Page 4 of Howl for the Gargoyle

"Theo won't ask, but I will," she said, and I tensed. "How are you dealing with the full moon hornies?"

I blinked. "The what?"

"The full moon hornies," Natalie repeated, just as Theo thumped down the stairs.

He ran for the kitchen again, pausing to offer a quick "he's fine" through the open doorway.

"Thanks, babe," Natalie called back, then lowered her voice, leaning toward me with narrowed eyes. "You know, the days leading up to the full moon when the libido gets all spiky."

I knew it was normal—I'd found all the information I could possibly want on it online—but it wasn't something we talked much about in the group, aside from a few innuendos and carefully phrased mentions.

"I… Not great," I admitted, wincing.

Natalie frowned. "Cut me off if you want—I promise I respect boundaries—but I'm going to keep poking for now. You're gorgeous, so I'm sure it's not a lack of opportunity?"

I opened my mouth, closed it again, glanced up at the ceiling, waited for my buddy Emmett to create another distraction, and then decided that if I was going to get this off my chest, Natalie would be the friend to share it with. She was in a specific compartment in my life, a new one, but it was the one best prepared to help.

"I keep…getting too rough," I said slowly, not making eye contact. "I don't mean to, but the second I'm—"

"Invested in the moment," Natalie supplied, polite but blunt.

I shrugged. "Yeah. As soon as I stop thinking and just enjoy it, there's…scratching or biting, or I'm shoving some poor guy around—"

"If he's not into getting tossed around by a beautiful woman, that's on him," Natalie said with a dismissive sniff.

Theo appeared in the doorway, staring blankly at us. "I don't want to be here, do I?"

"No," Natalie and I said at the same time.

He nodded and disappeared again. "Working on the garlic bread now."

"I'm so glad werewolves don't have the garlic thing," Natalie mused before returning her focus to me. "So you're talking about human men, right?"

"Werewolves aren't… I'm not—"

Natalie waved her hand. "Fair enough. I was just thinking… You know, there are so many species, and a lot of them are more durable than humans."

I fell silent again. I knew she was right. I passed plenty of other species on the street every day. There was a ghoul in the garden apartment of my building. I just existed in a social circle made up of…almost entirely humans. I frowned at the realization. Until I'd been bitten, until I'd joined the group therapy circle, I'd really only known humans.

"I might know what you're thinking about now. Until Theo and I met, my social circle was pretty limited. Actually, before my friend Sunny mated an orc, Theo and my social circle was still kinda human and werewolf. It happens," Natalie said. "You just need to know where to hang out. Neighborhoods have some species oriented bars, but there's also places that are kind of free-for-alls."

I cleared my throat, and Natalie paused. "You've given this some thought?"

Natalie laughed, the sound warm. "It's not like I'm regularly worrying about all my friends’ sex lives," she said.

"Lie," Theo shouted from the kitchen, destroying the illusion that this conversation was really private.

"Okay, fine, I occasionally worry about my friends’ sex lives," Natalie huffed. "I'm very nosy."

I fought my smile, but it broke free, and Natalie sagged in her seat. "So what, I go to a bar and I ask people…how durable they are?"

Natalie laughed and shrugged. "Honestly, that's a really good pickup line for some species, I bet. Sure. You do that, or…you hire a professional. My friend worked with the Monster Smash Agency, and she had an amazing experience" —Theo's steps drummed down the hall as he approached— "and said it was super safe and super specific to her needs."

"Just to clarify, those needs were very different," Theo said, staring hard at his wife, eyebrows raised up above the rim of his glasses.

"Go back to the kitchen," Natalie and I said in unison.

Theo sighed and marched away.

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