Things were a little uncomfortable for Luz and Amity over the next week. While they certainly enjoyed their night of passion together, they still felt pretty awkward about it, especially Luz. Werewolf breeding season was definitely not something the human witch had thought about during her training, and she felt pretty embarrassed that her family knew about it.

Fortunately though, Camila making her tell them about her love making was as far as it went. After that, her family didn't make any jokes about it and kept their promise to not tell anyone else, something Luz was thankful for. It also helped that the natural remedies her mother supplied did the trick, and helped calm her hormones down significantly. After that, it didn't take long for her to get back into her normal routine and focus on the Halloween festival.

The night of said event arrived before everyone knew it, and they were all really excited to be attending it. The couples of the group had all decided to wear costumes that fit each other thematically to make things more interesting. Luz was in the wolf form she had chosen the previous week, complete with contacts she got from Amazon (where else), and old fashioned clothes Hunter had tailored for her. The grimwalker had also done the same for Amity, who was going to be the damsel in distress. Together, the couple were just like Lon Chaney Jr. and Evelyn Ankers from The Wolfman. Luz also decided to wear the cape Eda had got her from the market just for the heck of it.

For the other couples, Vee and Masha were Medusa and Perseus from Clash of the Titans, Eda and Raine were the Wicked Witch and the Wizard of Oz, and Hunter and Willow were Batman and Poison Ivy. Meanwhile, Camila had dressed as a space cadet (after making Luz and Vee promise not to tell anyone about her web comic series), and Gus was Harry Houdini.

All these various different costumes made for quite the group, perfect for a festival about the spookiest night of the year. They weren't planning on staying the whole time however. Since King couldn't come with them as the event was in the Human Realm, they had promised him that they would carve jack-o-lanterns with him back at the owl house. For now though, they were going to have as much fun as they possibly could.

As they approached the entrance, Luz smiled as she recognized the man sitting at the table and handing out tickets. He was wearing a vampire costume, but still had the familiar long gray hair and glasses.

"Hey, Mr. Sandoval!" The human witch shouted.

The man turned to her, and sure enough it was her old English teacher from high school. His eyes narrowed for a second before widening in what looked like amazement.

"Luz? Is that you?"

"The one and only!"

Mr. Sandoval smiled and got up to hug her, which she promptly returned.

"I almost didn't recognize you!" He said. "Wow, your costume is amazing!"

Luz chuckled and scratched the back of her head. If only he knew. "Thanks, but the rest of my family doesn't look too shabby themselves, wouldn't you say?"

"I would have to agree."

Mr. Sandoval gave Vee, Camila, and Masha all hugs as well as he was just as happy to see them too. He then looked up and gave a warm smile to the rest of the group.

"And who might these people be?"

Luz perked up. "These are friends from out of town. This is Eda, Raine, Willow, Hunter, Gus, and of course Amity."

"Pleased to meet you all." The English teacher said. "Thank you for choosing to come see our festival tonight."

"Luz has been babbling on about this place for the last week." Eda said. "I've been really interested in seeing it. And I gotta say, the aesthetics don't disappoint."

"Oh, then you'll love it once you actually get inside."

"Then let's not waste any more time." Camila said. "I'll pay for the tickets."

Amity frowned. "Mrs. Noceda, you don't have to do that. I have plenty of money to pay for us."

"Oh hush, you. This is my treat. This is gonna be the first of many wedding presents for you."

"Wedding presents?" Mr. Sandoval asked.

Luz blushed and chuckled. "Yeah, I forgot to mention that. Amity and I…umm…we're engaged."

"Engaged?!"
Amity blushed as well and showed the English teacher her ring, who smiled widely and embraced her and Luz in a hug.

"Congratulations! I'm so happy for you, truly! Tell you what, you guys don't have to worry about a thing. Tickets will be on me tonight."

"Oh, Paul." Camila said. "That won't be necessary."

"Please, I insist. It's the least I can do. You guys just enjoy yourselves."

Everyone smiled and nodded.

"Thank you, sir." Hunter said. "We really appreciate it."

