Carrie and John awoke the next morning on the floor of the costume store, having kept each other warm with their furred bodies. Rays of post-dawn light shone around the edges of the shop shutters, illuminating the gloom of their surroundings. The sounds of traffic and pedestrians outside heralded the new day.
The couple groaned, then stretched as they stirred. Taking in the sight of their pink skins, John and Carrie felt a little disappointed that they had been returned to human form. However, John admired the fur bikini that had reformed on his wife - whilst Carrie lovingly ran her fingers across the pelt of John's shorts.
"Well. I guess it's time to get changed into our normal clothes." Carrie smiled bravely. She felt like a puppy deprived of a toy.
John nodded, and smiled reassuringly. "I can't believe we ate a pair of mice!" he exclaimed. "It's the first time you've not been afraid of them."
Carrie giggled. "I guess they were afraid of me, for once! And of you. Still, I'm not after a career in pest-control."
John laughed. "Nor me!"
By the time they re-emerged from the changing rooms, the clerk had appeared to collect the fur costumes. He bade the couple a good day, as they expressed their thanks and left the store.
*********
After breakfast at the hotel they were staying at, John and Carrie split up for the morning - in order to do their own things around town. When they met up again, in their rooms around noon, John asked his wife to take a seat on the bed. She did so - and John pulled up a chair to talk to her.
Carrie read the thoughtful look on his face. "What's wrong, honey?" she asked.
"During the morning, I've noticed...that my nose and ears have been working overtime," John announced slowly. "The crowds in the street were too noisy for me - and I nearly gagged, walking by the fast-food vendor stalls. Has anything bothered you today, Cas?"
"Er... Yes, actually. I was getting a headache at breakfast, because that couple near to us were talking too loud - which isn't like them. I nearly complained to their faces. And the Jones' in Room 112 need to control their dog. It was yapping madly at me when I was speaking to them, earlier."
John took this in, then nodded. "Okay. We also both ate a lot of bacon at breakfast, Carrie."
"Well, yes! We had an energetic night, sweety. Our senses are probably hyper this morning, after being werewolves for a few hours!"
"I reckon it's more than that, I'm afraid." John looked worried now, though Carrie. Her husband tilted his head, to show the tops of his ears. They had become slightly pointed.
Carrie's mouth formed an 'O' shape, as her jaw dropped. She quickly felt beneath her ginger-brown locks - then froze.
"My ears are the same, John," she whispered, suddenly scarred. Carrie showed them to him, and he sat besides her on the bed.
"I think...that the suits actually changed our DNA, Carrie," John announced, his voice wavering slightly. "And we got carried away...with our biting and licking."
"You mean..?" Carrie sucked in her breath. "We've infected...each other? We are becoming werewolves..., for keeps?"
"Yes. And that means we'll transform again tonight, at moonrise - this time without the need for any costumes," John told her, taking her shaking hand.
Carrie began to cry. She leaned against him. "Nooo!! I'm...I'm sorry, John. This is my fault! If I hadn't come up with that stupid idea of mine..."
"It wasn't a stupid idea, darling. You got me to enjoy dressing up, for once! And what's done, is done," he consoled her, looking directly into her weeping eyes. "But we've now got a major decision to make, love. And we've got to make it together. To walk the same road, side by side." He gulped nervously, and pushed himself on. "Do we seek a cure? Or do we both accept the life of a werewolf? If we do the latter, we could learn how to control the changes, how to hunt with a conscious! And there's the issue of teaming up with a pack - or be lone wolves together. At least in this town, it's not a crime to be a monster!"
Carrie's mind took in the implications of the decisions before them. She wiped away her tears, and squeezed John tightly.
"This is what I suggest, my love," she finally declared. "Let's...