The town square smelled of hot chocolate, grilled chorizo sandwiches and roasted chestnuts. It was the smell of winter, of snow and Christmas. El Cerro was a small and humble town, populated by people of the land, but they were not going to stop celebrating the holidays because of that. Every year the square was adorned with colored lights that were like garlands of throbbing fireflies. There were also several stalls, all of them with green and red awnings and wrapped with bright tinsel. They sold everything, from figures for the Nativity Scene, to decorations, joke items and handmade crafts. Not to be missed was the traditional fir tree with its balls, an old tree that continued to endure being dressed up every year.

As was obvious, the townspeople had taken to the streets to enjoy the decorations, the carols and the good atmosphere. The town's churreria was completely packed. Because of that, Sofia and Sara had ordered their ration of churros and their hot chocolate to take away, and had sat down on a bench to eat. Despite how early it was, night had already fallen, but the moon had not yet risen. Better, because in a couple of days it would be full and whenever that happened, in the days before and after, her energy stirred restlessly.

Sofia pulled her cell phone out of her pocket. To be honest, she was starting to feel dumb because she had already checked it four times, but she was still holding to that little sliver of hope. Again she skimmed through her SMS, focusing on the ones she had shared with her friend. ‘I gt smthin 2do dunn if I can’ he had replied when she asked him if he wanted to go to the Christmas market. That had been the last message she had received from him. After letting out a deep sigh, she put the device back in her pocket and continued eating her churros with chocolate. She could have asked him again if he was coming, and in fact she was tempted, but she didn't want to seem annoying.

“Nothing new?” asked Sara in a voice that didn’t make it so clear if it was a question.

“He hasn't said anything else. I guess he's not coming,” Sofia replied, unable to hide a note of disappointment in her voice. “He's been avoiding me for three days and I don't know how to get a hold of him. I don't even know where he lives so I can go to his house.”

Being honest with herself, she didn't know where to start the conversation either. She had her suspicions that his blood was to blame for what had happened to him, but she didn't know to what extent he was aware of it. What puzzled her was that it didn't match the lunar cycles. He began to be noticeably restless a week after the full moon, and by the new moon days, where its influence was almost imperceptible, his stereotypies were well visible. If he was about to go through the first change, it would stand to reason that he would be more nervous the fuller the moon was.

“Well, aren’t you two stubborn? It's a good thing you have me, buddy,” said Sara as she pulled her phone out of her pocket.

“Wait a minute, Sara, what are you going to do?” Sofia asked, horrified.

“You leave it to me,” said Sara, winking at her, and then she put the phone to her ear.

“He won't pick it up. He's not picking it up for me....”

She was just saying that when the boy picked up the phone, and thanks to her fine cinanthrope hearing she was able to hear his voice on the other end. It sounded deep, mixed with a growl of irritation that made it pretty clear he wasn't happy with the call, but it was him, it was his voice. Being able to hear it again caused a warm shudder to well up in her belly, one that mingled with another kind of fire that had just ignited inside her.

“You bastard!” Sofia was unable to suppress the angry growl that seeped into her voice.

“Shut up, asshole,” Sara cut him off, ignoring Sofia’s protests. “It's Christmas, and your girl and I are eating some churros, so get your pretty ass to the town hall square right now, or I'll come up there and drag you down here by the scruff of your neck.”

“Sara!”

Cheeks burning, Sofia lunged at her friend and tried to grab the phone out of her hand, but the girl stood up as tall as she was and held it out of her reach. Sara was not only tall, she was also very strong, so no matter how hard Sofia tried to pull her arm down, there was no way that tower of muscle would budge an inch.

“You too, Sara? You know damn well we're not together...” said Dave, and the dull tone of his voice made Sofia stop trying to fight for the device.

“Whether you make it official or not is up to you, man. What you're not going to do is spend all Christmas avoiding her. I don't know what's gotten into you right now, but she's your pal and she deserves that you talk to her,” Sara told him with a firm sternness that contrasted with her usual joviality.

Dave sighed.

“Okay. I'll be there in fifteen minutes,” he said, and hung up without waiting for his friend to respond.

“See? Done,” said Sara with a broad smirk, and in one fluid motion she slipped the phone into her jeans pocket.

“Done? I'm going to kill you, Sara, how could you even think of telling him I'm his girl? Have you lost your mind?” Irritated, she dropped heavily on the bench and continued eating her chocolate with churros.