"Don't mention it. You guys have fun!"

Luz hopped eagerly before grabbing Amity's hand and dragging her into the festival, the purple haired witch giggling as they did.

Mr. Sandoval smiled at the sight and turned to Camila. "I can tell those two are really happy together."

Camila smiled and nodded while trying not to cry. "Trust me, you don't even know the half of it."

….

The festival must have had a pretty good budget this year, because there were far more attractions and things to do than when the group had come last time. In fact, there were too many things for them to do with the time they had, so they needed to make their choices carefully. Most of the group wanted to go on the haunted hayride first, but Luz and Amity opted to go to the large group of stands instead. They wanted to get something for King, and perhaps pick up something for themselves as well. Vee and Masha decided to tag along with them for the same reasons.

It didn't take long for the group to find a stand that caught their attention. It had all different kinds of books about monsters, horror films, and folklore, and that was like a magnet for them. Luz and King loved reading books, especially involving this kid of stuff, so this was the perfect place for her to get something.

"Good evening!" The woman tending the stand said. "I'm gonna say this now, you two have a great costume theme going on, especially the werewolf."

"Thank you, ma'am!" Luz said. "Give the credit to my fiancé. She did the makeup."

Amity folded her arms and faked a tired sigh. "It took me four hours to apply it. I don't know how she talked me into doing it."

The woman smiled. "Well, I think you did a fantastic job! It's very realistic! I think you have a bright future ahead of you in the makeup department."

"Thank you, ma'am. I really appreciate it."

"Don't mention it. Now, is there anything specific you two are looking for?"

"Not really." Luz said. "But we both love reading, so I have no doubt we'll find something we'll like."

"Oh, you most certainly will. Take your time too. There's no rush."

The group thanked the woman and began looking at the huge selection of books they lay in front of them. They had to admit, many of them were interesting, and it was proving to be hard to choose just one.

At one point, Amity leaned over and whispered into Luz's ear. "How are you doing? Is your curse acting up at all?"

"I'm okay, Mi Amor." The human witch whispered back with a smile. "The only thing I'm struggling with is the delicious scents of all those foods."

Her fiancé giggled. "Then let's get some when we're done here."

She then blushed a little. "What about your…hormones?"

Luz blushed as well. "I mean, they're still there, but my mom's remedies are helping a lot with that."

Amity smiled and nodded. "Good to hear. Just let me know if anything changes."

"You got it."

"Hey guys!" Masha suddenly said. "I think I found something you might like!"

The couple turned to face them.

"What is it?" Amity asked.

They held up the book, and everyone felt goosebumps on their arms, mainly because of the horrific creature that was on the cover. It was a humanoid creature that was black in color, with a muscular build. Its torso and legs were human-like, but it had large leathery wings instead of arms, and it had a round head with no neck. The detail that stood out the most to the group however was its eyes. They were glowing red like two stop lights, and appeared to be staring right into their souls.

"Okay I'll admit, that is creepy." Luz said.

"No kidding." Vee said. "Those eyes are just…ugh. What is that thing?"

Masha pursed their lips and checked to make sure the stand attendant wasn't listening before speaking. "It's not from the Demon Realm then, I take it?"

"Not that I know of." Vee replied. "Seriously though, what is it?"

"This, my awesome girlfriend, is Mothman, the flying phantom of Point Pleasant, West Virginia."

"Mothman?" Luz asked, confused. "But that thing doesn't look anything like a moth."

Masha sighed. "I know. That wouldn't have been my first choice either. That's not the point though. The point is, this book is all about cryptozoology, and I think you guys would love to read about this stuff."

"What's cryptozoology?" Amity asked.

"The study of unknown animals. Basically, creatures whose existence has been suggested, but not scientifically proven. Bigfoot, the Loch Ness Monster, you name it."

Luz's eyes widened slightly. "Are werewolves one of those creatures?"

"You got it." Masha said. "As you know already, there are countless different stories about werewolves from all over the world, and they all have their own different takes on the matter. I'm thinking maybe some of them might prove to be useful in solving your problem."

