Alfie the Werewolf 1: Birthday Surprise Read online

  Alfie had lots of questions to ask his grandfather. Especially about the werewolf hunger, because he didn’t want to bite anyone. Not even chickens.

  ‘But sometimes the hunger gets so strong,’ he said.

  ‘No problem,’ Grandpa Werewolf growled. ‘Just make sure you’ve got some raw steaks in the fridge come full moon. Then the hunger will be over before you know it. Now that you mention it, I’m feeling peckish myself.’

  Mum ran straight to the fridge and grabbed a steak. Grandpa and Alfie gobbled it up.

  ‘And that card of the Big Bad Wolf, Grandpa? Did you send that too?’ Alfie asked with his mouth full.

  Grandpa sniggered and burped loudly. ‘Lovely steak, thank you. Nice and bloody.’

  Dad just looked on silently, loving every minute of it.

  ‘That card?’ Grandpa said. ‘It was a joke. I wanted to prepare you. And in the meantime I kept my eye on you. That’s why I was there in time this evening.’ Grandpa wiped his jaws and stood up.

  ‘Oh, do you have to go already?’ Alfie looked at Grandpa imploringly. ‘There’s so much I want to know. Can’t you stay here?’

  Dad rested one hand on Alfie’s shoulder. ‘Yes, can’t you stay here? You’re very welcome.’ Dad looked almost as imploring as Alfie. ‘You see, I’d like to know more. Much more. About that changing and how exactly it works. With the moon and all that.’

  Grandpa Werewolf shook his head. ‘I don’t fit into a normal household. I don’t feel at home with people any more.’

  ‘Where do you live then, Grandpa?’ Alfie asked.

  The old werewolf had already opened the door. He pointed off into the distance with his stick. ‘Faraway, in the woods, under the moon.’ He looked at Alfie and winked. ‘You see, I always look like this.’

  ‘Always?’ Alfie growled.

  Dad’s mouth dropped.

  ‘You mean you never become human any more?’

  Grandpa Werewolf nodded. ‘That was my choice. You can do that if you’re very old and have already changed form many, many times. The forest is better than an old people’s home. I love living a wild life. I only need these clothes when I come into town to avoid attracting too much attention.’

  ‘Cool!’ Dad said, sighing deeply.

  ‘I’ll take you with me sometime, Alfie,’ Grandpa promised. ‘On a night with a beautiful full moon. The two of us can run through the woods together.’

  Dad sighed even more deeply.

  Then they all waved goodbye to Grandpa Werewolf. But only after he had promised to come often to visit.

  Inside, the phone was ringing. Tim answered.

  ‘Alfie, it’s for you. Noura.’

  Alfie limped over to the phone as fast as he possibly could.

  ‘Hi, Alfie, this is Noura. Would you like to come over to play tomorrow?’

  Alfie pressed the receiver against his mouth. ‘Wrow!’

  Read on for a sneak peek at FULL MOON, the next Alfie the Werewolf adventure …

  ‘You, stop!’

  Alfie Span didn’t stop and he didn’t look back at the man who was chasing him in the dark on a motorbike. He kept running as fast as he could. The man had a big head of bushy hair and a big moustache and he was wearing a big leather coat. He roared over the pavements and swerved between the parked cars, the beam of his headlight zigzagging across the street.

  Alfie shot from left to right, but the light kept following him. His heart was pounding in his chest. His tongue was hanging out of his mouth.

  ‘Tired, eh?’ the man yelled. ‘I’ll get you!’

  But Alfie ducked out of the way and hid in the shadows. Panting, he looked from left to right. Where could he go? He was worn out and his stomach was full because he’d just stuffed himself. That was why he couldn’t run fast enough. He looked up at the full moon in desperation. And immediately stepped in a puddle, splashing water up into his eyes.

  ‘I’ll get you, eh, you horrible hen hunter,’ the man shouted behind him.

  The moon disappeared behind a black cloud. Rain pattered down on the roofs of the cars and the street turned gleaming black. The next thing Alfie knew, a bright light was glaring in his eyes. He flinched and covered his face.

  ‘I’ve got you now!’ he heard.

  Alfie saw a black silhouette on a motorbike.

  The man jerked the handlebars, making the motorbike rear up like a horse. Then he pulled a club out from under his coat. Alfie looked around and shrank. There was nowhere to run. The motorbike towered over him as the man swung the club over his head. Things were looking bad for Alfie, but that was just for a second.

  The rain had made the road so slippery that the back wheel slipped. The motorbike skidded and fell, sending the man rolling over the road and the club bouncing on to the pavement. The back wheel screeched as it spun around in the air.

  For a moment Alfie stood there gaping. He could hardly believe he’d escaped.

  ‘Run, you idiot!’ he growled to himself.

  He glanced back one last time at the furious man, who was picking himself up, then ran off on all fours, as fast as he could.

  ‘Eh, stop, you nasty little wolf.’

  The roar of the motorbike started up again as Alfie ran around a corner. Someone grabbed him. Two hands pushed him to the ground. Something came down on top of him.

  ‘Quick, get up and put this coat on fast,’ a voice hissed. Alfie’s heart leapt.

  ‘Tim! What are you doing here? I—’

  ‘No time.’ Tim sounded hurried. ‘Stand on your hind legs. Stick your forepaws in the sleeves, quick.’

  He helped Alfie into the long raincoat as the roar of the motorbike came closer. Tim pulled a baseball cap down over Alfie’s head and wrapped a scarf around his neck and chin, so that only his glasses were visible. The rain was still beating down. Water was dripping out of Alfie’s tail, which was sticking out slightly under the coat. Tim’s hair was sopping wet too.

  ‘Come on, let’s get home,’ he said.

  A beam of white light swept over them and the throbbing motorbike stopped just in front of them.

  ‘Eh, boys, wait a sec, eh?’

  Tim held up one hand to keep the bright light out of his eyes. Alfie stayed as quiet as a mouse and looked the other way. The man on the motorbike wiped his nose with his arm and sniffed loudly.

  ‘Did you see a wolf run past here? A little white one, eh? With glasses.’

  Tim cocked an eyebrow and twisted his face into a crooked grin. ‘A wolf with glasses, you say?’ He snorted with exaggerated laughter.

  ‘There’s no need to laugh at me, eh?’ the man growled. ‘There was a white wolf in my henhouse. It was wearing glasses! And it ate one of my hens. A nice fat one, eh?’

  ‘A fat white wolf with glasses?’ Tim asked.

  ‘No, a fat hen. I was going to eat it myself for Christmas, eh?’

  The headlight was still shining on Tim and Alfie. The man studied them and sniffed again. Rainwater dripped from his moustache.

  ‘Maybe your friend saw something, eh?’ he asked.

  Alfie didn’t say a word. His glasses were covered with raindrops but he was too scared to wipe the lenses. He hoped the man wouldn’t look down at his feet.

  The man peered at him. ‘What are you being so quiet about, eh?’

  He got off his motorbike. ‘I asked you something, pea-brain. You deaf or what? Show your face, eh?’ He lunged at the scarf. Alfie shrank back.

  ‘No …’

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