All Hallows' Hangover Read Online Free PDF Page A

it to work.
    Lilibeth and the man were trying to catch the dog, but he was eluding them both. Terrique was scrambling from shelf to shelf, a furry black blur running on the tops of boxes to stay out of the dog’s reach.
    “Bring him this way!” Tabby said to her familiar.
    Terrique changed direction in mid-leap. She ran down the aisle toward Tabby, hissing and spitting at the furious dog snapping at her heels.
    Tabby needed to time this right. She also needed to basically sacrifice her body. Once she broke the chalk circle to release the spell, the circle would no longer protect her, and the dog would plow right into her.
    She counted down, making herself wait until Terrique jumped onto the box right next to Tabby’s head but outside of the circle. The dog couldn’t change directions that fast. His claws slipped on the concrete floor, and that’s when Tabby erased part of the chalk with her foot, breaking the circle.
    The spell broke free of its confines right as the dog slammed into Tabby, knocking them both to the floor.
    She tried to cushion the fall, but her head still hit the concrete, the dog landing on top of her.
    His brown eyes weren’t soulful now. They were furious. His teeth were bared in a growl, and they were entirely too close to her throat, but Tabby made herself stay still. She needed to give the spell time to work.
    She just hoped it worked quick.

 
     
     
     
     
    7
     
    The last thing Teddy remembered was chasing a black cat. The cat had the same smell as the woman who’d poisoned him and turned him into a dog, and then a rage so pure and red took over his senses, that he was pretty sure he’d lost his mind.
    Again.
    Now here he was, sprawled on top of a woman who looked sort of like the woman who’d poisoned him, but she didn’t smell the same. At least he didn’t think so. His nose wasn’t working right.
    Again.
    He’d just started to rub his nose on the woman’s shirt to try to get his sense of smell back when he realized his nose wasn’t as long as it should be. He could barely see the end of it even if he crossed his eyes. He brought a paw up to rub at it, but his paw wasn’t a paw anymore.
    He had hands!
    And better yet, thumbs!
    “Holy crap!” he cried, which came out as actual words, not barks.
    He had himself back!
    Which was about the time he realized he also had no clothes on.
    “Dude!”
    The voice belonged to Daniel. Teddy’s roommate was standing at the end of a long aisle surrounded by tall shelves crammed to the gills with boxes and bottles and jars. Daniel’s girlfriend Lilibeth stood next to him, a serene smile on her face.
    “Welcome back,” she said, and then she nudged Daniel. “Give him your sweats.”
    “Oh. Right.” Daniel took a pair of sweatpants out of his backpack and brought them over to Teddy. “We kind of forgot to bring clothes for you, what with the shock of you being a dog and all.”
    The woman beneath him was staring at him with a strange expression on her face. Teddy had no idea how he’d ended up on top of her, but at least she hadn’t kneed him in the crotch.
    “Sorry,” he said as he pushed himself off of her.
    “No need,” she said. “I think I should be apologizing to you.”
    He turned away from her while he slipped the sweatpants on. They were a tight fit—he wasn’t as skinny as Daniel—but they were better than the alternative.
    When he turned around, the woman was holding her hand out to him. “I’m Tabby, and I think this is all my fault.”
    He held out his own hand, prepared to introduce himself, but a curious sensation filled him when their fingers touched.
    A shock of electricity shot down his spine, but it was more than that. He felt a sense of recognition, like he’d known her his entire life. Like she was the one he’d been waiting for all these years when none of his other dates turned into the kind of relationship he’d really wanted.
    He felt like he’d come home.
    And she must have felt the same way. He