can see is Holly coming down the stairs in a purple dress that swishes around her ankles when she moves. Seeing Holly in a dress is like winning the lottery – it could happen, but it isn't likely. I smile and take her in, absorb that image, sure that it's one of the rarest sights I'll ever see.

"Dad," she admonishes in that tone that's both loving and scolding. He either ignores her or doesn't hear her and keeps talking.

"So I says to him, so I says," he pauses and taps at the plastic wrap with his fingers. "I says to him, 'It says right here on the front that it's twelve cents,' and the man looks down, and do you know what he says?" I shake my head and wave at Mrs. Arget who's just emerging from the kitchen. "He says, 'You know, you're right.' And he sells it to me for a dime. A _dime_ ," he emphasizes. "And it's worth at least twenty bucks, I'll betcha." Mr. Arget shakes his head and ruffles my hair. "You're a good boy, Galen," he says and starts off towards his office.

"You're eating at the dinner table with everybody else," Mrs. Arget calls after him, giving me a raised eyebrow. "Ever since you set that game up on his laptop, he sits in there twenty-four/seven and plays." I grimace but smile. Holly's already wrapping her arms around my waist and laying her head against my chest. Mrs. Arget doesn't say a word.

"Homemade pasta," Holly says by way of greeting. "Dad made it; Mom made the sauce." She pulls back and grins up at me. "I made the salad. You – " She pokes me in the chest. "You wash the dishes." I'm already laughing, bending down and kissing her on the lips. _This is so much better than Mom and her book club,_ I think as Holly takes my hand and sits us down to eat.

_Eight Hours and Twenty Minutes Before..._

After dinner, we go upstairs and make out for awhile before Holly declares herself "hot" and gets up to open the window. The summer breeze tickles my nostrils with the scent of flowers and even at this late hour, we can hear lawn mowers buzzing.

"Your video is fucking incredible," she tells me and my heart skips a beat. "I think you should enter it into a contest or something." I sigh and look around for my shirt. Holly took it off of me and threw it, and now it's gone.

"I don't want to enter it into a contest," I say and rest my hands under my chin. The shirt has disappeared into the mess that is Holly's bedroom. It's a sea of candy wrappers and dirty laundry. Her parents don't force her to clean it like mine does. "I made it for you," I say, trying to lift the irritation in her face by softening my words. I roll to my side and watch her start the movie over again. "I only turned it in for class because I spent all my time working on it and forgot the other one." This makes Holly smile as she turns to face me.

Then the crack of wood cuts through the room and she is at the window, dirty blonde hair swirling around her pale face. Her lips are dry and cracked, always blistered because she refuses to wear lip balm and spends all day in the sun. She nibbles them fiercely and spins to face me, pale eyes flaming.

"The Garcia sisters are outside," she says and even though it's getting dark, we both spring into action, pulling on socks and shoes, gathering balls, gloves, bats. I have to borrow one of Holly's shirts since I can't find mine. It's black with a bowl of strawberries on it. _Eat Fresh, Live Fresh, Stay Fresh._ It's a shirt she got at the farmer's market, but Holly likes it because she says it sounds like a tampon ad. Holly doesn't change clothes and looks ridiculously beautiful with her dirty white socks and ratty tennis shoes underneath all the satin of that pretty dress.

"Let's kick some serious ass," she says to me, slapping me a high five. We always lose to the Garcia sisters, but it's never Holly's fault; it's mine.

_Six Hours and Thirty-Seven Minutes Before..._

Holly and I crawl back to the house after the cops show up and tell us the park is closed. Holly is disappointed, but I'm not: we were in the bottom of the fifth inning and the score was 6-2, Garcia Sisters. I didn't score a single run.

Her parents intercept us in the hallway and treat us to homemade sponge cake with fresh strawberries. There isn't much to say so the four us sit in silence and eat before Holly and I retreat up to her bedroom.

We start an action film that neither of us can get into because we're both so nervous about what may or may not happen between us. I tell Holly I've got condoms and she blushes; Holly never blushes. I blush, too, but I get them anyway so she can look at them. It isn't like we haven't had sex before, but when we did, it was at Holly's grandmother's house in a guest room. There were people everywhere and we had to be quiet. Also, we didn't use a condom. Holly tells me I'm lucky she didn't get pregnant since it would've ruined her baseball career.

We have sex and it's better than before but still not great. Holly tells me we'll get there.

We fall asleep and a few hours later, I wake to find hell crouching on my doorstep.

