My answer makes Ryland huff. “I am no poodle,” he states, but holds his hand out for me and I grab it. Thaddeus and Orion follow behind us. We walk out back, and I sit on the step. Ryland starts removing his clothes and dumps them on my lap.
“Does it hurt?” I ask as he stretches, wearing nothing but his briefs.
He shakes his head. “Not anymore; used to, but now I can shift fast. It doesn’t hurt, just a strange sensation.”
“Do you have to worry about fleas?” I ask, curious exactly how much like a dog werewolves are. Orion laughs and snorts at my question. “What? I actually want to know,” I tell him.
“No, Evelyn, I don’t get fleas,” Ryland states dryly.
“What about…”
“Do you want to watch me shift or ask a million questions?” he asks, cutting me off.
“Both,” I state. The silly grin on my face fades as a breeze picks up and makes me shiver. Thaddeus grabs me, pulling me onto his lap and wrapping his arms around me, trying to keep me warm from the breeze. It is chilly here tonight. Kind of odd, considering it is usually warm even at night.
I watch as Ryland crouches on the ground and then, the sound of bones snapping and moving fills the air around us. For some reason, I can’t watch anymore so I clench my eyes shut. The sound alone is horrendous. When I hear no more snapping, I open my eyes and see a black wolf, but his fur looks blue under the moonlight. I jump out of Thaddeus’ lap and walk over to him to run my fingers through his fur. He rubs himself against me like a cat, making me laugh and nearly knocking me over. Even in this form, he is nearly bigger than me.
“So, the whole tale about werewolves and the moon is a load of shit?” I ask, looking at Thaddeus. He shakes his head. “But it’s not a full moon?” I tell him and look up at the sky to make sure I’m not mistaken.
“No, but full moons make werewolves stronger; they harness the moon’s energy, making them faster and a little crazed if they’re not careful.”
“What about you? You’re part werewolf, right? Can you shift?” I ask him, raising an eyebrow.
Ryland takes off and heads for the trees. I walk back and sit on the step between Thaddeus’ legs.
“I can, but a little differently than Ryland; for one, I remain on two feet, not four, and I get fur, but my face doesn’t really change, and I also don’t like shifting. I prefer this form,” he explains.
“Why?”
“I don’t know, I just never liked shifting. I have more vampire DNA than Lycan, so it feels a little unnatural, if that makes sense.”
After a few minutes of silence, Thaddeus gets up and walks back inside. Orion and I follow him; no one knows if Ryland will be back anytime soon or if he wants us to wait for him outside.
“When will he be back?” I ask, yawning. To be honest, it is getting pretty late, and I want to go to bed soon.
“Probably not till morning. Come, you should sleep,” Orion says, following Thaddeus upstairs.
Sleep comes easily. Driving has really taken a toll on me; I am exhausted. When I wake up the next morning, I dash to the bathroom because I need to pee. Only when I do, I freeze. No, no, no. Why are women cursed with periods, and how awkward is it, being in a house full of men and vampires?
Washing my hands, I duck out, looking for my handbag only to find one measly pad. I grab it and duck back into the bathroom. Now, I need to get more. What a topic to bring up in this house. The idea of bringing this up horrifies me.
“Evelyn, are you okay in there?” Orion asks when he notices I don’t leave the bathroom. Shit, I’m too embarrassed. I wonder if they can already tell what’s up with me?
“Ah, yeah,” I call out.
“That doesn’t sound like a good ‘yeah’,” Orion retorts.
My face is flaming red. “Could you, um…” God, I have never had to ask someone to go to the store for me. This is humiliating, and I usually keep a good track of these sorts of things, but being here with them, I forgot about the monthlies.
As I open the door, I see Orion standing there with a concerned look.
“What’s wrong?” he asks, and I know he can feel my embarrassment through the bond.
“I… ah, need feminine products,” I tell him looking anywhere but at him.
“Ah, yeah, we don’t have those here.”
“Well, duh, I need to go to the store,” I tell him. Orion scratches the back of his neck, and I can tell he is a little uncomfortable with this topic.
“I might be best off going. It’s over three hours by car, just tell me what you need, and I will go get them,” he offers.
“Pads and tampons?” I tell him, wondering how he doesn’t know. Like, he is as old as dirt, so surely, he has been around women. But now, he is making this more awkward than it needs to be.
“Okay, I will go get those. Need anything else?” I shake my head at his question, more than ready to be done and over with the exchange.
My eyes follow him as Orion grabs his jacket and walks downstairs. I follow him and at the right moment, Thaddeus walks out of the kitchen with a glass of juice.
“Where are you going?” he asks, looking toward Orion, who is putting his shoes on.
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