“Because you look like you need a push, you pair of shy little mice,” commented Sara, settling down on the bench herself to continue with her ration of churros. There was a broad smile on her lips that only made Sofia's cheeks flare even more.

“We're just friends…” Sofia muttered, ducking her head. She was all too aware of the blush that gave her away.

“We're just friends, my ass! I've never seen you smile as much as when you're with him. Whenever he appears, the rest of us disappear for you. You don't stop looking at him, and when he notices, you turn as red as a tomato. Are you really going to deny that you have a crush on him?” said Sara, much more serious.

“I...” Sofia bit her lip and ducked her head. She wasn’t able to hold that gaze that seemed to be reading her very soul through her eyes. “Fine, yes, I like him. How could I not like him? He's nice, kind, attentive, patient, and he's got a smile that's...” her own lips opened into a smile as she remembered his, and a warm shudder shook her belly. “It's the prettiest I've ever seen.”

“And he's like totally hot, he has a motorcycle and he's simply really cute. He's a real catch, and you had to take him,” said Lola, who happened to be walking right before them carrying a piece of handmade pastry she had bought at the street market.

“Does it bother you, Lola?” Sofia asked. Her enthusiastic smile twisted into a sneer.

“Yes, of course it bothers me, but I'm not as dumb as you think I am. I mean, I know when to back down gracefully from a losing battle. Besides, I find this love story you two have going on so much more interesting,” said the girl, who was wearing a very Christmassy red coat over an off-white wool dress and matching high boots.

“We're not the main characters in a movie for your entertainment!” Sofia jumped to her feet and locked her eyes with Lola's. She was barely able to stifle the growl that rose to her throat.

“Woah there, she-wolf. Don't make a scene here,” said Sara, who also got up to hold her friend by the forearm, lest she do something foolish.

“Don't make a scene? Fuck, Sara, I hear them talking about us, about me. They constantly insult me, call me a wild beast, and you are telling me not to make a scene?”

The growl that was forming in her chest crept into her voice, and Sofia had to turn her head away sharply when she felt she was unable to keep from baring her fangs. She was already considered a wild beast just because she would rather go into the forest than interact with other humans. The last thing she needed was to be seen behaving like the she-wolf she secretly was. Damn pup! Since he had appeared, whatever self-control she had gained had begun to waver. It felt just too natural to behave like a dog with him, and it was starting to affect her in other situations as well.

“Hey, honey, don't get me involved in your troubles. We were just gossiping with each other, and I don't know how you can hear us but I don't care. Whatever I said about you never bothered you before. Why does it bother you now?” Lola commented, and Sofia bit her lip because she knew the answer to that question. She was worried about what he might think of her. “Besides, he seems to like that wild animal thing you've got going on. We all saw how he reacted when you bit him. He was just about ready to kiss you, so stop complaining, it's not such a big deal.”

Those words completely extinguished the fire of rage Sofia felt burning in her belly, and another kind of heat spread through her body and accentuated the blush on her cheeks. She would have liked to believe that what Lola said was true, but when Dave looked at her, he seemed puzzled and confused because of what had just happened between them. Sofia bit her lip and sniffed the air to her left, but didn't really pay attention to the smells. She still had his scent etched in her memory, as well as the warmth of his breath brushing her lips and the urge to kiss him. If he had taken that step, she knew perfectly well that she would not have rejected him.

A scent reached her nose and she raised her head to sniff the air less discreetly than she should have. Among the smells of churros, chocolate, burning wood and chestnuts, one that she found much more interesting stood out. It was a masculine musk, intense and appealing, mixed with the scent of gasoline. She searched for him across the square until she located him. He was wearing a pair of jeans and a beige sweater under his black motorcycle riding jacket. His straight hair fell tousled over his forehead, and while he walked, he looked back and forth trying to find them in the crowd. From the way he was licking his lips it was obvious he wasn't comfortable there.

A host of sensations surfaced at once in her belly. Rage, longing, desire, yearning, they all fed off each other. Sofia clenched her jaw and broke into a run towards him. With each stride she took, the growl she felt in her throat turned into a whimper, and suddenly all she wanted was to hold him and smell his scent again, and kiss his jaw and nuzzle his neck. That was what she wanted, but her anger had other plans for her.

“You bastard!” she roared when she reached him, and bared her fangs at him.