# _"The fate of an entire people rests on my shoulders. I am heir to a dying throne, daughter of a dead city. I have made hard choices to get this far "_

#

**Description**

_The Feed is upon me and my destiny is laid out before me like a map. There are no detours, no hidden whirlpools that descend into the unknown. Everything I do must be carefully planned or else my choices could come crashing down around me. To change the hearts of my people, I must find the courage to surpass their expectations, to defy tradition and forge my own destiny.

This is it, my last chance at redemption._  
***  
The Huntswomen, sirens of the sea, have one real purpose in life: on their sixteenth birthdays, they must travel ashore and find a human male, mate with him, and consume his flesh. Only then can they return to the sea and become the last bastion against the violet ocean, warriors for their weaker brethren, the fishtailed merighean.

Natalie is the heir to the throne of the last merighean city still standing, but there's something about the Feed that doesn't sit right with her. When she meets Seth, the man with the strange tattoos, she knows that she must forge her own destiny, even if it means breaking the rules and risking her mother's wrath. Because sometimes, to choose your own path, you must make hard choices.

## **Prologue**

They came out of the quiet sea in small numbers and wicked intentions. Their eyes glowed dark and their lips twisted darker; they crawled from the sea foam in a primordial mass that writhed and spasmed. Like lizards they slithered through the sand and came for the men. The women watched them come and were disgusted, but the men, the men loved them as if they were goddesses born from the ocean's gelid waters.

They were paramours and cannibals both, consuming, taking, destroying. They broke spirits and souls; families crashed to the floor like glass and were never again whole.

They came to steal seed, life, came to bleed flesh.

They came to feed.

## **Chapter One**

I live in a world that doesn't understand me.

I've been raised with a life already planned and a destiny chosen. But what if I want to make my own destiny? What if I want something different than everyone else? What does that make me?

These questions have no answer as far as I know. But then, it's not as if I can ask them to anyone. If I even uttered a breath of dissent, my mother would come down on me like a hurricane, sweep me in the air and throw me against the rocks at the edge of the sea. I would never recover.

I take a lungful of air into my chest and dive, swirling below eddies and fish that sparkle like diamonds. I shouldn't be out here, I know, not before my birthday, but I had to look.

What I saw did not boost my confidence.

The humans were not as I had been told. They were not the pale, spineless creatures of myth with sharpened spears and nets of iron and steel. I saw children with chubby legs and appendages on their feet that _wiggled._ I smile. So strange but beautiful. I liked them.

My hair billows around my face as I pause, wiping it away with turquoise nails.

Yuri and Ira are coming.

Their muscular tails flash like silver, winding them between rocks and through crevices that would take me the better part of an hour. I'm in trouble. I'm not supposed to here. If my mother finds out...

"Natalie?" Yuri is asking a question. He asks a lot of them. Yuri is the type of person who would span both land and sea if he were able. He loves to learn. "What are you doing?"

Ira is already scowling. I can't stand his face, can hardly call him a friend.

"She's spying," he says; a leer is apparent now. I turn away and kick my legs. Water billows around his horrible sneer and makes him sneeze. Bubbles flutter around my feet and tickle. "She can't control the bloodlust any longer, and her skin burns for the touch of a human man." I ignore him and wait for the waves to subside. Yuri is looking at me curiously.

"I wanted to see if the texts were true." Yuri is nodding; his eyes are sparkling from the sunlight streaming down from above. It's weird to see him in this light. I'm used to the cool whispers from the caverns and the _sispa_ , the glowing shells that line the walls of the city.

"Were they?" he asks, his face upturned to the light like the kelp that clings to the rocks around us.

"Why are you asking?" Ira throws back at him, raising his brows and brushing hair from his face. It's so dark, so crimson, it looks like blood. It makes me sick. "We should go and look for ourselves."

And then his tail is knocking me back and sending me tumbling. I throw my arms out to the side, still myself. I'm treading water, but my heart is pounding.

"Yuri?" I ask, wanting him to stop Ira. Ira is a male. He isn't allowed to watch the humans. It's expressly forbidden. If I am caught, I will receive a light punishment. My status as heir keeps me afloat when others would sink; Ira would be killed.

In Yuri's eyes I see the desire for truth. He wants to know for himself.

"Don't," I say. Yuri looks away and doesn't move. His feelings for me will keep him below the waves which means I will have to go after Ira. The fool is already bobbing at the surface, tail flickering, scales coruscating like the metal coins I collect.

