Page 29 of Wishing for a Werewolf (Ferndale Falls Forever #2)

Rune

The other children at the pumpkin carving competition told the pups all about the costumed fun of Halloween, so the next morning, their mother and I hear nothing but endless whining complaints about wanting to go, too.

I give up and use my human phone to call Autumn. “We have a situation.”

“What is it?”

Instead of answering directly, I step into the living room and hold out the phone so it can pick up Astrid’s constant refrain of “I want to trick or treat!” and Agnar’s “Me too! Me too!”

Pressing it to the side of my head, I retreat to the relative calm of the kitchen. “Did you hear that?”

She chuckles. “I couldn’t miss it.”

“I’m not prepared for a costumed excursion,” I growl. “Can we buy something today?”

“Everything’s going to be seriously picked over, but I have an idea,” she says. “I’ll call you back.”

I pace the kitchen, circling the island in agitated laps. I’ve heard the humans talking about Halloween, but they all know what it means, so there were never any details. It wasn’t until yesterday evening that I even realized there was a costume component.

Not having the right materials to let my niece and nephew experience one of the most important human customs feels like a failure on my part. I despise failing.

We’ve been making good progress with the pups, but Riselda will have to go back to her pack responsibilities in Faerie soon, and I want to give them the full Halloween experience before their visit ends.

My phone buzzes, and I answer.

“Good news,” Autumn says. “I’ve got costumes for all of you.”

Relief loosens my muscles. “Thank you.”

“I’ll come over at six and we can go trick or treating together if you want.”

“I’d like that.” Spending time with her will be nice.

Fuck me. Spending time with Autumn when she looks like this isn’t nice.

It’s torture. Pure, unadulterated torture.

A red and black corset cinches her waist and pushes her breasts so high they threaten to burst free from the top.

The hem of the skirt skims the top of her thighs, so full the slightest gust of wind threatens to lift it, exposing her sex to anyone’s view.

White hose cover her legs to right above the knee, drawing my eyes repeatedly to the glimpses of freckled skin they leave naked between them and the skirt.

A satiny red cloak hangs from her shoulders, doing nothing to cover her.

“What is this?” I grit out.

“Do you like it?” Autumn does a twirl in my entryway, and that skirt flies up just enough to make me growl.

Like is definitely not the word that comes to mind.

“It’s a costume I had from a few years ago. I’m glad I can still fit into it. It’s Little Red Riding Hood.” She looks at me expectantly, her beautiful green eyes lined with black in a way that makes them even more alluring. Her lips are painted a deep red to match her dress.

The color makes me long to kiss her, to see those red lips wrapped around my cock. I have to lock every muscle in my body rigid to keep from grabbing her and throwing her to the hardwood floor.

“You know, like the story with the big bad wolf? I thought we could do a couple’s theme. You can be the wolf.”

The pups come scampering into the hallway, the upset of the day having made them revert to their wolf forms.

“We get to be wolves for our costumes?”

She leans over to pat their heads hello. “You get to be werewolves, if you can do that.”

“How?” I ask. “The town’s protection spell will make the non-magical humans see us as regular people. That won’t look like a costume.”

“Not for tonight!” She beams at us. “Hannah finally got Severin to agree. The protection spell will be turned off for tonight so that all the fae can pretend to be in costumes. Everyone will see you as a werewolf, and trust me, they’re all going to think you have the best costumes ever!”

“You heard Autumn,” Riselda says from the entrance to the living room. “If you’re werewolves, you get to trick or treat, so shift.”

My sister shifts, and I release my magic and do so as well.

As it tingles through my body, dark fur covers my hands, and all of my senses heighten.

The newly bespelled jeans do exactly what the shadow fae promised they would—as I change into my werewolf form, they form a slit that allows my tail to extend from my back instead of being trapped under fabric.

I let it swish from side to side and glance at Riselda. “This was a great idea. Thank you.”

“Told you.” Her tail gives a playful wag.

Feeling our magic helps the pups find theirs, and they shift into werewolves as well.

When the pups put on the clothes the shadow fae conjured yesterday, Autumn says, “You guys look so good! Everyone’s going to ask how you made your costumes. We need a really good lie to cover it.”

“No lies,” I growl as I open one of Tank’s backdoors so the pups can climb in. “It’s not the cu sith way.”

“Some lies are good.” Autumn purses those bewitching red lips and shoots me a firm glance. “This kind of lie protects you and doesn’t harm anyone.”

“She makes a good point,” my sister says, snapping seatbelts around the pups.

“For the puppies, they can growl and say they’re real werewolves, and that’ll work.” Autumn starts the car. “People will think it’s funny.”

“I am a real werewolf,” Astrid says.

Agnar adds, “Yeah!”

“Exactly.” Autumn nods as she drives toward town. “It’s the adults who need a better answer. You can say a friend who does special effects for television made your costumes.”

We park at the start of Main Street, not far from my office, which I haven’t used much since I spend most of my time patrolling on foot.

Downtown Ferndale Falls is lit as bright as day, and every shop stands beckoning with doors wide open.

Astrid says, “I thought trick or treat was at houses.”

“Houses that have candy,” Agnar adds.

The pups spent all afternoon watching children’s shows about Halloween.

“This is a special Halloween put on by all the new businesses downtown.” Autumn pulls two plastic sacks from her basket, each covered with a bright orange smiling jack-o’-lantern, and holds them out. “And you’re still getting candy.”

They cheer, snatch the bags from her, and run for the first open shop, Riselda hurrying to keep up with them, leaving me to walk beside Autumn.