"That's a good idea!" Vee said. "Digging into human realm folklore is how we found out how to make Luz's medicine. Maybe we'll find a way to help Luz control her curse better!"

"You got it." Masha said. "It won't be easy, since I doubt most people would have wanted to understand lycanthropy to such a degree, but surely there are some legends out there that will have the answers we're looking for."

Luz's face lit up. "Let's take it then! We should get multiple copies too so we all don't have to hover over a single book."

Masha nodded and grabbed three more copies before walking back over to the woman tending the stand.

"I would like to get these books here." They said. "My friends are interested in diving into the world of Cryptozoology."

The woman formed an amused smile and turned to the others. "Is that so? What made you decide you want to learn about that?"

Luz shrugged. "Eh, just a hobby we're interested in picking up."

"I would say it's a good hobby. It's healthy to keep an open mind about things. Many people are so adamant that we know everything about our world, but that's not at all true. There's still plenty of things out there that we don't yet understand."

The human witch smiled innocently and nodded. "Yeah, I agree."

...

Once they had purchased their books, Luz and Amity spent the next couple hours doing as many activities as they could, and the festival had a lot to offer. There was face painting, a screening of Disney's Sleepy Hollow, and even a haunted house maze. The couple were impressed by the maze's aesthetics, but they didn't really find it scary. After all, they were used to dealing with monsters on a regular basis, so this was nothing to them (much to the confusion of the pain actors who tried to scare them).

Eventually though it was time to leave and head back to the owl house. And while everyone was sad to be leaving so soon, they all agreed that they had a great time. Besides, they weren't about to just leave King hanging. He deserved to have fun just as much as them.

"Woah, this is cool!" The demon said when he was given his book. "I didn't know the Human Realm had so many cool monsters in it! And hey, it looks like lycanthropes aren't the only ones to have crossed over from the Demon Realm!"

"Yeah, more than I was expecting to be honest." Luz said. "The Jersey Devil, chupacabras, and thunderbirds all turn out to be from the Demon Realm. Most people don't actually believe they exist though, and just laugh at those who say they've seen them. Same goes for werewolves."

"Pfft, what do they know? They haven't even seen half of the things we've seen. I'll bet if they saw the Demon Realm, their heads would explode."

"You got that right. In fact, that's one of the reasons I wanted to get this book. I want to see just how many of these monsters actually exist. Then we can laugh at those big shot science guys from the side, without actually telling them our findings of course."

"Now that sounds like an idea!"
The two gave each other a fist bump while everyone chuckled. They really were just like brother and sister.

"That actually does sound like fun." Raine said. "But that can wait till later. Right now, we have pumpkins to carve, and the festival had a good selection to choose from too."

It was true. Wherever the festival had gotten their pumpkins from clearly knew what they were doing, as all of the ones the group had bought were perfectly round or oval shaped with just the right shade of orange to them. Sure there was some dirt on them, but a decent cleaning and scrubbing solved that problem quickly.

Before long, everyone began to head out the front door to the table outside holding their pumpkins. They had decided to do the carving outdoors because not only would it make for a good scenery, but also because they wouldn't have to worry about staining any carpets or furniture (much to Eda's relief). It was a beautiful night too. The half moon shone bright against the night sky while the candles on the table added an extra ambience.

"So what kind of jack-o-lantern are you gonna make?" Luz asked Amity.

"I'm gonna make mine look like a cat." The purple haired witch replied. "I promised Ghost that I would."

Her palisman, who was sitting next to her, smiled and nodded eagerly, which made her giggle.

"What about you?"

Luz pondered this as she began to cut into the top of her pumpkin, opting to use her claws instead of a knife.

"I'm not sure." She said. "There's so many different things I could do. The creepy face is a classic of course, but I feel like I want to do something more unique this year, something that'll really stand out."

"Like what?"

"That's the thing. I don't know."
"Why not just make it a lycanthrope?" Eda asked from across the table. "I mean, it would only be appropriate."

Luz chuckled and shook her head. "I kind of thought that too, but I don't think I'm talented enough of an artist to do that."

