The Werewolf Meets His Match

“That sounds ominous.”

“Do you own a tux?”

He frowned. “Do I look like a guy who owns a tux?”

“Then you need to get over to Corette’s and get one.” She tapped a finger on her chin. “Hmm. Charlie might need one, too.”

“What’s a tux?” Charlie asked.

“A monkey suit,” Hank answered.

“I’m not wearing one of those,” Charlie said.

“Hank.” Ivy narrowed her eyes.

Hank nudged Charlie with his elbow. “Hey, if I have to, you have to. Besides, your mom wants us to look nice. Plus, we can be monkeys together.”

“Can I have a badge like yours?” Charlie asked.

“I can arrange that.” Hank pushed the stopper back on the mug and took a sip of coffee. The kid was all right.

“Fine, I’ll wear one. But I probably won’t like it.” Charlie went back to eating his eggs.

Ivy laughed and shook her head. “Why do I feel like you two are forming some kind of alliance against me?”

Hank swallowed. “We’re wearing the suits, aren’t we?”

“Thankfully. Do you really have to go right now?”

He looked at his watch. He could skip checking in on Bridget one morning. “I could stay another fifteen minutes if you need me.”

“I do. I haven’t had a chance to get a shower. Can you hang out with him until I’m done?”

“Sure.” He’d wanted to talk to Charlie alone anyway.

“Great. I’ll be fast.” She put down the dish towel she was holding and ran upstairs.

When he heard the water start running, he turned to Charlie. “You know your mom and I are getting married today.”

The little boy nodded. “I know.”

“What do you think about it?”

“I think it’s good.”

“I’m glad you approve. That’s important to me.” He hesitated, not exactly sure how to phrase his next question. The last thing he wanted was to upset Charlie. “Can I ask you some questions about the night you were supposed to turn?”

Charlie frowned. “I guess.”

“I just want to know what happened. How you felt.”

“I didn’t turn, you know.”

“I know. How did that make you feel?”

Charlie put his fork down and stared at his plate. “I felt bad. And scared.”

“Because you couldn’t turn? Or something else?”

He shrugged and went quiet for a long second. “I asked Grandpa what to do, and he said no one in his family needed directions.” His little shoulders rounded. “Then everybody else but Mom turned into wolves, and they were really big and all around me, and Grandpa’s wolf growled at me.”

Poor kid. Hank stayed quiet and let him talk.

“Mom picked me up, but Grandpa turned back into himself again and told me to stop being a baby and just shift.” Charlie sniffed. “I couldn’t. I didn’t know how.”

Being able to shift wasn’t really something that could be taught. It just happened. But Hank was starting to question Charlie’s inability to shift. Getting growled at by his grandfather couldn’t have been a very encouraging environment. “Do you ever feel different as the full moon approaches?”

Charlie looked up at him. “I dunno.”

Hank took another sip of his coffee. “The full moon makes me want to run around. I feel like I have extra energy.”

Charlie nodded. “Yeah, I feel like that sometimes. Like…now a little bit.”

“You want to run around now?”

He lifted one shoulder. “Kinda.”

“You want to play a little game with me?”

He perked up. “Okay. What is it?”

“Follow me.” Hank put the coffee and sandwich down then jogged up the stairs.

Charlie raced alongside, following Hank into the room that held his gym equipment. Time to see if Hank could get a clue about what was going on with Charlie.

“I’ll do something, then you do it.” Hank grabbed the chin-up bar and knocked out five pull-ups, counting them out as he did, then dropped to the floor. “Your turn.”

“No fair.” Charlie crossed his arms, a mini-version of Ivy. “I can’t reach it.”

“That’s okay, I’ll lift you up.”

Charlie stuck his hands up, ready to be lifted. Hank picked him up, and the little boy grabbed hold of the bars.

“I’m letting go.”

“Okay.”

Hank took his hands off Charlie, and the kid did five without blinking an eye. “Wow. Good job, Charlie. Can you do more?”

Grinning broadly, Charlie did another five reps.

Hank smiled. The kid definitely had the strength of a shifter. “You won that one. Do you want me to lift you down?”

“No.” Charlie glanced at the floor but didn’t let go.

“It’s not far,” Hank said. “You can do it.”

“I know.” Charlie took a breath and dropped, landing lightly on his feet.

Hank stuck his fist out. “Nicely done, kiddo.”

Charlie bumped his little fist against Hank’s. “Now what?”

“We’ll play the rest of the game this afternoon.”

“What game is that?” Ivy walked in, towel-drying her hair and wearing jeans and a T-shirt.

“It’s guy stuff.” Hank winked at her.