“I'm... I'm sorry...” Dave shrank back a little, offering her his side, licked his lips and looked away. Sofia could almost visualize him ducking his ears. It couldn't be more obvious that he didn't want conflict.

“I've been calling you for three days! Three days!” she exclaimed, holding up three fingers with a vigorous gesture. “You aren’t capable of picking up the phone not even once. You give me the runaround on all my messages, but Sara calls you, and you pick it up immediately? You're a bastard!”

“Because I missed you!” he said, and a whimper crept into his voice. The fire of anger died out, and a distinct blush rose to both their cheeks as Dave looked into her eyes with a gaze so full of longing she shuddered. “I missed you, and I knew that if I heard your voice, if you asked me to come, I wouldn't be able to say no. I'm sorry I've been avoiding you, but I got scared about what happened, and...” he let out a long sigh and looked away, “I didn't know how to talk to you after... that...”

Sofia felt a little guilty about being mad at him. If Dave had no idea what was happening to him, it made sense that he was confused and scared. To be honest with herself, she had no idea either. She suspected it had to do with his cinanthrope nature but nothing like this had ever happened to her before. She didn't know if he was about to go through the first change, or if it was something else.

“Dave,” Sofia reached for his hand and let her fingers tangle with his. “You're my best friend and I'm not going to judge you. After the way we played in the park, I don't think we can do anything weirder than that,” she said, and couldn't help but smile and blush as she remembered how special that moment had been for her.

“God, don't remind me. I still can’t believe I got so carried away.” Dave laughed a little and scratched the back of his neck, embarrassed.

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“Yeah, me neither, but I really enjoyed it,” Sofia said, blushing, and a shy smile appeared on her lips. “Don't be afraid to talk to me, tell me what's going on, what's bothering you. Maybe I can help you.”

Dave sighed and gave her hand a gentle squeeze. A smile as warm as his gaze appeared on his lips. Sofia felt that pleasant shiver of butterflies in her belly again.

“Thank you. I... I need to sort myself out. This is the first time this has happened to me and I still don't know how I'm supposed to react, but I promise I'll talk to you as soon as I get my head straight.”

Then he leaned over and kissed her cheek. Sofia took a deep breath and became intoxicated by his scent. When he pulled away, the boy tilted his head to the side and rested his hand on her forehead.

“Hum. You feel a little warm. Are you all right?” he asked.

“Yes, don't worry,” said Sofia, who did feel a little more tired but she had blamed it on the approaching full moon. “Come, Sara is there. Don't ask me why Lola is there too, but you know how Sara is.”

“I know, she talks to everyone. Sometimes I envy the ease with which she makes friends,” commented the boy while his friend led him by the hand to where the other two girls were.

When they reached them, Dave went first to greet Lola, and did so with the usual two kisses and a tension that Sofia didn’t miss. The hair on the back of his head had bristled, and the way he locked his blue eyes on the other girl's made it clear that it was a warning gaze. He didn't like her insulting his friend and he wasn't going to tolerate any more disrespect. Lola seemed to have noticed because she ducked her head. Even if they didn't know why, humans also reacted to cinanthropes' silent body language, and Dave knew how to assert himself when he wanted to.

Then he went to greet Sara and his attitude changed radically. His lips parted in a sincere smile and the two teenagers grabbed each other's forearms. The girl gave Dave a couple of forceful taps on the shoulder, which, from the grimace on the boy's face, must have hurt. That was the kind of greeting Sara preferred.

“Thank goodness you're here, man. I could see myself going to get you,” said the girl with a broad smile of enthusiasm. “Well, shall we go for a walk?”

“Sure. I... it's my first year here, so I don't know anything,” he commented, scratching the back of his head.

“There's really not much more than this. There are decorations at the market, and there are also handmade buns and a chestnut stand. They have churros here, although right now there's quite a long queue, but if you want, we can get some,” Sofia commented.

“No, it's okay. Let's take a walk around the stalls and see what we can find, shall we?” he said, looking at the other two girls.

“Hey, wait a minute, I didn't invite her. Where are your friends?” Sofia asked Lola.

“Visiting the family, but don't worry, I wasn't trying to intrude in your date. I was just taking a walk and came over to say hello,” said Lola haughtily.

“Don't be sour, Sofi, let the girl come and take a walk with us. I'll entertain her. You don't have to make conversation and I won’t spend the afternoon being a third wheel,” said Sara, putting an arm around Lola's shoulders, something that made the other girl feel a little uncomfortable.