I turn, weightless, nothing but air and scales under the water. It is so different from land, so much freer. I kick my feet, my legs bunching, pushing water behind me as my arms help me navigate whorls and currents. I'm only half- _merighean_ so I'm not as efficient, but I'm certainly stronger. I grasp the edge of a rock and use it like a ladder, the sea pushing my bottom as my shoulders drag me upwards.

When my head breaks the surface, I gasp. There are people coming this way in a boat. It growls through the water with speed, the device that powers it rumbling and gobbling water, spewing foam. The wakes it creates are bobbing Ira and I like buoys.

"Down below the surface," I say, but his eyes are open so wide, peeled back from his face and already starting to dry out. He wasn't made for this world. "I said now." I put authority in my voice. This rouses him briefly. He knows that in this moment, I am not his friend. I am his future queen.

Ira ducks beneath the water and is gone in a flash of silver and crimson. He wheels through crevices and past rocks like an eel, twisting and whirling through the currents as fear takes over him. He wanted to see, but he wasn't ready. None of them are.

I stay a moment longer and breathe air into my lungs. I can absorb oxygen through the slits in my neck, but real air is so much sweeter. Then I dive, before the boat and the people inside it see me. That would not do. Not yet. Not until the Feed.

When I get back to where Yuri is waiting, Ira is already gone.

"He was spooked," Yuri says and brushes blonde from his face. It's getting tangled in some kelp so I reach forward and help him unknot it. It isn't fair that the males have to wear their hair free and long just because the women like it. I touch his cheeks with my nails.

"You two should not have come here," I breathe and little bubbles drift between us like stars. I can feel my body aching for something foreign, something that I have never experienced. Unlike the other Huntswomen, I have restrained myself.

"I saw you leaving, and I knew," he says. His face is melancholy, and I know why. The Feed is coming too soon for either of us. But he wants me after. I know that. I just don't know if I want him. "I tried to come alone, but Ira followed. I'm sorry." Yuri shakes his head, and my hand floats away from him.

"It's okay," I say, trying to assure us both but not about Ira, about what's coming. Yuri nods but he doesn't believe me. I don't blame him. I don't believe myself either.

When we get back to the city, Yuri disappears in search of Ira and I find myself surrounded by a group of my fellow Huntswomen.

"Where were you?" they whisper, their breath tickling my face with tiny bubbles. I shrug and they shiver as one, like a school of angelfish, bright and colorful. Mindless. They're giggling now, kicking their feet and doing pinwheels, trying to entice some of the males that are swimming nearby, their tails slapping the water in invitation. I ignore them all and allow myself to sink to the ocean floor. There's a gasp as I do this though I do it everyday. The _merighean_ don't like it when I walk with my legs. It reminds them that we're not the same, that we're different and we'll always be different. That the Huntswomen are to be feared. After their initial fear passes, however, they poke fun at me and say that I look like a crab. They make scuttling motions with their fingers that I ignore as I step inside the antechamber to my mother's palace.

The walls are open to the sea, as they are in most of our structures; the rib bones of an ancient sea dragon surround me on all sides, curving up through the dark waters like the branches of trees that I've spotted on the mainland. _We used to be great,_ my mother always says when she gazes up at them. _We had cities throughout the world, civilizations that could've ground the humans to dust, but our passiveness was our downfall and so we must remain strong._

I take a deep breath and start forward. If she sees me walking, I'll be punished, but I do it anyway because I like the feeling of solidness beneath my feet. The earth grounds me in a way the sea never can; it's so tumultuous. I sigh and bubbles burst from my mouth, spiral up towards the faded light of the sun. It seems so far away though I was there only hours ago. It's a different world above the sea, to be certain.

"Is everything alright?" my sister asks from behind me. I know it's her because she swims crooked, making odd gurgling noises that no one else does. Half of her tail fin is missing, taken by a shark in her earlier days. I turn around and smile at her. She's the only one besides Yuri who treats me like a person and not a Huntswoman. She is also blind so I answer her quickly so that she's able to hear my smile. Not many treat Yanori with the respect she deserves.

"I'm nervous about the Feed," I blurt before thinking to check around us for eavesdroppers.

"We are alone," she replies in that confident way that I admire so much. I rely too much on sight, she often tells me. "But we won't be for long. Let's go." Her tail flickers to the left, trying to compensate for what's missing. I bend down, push through the strong currents of the water and use the power in my thighs to launch myself after her.