"You don't have to be, Mija." Camila said. She then pulled out her phone and scrolled through a few images on google before handing it to Gus.

"Do you think you could make an illusionary spell that has this outline on Luz's pumpkin?"

"Yeah, no problem, Mrs. Noceda!" Gus replied. No sooner than he said that did he cast a spell circle and formed the outline of an image on Luz's pumpkin. It was a simple one of the head of a wolf howling, but it looked beautiful nonetheless.

The human witch smiled. "Thanks, guys! This'll make things a lot easier."

"You're welcome!" Gus replied. "Does anyone else want me to make an outline of something for them?"
"Please do." Vee said. "I'm just like Luz in that art isn't one of my strong suits."

Masha snorted. "I have a hard time believing that. After all, you're an expert at being creative with your appearances."

"Shape shifting and art are not the same thing."

"I wouldn't say that." Hunter spoke up. "Art comes in a variety of different forms. Sculpting is one of them, yes, but there's also painting, music, acting, and several others."

"That's right." Raine said. "I myself am not good at sculpting like Hunter is, but I excel when it comes to music. It's just a matter of finding your niche in the world of arts. I have no doubt there is one you would be very good at."

Vee paused as she thought about this. It wasn't really something she had considered before. And despite being in her third year of college, she hadn't yet picked her major, so maybe this would be a good choice for her.

"Do you really think my shapeshifting is art?" She asked.

Willow then spoke up.

"Well, maybe not shapeshifting, but I would definitely say clothing design is a form of art. It doesn't have to be anything fancy either. You could just make some good images for tee shirts or something. That is definitely something I can see you doing well in."

"I like that idea." Luz said. "Besides, it would be super cool if my sister made me an awesome shirt to go with my beastly nature."

"Can I have one too?" Hooty asked, having heard the conversation.

"How are we gonna make you a shirt?" King asked. "No offense buddy, but they don't exactly fit your body type."

"Vee could make it like a giant sock for him." Luz said. "Or maybe we could make a scarf or something."

Hooty smiled excitedly. "Oh, I would love to have a scarf! I would look great in it, and we can make it the new fashion sense for house demons! Hoot-Hoot!"

The basilisk smiled. She was really starting to like this idea. It sounded like it was right up her alley, not to mention fun. And if it ended up working out, she could possibly make a career out of it. Yes, that would be great.

"Well, the college I go to does have a major like that." She said. "What the heck. It's worth a shot, right?"

"Yeah!" Masha said as they put their arm around her. "You won't know you'll like it unless you try, so go for it!"

"Absolutely." Camila said. "It's always good to try new things. It opens up so many possibilities for you."

Vee smiled and nodded. "Thanks guys. I really appreciate it. I don't want to talk too much about it right now though. Luz can't go back to college right now, and I don't want her to feel like she's missing out."

The human witch frowned. That was one of the many things that bummed her out when she became a werewolf, not being able to return to college, at least not until she was able to master her curse. That was still a ways off however, and even then there was still the matter of whether or not she would be accepted. She was an outstanding student witch, one of the best the university had ever seen actually, but that might not even matter once people learned she was a werewolf.

It wasn't just her academics she was thinking about either. She had remembered what Alador had said when they were working on the chamber. People might fear her because she was a werewolf, and people do crazy things out of fear. They might not just ridicule her. They might do something worse, much worse.

Seeing the look on her face, Vee looked down with guilt.

"I'm sorry, sis." She said. "I didn't mean to remind you of it."

The human witch shook her head. "No, it's okay. You have every right to work towards what you want to do. I'm just in a pit stop right now. Don't worry, I'll be able to start my classes again…hopefully."

Sensing her daughter's distress, Camila spoke up. "Are you worried you won't be accepted because of your curse?"

Luz nodded. "Yes, and other things. Honestly, once people find out about what I am, getting back into college might be the least of my problems."

Amity tensed. She knew where her fiancé was going with this. "You're afraid they'll fear you." She said. "And what they'll do out of that fear."

Again, Luz nodded. "Yes. What if they do more than just criticize me? What if they decide to come after me and try to hurt me?"