The two teens exchanged a fleeting glance, one in which the blush on their cheeks became more than evident, and they looked away almost at the same time. Dave licked his lips and Sofia sniffed the air to her right, but gave her friend a sidelong glance.

“Sara, I'm going to kill you…” Sofia muttered under her breath.

“Don't complain so much, buddy! You can’t wait to be alone with him,” exclaimed Sara after letting out one of her thunderous laughs.

Sofia wasn't going to deny it. She did want some time alone with him, although if she was totally honest with herself, she wanted forest and nature, not the town's artificial smells and noise. She missed running beside him and longed to join their voices in a howl again. Too tired to argue, and aware that his presence was once again fueling her urge to behave like a dog, she let out a sigh and agreed. The four of them went for a stroll around the market, Sofia and Dave in front and Lola and Sara a few steps behind to give them some privacy, because if there was one thing her friend wasn't, it was discreet.

For a while they wandered among the stalls. There wasn't that much to see, it was just trinkets, decorations and gag items, but it was a multicolored curiosity highlighted by the music of the Christmas carols. There was quite a crowd, not as much as on Witches’ Night but enough to make walking not so easy. They both stopped next to a stall full of figurines for the Nativity Scene. Sofia didn't care about the human figures, but she loved to see the water mills, houses and farms made in the style of a primitive Middle East. Among those little sculptures, of course, was the traditional caganer.

“I'd like to put up a Nativity scene sometime,” said Sofia, noticing that her companion was looking at a figure of a shepherd with his sheep and dog.

“You’ve never put up a Nativity Scene?” Dave raised an eyebrow.

“My mother is not much of a Christmas person. No Nativity scene, no tree, no nothing.”

“Oh. My parents love to decorate the house at Christmas, especially my mother. She puts lights and tinsel everywhere, and her Nativity scene is amazing. It has a river with running water, crop fields and a windmill....”

His voice trailed off in a quiet sigh. He gently put down the sheep he had been looking at next to its shepherd and turned to walk away from the stall. His shoulders were slightly slumped and he rubbed his chest with one hand. His breathing also seemed a bit labored, as if he wanted to pant but was controlling himself. Biting her lip, Sofia fell into step with him and he gave her a smile that she could tell from miles away that it was forced. He was still trying to actively participate in the stroll, but he looked very uncomfortable.

“Dave, let's go somewhere quieter,” Sofia said, taking him by the hand to lead him away.

“There's no need. I'm fine,” he said after running his tongue over his lips.

“Come on,” she insisted with an encouraging smile.

With their fingers intertwined, barely aware of whether the other two girls were following, Sofia walked away from the Christmas market area and the square itself. Just on the other side was the park where Sara's sisters had made the queimada. The trees had already been stripped of all their leaves, leaving the branches completely bare, although the town hall had decided to cover them with garlands of cold blue lights. The pale luminosity reflected off the snow, resembling silvery moonlight. Normally the park was darker, but between the Christmas lighting and the snow itself there was a brightness so dazzling that it felt uncomfortable to Sofia's eyes. She wasn’t the only one. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Dave squint a bit and frown.

Aware of how uncomfortable the glare had to be to his night predator eyes, Sofia decided to find an area away from the lights. As they walked through one of the side paths, Dave raised his head and took a deep breath. The crescent moon hadn't risen yet, and Sofia knew it would still be a little over an hour before it did, so the sky looked like a blanket of dark blue dotted with bright stars. That was the beauty of El Cerro, that it was so far from the big cities and so small that it allowed one to see the sky in a way that was not possible if one lived closer to Madrid. The bad thing was that, far from the stalls and the people, the cold was more noticeable and Sofia began to shiver a little.

Very aware of their hands, which remained entwined, Sofia looked up at her friend. The boy noticed and lowered his gaze at her, and a smile that made her shiver drew on his lips. With her cheeks burning and a smile to match his, the girl ducked her head shyly, but she kept stealing furtive glances at him. As she knew would happen, admitting that she liked him had made the tingling butterflies in her stomach feel so much more real. However, that hadn't been the only reason why her heart had skipped a beat.

Biting her lip, Sofia looked down at the floor and the smile disappeared. She had seen it before and had thought long and hard about it. His smile was relaxed and spontaneous enough that she was able to see his four fangs. They were larger, enough so that they hardly passed for human. All cinanthropes had sharp fangs that usually remained small when they were in the human form, but they could grow larger.