We swim up and through the ancient bones, picked clean long ago, decorated now with the colorful shells of sea snails and the crusty lumps of barnacles.

Yanori guides me expertly through the city and sometimes she forgets that even with her disability that she is faster and more slippery than I am. There are times where I'm forced to grab the edges of houses, use bits of kelp and rock to propel myself forward, to follow after her. She takes me to an underground cave that's so dark she has to double back and steal a _sispa_ from the outer wall of the farthest house so that I can see.

"There," she says as we swim to the bottom of the cave. It is more like a burrow, I realize. A vestige of something from the past. This is a place where the giant worm, Muoru, had once lived. It's been a long time since we've had such creatures in our ranks. I touch the smooth walls reverently. Even sea creatures do not dare to come here. Only the _merighean_ would be so foolish as to disturb such an ancient site. My sister is so brave and foolhardy; she would've made an excellent Huntswoman. I sigh. But she is not. That is my job. I was born to my mother and a human man after her foray on land. Yanori is my _merighean_ father's child, just a mer, with no legs to carry her ashore. "Now you can tell me what it is that's bothering you."

"I saw some humans today," I tell her, confident that she won't betray me. She never has before. She doesn't even gasp at this, just floats there with her arms out, brushing the sides of the burrow.

"You can feel the power here, can't you?" she asks, surprising me. Yanori does this a lot; she starts off on something that doesn't seem related and ties it back to the conversation. I love her for it. She teaches me more than any instructor. "It's so old, so powerful, so perfect. In here, we are one with the sea and the earth; they're interchangeable, Natalie. Only once we realize that, will we be whole again."

I float down to the bottom of the cave which is sandy and warmed by the underground vents that heat the city and spew boiling water and bits of hardened rock into the sea around us. Yanori doesn't mind me doing things like this. She often tells me to embrace my differences as she does hers. I reach forward and take her tail in my hands. She allows this and leans her back against the wall so I can pick algae from her scales.

"When the Huntswomen go to Feed, they are taking the earth's power within them and delivering it to the sea." I sigh and start to protest, but Yanori continues. She's on a path now and can't be swayed. This will end in something profound, I am sure, so I close my lips and continue cleaning. She doesn't do this as often as she should and now her pink tail is half green. She says it is because she cannot see the algae, but I believe that to be a lie. I think some part of her likes it there. Yanori often gets lonely. "But it has to be a back and forth trade. Something from the sea must be given to the earth, do you understand?" I nod, but I'm not sure I do. She can't see me, but she senses the motion in the disturbance of the water and continues. "When we have a queen that sits the throne, that realizes this, then we will be great again." She looks down at me with her cloudy eyes, her pale hair twisting around her face like kelp. "Muoru will wake up and the sea dragons will come back." I nod again and release her, but this time, I know I don't believe her.

The creatures of myth are dead and dead things don't come back to life.

# _"I wanted to kiss his face off. And I didn't even know him."_

#

**Description**

I'm a girl. I met a boy. Why can't it stay that simple?

Here, in this town, summer doesn't just mean tiny bikinis and sunglasses, white toothed grins and lounging at the beach. It means pain. And loss. And false promises.

It means liars pretending to be saints, friends pretending to be enemies, rivals pretending to be lovers.

For me, it means being crushed. The Crush, actually. The one they all want simply because they were told to. It means being surrounded by beautiful faces and gorgeous bodies, sweet words and sizzling kisses.

It means being wanted and despised.

My name is Chloe Summer, and I'm afraid that if I'm not careful, this summer could be my last.

## Chapter One

I struggled for air, gasped for breath. My hands reached up and found nothing, clawed at the sky and the sunshine looking for something to hold onto. _I knew I shouldn't have listened to Heidi,_ was the only thought that played through my head. My life didn't flash before my eyes nor did images of angels or heavenly light. I was just, kind of, sort of pissed off.

My lips were pressed tight, pursed maybe, so no water was getting in. My irritation at my friend was actually helping to save my life. _She knows, knows, knows I can't swim. Calls me a freak because I never get in the water. Well, what now, Heidi? I'm in the damn water._

I kicked my legs, glad that two weeks of doing nothing but sitting in the sun hadn't diminished the muscles in my calves and thighs. I could feel the power there, built up from years of obsessive sportsmanship, and, I'll admit, some serious afternoon trips to the gym.

