She shook her head and went to her father’s cabinet. What if she wasn’t right? What if it was just a trick of the light when clouds had moved in front of the moon?
No, she knew what she’d seen had been real. Besides, she was pretty sure Surlock had changed back when she’d blown the dog whistle. She’d forgotten that humans couldn’t hear the sound. He’d said as much himself. That he’d heard a shrill sound, and then he came to.
They were werewolves and there was no denying it.
She ran her fingers over the titles until she came to the one she wanted. She pulled the case from its slot, then trudged to the DVD player and inserted the disk. After dimming the lights, she took the seat next to Surlock.
The movie began to play. At first nothing seemed to happen. The pace was kind of slow.
“I don’t understand,” Surlock said.
She sighed. “Just wait. There’s a full moon coming up.”
In the next scene the sexy hero of the movie was walking with his girlfriend down a quiet street. The moon was bright, but everything around them was shadowed in mystery.
Suddenly, the man grabbed his head. The girl wore a shocked expression and asked what was happening, but the hero only shook his head. She tried to pull his hands away, but couldn’t. Her eyes were wild now with terror.
Okay, it was a pretty cheesy movie. Darcy would admit to that, and probably not one of the gorier ones, but she would rather break it to Surlock gently that they were monsters.
The hero moved his hands, but instead of the face of the handsome lover, it was the face of a man/wolf. His hands suddenly changed to hairy claws and his teeth grew long and sharp. The girl raised her hands to her mouth and screamed.
Darcy pushed the remote to pause the movie. Surlock didn’t move, only stared at the still frame. Not the best place to stop, but she wanted him to see.
“Are you saying this is what happened to me last night? I became this monster? That’s why I lost time?”
She nodded, tears filling her eyes, then slipping down her face. “We’re werewolves.”
He turned in his seat, grabbing her shoulders. “What happens next in the movie?”
She shook her head. “It doesn’t matter.”
“It matters to me.”
Why had she even told him? What was the saying? Ignorance is bliss? She should’ve just made something up. Then he wouldn’t be looking at her right now with such a dismal expression.
“Darcy, show me the rest of the movie.”
She knew if she didn’t push play, he would figure out the remote, and watch the rest of it anyway. “Okay, okay,” she said when he reached for the remote.
She pushed play and the movie started again. Darcy cringed in her seat. Not because the movie scared her. It was a low-budget film at best. She had no idea why her father had even bought it. No, she was more concerned with the fact that the same plot had played out last night. Surlock had really changed into a werewolf.
Watching the movie was like watching a train about to wreck, and realizing there were people she knew onboard. The boyfriend in the movie raised his arms, then grabbed the girl and took off running with her. It looked like they had exchanged the girl for a mannequin. The girl he carried was just a little too stiff.
A man suddenly stepped in front of the werewolf and raised a gun. He proclaimed to love the woman. The werewolf growled and dropped the young woman.
Did her leg just fall off? The camera swerved away, almost making Darcy’s eyes cross. The new man raised his gun. The werewolf struck a pose that might have passed for fierce, then started toward the new guy. One step at a time. The guy told him to stop or he’d shoot, warning that the bullets were silver.
Of course, the werewolf didn’t stop, and the guy shot him. The werewolf clutched his chest, spun around a few times, then crumpled to the sidewalk.
The girl suddenly regained consciousness and ran screaming to her werewolf, who was now changing back into her one true love. The werewolf/boyfriend gasped out his love with his dying breath, then closed his eyes forever.
The new guy dropped his gun and hurried to the girl. He pulled her into his arms and from what Darcy could gather, the girl now had a new, and improved, boyfriend. Poor werewolf lay on the sidewalk as his blood poured from his body. Darcy stopped it there.
Surlock drew in a ragged breath. “You’re telling me that I was like this monster?”
“I’m sorry.”
Surlock slowly turned his gaze away from the blank screen and looked at Darcy. “You actually saw me turn into this hideous creature?”
She bit her bottom lip. “Sort of,” she replied, unable to say more.
He frowned. “What do you mean, ‘sort of’?”
“Well, you didn’t look quite as fierce and I didn’t actually see ferocious looking teeth or claws.”
He turned in his seat. “What exactly did you see?”
“You grabbed your head. I knew the humming was even worse than usual. When you finally moved your hands from your face, it was like looking into the eyes of a wolf. And there was hair on your arms.” She thought back. “Yes, I’m pretty sure you were hairy.”
“But you’re not positive.”
God, she was so confused. Jennifer had questioned her like the Spanish Inquisition, Surlock was giving her the third degree, and now she wasn’t exactly sure what she had seen.
“I thought I saw you turn into a werewolf. At least, a wolf.” She closed her eyes and thought back. Surlock had had the same eyes as the wolf. But had she seen hair? The grass had been thick and the clouds had drifted in front of the moon so it might have given the impression of hair. She let out a deep breath. “I don’t know, but you screamed at me to run. Then I heard the howl of a wolf.”
“And you thought I had changed into this monster.”
She nodded.
“Yet today, you came looking for me anyway.”
“I had to.”
“Why?”
She jumped from her seat. “Because I care about you.” She twined her fingers together, unable to look him in the eye. She knew he liked her, and making love was pretty fantastic, but she was afraid her liking him was turning into a lot more.
His arms went around her. She leaned back against his chest, drawing comfort from his nearness.
“Do you think we’re monsters?” he asked. “Werewolves that howl at the moon.”
“I don’t know. Everything just seems so jumbled up in my head.”
The door to the media room suddenly opened and Jennifer and Peter walked in.
“Oh, you’re back,” Jennifer said, when she saw Surlock. She looked at the screen. “What were you watching?”
“A movie about werewolves,” Surlock said.
Jennifer snickered. Peter shuffled his feet and looked uncomfortable.
Darcy just wanted to crawl under one of the chairs.
CHAPTER 18
“I forgot to tell you that Darcy thought Surlock was a werewolf,” Jennifer said.
“Jennifer!” Darcy glared at her friend.
Surlock watched as Darcy grew more and more uncomfortable. Her gaze darted around the room as though she was looking for the nearest escape route.
“We’re all friends. It’s no biggie.” Jennifer looked at each of them. “Okay, sorry I spilled the beans, but I still think you were joking.”
“She was,” Surlock said, then squeezed Darcy’s shoulder. “We had an argument last night and I’m afraid I stormed off. I think she was embarrassed to tell you the truth.” He felt Darcy’s sigh of relief.
“I knew it!” Jennifer wore a knowing smile. Then just as suddenly as it appeared, her smile changed to a grimace. “You could’ve told me the truth.”
“You’re right. I’m sorry,” Darcy said, then cleared her throat. “Uh, what are you two doing here?”
“We needed more input. You know, for the party,” Peter explained, eyeing Surlock warily. “Jennifer said she thought Surlock had left for good, and we figured you might be lonely.”
Surlock had a feeling Peter had hoped to pick up where he’d left off the other night at the restaurant. Well, that wouldn’t be happening. After Surlock had talked to Peter in the limousine, Peter had sworn he was only Darcy’s friend.