“Silver,” I said wildly and triumphantly. Simon’s eyes took on a wild gleam as he threw a fist pump. Practically everyone knew the old wives’ tales that silver harms a werewolf. It’s the most popular myth in all comics, books, and movies. Maybe there was some truth to it given how many different forms of media depict silver as a weapon against werewolves.
My brother did an exuberant fist pump. “That’s it! Silver! All we have to do is touch him with silver and then it’s proof he’s a werewolf!”
I smiled before my lips slipped into a frown. “I suppose that’s assuming Hollywood is accurate and silver harms werewolves. But how are we going to get silver and how are we going to touch him with it?”
Simon clapped his hands together. “Mom might have a few rings in her jewelry box. Then that’s where you come in, my dear sister. You work with the guy! You could touch him accidentally while wearing a silver ring!”
I started rubbing my forehead wearily. This plan was flawed before it ever really began. Previously, I never before thought myself and my younger brother would be discussing such ridiculousness. “Um…what happens if we find out Matt really is a werewolf?”
Simon’s jubilant attitude slowly disappeared. “Huh…uh. Well, I guess get out of the way before he transforms and eats you.”
That was no pressure at all, I thought sarcastically.
***
I wore three possibly silver rings of my mother’s on my right hand as I drove to work that day. Unfortunately, I was only certain one of them was a silver heirloom from my mother’s great-grandmother. The others looked to be fake, but I put them on just in case my mom was wrong. I was terrified to go to work as I drove. I thought of at least a dozen possible illnesses to use as an excuse to call in sick. I didn’t necessarily fear Matt. I only feared what it would mean if Simon and I were right about him. I hadn’t quite thought through what it would mean if we proved my supervisor really was a werewolf.
When I pulled into the employee lot twenty minutes early for my eight a.m. shift, I was beyond nervous. The gloomy grey sky overhead seemed to be a bad omen. A light breeze tickled the bare skin of my cheek, showcasing that the weather was only growing colder with each passing day. I shivered before kicking the toe of my boot against a curb. I was stalling from going inside the building. Part of me felt stupid I was going to try touching my sister’s boyfriend to see if he was a werewolf. How would I approach this? Would I accidentally brush his hand? Should I pretend to playfully shoulder punch him? Would he know what I was trying do considering we normally never interact? As I started walking toward the entrance, I half entertained the idea of slapping him like a game of tag and then running away before he could react in case the silver did something. I wasn’t fearing touching Matt. I found I held more fear regarding the possible scenario that Simon and I were accurate about him. He knew where we lived, and it was possible he had killed a few animals already. Would he harm us to shut us up about his secret? While thinking, I wasn’t looking where I was going. I very nearly slammed face-first into Jamie’s shoulder. I gave a startled jump as he grinned down at me.
“Whoa, new girl in a hurry.” He snickered. In his hand, he held an electronic vaper. He took a deep puff as I walked around him. “What’s wrong with you?”
“N-nothing.” I knew he knew something was wrong just in my unintentional stutter. But I couldn’t exactly explain I was terrified our supervisor was a monstrous creature who had a love for raw deer flesh.
Jamie didn’t seem to acknowledge or care that I was pale and obviously nervous. “So, you going to the Halloween party tomorrow night?”
I had forgotten Halloween was this upcoming weekend. It fell on a Saturday. I slowly shook my head. Partying of any kind was the very last thing on my mind. Jamie pushed back some of his inky black hair that fell into his eyes. If he didn’t wear a ball cap, his hair was messy and in his face. He shrugged. “Well, everyone at the resort is going to be there. It’s the one time you can get everyone at The Marina to party!”
“The Marina?”
“That swanky nightclub downtown,” Jamie explained. “You gotta come. All of us are going. Just remember to wear a costume if you go.”
“Everyone is going to be there…?”
“Duh, I just said that,” snorted Jamie. “Everyone in our department as well as the rest of the hotel. Then we go back to Cale’s house to party some more!” He held out his knuckle for a fist bump. I didn’t know what he wanted at first, so it took me a few seconds to awkwardly return it. As more time passed these last few weeks, I noticed Jamie felt inclined to speak to me. He would ask me how my day was or he would ask what I was into music or TV-wise. Even though he was slowly warming up to me, I didn’t really relish bonding with any of my bizarre coworkers. After getting to know them, I realized I really didn’t care to know them. Still, I didn’t want to be rude.
I politely smiled and promised Jamie I would think about going when he pushed me on it. I knew I wasn’t going to go. I didn’t dig parties, and I was already certain I would have no one to talk to at an employee party of all places. If my coworkers disliked me at work, they weren’t going to warm up to me at a party.
It was only after starting my shift did I remember my mission for the day. It had nothing to do with setting a U-shaped room or getting three other conference settings placed before the events occurred later that afternoon. My mind was solely focused on Matt and wondering how I was going to test the theory that he was a werewolf. But my worrying had been for nothing. Matt never showed up to work even though he was scheduled. One hour passed and then two more. I kept circling back to the employee lounge to see if his backpack was hanging by his locker. I was left in disappointment. Eventually, the next wave of workers came in for their four o’clock shift, but Matt was still not there. After careful investigation of looking at the employee schedule in Perry’s office, I discovered Matt had called in sick.
“Hey,” I called to Darren after we finished putting linens and skirting on a table. He was the one person I found I couldn’t help but like in this department. He was intelligent and funny, good looking without being cocky about it. The same couldn’t be said for our idiot coworkers. “How many people go to that dumb party at The Marina?”
“The employee Halloween party?”
“Yeah.”
Darren rolled his shoulders. “Everyone. More people go to that than the company holiday party in January. Why do you ask?”
I spoke in a low voice, causing Darren to step closer. The moment he did, I noted how amazing he smelled. It was a strange combination of peppermint and cinnamon. I was suddenly hyper aware of how close we were. He gave me a sweet smile as he stepped closer. “Do you know if Matt is going to be there?”
Darren suddenly looked disappointed. “Yeah, he’ll be there. But didn’t you say he was dating your sister?”
“Well, yeah, but that’s not why I care…” I trailed off. It was noticing that Darren wasn’t looking at me anymore that had me curious. He suddenly looked very disappointed. “I’m not interested in him,” I said, unsure why I suddenly felt I needed to clarify why I was asking.