Bubbles surrounded me, kissing my skin, tasting the sun drenched heat I'd spent the whole day absorbing and now, in this foamy frenzy, had lost to the cold, clammy arms of the sea. My brain kept telling me that I'd break through at any moment, that my lungs would fill with that beautiful So Cal air and I'd end up laughing this moment away lying on a beach towel next to my best friend.

Yeah. Not so much.

Long before I ever broke that wild surface tension, before I ever hit the wash of white foam above, my lungs started to burn and ache, two flaming ovals in my chest, choking, squeezing so tight I felt like they were about to burst.

I squeezed my lips tighter, refusing to let that water in, letting my stubbornness be my strength as I fought and kick and flailed about in the wide open blue, in that beautiful slice of eternity that my friends worshipped like a god. But me, I hated the water. I hated it and I refused to do anything but shower in it, drink it, and look at it. Period.

Until today, that is.

I don't know what had come over me, but when Heidi asked if I wanted to take a dip, I said okay. I said okay even though I knew, somehow, that this would happen to me. _You know I couldn't swim, but you invited me in anyway. Why the heck would you do something like that?_ In my head, I imagined Heidi smiling at me with her too pink lips, crooking a finger and beckoning me into the waves with her head tilted to the side. She didn't just encourage me, she practically baited me to get me in the water. _Maybe a sexy lifeguard will rescue me?_ This stupid thought was one of the last that was able to escape before it happened, before my lips exploded outward like a bomb had burst inside my throat. Water rushed into the cavernous vacuum where my lungs had been, sliding into me, cutting me with cold and salt. I tried to scream then, but I couldn't because the ocean had found its grip in me and was holding tight. And she would never let go. Not willingly.

It felt like I was being buried alive, that the water above me was dirt and the shifting currents around me, my tomb. My frantic flailing shifted to violent twitching and seizing as my limbs refused to obey my commands and started to dig, desperate for life, punching and kicking with a fervor that I'm not even sure my heart or mind shared. It's not like I had a bad life, really. It's not that at all. It's just... I had a boring life. I did what I wanted when I wanted, but there was nothing exciting about it, nothing foreign, nothing unusual. It wasn't until that moment, exactly thirteen seconds before I passed out, that I realized it.

Then I saw a hand. No, two hands. Moving quick, coming straight towards me. I saw black fingernails and flashes of brightly colored tattoos. Isn't it strange how tragic moments bring out all the little details in life? How, years later, you can look back on the worst days of your life and remember the weather or the food you ate or the socks you wore, but not the sequence of events that led up to the tragedy, or the things you said, what you did?

I would always remember those fingernails, those tattoos. A pair of angel wings around the wrist and a word, dripped across pale skin in red and black. I couldn't read it, but I saw it, and I saw the body attached to the arms, too. Watched the flutter of black hair around a determined face, the wide eyes, the green irises, the dark lashes.

One of the hands grasped mine, pulled me forward, while the other slid around my waist and lifted me, shocking me through the cold with white, hot heat. So as I passed out, I burned and found myself lit up from within. Even as the water crowded my lungs and the blackness took over, I found the strength for one, last thought.

Who the heck is this guy?

There was a mouth on my mouth.

A hot mouth.

A sexy mouth.

A mouth that I absolutely, one hundred percent did not want to let go of. Only I did. And then I rolled over and threw up, mostly salt water but with a little bit of virgin daiquiri and some nachos mixed in. _Damn it._

"Should I call an ambulance?" This from Heidi. I knew because I could hear the hint of British accent she tried so hard to hide. I didn't understand that, actually thought her voice was prettiest when she just let go and stopped trying to imitate the women on TV.

"Um, yeah," the voice closest to me snapped. I didn't know who he was, but he sounded pissed. "Your friend nearly drowned. That might be a good idea." Strong hands gripped my shoulders and seared me with warmth, surpassing even the heat from the sun above. I'd have traded a whole summer of sunbathing for just a moment in the arms of whoever this was that was touching me. _Wow._

My eyes flickered over to the left and found a pair of pale knees pressed into the sand, dripping wet swim trunks, a firm belly.

The hands pulled me back into a sitting position so that I was resting on my haunches, vision blurring as I tried to take in the small crowd around me and figure out what was going on.

I almost died.

"No," I coughed out as I glanced up and found Heidi with her phone in hand, long nails tracing a number on the screen. She paused and looked down at me, round mouth open and tongue resting on her front teeth, a sign that she was conflicted. It made her a really, really bad liar. "I'm fine. Don't call an ambulance. Really." I paused again to choke some more and suck in another breath. It was painful and blissful both at the same time, like sore muscles after a hard workout. It felt great, but _damn_ it hurt like hell.

