OK, so clearly she's not going to break Mason of the whole dog thing, after all. Which only goes to show: as much as you think you might, you really can't change a guy.
No, apparently only a full moon can manage that.
Glancing up at it through the swaying treetops of the forest, Alex reflects on what an odd couple days it's been. Yesterday, she was halfway convinced that her boyfriend was a low-down dirty cheater (or possibly an international jewel thief with the feds on his tail). Today, he's a werewolf, using his keen canine sense of smell to track the scent of her brother's vampire girlfriend to the lair of the mummy who's held her captive all these months, from a piece of lovingly preserved dental floss.
And as much as she lives in fear of the day that she loses the wizard competition to Justin, and has to give up magic forever to become a boring old mortal, there's at least a small part of her that's actually looking forward to the quiet. Because, seriously, there's really only so much weirdness that one life can be expected to hold.
Leaning against the tree next to her, Justin follows her gaze to where its branches sway in the evening breeze. "Did you know that Transylvania is literally Latin for 'across the forest'?"
"If that's true, and Mason keeps stopping to pee on every tree he sees, then this is gonna be a really long walk," Alex sighs. Turning her head to the side to peer at the bush her boyfriend disappeared behind, she catches a glimpse of Max gleefully undoing his fly out the corner of her eye.
"Well, when in Romania," he grins,"make Romanade!"
"Hey, knock it off!" Alex snaps, reaching out to smack him upside the head. "We're standing right here!"
"Ow! Watch it! You almost made me whiz all over my church shoes!"
"Oh, for Christ's sake, Max! Gross!" Alex gags, stalking away from the tree as Max lets loose with a steady stream all over its roots. Justin leaps out of the way of the resulting puddle as it starts to creep its way towards him, then jogs after Alex and lays a hand on her shoulder.
"Hey, go easy on Mason, huh?" he says, stopping her in her tracks. "He can't help himself. He's just marking his territory. It's a biological imperative for male werewolves."
"Yeah, I can see that," Alex says, glancing down at the glowing heart pendant hanging from her neck. She smiles. "I guess in my case I should be glad he did it with enchanted jewelry, huh?"
"It is very pretty," says Justin, if a little begrudgingly. "I'm glad he makes you happy, Alex."
"Oh, what's this? Is somebody suddenly onboard Team Mason?" Alex teases, elbowing him in the ribs. "I should have known you'd come around once you found out he was a freak, just like every girl you've ever dated."
"Ha-ha," Justin says flatly, rolling his eyes. "I love how, even when I try to be supportive, you turn it into a dig at me."
"It's a gift," Alex says. She elbows him again, to show she's just playing, before her grin fades a little. "Seriously, though, you knew before I even told you, didn't you?"
He raises his eyebrows in askance. "Knew...?"
"That Mason was a werewolf," Alex explains. "That's why you had such a problem with me dating him, right? I mean, you didn't seem even a little bit surprised when I told you."
"Well, no," Justin says with a shrug. "I've kind of known for few weeks, actually."
"Wait, weeks?" Alex stares at him wide-eyed. "As in multiples of seven days? How the hell—?"
"Uh, hello? Monster Hunter?" Justin says flatly. He hooks his thumbs into his vest and tugs on it emphatically. "My detector practically went apeshit the first time he came by the loft to pick you up. It wasn't hard to figure out why. I do kind of know what to look for."
"But then why didn't you turn him in to the Monster Hunters' Council?" Alex asks, flabbergasted. "Isn't that, like, your job now?"
"I dunno," Justin sighs, reaching up to run his fingers through his hair. "I kept meaning to bring him in, but he's honestly small potatoes compared to tracking down the mummy and getting Juliet back. I figured I'd get around to it, eventually."
"And when the hell were you gonna clue me in?" Alex hisses, struggling to keep her voice down so Mason won't here. "He's my boyfriend, for Christ's sake! I mean, I came thisclose to sleeping with him last week! What if he'd, like, wolfed out in the heat of passion, or whatever? Do you have the kind of money to pay for the ridiculous amounts of therapy I'd need after that?"
