Birthday Parties Aren't for Werewolves

How a werewolf ends up at a mostly human birthday party on the night of the full moon is beyond me. Yet, here I am, surrounded by normal humans as if tonight wasn't the singular most dangerous night of the month. Admittedly, my friend Tesha is probably to blame, the extrovert. She sits across the table from me, sipping blood from her trendy Stanley tumbler like she hasn't a care in the world. And maybe she doesn't. After all, she isn’t the one liable to sprout fur and claws at a moment’s notice.

This is what happens, I think, when an introvert by nature, werewolf, hangs out with a multi-hundred-year-old vamp who loves parties. I wonder briefly if Tesha knows what tonight is and simply wants a party of a different nature to break out, the kind where other vamps like her would have a blast once the walls are covered in the very thing she’s sipping daintily from her tumbler.

Already, I can feel the moon calling to me, crooning to me like a jilted lover, or a sad boy band frontman. I can feel the tides in the oceans as clearly as the flow of my blood beneath my skin and wonder how the human birthday boy will react if my wolf decides to gobble up the birthday cake, and the other guests too. Tesha flashes me a smile, careful to keep her lips closed over her fangs. I'm moments away from not caring if I keep my more wolfish side hidden, moments away from just letting this turn into a surprise party of the worst sort.

A knock sounds at the door and I can't jump up and volunteer to get it fast enough. Maybe I can sneak out passed the interloper and hightail it to the fire escape before my paws hit the floor. The last thing I need is animal control called to a 6-story building for a rogue wolf, even more so when they discover that said rogue wolf looks suspiciously human through the face and upper body.

From a distance, a werewolf can pass as an ordinary timber wolf. We can run like wolves and howl with the best of them. Up close though, humans tend to notice a few differences that set us apart. Unfortunately for them, those differences are usually only noticeable when they're in striking range.

I yank the door open, intent on blowing right past the newcomer and breezing into the hallway until it sinks in exactly who is standing in front of me. Then I realize exactly how messy things are about to become and I feel bad for the humans in the room, especially for the birthday boy because the likelihood he’ll make it to tomorrow is decreasing, one paranormal at a time.

Hayden, Tesha's vampire brother waits patiently for an invitation into the apartment. He takes up the entire doorframe and there is absolutely no way I'm getting past him to escape into the night. He smirks as if he can tell that I'm becoming increasingly antsy the longer the night goes on. Every single time I near the door or try to make my excuses to leave, he's right there, blocking my way out. I'm beginning to think he hates this human man, who is celebrating what is likely his last birthday. I wonder absently what the young man did to garner the dislike of the city's most elite bloodsucker.

"Hayden!" The man calls over to his newest guest and Hayden goes, a genuine smile on his handsome face.

Hell must have frozen over sometimes in the last 20 minutes. Or something drastic has occurred and I’m dead.

The moon has climbed well into the sky now and I can feel it calling to me as the pull to run becomes stronger. I've really got to get out of here or the room is going to be redecorated with red walls and fur confetti. Not a popular design choice by any stretch of the imagination.

Hayden greets the man warmly and Tesha joins them. With the host and the only other two people in the room that I know occupied, I think I can slip away undetected. I’m out the door and racing down the fire escape; my fangs scrap my lips and if I reach up, fuzzy gray ears will be sticking up through my hair. The door slams open as I crash into it and hit the sidewalk on all fours.

My werewolf form feels natural, comfortable, and strong in a way I never feel as a human. I make a break for the woods that border the apartment on one side, fortunately away from the road. I've never tested myself to see if my werewolf form likes to chase cars and I really don't want to find out now.

I reach the tree line in record time and wonder briefly what excuse Tesha will give for my absence. She has a cruel sense of humor so it probably won't be anything normal. She’ll probably say something like "rabies". Of course, she will.

After a quick, exhilarating run through the forest, I settle myself beneath a tree and sit quietly watching the apartment building as lights begin to flicker out one by one. Another hour or so passes before the door facing the woods opens and out saunters Tesha and Hayden, laughing to themselves. To my shock, they head directly toward me and I stand to meet them head-on.

"There you are," Hayden says surprise and something like relief in his voice, "what are you doing out here?"

I tilt my head and glance up toward the silvery circle hanging in the sky. If a wolf could say "duh" that is exactly what I'd be doing.

"Tesha, what were you thinking, bringing a wolf to dinner during a full moon?" Hayden admonishes his sister, though he almost sounds like he admires her insanity, a sure sign he's lived too long. I make a mental note to tell him so when the moon sets and I once again speak English.

"I made a bet," she says a bit sheepishly and I'm suddenly contemplating how much she'd miss her head if I tore it off. What in the world kind of bet did she make?

"A bet?' even Hayden sounds offended, as he should.

"Mack's been poking around the paranormal world for a few weeks now and somehow he pegged Delilah as a wolf," Tesha chews her lip in a worried manner, "so I bet him that Delilah would come to the party, he bet she wouldn't."

Well, darn. When she put it that way, Tesha was protecting me and now I can't rip off any of her limbs.

Hayden smirks, "Better than the bet I made with him."

Tesha and I glare at him and now I'm sizing him up to see how he'd look if I took a werewolf-sized bite from his side.

"What bet?" Tesha says, her tone indignant. Hello, I'm the one being bet on! I huff out a snort to let them know my displeasure.

"Mack bet Delilah would be out here howling. I bet she'd find any ball that the apartment dogs had lost in the woods."

It takes a few seconds for Tesha to start giggling uncontrollably, nearly falling over in her fit of hysteria. Hayden stands there grinning like a fool while I growl at them both. Throughout it all, I decide Hayden would probably survive if I tore off an arm or two. He apologizes, but it lacks sincerity of any kind and I roll my wolf eyes. The day I receive a true apology from Hayden is the day I know the world is ending.

The sun is barely beginning to brighten the Eastern sky when Hayden and Tesha declare it’s "past their bedtimes". I snort and trail behind the two vampires as we head toward their side-by-side apartments. With the vamps walking ahead of me, I quietly and discreetly kick the yellow tennis ball I found, back into the woods and decide, Hayden doesn’t need his head anymore.