I glanced back over at the dude with the amazing hands.

He had just pulled them back, almost reluctantly, drawing them off my shoulders and leaving me shivering, despite the warmth from above.

"Are you sure you're alright?" he asked, voice soft, swollen lower lip dripping with moisture. I watched with fascination as a single drop swelled there on the edge and then rolled off, landing in the sand near his knees. He leaned forward and cocked his head to the side, dark hair slapping against his neck as he gazed at me with bright, green eyes. God, they were intense, like two bits of emerald stuck right there in his head, gleaming, reflecting back the sunshine like cat eyes.

I wanted to kiss his face off.

And I didn't even know him.

I swallowed hard and licked my lips unconsciously. Also unconsciously, I think, he did the same. We smiled at each other.

"Maybe I should drive you to the hospital, just in case. You might want to get checked out." Already I was shaking my head. I coughed again and held a hand over my stomach. Throwing up in public once was bad enough, but twice? Not going to happen. Not even after a near drowning.

"I can drive her," Heidi blurted, oblivious to the tension between me and Mr. Black Fingernails. His eyes flicked up to her once and then landed right back on my face. He licked his lips again.

I wanted to raise my hand to my face and press the rough swirls of my fingerprints to my mouth, feel the spot where his had been pressed only moments before. Yeah, so I'm assuming it was CPR he was after and not a first kiss, but it felt like one.

"Do you want to try standing?" he asked as I let my eyes trace the straight line of his nose, the swell of his cheeks, his strong jaw, all the way down until I landed back on those tattoos. The angel wings reflected the white light of the sun back up at me like fresh ink, slick and shiny. _Beautiful._ That's how I knew I'd never seen the guy before. I would've remembered those wings. I almost blurted out something silly like, _you're my guardian angel, aren't you?_ , but managed to stop myself just in time.

I nodded.

Mr. Black Fingernails adjusted his leg, so he was balanced on one knee and one foot, and reached out to grab me under the arm.

"If you feel dizzy, just let me know," he said as he helped hoist me up. To be honest, I didn't even really need the help, but I liked the feel of his fingers on my skin, that delicious, comforting warmth that I didn't understand for the life of me. I had never, ever, felt anything like that before.

"Thank you," I said, noticing that he lingered there for quite awhile before pulling his hands away. Once again, my eyes got locked on his green ones and couldn't pull away, staying there even after the crowd started to dissipate and Heidi began to huff and sigh not at all surreptitiously. _Can't she see something is happening here? To me. Right now._ "What's your name?" I blurted before I could stop myself. Finally, I tore my gaze from his and looked down at the sand between our feet. Where mine were tiny, his were huge, but not all hairy and Hobbit-like. They were nice. He had nice feet. Oh, and his toenails were painted black, too.

"Casper," he said, and I almost chuckled. Instead, I stayed very focused on the purple paint that adorned my own toes. "Like the friendly ghost," he added, sounding amused. My smile whipped straight up into a grin, and I glanced over at him through a fall of stringy, sopping, brunette strands.

"You said it, not me," I whispered through my teeth. Behind me, Heidi adjusted herself and planted a hand on her hip. I didn't even have to give him my name. My best friend took care of that for me.

"'ello? Chloe? You sure you need to go to the hospital? You look alright to me." The sudden reappearance of Heidi's accent was enough to steal my attention away from Casper. But only for a second. My friend glared back at me with turquoise eyes and raised her right eyebrow. That was my cue to back out of whatever it was that I was doing and have a talk. I looked back at Casper who was emptying his swim trunk pockets and depositing a carton of soggy cigarettes and a soaking wet iPod into the sand at his feet. _Oh crap._ I slapped my hands over my open mouth.

"Shit," I gasped as I wrinkled my nose and watched him untangle a pair of trashed earbuds. "I'm so sorry. I promise I'll buy you some new stuff." Casper smiled a crooked smile and shook his head.

"No worries. You didn't ask to get caught in a riptide." He shrugged, shoulders nice and loose. Here was a guy who was relaxed, who was such the opposite of the type I'd been hanging around lately that I was practically drooling. The only thing the guys at my school cared about were SAT scores and college admission essays. Even sports and girls took a backseat to getting into the most prestigious schools the country had to offer. The people around here were not poor, exactly, but not wealthy either. Smack dab middle class basically. And when it came to college, that was the hardest place to be: not many grants or financial aid to be had, but not much money saved up either. It was a catch-22: you're not _poor_ enough and you're not _rich_ enough. So yeah, all of the studying and the scrambling made sense, but it also made for a lot of stressed out, overbearing, worry worts.