In pups that had never changed, this was uncommon, but it could happen in situations of great stress and when the first change was near. In adults, that is, those who already control the changes at will, it was common for them to look abnormally large depending on their mood and the phases of the moon. Sofia could not tell whether her friend was a pup about to go through the first change, or an adult affected by the approaching full moon.

“Better?” Sofia asked, as she sat down on one of the wooden benches in the park and rubbed her hands together to try to warm them up.

The best thing to do was to put those thoughts aside, at least for the moment. There was too much she did not yet know, and she could not jump to hasty conclusions. Besides, she wanted to enjoy him, his company, without having to worry about anything else. She was seventeen and she just wanted to enjoy the boy she liked, those little ants she felt crawling across her skin when he looked at her, when he smiled and when he touched her.

“Yes, but we didn't have to leave. We could have stayed if you'd rather take a walk through the square,” he replied, settling in next to her so that their legs were touching.

“I'd already seen the stalls, and it didn't look like you were having a lot of fun. I know you don't like crowds, so I thought it was a good idea to come to the park,” Sofia said with a small smile.

“It's not just that...” Dave let out a quiet sigh and licked his lips. “This will be the first time I won't celebrate Christmas with my family and... it's hard. The Christmas market just brought back all those memories at once. I didn't think it would affect me so much, I'm sorry.”

“Don't apologize. I should have seen it, after what you told me,” she said, feeling like a big idiot for not noticing.

“It's not your fault. Don't worry,” he replied with a warm smile, and his fangs were clearly visible.

“Man, you may not like the idea, but Sofia came over last Christmas Eve to have dinner with us. You should come too. Where six eat, seven eat,” commented Sara, who had stayed a few meters away from them with Lola so they could have a bit of time alone to talk.

“I don't know, Sara. Maybe it's not such a good idea,” he said, looking at his hands. They shook a little.

“I'll tell my sister to make you one of her special drinks. You know you don't have to toast with alcohol,” said the girl, winking at him.

“I'm so jealous of you guys. If Sara's sisters are this much fun on Witches' Night, Christmas Eve dinner has to be fan-tastic. I mean, I have to stay home and put up with my dull aunts, uncles, cousins and little brother,” Lola remarked.

Out of the corner of her eye, Sofia saw Dave lick his lips and look away. A quiet whimper echoed in his throat, and that was enough for a dull rage to begin to burn in her belly.

“You know, Lola? You should be thankful that at least you have family to celebrate with. Some people can't anymore,” Sofia spat, barely managing to keep from curling her lip to show her fangs, though the snarl she felt inside did seep into her voice.

“Okay, cutie, no need to make a fuss. Everyone's got their own problems,” Lola replied with a certain haughtiness.

Sofia snorted and turned her head sharply to let her know that she didn't care what she said. Her whole body was shaking from the rage she was feeling, or maybe it wasn't just rage because she was also feeling an icy cold that seemed to have settled inside her. She hugged herself to try to get some warmth and closed her eyes for a moment. A strange drowsiness began to creep over her and her senses felt dulled, as if she had put her head under water.

“Sofi is right, Lola. You've been a little insensitive,” said Sara.

“Oh, jeez, okay, I'm sorry!” replied the other girl.

Those two voices sounded so far away that they had become background noise. Sofia felt too sleepy and too cold, so much that she just wanted to lie down, cover herself with her blanket and get warm. The closest thing she had within reach was her friend, so without thinking she leaned into him seeking his warmth. Dave put an arm around her shoulders and held her close against his body to give her some warmth, and when Sofia snuggled against him, he cupped her cheek with his hand in a gentle caress.

“I thought so. She has a fever, and a high one at that. Sara, we have to take her home and bring it down,” he said, very serious.

Sofia wanted to protest, she wanted to say that nothing was wrong, that she was fine, but all she could do was snuggle further against the boy who gave her warmth and reassurance. Tucked in his arms and with her head resting against his chest, she was able to hear his heartbeat, and she found that sound soothing. If she had been in her right mind, and not immersed in feverish delirium, she would have been horrified by what she was doing. At that moment all she wanted was to fall asleep listening to that accelerated heartbeat and breathing in his scent, his lovely musk that seemed to have completely lost that intense forest aroma.