Justin frowns deeply, his entire body stiffening. "Wait, you almost slept with Mason?"
"Would have, if he hadn't kept running off at the slightest mention of sunset," Alex says bitterly, then lightly backhands her brother's arm. "Which has had me sick with jealousy, by the way, because I'd convinced myself he was seeing another girl on the side. So there's two whole weeks of mental anguish I have to thank you for..."
"Well, what did you want me to do? Just drop it into casual conversation over dinner? 'Hey Alex, by the way: your new boyfriend? Turns out he's a furry. Pass the butter, please?'"
Alex grimaces at this. "A furry? What the hell is a furry? Is that some kind of Monster Hunter jargon, or something?"
"No, it's—nevermind, you don't even wanna know," Justin says, waving one hand dismissively. "My point is, you really liked him, you guys started getting serious, and I'd gone so long without telling you by that point that I just didn't know how to break the news to you without it...y'know, hurting you."
Justin looks down at his right foot, and begins scuffing it back and forth in the dirt on the forest floor, looking almost embarrassed. And as exasperated as she is, Alex can't help but smile a little at how adorable he is. God, but he can such an absolute doll, sometimes...
"So I figured I'd just keep an eye on him for awhile," Justin continues after a second. "Make sure he wasn't dangerous. Wait to see if he'd do the stand-up guy thing, and tell you himself. Which he did, so..."
Alex narrows her eyes at him as he trails off. "So...you actually put my happiness before your responsibilities as a Monster Hunter?"
"I...guess you could say that, sure," Justin says hesitantly, drawing circles in the dirt with the toe of his boot.
"Oh. Wow," Alex says quietly in response. Because that is so not Justin. At least, not lately.
"Although you could also say," he adds quickly, without looking up, "that maybe part of me was just waiting for him to kiss you, so I could watch you turn into a werewolf yourself, and have to be dunked in that awful goop to turn back." He finally glances up at her through narrowed eyes. "Because you just thought it was so damned funny when it happened to me."
Alex's eyes and mouth form three perfect circles. Oh holy crap, she forgot about that! Arms flailing, she reaches up quickly to feel the tip of her nose, making sure it's not cold and wet, then starts inspecting herself frantically for hair that wasn't there this morning.
"Relax," Justin chuckles. "It doesn't seem to be taking, for some reason...which just burns me up to no end, let me tell you."
Alex lowers her arms and glares at him for a moment, then simply shrugs it off. Because, that's Justin, right there. And hey, it's not like she'd do any different if she were in his shoes. It's kind of how their relationship has always worked, after all. Well, up until recently, anyway.
"Hey listen," she says, as a sudden thought strikes her, "you don't think Mason's one of the monsters that Max conjured up from the manual, do you?"
"I've wondered about that, actually," Justin admits. "There is a listing for werewolves. And, I mean, the timing's right. He did start at Tribeca Prep at about the same time, so..."
"Yeah, I was just thinking that," Alex mutters. "He's not all rampagey like the other ones that came from the book, though..."
"Not yet, he's not," Justin says pointedly. "But just because something hasn't happened is no guarantee that it won't. Sure, Mason seems like a sweet guy now, but werewolves are unpredictable. Impulsive. He's still technically a monster, Alex."
"So is your vampire girlfriend, Justin," Alex retorts, "who Mason is selflessly helping us track down, by the way, after months of you and Max coming up with sweet eff all."
"And I'm grateful, believe me," Justin says solemnly. "But that doesn't mean I'm going to let my guard down."
"What exactly are you guarding against?" Alex asks, rolling her eyes skyward. "God, Justin...Mason loves me, OK? He's not going to hurt me. I trust him, and I barely trust anybody. Why can't you?"
The way Justin smiles at her looks odd and unfamiliar in the moonlight and shifting shadows of the rustling leaves above. He reaches his hand towards her slightly, as though he intends to lay it on her arm or her shoulder, or something...but instead, he hesitates, and drops it back down to his side.