I bit my lip hard, trying to pull my thoughts together. Casper was... well, okay, he was _ripped_ and gorgeous and probably a little weird, but the thing that really caught my attention was his attitude. He seemed pretty chill, unassuming. I liked that. Well, other than the pseudo glares he was tossing Heidi's way every time she sighed. It was pretty obvious that the two of them were not fans of one another.

"But I'm sure you didn't count on having to rescue a sixteen year old with absolutely zero swimming abilities either. I don't think I can help with the cigarettes, but I can get you a new iPod."

"It's okay, really. I had my eye on the next gen stuff anyway." As he said this, he dug out yet another item – a soaking wet iPhone – and tossed it into the pile. _Damn. Not exactly the best first impression._ I couldn't help but notice that he cringed at that one. "I'm just glad you're safe." As he said this, he lifted his bright green eyes back to me and looked straight through me, like he could see and hear everything that was going on in my head in that moment, absorb me through a simple, unwavering gaze. I was the one that looked away first.

"I don't mean to rush you or anything, but we have that... event to get to, remember?"

"Event?" I asked, still focused on Casper, wanting to know where he was from, how old he was, if he was new in town. Whatever Heidi might've thought, I was not leaving that beach until I got his number. Or he had mine, at least.

"Oh for Christ's sake, Chloe. Bloody hell." Heidi turned away and started off down the beach, blonde hair swaying back and forth like she was in a modern remake of _Baywatch._ I watched as heads turned and eyes caught on her teeny-weeny bikini with the little pink hearts, the one that rode right up her butt crack. Funny thing was, she liked it that way.

I turned back to Casper.

The sun was already drying out his dark hair and the breeze was teasing it with soft fingers, sweeping it down over his brow and fanning it around his ears in razored wisps. I caught a glimpse of silver plugs in his lower lobes and smiled.

"There is no event," I told him, tilting my head back and glancing up at the blue, blue sky and the white clouds, the yellow shimmer of brightness that said that summer was in full swing. Two weeks in and things hadn't really gotten started yet, but they would. Soon enough. I was both dreading and looking forward to it. I dropped my chin back down and leveled my gaze.

"I figured as much," he said with another smile, a goofier one this time. "Your friend and I didn't exactly connect in those few, brief seconds before I jumped in the water." He shrugged again and sucked in a massive lungful of heated, salty air. "She was worried about you, so that's good. She just... "

"Panicked? Yep. That would be Heidi. She gets into these states where she just... " I paused and shook my head. He didn't want to hear Heidi's life story, and I'm sure neither of us was missing the growing awkwardness between us. "So, I guess I owe you my life." I tried to smile when I said this. Something about Casper made me nervous, but in a good way. Like, I wanted to be at my absolute best when I was around him. Considering I'd known him for about five minutes, that was pretty impressive. _I think I'm getting a crush,_ I thought with an inner squeal. It had been awhile since I'd met anyone this interesting – or at least I thought so. I might _never_ have met anyone like this. The images on Casper's swim trunks? Zombie kittens. Zombie. Kittens. See what I mean? So I did what I always do and decided to stay true to character. Be bold. Be outspoken. Be loud. It gets you heard, and that's the first step in any battle. Wallowing in forced silence was my, and will always be my, worst nightmare.

I took a deep breath and reached down to adjust the crooked triangle on my bikini.

"Look, I'm going to be honest right now. I think you're really... interesting." Casper smiled wide and ran his tongue over his full lips to wet them. Already, the sun had dried us both out. "Do you want my number?"

"I'd love it," he said, reaching out and taking my wrist between his fingers. As soon as his black fingernails brushed the pale skin of my underarm, I shivered. "And since you don't really have an event tonight, how would you feel about a movie or something?" He grinned. "And I'm going to be honest, too. This would be a first date." He let my arm drop and my whole body went cold. His, too, I think because I saw goose bumps springing up across his pale skin.

"I could lie and tell you that I'll go because you saved my life, that I owe you one. But I'm not going to do that. I'm just going to admit that I'm excited. And intrigued." I paused. "I like your fingernails." Casper laughed and looked like he was going to say something, but then he paused and glanced over his shoulder. Standing at the edge of the parking lot was a girl with raven hair and eyes like glass, pale and clear and admittedly, a little creepy. When Casper turned back my way, he wasn't smiling anymore. I watched his personality shift from one extreme to the other. A little crinkle popped up right between his eyebrows.