Just the very thought of that made her feel sick, and she found herself struggling not to hyperventilate.

Amity wrapped her arm around her.

"Deep breaths, Batata. In and out."

While she tried to calm Luz down, the rest of the group was silent as they thought about what had been said. They had already discussed the possibility of the human witch being ridiculed for her curse, and that idea alone disgusted them, but this was taking it to a whole new level. The worst part about it was, it was true.

Yes, a lot of people would probably support her, but it was unlikely that all of the people would do that. There will probably be many others on the other side of the fence, ones who will refuse to accept the truth, convinced that Luz would be a threat. They might even go as far as to try to take matters into their own hands, and that idea terrified them.

Camila's voice finally broke the silence. "We don't even know if someone will try and do that. But I'm saying this now, if anyone, I repeat, anyone tries to hurt my baby girl, I will give them something to be afraid of."

"Damn right." Eda said. "Anyone who threatens my kid is asking to be put six feet under. Just like with the full moon, we won't let anything bad happen to you."

Amity nodded in agreement. "That's right, and remember what Lilith said too. There may be some people that will be against you, but that certainly won't apply to everyone, and that's something we can handle.

Luz frowned, a look of doubt still on her face. "You think so? We don't even know what kind of things they might pull."

Amity shook her head. "It doesn't matter what they might try and do. Nobody is hurting my Wolfie, and anyone who tries will face hell. Me, your mom, and Eda are not the only ones either, and you know that."

This made Luz smile, and she turned to look at the rest of her family. "Yeah, I have all of you guys watching my back too."

"You got it!" King said. "So you have nothing to worry about! Yeah, we don't know what to expect, but we didn't know what would happen during the full moon either, and we still made it through okay, right?"

"Well, mostly okay." Hooty mumbled.

Hunter rolled his eyes. "Oh for titan's sake, Hooty, would you just let it go? You know Luz couldn't control herself."

"Oh, I don't hate Luz for it at all! I just can't get over the fact I was manhandled! I will be haunted by it for the rest of my existence…"

Now the human witch was giggling. Whether intentional or not, her family always knew how to cheer her up, no matter what the situation was.

Hooty then spoke again. "Don't get the wrong idea though, Luz! Ain't no one gonna hurt my best friend! Not with a security system like me around!"

Luz's smile became much more genuine, and she nodded. "Thanks Hooty, and thank you guys too. I don't know how I was able to get so lucky."

"You're Luz Noceda." Willow said. "That's why. You helped all of us in making our lives better, so now we're doing the same for you. 'Us weirdos have to stick together'."

"Hell yeah!" Gus said. "We're all in this together. Anyone who messes with you messes with all of us. If we can take on your lycanthrope form, we can take on some petty jerks."

"You got that right." Vee said. "They won't know what they've gotten into until it's too late."

"How shall we kill them?" King asked. "Fast or slow?"

"I say slow." Masha said. "It's more fun that way."

"Hehe, I like the way you think."

"Alright, guys." Raine said. "Tone it down a bit. We're not savages here."

"I'm with Raine on this one." Luz said. "Best not to give people more reason to be afraid."

King scoffed and folded his arms. "Traitor."

The human witch faked a gasp. "King, how could you say that? I would never betray the plush army!"

Everyone snickered, which made the demon grumble some more.

"Anyway," He said. "Can we get back to carving the pumpkins? This is Halloween, and we shouldn't be having any drama."

Everyone nodded in agreement, and picked up their tools once more to resume their work. Luz was in much better spirits now, and had kept her smile as she carved her pumpkin. Amity couldn't help but smile back.

"Are you feeling better?" She asked.

The human witch nodded and hugged her. "Much better, Mi Amor. Thank you. I would kiss you right now, but I don't want my teeth to cut you."

"That's okay. You'll have plenty of time to make up for it later. After all, it's your breeding season."

Amity purred when she said this, which made her fiancé shudder and blush. "Oh, you got yourself a deal."

"What are you two mumbling about?" Eda asked.

"Nothing!" The couple shouted as they instantly parted and went back to carving.