Page 18 of Wolf's Forbidden Curse

“I’m a sleepwalker,” I explained. “Or rather, I used to be. I thought I had kicked the habit once I reached adulthood, but apparently not. It used to happen all the time when I was a kid. I would leave my room, sometimes even walk right out of the house, and my parents would wake up to find my bed empty. I saw a bunch of doctors for it, and we were eventually able to solve the issue, but now I guess the problem has returned.”

The story came so easily because it was something from my childhood. It just hadn’t exactly happened to me.

“So—you were sleepwalking this whole time?”

I nodded. “Yes. I must’ve laid down for a little nap while I was on my break, but then dropped into a really deep sleep and walked out of here. Again, I’m so sorry about this. I had no clue it was going to happen, otherwise I would’ve warned you that it was a possibility. I will be better about locking my doors and setting alarms so that it never happens again. Cross my heart.”

Al sighed. “I’m sorry if I overreacted. I didn’t even think people could sleepwalk for that long. Or that they could—like, open doors and go downstairs while they were asleep.”

“It’s pretty freaky, I know.”

“Well, I’m so glad I didn’t call the police.”

“Me too.” Like, really glad.

“Do you need to take a day off or go see a doctor or something?”

“No, it’s not a big deal. Now that I know it might happen again, I’ll keep better tabs on it. I have ways of managing it.” She went to the door and opened it for him. “Thanks for checking on me. It means a lot. I’ll try not to worry you so much in the future.”

He laughed as he stepped outside. “That would be great, thanks.”

“I’ll see you at work tonight, okay?”

He nodded. “Okay, but if you decide you would like the day off in the end, just say the word.”

“Don’t count on it.” I smiled. “I’ll be there.”

I shut the door behind him, and once I was alone in my own quiet space, the panic from earlier set in once more.

“Okay,” I said under my breath. “Now it’s time to go talk to that psychic guy and find out what the fuck really happened to me last night.”

The sun wasn’t even up yet, but I didn’t care. This guy knew that something was going to happen to me the night of the full moon, and I needed answers immediately. I banged on the door to his little shop until finally, after what felt like forever, he drew the piece of fabric back and looked out at me with narrowed eyes.

“I need to talk to you,” I said. “Right now.”

“I knew you were going to return,” he said as he opened the door. “I just didn’t know it would be at the crack of dawn.” He stepped aside to let me in and flipped the light switch on the wall. “Go ahead and sit down. I’ll put some coffee on.”

“No time for coffee. Tell me what you really saw in my palm yesterday and what it had to do with the full moon.”

He looked at me with utter annoyance. “I don’t understand why you’re asking me these questions when it’s clear from your state that you found out exactly what I saw.”

“What happened?” I asked again.

“You tell me. Did you turn into the beast or what?”

So it was real.

I flashed back to the moment I looked in the bathroom mirror. The sharp teeth and elongated snout. The yellow eyes that were still somehow vaguely mine.

I gulped. “How?” I croaked, my body beginning to shake with fear. “How is this even possible? What is happening to me?”

He smiled sympathetically. Or maybe it was pity. Either way, it didn’t make me feel much better. How could anyone be smiling at a time like this?

“Sit,” he said again, motioning to the table and chairs. “I’ll be back in a second, and then we’ll figure this all out together.”

As much as I hated him for stalling when I felt like my world was falling down around me, I knew I didn’t have much of a choice but to do as he said. He was the only person who could help me uncover the truth, and if I was being perfectly honest, a cup of hot coffee did sound pretty good right about then. I took a seat in the same chair as yesterday, and he returned a few minutes later with mugs full of what smelled like flavored pod coffee. He put one down in front of me and sat.

“The full moon turned you,” he said in such a casual tone that I almost started laughing. This all felt like one big joke.

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