"Do you know where that old drive-in theater is? The one with the big goose on the sign out front?" I nodded. I knew that place like the back of my hand. It was where all the real action started. When they played the first movie of the season there, that's when things got weird. I'd been wrapped up in other drama lately, mainly stuff with Heidi and her new boyfriend, so I hadn't had a chance to look yet. But I could guess. "Tonight they're opening up for the summer. I don't remember the name of the movie, but I thought it might be fun to go." Casper tried to smile, but it slid off his face as quick as it had come. "Do you want to meet there at eight?"

"I'll be there at seven thirty," I told him, which was true. I had some things to work out. I had to let everyone, including Heidi, know that I was not in this year, that I was sitting this one out. I would not play their games and get wrapped up in their horrors. They'd swept me up thrice before, but I was putting a stop to it. They couldn't force me to join in.

Or could they?

## KEEP UP WITH ALL THE FUN ... AND EARN SOME FREE BOOKS!

**JOIN THE C.M. STUNICH NEWSLETTER**  – Get three free books just for signing up <http://eepurl.com/DEsEf>  
**TWEET ME ON TWITTER, BABE**  – Come sing the social media song with me <https://twitter.com/CMStunich>  
**LISTEN TO MY BOOK PLAYLISTS**  – Share your fave music with me and I'll give you my playlists (I'm super active on here!) <https://open.spotify.com/user/CMStunich>  
**FRIEND ME ON FACEBOOK**  – Okay, I'm actually at the 5,000 friend limit, but if you click the "follow" button on my profile page, you'll see way more of my killer posts <https://facebook.com/cmstunich>  
**CHECK OUT THE NEW SITE**  – TBA (under construction) but it looks kick-a$$ so far, right? You'll be able to order signed books here very soon <http://www.cmstunich.com>  
**READ VIOLET BLAZE**  – Read the books from my hot as hellfire pen name, Violet Blaze <http://www.violetblazebooks.com>  
**SUBSCRIBE TO MY RSS FEED**  – Press that little orange button in the corner and copy that RSS feed so you can get all the latest updates <http://www.cmstunich.com/blog> **  
****PINTEREST**  – Lots of hot half-naked men. Oh, and half-naked men. Plus, tattooed guys holding babies (who are half-naked) <http://pinterest.com/cmstunich>  
**INSTAGRAM**  – Cute cat pictures. And half-naked guys. Yep, that again. <http://instagram.com/cmstunich>  **GRAB A SMOKIN' HOT READ**  – Check out my books, grab one or two or five. Fall in love over and over again. Satisfaction guaranteed, baby.   
**  
**

P.S. I heart the f*ck out of you! Thanks for reading! I love your faces.  
<3 C.M. Stunich aka Violet Blaze

About the Author

C.M. Stunich is a self-admitted bibliophile with a love for exotic teas and a whole host of characters who live full time inside the strange, swirling vortex of her thoughts. Some folks might call this crazy, but Caitlin Morgan doesn't mind - especially considering she has to write biographies in the third person. Oh, and half the host of characters in her head are searing hot bad boys with dirty mouths and skillful hands (among other things). If being crazy means hanging out with them everyday, C.M. has decided to have herself committed.

She hates tapioca pudding, loves to binge on cheesy horror movies, and is a slave to many cats. When she's not vacuuming fur off of her couch, C.M. can be found with her nose buried in a book or her eyes glued to a computer screen. She's the author of over thirty novels - romance, new adult, fantasy, and young adult included. Please, come and join her inside her crazy. There's a heck of a lot to do there.

Oh, and Caitlin loves to chat (incessantly), so feel free to e-mail her, send her a Facebook message, or put up smoke signals. She's already looking forward to it.

Table of Contents

  * Table of Contents
  * Front Matter
  * Title Page
  * Copyright
  * Dedication
  * Author's Note
  * Chapter 1
  * Chapter 2
  * Chapter 3
  * Chapter 4
  * Chapter 5
  * Chapter 6
  * Chapter 7
  * Chapter 8
  * A Werewolf New Year's Excerpt
  * DeadBorn Excerpt
  * The Feed Excerpt
  * Crushing Summer Excerpt
  * Keep Up With The Fun
  * More Books By C.M. Stunich
  * About the Author

