Page 23 of The Witch & the Wolf

I can’t leave him to do this alone, she thought with a sinking feeling. But I will need to be careful not to get myself into a difficult position.

Her stomach churned uneasily, and she hoped she wasn’t choosing wrong.

Arlo met her in the dining hall for breakfast of mushrooms, toast, fried eggs, sausages, and beans, which seemed to be appropriately greasy food for a small group of students who looked incredibly hungover from whatever activities they’d been up to last night.

They ate in silence, occasionally stealing glances at each other, prompting a flood of pleasant memories to arise. Once or twice, their knees bumped, and Arlo’s hand also sidled across the table to gently hold hers.

Even that soft, gentle touch was enough for Holly’s spine to prickle. Oh, this man… her mother would flip if she suspected her daughter might be attracted to a necromancer.

She sent her mother a quick mental note: Hope you’re doing okay, and hopefully, things are good at home.

Then tried to enjoy Arlo’s company and his smile, which made the corners of his eyes crinkle as he looked at her with obvious affection. She could practically see the hearts floating around them.

“Don’t tell anyone I said this,” Arlo whispered, “but you might be one of the best kissers I’ve kissed recently.”

“Kissed a lot of girls recently, have you?” she asked, eyebrows arching.

Arlo grunted. “I wish.” Then he looked alarmed. “I mean, I don’t wish, uh.” He paused. “I’ll shut up now.”

She giggled, waving him off. “It’s okay; I know what you mean.”

Though that was oddly… cute.

She didn’t think he would appreciate her using the word “cute” to describe him, so she kept it to herself. Now that they’d made love, the change in energy between them was unbelievable. There was less wondering, less trying to suppress any burgeoning feelings to preserve their friendship and a lot more close-body contact. Plus, there were the butterflies. So many of them, filling her stomach and lungs and words. Her legs also felt tremulous and weak, as if standing up might be one of the most challenging things she’d need to do today.

If only that were the most challenging thing she needed to do today.

Should she tell him about the vision? Or would that only make him worry? If she mentioned it, he might insist on her not coming. It might devolve into an argument.

With those thoughts, she settled in the end by keeping it close to her chest and hoping, once more, that no terrible mistake was in the making.

The morning went by too fast. They stole a kiss in the gardens. Well, quite a few kisses whenever they were sure no one was watching. Once more, they speculated about the statue and whether or not it might be a student, and they fed a curious squirrel that darted near them, black tail rippling behind it like a banner. Dreadmor’s squirrel population was, of course, black.

With noon approaching, they took the scenic walk toward the village once more, chattering away, trying not to think of dead things and ghosts.

“Hopefully, we’ll have enough time to go to the cinema today. See what old movie is playing,” Arlo enthused, “since you wanted to go, right?”

“Yeah, of course,” Holly agreed, but she was distracted. “So, I just thought of this, Arlo, but with your like, werewolf transformation thing, does that only happen when the moon is full? Or can you transform whenever?”

“We can’t control it during the three days the moon is at its fullest. We transform, whether we like it or not – so some take medication to suppress it, and some don’t take anything. I take a certain medicine that lets me retain the werewolf form and my human mind.”

“Aren’t the ones who don’t take anything dangerous to be around?”

“They go to a special room, like a dungeon with chains. They voluntarily lock themselves in. Some of the really rich ones have walled enclosures to run in. And some of the psychopathic ones just will run free, and it’s too bad for anyone they run into. There’s a mountain range near Archon Academy where they strongly discourage students from going during the full moon because there are some wilder tribes of werewolves that run free.”

Holly took this all in with an open mouth. “Are all werewolves like you, too? They walk on two legs?”

“Most. Some tribes might be on four legs. Oh, as for your other question earlier – a fair amount of us can transform without the full moon, but we do this by choice and only if we’re strong enough to be able to force the change.”

“Are you strong enough?”

He smiled. “Yes.” Something flickered behind his eyes, and she shivered. It felt like there was something more primal lurking there – something she might never understand. She wanted to barrage him with more questions, but her phone vibrated continuously, along with the lilting piano melody she recognized as her mom’s ringtone.

“Oh, that’s… Mom…” she took out her phone. Her mom was demanding a video call. She clicked, plastering on a big smile and waving. “Hi, Mom! How’re you?”

“Amazing,” her mother said, smiling a little too widely. “I have consulted the cards, daughter,” she said, in the voice she liked to use for her customers, “and I would like to know the young man the cards seem to be telling me about.”

“Oh…”

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