NaNoWriMo Story Snippets

34. Excerpt from MOON-MARKED 3

Subject to editing, etc. The sequel no one asked for! *L* Yes, I know I have a lot of stories on the go right now, but my brain needed something different to work on, so this is where it landed. I promise everything will get done. It just might take a while.

"People say once in a blue moon for rare things because blue moons don't happen often, right?"

Becky looked down at Seth, who was sprawled across her legs, a hand curled around her hip. "Yeah. Usually every two to three years, I think, but they can be closer together too. Why?" Just because she was a werewolf didn't mean she was an expert on lunar phases; she was well into her twenties before she learned out what gibbous meant—and then she had promptly forgotten.

Seth propped himself up on his other elbow and kissed her belly. "I know doctors always say the emergency department is busier on a full moon," he went on. "Do things get extra strange on a blue moon?"

"I don't know. I'm usually shifting, so I don't pay much attention to the news." She reached down and stroked his sweaty curls out of his face as she tried to keep an eye on his hands. This was just the sort of rambling lead-in he would use for something like a proposal, and her emotions were far too erratic to process anything that important today. "Why? Do you think I'm being extra weird?"

"No. I just thought that if rare things happen on a blue moon," Seth grinned, kissing his way up to her ribs, "that might mean I get to top for once."

Becky laughed so hard that it nearly made Seth tumble off her. "You've been keeping a tally, have you?" She had to admit that she liked being on top, especially around the full moon—feeling restrained could trigger the transformation early—but she was hard pressed to think of a position she and Seth hadn't tried yet. "Besides, you haven't been feeling great the past few days," she added, mood sobering. "You don't have to come out for my run, you know. I promise I'll be careful and stay away from the road. There's plenty of places where I can pull off the road to rest until I'm safe to drive...."

Seth shook his head, letting his beard tickle her skin. "No, I'll be fine. Probably just tired. I have a very demanding girlfriend, you know." He rubbed the bite mark on his shoulder. It was taking longer to fade than usual, which made Becky concerned. There was far more involved in turning a human to a werewolf than a single bite, but she tried to be cautious. It wouldn't be hard to let her strength slip and hurt Seth accidentally, especially around the full moon, so she trusted him to know his limits. "It's fine," he told her, looming over her but not grabbing for her wrists. "Just a bit tender. I'm sure it won't be visible by the time we're back."

It had been long enough since the last blue moon that Becky couldn't remember how she tended to react, so she had asked the McMahons for a few days off. She hadn't expected Seth to do the same, but she had to admit she appreciated the gesture. Shifting solo was a sad reality of many urban werewolves, and she was glad she didn't have to worry as much anymore: Seth was happy to take care of the mundane details like driving and watching her gear while she ran, and knowing she didn't have to hide a huge part of her life from her lover was an incredible relief.