"Look, just call it big brother's prerogative," he says, his voice sounding strangely tight and throaty. "You know that no guy is ever going to be good enough for you in my eyes, right?"
Oh. Well, there's something she never expected to hear him say.
And though it's not exactly what she's secretly been longing to hear for as long as she can remember—even if she won't admit it to herself—and though it comes weeks too late, it still causes tears to spring to her eyes, and lump to appear in her throat.
"Justin," she says, "I—"
"Sorry about that!" Mason cuts her off as he comes bounding up to them, taking Alex's hand in hers. "Took me awhile, but all these back here are done. Now we can...er..."
He breaks off with a frown, and starts to sniff the air in front of him, leaning towards the tree they were just standing against.
"Er, sorry...but has Max just piddled on that one over there?" he asks.
Justin and Alex exchange glances, then sigh and nod sadly.
"Oh, well..." Mason says uncomfortably. "Then I'm afraid I'll have to, uh...that is...if you lot wouldn't mind just moving off over there towards that castle for a moment...? I think that's where the trail's leading us, in any case..."
"We understand," Justin says, taking Alex by the wrist and gently leading her away. "Take your time."
"Yeah," Alex smiles over her shoulder. "But, y'know, hurry OK?"
Mason grins at her gratefully, then bounds around to the the other side of the tree trunk, bending forward and wrinkling his nose as he sniffs at the spot Max peed on. Alex gets the distinct impression that if he had a tail, it would be wagging furiously right now. Then it occurs to her that, for all she knows, he might have a tail, after all.
"Ugh," Alex says, hopefully quietly enough that Mason doesn't hear. As Justin pulls her towards the castle, she glances down at the hand Mason was holding, and makes a face as she wipes it off on the leaves of a passing bush.
"OK, note to self: start carrying wet-naps," she says, shaking her hand off. "Clearly there's a few things about dating a werewolf that are gonna take some getting used to."
"Oh trust me, little sister, you don't know the half of it," Justin sighs, dropping her arm as they reach the castle's drawbridge, then bites his bottom lip as he crosses his arms over his chest. "So, uh, listen...did you really almost sleep with Mason?"
Alex's head comes up as she gapes at him in surprise.
"Uh...yeah, no," she says, flushing slightly as she looks away and shakes her head. "We're not talking about that."
"But does that mean you two have done, um, everything but?" Justin asks, his voice raising an octave.
"Dude, seriously. So not having this conversation with you. Not now, not ever."
"Hey, you were the one who brought it up! I just wanna know—"
"Fine," Alex cuts him off. "You first, then: how far have you gone with Juliet?"
Justin's mouth closes abruptly with a click of his teeth. His eyes dart away, across the forest, as he reaches up to scratch the side of his neck furiously, without saying a word.
"Exactly," Alex glares at him, the reflection of her enchanted pendant lending her eyes a sinister red glow. "Not. Talking. About it. No hablar de ello. Comprende?"
"Agh, you're mixing Spanish with Italian again," Justin groans, as though it were unforgivable, scrubbing his eyes tiredly with both hands.
"Yeah well, that's just how I roll," Alex snaps. "Deal with it."
"What's up, guys?" Max asks as joins them on the drawbridge, zipping up his fly in the process. He looks from his brother to his sister and back, taking in the awkward tension hanging in the air between them. "Oh sorry, did I just interrupt another one of your weird slap-slap-kiss things? Because I can go water another tree if you wanna take a minute to finish yelling at each other and hug it out, or whatever..."
"Stay put," Justin growls. "It's late enough as it is. The last thing we need is for you and Mason to get into a literal pissing match."
"Woah, hold the phone...is that, like, really a werewolf sport?" Max asks excitedly. "Because, even without knowing what it is, I would so totally buy season tickets for that. Do you think Mason will take me?"
"Shut up, Max," Alex and Justin say in the same breath, without looking at each other.