The wood nymphs inside the Oopsy Daisy flower shop channel their love of sugar and flowers and hand out packs of candied rose petals. One little girl stands transfixed, staring at their flowing, willow-leaf hair and the special flower-petal dresses they’ve donned for the occasion.

When we enter Grounds for Celebration, people gasp and start asking us about our costumes exactly as Autumn predicted. She grins up at me with an I-told-you-so smile. The pups preen and give playful growls, stomping around with lots of loud yells of: “I’m a werewolf!”

Devina wears a brightly colored dress embroidered with metallic gold that wraps around her body. She hands out chocolate candy bars for the children and tiny paper cups filled with chocolate-covered espresso beans for the adults.

“Don’t mind if I do,” Autumn says, popping a couple of the dark-brown treats into her mouth. She offers me one, and I bite through the sweet coating to crunch into the bitter bean within. She giggles when I make a face. “Not your thing?”

“I like the pumpkin spice latte you ordered me far more than this.”

“You like it sweet.” Autumn grins up at me.

I lean over and growl low in her ear, “I like you sweet,” making her turn bright red.

The crowd’s thicker at Cake My Day, and why becomes clear when we finally get inside.

Pepperpot hands out her popular pumpkin sugar cookies, which are as delicious as everything the brownie baker makes.

Autumn snags one and breaks it in two, handing me the larger piece, and the sweet pumpkin treat washes away the last trace of bitter coffee.

Even the dress shop joins the celebration, with the shadow fae who own it offering the children a selection of fruit chews, the bright treats matching their colored Faerie silk dresses, which set off the black shadow wings sprouting from their backs.

“Are you angels?” a little boy asks, making the woman laugh.

“What’s watermelon?” Agnar whisper-yells at Autumn, sniffing at the pink square in his palm. “I don’t think I like it.”

“I love watermelon!” She reaches for it. “I’ll take it if you don’t want it.”

He snatches his hand back. “No, I’ll try it.”

I snort in amusement and lean over to murmur in her ear, “I’ll have to remember that trick.”

Her breath catches, and I can hear her heart speed up.

The sweet and spicy scent of my fire fills the air.

Being so near Autumn yet unable to take her again is torture, especially in that outfit.

All I can think about is the sweet taste of her kisses and the even more alluring taste of her juices coating my tongue.

The pups race ahead of us down the sidewalk to I Touch My Shelf, where Naomi hands out little “I love books” candies shaped like hearts. She wears a black dress and a strange wide-brimmed hat with a canonical crown that ends in a pointy tip, and she has a rustic broom propped against her side.

Autumn chuckles. “Going full witch, I see.”

“It seemed appropriate.” Naomi grins.

On the other side of the green, the orcs set up a table on the sidewalk in front of The Thirsty Tusk, giving away water and non-alcoholic cider.

Thorvinn stands behind it, arms crossed over his wide chest, scowling and growling at the children, who shriek with delight every time he flashes his tusks.

Instead of their leaf clothing, the gnomes at Bling It On wear blue cloth jackets and red cone caps, which have Autumn chuckling and saying something about “yard gnomes.” They offer all the children plastic rings topped with large candy gemstones.

Back outside, the pups hurry to the final shop. Instead of having an open door, the pixies at Slice of Life insist people enter in batches. We arrive right at the last set files out and join the next group going in.

The tables and chairs are gone, and the interior of the restaurant has been turned into a clearing in a nighttime forest, with trees lining the walls of the room.

Branches crisscross the ceiling overhead, shivering in impossible breezes.

The walking tulips scuttle back and forth among the tree trunks, and the rolling pumpkins sit perched on various horizontal branches, turning this way and that so their little faces can look at everyone.

The lights are low, making the pixies the brightest things in the room as they flit about, draped in little white sheets.

“Oh, my god.” Autumn laughs, her voice full of delight. “They’re dressed like tiny ghosts!”

“Whoa,” a little boy says. “The special effects in this place are next level!”

Each glowing ghost comes to hover in front of one person, and a high-pitched voice yells, “Hold out your hands!”

When everyone does, the pixies drop a small waffle cookie onto each person’s palm, then chorus a loud, “BOO!”

Several people let out shrieks, followed by embarrassed laughter.

Then the pixies all fly up to join one another in spiraling over our heads, yelling, “Happy Halloween!”

I lean over to Autumn and growl low in her ear, “This BOO is fine, but I much prefer yours.”

“What?” she yelps and startles, wide eyes finding mine. Even in the low light, I can see her cheeks turn red. She whisper-yells over the murmur of the crowd, “We do not talk about my kind of BOO in public.”

“What’s your kind of BOO?” Astrid asks, sharp little shifter ears perked forward.

“Waffle cookies! Yum. I haven’t had these in ages.” Autumn shoves the entire treat into her mouth, making a production of chewing so she doesn’t have to answer.

I smirk down at her, smelling the alluring scent of her arousal.

The pixies shoo us out of the restaurant so they can bring in one last group of people, and Autumn leads us to the town green. “It’s almost time for the costume contest. Come on!”

The pups race ahead, yipping with excitement.

Riselda matches our pace for a moment instead of hurrying past. “Thank you, brother. This visit has been good for the pups, and when they return home, their stories are going to make everyone in the pack eager to visit you to learn how to live in our shifted forms. You’ve succeeded far beyond anything I could have imagined. ”

Pride fills me at her words, adding to the pleasure of seeing the pups thrive in their werewolf forms, already enjoying what their hands can do. It will only get better once they can access their fae forms as well.

Autumn beams up at me, and the warmth of her approval makes my chest tingle.

I wrap an arm around her and pull her close. “My success is all because of you, my fire.”