Page 27 of Hoofin’ It

I arched a brow. “You want me to hit on women in a nightclub.”

“I’m not telling you to bend a girl over your knee, spank her, and get her to call you her daddy, son. You’re on vacation, looking for love—the usual things a newly retired young man might do. You’re just doing it in a way you’ll catch attention from our prey.”

I could always trust my father to be, well, a werewolf. Sighing, I shook my head. “All right. So I go into these clubs and look for a girl. What do I hope to have happen?”

“We’re hoping you’ll find someone interested in hooking you up with an escort or a prostitute. Maybe for a night, maybe for longer. Discuss the idea, act a bit uncertain and shy. Show some interest, especially if you’re offered something like being matched with a woman for a long-term relationship. Be cautious, but find out how much a match like that would cost you. If you’re lucky, they may make arrangements for you to meet some women. That’s what we’re hoping for.” Dad chuckled. “Lewis will be doing the same. We’re going to be watching your tracker on our phones.”

“What’s the probability I’m going to end up a sex slave?”

My parents glanced at each other and said nothing. I turned my glare to Lewis, who shared the back seat with me. “Lewis?”

“Fifty-fifty.”

“I’m going to need a spare battery and a pair of boots.”

My godfather frowned. “Why?”

“A spare phone is going in my boot with the spare battery. That way, it might actually be useful. It’ll have that tracking software installed, too.”

“You raised a smart boy, Justin. Where can I get one like him?”

“Take that up with your wife. I recommend begging. Just don’t expect her to go through mating more than once. Patsy still refuses to even consider going through it again. I keep telling her it’ll be better once she shifts for the first time.”

I put my hands over my ears. “I don’t want to hear about werewolf mating rituals.”

Mom snickered. “It’s not that big of a deal, Shane.”

Why couldn’t I have dignified parents? “You are the reason I’m an awful son.”

“Can’t say he’s wrong,” my godfather agreed.

“Stop being such a child about this, Shane,” Dad ordered. “First, it’s what makes you appealing to a sex trafficking operation while werewolves aren’t. While you were snoozing in the tub, I talked to some Des Moines cops who’ve been working on busting rings here. Typical uninfected children of werewolves enjoy heightened sexual prowess without the complications werewolf men face.”

“I suppose I should be grateful you haven’t explained these complications to me before.”

“It wasn’t necessary; you’ve never been infected, so it hasn’t been an issue. If you become infected, I’ll teach you, as it’s very easy for an ignorant puppy to cause his woman substantial discomfort.”

I wanted to put my fingers in my ears and hum to avoid the discussion. Instead, I surrendered to the inevitable and asked, “Fine. What complications?”

“Male werewolves share certain physical attributes with mundane wolves,” Dad explained.

“That’s not a helpful answer. I haven’t exactly studied natural wolves.”

“I’ll explain it, darling. You’ll dance around the subject all night long and make him more uncomfortable than necessary. Shane, male werewolves go into a frenzy, and once they start trying for a puppy, they don’t stop until certain there’s a puppy on the way. Since male werewolves can smell when a woman is fertile, they’re rather insistent on ensuring pregnancy. Let’s just say your father and I were inseparable for twelve hours. He refused to quit until he could detect the changes in my scent. Fortunately, as I was already infected with the lycanthropy virus, it didn’t take as long as it would for a regular human woman. Long story short, it’s really not comfortable. Worth it, since you were the result, but not something I look forward to doing again anytime soon—at least not until my first shift. It’s supposedly a much better experience when the woman is a werewolf. I’ll consider a sibling for you then.”

With the unwanted mental image of my mother and father having twelve hours of non-stop sex to conceive me rattling around in my head, I tried to steer the conversation back towards safer territory. “So why is being a werewolf’s son a big deal for a sex trafficking ring?”

“You’ll probably be able to have the twelve hours of sex without the issue of being inseparable from your partner. With a bit of work on your part, you’ll be able to give women the ride of their lives. Unfortunately, it won’t be good for your emotional well-being, as you’re like your father. You don’t want just any woman, do you? You want the perfect woman for you.”

The easiest way to deal with my mother was to tell her the truth. “Yes.”

“So there you have it. You’d be a good target if they figure out you’re a werewolf’s son.”

“That’s just what I wanted to know. So, what if I were a daughter instead of a son?”

“They wouldn’t want you. You’d be useless to them unless you were really pretty. I don’t think you’d make a pretty girl.”

“Thanks, Mom.”